Page:Julian Niemcewicz - Notes of my Captivity in Russia.djvu/181

Rh good husband, father, and citizen, he suffered excessively from his position, being separated from his wife and daughter, who were very fond of him. I did not know that Mons. Bonneau was in that prison until the day after the departure of my friend Mostowski, the corporal having brought me a book of mine, I found in it these words written between the letters on the title-page: “Look in the table of contents.” I looked in it, and found a short note from Mons. Bonneau, in which he told me that he had been imprisoned there for two years, and asked me how his wife and daughter were, saying that he intended to keep up a correspondence with me. In my answer, I consoled him the best way I could respecting the health and fate of his family; as to our correspondence, the manner of performing it through the medium of books seemed to be dangerous, and I proposed to him the following channel. The commodités were situated at the other end of the prison, and close to the front door. When a prisoner wanted to go there, he told the guard, who went out and cried to the sentinel