f liiMl I ' "
fiMvitlT-'V ,'40 Pits
VOL. XtV.
NEW BLOOMFIELD, IJV., TTJFJSDlY, NOVEMBER 30, 18BO.
NO. 48;
4. MMiMfe-
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THE TIMES.
in Independent Family Newspaper,
IS PUBLISH D KVSRT TCKBDAT BT
P. MORTIMER & CO.
TEUMSi
INVARIABLY IN ADVANCE.
f 1.50 PER YEAH, POSTAGE I'ltEE.
SO CTS. FOII 6 moM-riis.
To subscribers residing In this coumty, where
we h ave no postaite to pay. a discount of 25 cents
from the above terms will be made If payment Is
made In advance.
W Advertising rates furnished upon applica
tion. Remarkable Escapes.
THE amount of inventive genius man
developer under the spur of peril'Is
scarcely short of the marvelous, and it
la in nothing better illustrated than in
the chronicles of escapes. We all know
(he story of the hunter who tumbled
into the hollow of the tree in which a
she bear had made her lair, and couldn't
climb out. He waited, it will be re
membered, till the tenant whose lodg
ings he had invaded came home from a
dinner she had been enjoying at the
expense of some tender young Africans
on the neighboring plantation, and com
menced to back down into the tree after
the fashion adopted by her race in mak
ing a descent. As soon as her tail was
within reach the prisoner grabbed it,
while with his other hand he com
menced digging Mrs. Bruin in the rump
with his knife. She didn't come down
to inquire into the matter, but scram
bled, howling, out again, towing the
captive behind her till he got a chance
to use his blade on a more vital portion
of her frame.
A somewhat similar yarn is that told
by Pausauius of Arlstomenes, the Mes
sinian General, whom the Lacedamo
nians captured in battle some seven
hundred years B. C, and tumbled into
the Gulf of Coedo, a fissure in the earth
near the City of Sparta, which served
them instead of a gallows for the dispo
sition of their criminals. A number of
his soldiers were sent the same road
before him, and Arlstomenes, falling on
their bodies, saved his own. He revived
to find himself in a hideous cavern
without apparent outlet but the unat
tainable opening overhead. He spent
two days among the bones and rotting
bodies. On the third day he saw a fox
creeping along in the gloom toward a
heap of corses. The fact that the ani
mal got into the cave was proof, positive
that there was some way out.
Lying motionless till the fox came
sniffing around him, Arlstomenes then
grabbed him by the leg, and, as he
turned to snap him, thrust the hem of
his mantle in his mouth. Reynard held
on viciously, and the Ingenious captive
was led, as be desired to be, through a
labyrinthine passage to an opening just
large enough for the fox to crawl
through, and which he managed to
enlarge sufficiently to escape by himself.
Those old-timers were a tough lot if
historians don't lie. Herodotus tells of
another, Hegesistratus, who was an
augur or fortune-teller to one Mordonius.
The Spartans got bold of him, too, and
put him in jail with a log fettered to his
leg. Falling to release himself in any
, other way, he contrived to scrape a
passage out of his dungeon with an old
knife-blade he found in a corner, and
then cut enough of his foot off to slip
the stump out of the fetter, and so
crawled away to freedom. Increditable
as the story seems, such cases of self
mutilation are not uncommon among
our Indians, and animals caught by the
foot in a trap almost invariably gnaw
the captive members off and survive the
loss. -
Ccellus Secundus Curlon was a zealous
Lutheran of the sixteenth century in
Turin. Taking exception to a passage
in the sermon a Jesuit was preaching in
the Cathedral, be called him a liar. He
was seized and thrown into the prison
of the Inquisition, where bla feet were
shackled to ponderous blocks of wood to
prevent his moving. According to his
own account, after having spent a week
in these orna.nents, he induced his
jailer, on the plea that he waa perishing
of pain in his constrained position, to
unshackle one leg for him. Then he
tore bin shirt Into shreds, and taking off
his stocking and slipper, stuffed them
With these rags until he had made a
very fair model of a leg and foot. A
broken broomstick supplied him with a
bone, and, as he tells it, "hiding my real
limb under my cloak, I sat calmly
awaiting the success of my ruse. After
a time the young mau came in to pay
me his usual visit and ask me how' I
did. ' I should feel better,' I said, point
ing to my dummy, ' if you would kindly
fasten this leg to the fetter and let me
give the other a rest.' He consented,
and chained up my false limb with all
imaginable care." At night, when
Curlon heard his attendants snoring,
he parted company with his fettered
leg, undressed it, clothed himself again
and stole out of his cell, which no oue
had taken the trouble to fasten oil the
outside. He found means to scale the
outer walls of his prison and regain his
liberty. His escape, which he describes
in this matter of fact way, figures in the
pious histories as the work of witchcraft,
on the ground that the Devil is ever
ready to assist his own.
The escape of Grotlus, the historian,
from the Castle of Louvenstein was an
original one. Involved in the ruin of
his friend John, of Barnevelt, Grotlus,
In 1619, when only thlrty-slx years old,
was condemned to perpetual imprison
ment. He was allowed to borrow books
from his friends, and when they were
returned they were sent away in a chest
along with his linen for the wash. To
ward the end of the second year, when
the guard had ceased to bother examin
ing the box as it came and went,
Madame Grotlus contrived to have her
husband conceal himself in this con
venient casket, and he was carried to
freedom by some of the very soldiers set
to guard him so zealously.
Such methods of concealment were by
no means uncommon in those old days
when men were imprisoned for years at
a time, living under guard in some
castle with pretty much the same free
dom as they would have enjoyed in
their own houses, barring the liberty of
going out when they wanted to. The
little Duke of Normandy, who, after the
assassination of his father, William
Longswood, in the tenth century, was
confined at Laon by Louis d'Outre-men,
who had fixed his eyes on the throne,
and was carried out in a bundle of grass
by his faithful Bteward, Osmond. The
feat recently performed by a couple of
prisoners on Blackwell's Island by con
cealing themselves in dungheaps is no
new one. More than one captive in
feudal times was jolted to liberty buried
under a load of manure. There was au
old German warrior in the time of Max
imilian who is said to have made his
escape from the castle in which he was
confined hidden in the carcass of a horse
which had died in the stables, and from
which he had removed the bowels to
make room for himself.
An Italian captive is told of who in
the fourteenth century was taken from
his prison-house and burled in a church
vault in the coffin of the castle priest,
whose corpse he had found an opportu
nity to remove and conceal under his
bed, where it was not discovered until it
began to develop a decidedly gamey
flavor. The Marquis de Monteforlo, a
Stale prisoner of Cadiz in the sixteenth
century, became a State fugitive by
stowing himself away in an empty wine
cask.
Disguises have, from time immorlal,
been favorite aids to escape. . James V.
freed himself, from the power of the
Douglases iu the make-up of a stable
boy, and Mary Stuart's first attempt to
get away from Lochieven Castle was In
the dress of a laundry girl. When Flora
Macdonald assisted Charles Edward, the
Pretender, to escape after the battle of
Culloden, she disguised him as a servant
girl and christened him Betty Burke.
Count Lavelette escaped from the Con
ciergerle in 1815 on the Sharkey plan, in
a dress of his wife's. One of the most
remarkable rescues on record was that
of the Earl of Nlthsdale, who on the
night before the day set for his execu
tion was got out of the Tower of London
by bis wife. Nlthsdale was Under sen
tence for complicity in the Rebellion
of 1715.
Lady Nithsdale had thrown herself at
the feet of George II., Imploring mercy,
but the King had refused to listen to
her. She obtained permission to bid her
husband adieu on the night before his
execution, and went to the tower with
two women,who were In her confidence.
One had on two suits of outer garments,
and after leaving a suit in the Earl's,
chamber she immediately quitted the
prison. The second gave the Earl her
clothes and put on those which the first
had just taken off. Wrapped in a long
cloak, and with a handkerchief to his
eyes, the prisoner then passed through
the sentinels, and took ship for France.
Lady Nlthsdale remained behind In her
husband's stead, but she pooh regained
her liberty.
The escape of the Duke of Albany,
imprisoned in Edinburg Castle by his
brother, James III, is one of the most
dramatic episodes of Scottish history.
Albany, and his brother, the Earl of
Mar,' were as great favorites with the
people as James was not. The King
caused Mar to be bled to death. Albany
was menaced by the same fate, when his
friends resolved to rescue him. A little
sloop sailed into Keith Roads with a
cargo of Gascony wines, of which two
small casks were sent as a present to
the captive Prince. When the Duke
came to dip into them, he found in one
a ball of wax containing a letter urging
him to escape and make his way to the
water side, where he would find the
little vessel waiting for him. In the
other cask there was a coil of rope,
which would enable him to drop from
the walls of his prison to the rock on
which the castle stands. His faithful
Chamberlain, who shared his captivity
promised to aid him in bis enterprise.
The main point was to make sure of the
Captain of the guard. Albany invited
this officer to Bup with him under the
pretext of wishing to have his Judgment
on the wine ; and the Captain, having
pouted his men with due circumspection,
led three of them into the Duke's room
with him, and then took his place at
the table. The meal over, the Duke
proposed a game of trictrac, and took
care, while it was going on, to ply his
guest freely with the wine, while the
Chamberlain was no less attentive to
the three soldiers. The drink, and the
heat of a great fire, near which they had
artfully placed him, soon made the offi
cer very drowsy, and the men, too,
began to nod their heads.
Then the Duke, who was a strong
man, jumped up, and laid the Captain
dead at his feet. In another moment
he had dispatched two of the soldiers,
while the Chamberlain, with hla own
dagger, finished the third. Their work
was the easier to do as the drink and the
fire together had almost stupefied the
poor wretches before a blow was struck.
They threw the bodies on the fire, and,
making their way to an out-of-the-way
corner of the walls, began their perilous
descent.
The Chamberlain went down first to
try the cord, but it was too short, and
he fell and broke his leg. He uttered no
cry of pain, but simply told bis master
the cause of the disaster. The Duke
went back to fetch his bedclothes, and
finally made the descent in safety.
His first thought waa to provide for
the injured man, and he did not bestow
a thought on himself till he had carried
bis faithful dependent to a hut where be
might remain in perfect security until
bis recovery. This done he flew to the
sea-shore, and, a boat answering to the
signal agreed on, he boarded the sloop,
which Instantly set sail for Franoe. In
the morning the grand round found
nothing of their prisoner but a room full
of suffocating smoke and four bodies
roasted to coala in the ashes of the fire.
Tom Paine tells his escape from the
guillotine, during his confinement in
the Luxembourg, in this way :
"The room in which I was lodged
was on the ground floor, with the door
opening outward flat against the wall,
so that when it was open the inside of
the door appeared outward, and the
contrary when it was shut. When per
sons were to be taken out of the prison
for the guillotine it waa always .done in
the night, and those who performed
that office had a private mark by which
they knew what rooms to visit. The
door of my room was marked one morn
lng, when it was open, and flat against
the wall ; being closed in the evening,
the fatal line of chalk came Inside, and
thus the destroying angel passed by. A
few days after this Robespierre fell, and
Mr. Monroe arrived to reclaim me."
Stranger, still, however, ip the story
Vaublano tells of M. de Chateaubrun,
who was not only condemned to death,
but actually taken to the scaffold. He
was the last of twenty victims. After
twelve or fifteen executions, one part of
the horrible Instrument broke, and a
workman was sent for to mend it. M.
Chateaubrun was, with the other vie
tluis, near the scaffold, with his bands
tied behind bis back. The repairing
took a long time. The day began to
darken ; the great crowd of spectators
were far more intent on watching the
repairing of the guillotine than on look
ing at the victims who were to die, and
all, even the geudarmes themselves,
had their eyes fixed on the scaffold.
Resigned, but very weak, the condemn
ed man leaned, without meaning it, on
those behind him, and they, pressed by
the weight of the body, mechanically
made way for him, till gradually, and
by no effort of his own, he came to the
last ranks of the crowd. The instru
ment once repaired, the executions be
gan, and they hurried to the end.
A dark night concealed both execu
tioners and spectators.
Led on by the crowd, De Chateaubrun
was at first amazed at his situation, but
soon conceived the hope of escapiug.
He went to the Champs Elysees, and
there, addressing a man who looked like
workman, he told him, laughingly, that
some comrades with whom be had been
joking, had tied his handa behind bis
back and taken his hat, telling him to
go and look for it. He begged the mau
to cut the cords, and the workman pull
ed out a knife and did so, laughing all
the while at the joke. M. de Chateau
brun then proposed going into any of
the small wine-shops in the Champs
Elysees. During a slight repast he
seemed to be expecting his comrades to
bring back the hat, and, seelug nothing
of them, he begged his guest to carry a
note to some friend, whom he knew
would lend him one, for he could not go
bareheaded through the streets. He
added that bis friend would bring him
some money, for his comrades, in fun,
had taken away his purse. The poor
man believed every word M. de Chate
aubrun told him, took the note, and
returned in half an hour, accompanied
by the friend, who embraced Chateau
brun and gave him, all the help be
required.
Why an Old Lake Captain was Thankful.
A BUFFALO lake eaptaln.when Inter-
XX viewed regarding bis experience of
the great gale of two weeks ago, answer
ed that be spent more than an hour in
prayer. A Chicago captain said that be
was made to feel what an awful sinner
he was. A Clevelander replied that he
made a solemn vow to quit swearing in
case he was saved. An interview was
held with a Detroit captain yesterday to
see how he felt. It started off as fol
lows :
" You were In the great gale, were
you V"
"I was."
" As the gale Increased, the seas grew
higher and your foretopmaut was brok
en off, did you realize what a miserable
old sinner you was V"
" No, sir. My time was occupied In
clearing away the wreck and thinking
how the owners would blast my eyes."
" By and by, when the seas swept
your decks and carried off your yawl
at the davits, did you make any vows V
" I did not. I told the mate that
we'd got to square off and run before it
or we'd all be in in less than twenty
minutes."
" You meant Texas, did you not "
" I did. I knew we were headed di
rectly for Texas, with the seas piling
right over us.'.'
" Did your male suggest holding a
prayer meeting or singing any Gospel
hymns?" . , .
" Not by a gone sight I He suggested
that we had better be mighty lively
about paying off or the Infernal tub
would be at the bottom of Lake Michi
gan."
" When the awful voice of the gale
roared In your ears, and the mountain
ous combers rushed down, as if to bury
you from sight, did you not have the
least thought of making a vow to quit
swearlug If you were spared ?"
No, sir; on the contrary, I believe I
swore faster than usual. I was In a-
hurry to get her around."
" As the wheel was put over and she-
fell into the trough of the sea for a
moment, what were your solemn reflec
tions V"
" Well, sir, I solemnly reflected ttiat
if the blasted old stick ever wanted- la
play dirt on me then was the time to do
lt." " When you got squarred away before
the wind didn't you tell your crew that
they ought to return thanks to Provi
dence for having escaped certain' de
structions V"
"No, sir. I told 'em to ask the
steward for about three fingers of good
whiskey apiece and then turn In all'
Btandlng."
" Do you feel that you .have any par
ticular cause to be thankful V
" I do. The elevator men In Buffalo
didn't steal but forty bushels of wheat
out of the last trip, while on the other
they took ninety-one.. I. am. thankful,
for that fifty-one bushels and shall strive
to be a better man. hereafter. Take
sumthin', sir?"
Comical Errors.
An Iowa editor thus acknowledged a
present of grapes : " We have received
a basket of fine grapes from our friend
W., for which be Will please accept our
thanks, some of which are nearly two
inches in diameter."
A newspaper advertisement read thus:
" Wanted a saddle horse for a lady .
weighing about nine hundred and fifty
pounds." Another reads : " Wanted
A young man to take charge of two
horses of a religious turn of- mindi"
A widow In the West intending to
succeed her husband in the management
of a hotel advertises that the " hotel
will be kept by the widow of the former
landlord, Mr. Brown, who died last
summer on a new and Improved plan."
A steamboat captain, in advertising
for an excursion, closes thus : " Tickets,
twenty-flve cents, children half price, to
be had at the captain's office."
One of Sir Boyle Roche's . Invitations
to an Irish nobleman waa rather- equiv
ocal. He writes : " I hope, my lord, if
you ever come within a mile of my
house you will stay there all night."
A coroner's verdict reads thus : ' The
deceased came to his death by excessive
drinking, producing apoplexy in the
minds of the jury."
A clergyman says : "A young woman
died in my neighborhood- yesterday,
while I was preaching the gospeL in a
beastly state of intoxication."
A correspondent, In writing of a re
cent demonstration In the city of Cleve
land, says: " The procession was very
fine, and nearly two miles long, as was
also the report of Dr. Perry Chaplain-"
A Vigorous Young Lover.
The climate of Kentucky must bo emi
nently favorable to the- development of
love. A youth of Logan county, in that
State, fell in love with a girl whose father
was about to move bis family to Texas.
He followed the girl to Russell ville, and
implored her to stay with bim. She re
fused, and when the train was about to
start he collected a number of hia bache
lor friends, went to the father and said
that he meant business, and would car
ry the girl away by force. The father
refused very promptly and called for the
police, who guarded the girl until the
train started. The lover became desper
ate, and as the train moved off he made
f ran tlo efforts to open the car windows
and pull her out. The old gentleman,
however, held the windows tight on the
Inside, and the disconsolate lover was
soon left alone.
A hint to long-winded orators
and writers is furnished by the follow
ing story, told by Mr. Greville In bis
Memoirs : A bishop rose to speak in the
House of Lords and announced that he
should divide what he had to say Into
twelve parts, when the Duke of Whar
ton interrupted bim and begged indul
gence for a few minutes, as be had a
story to tell wbloh be could only intro
duce at that moment. He said :
" A drunken follow waa passing by St.
Paul's at night and beard the clock
slowly chime twelve. He counted the
strokes and then looked up to the clock,
and said, 'Why couldn't you glv ua
that all at onoe V " The story put aft
end to the bishop's speech.