The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1875-02-11
PRISON LIFE IN ENGLAND.
The Female Prison mt Nfillbank--IIow the
Convicts spend Their Time.

A correspondent of the London Daily
NeUs gives the following sketch of q
convict's daily life in the female prison
at Millbank
BY half-past seven the cell must be in
apple-pie order, and all the clothes taken
off the bed, neatly folded up inside the
quilt, and placed at the foot of the bed
stead. Then comes breakfast, consisting
of piece of bread and tin of cocoa.
From Monday to Saturday pound of
bread is daily allowed to each prisoner.
On Sunday twenty-five ounces is the
allowance, but, per contra, on this day
the prisoners dine luxuriously off cheese,
of which three ounces is served out to
each on returning from divine service.
Half an hour is allowed for breakfast,
and from eight o'clock to nine is devoted
to labor. At nine, the prisoners file out
down the corridors into the chapel,
where they sit on bare benches, with
the assistant matrons planted here and
there on high stools, keeping watchful
eye over the silent congregation. Pray
ers are over in time for all to be back in
their cells at half-past nine, when there
comes another hours work at knitting
or the making of articles of clothing.
At half-past ten the straw bonnets,
guiltless of ribbon, are donned, the ugly
yellow cloaks are put on, and all, being
first marshaled and counted in the corri-
dors, march into the yard for exercise. s"
Exercise means marching round and
round the yard in single file, whilst the
warders look on, Nobody speaks a word
or looks to the right hand or the left.
but for sixty minutes all plod round and
round, silent, sad and sullen company.
This performance over, the prisoners re-
turn to their cells and get to work again,
sewing or knitting, till one o'clock.
At one o'clock they dine, the rations
being carried up to the wards by relays
of the prisoners themselves. The allow
ance is served out to each in her cell by
the assistant matrons. On Mondays and
ton, of which each gets three ounces,
with a few spoonfuls of gravy, the char
acter of which may be inferred from the
fact that it is "fiavored with one-half
ounce of onions, and thickened with
one-eighth ounce of flour, and with
bread left from the previous day." In
addition, each prisoner has three-quar-
ters of a pound of potatoes. On Tues
day the fare is bread, and pint of soup,
containing eight ounces of shins of beef,
one ounce of pearl barley, three ounces
of fresh vegetables, and three-quarters
of a pound of potatoes. On Thursday
the dinner consists of three-quarters of
pound of potatoes, and an equal guam
tity of suet pudding, containing one
ounce and two pennyweights of suet, six
ounces of flour, and four ounces and
fourteen pennyweights of water. On
Friday and Saturday the fare is beef and
potatoes, three ounces of the former to
three-quarters of pound of the latter,
which is rendered further appetizing
by the addition of gravy made in the
same generous fashion as that of Mon
day. On Sunday comes divine service,
and bread and cheese again, and then
the mutton, the soup, the suet pudding,
and the beef in due and unalterable
order. At two o'clock on the afternoon
of week days work recommences, and is
continued till half-past five, when "sup.
per " is indulged in. Supper consists
of the remains of the days allowance
of bread washed down with a pint of
Cruel, the component parts of which
are two ounces of oatmeal, one-half
ounce of molasses, and two ounces of
milk. At six more work, which is car
ried on till eight o'clock, when three
quarters of an hours leisure time is al
lowed for reading. At quarter to nine
bed-making begins, and bynine alllights
are out and darkness reigns throughout
the always silent cells. These hours are
the same in winter with the exception
that the prisoners rise half-an-hour later
and go to bed half-an-hour earlier.