n
relevant. He told Lord Sidmouth, in effect, that the sorrows of Marsden
were too deep for discovery: noted for the cheerfulness, and even gaiety
of his temper, his movements were too rapid for grief; and his days,
divided between the cares of farming, grazing, and trade--to say nothing
of his clerical occupation--left him no time for sorrow.[106] The evils
he described are, however, proved by uniform testimony: they must exist
where dealing in spirits is the sure path to wealth, and wealth the
title to social distinction.

In the _Rocks_, drunkenness and debauchery were constant and
undisguised: persons of respectable appearance, in the day time, were
liable to mal-treatment; but those who, in the night, entered the
"fortress of iniquity," were usually stripped and plundered. Broils and
boxing matches were of perpetual occurrence; the public-houses were
"fences;" and degraded women, in large numbers, crowded these dens of
thieves.[107]

It is not necessary to give a chronological history of the spirituous
epoch. The reign of intemperance commenced with the first proclamation:
it received all the protection of law, and the favour of government: it
was embodied in our penal administration. Whether it was possible to
check its mischief, some may doubt; but that it has clenched the
population fast; that it has formed our gangs--crowded our prisons; that
it has covered our scaffolds, and filled ten thousand graves--is certain
as death!

The correspondence maintained between the convicts and their friends,
informed them of their prosperity. The alluring picture, drawn by those
whose bondage was past, exhibited a social state, precisely suited to
the taste of their kindred and acquaintance. The sensual and dissolute
were tempted by the riotous jollity of the "Rocks;" those fond of
equivocal commerce with the profits of trade; and others were cheered by
the assurance that a friend in bonds would find a nominal master in a
relative or former friend, when the formalities of inspection were
over.[108] Such as brought out spoil, were besieged with offers of
investment, and found themselves in a market where money was the
passport to favor and indulgence; others, less fortunate, were pillaged
by those who crowded them with welcomes,[109] or drawn into bargains
which proved that no cozening art was lost.

To illustrate the occasional good fortune of prisoners, one Hazard, may
be worth remembrance: he had been before transporte