AUTHOR’S NARROW ESCAPE.

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from his wound, they forced him to arise, and tied his handsbehind him. They next asked me for the musket; this I atfirst hesitated to part with; hut thinking that I should beplaced in the alternative of either parting with it, or instantlyusing it against them, I conceded. That point settled, 1was confounded by their telling me that we must now all goback to Caserta , to make the proper depositions before theircommanding officers, who were there. Here I must pauseto answer an encpiiry which I am aware my readers must bewishing to make, as to my ill luck in not meeting withassistance from passers-by, on such a public road, in themiddle of the day? Just because it was the middle of theday —of a broiling hot day in August—there was not a manor a beast anywhere to be seen, unless it were somelabourers taking their siesta under some trees, as far as pos-sible from the dusty road. Well, that point is settled : butI could not brook the thought of walking back to Caserta ,when within four miles of Naples, and no sort of conveyancewas at hand. But the sbirri were so peremptory, thatwithout a fight I saw there was no hope for my resisting.Onwards, or rather backwards, we started ; the woundedman between the other two, and I keeping as much upon aline with them as possible. We had not gone more than afew hundred yards wdien my suspicions were excited, byobserving the tone in which they had hitherto spoken to thewould-be thief, very remarkably altered. I heard whisperingand short sentences, disguised from my hearing and under-standing by the tone and by the use of slang with which,how'ever, I was pretty well acquainted. The exact wordsthey used I cannot now remember, nor do I think that Icould have repeated them even at the time. There wasmore in the manner than in the conversation; and do all Icould, I could not help their being constantly behind me.Along each side of the road was a ditch, and then a high