nd night-table. A compassionate soldier
also gave me an old iron ramrod and a soldier's sheath knife, which did
me excellent service, more especially the latter, as I shall presently
more fully show. With these two I cut splinters from my bedstead, which
aided me to pick the mortar from the interstices of the stone; yet the
labour of penetrating through this seven-feet wall was incredible; the
building was ancient, and the mortar occasionally quite petrified, so
that the whole stone was obliged to be reduced to dust. After continuing
my work unremittingly for six months, I at length approached the
accomplishment of my hopes, as I knew by coming to the facing of brick,
which now was only between me and the adjoining casemate.

Meantime I found opportunity to speak to some of the sentinels, among
whom was an old grenadier called Gelfhardt, whom I here name because he
displayed qualities of the greatest and most noble kind. From him I
learned the precise situation of my prison, and every circumstance that
might best conduce to my escape.

Nothing was wanting but money to buy a boat, and crossing the Elbe with
Gelfhardt, to take refuge in Saxony. By Gelfhardt's means I became
acquainted with a kind-hearted girl, a Jewess, and a native of Dessau,
Esther Heymannin by name, and whose father had been ten years in prison.
This good, compassionate maiden, whom I had never seen, won over two
other grenadiers, who gave her an opportunity of speaking to me every
time they stood sentinel. By tying my splinters together, I made a stick
long enough to reach beyond the palisades that were before my window, and
thus obtained paper, another knife, and a file.

I now wrote to my sister, the wife of the before-mentioned only son of
General Waldow; described my awful situation, and entreated her to remit
three hundred rix-dollars to the Jewess, hoping, by this means, I might
escape from my prison. I then wrote another affecting letter to Count
Puebla, the Austrian ambassador at Berlin, in which was enclosed a draft
for a thousand florins on my effects at Vienna, desiring him to remit
these to the Jewess, having promised her that sum as a reward for her
fidelity. She was to bring the three hundred rix-dollars my sister
should send to me, and take measures with the grenadiers to facilitate my
flight, which nothing seemed able to prevent, I having the power either
to break into the casemate or, aided by the grenadiers and the Jewess' t