One more incident of the same nature is worth recording. A number of sailors of the Packet Service were in confinement at Amboise on the Loire. The gaol was densely crowded, the food was bad and insufficient; fever broke out, and the havoc among the unhappy sailors was immense. To relieve the congestion in the prison some of the men were allowed a certain amount of liberty, and permitted to earn a few sous by ferrying persons across the river. One day they escaped, and after long wanderings reached the town of Nantes, where they were at once arrested, and brought before the prefect. They declared themselves to be Americans, but the prefect was incredulous and questioned them in a very searching manner. The men however had some knowledge of New York, and answered his inquiries well enough. The prefect was thrown back by the accuracy of their replies, but still not satisfied. At last a final test occurred to him. “You say you were in New York in the year 17—,” he observed, and the men assented. “Do you remember anything of particular interest which occurred in that year?” “Certainly,” the spokesman of the party answered readily. “A large vessel lying at the pierhead foundered suddenly and unaccountably.” “Pass them on,” said the prefect, “their story is true, I was there myself, and saw the vessel founder.” When it was no longer possible to forward mails to Calais or to Helvoetsluis, the administrators of the Post-Office turned their attention to the Hamburg route, as in former years. But Napoleon was already pressing his great policy of excluding English trade from the Continent, and one of his first measures was to station a considerable force at Cuxhaven for the express purpose of stopping all commerce with this country. The independence of Hamburg was not yet violated, and the Senate of the ancient Hanse town was quite ready to receive in secret any mails which could be smuggled into the city. To manage this was not impossible, though very difficult, and throughout the year 1804 a considerable number of letters appear to have filtered through. For their greater convenience in plying this dangerous system, the North Sea Packets frequently made Heligoland their station; but as mails alone could be disembarked upon that island, while all passengers must find a safer route, the normal passage was to Gothenburg. The voyage to Gothenburg was long and stormy, and it became advisable to select a point nearer Hamburg. Husum in Holstein was admirably situated for the purpose; and throughout 1805 and the early months of 1806 the mails were sent thither. There does not appear to have been any insuperable difficulty in forwarding them from Husum to Hamburg. There was still a British agent in the latter city, and the Danish Government which controlled the former was as yet neutral, if not friendly to England.