The Express.
London, England, 1848-09-08 00:00:00

THE GREAT PRISONS OF LONDON.
NEWOATE.
_ _ _

Whoever knOwe London knows Newgete. Once
_ern, it cannot be forgotten. Mauve, dark, and solemn, it
arrests the eye, and holds it. A stranger to the capital
would pick it out amongst ten thousand buildings. It stands
alone. Of all our London prisons, It only wears a truly
grand, terrible, and imposing upset. Other gaols look
loathsome, sad disgusting; bat none can vie with it
nesjeaty of =nor. Compered with Neargete, they all
seem paltry, pasteboard, snake-believe affairs; bat it looks
penal in the send that hell is penal—a figure of death seen
in • gleam of sunshine, No d3ubt some of this
unique effort is the consequence of the terrible
memories which Sod about the plat, bat certainly not all
of it, Much of it =sea from the character of the building
end its suriroommets. The solid and unbroken muds of
its granite walls—at shame to resist artillery—the frowning
towers—the hem-meneed hod, that seem ea if intended
cud fto open en reek - , to let men in to judgment
and eat egola to Ikea, enjure up the thought of a feudal
duiEw • pima of the Holy 011ie, rather than thst of
aa gaol. Its situation, too, is striking—in the very
heart of the under the shadow of the dome sad
cues of fie NOW durch—jeining the two mat arteries
of Leaden. sad ihaw the sombre St. Sepulchre's Church,
Beraerdy, bat well, eukumed! Grave in thy name and in
thins-Woe, it is thine to warn the guilty and doomed soul
of its app ailing trial and transition! The bell
of St. Sspalebede tolls the service for the dead—
bat kites tie death. I. the condemned all its
hided tease sae be baud--that is, wises there is
same it tie Woe wadi outside the massive wills.
Whim deed io imams& =sleet the roalefutor, and the
day is lied en whisk the shyer himself mot die, with what
unutterable spay
_me Woke gees deep into his heart!
With what an awfal =shafts he will lie= for the sound,
which to him is Mee the Wet of the Archangel's tuned,
which operates time hem atiraity —and, in that listening,
waste the fewremelani lineelenta that are left! Upon
the monies cif the oneentlim, the haws are pealed out
loudly sad &Madly. From sae to six they are awfully
audible. Nine he knows he will aeon hear. Thence-
forth swells up, hired end higher, the boost of
human velem They are seer him there—with bat a
suss betimes—but eh I how distant I Thicker and taster the
amide ant pdtend—end loader and faller the ma of sound
weals up eadi moms= There I east • chase of yells,
sad ibrialm. sod iheate : it rises above all like a frightful
storm. The deallAmell tells—bat none can hear it, That
kat mg le used to the whaled. The voice of his passion-
leas -iter h eland Imam he dies. Bat drop the curtain
down. It h &phased Waren.
TM Were the doors of Newgate is the Nog-
Here imam , who sit in severe—and,
GM OM hem a pm" , will-merited—ja ferment
open the bedlanies Fedi= of pagan and imperial Rome,
=ear hails etas.* lor the lovers of d isgusting horrors.
deo &NIL We de not fill it with wild and fami-hed
, 'abode, to see dam tear emelt other piecemeal, it is true
but we inky give a new direction to the moil= instincts of
oar people, and gratify them in a different way. The some
enacted here disease us in the eyes of all Chrietsadom.
But Ist us enter
Up the narrow steps, into the tomboy's room, and along •
darkish pimp, we as.. late a small open court, surrounded
by high walk, between scanty supply of air and
light finds ite way downweeds as into a well facing us
steads a massive banding, dam of windows, and those
strongly grated: It is the weans% +lag of the prison. The
matron is celled—en Mailed and capable woman—and as
sod as the peodseenelmits are turned, and the heavy bare re-
moved, we oder the doorway. and resod the stone staircase;
ease ed shambles bras* off on either side, and these are
oompled •by the Omen who are awaiting trial. An
steer ded le made to clarify them according to their degrees
si gelidaim; bat medially this is of little use,
gs ie swim ma *sly judge of the ditenne's
I pole tam bit awn statements, or from the Wanes with
"bib dm Mona firmed. These mast idea be fallacious.
LIM se am Olepoont le had for them ; and it some-
doss nun lamer that the poor servant girl is sent
hare his* awed of some petty theft, and shut up with
the mast diandemed ether az, with nothing to do for days,
with = moonsee, mesas to kill the time, except in listen-
ing to osmnping elleiel,ead the eonvenation of her de-
graded oesigoolsa a. If she were not a thief, a pro-
dime, bedlam the will soma learn to be one her. Surely
this is maw If there be • ninemity, at any time, of en-
deavouring to prevent contamination in gaol, this ascessity
must unduly diet in respect to persons unconvicted of
crime, and who may time:ore be innocent. Before a man is
proved to lave violated the law, it is illegal,
as well as isaamwel, to punish him ; so that kin
safety is enured, the law has no furiker held upon
him. This mod, of searee, be obtain= at say prise. Bat
any privation—say wroag Inductee upon him at alto-
lately necessary to this sad, la • pied of isawsnentable
tyranny and cuteity. To force the possibly Innocent man
to hod with the lowest talon—to compel the young girl to
live sad sleep in the eanbe room with the shamelese prosti-
tute—ma emerge mess of the suds of judos. The system
eaapiehies main bat evil ; and it doss, indeed, seem mon-
MOM that • government whisk has proved itself so maxims
' es 111.111110 sleneins from melt other, for fear of mutual con-
Olininalion, shield suffer, is Newgate, the mot notorious
eriminde to mseelets, unrestrained, with persons ea yet nn-
entliend 1 Sudety ma never maks reparation to its MAW
Mai member for its immurement in Menus. The heart
besems tainted la spite of itmlf. Felon and lascivious
Oughts are forced ape! it. F:ces undreamt of become
haiku to it. The =ad mast be more than bun= that
mid come out of the cemsaionship of Newgate as pure as
it entered in.
I'sis we now through several rooms and corridors to the
quadrangle ossepisd by the males. As we tray roe these
:sego note the Ina character of the building. It is
we
deed bait as if its arehlteets had but one object in view—
month And this is artainly obtained, though at the ex •
pence of almost every other desirable quality hr • prima. It
is dark, clam, seslood; sad in despite ot the seramdous
=Winos peaserved is ovary part, foul smells are an =-
frequently net in its labbiett, =eh as no= the Num= of
the time of Howard. The gaol Iner—that terrible
and distroolive disease, whirl Bane describes as,
next to the plague, the suet dreadful of coda-
dose—used to be pemaasntty satin= within its
walls. The manure sibs bidding, sad the little =satin
offish wee pall to elestaliams, were the priaelpal saws of
this. Is the dote of 1780, is was bard don,
but was rebuilt on tins same plea. The great
fault le tee wed al no= the height of the walls sad the
marrows= of the mite gide( them the applanmee ot
w • Ils, rather thee sues spier. Air and light are is WOOF
queue lens poatifal than they should be ; sad the doer=
; We don of Howard—" all I can say is, that without mars than
this cindery eon do primers will be in great dm= of the
10, bat gad fiver," ss applicable new as it wee 76 )01115 ago.