The
ominous name of this third story was "Mount Rascal," intended, no
doubt, as significant of the class of prisoners it contained. It is
said that genius is never idle: the floor of these cells bore some
evidence of the fact in a variety of very fine specimens of carving
and flourish work, done with a knife. Among them was a well-executed
crucifix; with the Redeemer, on Calvary-an emblem of hope, showing
how the man marked the weary moments of his durance. We spoke with
many of the prisoners, and heard their different stories, some of
which were really painful. Their crimes were variously stated, from
that of murder, arson, and picking pockets, down to the felon who
had stolen a pair of shoes to cover his feet; one had stolen a pair
of pantaloons, and a little boy had stolen a few door-keys. Three
boys were undergoing their sentence for murder. A man of genteel
appearance, who had been sentenced to three years imprisonment, and
to receive two hundred and twenty lashes in the market, at different
periods, complained bitterly of the injustice of his case. Some had
been flogged in the market, and were awaiting their time to be
flogged again and discharged; and others were confined on suspicion,
and had been kept in this close durance for more than six months,
awaiting trial. We noticed that this worst of injustice, "the law's
delay," was felt worse by those confined on the suspicion of some
paltry theft, who, even were they found guilty by a jury, would not
have been subjected to more than one week imprisonment.
Pages:
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163