“Charles Herbert, you are supposed to be guilty of the crime of high treason, and committed to prison for the same until the time of trial.”
We were then delivered to the constable, and guarded to Old Mill Prison, Plymouth.
Alas! I have entered the gates but the Lord only knows when I shall go out of them again.
June 6. Our allowance here in prison is a pound of bread, a quarter of a pound of beef, a pound of greens, a quart of beer and a little pot-liquor that the beef and greens are boiled in, without any thickening,—per day.
7. Pleasant weather, but we are kept in all day as a punishment for a misbeholden word spoken to the sentry on guard.
8. Sunday; and there has been a great number of persons at the gate to see us, who gave in, for our relief, several shillings.
9. Rainy weather, so that we keep house all day, except when we go out to draw our provisions.
10. There have about ten or twelve prisoners come from the ships to prison to-day. Having so lately had the small-pox, and being so long physiced afterwards, I require more victuals now, than I ever did before; and our allowance is so very small, and having only sevenpence left of what little money I had when I came to prison, I had a continual gnawing at my stomach; and I find that unless I take some method to obtain something more than my bare allowance, I must certainly suffer, if not die, and that soon. As necessity is the mother of invention, I am resolved to try to get something, and to-day when a carpenter came to put in a window at the end of the prison, I entreated him to bring me some deal, and I would make him a box, which he did.
11. To-day we have made a charity-box, and put it up at the gate. There is written upon it, “Health, Plenty, and Competence to the donors.” I have finished the box for the carpenter, and he likes it so well that he wants more made, and he brought me some more wood for that purpose,—some for him, and some for myself.
12. I have been busy all day making boxes, and some of the prisoners are making punch ladles, spoons, chairs, and the like; for which they, now and then, get a shilling.