, so high up as only to serve as a ventilator, created an
atmosphere worse than any slave-vessel's hold. I leaned with my back
against the wall, and, I must say, never was so miserable in my life. I
thought of Amy, and my sanguine hopes and anticipations of happiness,
now all wrecked. I thought of Captain Levee and my brother Philip
careering over the seas, free as the wind. I thought of poor Whyna, and
the distress she must feel at finding I did not rejoin her. I planned a
hundred schemes to make known my situation, but every scheme, as soon as
I weighed it, I found was hopeless. Still weak from previous disease, I
felt as if I should be suffocated if I remained long in this pestiferous
abode, and I wept like a child. Daylight came at last, and soon
afterwards the door was opened; we were admitted into the yard, and all
hastened to the large tub of water, which was soon emptied. The
fighting and scrambling to obtain first possession was really revolting.
An hour afterwards some coarse provisions were served out, and then we
learnt, to our great delight, that we were immediately to set out for
the mines. It would be thought that this could be no great cause for
exultation; we were about to go to pass the rest of our lives in
bondage; but all misery is comparative, and sooner than have remained
another night in that dreadful hole, I would have welcomed any change.
About an hour afterwards a guard of dirty-looking soldiers came in; we
were all handcuffed to a long chain, at about two feet apart, one on
each side, so that we walked in pairs, and as soon as the first chain
was full--and I was handcuffed to it--we were ordered out into the
square to wait for the others. My superior dress and appearance as an
Englishman excited much curiosity; people pointed to me and made
remarks, but I had no opportunity of communicating with any of the
authorities, nor would it have been of any use if I had had. We
remained there more than an hour, as the other chains of prisoners came
out one by one; we were five chains in all, about forty on a chain. We
were then ordered to move on, walking between a guard of about twenty or
thirty soldiers, who marched, on each side of us, with their muskets and
bayonets fixed, about three yards from each other. In another hour we
were clear of the town, and threading our way through a lane bounded on
each side by prickly pears and other shrubs. There was no want of
merriment among the party