we
entered the gates, we were delivered into the custody of an officer,
with a very sinister cast of countenance, who, after some conversation
with the cuirassiers, told us in a surly tone that our parole was at an
end and gave us in charge of a corporal's guard, with directions to
conduct us to the prison near the Arsenal. We presented the cuirassiers
with four dollars each, for their civility, and were then hurried away
to our place of captivity. I observed to O'Brien, that I was afraid
that we must now bid farewell to anything like pleasure. "You're right
there, Peter," replied he; "but there's a certain jewel called Hope,
that somebody found at the bottom of his chest, when it was clean empty,
and so we must not lose sight of it, but try and escape as soon as we
can; but the less we talk about it the better." In a few minutes we
arrived at our destination: the door was opened, ourselves and our
bundles (for we had only selected a few things for our march, the
colonel promising to forward the remainder as soon as we wrote to inform
him to which depot we were consigned) were rudely shoved in; and as the
doors again closed, and the heavy bolts were shot, I felt a creeping,
chill, sensation pass through my whole body.

As soon as we could see--for although the prison was not very dark, yet
so suddenly thrown in, after the glare of a bright sunshiny day, at
first we could distinguish nothing--we found ourselves in company with
about thirty English sailors. One man, who was playing at cards, looked
up for a moment as we came in, and cried out, "Hurrah, my lads! the more
the merrier," as if he really were pleased to find that there were
others who were as unfortunate as himself. We stood looking at the
groups for about ten minutes, when O'Brien observed that "we might as
well come to an anchor, foul ground being better than no bottom;" so we
sat down in a corner upon our bundles, where we remained for more than
an hour, surveying the scene, without speaking a word to each other. I
could not speak--I felt so very miserable.

We had been in the prison about two hours, when a lad in a very greasy,
ragged jacket, with a pale emaciated face, came up to us, and said, "I
perceive by your uniforms that you are both officers, as well as
myself."

O'Brien stared at him for a little while, and then answered, "Upon my
soul and honour, then, you've the advantage of us, for it's more than I
could perceive in you; but I'll tak