e
in those casernes. And then, those visits, or rather ruthless inroads,
called in the slang of the place "straw-plait hunts," when in pursuit of
a contraband article, which the prisoners, in order to procure themselves
a few of the necessaries and comforts of existence, were in the habit of
making, red-coated battalions were marched into the prisons, who, with
the bayonet's point, carried havoc and ruin into every poor convenience
which ingenious wretchedness had been endeavouring to raise around it;
and then the triumphant exit with the miserable booty; and, worst of all,
the accursed bonfire, on the barrack parade, of the plait contraband,
beneath the view of the glaring eyeballs from those lofty roofs, amidst
the hurrahs of the troops, frequently drowned in the curses poured down
from above like a tempest-shower, or in the terrific war-whoop of "_Vive
l'Empereur_!"

It was midsummer when we arrived at this place, and the weather, which
had for a long time been wet and gloomy, now became bright and glorious;
I was subjected to but little control, and passed my time pleasantly
enough, principally in wandering about the neighbouring country. It was
flat and somewhat fenny, a district more of pasture than agriculture, and
not very thickly inhabited. I soon became well acquainted with it. At
the distance of two miles from the station was a large lake, styled in
the dialect of the country "a mere," about whose borders tall reeds were
growing in abundance, this was a frequent haunt of mine; but my favourite
place of resort was a wild sequestered spot at a somewhat greater
distance. Here, surrounded with woods and thick groves, was the seat of
some ancient family, deserted by the proprietor, and only inhabited by a
rustic servant or two. A place more solitary and wild could scarcely be
imagined; the garden and walks were overgrown with weeds and briars, and
the unpruned woods were so tangled as to be almost impervious. About
this domain I would wander till overtaken by fatigue, and then I would
sit down with my back against some beech, elm, or stately alder tree,
and, taking out my book, would pass hours in a state of unmixed
enjoyment, my eyes now fixed on the wondrous pages, now glancing at the
sylvan scene around; and sometimes I would drop the book and listen to
the voice of the rooks and wild pigeons, and not unfrequently to the
croaking of multitudes of frogs from the neighbouring swamps and fens.

In going to