in accomplishing his purpose. For some small theft he was
shut up in this prison; but while the overseer was at church, Hoeyland
broke into his room, stole some of his clothes, and quietly walked out
of the castle and out of the town. He was recaptured, but repeatedly
made his escape. Though he was heavily ironed, this precaution was
found to be useless, and he was placed in solitary confinement in the
lowest room of the citadel, where he was kept securely for several
years. One evening his jailer told him that he could never get out of
this room, and that he might as well promise not to attempt such an
impossible feat; but Hoeyland replied that it was the turnkey's duty to
keep him in prison if he could, and his to get out if it were
possible. The next day the prisoner was missing, and the means of his
escape were not at first apparent; but on further examination it was
found that he had cut through the thick plank flooring of his cell,
under the bed, and tunnelled under the wall into the yard of the
prison. He had replaced the planks when he left, and passing over the
ramparts without difficulty, dropped into the ditch, and departed
without bidding any one good by. All attempts to find him were
unsuccessful, and it was believed that he had left the country.
"A year afterwards the National Bank of Norway was robbed of sixty
thousand _specie-dalers_, in the most adroit and skilful manner, even
without leaving any marks of violence on the iron box in which the
money was kept. Not long after this occurrence, in the person of a
prisoner who had been committed to the castle for a petty theft, the
officers recognized Hoeyland. He was considerate enough to inform the
authorities that his late escape had been effected, after three years
of patient labor, with no other tool than a nail, while others slept.
As a portion of his ill-gotten wealth was concealed in the mountains,
he had the means of making friends in Christiania, where he had hidden
himself. Making the acquaintance of the bank watchman, he cunningly
obtained wax impressions of the key-holes of the locks on the
money-chest, by which he made keys, opened the box, took the money,
and locked it after him. But, like all other evil-doers, he came to
grief at last. Though he was a skilful carver in wood and stone, he
was not allowed to have tools, of which he made a bad use, and he was
compelled to amuse himself by knitting socks on wooden pins. Unable to
escape again, an
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