Page:Narrative of a captivity and adventures in France and Flanders between the years 1803 and 1809.djvu/39

 a tedious march, we were drawn up in line, in front of the town hall, and formally inspected by the commissary, who, with much apparent politeness, enticed us into a prison by a most artful piece of duplicity, intended, no doubt, to wound our feelings; he was, however, disappointed in his hopes of annoyance, for we could not refrain from a general burst of laughter at the simple manner in which we had been entrapped. On entering a room, which had been formed by the spade, we found the barred windows but a few feet above the surface of the water; it was only on one side that we had either light or air, and this attended by the refreshing vapours of the river, and the cooling dampness of the surrounding earth, oozing salt-petre from every pore. We requested to be allowed to see the commandant, but to no effect; soon after, a lieutenant was sent to visit us, with whom we expostulated on the impropriety and hardship of our situation, observing, that in all civilized countries, officers, who had become prisoners of war, were put upon parole,