ast.
It was that England herself had been invaded; that the enemy, having
gained a secure footing in the country, had won three or four pitched
battles, and had finally taken London, after a terrific resistance, when
half the population were slain. Probably, under other circumstances, we
should not have believed this last report unless it had been fully
authenticated, though, unguarded as the shores of England at that time
were, we knew that it was possible; but, dispirited and ill as many of
us were, we were fully prepared to give credence to any story even of a
less probable character. For two or three weeks we were left in the
most dreadful state of doubt and uncertainty as to whether England still
existed or not as an independent nation. Some of us fully believed that
liberty no longer was to be found except in the highlands of Scotland
and among the mountains of Wales.

The first gleam which banished these dreadful surmises was the
announcement which reached us on the 5th of November, that Captain
Philips, of the 60th Regiment, and Mr Rankin, a passenger in the
Minerva, were forthwith to be set at liberty. They received permission
to go at once to Jamaica under a flag of truce.

We could scarcely believe this information when we heard it, and it was
only when we saw them setting off with joyful countenances, bidding us
all farewell, that we were convinced of its truth. It also assured us
that the various accounts we had from time to time heard of the
disasters which had befallen the power of Great Britain were very
contrary to what was the case. The invasion of England had long been a
favourite scheme of the French, and I thought then, as I have since,
that some ambitious general or sovereign will find it one of the very
best cards he can possibly play to make the attempt for the purpose of
gaining supreme power in the country, or of securing the position he may
before have obtained.

Death was now busy among us. On the 20th of November Captain Stott's
steward died--a faithful fellow, who had willingly followed his master
into captivity. Near the village was a wide savannah--an extensive
open, level space, destitute of trees, and overgrown in most parts with
a rank vegetation, and dotted with pools of water, among which snakes
and venomous reptiles of all sorts delighted to roam. Here the poor man
was carried by a couple of blacks and cast into a hole they dug for the
purpose.

Very soon after this ev