one. This latter room had glazed windows, and a fire-place, and
was, comparatively speaking, comfortable. The same charge was made for
the beds in these rooms as in other parts of the prison. The debtors
were also accommodated with rooms in a house adjoining the gaol, from
which, by the way, an escape of many of the prisoners, felon and debtor,
took place in 1807--a circumstance which created immense public interest.
When the prisoners were discovered, they stood at bay, and it was not
until they were fired upon, that they surrendered. The criminals were
lodged in seven close dungeons 6.5 feet by 5 feet 9 inches. These cells
were ranged in a passage 11 feet wide, under ground, and were approached
by ten steps. Over each cell door was an aperture which admitted such
light and air as could be found in such a place. Some improvement took
place in this respect after Mr. Howard's visit. There was also a large
dungeon or cell which looked upon the street, in which twelve prisoners
were confined. This dungeon was not considered safe, so that only
deserters were put into it. As many as forty persons have been
incarcerated in it at one time. In five of the cells there were four
prisoners; in the other two, there were only three.

The court-yards (one of which was 20 yards by 30, the other 20 yards by
10) were kept in a most filthy state, although a fine pump of good water
was readily accessible. The yards were brick-paved. In one yard I
noticed a large dung-heap, which, I was informed, was only removed once a
month. There were numbers of fowls about the yard, belonging to the
prison officials and to the prisoners. In these yards, as may readily be
supposed, scenes of great disorder took place. The utmost licentiousness
was prevalent in the prison throughout. Spirits and malt liquors were
freely introduced without let, hindrance, or concealment, though against
the prison rules--not one of which, by the way, (except the feeing
portion) was kept. The felons' "garnish," as it was called, was
abolished previous to 1809, but the debtors' fee remained. The prison
was dirty in the extreme; the mud almost ankle deep in some parts in the
passages, and the walls black and grimy. There seemed to be no system
whatever tending towards cleanliness, and as to health that was utterly
disregarded. Low typhoid fever was frequently prevalent, and numbers
were swept off by it. The strong prisoners used to tyrannise over the
weak