ng myself of such means as were
in my power to evade the operation of laws I had never consciously
violated. But in all this I may have been, and probably was, in error;
I have no wish to extenuate or explain away any fault or crime of which
I may have been guilty; I choose, rather, the language of penitence and
confession; and although I may never perhaps be forgiven by society, I
shall cherish the hope of being more mercifully dealt with by Him who
said, with reference to a greater sin than mine, "Go, and sin no more."

Thus the days and weeks passed away, while I still hoped and believed
that no one would appear to witness against me. The prison diet now,
however, began to tell seriously upon me.

In England and America I believe a prisoner is allowed to maintain
himself, under certain restrictions, whilst he is waiting for trial;
but in Scotland he is compelled to subsist on a diet which is
considered the main ingredient in the punishment of the very lowest
class of offenders whose sentences do not exceed a few months'
imprisonment. The sense of punishment involved in this treatment--which
would kill me now--was to some extent forgotten in the greater mental
suffering I then endured, but the pangs of hunger and painful dreams
about food frequently compelled me to think of my health. On making a
complaint to the medical officer of the prison, he told me that as I
was in good health he could only give me the choice of coffee and a
slice of bread in lieu of the oatmeal breakfast; but on seeing the
small quantity of bread I was to be allowed, compared with the bulk of
the oatmeal porridge, I decided on not changing for the worse. I did
not wish to be treated differently from other prisoners, and therefore
did not appeal to any higher authority. Indeed, I then imagined that as
I was stronger and heartier than the majority of my miserable
companions, I could subsist upon a meagre diet as well, if not better,
than they. I now know from experience that I was wrong in this opinion,
and that the man of strong digestion, accustomed to a generous diet, is
likely to sustain more injury to his health by a sudden change to a
very low scale of dietary, than those of weak digestion who have not
been accustomed to any other. The only concession made to me was a
slight addition to the time for exercise in the open-air cribs provided
for that purpose. My legs, accustomed to much exertion, began to get
stiff, and after I had been incar