of equal intrepidity and generosity, offered to execute this enterprise. The order then being accurately imitated, and, by means of a bribe, the real stamp of the minister's signature procured, nothing remained but to find men bold enough to put the plan in execution. Phelipeaux and Ch. L'Oiseau would have eagerly undertaken it; but both being known, and even notorious at the Temple, it was absolutely necessary to employ others. Messrs. B*** and L***, therefore, both men of tried courage, accepted the office with pleasure and alacrity. "With this order, then, they came to the Temple; Mr. B*** in the dress of an adjutant, and M. L*** as an officer. The keeper having perused the order, and attentively examined the minister's signature, went into another room, leaving my two deliverers for sometime in the most cruel uncertainty and suspense. At length, he returned, accompanied by the register (or greffier) of the prison, and ordered me to be called. When the register informed me of the orders of the Directory, I pretended to be very much concerned at it; but the adjutant assured me, in the most serious manner, that the government were very far from intending to aggravate my misfortunes, and that I should be very comfortable at the place whither he was ordered to conduct me.' I expressed my gratitude to all the servants employed about the prison, and, as you may imagine, was not very long in packing up my clothes. "At my return, the register observed, that at least six men from the guard must accompany me; and the adjutant, without being in the least confounded, acquiesced in the justice of the remark, and gave orders for them to be called out. But, on reflection, and remembering, as it were, the laws of chivalry and of honour, he addressed me, saying, 'Commodore, you are an officer. I am an officer also. Your parole will be enough. Give me that, and I have no need of an escort.' Sir, replied I, if that is sufficient, I swear upon the faith of an officer, to accompany you wherever you choose to conduct me.' Every one applauded this noble action, while I confess I had myself great difficulty to avoid smiling,

6

"The keeper now asked for a discharge, and the register gave the book to M. B***, who boldly signed it, with a proper flourish, L. Oger, Adjutant-general. Meanwhile, I employed the attention of the turnkeys, and loaded them with favours, to prevent them from having time to reflect: nor indeed did they seem to have any other thought than their own advantage. The register and keeper accompanied us as far as the second court; and at length the gate was opened, and we left them after a long interchange of ceremony and politeness.

"We instantly entered a hackney-coach, and the Adjutant

ordered the coachman to drive to the suburbs of St. Germain. But the stupid fellow had not gone a hundred paces before he broke his wheel against a post, and hurt an unfortunate passenger; and this unlucky incident brought a crowd around us, who were very angry at the injury the poor fellow sustained. We quitted the coach, took our portmanteaus in our hands, and went off in an instant. Though the people observed us much, they did not say a word to us, only abusing the coachman; and when our driver demanded his fare, M. L***, through an inadvertency that might have caused us to be arrested, gave him a double louis d'or.

"Having separated, when we quitted the carriage, I arrived at the appointed rendezvous, with only my secretary and M. de Phelipeaux, who had joined us near the prison; and though I was very desirous of waiting for my two friends, to thank and take my leave of them, M. de Phelipeaux observed, there was not a moment to be lost. I therefore postponed till another opportunity my expression of gratitude to my deliverers; and we immediately set off for Rouen, where M. R*** had made every preparation for our reception.

"At Rouen, we were obliged to stay several days; and as our passports were perfectly regular, we did not take much care to conceal ourselves, but in the evening we walked about the town, or took the air on the banks of the Seine.

"At length, every thing being ready for us to cross the channel, we quitted Rouen, and, without encountering any further dangers, I arrived in London, together with my secretary, and my friend M. de Phelipeaux, who could not prevail on himself to leave us."

RUNNING FOR LIFE.

On the arrival of the exploratory party of Messrs. Lewis and Clarke, at the head waters of the Missouri, one of their number, of the name of Colter, observing the appearance of abundance of beaver, got permission to remain and hunt for some time, which he did, in company with a hunter named Potts. Aware of the hostility of the Blackfeet Indians, one of whom had been killed by Lewis, they set their traps at night, and took them up early in the morning, remaining concealed during the day. They were examining their traps early one morning in a creek, about six miles from that branch of the Missouri called Jefferson's Fork, and were ascending in a canoe, when they suddenly heard a great noise resembling the trampling of animals; but they could not ascertain the fact, as the high perpendicular banks on each side of the river împeded their view. Colter immediately pronounced it to be occa

sioned by Indians, and advised an instant retreat; but was accused of cowardice by Potts who insisted that the noise was caused by buffaloes, and they proceeded on. In a few minutes afterwards their doubts were removed, by a party of Indians making their appearance on both sides of the creek, to the amount of five or six hundred, who beckoned him to come on shore. As retreat was now impossible, Colter turned the head of the canoe to the shore, and at the moment of its touching, an Indian seized the rifle belonging to Potts; but Colter, who is a remarkably strong man, immediately retook it and handed it to Potts, who remained in the canoe, and on recovering it, pushed off into the river. He had scarcely quitted the shore when an arrow was shot at him, and he cried out, "Colter, I am wounded." Colter remonstrated with him on the folly of attempting to escape, and urged him to come on shore. Instead of complying, he instantly levelled his rifle at an Indian, and shot him dead on the spot. This conduct, situated as he was, may appear to have been an act of madness, but it was doubtless the effect of sudden, but sound enough reasoning; for if taken alive, he must have expected to be tortured to death, according to the Indian custom. He was instantly pierced with arrows so numerous, that, to use the language of Colter, "he was made a riddle of." They now seized Colter, stripped him entirely naked, and began to consult on the manner in which he should be put to death. They were first inclined to set him up as a mark to shoot at; but the chief interfered, and seizing him by the shoulder, asked him if he could run fast ?-Colter who had been sometime amongst the Kee Katsa, or Crow Indians, had in a considerable degree acquired the Blackfoot language, and was also well acquainted with Indian customs; he knew that he had now to run for his life, with the dreadful odds of five or six hundred against him, and these armed Indians; he therefore cunningly replied, that he was a very bad runner, although he was considered by the hunters as remarkably swift. The chief now commanded the party to remain stationary, and led Colter out on the prairie, three or four hundred yards, and released him, bidding him save himself if he could. At that instant the war whoop sounded in the ears of poor Colter, who, urged with the hope of preserving life, ran with a speed at which he was himself surprised. He proceeded towards the Jefferson's Fork, having to traverse a plain six miles in breadth, abounding with the prickly pear, on which he was every instant treading with his naked feet. He ran nearly half way across the plain before he ventured to look over his shoulder, when he perceived that the Indians were very much scattered, and that he had gained ground to a con

siderable distance from the main body; but one Indian, who carried a spear, was much before all the rest, and not more than a hundred yards from him. A faint gleam of hope now cheered the heart of Colter he derived confidence from the belief that escape was within the bounds of possibility, but that confidence was nearly fatal to him; for he exerted himself to such a degree, that the blood gushed from his nostrils, and soon almost covered the fore part of his body. He had now arrived within a mile of the river, when he distinctly heard the appalling sound of footsteps behind him, and every instant expecting to feel the spear of his pursuer. Again he turned his head, and saw the savage not twenty yards from him. Determined, if possible, to avoid the expected blow, he suddenly stopped, turned round, and spread out his arms. The Indian,

surprised by the suddenness of the action, and perhaps at the bloody appearance of Colter, also attempted to stop; but exhausted with running, he fell whilst endeavouring to throw his spear, which stuck in the ground, and broke in his hand. Colter instantly snatched up the pointed part, with which he pinned him to the earth, and then continued his flight. The foremost of the Indians, on arriving at the place, stopped till others came up to join them, when they set up a hideous yell. Every moment of this time was improved by Colter, who, although fainting and exhausted, succeeded in gaining the skirting of the cotton-wood trees, on the border of the Fork, to which he ran, and plunged into the river. Fortunately for him, a little below this place there was an island, against the upper point of which a raft of drift timber had lodged; he dived under the raft, and after several efforts, got his head above water, amongst the trunks of trees, covered over with smaller wood to the depth of several feet. Scarcely had he secured himself, when the Indians arrived on the river, screeching and yelling, as Colter expressed it," like so many devils." They were frequently on the raft during the day, and were seen through the chinks by Colter, who was congratulating himself on his escape, until the idea arose that they might set the raft on fire. In horrible suspense he remained until night; when hearing no more of the Indians, he dived from under the raft, and swam instantly down the river to a considerable distance, when he landed, and travelled all night. Although happy in having escaped from the Indians, his situation was still dreadful; he was completely naked, under a burning sun; the soles of his feet were filled with the thorns of the prickly pear; he was hungry, and had no means of killing game, although he saw abundance around him, and was at a great distance from the nearest settlement. Almost any man but an American hunter would have despair

ed under such circumstances. The fortitude of Colter continued unshaken. After seven days sore travel, during which he had no other subsistence than the root known by naturalists under the name of psoralea esculenta, he at length arrived in safety at Lisa's fort, on the Bighorn branch of the Roche Jaune river.

THE SERPENT OF RHODES.

In the fourteenth century, an amphibious animal, a sort of serpent or crocodile, caused much disorder in the Island of Rhodes by its depredations, and several inhabitants fell victims to its rapacity. The retreat of this animal was in a cavern, situated near a morass at the foot of Mount St. Etienne, two miles from Rhodes. It often came out to seek its prey, and devoured sheep, cows, horses, and even the shepherds who watched over the flocks.

Many of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem had essayed to destroy this monster; but they never returned. This induced Phelion de Velleneuve, the grand master of Malta, to forbid all the knights, on pain of being deprived of their habit, from attacking it, or attempting any further an enterprise which appeared to be above human powers.

All the knights obeyed the mandate of the grand master, except Dieu Donne de Gozon, a native of Provence, who, notwithstanding the prohibition, and without being deterred by the fate of his brethren, secretly formed the daring design of fighting this savage beast, bravely resolving to deliver the Isle of Rhodes from such a calamity, or to perish in the attempt. Having learned that the serpent had no scales on its belly, upon that information he formed the plan of his enterprise. From the description he had received of this enormous beast, he made a wooden or pasteboard figure of it, and he endeavoured to imitate its terrific cries. He then trained two young mastiffs to run to his cries, and to attach themselves immediately to the belly of the monster, whilst he mounted on horseback, his lance in his hand, and covered with his armour, feigned to give it blows in several places. The knight employed himself many months, every day, in this exercise, at the Chateau de Gozon, in Languedoc, to which he had repaired; and when he had trained the mastiffs sufficiently to this kind of combat, he hastened back to Rhodes.

Having first repaired to church, and commended himself to God, he put on his armour, mounted his horse, and ordered his two servants to return to France, if he perished in the combat; but to come near him if they perceived that he had killed the serpent, or been wounded by it. He then descended