Soon after Lord Granville's appointment, a strange occurrence took
place at one of the public gambling-houses. A colonel, on half-pay, in
the British service, having lost every farthing that he possessed,
determined to destroy himself, together with all those who were
instrumental in his ruin. Accordingly, he placed a canister full of
fulminating powder under the table, and set it on fire: it blew up, but
fortunately no one was hurt. The police arrested the colonel, and
placed him in prison; he was, however, through the humane interposition
of our ambassador, sent out of France as a madman.