safely put in the post.

My hopes daily rose, and as often as Gelfhardt mounted guard, so often
did we continue our projects. The 15th of August came, but it was some
days before Gelfhardt was again on guard; and oh! how did my heart
palpitate when he came and exclaimed, "All is right! we have succeeded."
He returned in the evening, and we began to consider by what means he
could convey the money to me. I could not, with my hands chained to an
iron bar, reach the aperture of the window that admitted air--besides
that it was too small. It was therefore agreed that Gelfhardt should, on
the next guard, perform the office of cleaning my dungeon, and that he
then should convey the money to me in the water-jug.

This luckily was done. How great was my astonishment when, instead of
one, I found two thousand florins! For I had permitted him to reserve
half to himself, as a reward for his fidelity; he, however, had kept but
five pistoles, which he persisted was enough.

Worthy Gelfhardt! This was the act of a Pomeranian grenadier! How rare
are such examples! Be thy name and mine ever united! Live thou while
the memory of me shall live! Never did my acquaintance with the great
bring to my knowledge a soul so noble, so disinterested!

It is true, I afterwards prevailed on him to accept the whole thousand;
but we shall soon see he never had them, and that his foolish wife, three
years after, suffered by their means; however, she suffered alone, for he
soon marched to the field, and therefore was unpunished.

Having money to carry on my designs, I began to put my plan of burrowing
under the foundation into execution. The first thing necessary was to
free myself from my fetters. To accomplish this, Gelfhardt supplied me
with two small files, and by the aid of these, this labour, though great,
was effected.

The cap, or staple, of the foot ring was made so wide that I could draw
it forward a quarter of an inch. I filed the iron which passed through
it on the inside; the more I filed this away, the farther I could draw
the cap down, till at last the whole inside iron, through which the
chains passed, was cut quite through! by this means I could slip off the
ring, while the cap on the outside continued whole, and it was impossible
to discover any cut, as only the outside could be examined. My hands, by
continued efforts, I so compressed as to be able to draw them out of the
handcuffs. I then filed the hinge, and mad