being shut, and at Valenciennes they underwent three examinations; but
eventually they got out of France. The police, however, became acquainted
with the fact that Lavalette had been concealed in the Rue de Helder
for three days, at the apartments of Mr. Bruce, and this enabled them
to trace all the circumstances, showing that it was at the apartments
of Hutchinson that Lavalette had changed his dress, and that he had
remained there the night before he quitted Paris. The consequence was
that Sir Robert Wilson, Bruce, and Hutchinson, were tried for aiding
the escape of a prisoner; and each of them was condemned to three months'
imprisonment: the under-gaoler, who had evidently been well paid for
services rendered, had two years' confinement allotted to him. I went
to see Sir Robert Wilson during his stay in the Conciergerie - a punishment
not very difficult to bear, but which marked him as a popular hero for
his life. A circumstance I remember made a strong impression on me,
proving that, however great may be the courage of a man
in trying circumstances, a trifling incident might severely shake his
nerves. I was accompanied by a favourite dog of the Countess of Oxford,
who, not being aware of the high character of Sir Robert, or dissatisfied
with his physiognomy, or for some good canine reason, took a sudden
antipathy, and inserted his teeth into a somewhat fleshy part, but without
doing much injury. The effect, however, on the General was extraordinary:
he was most earnest to have the dog killed; but being certain that the
animal was in no way diseased, I avoided obeying his wishes, and fear
that I thus lost the good graces of the worthy man.


DUELLING IN FRANCE IN 1815


When the restoration of the Bourbons took place, a variety of circumstances