CHAPTER XVI
_This is a very short chapter, but contains a fact for which the Baron'smemory ought to be dear to every Englishman, especially those who mayhereafter have the misfortune of being made prisoners of war._
On my return from Gibraltar I travelled by way of France to England.Being a foreigner, this was not attended with any inconvenience to me.I found, in the harbour of Calais, a ship just arrived with a number ofEnglish sailors as prisoners of war. I immediately conceived an ideaof giving these brave fellows their liberty, which I accomplished asfollows:--After forming a pair of large wings, each of them forty yardslong, and fourteen wide, and annexing them to myself, I mounted at breakof day, when every creature, even the watch upon deck, was fast asleep.As I hovered over the ship I fastened three grappling irons to the topsof the three masts with my sling, and fairly lifted her several yardsout of the water, and then proceeded across to Dover, where I arrived inhalf an hour! Having no further occasion for these wings, I made them apresent to the governor of Dover Castle, where they are now exhibited tothe curious.
As to the prisoners, and the Frenchmen who guarded them, they did notawake till they had been near two hours on Dover Pier. The moment theEnglish understood their situation they changed places with their guard,and took back what they had been plundered of, but no more, for theywere too generous to retaliate and plunder them in return.
The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen Page 18
