Narrative of a Captivity, Escape, and Adventures in France and Flanders: Between the Years 1803 and 1809 |
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afloat alarm amusement appeared arrived assistance assured attempt beach bills cashed Blankenberg boat Bruges Buonaparte Captain coast Code Napoleon commandant companions comrades depôts ditch door elapsed embark endeavoured enemy England English entered escape escort excited favourable feelings feet finding Flushing four French gates gave gendarmerie gendarmes gens d'armes Ghent Givet guard hawser hope hour Hunter immediately instantly journey knapsacks leave legion of honour length Lieutenant lodging loft Madame Derikre Maréchal de logis master ment midshipmen miles Moitier morning Moyses Neirinks night obliged observed officers ourselves parole passed Phoebe prisoners prisoners of war proceeded promising proved public house rampart ravelin reached retreat Ricketts rope sail scarcely seized sent sentinel situation soon success suspicion tide tion Toulon town upper citadel Valenciennes Verdun vessel village visited wait watch weather whilst Whitehurst and Mansell Winderkins Wirion wood
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Page 110 - ... five AM, when we were unexpectedly stopped by the closed gates of a town. We retraced our steps a short distance, in the hope of discovering some other road, but we. could find neither a footpath, nor wood, nor any other place of concealment. We quitted the high road, and drew towards a rising ground, there to wait the dawn of day, in the hope of retreating to some neighbouring copse ; no sooner had we laid ourselves upon the ground, than sleep overcame us. Our intention was, if no wood could...
Page 107 - ... in ambush ; we, however, marched on, when, to our no small relief, they were discovered to be cattle. Gaining the high road, we passed (two and two, about forty paces apart) through a very long village, and having travelled three or four miles, felt ourselves so excessively thirsty that we stopped to drink at a ditch ; in the act of stooping, a sudden flash of lightning, from...
Page 114 - ... of the ditch was one entire bed of brambles, and, in the midst of these, we were obliged to leap. Hunter, Mansell, and I, got over tolerably well ; but when Whitehurst made the attempt, stiff with wet and cold, and the bank giving way from his great weight, he jumped into the water, and...
Page 218 - ... afloat ; each seized an oar, and vigorously applying his utmost strength, we soon reached beyond the range of shot. It were in vain to attempt a faithful description of our feelings at this momentous crisis ; the lapse of a few minutes had wrought such a change of extremes, that I doubt, if amidst a confusion of senses, we could immediately divest ourselves of the apprehensions, which constant habit had engrafted on the mind ; nor, indeed, could we relinquish the oar, but continued at this laborious,...
Page 99 - ... to the Upper Citadel. Here the breastwork, over which we had to creep, was about five feet high and fourteen thick ; and, it being the highest part of the citadel, we were in danger of being seen by several sentinels below. But fortunately the cold, bleak wind induced some of them to take shelter in their boxes.
Page 99 - Rochfort, who was now convalescent, but not strong enough to join the party, got over the wall, passed through the garden and palisades, crossed the road, and climbed silently upon our hands and knees up the bank, at the back of the north guardroom, lying perfectly...
Page 105 - Whitehurst, with much presence of mind, stood perfectly still when he landed on the bridge, and heard the sentinel walk up to the door on the inside, and stand still also ; at this time they were not more than four feet from each other; and had the sentinel stood listening a minute longer, he must have heard Mansell land. "Three of us continued mining until half-past ten, when the first stone was raised, and in twenty minutes the second. About eleven, the hole was large .enough to allow us to creep...
Page 106 - This, however, detained us but a short time; we got over, crossed the ditch upon the ' guarde fous,' as before, and landed in the upper citadel. We proceeded to the northeast curtain, fixed the stake, and fastened the rope upon the breastwork for the fourth descent. As I was getting down, with my chest against the edge of the parapet, the stake gave way. Whitehurst, who was sitting by it...
Page 182 - About this time, Madame Derikre's visits to Moitier were so frequent, that he, at length, forbad them. She, however, learnt that Mansell had embarked for England, with a smuggler, in an open boat fifteen feet in length ; this was a great point, and our hopes were once more turned towards the coast, in the full expectation that he would return in the night, with a boat to take us off; but day after day passed without intelligence. Moitier not having fulfilled his promise of sending us supplies, so...
Page 117 - ... the main road, we were obliged to quit it, but previously broke up the work. Having penetrated farther into the wood, we concealed ourselves as before ; here we remained during the day, listening to the howling of the wind, which rose gradually into a furious storm of driving sleet, rain, and hail; and, such was its violence, that our garments were scarcely felt to be a covering. We quitted this wood soon after dark, and gained the high road for Deynse. After marching about an hour, and passing...