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prisoner walking in the garden, he tied several pieces of wood so as to form a stick about six feet long, at the end of which hung a bit of riband. The twine with which it was tied, was made from threads drawn out of his linen. He thrust the stick through the hole, and succeeded in attracting the attention of a fellow-captive, the Baron de Venac, who had been nineteen years confined for having presumed to give advice to Madame de Pompadour. He successively became acquainted with several others, two of whom were also the victims of the marchioness. One of them had been seventeen years in prison, on suspicion of having spoken ill of her; the other had been twenty-three years because he was suspected of having written against her a pamphlet, which he had never even seen. The prisoners contrived to convey ink and paper to Latude through the hole. He opened a correspondence with them, encouraged them to write to each other, and became the medium through which they transmitted their letters. The burden of captivity was much lightened to him by this new occupation.

An unfortunate change for the prisoner now took place. The benevolent and amiablemannered Guyonnet was succeeded by Rougemont, a man who was a contrast to him in every respect. He was avaricious, flinty-hearted, brutal, and

a devoted tool of M. de Sartine. The diet which he provided for the captives was of the worst kind; and their scanty comforts were as much as possible abridged. That he might not be thwarted in the exercise of his tyranny, he dismissed such of the prison attendants as he suspected of being humane, and replaced them by men whose dispositions harmonized with his own. How utterly devoid of feeling were the beings whom he selected, may be judged by the language of his cook. This libel on the human race is known to have said, 'If the prisoners were ordered to be fed on straw, I would give them stable-litter;' and on other occasions he declared, 'If I thought there was a single drop of juice in the meat of the prisoners, I would trample it under my foot to squeeze it out!' Such a wretch would not have scrupled to put poison into the food, had not his master had an interest in keeping the captives alive. When any one complained of the provisions, he was insultingly answered, 'It is but too good for prisoners;' when application for the use of an article, however insignificant, was made, the reply was, 'It is contrary to the rules.' So horrible was the despotism of the governor, that within three months four of the prisoners strangled themselves in despair. 'The Inquisition itself,' says Latude, might envy his proficiency in

and himsel At this penod to provision was made France for the widows of those who fall in battle. The king of Prussia had recently set the example of granting pensions, and Larade deemed it worthy of being imitated But knowing that an empty treasury would be pleaded against its adoption, he proposed a triding addition to the postage of letters, which he calculated would raise an ample fund. His memorial, and the data on which it was founded, were forwarded to the monarch and the ministers. The tax was soon after imposed, and nominally for the purpose pointed out by Latude; but the widows, nevertheless, continued to be destitute, and the projector unpitied.

mind and body rendered existence insufferable; and the unhappy victim resolved to throw of a burden which he could no longer bear. No instrument of destruction being within reach, he tried to effect his purpose by starving himself; and for a hundred and thirty-three hours he obstinately persisted in refusing all food. At last his jailors wrenched open his mouth, and frustrated his design. Still bent on dying, he contrived to obtain and secrete a fragment of broken glass, with which he opened four of the large veins. During the night he bled till life was all but extinct. Once more, however, he was snatched from the grave; and he now sullenly resigned himself to await his appointed time.

After he had been confined a considerable time longer, a fortunate overflowing of the Seine occasioned his removal. The turnkey complained heavily that he was obliged to walk through the water to the prisoner, and Latude was in consequence removed to an apartment in the tower of La Comte. It had no chimney, and was one of the worst rooms in the tower, but it was a paradise when comspared with the pestiferous hole from which he had emerged.

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Yet so strong is the yearning for society, that, gladdened as d he was by his removal, he could e; not help bitterly regretting the by loss of his sociable rats. As a e substitute for them, he tried to catch some of the pigeons which

perched on the window; and by means of a noose formed from threads drawn out of his linen, he finally succeeded in snaring a male and female. He tried every means to console them for the loss of liberty. He assisted them to make their nest and to feed their young; his care and attention equalled their own. They seemed sensible of this, and repaid him by every possible mark of affection. As soon as this reciprocal understanding had been established, he occupied himself entirely with them. How he watched their actions, and enjoyed their expressions of tenderness! He lost himself entirely while with them, and in his dreams continued the enjoyment.

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Latude was provoked into asperity; Daragon rushed out in a rage, and in a short time he returned, pretending that he had an order from the governor to kill the pigeons. My despair at this,' says Latude, 'exceeded all bounds, and absolutely unsettled my reason; I could willingly have sacrificed my life to satisfy my just vengeance on this monster. I saw him make a motion towards the innocent victims of my misfortunes; I sprang forward to prevent him. I seized them, and in my agony I crushed them myself. This was perhaps the most miserable moment of my whole existence. I never recall the memory of it without the bitterest pangs. I remained several days without taking any nourishment; grief and indignation divided my soul; my sighs were imprecations, and I held all mankind in

This pleasure was too great to be lasting. He had been placed in his present apartment because it was under the care of a brutal turnkey, named Dara-mortal horror.' gon, who had been punished for Latude's former escape, and cherished a rankling feeling of revenge. It was Daragon who purchased the grain for the pigeons, and for this service the prisoner, besides the large profit which the turnkey made, gave him one out of the seven bottles of wine which was his weekly allowance. Daragon now insisted on having four bottles, without which he would purchase no more grain. It was to no purpose that Latude pleaded that the wine was indispensably necessary to restore his health; the turnkey was deaf to reason.

Fortunately, a humane and generous man, the Count de Jumilhac, was, soon after, appointed governor of the Bastile. He compassionated the sufferings of Latude, and exerted himself to relieve them. He obtained for him an interview with M. de Sartine, the minister of police, who gave him leave to walk for two hours daily on the platform of the Bastile, and promised to befriend him. That promise he soon broke. Hope revived in the breast of Latude, and he again set to work to form plans for the good of the country. Schemes for issuing a new species

and himself. At this period no provision was made in France for the widows of those who fell in battle. The king of Prussia had recently set the example of granting pensions, and Latude deemed it worthy of being imitated. But knowing that an empty treasury would be pleaded against its adoption, he proposed a trifling addition to the postage of letters, which he calculated would raise an ample fund. His memorial, and the data on which it was founded, were forwarded to the monarch and the ministers. The tax was soon after imposed, and nominally for the purpose pointed out by Latude; but the widows, nevertheless, continued to be destitute, and the projector unpitied.

Foiled in all his efforts, the firmness of Latude gave way. He had been pent for three years and five months in a loathsome dungeon, suffering more than pen can describe. Exposed in his horrible, fireless, and windowless abode to all the blasts of heaven, three winters, one of which was peculiarly severe, had sorely tortured his frame. The cold, the keen winds, and a continual defluxion from his nostrils, had split his upper lip and destroyed his front teeth; his eyes were endangered from the same causes, and from frequent weeping; his head was often suddenly affected by a sort of apoplectic stroke; and his limbs were racked by cramp and rheumatism. Hope was extinct; intense agony of

mind and body rendered existence insufferable; and the unhappy victim resolved to throw off a burden which he could no longer bear. No instrument of destruction being within reach, he tried to effect his purpose by starving himself; and for a hundred and thirty-three hours he obstinately persisted in refusing all food. At last his jailors wrenched open his mouth, and frustrated his design. Still bent on dying, he contrived to obtain and secrete a fragment of broken glass, with which he opened four of the large veins. During the night he bled till life was all but extinct. Once more, however, he was snatched from the grave; and he now sullenly resigned himself to await his appointed time.

After he had been confined a considerable time longer, a fortunate overflowing of the Seine occasioned his removal. The turnkey complained heavily that he was obliged to walk through the water to the prisoner, and Latude was in consequence removed to an apartment in the tower of La Comte. It had no chimney, and was one of the worst rooms in the tower, but it was a paradise when compared with the pestiferous hole from which he had emerged. Yet so strong is the yearning for society, that, gladdened as he was by his removal, he could not help bitterly regretting the loss of his sociable rats. As a substitute for them, he tried to catch some of the pigeons which

perched on the window; and by means of a noose formed from threads drawn out of his linen, he finally succeeded in snaring a male and female. He tried every means to console them for the loss of liberty. He assisted them to make their nest and to feed their young; his care and attention equalled their own. They seemed sensible of this, and repaid him by every possible mark of affection. As

soon as this reciprocal understanding had been established, he occupied himself entirely with them. How he watched their actions, and enjoyed their expressions of tenderness! He lost himself entirely while with them, and in his dreams continued the enjoyment.

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Latude was provoked into asperity; Daragon rushed out in a rage, and in a short time he returned, pretending that he had an order from the governor to kill the pigeons. My despair at this,' says Latude, 'exceeded all bounds, and absolutely unsettled my reason; I could willingly have sacrificed my life to satisfy my just vengeance on this monster. I saw him make a motion towards the innocent victims of my misfortunes; I sprang forward to prevent him. I seized them, and in my agony I crushed them myself. This was perhaps the most miserable moment of my whole existence. I never recall the memory of it without the bitterest pangs. I remained several days without taking any nourishment; grief and indignation divided my soul; my sighs were imprecations, and I held all mankind in

Fortunately, a humane and generous man, the Count de Jumilhac, was, soon after, appointed governor of the Bastile. He compassionated the sufferings of Latude, and exerted himself to relieve them. He obtained for him an interview with M. de Sartine, the minister of police, who gave him leave to walk for two hours daily on the platform of the Bastile, and pro

This pleasure was too great to be lasting. He had been placed in his present apartment because it was under the care of a brutal turnkey, named Dara-mortal horror.' gon, who had been punished for Latude's former escape, and cherished a rankling feeling of revenge. It was Daragon who purchased the grain for the pigeons, and for this service the prisoner, besides the large profit which the turnkey made, gave him one out of the seven bottles of wine which was his weekly allowance. Daragon now insisted on having four bottles, without which he would pur-mised to befriend him. That chase no more grain. It was to no purpose that Latude pleaded that the wine was indispensably necessary to restore his health; the turnkey was deaf to reason.

promise he soon broke. Hope revived in the breast of Latude, and he again set to work to form plans for the good of the country. Schemes for issuing a new species

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