Great Britain -- Social conditions -- 19th century -- Fiction
Aided by Mr. Eden, who whirled over the leaves of Mr. Hawes's log-book
for him, Mr. Lacy compared several pages of the two books. The following
is merely a selected specimen of the entries that met his eye:
MR. FRY. MR. HAWES.
Joram.Writing on his can--bread and Joram.Refractory--bread and
water. water.
Joram.Bread and water.
Joram.Bread and water. Joram.Refractory--crank; bread
and water.
Joram.Crank not performed--bread
and water.
Joram.Punishment-jacket.
Joram.Refractory--crank--bread and Joram. Refractory--bread and
water. water.
Joram.Attempted suicide; Joram. Feigned suicide; cause
insensible when found. Had religious despondency--put on
cut off pieces of his hair to sick-list.
send to his friends--sick-list.
Josephs. Crank not performed; says Josephs. Refractory; said
he could not turn the crank No. 9; he would not work on crank 9;
punishment-jacket. punishment-jacket.
Tomson. Communicating in chapel-- Tomson.Communicating--dark cells.
dark cell 12 hours.
Tomson. Bread and water.
Tomson. Crank not performed; Tomson. Refractory--jacket.
punishment-jacket.
Tomson. Dark cells.
Tomson. No chapel.
Tomson. Dark cells.
Tomson. Melancholy. Tomson. Afflicted with remorse
for past crimes--surgeon.
Tomson. Very strange.
Tomson. Removed to lunatic asylum. Tomson. Removed to asylum.
Tanner (nine years old). Caught Tanner. Caught up at window;
up at window; asked what he did answered insolently--jacket.
there; said he wanted to feel the
light--jacket, and bread and water
three days.
Tanner. For repining--chapel Tanner. Refractory language--
and gas stopped until content. forbidden chapel until
reformation.
“Can I see such a thing as a prisoner who has attempted suicide?”
inquired he, with lingering incredulity.
“Yes! there are three on this landing. Come first to Joram, of whom
Mr. Hawes writes that he made a sham attempt on his life in a fit of
religious despondency--Mr. Fry, that having been jacketed and put on
bread and water for several days, he became depressed in spirits and
made a real attempt on his life. Ah! here is Mr. Fry, he is coming
this way to tell you his first falsehood. Hawes has been all this while
persuading him to it.”
“Where is your journal, Mr. Fry?”
“Well, sir,” replied Fry, hanging his head, “I can't show it you. I lent
it to a friend, now I remember, and he has taken it out of the jail;
but,” added he with a sense of relief, “you can ask me any questions you
like and I'll answer them all one as my book.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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