The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-11-29

agement and passed the DAY, IN BOins noln ,
Eyery facility was afforded me that the utmost
coartesy could suggest. Nothing was concealed
or hidden from my view and every pleoe OF IN
given. The perfect order of the building cannot
be praised too highly, and OF the excellent
motives Of all who are Immediately concerned
in the administration of the system there can
be no kind OF question. - $50
Between the body Of the prison and the
outer wall there is spacious garden. En-
tering 1t by wicket in the massive gate,
we pursued the path before us to its other
termination, aud passed into q large cham
Der, from which seven long passages radi-
ate. On either side Of each is a long, long
row of low cell doors, with certain mum
Der over every one. Above, q gallery OF
cells like those below, except that they have no
narrow yard attached (as those in the ground,
tier have), and are somewhat smaller. The pos.
session OF two of these is supposed to compen-
cate for the absence OF 90 much air aud exercise
as can be had in the dull strip attached to each
OF the others, IN an hours time every day; and
therefore every prisoner in this upper story has
two cells adjoining, and communicating with
each other.
Standing at the central point, aud looking
down these dreary passages the dull repose and
quiet that prevails is awful. 0ccas onally there
IS a drowsy sound from some lone weaver's
shuttle, or skoemakers last; but 1t is stihed by
the thick walls and heavy dungeon.door, and
only serves to make the general stiffness more
profound. Over the head and face of every
| prisoner who comes into this melancholy house
a black bood is drawn; and in this dark
shroud, an emblem of the curtain dropped be.
tween him and the living world, he is led to the
| cell from which he never again comes forth,
until his whole term of imprisonment has eX'
| pirci. He never hears of wife or children,
home or friends, the life or death of any single
creature. He sees the prison officers, but with
that exception he never looks upon human
countenance OF hears a human voice. He is
man buried alive-to be dug out on the slow
round OF years; and ia the meantime dead to
everything but tortur1ng- anxietes and horrible
despair.
His name, and crime, and term of suffer-
ing are unknown even to the officer who
delivers him his daily food. There is
number over his cell door, and iu book
OF which the governor of the prison has one
copy, and the moral instructor another: this is
the index to his history. Beyond these pages
the prison has no record of his eXstence; and,
though he live to be in the same cell ten weary
years, he has no means of knowing, down to the
very last hour, in what part of the building it is
situated, what kind of men there are abeut him;
whether in the long winter nights there are
living people near, or he is in some lonely cor
ner OF the great jail, with walls and passages
| and iron doors between him and the nearest
| sharer IN its solitary horrors.
Every cell has double doors-the outer
one of sturdy oak, the other of grated iron,
| wherein there is a trap through which his
| food is handed. He has Bible, and
slate aud pencil, and, under certain restrictions,
| has sometimes other books, provided for the
| purpose, and pen and ink and paper. His razor,
plate, and can and basin, hang upon the wall,
| or shine upon the little shelf. Fresh water is
| laid on in every cell, and he can draw it at his
| pleasure. During the day his bedstead turns
| up against the wall, and leaves more space for
| hum to work in. His loom, or bench, or wheel
| Is there; and there he labors, sleeps aud wakes,
and counts the seasons as they change and
grows old.
The first man saw was seated at his loom at
| Work. He had been there six years, and was to
| remain, think, three more. He had been con.
| victed as receiver of stolen goods; but even
| after this long imprisonment denied the guilt
| and said he had been hardly dealt by. 1t was
| his second offense.
| of his spectaces, and answered freely to every
| thing that was said to him. but al ways with a
strange kind of pause first, and in a low,
| thoughtful voice. He wore paper hat of his
| own making and was pleased to have ii noticed
| and commended. He had ingeniously manuac-
| tured q sort Of Dutch clock from some disre-
| garded odds and ends; and his vinegar bottle
| served for the pendulum. Seeing me interested
In this contriVance, he looked up at 1t with
great deal of pride, and said that he had been
| thinking of improving 1t, and that he hoped
| the hammer and q little piece of broken
| glass beside it would play music before long,
| He had extracted some coloTs from the yarn
| with which he had worked, and painted few
figures on the wall. One, OF female, over the
door, he called "The Lady of the Lake."
He smiled as looked at these contrivances to
| while away the time; but when / looked from
them TO him, saw that his lip trembled, and
could have counted the beating of his heart.
| forget bow it came about, but some alusion
was made to his having wife. He shook his
head at the word, turned aside, and covered his
face with his hands.
But you are resigned now!" said one of the
| gentlemen, after short pause, during which he
| had resumed his former manner. He answered,
| with sigh that seemed quite reckless in Its
| hopelessness, 30 yes, o yes J am re3gned to
| it," ''And are better man, you think ~ ''Well,
| hope SO; I'm sure hope may be.n 'Aud
| time goes pretty quicklyW "Time is very long,
| gentlemen, within these four wallsl"
| He gazed about him-Heaven only knows how
| wearily !-as he said these words; and, in the
act OF doing SO, fell into strange stare as If he
| had forgotten something. moment after
| wards he sighed heavily, put on his spectacles,
| end went about his work again.
In another cell there was German, sentenced
10 i've years imprisonment for larceny, two of
which had just expired. With eolorS procured
in the same manner, he had painted every inch
OF the walls and ceiling quite beautifully He
| had laid out the few feet of ground behind with
| exquisite neatness, and had made little bed
| in the centre, that looked, by-the-by, like a
grave. The taste and ingenuity he had
| displayed in everything were most extraordl-
pary; and yet more detected, heart
broker wretched creature it would be difficult
| TO imagine. | never saw such picture
| of foroin sffictIon and distress of mind. My
| heart bled tor him; and when the tears ran
| down his cheeks. and he took one of the visitors
| aside to ask, with his trembling hands neryously
| clutching at his coat to detain him, whether
| there was no hope of his dismal sentence being
| commuted, the spectacle was realty too painful
| to witness never saw or heard OF any kind of
misery that impressed me more than the
| wretchedness OF this man.
In third cell was a tall, strong black, a
burglar, working at his proper trade OF making
| screws and the like. His time was nearly out.
| he was not only very deXterous thief, but was