The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-08-15
TWO HOURS IN JAIL.
ny JAMES GREENWOOD.

huge city prison at Holloway. Close beside it
is the residence of the governor of the Jail, and
there inquiring, we were informed that he was
at that moment busy in his garden. There we
discovered him-the dreaded enorcer OF the
laws just sentence, the responsible custodian
of as much of brute ruffianism and vicious cum
ming and daring villainy as suddenly let loose
would merge the town in horror and dismay-
the mighty poten,ate at whose girde, meta.
phoriCally speaking, hung the master-key of
five hundred fast dools behind which captive
men and women sally plued or dedantly
scowled-there he was, serene and at his ease,
with the cuffs of his soJer-grey garden jacket
turned back, pottering about rose-bush, and
with nothn in his appearance 10 denote him
any other than prosperous elderly gentleman
with a taste for flower culture.
Our visit was not altogether unexpected, ana
alter cheerful greeting and q Oriet chat Jn-
cernlng chiefly the favorable weather and the
ravages of slugs, and similar garden pests, the
governor courteously invited us to follow him.
Parting his private garoen from the PRISON is
tall and massive palr OF ga.cs, within which
warder sits constantly. These opened to us,
ana then was revealed trim graYelled court
yard and at the end OF ii second pair OF gates,
Smaller, but more ioImdabe.lOOklng than the
first. More terrible, too, to contemplate, as
every luckle7s wretch must who, tor period
is a friRhttul gate. We were informed that IL
was modelled after that which guards the en-
trance to Warwick Caste; but it might have been
the portal OF the castle of the celebrated man
eating old giant Bluuderbore, for, stand
ing bolt upright against either doorpOst, was
dragon, not cut in duh cold stone, but carved III
wood, and painted by man who knew, at
least, how a dragon should appear, with fiery
eyes and fiery tongue, and scales like plates of
blue steel, and claws the like OF which were
never seen. Each Dragon CutChed great black
nod tN.. "A tr1
soever might be entering IN at the gate in a
manner calculated 10 strike direst terror to the
heart of those new to crimCiul ways, though
there probably are those so hardened in sIn
and so familiar with the gate OF Holloway JAIL
tnat the guardian drag 0n5 may have no terrors
for them, and they may return the threatening
glare OF the monsters eyes with the most cool
and seltpOssessed OF wlnks,
1t Is in at tins door that every prisoner must
pass. Ist within IS capacious stone-payed
lobby, me most conspicuous furniture of which
is a patent weighing machine and a standard
measure. Here II IS that every prisoner Is
stripped, aud examined and weighed, and
measured, the full PARTICULARS being entered in
an enormous record book that ropUses in q cup
board nea1 at hand. | saw The book, and some
Of the most recent entries. Therein is written
not only the particular crime and the adjudged
penalty OF it that on this last occasion
consigned the unfortunate to limbo, but
also all known previous convictions against
him. These ranged from one TO forty, but
we were informed that the average OF pre-
vlously convicted cases did not exceed i've per
Ceut., which was an item OF Intelligence that
agltelbly surprised Us. We were ike wise told
that when winters iTO't-bIta made itself felt,
the number OF prisoners mere ised immedl-
ately; which was significant Of what want may
drive an honest man TO. Further, the record
book revealed TO us-und the Governor endorsed
its evidtnce-that the most numerous class OF
criminals were the breed known as "c)ckney
Irsh,o the de.cCndants OF Irish people who set
tlGu in London two or three generations back.
On criminal entering Holloway Jail, the
I'M ar 10 of
end, the newly captured jall-bird s taken to a
room where there i Il deep and capaCious bath
and rack containing suit Of prison clothing o.
various Zes. No matter what a prisoners
condition in life, whether he be an outCast
gutter.bred boy, whose only home Is a prison
or a 1.-THE and light-hauded "prig" by profession
or the wing-Whskered city well OF elegau
exterior and handsome dress, brought to or ef
perhaps, by the discovery of his first anC
only desperate iorgery-here IS an end tt
his worldly guise. Here are the baths, anC
all corners enter them, and the wate
they contain is the water of oblivion. 1t i
all over with the fallen swell. Up to this mo-
mCnt he may have clung to his black coat o
respectable cut as a last poor something tina
buOyed him, at east in appearance, above tn
herd of low thieves in greasy tus.ian; now ht
must abandon it, aud take unto himself tn,
plumage OF the common jaiLbrd. 1t is not
niCe.loOking plumage. 1t consists of q coars
shirt, and q tight-dtting suit of slate coore
woollen, of the style Vulgarly known as tn
"skeletOn," aud from the shoulder to the elbON
OF the right s'ecve of it is exhibited in a sho "
border, the initial and number OF the ward i
which the said jail-birds particular cage ma
be found.
Retore entering the bathroom, the prisone
strips, and leaves his clothes of the outer wor
at he door, and they are gathered up and thrus
into string net, and so they are baked an
purified, after which inventory OF them is takeu
and they are ticketed, and slowed away unit
the expiration of the prisoners sentence sha
legalze his claim 10 them.
On the same floor with the bathroom are a 81
of cells called "r5ception-cells," !" for the use
prisoners who may be brought IN at tim
iuConVenient for their medical examination
indispensable before they may be admitted [
the body of the prison. There were two sue
case on the evening OF our visit. Just outsit
the doors of the reception-cells were two buI
dies enveloped IN net, aud, reposlng on each,
pa n of mIry, dilapidated shoes, the propert
OF the individuals who hal come in late. O
cell number one being unlocked, there was d
CLOSED, suspended IN Il hammock slung from wa
to wall, quick-eyed, buet-headed youth
the true thief type.
He appeared perfectly comfortable and at h
ease. The cell, being for temporary usage on
was unfinished except for the hammock; bl
that was provided with nice clean woole
rug, which the young thief had pulled up
heh as his ears, still shining and intlamt
through recent acquaintance with hot WatC
and yellow soap. Tue cell vas arched, and
well as my memory serves, about seven feet vic
and ten feet III depth. The wallis were whitene
and at the end, by the wall, was a narrO
WiudcW, barred with IRON bars. Neverth
less, with the mellow sunlight streaming II
the place altogether appeared such II clean an
sweet little bedroom, that, assuming the stor
suggested Oy the netted bundle ana the shpshC
tattered boots outside the dO)r to be true-
story involving the hlicOus sqlalOr OF "bln
alley at Cow Cross or Seven Dials ana the III
speakaole h9rors o. twopenny loIgng hous
IL seemed thai the young gentleman in Oh
hammock. n Hn