nomen, iemand met een schuld in executie onder £1 kreeg bij niet betaien 20 da
gen gevangenisstraf en kostte de City een halve crown per week. De gevangene
verloor zijn baan, en zijn vrouw en kinderen kwamen op de kosten van de gemeen
schap in het werkhuis.
Mr.Thacker vertelde ook, dat men slechts van negen tot elf en 's-middags van
veertien tot zestien uur bezoek van buiten mocht ontvangen. Pas als 's winters na
zes uur 's avonds en zomers na acht uur de bezoekers vertrokken waren, werden de
slaapvertrekken weer geopend.
Dit strenge regime van Whitecross-street Prison werd in 1867, bijna 30 jaar na The
Pickwick Papers, uitvoerig in All the Year Round geschetst. Men mocht maar twee
bezoekers per dag ontvangen. Aangezien het een ongunstige buurt was, moest
een vrouw altijd worden gechaperonneerd "for a viler set than some of the visitors,
or a viler neighbourhood than this detestable prison is situated in, it would be
difficult to imagine".
Among other petty annoyances to which we were subjected at Whitecross-
street, was that of being locked out from our sleeping-rooms from eight in the
morning unfit seven at night, and thus never being able during the whole day to
touch water, soap, or hairbrush. The sleeping-rooms consisted of very large dreary
cold barrack-room sort of place - only I should like to hear the indignant appeals
which would be made in the House of Commons, could any barrack-room, or
even criminal prison, half so bad been found within the limits of the kingdom -
divided in so many bunks, or compartments, each large enough to hold a ver
narrow small-sized bed. Although it was the midst of a very cold winter, and
although these rooms could never be visited by the sun, ther was no fire - not
even a fireplace. Anythong like the deadly cellar-like cold of this vile hole, I never
felt in my life; although I had never been used to luxuries. The beds, from their size,
must have been intended for thin schoolboys; from their hardness, for Trappist
monks. The first night I lay wrechedly awake. Two ver/ thin blankleis were all
between me and the cold that fearful long night. In the next bunk to me was a
Frenchman, who could hardly speak a word of English, and to whom I had been
of some little use in interpeting during the day. Hearing me shivering with coid, he
offered to lend me one or two raaiIway-rugs, he had brought with him. I was never
so grateful for anything. I rolled myself round in the welcome rug, and towards
morning dozed off, but only to be roused up by a man who cleaned the shoes,
and did odd jobs about the place for the prisoners of the ward, calling out, "Half-
past seven, gents; time to be up!"
There was in each bunk a small basin, in which even a limited wash of hands
and face could not be accomplished without a great deal of difficulty. It was
astonishing to obeserve how very soon the most clean and trim-looking among us
became as careless arid dirty in their persons as the rest. Nor could it well be
otherwise. Our hurried dressing complete, we had to moveHere we found
waiting for us a solid enough breakfast of fried bacon, eggs, bread, salt butter,
and strong, If not good, tea. By nine o'clock this meal was over and cleared
away, and from fhat time until ten the prisoners smoked, talked, played at
backgammon, or otherwise amused themselves. There was an open court-yard,
round and round which some of them walked, in pairs or alone. Any prisoner who
