French Captivity—1916
Copied from notes in July 1940—twenty-four years later.
July 7
At 4 o'clock the anchor's lifted and we are leaving...
Goodbye, Asinara, Goodbye, Italy. You gave us much—good and bad—but didn't give us the freedom we longed for! Thank God you cleansed us of lice and diseases—the worst things we could encounter.
I thank you, my God, for protecting me here for 6 months from all diseases. Now I am looking toward the future with new hope.
We sail slowly, the last contours of Asinara and Sardinia disappearing slowly. The sea is calm, and we on the upper deck suffer from heat, but those down below are much worse off. They are crammed in much worse. My old friends Roubík and Ferdinandi from Veltrusy are with me.
At 6 o'clock we got a command: no smoking, no speaking aloud. The Italians must be afraid.
The night is real bad—rather cold at times, and no space. We sleep sitting, cringed, and twisted one over another.
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