Prisoners of War in Britain 1756 to 1815: A record of their lives, their romance and their sufferingsAbell, Francis
History
Prisoners of War in Britain 1756 to 1815: A record of their lives, their romance and their sufferings
Abell, Francis
Military prisons -- Great Britain; Prisoners of war -- Great Britain; Prisons -- Great Britain
Garneray told him. Instantly there sprang into his face and into his
eyes a light of anger very unusual to him, and what Garneray feared was
that the furious Breton would violate the laws of combat and spring upon
the negro before the latter had taken up his fighting position. But it
was not so. Let me translate Garneray’s description of what followed:
‘At length Robert Lange seized the negro’s hand. Their hands entwined,
their gaze fixed, their inflamed faces close together, the two
combatants motionless, resembled a marble group. By degrees, it seemed
to me that on the face of Little White there was a look of pain. I was
not wrong. Suddenly with a cry of pain which he had been suppressing the
negro bit his lip with passion, half closed his eyes, threw his head
back as he raised his shoulder convulsively, and seemed to lose
consciousness. All this time the Breton was as calm and motionless as a
statue. What was going on was something so unforeseen, so extraordinary
that we did not know what to think of it. Robert Lange solved the
riddle.
‘“Wretch!” he cried with a resounding voice. “This hand which has done
for so many Bretons shall not henceforth frighten a child!”
‘In fact, the hand of the Breton had gripped the negro’s with such force
that the blood sprang from its fingers.
‘“Stop! stop!” cried the black in his agony. But Robert was pitiless,
and did not loosen his grasp until the giant was on his knees before
him.’
An enthusiastic burst of cheering rose from the French prisoner
spectators, and, to cut the story short, the Colonel handed Robert Lange
the twenty guineas, and was obliged to apologize to the gay company
assembled to see the triumph of the negro, for the unexpected and brief
character of the entertainment.
Then he called his big Danish hound and prepared to embark. But the dog
did not appear and could not be found. Somebody said he had last been
seen going into the battery. Captain R—— started, and his face reddened
deeply. ‘Then—then,’ he stammered. ‘If your dog has got into the
battery, you will never see him again!’
‘Never see him again! What do you mean?’ roared the Colonel.
‘I mean that by this time he represents two legs of mutton, several
dishes of “ratatouille”, and any number of _beeftaks_! In other words,
the prisoners have eaten him!’
It was even so. The vision of a large plump dog had been too much for
the Raffalés, and as the irate Colonel was rowed shorewards from the
ship, he saw the skin of his pet nailed on to the outer side of it.
Captain R—— revenged himself for the double fiasco by a series of brutal
persecutions and punishments which culminated in open rebellion, severe
fighting, much bloodshed, and at last in a proclamation by the Captain
that unless the ringleaders were delivered up to him, imploring pardon
for what had happened, he would have every man shot.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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