room was disused and was never opened, and if
any one had by chance entered it, he could not have been seen, as even
the friend who visited him could only reach him by crawling on
all-fours, and when he did not come the captive remained patiently in
his concealment. Frequently he waited for several days for his food;
but no murmur escaped his lips, and he was only too glad to endure
present suffering in the hope of future safety.

While he was thus stowed away in the upper storey of the Temple Tower,
a rumour spread abroad that the dauphin had escaped, and the
government took the alarm. It was decided that the deaf and dumb boy,
who had been substituted for the doll which had taken his place,
should die, and to kill him poison was mixed with his food in small
quantities. The captive became excessively ill, and Desault, the
surgeon, was called in, not to save his life, but to counterfeit
humanity. Desault at once saw that poison had been administered, and
ordered an antidote to be prepared by a friend of his own, an
apothecary called Choppart, telling him at the same time that the
official prisoner was not the son of Louis XVI. Choppart was
indiscreet, and betrayed the confidence which had been reposed in him;
and the floating rumour reached the authorities. In alarm lest the
fraud should be detected, they removed the deaf and dumb child, and
substituted for him a rickety boy from one of the Parisian hospitals.
To make assurance doubly sure, according to Nauendorff's version, they
poisoned both Desault and Choppart, and the substituted rickety boy
was attended by physicians, who, never having seen either the real
dauphin, or the deaf and dumb prisoner, naturally believed it was the
dauphin they were attending.

After recounting further and equally remarkable adventures, Nauendorff
declared that he was conveyed out of France, and was placed under the
care of a German lady, with whom he remained until he was about twelve
years of age. He could not recollect either the name or place of
residence of this lady, and only remembered that she was kind to him,
and that he used to call her "_bonne maman!_" From her custody he was
transferred to that of two gentlemen, who carried him across the sea;
but whether they took him to Italy or America he could not tell. One
of these gentlemen taught him watchmaking, a craft which he afterwards
used to very good purpose. He had a distinct recollection of an
attempt which was made to pois