JANUARY 8. It is two years, to-day, since we arrived in this Sound. One of those that were brought back yesterday, brought a paper in with him, in which is an account of an hurricane that happened about ten days ago, at London, in which a great number of houses were blown down; and by the same tornado, a great many vessels were cast away, at Margate Roads, and a number of lives lost. Among the rest was an East Indiaman. By the paper, we also learn, that a great part of Greenwich Hospital was consumed by a fire that took place there.
This is a much worse time to be on short allowance than any time since we have been in prison. As there are so many on half allowance, those who are on full allowance, and are willing to help us, are unable, for their own allowance is not sufficient to support nature; and the half of that is intolerable. There are numbers in prison on half allowance who have not a penny to help themselves with. New shoes have been sold for a shilling, and new shirts for the same price, by persons who, perhaps, had no others to wear; in short, there are a great many long faces in prison, for nothing but hunger rages throughout. To such a degree is this the case, that we killed a dog this afternoon, in order to let him cool by to-morrow, and his in-sides were scarcely out, before his liver was on coals broiling.
9. This morning we divided the dog into quarters, and he was dressed so neat, and being so fat withall, that if I had seen him in a butcher’s shop I should have thought it to be a young lamb, and good meat. We had a bag of potatoes given us, to eat with our venison. Some stewed theirs; others roasted it; and I must confess, I made a tolerable meal out of some of this roasted dog, with potatoes dipped in its drippings. Rats have been eat in this prison often before. To-day the agent told us that he had received an answer to our petition, and that we are to be allowed peas instead of greens, which is much better. He had received an order, that if we would deliver up those who were most active in digging the hole, the rest should be restored to full allowance. But the majority in prison were inclined to give them no satisfaction. This afternoon, however, two young men, of their own accord, went and delivered themselves up, and were sent to the Black-hole, thinking to live well, I suppose, while there, as doubtless they will.