That Beasley had himself been there,
And the devil burnt his Jew:
For both contriv’d to wrong us much;
And they know it very well,
They’ll always have the prisoners’ prayer
To send them both to HELL.
On the twenty-sixth, the prisoners who had been taken to Exeter to give evidence against the insane man who stabbed Paul, and also those who were to give evidence against the three men who were accused of marking the traitors, returned to Dartmoor; as did also the defendants who had had their trial, and were acquitted.
On the twenty-eighth, we received our monthly pay as usual: the prison continued very sickly, and no preparation for our departure.
At this time the officers and soldiers of the garrison seemed greatly alarmed and much concerned at the news received from France. They had the greatest apprehensions of an immediate war with Bonaparte, as the Paris papers gave an account of his being at the head of three hundred thousand men in arms; and the British papers mentioned the great preparations they were making in this country to assist the allies. The very name of the Emperor, and the mention of the battle of New-Orleans, made every British officer and soldier turn pale, and shudder at the thought.
On the last day of March, I collected the exact number of all prisoners at this depot, and noted as follows: