Page:Julian Niemcewicz - Notes of my Captivity in Russia.djvu/132

104 placed in the middle of my room, and, having wrapped themselves up in their cloaks, they lay down upon the ground, around my bed, with their muskets at their side, while the sentinel remained standing at the door. So great care was taken to guard a single prisoner, sick and wounded! The sight of this prison, and the soldiers lighted by the faint glimmering of the candle, and especially my own dismal thoughts, prevented me from sleeping the whole night. An awful silence prevailed in this house. I heard at intervals only the steps of a man, now walking on tip-toe, then seeming to stop at the door to listen to what was going on in the rooms. I got up at six o'clock, and they brought me coffee in a gilded bronze cup, belonging to General Kosciuszko. This circumstance gave me pleasure, as I inferred from it that he was not far from me. Comforted by this, I was resigned to everything, and felt as calm as could be expected in so painful a situation.

The day did not break before nine o'clock, when I looked through the bars which crossed