which had been provided for me at Douai; and no sooner had I obtained it, than I went to Hersin, where I stayed a few days with a cousin of mine. The advice of my friends, which was very rational, urged me to depart as quickly as possible; and as I learnt that the police, convinced that I was in the vicinity, were beating up every quarter, and were approaching the place of my abode, I determined not to wait for them.
It was evident that Paris only could afford me a refuge; but to get to Paris it was indispensable I should pass through Arras, where I should be infallibly recognised. I cogitated on the means of obviating this danger; and prudence suggested to me to get into the wicker calash of my cousin, who had a famous horse, and was the cleverest fellow in the world for his knowledge of the cross roads. He pledged himself on the reputation of his talent as a guide, to carry me in safety by the ramparts of my native town; and I wanted no more at his hands, trusting to my disguise to effect the rest. I was no longer Vidocq, unless I was examined very closely; and on reaching the bridge of Gy, I saw, without the least alarm, eight horses belonging to gendarmes, tied to the door of a public house. I confess I would rather have avoided the rencontre; but it faced me, and it was only by fronting it boldly that I could hope to escape detection. "Come on," said I to my cousin; "here we must make an essay; get down; be as quick as you can, and call for something." He immediately alighted, and entered the public house with the air of a man who had no dread of the eye of the brigade. "Ah!" said they, "it is your cousin Vidocq that you are driving?"—"Perhaps, it may be," he answered with a laugh; "go and see." A gendarme did approach the calash, but rather from curiosity than suspicion. At the sight of my uniform, he respectfully touched his hat, and said, "Your servant, captain;" and soon afterwards mounted his horse with his comrades. "Good journey," cried my cousin, cracking his whip; "if you lay hold of him, perhaps you will write
