had made an attempt to escape from prison on the third day after he had
been brought thither, and was punished, according to the custom of the
place, by being bound hand and foot, set within a tub, and exposed to
public gaze and derision.

"Alas! Sir Jocelyn!" ejaculated the apprentice, "but for you I should
not have been here. I undertook a thankless office, and have been
rightly served for my folly. We have both found our way to the Fleet,
but I much doubt if either of us will find his way out of it. As for me,
I liked the appearance of the place, and the society it seems to
furnish, so little, that I resolved to make a clearance of it at once;
and accordingly I managed to scramble up yonder lofty wall, in the hope
of effecting my deliverance, without asking for a licence to go abroad
from the warden; but, unfortunately, in dropping down from so great a
height I sprained my ankle, and fell again into the hands of the
Philistines--and here I am, like the Cynic philosopher in his tub."

Sir Jocelyn would have addressed a few words of consolation to the poor
fellow, but at this moment the wicket was opened, and he was pushed
through it by the attendants of the serjeant-at-arms, who were
apprehensive of the crowd. The small aperture that had given him
admittance to the prison was instantly closed, and all chance of rescue
cut off.

The prisoner being thus effectually secured, the officials felt more
easy; and smiling at each other, they proceeded deliberately to the
porter's lodge, at the entrance of which stood a huge, powerfully-built,
ill-favoured man, evidently chosen for the post of porter from his
personal strength and the savageness of his disposition.

With a growl like that of a mastiff, to the black broad muzzle of which
animal his own features bore a remarkable resemblance, the porter
greeted the new comers, and ushered them into an apartment built of
stone, octagonal in shape, with a vaulted roof, narrow windows like
loopholes, and a great stone fireplace. Its walls, which resembled those
of an ancient guardroom, were appropriately enough garnished with
fetters; mixed up with which, as if to inspire greater terror among the
beholders, were an executioner's heavy whip, with many knotted thongs,
several knives, with strange blades, the purpose of which was obvious
enough, and branding-irons.

As Sir Jocelyn was brought into the lodge by his guards, an elderly man,
with a bald head and gray beard and mousta