I had the opportunity of inspecting this huge instrument of torture, and was considerably disappointed that I could not try its effect. I had the gratification, however, of putting some paint on one panel and a piece of putty into a hole, thereby having assisted at the making of the wheel. Putting putty into a hole is not so easy as it may sound. At the inspection of work next day I had the mortification of seeing my lump condemned, and cruelly removed. The tread-wheel is moved by elaborate machinery worked by powerful engines, which, in addition to setting the wheel in motion, grinds corn in an adjoining building for the use of the prison. It is entirely different from the Adelphi one, and may be described as four long cylindrical wheels extending the length of the building on either side and along the gallery. Partitions, of sufficient dimensions to enable a man to stand up, run the entire length of the various wheels, thereby precluding all communication between the several occupants. Two hundred and sixty men can be “on” at once, and the punishment is carried out on the principle of ten minutes “off” and twenty minutes “on.” The victims are marched down at 7.30 A.M., and beguile the time thus pleasantly till 11.30. They return at 1.30 p.m., and continue the enjoyment till 5. I am told this is considered an easy wheel, and men who have experienced the working of others assured me that this one was mere child’s play. A great deal depends on the worker, and the experienced jail-bird rises—or, as it was termed to me, “waits for”—the step with little or no exertion. With the novice, however, it is severe labour, and the exertion involved bathes him in perspiration. A supply of warm water is given them on returning to their cells of an evening, to obliterate in a degree the unpleasant consequences of the wheel. But the discomfort—can one estimate it? A poor wretch bathed in perspiration, and having to sleep in the same shirt and work in it for a week! Only prisoners fit for hard labour are put to the wheel, and no man is ever so employed unless passed by the surgeon. The doctor’s work is considerably augmented by the reconstruction of the wheel, and besides having to visit the yard frequently during the day, he is persecuted by strings of schemers trying by every conceivable subterfuge to evade the punishment. Some go the length of tumbling off, and occasionally succeed in temporarily disqualifying themselves by a sprained ankle or wrist. I was much amused during my employment at its construction at the interest that the various officials took in every detail connected with its progress. They revelled at the prospect of the treat in store for them, and seemed to gloat over the exquisite misery awaiting some of their lambs. Bunches of these warders would occasionally meet, and discuss the intricacies of the machinery with a gusto only to be acquired by prison contagion. It would