in amongst us upwards of a hundred prisoners from Nantes, most of them opulent people, and some among them of a great age. They had travelled in a severe season for forty days together, and had been most miserably fed and lodged on their journey; twenty-five died upon the road; as many were put into the infirmary of the prison upon their arrival; the rest were put in the straw-rooms; for there was then no other vacancy, our numbers amounting at that time to about 650. But notwithstanding the precaution of placing the most unhealthy of them apart, still the disorder they brought with them was so violent and so infectious that it began to spread in the prison. As I preferred the chance of a short death to a lingering one, I made what interest I could to bring on my trial, contrary indeed to the advice of my counsel, who would have had me wait for the chance of more lenient measures. I, however, succeeded in my attempt. But before one appears at the tribunal one's accusation and papers are laid before a council of judges, and they determine whether or no there are sufficient grounds for accusation; and luckily for me, they determined that there were not.[1] By that means I escaped the severity of that fatal court.
Though guiltless, still as a subject of Great Britain I was doomed to confinement; but by the assistance of some friends I got to be transferred to a Maison de Santé[2] instead of to another prison. A servant who waited upon us and my hairdresser were both taken ill of the Nantes fever the day I left the place, and died a few days after. I had begun to droop the few last days; but it was amazing the instantaneous effect that the change of air had upon me, like a fish that had been out of water for some
