ameth, were promptly carried to
the strong fortress of Olmuetz, high up in the gloomy Carpathian
Mountains. Lameth nearly died and therefore was released, but the other
two remained, not, however, being allowed to see or to communicate with
their distinguished companion.

Lafayette had no apologies to make for the step he had taken. Indeed,
he had great hopes that he would escape from his captors. Friends were
finding means to communicate with him and plots were forming in the
undercurrents of correspondence.

But on the whole he much preferred to take his liberty than to have it
granted to him. If indeed liberty were granted, it would be with
conditions "like those made by a lower class of brigands in the corner
of a thicket," and the discussion would in all probability result in a
shutting on him of quadruple doors.

He "much preferred to take his liberty than to have it granted to
him." Accordingly plans were made. In one letter he calls for a good
chart, arms, a passport, a wig, some drugs to insure a quiet night's
sleep to the jailors, with instructions as to the dose to be given,
and an itinerary for the route, with dangerous places indicated in it.
They must know the exact time horses were to be ready, and the exact
house where they were to stand. He was in buoyant spirits.

"Although a sojourn of fourteen months in the prisons of their Majesties
has not contributed to my health," he wrote, "still I have a strong
constitution and my early habits of life, added to the recollection of
my fetters, will enable me to make a very rapid journey."

Finishing one of these letters, he says, "I hear them opening my first
locks [the outer doors] and must stop writing." Latour-Maubourg adds a
passage in his own hand. He begs for a piece of sealing wax and emphasizes
that Lafayette must surely be rescued, whether the others are or not.

The prisoners looked out for those who were helping them to escape;
these helpers were to be protected from suspicion. To do this they put
a manikin with a nightcap on in Lafayette's bed, dug a channel under
the chimney, and left a coat in the passage well smudged with soot.

Why none of these plans worked is not known. Lafayette was carted on
to Neisse, but the plotting still went on. At last the grim and
impregnable fortress of Olmuetz received the three prisoners. Here he
could receive no letters; he could read no paper; he was harshly told
that he should never again know anything of