er falls,
the visitor is chilled with the dampness which greets him as soon as he
passes into the shadow of the heavy columns. Upon reaching the inner
side of the enclosure, he finds that the portion of the prison seen from
the street encloses a large courtyard, in the centre of which stands a
second prison, 142 feet long by 45 feet deep, and containing 148 cells.
This is the male prison, and is connected with the outer building by a
bridge known as the _Bridge of Sighs_, since it is by means of it that
condemned criminals pass from their cells to the scaffold at the time of
their execution.

The gallows is taken down and kept in the prison until there is need for
it. Then it is set up in the courtyard near the Bridge of Sighs. All
executions are conducted here in private, that is, they are witnessed
only by such persons as the officers of the law may see fit to admit.
But on such days the neighboring buildings are black with people, seeking
to look down over the prison walls and witness the death agonies of the
poor wretch who is paying the penalty of the law.

[Picture: THE BRIDGE OF SIGHS.]

The interior of the male prison consists of a narrow and lofty hall, upon
which open four tiers of cells, one above another; those above the ground
floor being reached by light iron galleries. Each gallery is guarded by
two keepers. The cells are narrow, and each is lighted by a small
iron-barred window at the farther end. Light and air are also admitted
by the barred door of iron opening upon the corridor. There are eleven
cells of especial strength, in which convicts condemned to death or to
the State Prison are confined. There are six other cells, which are used
for the confinement of persons charged with offences less grave, and six
more, which are used for sick prisoners. The cells are generally full of
criminals. Some of them are well furnished, and are provided with
carpets, chairs, a table, and books and paper, which are bought at the
expense of the prisoner or his friends. Some of the inmates shrink from
the observation of visitors, but others are hardened to crime and shame,
and not unfrequently cause the visitor's ears to tingle with the remarks
they address to them. No lights are allowed in the cells, and the aspect
of the place is very gloomy, the whole prison is kept scrupulously clean,
the sanitary regulations being very strict, but the lack of room
necessitates the crowding of th