Although the Fortune Prison, as it seems to have been very generally called, had been used for war-prisoners during the Seven Years’ War, its regular adaptation to that purpose was probably not before 1761, in which year 2,000 prisoners were removed thither1 from Portchester ‘guarded by the Old Buffs’. During the War of American Independence many prisoners of that nationality were at Forton, and appear to have been ceaselessly engaged in trying to escape. In 1777 thirty broke out, of whom nineteen were recaptured and were so harshly punished that they complained in a letter which somehow found its way into the London papers. The next year, the Westminster Militia2, encamped on Weovil Common, attracted by alarm guns at Forton, marched thither, and found American and French prisoners escaping through a hole in the outer wall, but were too late to prevent five-and-twenty from getting away altogether. The attempt was supposed to be the sequel of a plot by which, a fortnight previously3, eleven Americans had escaped. On the same day there was a mutiny in the prison hospital, provoked, it was alleged4, by the neglect and the callous5 treatment of patients by the doctors and their subordinates.
In the same year, 1778, another batch6 of no less than fifty-seven Americans made a desperate attempt to get out. The Black Hole at Forton was underneath7 part of the prisoners’ sleeping quarters. A hole large enough for the passage of a man was made in the floor of a sleeping room, being covered by a bed—that is, a mattress—and through this the earth from a tunnel which led from the Black Hole to beyond the prison walls, was brought and hidden in the chimney and in hammocks until opportunities came for its removal elsewhere. As no 216report was published of the recapture of these men, we may presume that they got away.
In 1779 Howard made his report upon Forton. He found there 251 Americans and 177 Frenchmen. The condition of the former, he says, was satisfactory—probably a result of the generous public subscription8 of the previous year in aid of them.
Of the French part of the prison he speaks badly. The meat was bad, the bread loaves were of short weight, the straw in the mattresses9 had been reduced to dust by long use, and many of them had been emptied to clear them of vermin. The floors of the hospital and the sleeping quarters, which were laid rough, were dirty and offensive.
The prisoners complained to Howard, who told them to write to the Commissioners10 of the ‘Sick and Hurt’ Office. They replied that, as every letter had to be examined by the Agent, this would be of no good.
Howard emphasizes severely11 the evident roguery of the contractors12 employed in the furnishing of provisions and clothing.
The year 1793 was marked at Forton, as elsewhere, by a general insubordinate feeling among the Frenchmen, of whom there were 850 in the prison. In April, a sentry13 on guard outside the palisade heard a mysterious scraping sound beneath his feet, and gave the alarm. Examination revealed two loose planks14 in one of the sleeping-rooms, which, being taken up, exposed the entrance to a tunnel, afterwards found to run twenty-seven feet to the outer side of the palisade. One of the prisoners confessed that a plot had been made to kill the Agent and his officers.
In July the following report was made upon Forton:
‘The French at Forton continue extremely restless and turbulent, and cannot bear their captivity15 with moderation and temper though they are exceedingly well supplied with provisions and every necessity their situation requires. A sailor made a desperate attempt to disarm16 a sentinel through the bar of the compartment17 where he was confined. The sentry with great exertion18 disengaged himself, and fired at the offender19, but wounded unfortunately another prisoner, not the aggressor. Friday se’nnight, the guard discovered a plot by which several 217prisoners had planned an escape over the wall by tying together their hammocks and blankets. The sentry on duty fired in at the windows, and hit one of the rioters, who is since dead.
‘Three French prisoners were dangerously wounded while endeavouring to escape from Forton. One of them with a drawn20 knife rushed upon the guard, a private of the Anglesea Militia, who fired at him. The Frenchman seized him by the coat, whereupon the guard ran the offender through the body.’
General Hyde, the Commandant at Portsmouth, ordered, in consequence of the insubordination fomented21 by the French political excitement of the time, that no prisoners should be allowed to wear the national cockade, or to scribble22 seditious statements on the prison walls, or to play any national music, under penalty of the cachot. It is almost unnecessary to say that the enforcement of these orders was physically23 impossible.
In 1806 the great amount of sickness at Forton brought about an official inquiry25, the result of which was the superseding26 of the head surgeon.
In 1807, a fire broke out one day in the prison at 2 p.m., which continued until 9 a.m. The prisoners behaved very well, helping27 to put the fire out, and not attempting to escape.
In November, 1810, no less than 800 prisoners were on the sick list.
In 1811, Sous-lieutenant Doisy de Villargennes, of the 26th French line regiment28, arrived at Portsmouth, a prisoner of war, taken after Fuentes d’O?oro, and was allowed to be on parole ashore29 pending30 his dispatch to an inland parole town. He knew that his foster-brother was in prison at Forton, and got leave to visit him. I am particularly glad to give the testimony31 of a French prisoner of war to the improved state of affairs—at Forton, at any rate. He says:
‘Il y régnait l’ordre le plus parfait, sous un règlement sévère mais humain. Nous n’entend?mes pas de sanglots de désespoir, nous ne v?mes point la tristesse dans les yeux des habitants, mais de tous c?tés, au contraire, c’étaient des éclats de rire ou des chansons patriotiques qui résonnaient. . . . Mon frère de lait me conduisit vers un petit coin confortable qu’il occupait en compagnie d’un camarade. J’y remarquai un lit 218de bonne apparence, ainsi que d’autres meubles modestes qu’ils avaient pu acheter avec leur propre argent. La cuisine32 occupait le compartiment voisin; elle servait à 200 hommes, et l’odeur qu’elle répandait ne faisait nullement présumer que les habitants pussent être affamés. Je restai à d?ner. Je ne dirai pas que le repas était somptueux, mais les mets étaient suffisants et de bonne qualité, et bien que servis dans des plats et assiettes d’étain, avec des couteaux et des fourchettes du même métal, ils étaient accompagnés d’une si cordiale réception que le souvenir de ce d?ner m’a toujours laissé sous une agréable impression.’
There were no wines or liqueurs, but abundance of ‘the excellent ale which England alone produces’. Doisy asked whence came the money to pay for all this abundance. His host told him that, being a basket-maker’s son, and knowing the trade, he got permission to work at it and to sell his goods. For a time this was very successful, but the large output of cheap, untaxed work from the prison brought remonstrance33 from the straw-workers of Portsmouth, Barnstaple, and other places, with the result that Government prohibited it. But the ingenious Frenchman soon found another string for his bow, and he became, with many others, a manufacturer of ornaments34 and knick-knacks, boxes, combs, toys, and especially ship models, from the bones of his food. These beef and mutton bones were carefully saved on all sides, and those who could not work them, sold them at good prices to those who could. Germain Lamy, his foster-brother, told Doisy that he and his comrade worked at the bone model of a seventy-four, with rigging made of hair, for six months, and sold it for ￡40.
Lamy was released at the peace of 1814. He took back to France 16,500 francs; bought a little farm, married, and settled down, but died of cholera35 in 1832.
Three Frenchmen—Fran?ois Relif, Jean Marie Dauze, and Daniel du Verge37, escaped from Forton, and engaged George Brothers, a pilot and boatman, to take them, they said, from the Point to one of the ships at Spithead. Off the Block-House they told him that they intended to escape, and proposed that he should take them over to France. He refused: they 219threatened, but he persisted and tried to signal the shipping38. Whereupon they attacked him, stabbed him in sixteen places, threw his body overboard, and set their course seaward. This was seen from the shore, a fleet of boats set off in pursuit, and, after a smart chase—one account says of fifteen miles—the fugitives39 were captured, although it was thought that they would have escaped had they known how to manage a sailing boat. They were taken on board H.M.S. Centaur40, searched, and upon them were found three knives and a large sum of money. They were taken then to jail ashore. One of the prisoners was found to have thirty crown pieces concealed41 about him, and confessed that having saved up this money, which he had made by the sale of lace, toys, and other manufactures, he had bought a suit of decent clothes, and, mixing with visitors to the dép?t, thus disguised had got off. In the meanwhile the body of Brothers had been recovered, placed first in one of the casemates of Point Battery, and then taken amidst an enormous crowd to his house in Surrey Street, Landport.
The three murderers were executed at Winchester. The funeral of Brothers in Kingston churchyard was the occasion of a large public demonstration42, and, be it recorded, the prisoners at Forton expressed their abhorrence43 of the crime by getting up a subscription for the murdered man’s widow and children, to which it is said one of the murderers contributed ￡7.
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1
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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militia
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| n.民兵，民兵组织 | |
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previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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alleged
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| a.被指控的，嫌疑的 | |
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callous
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| adj.无情的，冷淡的，硬结的，起老茧的 | |
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batch
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| n.一批(组，群)；一批生产量 | |
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underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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8
subscription
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| n.预订，预订费，亲笔签名，调配法，下标（处方） | |
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mattresses
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| 褥垫，床垫( mattress的名词复数 ) | |
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commissioners
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| n.专员( commissioner的名词复数 )；长官；委员；政府部门的长官 | |
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severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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contractors
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| n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 ) | |
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13
sentry
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| n.哨兵，警卫 | |
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planks
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| （厚）木板( plank的名词复数 )； 政纲条目，政策要点 | |
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captivity
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| n.囚禁；被俘；束缚 | |
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disarm
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| v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和 | |
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compartment
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| n.卧车包房，隔间；分隔的空间 | |
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exertion
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| n.尽力，努力 | |
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offender
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| n.冒犯者，违反者，犯罪者 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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fomented
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| v.激起，煽动（麻烦等）( foment的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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scribble
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| v.潦草地书写，乱写，滥写；n.潦草的写法，潦草写成的东西，杂文 | |
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physically
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| adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律 | |
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epidemic
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| n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的 | |
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inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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superseding
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| 取代，接替( supersede的现在分词 ) | |
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helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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30
pending
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| prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的 | |
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31
testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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32
cuisine
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| n.烹调，烹饪法 | |
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33
remonstrance
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| n抗议，抱怨 | |
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34
ornaments
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| n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 ) | |
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cholera
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| n.霍乱 | |
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lasting
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| adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持 | |
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verge
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| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
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shipping
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| n.船运（发货，运输，乘船） | |
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fugitives
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| n.亡命者，逃命者( fugitive的名词复数 ) | |
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40
centaur
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| n.人首马身的怪物 | |
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41
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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42
demonstration
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| n.表明，示范，论证，示威 | |
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43
abhorrence
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| n.憎恶；可憎恶的事 | |
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