to endure, and much to complain of, to the disgrace of
England be it said--of England, in general so kind and bountiful. Rations
of carrion meat, and bread from which I have seen the very hounds
occasionally turn away, were unworthy entertainment even for the most
ruffian enemy, when helpless and a captive; and such, alas! was the fare
in those casernes. And then, those visits, or rather ruthless inroads,
called in the slang of the place "strawplait-hunts," when in pursuit of a
contraband article, which the prisoners, in order to procure themselves a
few of the necessaries and comforts of existence, were in the habit of
making, red-coated battalions were marched into the prisons, who, with
the bayonet's point, carried havoc and ruin into every poor convenience
which ingenious wretchedness had been endeavouring to raise around it;
and then the triumphant exit with the miserable booty; and, worst of all,
the accursed bonfire, on the barrack parade, of the plait contraband,
beneath the view of the glaring eyeballs from those lofty roofs, amidst
the hurrahs of the troops, frequently drowned in the curses poured down
from above like a tempest-shower, or in the terrific war-whoop of "_Vive
l'Empereur_!"
It was midsummer when we arrived at this place, and the weather, which
had for a long time been wet and gloomy, now became bright and glorious;
I was subjected to but little control, and passed my time pleasantly
enough, principally in wandering about the neighbouring country. It was
flat and somewhat fenny, a district more of pasture than agriculture, and
not very thickly inhabited. I soon became well acquainted with it. At
the distance of two miles from the station was a large lake, styled in
the dialect of the country "a mere," {37} about whose borders tall reeds
were growing in abundance, this was a frequent haunt of mine; but my
favourite place of resort was a wild sequestered spot at a somewhat
greater distance. Here, surrounded with woods and thick groves, was the
seat of some ancient family, deserted by the proprietor, and only
inhabited by a rustic servant or two. A place more solitary and wild
could scarcely be imagined; the garden and walks were overgrown with
weeds and briars, and the unpruned woods were so tangled as to be almost
impervious. About this domain I would wander till overtaken by fatigue,
and then I would sit down with my back against some beech, elm, or
stately alder tree, and, taking out my
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