When we come to the consideration of the parole system, we reach what is for many reasons the most interesting chapter in a dark history. Life on the hulks and in the prisons was largely a sealed book to the outside public, and, brutal2 in many respects as was the age covered by our story, there can be little question that if the British public had been made more aware of what went on behind the wooden walls of the prison ships and the stone walls of the prisons, its opinion would have demanded reforms and remedies which would have spared our country from a deep, ineffaceable, and, it must be added, a just reproach.
But the prisoners on parole played a large part in the everyday social life of many parts of England, Wales, and Scotland, for at least sixty years—a period long enough to leave a clear impression behind of their lives, their romances, their virtues3, their vices4, of all, in fact, which makes interesting history—and, although in one essential particular they seem to have fallen very far short of the traditional standard of honour, the memory of them is still that of a polished, refined, and gallant5 race of gentlemen.
The parole system, by which officers of certain ratings were permitted, under strict conditions to which they subscribed6 on their honour, to reside in certain places, was in practice at any rate at the beginning of the Seven Years’ War, and in 1757 the following were the parole towns:
In the West: Redruth, Launceston, Callington, Falmouth, Tavistock, Torrington, Exeter, Crediton, Ashburton, Bideford, Okehampton, Helston, Alresford, Basingstoke, Chippenham, Bristol, Sodbury (Gloucestershire), and Bishop’s Waltham. In the South: Guernsey, Ashford, Tenterden, Tonbridge, Wye (Kent), Goudhurst, Sevenoaks, Petersfield, and Romsey. In the 285North: Dundee and Newcastle-on-Tyne. Kinsale in Ireland, Beccles in Suffolk, and Whitchurch in Shropshire. At first I had doubts if prisoners on parole were at open ports like Falmouth, Bristol, and Newcastle-on-Tyne, but an examination of the documents at the Record Office in London and the Archives Nationales in Paris established the fact, although they ceased to be there after a short time. Not only does it seem that parole rules were more strictly8 enforced at this time than they were later, but that violation9 of them was regarded as a crime by the Governments of the offenders10. Also, there was an arrangement, or at any rate an understanding, between England and France that officers who had broken their parole by escaping, should, if discovered in their own country, either be sent back to the country of their imprisonment12, or be imprisoned13 in their own country. Thus, we read under date 1757:
‘René Brisson de Dunkerque, second capitaine et pilote du navire Le Prince de Soubise, du dit port, qui étoit détenu prisonnier à Waltham en Angleterre, d’où il s’est évadé, et qui, étant de retour à Dunkerque le 16ème Oct. 1757, y a été mis en prison par1 ordre du Roy.’
During 1778, 1779, and six months of 1780, two hundred and ninety-five French prisoners alone had successfully escaped from parole places, the greatest number being, from Alresford forty-five, Chippenham thirty-three, Tenterden thirty-two, Bandon twenty-two, Okehampton nineteen, and Ashburton eighteen.
In 1796 the following ratings were allowed to be on parole: 1. Taken on men-of-war: Captain, lieutenant14, ensign, surgeon, purser, chaplain, master, pilot, midshipman, surgeon’s mate, boatswain, gunner, carpenter, master-caulker, master-sail-maker, coasting pilot, and gentleman volunteer.
2. Taken on board a privateer or merchantman: Captain, passenger of rank, second captain, chief of prizes, two lieutenants15 for every hundred men, pilot, surgeon, and chaplain.
No parole was to be granted to officers of any privateer under eighty tons burthen, or having less than fourteen carriage guns, which were not to be less than four-pounders.
In 1804 parole was granted as follows:
2861. All commissioned officers of the Army down to sous-lieutenant.
2. All commissioned officers of the Navy down to gardes-marine (midshipmen).
3. Three officers of privateers of a hundred men, but not under fourteen guns.
4. Captains and next officers of merchant ships above fifty tons.
The parole form in 1797 was as follows:
‘By the Commissioners16 for conducting H.M’s. Transport Service, and for the care and custody17 of Prisoners of War.
‘These are to certify18 to all H.M’s. officers, civil and military, and to whom else it may concern, that the bearer ... as described on the back hereof is a detained (French, American, Spanish or Dutch) prisoner of war at ... and that he has liberty to walk on the great turnpike road within the distance of one mile from the extremities19 of the town, but that he must not go into any field or cross road, nor be absent from his lodging20 after 5 o’clock in the afternoon during the six winter months, viz. from October 1st to March 31st, nor after 8 o’clock during the summer months. Wherefore you and everyone of you [sic] are hereby desired and required to suffer him, the said ... to pass and repass accordingly without any hindrance21 or molestation22 whatever, he keeping within the said limits and behaving according to law.’
The form of parole to be signed by the prisoner was this:
‘Whereas the Commissioners for conducting H.M’s. Transport service and for the care and custody of French officers and sailors detained in England have been pleased to grant ... leave to reside in ... upon condition that he gives his parole of honour not to withdraw one mile from the boundaries prescribed there without leave for that purpose from the said Commissioners, that he will behave himself decently and with due regard to the laws of the kingdom, and also that he will not directly or indirectly23 hold any correspondence with France during his continuance in England, but by such letter or letters as shall be shown to the Agent of the said Commissioners under whose care he is or may be in order to their being read and approved by the Superiors, he does hereby declare that having given his parole he will keep it inviolably.’
In all parole towns and villages the following notice was posted up in prominent positions:
287
‘Notice is hereby given,
‘That all such prisoners are permitted to walk or ride on the great turnpike road within the distance of one mile from the extreme parts of the town (not beyond the bounds of the Parish) and that if they shall exceed such limits or go into any field or cross-road they may be taken up and sent to prison, and a reward of Ten Shillings will be paid by the Agent for apprehending24 them. And further, that such prisoners are to be in their lodgings25 by 5 o’clock in the winter, and 8 in the summer months, and if they stay out later they are liable to be taken up and sent to the Agent for such misconduct. And to prevent the prisoners from behaving in an improper26 manner to the inhabitants of the town, or creating any riots or disturbances27 either with them or among themselves, notice is also given that the Commissioners will cause, upon information being given to their Agents, any prisoners who shall so misbehave to be committed to prison. And such of the inhabitants who shall insult or abuse any of the Prisoners of War on parole, or shall be found in any respect aiding or assisting in the escape of such prisoners shall be punished according to law.’
The rewards offered for the conviction of prisoners for the violation of any of the conditions of their parole, and particularly for recapturing escaped prisoners and for the conviction of aiders in escape, were liberal enough to tempt28 the ragamuffins of the parole places to do their utmost to get the prisoners to break the law, and we shall see how this led to a system of persecution29 which possibly provoked many a foreign officer, perfectly30 honourable31 in other respects, to break his parole. I do not attempt to defend the far too general laxity of principle which made some of the most distinguished32 of our prisoners break their solemnly pledged words by escaping or trying to escape, but I do believe that the continual dangling33 before unlettered clowns and idle town loafers rewards varying from ten guineas for recapturing an escaped prisoner to ten shillings for arresting an officer out of his lodging a few minutes after bell ringing, or straying a few yards off the great turnpike, was putting a premium34 upon a despicable system of spying and trapping which could not have given a pleasurable zest35 to a life of exile.
Naturally, the rules about the correspondence of prisoners on parole were strict, and no other rules seem to have been 288more irksome to prisoners, or more frequently violated by them. All letters for prisoners on parole had to pass through the Transport Office. Remittances36 had to be made through the local agent, if for an even sum in the Bank of England notes, if for odd shillings and pence by postal37 orders. It is, however, very certain that a vast amount of correspondence passed to and from the prisoners independently of the Transport Office, and that the conveyance38 and receipt of such correspondence became as distinctly a surreptitious trade called into existence by circumstances as that of aiding prisoners to escape.
Previous to 1813 the money allowance to officers on parole above and including the rank of captain was ten shillings and sixpence per week per man, and below that rank eight shillings and ninepence. In that year, complaints were made to the British Government by M. Rivière, that as it could be shown that living in England was very much more expensive than in France, this allowance should be increased. Our Government admitted the justice of the claim, and the allowances were accordingly increased to fourteen shillings, and eleven shillings and eightpence. It may be noted39, by the way, that this was the same Rivière who in 1804 had denied our right to inquire into the condition of British prisoners in France, curtly40 saying: ‘It is the will of the Emperor!’
The cost of burying the poor fellows who died in captivity41, although borne by the State, was kept down to the most economical limits, for we find two orders, dated respectively 1805 and 1812, that the cost was not to exceed ￡2 2s., that plain elm coffins42 were to be used, and that the expense of gloves and hat-bands must be borne by the prisoners. Mr. Farnell, the Agent at Ashby-de-la-Zouch, was called sharply to order for a charge in his accounts of fourteen shillings for a hat-band!
In 1814 funerals at Portsmouth were cut down to half a guinea, but I presume this was for ordinary prisoners. The allowances for surgeons in parole places in 1806 were:
For cures when the attendance was for more than five days, six shillings and eightpence, when for less, half that sum. Bleeding was to be charged sixpence, and for drawing a tooth, one shilling. Serious sick cases were to be sent to a prison 289hospital, and no allowance for medicines or extra subsistence was to be made.
We must not allow sentimental43 sympathy with officers and gentlemen on parole to blind our eyes to the fact constantly proved that it was necessary to keep the strictest surveillance over them. Although, if we except their propensity44 to regard lightly their parole obligations, their conduct generally may be called good, among so many men there were necessarily some very black sheep. At one time their behaviour in the parole towns was often so abominable45 as to render it necessary to place them in smaller towns and villages.
In 1793 the Marquis of Buckingham wrote thus to Lord Grenville from Winchester (Dropmore MSS.):
‘I have for the last week been much annoyed by a constant inundation46 of French prisoners who have been on their route from Portsmouth to Bristol, and my officers who, during the long marches have had much of their conversation, all report that the language of the common men was, with very few exceptions, equally insolent47, especially upon the subject of monarchy48. The orders which we received with them were so perfectly proper that we were enabled to maintain strict discipline among them, but I am very anxious that you should come to some decisions about your parole prisoners who are now nearly doubled at Alresford and (Bishop’s) Waltham, and are hourly more exceptionable in their language and in their communication with the country people. I am persuaded that some very unpleasant consequences will arise if this practice is not checked, and I do not know how it is to be done. Your own good heart will make you feel for the French priests now at Winchester to whom these people (230 at Alresford, 160 at Waltham) have openly avowed49 massacre50 whenever the troops are removed.... Pray think over some arrangement for sending your parole prisoners out of England, for they certainly serve their country here better than they could do at sea or in France (so they say openly).’
The authorities had to be constantly on their guard against deceptions51 of all kinds practised by the paroled prisoners, in addition to the frequent breaches52 of parole by escape. Thus applications were made almost daily by prisoners to be allowed either to exchange their places of residence for London, or to come to London temporarily ‘upon urgent private affairs’. 290At first these permissions were given when the applicants54 were men whose positions or reputations were deemed sufficient guarantees for honourable behaviour, but experience soon taught the Transport Office that nobody was to be trusted, and so these applications, even when endorsed55 by Englishmen of position, were invariably refused.
For instance, in 1809, the Office received a letter from one Brossage, an officer on parole at Launceston, asking that he might be removed to Reading, as he was suffering from lung disease. The reply was that as a rule people suffering from lung disease in England were only too glad to be able to go to Cornwall for alleviation56 or cure. The truth was that M. Brossage wanted to exchange the dullness of a Cornish town for the life and gaiety of Reading, which was a special parole town reserved for officers of distinction.
Another trick which the authorities characterized as ‘an unjustifiable means of gaining liberty’, was to bribe57 an invalid58 on the roster59 for France to be allowed to personate him. Poor officers were as glad to sell their chance in this way, as were poor prisoners on hulks or in prisons.
In 1811 some officers at Lichfield obtained their release because of ‘their humane60 conduct at the late fire at Mr. Lee’s house’. But so many applications for release on account of similar services at fires came in that the Transport Office was suspicious, and refused them, ‘especially as the French Government does not reward British officers for similar services.’
In the same year one Andoit got sent to Andover on parole in the name of another man, whom no doubt he impersonated, although he had no right to be paroled, and at once made use of the opportunity and escaped.
Most touching61 were some of the letters from paroled officers praying to have their places of parole changed, but when the Transport Office found out that these changes were almost invariably made so that old comrades and friends could meet together to plan and arrange escapes, rejection62 became the invariable fate of them. For some time many French officers on parole had been permitted to add to their incomes by giving lessons in dancing, drawing, fencing, and singing in English families, and for these purposes had special permits to go 291beyond the usual one mile limit. But when in 1811, M. Faure applied63 to go some distance out of Redruth to teach French, and M. Ulliac asked to be allowed to exceed limits at Ashby-de-la-Zouch to teach drawing, the authorities refused, and this despite the backing up of these requests by local gentry64, giving as their reason: ‘If complied with generally the prisoners would become dispersed65 over all parts of the country without any regular control over their conduct.’ Prisoners were not even allowed to give lessons away from their lodgings out of parole hours.
Very rarely, except in the cases of officers of more than ordinarily distinguished position, were relaxations66 of parole rules permitted. General Pillet at Bishop’s Waltham in 1808, had leave to go two miles beyond the usual one mile limit two or three times a week, ‘to take the air.’ General Pageot at Ashbourne was given eight days’ leave to visit Wooton Lodge67 in 1804, with the result related elsewhere (p. 414).
In 1808 General Brenier, on parole at Wantage, was allowed 3s. a day ‘on account of the wound in his thigh’, so unusual a concession68 as to cause the Transport Office to describe it as ‘the greatest rate of allowance granted to any prisoner of war in this country under any circumstances’. Later, however, some prisoners at Bath were made the same allowance.
At first sight it seems harsh on the part of the Transport Office to refuse permission for a prisoner at Welshpool to lodge with the postmistress of that place, but without doubt it had excellent reason to think that for purposes of escape as well as for carrying on an unsuspected correspondence, the post-office would be the very place for a prisoner to live at. Again, the forgery69 of documents was very extensively carried on by the prisoners, and in 1803 the parole agents were advised:
‘With respect to admitting prisoners of war at Parole we beg to observe that we think it proper to adhere to a regulation which from frequent abuses we found it absolutely necessary to adopt last war; namely, that no blank form of parole certificates be sent to the agents at the depots70, but to transmit them to the Agents, properly filled up whenever their ranks shall have been ascertained71 at this office, from lists sent by the agents and from extracts from the R?le d’équipage of each vessel72 captured.’
292Of course, the reason for this was that blank parole forms had been obtained by bribery73, had been filled up, and that all sorts of undesirable74 and dangerous rascals75 got scattered76 among the parole places.
So long back as 1763 a complaint came from Dover that the Duc de Nivernois was in the habit of issuing passes to prisoners of war on parole in England to pass over to Calais and Boulogne as ordinary civilians77, and further inquiry78 brought out the fact that he was not the only owner of a noble name who trafficked in documents which, if they do not come under the category of forgeries79, were at any rate false.
In 1804 a letter from France addressed to a prisoner on parole at Tiverton was intercepted80. It was found to contain a blank printed certificate, sealed and signed by the Danish vice-consul at Plymouth. Orders were at once issued that no more certificates from him were to be honoured, and he was accused of the act. He protested innocence81, and requested that the matter should be examined, the results being that the documents were found to be forgeries.
Of course, the parole agents, that is to say, the men chosen to guard and minister to the wants of the prisoners in the parole towns, occupied important and responsible positions. At first the only qualifications required were that they should not be shopkeepers, but men fitted by their position and their personality to deal with prisoners who were officers, and therefore ipso facto, gentlemen. But during the later years of the great wars they were chosen exclusively from naval82 lieutenants of not less than ten years’ standing11, a change brought about by complaints from many towns and from many prisoners that the agents were palpably underbred and tactless, and particularly perhaps by the representation of Captain Moriarty, the agent at Valleyfield near Edinburgh, and later at Perth, that ‘the men chosen were attorneys and shopkeepers for whom the French officers have no respect, so that the latter do just what they like’, urging that only Service men should occupy these posts.
The duties of the parole agent were to see that the prisoners under his charge fulfilled all the obligations of their parole, to muster83 them twice a week, to minister to their wants, to pay them their allowances, to act as their financial agents, to hear 293and adjust their complaints, to be, in fact, quite as much their guide, philosopher, and friend as their custodian84. He had to keep a strict account of all receipts and payments, which he forwarded once a month to the Transport Office: he had to keep a constant watch on the correspondence of the prisoners, not merely seeing that they held and received none clandestinely85, but that every letter was to pass the examination of the Transport Office; and his own correspondence was voluminous, for in the smallest parole places there were at least eighty prisoners, whilst in the larger, the numbers were close upon four hundred.
For all this the remuneration was 5 per cent. upon all disbursements for the subsistence of the prisoners with allowances for stationery86 and affidavits87, and it may be very naturally asked how men could be found willing to do all this, in addition to their own callings, for such pay. The only answer is that men were not only willing but anxious to become parole agents because of the ‘pickings’ derivable88 from the office, especially in connexion with the collection and payment of remittances to prisoners. That these ‘pickings’ were considerable there can be no doubt, particularly as they were available from so many sources, and as the temptations were so many and so strong to accept presents for services rendered, or, what was more frequent, for duty left undone89.
On the whole, and making allowance for the character of the age and the numberless temptations to which they were exposed, the agents of the parole towns seem to have done their hard and delicate work very fairly. No doubt in the process of gathering90 in their ‘pickings’ there was some sharp practice by them, and a few instances are recorded of criminal transactions, but a comparison between the treatment of French prisoners on parole in England and the English détenus in France certainly is not to our discredit91.
The Transport Office seems to have been unremitting in its watchfulness92 on its agents, if we are to judge by the mass of correspondence which passed between the one and the others, and which deals so largely with minutiae93 and details that its consideration must have been by no means the least heavy of the duties expected from these gentlemen.
294Mr. Tribe, Parole Agent at Hambledon, seems to have irritated his superiors much by the character of his letters, for in 1804 he is told:
‘As the person who writes your letters does not seem to know how to write English you must therefore in future write your own letters or employ another to write them who can write intelligibly94.’
And again:
‘If you cannot really write more intelligibly you must employ a person to manage your correspondence in future, but you are not to suppose that he will be paid by us for his trouble.’
Spettigue, Parole Agent at Launceston, got into serious trouble in 1807 for having charged commissions to prisoners upon moneys paid to them, and was ordered to refund95 them. He was the only parole agent who was proved to have so offended.
Smith, Parole Agent at Thame, was rebuked96 in February, 1809, for having described aloud a prisoner about to be conveyed from Thame to Portsmouth under escort as a man of good character and a gentleman, the result being that the escort were put off their guard, and the prisoner escaped, Smith knowing all the time that the prisoner was the very reverse of his description, and that it was in consequence of his having obtained his parole by a ‘gross deception’, that he was being conveyed to the hulks at Portsmouth. However, Kermel, the prisoner, was recaptured.
Enchmarsh, Parole Agent at Tiverton, was reprimanded in July 1809 for having been concerned in the sale, by a prisoner, of a contraband97 article, and was reminded that it was against rules for an agent to have any mercantile transactions with prisoners.
Lewis, Parole Agent at Reading, was removed in June 1812, because when the dép?t doctor made his periodical round in order to select invalids98 to be sent to France, he tried to bribe Dr. Weir99 to pass General Joyeux, a perfectly sound man, as an invalid and so procure100 his liberation.
Powis, Parole Agent at Leek101 in Staffordshire, son of a neighbouring parson, was removed in the same year, having been accused of withholding102 moneys due to prisoners, and continually failing to send in his accounts.
295On the other hand, Smith, the Agent at Thame, was blamed for having shown excessive zeal103 in his office by hiring people to hide and lie in wait to catch prisoners committing breaches of parole. Perhaps the Transport Office did not so much disapprove104 of his methods as un-English and mean, but they knew very well that the consequent fines and stoppages meant his emolument105.
That parole agents found it as impossible to give satisfaction to everybody as do most people in authority is very clear from the following episodes in the official life of Mr. Crapper, the Parole Agent at Wantage in 1809, who was a chemist by trade, and who seems to have been in ill odour all round. The episodes also illustrate106 the keen sympathy with which in some districts the French officers on parole were regarded.
On behalf of the prisoners at Wantage, one Price, J.P., wrote of Crapper, that ‘being a low man himself, he assumes a power which I am sure is not to your wish, and which he is too ignorant to exercise’. It appears that two French officers, the generals Maurin and Lefebvre, had gone ten miles from Wantage—that is, nine miles beyond the parole limit—to dine with Sir John Throckmorton. Crapper did his duty and arrested the generals; they were leniently107 punished, as, instead of being sent to a prison or a hulk, they were simply marched off to Wincanton. The magistrates108 refused to support Crapper, but, despite another letter in favour of the generals by another J.P., Goodlake, who had driven them in his carriage to Throckmorton’s house, and who declared that Crapper had a hatred109 for him on account of some disagreement on the bench, the Transport Office defended their agent, and confirmed his action.
From J. E. Lutwyche, Surveyor of Taxes, in whose house the French generals lodged110, the Transport Office received the following:
‘Gentlemen,
‘I beg leave to offer a few remarks respecting the French generals lately removed from Wantage. Generals Lefebvre and Maurin both lodged at my house. The latter always conducted himself with the greatest Politeness and Propriety111, nor ever exceeded the limits or time prescribed by his parole 296until the arrival of General Lefebvre. Indeed he was not noticed or invited anywhere till then, nor did he at all seem to wish it, his time being occupied in endeavouring to perfect himself in the English language. When General Lefebvre arrived, he, being an object of curiosity and a man of considerable rank, was invited out, and of course General Maurin (who paid him great attention) with him, which certainly otherwise would never have been the case. General Lefebvre has certainly expressed himself as greatly dissatisfied with the way in which he had been taken, making use of the childish phrase of his being entrapped112, and by his sullen113 manner and general conduct appeared as if he was not much inclined to observe the terms of his parole.’
Another anti-Crapperist writes:
‘Gentlemen,
‘I take this liberty in informing you that in case that the Prisoners of War residing here on Parole be not kept to stricter orders, that they will have the command of this Parish. They are out all hours of the night, they do almost as they have a mind to do: if a man is loaded ever so hard, he must turn out of the road for them, and if any person says anything he is reprimanded for it.
‘They have too much liberty a great deal.
‘I am, Gentlemen,
‘With a good wish to my King and Country,
‘A True Englishman.’
Another correspondent asserted that although Mr. Crapper complained of the generals’ breach53 of parole, he had the next week allowed thirty of the French prisoners to give a ball and supper to the little tradesmen of the town, which had been kept up till 3 a.m.
Crapper denied this, and said he had refused the application of the prisoners for a dance until 10 p.m., given at an inn to the ‘ladies of the town—the checked apron114 Ladies of Wantage’.
Yet another writer declared that Crapper was a drunkard, and drank with the prisoners. To this, Crapper replied that if they called on him as gentlemen, he was surely entitled to offer them hospitality. The same writer spoke115 of the French prisoners being often drunk in the streets, of Crapper fighting with them at the inns, and accused him of withholding money from them. Crapper, however, appears as Parole Agent for 297Wantage, with 340 prisoners in his charge, some time after all this.
I have given Crapper’s case at some length merely as an instance of what parole agents had to put up with, not as being unusual. Ponsford at Moreton-Hampstead, Smith at Thame, and Eborall at Lichfield, seem to have been provoked in much the same way by turbulent and defiant116 prisoners.
For very palpable reasons the authorities did not encourage close rapprochements between parole agents and the prisoners under their charge. At Tavistock in 1779, something wrong in the intercourse117 between Ford7, the Agent, and his flock, had led to an order that not only should Ford be removed, but that certain prisoners should be sent to Launceston. Whereupon the said prisoners petitioned to be allowed to remain at Tavistock under Ford:
‘A qui nous sommes très sincèrement attachés, tant par les doux fa?ons qu’il a scu toujours avoir pour nous, même en exécutant ses ordres, que par son honnêteté particulière et la bonne intelligence qu’il a soin de faire raigner autant qu’il est possible entre les différentes claces de personnes qui habitent cette ville et les prisonniers qu’y sont;—point sy essentiel et sy particulièrement bien ménagé jusqu’à ce jour.’
On the other hand, one Tarade, a prisoner, writes describing Ford as a ‘petit tyran d’Afrique’, and complains of him, evidently because he had refused Tarade a passport for France. Tarade alludes118 to the petition above quoted, and says that the subscribers to it belong to a class of prisoners who are better away. Another much-signed petition comes from dislikers of Ford who beg to be sent to Launceston, so we may presume from the action of the authorities in ordering Ford’s removal, that he was not a disinterested119 dispenser and withholder120 of favours.
In Scotland the agents seem generally to have been on very excellent terms with the prisoners in their charge, and some friendships were formed between captors and captives which did not cease with the release of the latter. Mr. Macbeth Forbes relates the following anecdote121 by way of illustration:
‘The late Mr. Romanes of Harryburn (whose father had been Agent at Lauder) says about M. Espinasse, for long a 298distinguished French teacher in Edinburgh, who was for some time a parole prisoner at Lauder: “When I was enrolled122 as a pupil with M. Espinasse some fifty years ago, he said: ‘Ah! your fader had me!’ supplying the rest of the sentence by planting the flat part of his right thumb into the palm of his left hand—‘Now I have you!’ repeating the operation. And when my father called to see M. Espinasse, he was quite put out by M. Espinasse seizing and hugging and embracing him, shouting excitedly: ‘Ah, mon Agent! mon Agent!’“’
Smith at Kelso, Nixon at Hawick, Romanes at Lauder, and Bell at Jedburgh, were all held in the highest esteem123 by the prisoners under them, and received many testimonials of it.
The following were the Parole Towns between 1803 and 1813:
Abergavenny.
Alresford.
Andover.
Ashbourne.
Ashburton.
Ashby-de-la-Zouch.
Biggar.
Bishop’s Castle.
Bishop’s Waltham.
Brecon.
Bridgnorth.
Chesterfield.
Chippenham.
Crediton.
Cupar.
Dumfries.
Hambledon.
Hawick.
Jedburgh.
Kelso.
Lanark.
Lauder.
Launceston.
Leek.
Lichfield.
Llanfyllin.
Lochmaben.
Lockerbie.
Melrose.
Montgomery.
Moreton-Hampstead.
Newtown.
Northampton.
North Tawton.
Odiham.
Okehampton.
Oswestry.
Peebles.
Peterborough.
Reading.
Sanquhar.
Selkirk.
South Molton.
Tavistock.
Thame.
Tiverton.
Wantage.
Welshpool.
Whitchurch.
Wincanton.
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par
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| n.标准，票面价值，平均数量；adj.票面的，平常的，标准的 | |
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brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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vices
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gallant
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subscribed
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strictly
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violation
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| n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯 | |
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offenders
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| n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物） | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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imprisonment
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| n.关押，监禁，坐牢 | |
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imprisoned
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| 下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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14
lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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lieutenants
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| n.陆军中尉( lieutenant的名词复数 )；副职官员；空军；仅低于…官阶的官员 | |
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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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17
custody
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| n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留 | |
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18
certify
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| vt.证明，证实；发证书(或执照)给 | |
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19
extremities
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| n.端点( extremity的名词复数 )；尽头；手和足；极窘迫的境地 | |
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20
lodging
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| n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍 | |
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21
hindrance
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| n.妨碍，障碍 | |
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22
molestation
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| n.骚扰，干扰，调戏；折磨 | |
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23
indirectly
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| adv.间接地，不直接了当地 | |
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apprehending
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| 逮捕，拘押( apprehend的现在分词 )； 理解 | |
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25
lodgings
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| n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍 | |
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26
improper
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| adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的 | |
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disturbances
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| n.骚乱( disturbance的名词复数 )；打扰；困扰；障碍 | |
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28
tempt
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| vt.引诱，勾引，吸引，引起…的兴趣 | |
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29
persecution
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| n. 迫害,烦扰 | |
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30
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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31
honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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32
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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33
dangling
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| 悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
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34
premium
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| n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的 | |
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35
zest
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| n.乐趣；滋味，风味；兴趣 | |
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36
remittances
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| n.汇寄( remittance的名词复数 )；汇款，汇款额 | |
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37
postal
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| adj.邮政的，邮局的 | |
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38
conveyance
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| n.(不动产等的)转让，让与；转让证书；传送；运送；表达；（正）运输工具 | |
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39
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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40
curtly
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| adv.简短地 | |
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41
captivity
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| n.囚禁；被俘；束缚 | |
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42
coffins
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| n.棺材( coffin的名词复数 )；使某人早亡[死，完蛋，垮台等]之物 | |
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43
sentimental
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| adj.多愁善感的，感伤的 | |
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44
propensity
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| n.倾向；习性 | |
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45
abominable
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| adj.可厌的，令人憎恶的 | |
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46
inundation
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| n.the act or fact of overflowing | |
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47
insolent
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| adj.傲慢的，无理的 | |
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48
monarchy
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| n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国 | |
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49
avowed
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| adj.公开声明的，承认的v.公开声明，承认( avow的过去式和过去分词) | |
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50
massacre
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| n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀 | |
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51
deceptions
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| 欺骗( deception的名词复数 )； 骗术，诡计 | |
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52
breaches
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| 破坏( breach的名词复数 )； 破裂； 缺口； 违背 | |
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53
breach
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| n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破 | |
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54
applicants
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| 申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 ) | |
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55
endorsed
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| vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品 | |
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56
alleviation
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| n. 减轻，缓和，解痛物 | |
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57
bribe
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| n.贿赂；v.向…行贿，买通 | |
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58
invalid
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| n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的 | |
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59
roster
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| n.值勤表，花名册 | |
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60
humane
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| adj.人道的，富有同情心的 | |
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61
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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62
rejection
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| n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃 | |
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63
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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64
gentry
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| n.绅士阶级，上层阶级 | |
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65
dispersed
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| adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的 | |
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66
relaxations
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| n.消遣( relaxation的名词复数 )；松懈；松弛；放松 | |
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67
lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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68
concession
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| n.让步，妥协；特许(权) | |
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69
forgery
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| n.伪造的文件等，赝品，伪造（行为） | |
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70
depots
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| 仓库( depot的名词复数 )； 火车站； 车库； 军需库 | |
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71
ascertained
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| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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72
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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73
bribery
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| n.贿络行为，行贿，受贿 | |
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74
undesirable
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| adj.不受欢迎的，不良的，不合意的，讨厌的；n.不受欢迎的人，不良分子 | |
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75
rascals
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| 流氓( rascal的名词复数 )； 无赖； （开玩笑说法）淘气的人（尤指小孩）； 恶作剧的人 | |
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76
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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77
civilians
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| 平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓 | |
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78
inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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79
forgeries
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| 伪造( forgery的名词复数 )； 伪造的文件、签名等 | |
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80
intercepted
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| 拦截( intercept的过去式和过去分词 )； 截住； 截击； 拦阻 | |
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81
innocence
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| n.无罪；天真；无害 | |
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82
naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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83
muster
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| v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册 | |
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84
custodian
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| n.保管人，监护人；公共建筑看守 | |
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85
clandestinely
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| adv.秘密地，暗中地 | |
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86
stationery
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| n.文具；(配套的)信笺信封 | |
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87
affidavits
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| n.宣誓书，（经陈述者宣誓在法律上可采作证据的）书面陈述( affidavit的名词复数 ) | |
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88
derivable
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| adj.可引出的，可推论的，可诱导的 | |
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89
undone
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| a.未做完的，未完成的 | |
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90
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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91
discredit
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| vt.使不可置信；n.丧失信义；不信，怀疑 | |
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92
watchfulness
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| 警惕，留心； 警觉（性） | |
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93
minutiae
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| n.微小的细节，细枝末节；（常复数）细节，小事( minutia的名词复数 ) | |
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94
intelligibly
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| adv.可理解地，明了地，清晰地 | |
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95
refund
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| v.退还，偿还；n.归还，偿还额，退款 | |
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96
rebuked
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| 责难或指责( rebuke的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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97
contraband
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| n.违禁品，走私品 | |
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98
invalids
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| 病人，残疾者( invalid的名词复数 ) | |
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99
weir
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| n.堰堤，拦河坝 | |
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100
procure
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| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
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101
leek
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| n.韭葱 | |
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102
withholding
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| 扣缴税款 | |
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103
zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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104
disapprove
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| v.不赞成，不同意，不批准 | |
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105
emolument
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| n.报酬，薪水 | |
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106
illustrate
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| v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图 | |
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107
leniently
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| 温和地，仁慈地 | |
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108
magistrates
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| 地方法官，治安官( magistrate的名词复数 ) | |
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109
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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110
lodged
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| v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属 | |
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111
propriety
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| n.正当行为；正当；适当 | |
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112
entrapped
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| v.使陷入圈套，使入陷阱( entrap的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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113
sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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114
apron
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| n.围裙；工作裙 | |
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115
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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116
defiant
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| adj.无礼的，挑战的 | |
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117
intercourse
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| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
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118
alludes
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| 提及，暗指( allude的第三人称单数 ) | |
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119
disinterested
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| adj.不关心的，不感兴趣的 | |
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120
withholder
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| n.抑制因素 | |
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121
anecdote
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| n.轶事，趣闻，短故事 | |
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122
enrolled
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| adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起 | |
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123
esteem
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| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
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