Page:Englishmen in the French Revolution.djvu/349

Rh the old debt for the allowance of one meal per day which had been formerly given, as mentioned above, but now long since withdrawn, insomuch that during many months before we quitted this tedious confinement we were not even allowed bread unless we could pay for it. The two last months of the year 1794 and beginning of 1795 being extremely severe, we had much to suffer from wants of various kinds, especially of fuel and warm clothing, for no person had sufficient to keep herself, even the youngest of us, warm. The room we inhabited was large and very cold, but no entreaties could obtain us more than one blanket each. The scarcity of provisions also increasing to a dreadful degree, bread was so hard to be procured that no inhabitant of the town was permitted to purchase more than a certain fixed allowance, which made a very scanty portion. Guards were placed at every baker's shop, and in their presence the bread was weighed out to each individual until the whole poor stock was distributed; but commonly there was not sufficient quantity to supply more than half the people, who were expecting to have each a little, so that no day passed without some tumult in the town. The bread in general was of the worst quality, yet we thought ourselves very fortunate when we could purchase a sufficient quantity to supply our large family. Very frequently after we had finished our meal we had not a morsel left for the next. The English throughout every part of France had repeatedly petitioned for some mitigation of their sufferings, and some had with becoming freedom pointed out the absurdity of detaining in confinement so many innocent sufferers, for the apprehension of whom there had never existed a pretext of justice. At last it was decreed that all foreigners should have for allowance two livres per day paper money. Bread was then sold at three livres per pound.