Page:Julian Niemcewicz - Notes of my Captivity in Russia.djvu/269

Rh am exposed to, pray, do not abandon me.” My carriage was at the door, I got into it with the officer, and soon found myself at the Lieutenant's mansion. They ushered me into a large apartment, saying that his Excellency was out, and that I must wait for him. I looked into the court, and saw three or four kibitkas, or small chariots, in which prisoners are sent to Siberia, and Cossacks and officers moving backwards and forwards, as if preparing for a journey. This sight of course increased my fears, and I had not the least doubt that, in consequence of some infamous information, I was to be one of the passengers for whom they were waiting. Resigned to my fate, I was already planning my life in the icy desert; I counted how much money I had, and found about thirty ducats in my pocket; fearing, however, that I might be searched, I slipped them under my shirt, and awaited the event. But one, two o'clock struck, night came on, and his Excellency not having returned, I remained in darkness, a prey to all sorts of apprehensions,