Billeder på siden
PDF
ePub

happened to be two Jesuit fathers there, they took from us our books of devotion and the copy of the sentence, and never returned either the one or the other; and I overheard one of these fathers say to the other, after having read this sentence, that it was a great imprudence of the parliament to give authentic copies of such documents.

ferred giving them two crowns, to the amount of which these wretches taxed us without mercy. It was performed two days after upon a wretched new-comer, who endured it rather through want of money than courage. These fellows had an old counterpane of coarse cloth, upon which they stretched their victim; then four of the most robust convicts each took a corner, and raising it as high as they could, they then let it fall down upon the stones which formed the flooring of the cell. This was done as often as the poor wretch's sentence decreed, according to his obstinacy in refusing the money for which they had taxed him. This horrible punishment made me shudder. The miserable victim had good reason to cry out; there was no compassion for him. Even the jailor, to whom all the money which this execrable game produces goes in the end, did nothing but laugh. He looked through the hole in the door, and cried to them, 'Courage, comrades!' The poor wretch was so bruised by his repeated

After this examination they led us to the dungeon of the galley-slaves in the tower of St. Pierre, one of the most frightful prisons I have ever seen. It is a spacious dungeon, but so dark, although it is on the second storey of the tower, that the unfortunate persons there imprisoned never know whether it is day or night, except by the bread and water which is brought to them every morning; and what is worse, neither fire nor light is allowed them. One has to lie down upon a little straw, torn and gnawed by rats and mice, of which there are great numbers here, and who ate with impunity our bread, because we could not see them to drive them away. On arriv-falls, that they thought he would ing in this cruel dungeon, where there were about thirty villains of every kind, condemned for divers crimes, we could only know their number by asking them, for we could not see each other, their first compliment was to demand money from us, under the penalty of tossing us in a counterpane. Rather than experience this game, we pre

have died. Nevertheless, he recovered. A few days after I had, in my turn, a terrible experience to undergo.

Every evening the jailor, accompanied by four great rogues of turnkeys, and the guard of the prison, came to visit our dungeon, to see if we were making any attempts to escape. All these men, to the number of

about twenty, were armed with pistols, swords, and bayonets. They examined the four walls and the floor very minutely, to see if we were making any holes there. One evening, after they had paid their visit, and as they were retiring, one of the turnkeys remained the last to lock the door. I addressed a few words to him; and as he answered me amiably enough, I thought I had conciliated him a little, and made bold to ask him for the bit of candle which he held in his hand, that we might rid ourselves of the vermin which so tormented us; but he would do nothing of the kind, and shut the door in my face. I remarked aloud, not thinking that the fellow was near enough to hear me, that I was sorry I had not snatched the candle from his hand, as I easily could have done. He overheard me, however, and reported me to the jailor.

The next morning, when all my companions were awake and singing their litanies as usual,which, if they had neglected, the priests would have given them no alms, as they were accustomed to do every Thursday, -and I was sleeping on my bit of straw, I was suddenly awoke by several blows from the flat side of a sword. I started up and saw the jailor, sword in hand, the four turnkeys, and all the soldiers of the guard, armed to the teeth. I asked them why they ill-treated me thus. The jailor only replied by giving

me twenty more blows of the sword; and the turnkey, with the candle-end, gave me such a terrible box on the ear that he knocked me down. Having got up again, the jailor told me to follow him, and perceiving that it was to do me more injury, I refused to obey him until I knew by whose orders he treated me thus ; for that if I deserved it, the Grand Provost alone could order me to be punished. Then they gave me so many blows that I fell down a second time. The four turnkeys now took me up, two by the legs and two by the arms, and carried me out of the dungeon, dragging me like a dead dog down the steps of the tower into the court-yard, where they opened the door of another stone staircase which led underground. Then they pushed me down these steps, of which there must have been twenty-five or thirty; at the bottom they opened a cell with an iron gate, called the dungeon of the sorceress.' They forced me in here, shut the door on me, and went away. I could see no more in this horrible dungeon than if my eyes had been shut. I groped a few steps to find a little straw, and then sunk down to my knees in water as cold as ice. I turned back and leaned against the door, where the ground was higher and less damp. By groping about I found a little straw, upon which I sat ; but I had not been there two minutes, when I felt the

[ocr errors]

water coming through the straw. I then firmly believed that they had buried me alive, and felt that this dungeon would be my tomb if I remained there twentyfour hours. Half an hour after the turnkey brought me some bread and water. I rejected his pitcher and bread, saying, 'Go, tell your butcher of a master that I will neither eat nor drink till I have spoken to the Grand Provost.'

The turnkey went away, and in less than an hour the jailor came alone, with a candle in his hand, armed with nothing but a bunch of keys; and opening the door of the dungeon, he told me, quite kindly, to follow him upstairs. I obeyed. He led me into his kitchen. I was dirty, covered with blood, which had run from my nose and from a contusion on the head, which these barbarous turnkeys had given me, when they let me fall and dragged my head down the stone stairs. The jailor washed off the blood, put a plaster on my bruise, and then gave me a glass of canary wine, which revived me a little. He reprimanded me slightly for my imprudence about the turnkey's candle, and, after having made me breakfast with him, he led me into a cell in the courtyard which was dry and light, as he said he could not put me back with the other galleyslaves after what had happened.

'But let me have my comrade with me,' I said to him.

[ocr errors]

Patience,' said he ; ' that will come in time.'

I remained four or five days in this cell, during which time the jailor sent me my dinner from his table. One day he proposed to place my comrade and myself in a chamber in the prison, where there was a good bed, and every necessary comfort, for two louis d'or a month. We were not very well provided with money. However, I offered him a louis and a half up to the time when the chain started. He refused, but afterwards changed his mind. For a few days after, I was placed in a large good room, with comfortable beds, where I was well fed, without it costing me anything, as I will presently relate. One day he told me that my comrade had entreated him to bring me back to him, and that he had promised to do so. 'Very well,' said I; 'but why not bring him down to me?'

'No,' said he; 'you must return with the other galley-slaves to the tower of St. Pierre.'

I saw that he wished to oblige us to give him the two louis a month to put us into a room; but, consulting our purse, and considering that if the chain did not start for two or three months, we could by no means afford it, I kept strictly to the offer that I had made him; so he put me back into the tower with the others. My companion, who thought me lost, was delighted to feel

me near him. I say feel, for we could not see; we had no light for that.

can, though the chain is just starting for the galleys.' Then he asked the jailor what good One morning about nine and comfortable chamber he o'clock, the jailor came to had empty. The jailor menopen our dungeon, and calling tioned two or three, which he my companion and myself, told | rejected, and said: 'I not only us to follow him. We thought desire that these gentlemen have that he was going to put us every comfort, but also that into the chamber for one louis they enjoy some recreation; and a half; but we were soon and I therefore order you to undeceived, for when we were place them in the alms-room.' out of the dungeon, he said, It is M. Lambertie, Grand Provost of Flanders, and who is master here, who wishes to speak with you. I hope,' continued he, that you will tell him nothing about what happened recently.'

6

No,' said I; 'when I have pardoned I forget, and do not seek revenge.' Thus speaking, we arrived at an apartment, where we found M. de Lambertie, who gave us a most gracious reception. He held in his hand a letter from his brother, a good gentleman of Protestant origin, who lived three leagues from Bergerac. Our father had procured this recommendation for us. M. de Lambertie told us how sorry he was not to be able to procure our release. For any other crime,' said he, 'I should have sufficient influence and friends at court to obtain your pardon; but no one dares to exert himself for those of the reformed religion. All that I can do is to make you comfortable in this prison, and to keep you here as long as I

'But, sir,' said the jailor, there are only civil prisoners in that department, who have liberties which we dare not give to condemned criminals.'

'Well,' replied M. de Lambertie, 'I command that you give them those liberties; it is your business, and that of your turnkeys, to take care that they do not escape. Give them good beds and all they desire for their comfort, putting it all to my account, and not daring to take a sou from them.' 'Go, gentlemen,' continued he to us, 'to this alms-room; it is the largest, the best ventilated, the most cheerful in the whole prison; and, besides having good cheer, which will cost you nothing, you can make some money there. I order,' said he to the jailor, 'that you make M. Marteilhe provost of that room.' We thanked M. de Lambertie as well as we could for his great kindness. He told us that he would often come to the prison to inquire after us, and see if the jailor performed his orders with respect to us; and then he retired.

We were placed in the almsroom, and I was installed provost, to the great regret of my predecessor, who was removed elsewhere. This alms-room was very large, and contained six beds of twelve civil prisoners, who were generally people of some consideration and respectability; and besides, there were one or two young scapegraces, pickpockets, or prisoners for some light offences, whose business it was to make the beds, to cook, and keep clean the room. They slept upon a mattress in a corner of the apartment; they were, in fact, our valets de chambre. The provostship with which I was invested was a sufficiently onerous employment. He who possesses this office in the almsroom has to distribute all the charitable donations which are made to the prison. They are generally considerable, and are all brought into this room. There is a box, which hangs by a chain from the sill of the window, to receive the charity of the passers-by. The provost, who has the key of this box, opens it every morning to take the money out, and to distribute it to all the prisoners, as well to the civil, if they wish it, as to the criminal. Besides this, every morning the turnkeys go with carts or barrows throughout the town to collect the offerings of bakers, butchers, brewers, and fishmongers. They go also to the different markets, and all that

they collect is brought to the alms-room to be divided and distributed in all the apartments and cells by the provost, in proportion to the number of prisoners in each, of which the jailor gives him a list every day, and of which the total, when I arrived there, was from five to six hundred.

Although I had become the distributor-general of these alms, I was unable to remedy one abuse, which prevented any of this charity reaching the prisoners condemned to the galleys. The jailor received their share of the money from the box, to use it, he said, in making soup for them; but, alas! what soup that was! It was generally composed of bad and putrid pieces of beef, which he cooked for them with a little salt, the very smell of which made me sick.

Six weeks after we had resided in this happy apartment, M. de Lambertie came to see us, and told us that the chain was to start to-morrow for Dunkirk, where were six of the king's galleys, but that he had got us exempted from going, passing us off for sick; we must therefore remain that day in bed till the chain had started, which we did. This procured us the blessing of remaining in this comfort three months longer, after which another chain set out; and with this we went, as I will now narrate.

In January 1702, M. de Lambertie came to see us, and told us that the chain would start

« ForrigeFortsæt »