Page:Julian Niemcewicz - Notes of my Captivity in Russia.djvu/200

172 I alone had been excepted, and they seemed to wish to deprive me of hope. I endeavoured, therefore, to arm myself with all my courage, and to fill up my time in the best manner I could. But, in spite of all that, the hours dragged slowly on and appeared centuries; the nights, especially, were cruel. The want of exercise, an unwholesome atmosphere, and, above all, continual mental agitation, deprived me almost constantly of sleep. Stretched upon my bed, I counted sadly the hours and quarters struck by the fortress clock; this music became intolerable to me; I would have a thousand times preferred silence. In summer, the melancholy tunes which the soldiers sang upon the ramparts of the fortress, sunk me in pleasing sadness; but the very snoring of my Francis and the corporal would have prevented me from sleeping, in every season, had I even been much inclined.

The other prisoners had only one soldier for their guard; as a very flattering distinction, I had two in my room. It is true, however, that