Bavaria made the most marked progress, which was worthy of the country that produced the famous Herr Obermaier, and the great state prison of Munich is still worked upon the lines he introduced in 1843, although cellular confinement, which he did not favour, has been to some extent installed. Obermaier was one of those rare characters, another Montesinos, who left his mark on prison administration. He was a man of the same indomitable will and commanding personal influence, who could work wonders with prisoners and change their natures entirely. When he assumed charge, the prison of Munich contained some six or seven hundred prisoners in the worst state of insubordination. They defied all discipline, although the harshest and most severe had been tried. They were chained together and to each chain so heavy a weight was attached that even the strongest found a difficulty in dragging it along. Soldiers, a hundred of them, were on duty all through the prison, at the gates, around the walls, in the passages, inside the work-shops and dormitories; at night, as an additional precaution, a pack of from twenty to thirty large and savage bloodhounds roamed at large through the yards. Obermaier called the place “a perfect pandemonium, comprising within the limits of a few acres, the worst men, the most slavish vices, and the most heartless tyranny.” By degrees he relaxed the severity of the discipline, lightened the chains and sent away the soldiers and the dogs. The prisoners became humanised and in return for the confidence placed in them, grew well-behaved. They managed themselves, and public opinion among them checked flagrant misconduct, all yielding ready obedience to those of their fellows who were appointed overseers. If a prisoner was inclined to break a rule, the warning, _es ist verboten_, was sufficient to deter him. The most satisfactory industry prevailed, and the prisoners became self-supporting, making their own clothes, building their own walls, forging their own fetters, and more especially manufacturing useful articles which found ready sale. In these employments they earned good wages, part of which was given to them on discharge. Nor was the conquest thus achieved over these turbulent spirits merely evanescent, disappearing after release. It was proved, “on irrefutable evidence,” that about five-sixths of those sent out from the Munich prison returned to society improved and that the percentage of relapse was exceedingly small.