ESCAPE OF THE REPUBLICAN EXILES. 115 



and the only regret was, that they had not the oppor- 

 tunity of placing the Isle of France a la hauteur de 

 la Revolution ! The pauses in those narratives were 

 filled up with quarrels, abominable songs, and blas- 

 phemy. 



The remainder of the voyage was only a repeti- 

 tion of wretchedness. As the sea-sickness subsided, 

 hunger took its place. They were almost starved 

 upon the narrow regimen of their jailer. Marbois, 

 maddening with famine, and with his eye sparkling 

 with fury, at last assailed the captain. " I am 

 hungry I am hungry," he howled out like a wolf ; 

 " I am hungry give me some food, or throw me into 

 the sea." This wild application produced its effect. 

 Some food was given to him. Even the length of 

 the voyage was an additional feature of their suffer- 

 ings. It lasted fifty days. It was not till the 10th 

 of October, 1797, that they came in sight of the 

 town of Cayenne. 



The governor of the colony was Jeannet, a nephew 

 of the regicide Danton ; he received the prisoners 

 civilly. But within a few hours he changed his 

 style altogether, and ordered them under strict sur- 

 veillance. Collot d'Herbois and Billaud de Varren- 

 nes, both notorious actors in the hideous Reign of 

 Terror, had come some years earlier to Cayenne for 

 the express purpose of raising the colony a la hauteur 

 de la Revolution. This they commenced by the 

 usual harangues to the negroes, declaring them free 



