lty of my arrival, reception, and treatment in Mauritius, inclosing
copies of all the letters written or received; that my Lords
Commissioners might be enabled to take proper measures for obtaining our
liberty and the restitution of my charts and journals; especial care was
taken at the same time, to avoid the mention of any thing which could be
thought to infringe on the passport, as much as if it had remained
inviolate on the part of general De Caen. This letter was inclosed to a
friend in London, and sent by the way of America; and I afterwards
learned from the public papers that it was received in the August
following.

The end of March had arrived, and nothing more was said of our permission
to reside in the country; and being most heartily weary of close
confinement, I requested to be removed to the same place with the British
officers, prisoners of war; the house where they were kept being
described to be large, and surrounded with a wall inclosing about two
acres of ground, within which the prisoners were allowed to take
exercise. On the 30th colonel Monistrol came to confer on the subject,
and next day conducted me to the house for the purpose of choosing two
rooms. He said on the way that the house was originally built by a
surgeon named Despeaux, and now hired by the government at twenty-five
dollars per month to accommodate the English gentlemen; that it was very
spacious, and had formerly lodged the ambassadors sent by Tippoo Sultaun
to this island; I found it to be situate about a mile north-east from our
tavern in the middle of the town, and enjoying a fresh air which, in
comparison with our place of confinement, made me think it a paradise.
After the unpleasant task of selecting two rooms, which colonel
Monistrol, ordered to be vacated by the officers who were in possession,
he returned with me to the town; and promised at parting to speak again
to the captain-general concerning my charts and books.

This little walk of a mile showed how debilitating is the want of
exercise and fresh air, for it was not without the assistance of colonel
Monistrol's arm, that I was able to get through it. Conveyances were sent
in the evening for our trunks, and we took possession of our new prison
with a considerable degree of pleasure; this change of situation and
surrounding objects producing an exhilaration of spirits to which we had
long been strangers.

CHAPTER V.

Prisoners in the Maison Despeaux or Garden Priso