"Singular times, in truth, are these, when a man of the very lowest birth may indulge in such _rêveries_ without the faintest absurdity!" CHAPTER VI 1812-1813 LETTERS FROM AN ESCAPED PRISONER At length the prospects of the luckless prisoner brightened. John Stanhope obtained leave to change his place of detention for Paris, where existence promised to be far more agreeable than at Verdun or Ligny. Having journeyed thither with a light heart, and some of the hopefulness of youth restored, he was not disappointed. He found himself warmly welcomed by many of his fellow-countrymen; while the French savants, having learnt the original object of his journey and all the circumstances which had led to his imprisonment, received him unhesitatingly as one of their body and give him free access to the Institute. Forthwith life became once more full of interest, and as agreeable as it was practicable for that of an exile to be. He rapidly made friends amongst both the French and English residents in Paris, while one of his fellow-prisoners on parole in the capital at this date was the well-known banker, Mr Boyd [1] with whom his family had long been acquainted, and in whose vicinity he now took rooms. "Mr Boyd," relates Stanhope, "was in a singular position. He had originally been one of the first, if not _the_ first banker in Paris. He stood, as I have heard, in a pre-eminent position, admitted, as an Englishman, to those highest circles which were closed to the monied men of France, and aspiring to that commanding influence in the commercial world which although often maintained in England is seldom countenanced in France, unless we may consider Lafitte as an exception. At the breaking out of the Revolution, the temptation offered by Mr Boyd's wealth was too great to be resisted. The French Government chose to consider him as an _émigré_, and seized upon the funds of the bank, which are said to have consisted of £600,000. At the Peace of Amiens he returned to Paris to reclaim his property, but upon the renewal of the war he was detained as a prisoner, being included in the class of _détenus_. In vain he remonstrated with the Ministers, and said, 'If I am a Frenchman, give me my liberty; if I am an Englishman, restore me my money; you cannot be entitled to detain me prisoner as an Englishman and to keep my money as that of a Frenchman!'