without question of its authenticity, told to the disrepute of either, circumstantially detailed and religiously believed; whilst doubt, and distrust, and scorn attach to every thing related in their vindication. To sum up the whole, Bonaparte is the god of this Mrs. or Miss Plumptre's idolatry; he it is who has rendered the French happy; France, and every thing French, is the standard by which this lively lady measures all excellence, virtue, wisdom, sound policy, and good manners. We are truly sorry to see this; but having expressed our dislike and disapprobation, we are not reluctant to acknowledge, that these volumes will still be found very entertaining; a multitude of interesting anecdotes occur, which were certainly communicated from the most undoubted authority; the lady is observant, well-informed, properly inquisitive, and by no means without sagacity. We therefore, as a matter of justice, subjoin one or two specimens for the reader's amusement. "An English lady and her son, with whom I had become acquainted at Paris, had one day made a party with Mons. and Madame Band myself, to go and see the Jardin des Plantes, and the manufactory of the Gobelins' tapestry, which is at a very short distance. As they lie in a quarter of the town remote from that which we inhabited, we agreed to dine at the garden, and walk home in the cool of the evening. All that we had planned for the day was done, and we were about setting out on our return home, when looking cross the river at the spot where the Bastille once stood, and which was directly opposite to us, our Anglaise said that, though she had been some months at Paris, she had not yet been there, but that it was her intention some day or other to make a pilgrimage thither. And why delay this to another time? we said: it was but crossing the water, and we could then return home by the North Boulevards; our walk, it was true, would by these means be somewhat lengthened, but the route would be much pleasanter, and as the evening was very fine, such an extention of our walk would be far from disagreeable. "This was no sooner proposed than unanimously agreed to, and we accordingly embarked without delay to cross the river. As it was late, however, before the plan had been thought of, the dusk of evening was beginning to steal upon us by the time we reached the site of the Bastille. This spot, which ought to be consecrated to some national monument, is now converted into what the French call a chantier, that is a large magazine of billets for firing. It is open all day, and there is a public passage through it from Fauxbourg St Antoine to the Arsenal, but it is locked up at night. As we were looking about, we fell into conversation with two men whom we found there, and soon learned that they were heroes of the fourteenth of July, and had actually assisted in the ever-memorable exploit of that day, the forcing the fortress which stood on that ground, till then deemed impregnable. Could any thing be more interesting than to meet with two of these heroes, on the very spot which had been the scene of their pro wess! A few questions were sufficient to encourage them to enter at large upon the subject; and they began a detail of the affair from beginning to end like Alexander, they Fought all their battles o'er again, "As they related each circumstance, they led us to the spot where it had happened; they showed us where each particular part of the building had stood; they pointed out to us the remains of a cachot, enough of which was still left to give a perfect idea of the nature of these dungeons, and to make one shudder at the idea of a fellow-creature having been immured in it. They, in short, seemed as little weary with relating as we with listening; so that we never thought about separating till the night had completely closed upon us, and the heavens above were spangled with thousands and ten thousands of stars. Warned thus that it was time to think of retiring, we bent our course to the great gate of the chantier; but when we arrived there, we had the mortification to find that we had already outstayed our time, and that it was fast locked. What now was to be done? There was a small house near the gate: our heroes called and called repeatedly, in hopes of making themselves heard by the inhabitants, but all in vain. One of them then attempted to climb the gate, but that he found impossible; so that after making every effort to get released without effect, it seemed as if we should be compelled to take up our lodging there for the night, and none of us much relished the idea of imprisonment in the Bastille, though it would be only for a few hours, and not in a cachot. At length one of our companions suggested, that near the other gate leading to the arsenal a sentinel was posted, and by going thither we might possibly make him hear, and he might be able to assist in extricating us from our difficulty. Thither then we. repaired, and soon succeeded in making ourselves heard by the sentinel, who, to our unspeakable consolation, said that he expected to be relieved every moment, and he would then go to the cwner of the chantier, and send him to let us out. This promise he punctually performed; and we had not been long returned to the other gate, when we had the satisfaction of hearing the key thrust into the lock, the joyful signal of our deliverance. "Voici, qui est tout à fait comique," said the keeper of our prison, as he opened the gate; "vraiment, je ne croyois pas avoir encore renfermé des prisonniers dans la Bastille.”—“ Oui,” said one of our heroes, "mais Dieu en soit béni, nous voici hors d'affaire, et sans même avoir été contraint défaire nos chemises."* And now, after thanking the gaoler, *“Well, this is altogether comic. Indeed I did not suppose, that I had once more shut up prisoners in the Bastille." "Yes," answered the other, "but thank God we are out of the scrape, and without being obliged even to pull our shirts to pieces."-It will be recollected, that he here alludes to the escape of Maseres de la Tude, who ravelled out a number of shirts to make the cordage by means of which he formed the ladder that assisted him to descend from his prison. we took leave of our warriors, who expressed much regret, that night coming on had cut them short in their narration; car nous aurions hu vous raconter encore tant de choses,"* they said. But perhaps, they added, we might some time or other come that way again, and perhaps they might meet with us again, and perhaps it might not be so late in the evening, and then they should be able to relate all that yet remained untold; "en supposant toujours," they concluded “que cela puisse vous faire plaisir." We thanked them, and assured them that nothing would give us greater pleasure than such a meeting; and so with mutual good wishes and congratulations on our enlargement we parted. Of our good sentinel we saw no more; having rendered us the service we wanted, he went his way, nor came with the man who opened the gate, to receive the recompense which he might reasonably have expected." Vol. I. p. 105. The accounts of the horrors perpetrated and sustained at Lyons in the first convulsions of the revolution are exceedingly well detailed, and beyond doubt authentic. It forms a curious, interesting, and pathetic narrative. The extreme interest of the tale will excuse its length. "On the ninth of December, seventy-two prisoners were condemned, and thrown into the cave of death, there to await the execution of their sentence. This could not be the next day, because it was the decadi: one of the prisoners, by name Porral, only twenty-two years of age, of a bold and ardent spirit, profited of this interval to devise a plan of escape. His sisters, having, by means of a very large bribe, obtained access to this abode of horrors, began to weep around him. "It is not now a time to weep," said he, "it is the moment to arm ourselves with resolution and activity, and endeavour to find some way by which we can elude our menaced fate. Bring me files, a chissel, a turnscrew, and other instruments; bring wine in abundance, bring poniards, that, if reduced to extremity, we may not perish without the means of defence. By this grate, which looks into the rue Lafond, you can give me these things, I will be in waiting there the whole day to receive them." "The sisters retired, and in the course of the day at different visits brought a variety of tools, twelve fowls, and about sixty bottles of wine. Porral communicated his project to four others, bold and active like himself, and the whole business was arranged. The evening arrived, a general supper was proposed, the last they should ever eat. The prisoners supped well, exhorting each other to meet their fate the next morning with heroism, to brave their tyrants with their last breath. The wine was handed briskly about till the heads of the company began to turn, and in the end they were all laid fast asleep. "At eleven o'clock the five associates began their labours. One of them was placed as a sentinel near the door of the cave, armed with a poniard ready to despatch the turnkey, if, at his visit at two o'clock in * "For there are so many other things which we could have told you. "Supposing always that it would be agreeable to you.” the morning, he should appear to suspect any thing particular to be going forward: the others, putting off their coats, began to make their researches. "At the extremity of the second cave they found a large door, and on this they began their operations. It was of oak, and double barred; by degrees the hinges gave way to the file, and the door was no longer held by them; still, however, they could not force it open, it was retained by something on the other side. A hole was made in it with the chissel, and looking through, they perceived that it was tied by a very strong rope to a post at a little distance. This was a terrible moment, they endeavoured in vain to cut the rope with the chissel or the file, but they could not reach it: at length one of the party hit upon an expedient. He returned to the cave and begged a little piece of wax candle of Fromental, a notary, in whose possession he remembered to have seen such a thing, Fromental, half-asleep, gave it to him; it was lighted and tied to the end of a stick, then thrust through the hole in the door till it reached the cord which in a short time it burnt asunder. The door was then opened, and the adventurers proceeded forward. "They found themselves in another vault, in the midst of which was a large slab of stone, which seemed laid there for some particular purpose. They struck upon it, when a hollow noise came from within. This gave them hopes that it was a place to cover the entrance of some subterraneous passage; perhaps it might be one that led to the Rhone. They immediately began to employ all their efforts to remove the stone, in which they at length succeeded, and found to their inexpressible transport that they were not deceived in their conjectures, that it was indeed a subterraneous passage, and they doubted not that here they should find an issue. They then tied their handkerchiefs together; and one of them, named Labatre, taking hold of the end with one hand, and carrying a light in the other, descended to explore the place. Alas! their hopes were in a moment blasted :—instead of finding any passage by which they could escape, he perceived that this was only an old well dried up, and heaped with rubbish. Labatre turned with a heavy heart-some other means of escape must be sought. "A door at the extremity of the cave now appeared their only reSource. On this they set to work; but after having forced the lock and hinges, still the door resisted their efforts, they could not get it open. They had again recourse to the chissel, and having made a hole, they discovered that the obstacle now was two pieces of stone Jaid against it. They pushed with all their might, and at length dislodging one of the stones, it fell down, and with it fell the door. "But this led only to another vault, which served as a depôt for confiscated effects and merchandize. Among other things was a large trunk full of shirts. They profited of this discovery, to make an exchange of linen; and instead of the clean ones which they took, they left their own covered with filth and vermin. Two doors, besides that at which they had entered, now offered themselves to their choice. They began to attack one; but they had scarcely applied the file, when they were alarmed with the barking of a dog behind it. A geral consternation seized the party; the work was stopped in an instant : perhaps the door led into the apartments of the gaoler. This idea recalled to their minds, that it was now near two o'clock, the time of his visit. "One of the party returned towards the cave of death, to see whether all was safe; and it was agreed to suspend their labours till his return. They had, indeed, need of some moments of rest; they took advantage of them to fortify themselves for the rest of their work by taking some wine. "I do not, in general, like wine," said one of the prisoners to me in relating his story," but never did I take any thing with greater pleasure than that which I drank in this gloomy cave. At every drop I swallowed, my arm seemed strengthened, my courage fortified; wine did, indeed, on this occasion, appear truly to strengthen man's heart." "When he who had been sent as a scout returned, he said, that at his arrival at the cave of death he had shuddered with horror at find ing the turnkey there already. He, however, who had been left as sentinel, had engaged him to drink with him; and the scout joining the party, they plied him so well, that he at last reeled off without much examining the cave, and was in all probability laid fast asleep for the rest of the night. This was very consoling news. Quitting then the door at which they heard the dog bark, they applied themselves to the other. They found here folding doors, one of which was held by a bar of iron. The bar was easily loosened, and the door opened. "But they were not yet at the end of their labours. They only found themselves in a long dark passage. At the end they perceived another door, but listening they heard voices behind it. They looked through a crack; the glimmering remains of a fire in the room showed them some men extended on a heap of straw. Are these more prisoners? was the first idea that presented itself to their minds: if so, we must join party with them, and escape together. But one of the men raising himself up, they perceived that he was in the national uniform, and found that the door led in fact to the guard-house. This was a terrible stroke; had they then got so far only to meet with a worse obstacle than any they had yet encountered?—must all their labours prove at length fruitless? "One only resource remained, and this was a door which they had passed on the side of the passage, and which they had not attempted, because they conceived it must lead to the great court of the Hôtel de Ville, and they had rather found some other exit. In effect, having forced the door, it appeared that they were not mistaken, that they were at the bottom of a staircase which led into the court. "It was now half past four o'clock: the morning was dark and cold, while rain and snow were falling in abundance. The associates embraced each other with transport, and were preparing to mount the staircase, when Parrol cried "What are you about!-if we attempt to go out at present, all is over with us. The gate is now shut, and if any one should be perceived in the court, the alarm would be |