The New Orleans crescent. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1866-1869, 1868-09-13
TWO HOURS IN JAIL.
BY JAMES eRniSwooD.
From London Society !

BY JAMES GRKiNwooD.
From London Society
was the cool Of the evening Of a summers
e we approached the grim Outworks of the
city prison at Holloway. Close beside It is
o/fesidence Of the governor of the jail, and
~ inquiring, we were informed that he was at
~ moment busy In his garden. There we dis
ed him-the dreaded enforcer Of the laws
sentence, the responsible custodian OF as
Of brute rufhanism AID vicious cunning and
bg villany as suddenly let loose would merge
town in horror and disInay,-the mighty pc.
hte at whose girdle. metaphorically speaking,
90 the master-key Of fye-bundred fast doors,
bind which captive men and women sadly pinned
o. defantly scowled,-thefe he was, serene and
DIE ease, with the cufsso his sober gray gar.
jacket turned back, pottering about rose.
1kh, and with nothing In his appearance to de-
be him any other than q prosperous elderly
ntlemsn, with taste for flower culture.
Our visit was not altogether unexpected, end
Ter q cheerful greeting and brief chat con.
Mrning chiefly the favorable weather and the
wages Of slugs, and similar garden pests, the
Governor courteously invited us to follow him.
Parting his private garden from the prison is a tall
md massive pair Of gates. within which wsrder
bits constantly. These opened to US, and then
was revealed trim gray eled courtyard, and at
fhe end OF II second pair OF gates, smaller, but
more formidable looking than the first More ter
rible, too, TO contemplate, as every luckess
wretch must, who for a psriod brief or prolonged,
il doomed TO lodge herd. IL is frightful gate.
We were Informed that d was modelled after that
which guards the enuanCp to Warwick castle; but
il might have been the ISrtal of the castle of the
celebrated man eating of giant Blunderbore, fer,
standing bolt upright Against either doorpost was
@ dragon, not cut in dujl cold stone, but carved
In wood, and painted byf. man who knew, at least,
how q dragon should sIbear. with fiery eyes and
fiery tongue, and scaleflike plates of blue steel,
and claws the like Of{which were never seen.
Each dragon clutchecs great black key. and
gTinned as he gared dofn on whomsoever might
be entering in at the gtse In 6 manner calculated
10 strike direst terror ID the heart OF those TO
crime u ways, though lSere probably are those so
hardened in sin, and So familiar with the gate of
Holloway jail, that the guardian dragons may have
no terrors for them, end they may return the
threatening glare OF ufe monsters eyes with the
most cool and self. possessed of winks.
II Is in at this door that every prisoner must
pass. just within is.s capacious stone-paved
lobby the most conspicuous furniture OF which Is
patent weighing msShine and standard meas
nre. Here il il that every prisoner is stripped,
and examined, and Weighed, and measured, the
full particulars beBt entered in az enormous
record book that repGses In cupboard near at
hand. | saw the bopk, and some of the most
recent entries Tbereis written not only the par
ticular crime and the s1judged penalty Of IL that
on this last occasion Consigned the unfortunate to
limbo, but also all E1own previous convictions
against him. These ranged from one TO forty, but
we were informed that the average Of previously
convicted cases did got exceed FIVE per cent
which was an item os intelligence that agreeaby
surprised us. We wire likewise told that when
winters frost bite maze itself felt the number Of
prisoners increased Immediately; which was sadly
significant Of what want may drive an honest man
10. Further, the re5ord-book revealed TO US
and the governor indGrsed its evidence-that the
most numerous clas; Of criminals were OF the
breed known as "eSckney Irishp the descend.
ants of Irish people who settled in London two or
three generations ba. k.
On Q criminal entering Holloway jail, the ex.
animation and weighing and measuring at an end,
the newly captured jailbird is taken TO a room
where there Is deep and capaciOus bath, and a
rack containing suits OF prison clothing Of various
sizes. No matter what prisoners condition in
life, whether he be sn outcast, gutter-bred boy.
whose only home isfa prison, or 1.-the and light
banded "pTig " byfprofession, or the wing whis-
cred city swell Of esegant exterior and handsome
ress. brought to gsef, perhaps. by the discovery
his Grst and only desperate forgery-here is an
nd 20 his worldly E.lise. Here are the baths and
all corners enter shem. and the water they
contain is the water of oblivion. Ii is
all over with the "a. en swell. Up 20 this moment
he may have clnnei TO his black coat Of respecta-
BILE cut as last posr something tina: buoyed him,
At least in appearance, above the herd of low
thieves in greasy sustian; now he must abandon
il, and take unto himself the plumage Of the com.
mon jail.blrd. 1t is.not nice-looking plamsge.
1t consists of a coarse shirt, and tight fitting
suit Of sate-colored wooden, Of the style vulgarly
Rnown as the "sh,eeton," and from the shoulder
I'd the elbow of tie right sleeve of il is exhibited
in y snowy border the initial and number of the
valid IN which the said jail-bird's particular cage
maA be found.
Bkfore entering the bath room, the prisoner
stripk, and leaves his clothes Of the outer world
at thd door, and they are gathered mp and thrust
into 4 string net and so they are baked and puri
lied, after which inventory Of them is taken. aud
hey fsre ticketed, and slowed away until the ex-
jirstlon of the prisoners sentence shall legalze
ais cIAim TO them.
OIL the same floor with the bath room are a set
n IL g. r
risol ners who may be brought in at time incon.
enielnt for their medical examination, indispensa-
,e Nj efore they may he admitted 20 the body Of
Il iIison. There were two such cases on the
enl ng of our visit just outside the doors Of the
AceNtiOn cells were two bundles envelOped In a
"a g ,knd repOsing on each, pair OF miry, dilap-
i'll teoi shoes, tht property Of the individuals who
al / colne in late. ON cell number one being IN
ID kedA there we're disclosed, suspended in 9
ab umo lex slung FROM wall 70 wall. q quickeyed,
mi ETH eaded yDuih Of the true thief type.
he a1'pesredsperfectly comfortable and az bis
,asl,. Ahe cell: being for temporary usage only,
vas unIurnishsi except for the hammock; bet
nat aslprovi'ed with nice, clean, wooden rug,
Nhic th4 young thief had pulled up as high as his
aars still shining and infamed through recent &C.
onaitptanAe with hot water and yellow soap. The
cell twas larchUd, and, as well as my memory
serveA, stout seven feet wide and ten feet in
depthy The walls were whitened, and AZ the end,
Nv The VAN, wassa narrow window barred with
iron bars. Nevertheless, with the mellow sun
,isbt streaming in. the place altogether appeared
snch A clean Isnd sweet little bedroom that, as
snmin 1.-THE s1ory suggested by the netted bundle
and tfetelip-sHod tattered boots outside the door
80 he trte-asitory Involving the hideous squalor
~ Ind asfey y al Cow Cross or Seven Dials,
"a me Jnspst kabe horrors Of q twopenDy odg-
anu s,nSuhonst-it Asemed that the yoaog gentleman in
~ bsmhockltt present, at any rate, had not
Seb reason to bewsil his hard fate Quite kindly
az. nsN s-overhor sItoke to him;
'A :. wen lad. What are you here for2r
.,vt ., beef sir ~ the lad CURLY replied AZ the