that knee on the gutter, and then I lifted the
other; but I was not yet altogether safe,
for while in this position I was seized by
excruciating cramp, which seemed to deprive me
of the use of my limbs. Preserving my
presence of mind, I remained perfectly still, till the
cramp gradually subsided, and at the end of two
fearful minutes I made another attempt, and got
both knees over the gutter. As soon as I
recovered breath, I carefully pushed the ladder
again, till I left it balanced on the sill of the
window; then, climbing up to that point, I
lowered it into the loft, where Balbi received the
end in his arms. I threw down my clothes,
the cords, and broken fragments, and then
descended myself; after which we drew the ladder
in altogether.

Linked arm in arm we now inspected the
gloomy place we had got into, and found it
thirty paces long by about twenty wide. At
one end was a folding door barred with iron,
but as it was only latched I easily opened it,
and we entered another loft, in the midst of
which was a table surrounded by footstools that
we stumbled over in attempting to get across.
We then felt round the walls and discovered
windows, looking through one of which we saw
by the light of the stars, a forest of cupolas and
steep roofs. Unable to recognize in what part
we were, I closed the window and we returned
to the spot where we had left our baggage.
Exhausted beyond measure I threw myself on
the floor, and, putting a heap of cords under my
head, yielded at once to sleep. I must have
done so had death even been the consequence,
and to this day I can recal the pleasure of that
slumber, which lasted for three hours and a half.
I was awakened by the monk, who was shaking
me violently and shouting. He said that twelve*
had just struck, and could not conceive how
sleep was possible at such a time and in such a
place; it was natural enough, however, to me,
for exhausted nature required it, and the result
of the indulgence was my restoration to perfect
vigour. As soon as I had cast my eyes round
me, I cried: "This place is not a prison; there
must be a means of egress, easy to find."
Groping round the room we came at last to a
door, and, feeling about, I found a keyhole. My
spontoon quickly forced the lock, and we entered
a small room where a key was lying on a table.
I tried it in the lock of a door in front of us, but
without turning the key the door opened. The
monk went back for our bundles, and restoring
the key to its place, we passed into a gallery
with recesses filled with papers. These were
the archives of the palace. We then came to a
narrow stone-staircase, which we descended;
another succeeded, and at the bottom of that
was a glass door opening into a hall, which I
remembered was the ducal chancery. I opened
a window, and could easily have got out, but
should have been involved in a labyrinth of small
courts which surround the Church of St. Mark.
On a desk I caught sight of a sharp-pointed
instrument with a wooden handle, of the kind
used by the chancery secretaries to pierce the
parchments, to which they attach the leaden
seals. I seized it, and opened the desk, where
I found the copy of a letter announcing to the
Proveditor of Corfu the transmission of a sum of
three thousand sequins for the restoration of the
old fortress. I looked for the sequins, and God
knows with what satisfaction I should have
pocketed the money, but it was gone! Going
to the door of the chancery, I inserted my
spontoon in the keyhole, but soon finding that I
could not force the lock I resolved to make a
hole in the door itself, and selecting a part where
there were the fewest knots I split it with my
spontoon, Balbi assisting with the punch which
I had picked up. He trembled at every blow
we struck, fearing that we might be heard:
I also was alive to the danger, but it was no
moment for hesitation. In the course of half-
an-hour the opening was large enough to pass
through, though its jagged edges presented a
most formidable appearance. It was five feet
from the ground, but by placing two footstools
together we approached nearer, and the monk
tried to pass first, head foremost, with his arms
crossed, while I seized him by the legs and
thrust him from behind. In this way he got to
the other side. I then handed him my bundle
of clothes, leaving the cords behind, and placing
a third footstool on the two first, I was high
enough to force my body backwards into the
aperture, which I did with great difficulty, as it
was too narrow; and having nothing to catch
hold of or any one to push me as I had pushed
the monk, I told him to seize me round the body
and drag me through even if he tore me to bits.
He obeyed, and I had sufficient constancy to
endure the dreadful pain I felt from the gashes
in my sides and thighs, which streamed with
blood.
* About half-past five in the morning

This dangerous passage effected, I caught up
my clothes and we moved on, descending two
flights of stairs, and opening without trouble a
door that led to the great folding-doors of the
royal staircase, beside the cabinet of the Savio
alia scrittura. The vast portal, however, was
locked, like that of the hall of archives, and a
single glance sufficed to convince me that
nothing but a battering-ram could force it open,
and that our tools were utterly useless. The
spontoon in my hand seemed to say, "Hic fines
posuit, I can be of no further use to you, you
may depose me." But it was the instrument
of my liberty, and for that I cherished it. Calm,
resigned, and perfectly tranquil, I seated myself,
desiring the monk to follow my example. "My
work is done," I said; "God or good fortune
must do the rest. I cannot tell whether the
palace sweepers will think proper to come here
to-day or not, as it is All Saints'; or to-morrow,
as it is All Souls'; but if any one does come, I
shall make a rush, the moment I see the door
open, and you must follow. If, on the other
hand, nobody appears, I shall not stir from this
spot, and if I die of hunger so much the
worse."