Autobiography And Halieutics. -I.

frequently thrown into his company a most unmitigated bore , and cause his hearers fervently to wish that his " very remarkable facts " were carefully stowed away and discharged from further dut y in this Avorld . The Peninsular War was a period in which fraternal services and intercourse were frequent betAveen individuals of the hostile armies ; and these

brotherly passages have furnished tho theme for many a chapter iu romances Avhoso scenes are laid among the stirring events of that time . Spanish ground , indeed , Avould seem to have been always favourable to the development of Freemasonry , in spite of the enmity constantly manifested against it by priests and government . We ourselves ( to

speak of a later period ) are acquainted Avith a Aviry little Scotchman , one serjeant Mc , AVIIO shared the fortunes of the British Legion under General Evans , through good and bad luck , till he had the misfortune to become prisoner to the Carlists . He does affirm that he found , Avonderful to say , a Masonic brother in the priest Avho Avas sent to impart ghostly counsel to him previous to his being discharged from the army and this life hy a volley from a firing party .

Furthermore , the valiant Celt has to us asserted that , aided by the priest , he was permitted to escape , and that though knoAving little Spanish , and of course having no means of concealing what his profession was , he Avas , by the poAverful aid of his Craft knowledge , enabled to pass safely through the country until he regained the Christino quarters .

Among soldiers and sailors , too , when engaged in enterprises involving danger and hardshfp , this firm felloAvship has ever been a source of mutual support and comfort under circumstances of the most melancholy ancl depressing character . The records of the late terrible occurrences in India show this iu a very eminent degree . Mr . Rees ' s narrative

« f the siege of LucknoAv furnishes several cases in point , and one in particular Avhere he describes a meeting of the brethren during the hei ght of that siege ; at which symposium , notwithstandmg the deadly peril in Avhich each brother found himself from hour to hour—notAvithstanding their privations , aud apparently hopeless position—the social intercourse of the Lodge Avas as triumphant over their misfortunes as if Avant , sickness , ancl danger were but imaginary , and not dread realities .

At tho time of Wri ght ' s residence in Calais it Avould appear that Masonry Avas flourishing there in practice ; but whether the strict laAvs which Bonaparte enacted against it Avere then in force Ave are not aware . Suffice it to say that our Avorth y brother found friends Avho aftenvards stood him in good stead . The English residents in France were in state

a of constant anxiet y as to the prospects of a continuance of peace , the unscruprdous character of the French dictator , Avhich was but too Avell knoAvn , leaving them in dread of the harshest measures . These fears were soon confirmed . In the month of May , 1803 , the French government ( that is , Bonaparte ) decreed that all Englishmen betAveen the ages of eighteen and sixt y were prisoners of war to "the republic . "

The commissary-general of police at Calais AVUS named Mengaizd , and had been one of Robespierre ' s intimate friends . This distinguished French patriot speedily shoAved that he had not omitted , in that famous school of political economy in which he had graduated , to make himself master of the art of enriching himself at the cost of the enemies of his beloved country . The great man not being able to speak . English , engaged Wright as interpreter , AA'hose position AVAS thereb y rendered somoAvhat more tolerable than that of his

countrymen , AVIIO Avere fleeced right and left under various pretences b y this petty tyrant , and after being carefully ' cleaned out' Avere sent up the country , having been forced individually to pay ? , £ Mengaud a final ' complimentary three unci fourpence for a passport before taking leave of the tOAvn Avhich rejoiced in his jurisdiction . Among the poorer classes of our countrymen , such as workmen who had been

induced to settle in Franco , the misery was extreme ; indeed many of them Avere reduced almost to starvation . Bro . Wright , who appears in a very eminent degree to have been possessed of the faculty of keeping his eyes open , at this juncture looked about him to some purpose . Feeling convinced that hostilities Avere not likely soon to subside , and

as the detenu regulations had not as yet been extended strictly to Avomen and children , he by dint of management obtained permission to send home his family . And here again Ave have evidence of a strange pihase of difficulty in getting from Calais to London , which the circumstances of the time presented and Avhich contrast strongly Avith our modern " Paris in ten hours . " Our author says : —

. 1 agreed Avith the captain of ; t neutral trading vessel , for a heavy price , to take my family , with their luggage , to London , Avhere he said he Avas going . When they had got about midchannel , this captain told them lie should land them at Dover , or A \ 'hcrcA-er he pleased , ancl evinced such villanous intentions , as caused them to entertain great fears for their safety ; so that a lady , Avho' with her son formed part of my family , waved her

handkerchief , and made signs so effectually to an English cruiser , that the captain sent a boat Avith an officer on board the trader , the explanation given of the conduct of the skipper , that the lady Avas allied to some of the first families in Dover , and Avas then , as it might lie called , escaping from a hostile shore ; that she had a brother-in-laAV commanding a gun brig in the channel ; the captain of the cruiser , AVIIO AVUS going into the Dover roads ,

ordered the trading skipper to land them at Dover , and to refund a reasonable proportion of the sum he had extorted , to pay the difference it made between their being- taken to London , as the scoundrel of a skipper had undertaken to do , and their having to travel thither by land . It ivas in vain the skipper said he Avould take them to London ; the captain of the cruiser , Avho had caused the former to come on board the king ' s ship , told him plainly he Avould not trust him , as he looked upon him as little better than a pirate or robber . "

Ihe lady m question seems to have behaved Avith tho true spirit of an EnglisliAvoman ; she also sliOAvs ^ that she possessed no little portion of the presence of mind and determination Avhich her relation aftenvards displayed . Having provided for the safety of his family , our brother had leisure to contemplate the state of his OAVII affairs . The prospect was not cheerful . We have mentioned that Bro .

Wright had engaged in a business partnership with a SAvede , who was a French subject . With that regard for justice ancl the rights of citizenship Avhich so eminently distinguished the great hero—Bonaparte ' s government first laid an embargo and then confiscated the ship Avhich constituted the property in which our friend ' s capital was invested—not considering

of any importance the fact that the ship was also OAVUCCJ by a French citizen . Of course Bro . Wri ght never received any compensation for this loss , and as funds could not he transmitted from England at that time , he Avas reduced to no little straits . His knoAvledge of the piscatory art proved of real service to him , and often supplied him with a dinner or

supper when fate seemed determined he should fast . The English gold mine having been Avell worked , and the p lundered " milords" being all at Verdun , or on their way thither , the general discovered that there AVUS no longer any demand for the services of his English interpreter .

' ¦ At length the general , having no further occasion for mc , informed me I must also go up the country , to the same place as the rest ; I therefore made up my mind to escape , but IIOAV to accomplish this desirable object Avas the difficulty . A variety of plans Avere discussed by me Avith the other prisoners ; but I found tliey did not possess the necessary cool determination to ensure success , and therefore I resolved to attempt my own emancipation in !

my own way . According } ' , I laid myself on it mattrass , ancl marked upon that , with a red pencil , the exact size into Avhich I could compress myself ; "I then Avcnt , Avith a brother Freemason , to dealers in furniture , boxes , & c , ancl found an old trunk , Avith two locks , the exact size I required : this I purchased , and only awaited the arrival of : i neutral vessel , which Avas expected to convey a number of females , children , ancl Englishmen , AVIIO passed as subjects of neutral states , and had corresponding pass-