No words can express the delight which the first sight of the world without afforded me; and yet, strange and absurd as it may seem, this delight was occasioned by a prospect which did not extend to the space of two hundred yards in any direction. Underneath me were the ramparts, and beyond them again, in a straight line, were some other parts of the fortifications, which bounded my view in that direction: to the left was a square tower, projecting, I believe, from the body of the prison; and to the right, at the distance of about a hundred and fifty yards, were some sheds and houses which had encroached upon the defences of the place. But it was all something new,--something different from the black solitude of the dungeon,--something that I had not seen for months; and, consequently, it was all delightful. There was nobody to be seen upon the ramparts at the time I first looked out; but there was a man washing his face at a window of the house I have mentioned, and a cat creeping along with stealthy pace from tile to tile of the roof, in order to catch a sparrow that was perched upon the ridge; and it would seem childish and frivolous thus to dwell upon the pleasure with which I watched both of these very ordinary occurrences, did it not give some idea, though a very faint one, of the dull horror of that situation, compared to which such sights were the most enchanting visions. Standing on my settle, I remained there for hours, and could almost have wept when the sun went down. With the first ray of morning I was again at my post, and remained there the greater part of that day, which, from what the gaoler's wife told me in regard to his convalescence, was the last that I could count upon for that indulgence. Few people, indeed, passed along the ramparts; but still, every one that did so afforded me new pleasure. At length, towards evening, when I had got down for a few moments in order to rest myself, I caught the sound of several cheerful voices speaking; and, starting up again to my loop-hole, I soon saw four or five gentlemen coming round the angle of the projecting tower. They seemed officers belonging to the garrison; and, as soon as I set eyes upon them, I determined to endeavour to make my situation known to a party, amongst whom, as officers and men of honour, I doubted not that I should find some one to compassionate my situation, and, perhaps, to afford me relief. Such being my resolution, it will be easy to conceive my joy, when, as they approached, I perceived, in the person nearest to the prison, no other than Gourville, whom I had known and acted with in Paris. "Monsieur de Gourville," I cried, "Monsieur de Gourville; stay a moment,--stay a moment, and listen to me, for God's sake!" I had forgot that he could not see me as well as I could see him; but, nevertheless, he paused and looked round, exclaiming, "Who called me?"