By break of day I again set out and soon found myself within the suburbs of a considerable village, in passing which I was fearful there would be some risk of detection, but to guard myself as much as possible against suspicion, I furnished myself with a crutch, and feigning myself a cripple, hobbled through the town without meeting with any interruption. In two hours after, I arrived in the vicinity of another still more considerable village, but fortunately for me, at the moment, I was overtaken by an empty baggage waggon, bound to London—again feigning myself very lame, I begged of the driver to grant a poor cripple the indulgence to ride a few miles, to which he assenting, I concealed myself by lying prostrate on the bottom of the waggon, until we had passed quite through the village; when, finding the waggoner disposed to drive much slower than what I wished to travel, after thanking him for the kind disposition which he had manifested to oblige me, I quit the waggon, threw away my crutch and travelled with a speed, calculated to surprise the driver with so suddenly a recovery of the use of my legs—the reader will perceive that I had now become almost an adept at deception, which I would not however have so frequently practiced, had not self-preservation demanded it.
As I thought there would be in my journey to London, infinitely more danger of detection in passing through large towns or villages, than in confining myself to the country, I avoided them as much as possible; and as I found myself once more on the borders of one, apparently of much larger size than any that I had yet passed, I thought it most expedient to take a circuitous route to avoid it; in attempting which, I met with an almost insurmountable obstacle, that I little dreamed of—when nearly abreast of the town, I found my route obstructed by a ditch, of upwards of 19 feet in breadth, and of what depth I could not determine; as there was now no other alternative left me, but to leap this ditch, or to retrace my steps and pass through the town, after a moment’s reflection I determined to attempt the former, although it would be attempting a fete of activity, that I supposed myself incapable of performing; yet, however incredible it may appear, I assure my readers that I did effect it, and reached the opposite side with dry feet!
I had now arrived within about 16 miles of London, when night approaching, I again sought lodgings in a barn; which containing a small quantity of hay, I succeeded in obtaining a tolerable comfortable night’s rest. By the dawn of day I arose somewhat refreshed, and resumed my journey with the pleasing prospect of reaching London before night—but, while encouraged and cheered by these pleasing anticipations, an unexpected occurrence blasted my fair prospects—I had succeeded in reaching in safety a distance so great from the place where I had been last held a prisoner, and within so short a distance of London, the place of my destination, that I began to think myself so far out of danger, as to cause me to relax in a measure, in the precautionary means which I had made use of to avoid detection;—as I was passing through the town of Staines, (within a few miles of London) about 11 o’clock in the forenoon, I was met by three or four British soldiers, whose notice I attracted, and who unfortunately for me, discovered by the collar (which I had not taken the precaution to conceal) that I wore a shirt which exactly corresponded with those uniformly worn by his Majesty’s seamen—not being able to give a satisfactory account of myself, I was made a prisoner of, on suspicion of being a deserter from his Majesty’s service, and was immediately committed to the Round House; a prison so called, appropriated to the confinement of runaways, and those convicted of small offenses—I was committed in the evening, and to secure me the more effectually, I was handcuffed, and left supperless by my unfeeling jailor, to pass the night in wretchedness.
I had now been three days without food (with the exception of a single two-penny loaf) and felt myself unable much longer to resist the cravings of nature—my spirits, which until now had armed me with fortitude began to forsake me—indeed I was at this moment on the eve of despair! when, calling to mind that grief would only aggravate my calamity, I endeavoured to arm my soul with patience; and habituate myself as well as I could, to woe.—Accordingly I roused my spirits; and banishing for a few moments, these gloomy ideas, I began to reflect seriously, on the methods how to extricate myself from this labyrinth of horror.
My first object was to rid myself of my handcuffs, which I succeeded in doing after two hours hard labour, by sawing them across the grating of the window; having my hands now at liberty, the next thing to be done was to force the door of my apartment, which was secured on the outside by a hasp and padlock; I devised many schemes but for the want of tools to work with, was unable to carry them into execution—I however at length succeeded, with the assistance of no other instrument than the bolt of my handcuffs; with which, thrusting my arm through a small window or aperture in the door, I forced the padlock, and as there was now no other barrier to prevent my escape, after an imprisonment of about five hours, I was once more at large.
It was now as I judged about midnight, and although enfeebled and tormented with excessive hunger and fatigue, I set out with the determination of reaching London, if possible, early the ensuing morning. By break of day I reached and passed through Brintford, a town of considerable note and within six miles of the Capital—but so great was my hunger at this moment, that I was under serious apprehension of falling a victim to absolute starvation, if not so fortunate soon to obtain something to appease it. I recollected of having read in my youth, accounts of the dreadful effects of hunger, which had led men to the commission of the most horrible excesses, but did not then think that fate would ever thereafter doom me to an almost similar situation.
When I made my escape from the Prison ship, six English pennies was all the money that I possessed—with two I had purchased a two penny loaf the day after I had escaped from my keepers at the Inn, and the other four still remained in my possession, not having met with a favourable opportunity since the purchase of the first loaf to purchase food of any kind. When I had arrived at the distance of one and an half miles from Brintford, I met with a labourer employed in building a pale fence, to whom my deplorable situation induced me to apply for work; or for information of any one in the neighbourhood, that might be in want of a hand to work at farming or gardening. He informed me that he did not wish himself to hire, but that Sir John Miller, whose seat he represented but a short distance, was in the habit of employing many hands at that season of the year (which was in the spring of 1776) and he doubted not but that I might there meet with employment.
With my spirits a little revived, at even a distant prospect of obtaining something to alleviate my sufferings, I started in quest of the seat of Sir John, agreeable to the directions which I had received; in attempting to reach which, I mistook my way, and proceeded up a gravelled and beautifully ornamented walk, which unconsciously led me directly to the garden of the Princess Amelia—I had approached within view of the Royal Mansion when a glimpse of a number of “red coats” who thronged the yard, satisfied me of my mistake, and caused me to make an instantaneous and precipitate retreat, being determined not to afford any more of their mess an opportunity of boasting of the capture of a “Yankee Rebel,”—indeed, a wolf or a bear, of the American wilderness, could not be more terrified or panic-struck at the sight of a firebrand, than I then was at that of a British red coat!
Having succeeded in making good my retreat from the garden of her highness, without being discovered, I took another path which led me to where a number of labourers were employed in shovelling gravel, and to whom I repeated my enquiry if they could inform me of any in want of help, &c.—“why in troth friend (answered one in a dialect peculiar to the labouring class of people of that part of the country) me master, Sir John, hires a goodly many, and as we’ve a deal of work now, may-be he’ll hire you; ’spose he stop a little with us until work is done, he may then gang along, and we’ll question Sir John, whither him be wanting another like us or no!”
Although I was sensible that an application of this kind, might lead to a discovery of my situation, whereby I might be again deprived of my liberty, and immured in a loathsome prison; yet, as there was now no other alternative left me but to seek in this way, something to satisfy the cravings of hunger, or to yield a victim to starvation, with all its attending horrors: of the two evils I preferred the least, and concluded as the honest labourer had proposed, to await until they had completed their work, and then to accompany them home to ascertain the will of Sir John.