ish the
death-penalty for forgery; the House of Commons voted its abolition, but
the Lords restored the clauses retaining the penalty. One thousand
bankers signed a petition praying that the vote of the Commons might be
sustained, but in vain; still, in deference to public opinion, after
this the death-penalty was not inflicted upon a forger. Nevertheless,
there remained plenty of food for the gallows. An incendiary, as well as
a sheep-stealer, was liable to capital punishment; and so severely was
the law strained upon these points, that he who set fire to a rick in a
field, as well as he who found a half-dead sheep and carried it home,
was condemned without mercy. But the advocates of mercy continued their
good work until, finally, the gallows became the penalty for only those
offenses which concerned human life and high treason.

CHAPTER IX.

CONVICT SHIPS AND CONVICT SETTLEMENTS.

More work opened before the indefatigable worker. Frequently batches of
female convicts were despatched to New South Wales, and, according to
the custom at Newgate, departure was preceded by total disregard of
order. Windows, furniture, clothing, all were wantonly destroyed; while
the procession from the prison to the convict ship was one of brutal,
debasing riot. The convicts were conveyed to Deptford, in open wagons,
accompanied by the rabble and scum of the populace. These crowds
followed the wagons, shouting to the prisoners, defying all regulations,
and inciting them to more defiance of rules. Some of the convicts were
laden with irons; others were chained together by twos. Mrs. Fry
addressed herself first to the manner of departure, and, rightly judging
that the open wagons conduced to much disorder, prevailed on the
governor of Newgate to engage hackney-coaches for the occasion. Further,
she promised the women that, provided they would behave in an orderly
manner, she, together with a few other ladies, would accompany them to
the ship. Faithful to her promise, her carriage closed the line of
hackney-coaches; three or four ladies were with her, and thus, in a
fashion at once strangely quiet and novel, the transports reached the
place of embarkation.

There were one hundred and twenty-eight convicts that day; no small
number upon which to experimentalize. As soon as they reached the ship
they were herded together below decks like so many cattle, with nothing
to do but to curse, swear, fight, recount past crimes, relate foul