home," whenever he might call upon me.
Meanwhile I reconciled myself to my
temporary loss of liberty, thanking my stars
that I had withstood the importunity of my
sister, who wished to accompany me to
Vienna. What would have been her
feelings, on seeing me taken away from the
hotel, it would, indeed, be difficult to describe.
Conscious that I had been guilty of no offence,
and that I had nothing to fear; and perfectly
satisfied that I should soon be set free, I
passed my second day in prison, in excellent
spirits. To tell the real truth, I regarded
my wrongs as a mere adventure; of which
the reminiscence, in after life, would be—at
all events—amusing.

On the third morning of my incarceration,
I asked my attendant, in a light-hearted tone,
how long he was likely to have the care of
me. This man, who (I have the vanity to
believe) had grown to like me, replied,
confidentially, that it would be difficult to say;
but, that he knew my passport had been
forwarded to the Austrian minister at Brussels,
(it was at Brussels that I had obtained my
passport), with a request that inquiry should
be made respecting me and the person to
whom my telegraphic message was addressed.
He farther informed me, that several of my
letters and papers had been sent to Brussels,
for the purpose of aiding the Austrian officials
in finding out who I might be. and what my
object in coming to Vienna.

It was eleven o'clock. I had finished my
breakfast, had lighted a cigar, and thrown
myself upon my bed, to smoke and think,
when suddenly the door of my room (it
would be incorrect to describe it as a cell)
was opened, and in walked the official whom
I had seen at the bureau, and who had
behaved so rudely to me. As soon as I
recognised him, and observed his countenance, I
was satisfied he had discovered his mistake;
rising from my bed, I made him a very
low bow, and requested him, in the politest
manner imaginable, to be seated. (By the
way, there was only one chair in my room).
He was a good deal embarrassed. I could
see that he felt the contrast between my
conduct towards him, and his towards me, in
point of "receiving" one another. It would
have gratified him—at least my experience of
human nature teaches me to think so—had I
been guilty of any vehement demonstration.
Rudeness, at that moment, would have
delighted him, while civility galled him to the
quick, and made him ashamed of himself; and
before he had time to pour forth the excuses
and apologies with which he was, literally,
pregnant, I began to expatiate on the
excellence of the prison arrangements in
Austria, and thanked him for the consideration
I had received during my stay in my
apartment.

"Herr Jenkins," my visitor said, "I
have made a grand mistake. I have been
bungling." Here I conceived I might
indulge in a little silent satire—and simply
bowed assent, smiling blandly the while.

There was my snuff-box on the table. My
visitor took it up, and requested my permission
to take a pinch. My animosity, whatever
amount thereof larked within my breast, was
speedily dissipated. Ah! It is not in words
that these foreign diplomatists overreach us.
It is by the delicacy, the tact, and the prettiness
of their manners, when they think
proper to display them, that they achieve with
Englishmen such immense ends.

"You will forgive my stupidity? It is
proverbial that the English are as generous
as they are brave."

"Yes. I will forgive you," I replied. "But
on one condition."

"Which is?"

"That you never visit England."

"Why that condition?"

"I will cause you to be received by the
English draymen, and you may have heard
how reckless a race they are." I said this
jocularly.

He lifted his hands aloft and laughed
loudly. General Haynau was evidently no
favourite of his; or else (which was most
probable) he indulged in merriment to
conceal his real sentiments.

It is needless to enter into the particulars
which led to my restoration to freedom.

The reader may possibly imagine that
every instance of hardship experienced by
unoffending English gentlemen in Austria,
finds its way into the English newspapers.
This is a great mistake. I could mention no
fewer than five instances within my own
knowledge, in which the sufferers stifled their
grievances, respectively, rather than be shown up
to the world, through the medium of English
newspapers, as martyrs. By the way, a
promise was extracted from me that I would not
make my wrongs known in the English
newspapers. I have kept my promise,—albeit the
publication of them here, at the present day
may induce those to whom the promise
was made, to exclaim, "better late than
never."

Since my "hard case," there has been a
case even harder still. The clergyman
attached to the British Embassy was
apprehended and imprisoned. The "suspicious
circumstances" that led to his incarceration
were, that he had upon his person "an
extraordinary coin" (British sovereign); could
not make himself understood; and had
wandered some miles from Vienna without a
passport! Let us hope that the clergyman's
case will be the last; and that the House of
Hapsburg will cease to fear that a solitary
Englishman may upset the Throne.