y means of a long scarf, the other end of
which was looped round the high pommel of a trooper's saddle, I was
perforce compelled to accompany my captors as best I could, bleeding
and dizzy from my hurt.

At length we arrived at the Chatelet, followed to the very gates by the
mob. As my blurred vision saw through the moonlight those sombre
walls, citadel and prison at once, my heart sank. Hope was left behind
in those fearful oubliettes, whose sinister names carried utter despair
with them. There was the Grieche, the Barbary, the Chausse d'Hypocras,
where the prisoners, ankle deep in water, were neither able to stand
upright nor to sit; the Fosse, down which one was lowered by a rope,
and the hideous Fin d'Aise in which no man retained his sanity. So it
had come to this! And in sullen despair I stood amongst the guards,
awaiting Martines' pleasure. At first it seemed as if I were the only
prisoner; but any doubts on that point were soon set at rest, for
another unfortunate was dragged up and placed beside me. I felt rather
than saw it was La Mothe--but, unlike myself, he was not bound--and
then I heard Martines ask:

"Are these the only two prisoners?"

"Monsieur!" answered a subordinate officer.

The lieutenant of the Chatelet was not an unkindly man, and muttering
something about "hangman's work" he came up and surveyed us by the
light of the torches. Then he ordered my hands to be freed, and
drawing his subaltern aside gave him some commands in a low tone, and
went off.

As Martines turned away this person directed us to follow him, and,
surrounded by guards, we entered a vaulted passage, and after
descending and ascending many stairs found ourselves before a studded
door, so low that even a short man would have had to stoop his
shoulders to enter therein. A gaoler fumbled with the rusty lock,
which for a space resisted all his efforts; but at last it yielded, and
the door was pushed open, clanging harshly as it swung back. Beyond
lay a hideous dungeon, into which we were thrust, the officer following
us with a couple of guards, one of whom carried a lantern. The light
discovered a long and narrow prison, the ooze dripping from the walls,
and the floor slippery with slime. A single slit in the wall, no wider
than three fingers of a man's hand and about a foot in length, let in
light and air. For the rest, a stone bench and a jug full of foul
water completed the furniture of this terrible chamber. F