1809.] Account of Thomas Major’s Confinement inthe Bastille. 541 
swer, further, than he seized me by a 
Lettre de Cachet, which was fully suffi- 
cient, and bis authority for what he was do- 
ings My old landlady, too, was very de- 
Sirous of knowing whither they had taken 
me. She went early the next morning to 
enquire of the people near the Bastille, 
whether they had heard of any prisoner 
having arrived that day, They asked, If 
any belonging to her had been taken up. 
She said, a young Englishman, who 
boarded with them. They answered, For 
God’s sake do not say you know hig), but 
get away as fast as youcan, lest you bring 
yourself into trouble. During my stay at 
Paris, I freqnently took a walk to view 
my old habitation, the place of my cap- 
tivity. When T stoptto look attentively 
at the prison, and make- observations, 
if the centinel perceived me, he would 
come up to me, and. say, Monsieur, 
passez votre chemin—Sir, go about your 
business. This severity may be a proper 
check upon many violent, ill-designing 
people; but at the same time, it must be 
a shocking weight upon the minds of 
others, who probably may have innocent 
relations or friends confined there. 
Possibly I might have remained a pri- 
soner for years, languishing out the re- 
mainder of my days in close confinement 
and hopeless captivity, (perhaps, ‘* with» 
a rusty nail, scratching on a stick another 
day of misery, toadd to the heap,”) as 
perpetual imprisonment has sometimes 
been deemed a favour, had not my land- 
lord received a friendly bint from the com- 
missaire, when we left my lodgings, who 
Kindly whispered in bis ear— Bastille. 
That gentleman behaved nobly as aman 
and asacitizen of the world, and I should 
certainly be wanting in gratitude, if I did 
not pay him this acknowledgement. It 
was fortunate for me, that l was nottaken 
up in the street; had this been the case, 
none of my friends could have known what 
was become of me, as they never would 
have thought, a person ikeme, who came 
to France purely for study, could possibly 
be an object for the minister’s attention, 
znd commitment to the Bastille, on affairs 
oY state ; but would have naturally con- 
cluded, that by someaccident I had been 
privately murdered. Hada change of mi- 
‘nistry then been made, I might have re- 
maine a prisoner the rest of my days; it 
being customary for thesuccceding minis- 
ter, never to make enquiries after the pri- 
ssoners, taking it for granted, that their 
crimes octasioned their confinement; and 
asa caution to others, not tomeddle with 
— political affairs; consequently they remain 
immured there, during their lives, unless 
released by application from their friends, 
which cannotalways bedone, it being un- 
known what persons are there. 
It is not improbable, that many who 
have suddenly disappeared at Paris, and 
who have never been heard of since, have 
unluckily been taken up in the street, ata 
distance from their friends and acquaint- 
ance. The following anecdote was told 
me, by Dr. Longfield, who, when he re- 
sided at Paris, had contracted an intimacy 
with several learned gentlemen of differ- 
ent nations ; they used to ineet ata coffee- 
house for the sake of conversation and 
amusement. One night when five or six 
of them were at supper, an exempt enter- 
ed, and took away a Spanish gentleman, 
who was never heard of more. 
Another extraordinary circumstance was, 
of a young surgeon, who went to Paris to 
study his profession, having strong recom- 
mendations toa French gentleman living 
near the rve St. Antoine. Immediately 
on his arrival, he vent with his letter; but 
not finding him at home, leftit, intending 
to call again, and dismissed his guide. 
In the mean time, taking a walk, he hap- 
pened to.go by the Bastille, and, mistaking 
the entrance for a thoroughfare, by 
chance he passed the first centinel, 
whose back was towards hin. However, 
he was stopped by the second, and not 
speaking I'rench, he was taken beforethe 
governor; the account he gave of himself, 
was not sufficient for his release, and 
there he remained. Some time elapsed, 
and the Frenchman wondered that his 
English visitor did net appear; his friends 
in Fngland were as much surprised, they 
had no tidings of his arrival. Atlength, 
they wrote to Paris, to enquire for him ; 
they received for answer, that he cer- 
tainly had been there, by the delivery of 
his letter, but that they had not seen him 
at all, In short, he was given over. 
Three years had passed, when an officer, 
who bad formerly been stationed on duty 
at the Bastille, supped m2 company at this 
gentleman’s. This strange circumstance 
happened to be mentioned; the officer 
recollecting the tame, said that when he 
was stationed there, a foreigner was taken 
up, and, not giving a satisfactory account 
of himself, was secured. Possibly it 
might be the same; but desired his name 
might not be mentioned, as giving intelli- 
gence. The French yentleman, through 
his friends, immediately made application 
to the minister; and finding the object of 
their search in the Bastille, by their in- 
jterest_he was released, after three years 
: iMprisoninent. 
