CHAPTER XXVIII RETROSPECT 361 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE 1.—“BLACK MARIA” _Frontispiece_. 2.—A CHEERFUL GROUP 60 3.—“SHOULD OLD ACQUAINTANCE BE FORGOT?” 63 4.—THE EFFECTS OF A WARM BATH AT “COLDBATH” 141 5.—A CELL, 8 A.M. 161 6.—A CELL, 8 P.M. 178 7. —A TYPICAL TURNKEY 205 (_a_) _Its Normal Expression_. (_b_) _Corroborative Evidence_. 8.—COUNTING 241 9.—“NEGATIVES KEPT” 271 10.—GARDENING—“SOMETHING APPROACHING” 282 11.—GARDENING—“THE LINE CLEAR” 287 12.—WHENCE COMEST THOU, GEHAZI? (AN EXHORTATION TO REPENTANCE) 333 CHAPTER I. “MY ARREST.” ON a dreary afternoon in November, cheerless and foggy as befitted the occasion, and accompanied by that gentle rain which we are told “falleth on the just and on the unjust,” I suddenly, though hardly unexpectedly, found myself in the hands of the law, as represented by a burly policeman in a waterproof cape and a strong Somersetshire accent. The circumstances that led up to this momentous change can be briefly described. I had gone to the office of a solicitor—one White, with whom I had had previous monetary transactions—with reference to a new loan on a bill of exchange; and it must be distinctly understood that any allusions I may make to this individual’s vocations are not to be misinterpreted, for I have the highest respect for his integrity and aptitude for business, legal or otherwise, and cannot but admire (as I’m sure every honest reader will) the horror with which any dishonest act inspired him, which, though it did not deter him from conscientiously completing the transaction as a matter of business, was equally swift in retributive justice, and condemnatory (to use his own expression) of compounding a felony. Mr. White, in short, is a money-lender, who, in addition to the advantages derivable from his legal assistance, is always prepared on undoubted security—such as a bill of sale or a promissory note—to make cash advances at the rate of 240 per cent. I am justified in quoting this as the gentleman’s rate of interest, for I paid him £5 for a loan of £45 for fourteen days, a transaction that his cheque on a Holborn bank will testify. The only marvel that suggests itself to my mind is, that a person who is so scrupulous in refusing to “compound a