Chapter I: Front Matter

SIX YEARS

IN THE

PRISONS OF ENGLAND.

BY

A MERCHANT.

EDITED BY FRANK HENDERSON.

REPRINTED FROM "THE TEMPLE BAR MAGAZINE."

LONDON: RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET. Publisher in Ordinary to Her Majesty.

1869.

TO A KIND AND DEVOTED BROTHER, WHO CHEERED ME WITH WORDS OF CHRISTIAN SYMPATHY AND BROTHERLY LOVE DURING THE DARKEST AND MOST DESOLATE HOURS OF MY PAST UNHAPPY CAREER, THE FOLLOWING PAGES ARE AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR.

Transcriber's Note: In this text the use of an underline (_) indicates italics, an equal sign (=) indicates a word in bold type, and a caret (^) indicates that the following letters are superscripted. Also, British pounds are shown as _l._ rather than the fancy £.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER PAGE

1.--My Commercial Antecedents--How I got into Prison 1

2.--My Feelings on First Entering a Prison--Treatment and
Employment before Trial--My Trial and Sentence 10

3.--Three Months in a Scottish Prison--Begin my Study of the
Convict and his Surroundings--An Old Jail Bird--A Soldier--An
Innocent Convict--My First Cracksman Acquaintance--Conspiracy
to Murder an Officer, and Escape--My Removal to England 21

4.--My Arrival at the Yorkshire Prison--In Simpliciter
Naturalibus--Get Animal Food--Medical Treatment--Statuesque
Christianity--Removed to the Hospital--Death of a Prisoner--My
Leg gets Much Worse--Removal to Surrey Prison 34

5.--Surrey Prison--Daily Routine of Hospital Life--Set a Thief
to Catch a Thief--My Leg gets Worse--Amputation--Life Despaired
of--Prison Doctors--Want of Periodical Hospital Inspection 44

6.--I Petition the Home Secretary--Doctor pronounces me
"Quite Well"--"Schemers," their Treatment and Fate--Death-Bed
Scenes 55

7.--Thiefology--What the uninitiated Convict may Learn in Prison 65

8.--Another Companion--A Career of Crime--His Opinions about
Religion and Church Rates--An Incurable: His Opinion about
Flogging 79

9.--Another Prisoner--Happy as a King--Cure of a Doctor--The
Tobacco and Food Exchange--Another Jail Bird--Civil and
Lazy--Undeserved Remission--Prison Directors, and How they
Discharge their Duties--I Petition to Go Abroad on "Insufficient
Grounds" 93

10.--The Prison--Daily Routine--Readings in Prison--Quarrels among
the Prisoners--Protestants _versus_ Catholics--School--Sundays
in Prison--"Sacrament Blokes"--Turning Point in Prisoners'
Career 107

11.--Indiscriminate Association of Prisoners--Transportation, and
the Cause of its Failure--A Gunsmith 119

12.--How Rebels against Society are made--I am Removed to a
Small Room, amongst Murderers--The "Highflyer" again--How a
Young Gentleman was made a Warning to Others 131

13.--The Act of 1864--Classification of Prisoners--The Mark System:
Its Defects--The True Criminal Law of Restitution--The
only Method by which Confirmed Criminals may be
Reclaimed--Workhouses 144

14.--The New Arrangements as to Remissions--Artificial Legs--Another
Interview with the Visiting Director--Compose Verses--Hospital
once more--Fenians--Prisoners' Letters 158

15.--A very bad Case--A self-taught Artist--A Clergyman also a
Convict--The Clergyman is taught Tailoring--How we Punish
Violation of the Seventh Commandment and the Eighth 169

16.--Quackery--Food--A Chatham Prisoner eats Snails and
Frogs--Sir Joshua Jebb's System and its Defects 181

17.--A new Governor--Bread-and-Water Jack--Severe
Punishments--Directors again--A Herb Doctor--Extraordinary
Story 193

18.--In Prison again--I see the Prison Director for the last
time--Gentleman Prisoners--A Will Forger--A "Warning to
Others"--Fenians--Treatment of Political Prisoners--Another
Jail Bird 207

19.--Prisoners' Conversations--Larry and Tim get into Chokey--Big
Croppy--What Pat gets "in for"--Malicious Gambling--Pat's
Patent for getting a New Coat--Dick's Exploits--Ned's
Adventures and Escapes--A New Screw arrives--A Prisoner
empties the Wine Cup at the Altar--Ned, Dick, and Pat's
Opinions about Badges, Classification, Head Blokes,
Prisoners' Aid Society and the Irish System 220

20.--Capital Punishments--I receive my License--Strange
Bed-fellows--My Liberation 236

* * * *

APPENDIX.

Letters received by the Author--

From the French Consul Général in London iii

From M. Rouher, Ministre de l'Agriculture, du Commerce
et des Travaux Public iv

From the Committee of Privy Council for Trade v

Orders of License to a Convict vi

SIX YEARS IN THE PRISONS OF ENGLAND.