284 REMINISCENCES OF 



indeed. The prisoner next me waking from feeling 

 me shivering with cold, threw half of his worn old 

 coverlet over me, and creeping as it was with vermin 

 I could not help welcoming it, and in a few minutes 

 I was asleep again, and did not awake until the stir 

 of the jailers and prisoners about daylight roused 

 me. Shortly before sunrise the door was opened, 

 and my first day of prison life commenced. 



"One day was so much like another, that in de- 

 scribing one, it does for all. When the door was 

 opened all the prisoners hurried into the yard, and 

 I was unchained from the beam and allowed to go 

 also. I was immediately the centre of curiosity, the 

 prisoners and jailers crowding round me, examining 

 my boots, coat, hat, and all my clothes. Not liking 

 this familiarity, and knowing an Eastern will often 

 acknowledge authority if it is usurped with sufficient 

 confidence, I shuffled to the only bench that was in 

 the yard, and motioning to two men who were on it 

 to rise, seated myself on it, and waved to them to 

 stand up and away from in front of me. To my 

 surprise and pleasure they did as I directed, but not 

 wishing to test their patience too long, I bowed to 

 them to sit down. From that moment I was always 

 treated with the greatest respect ; the best seat was 

 always offered to me, and all the prisoners were 

 ready at any time to do anything that I might re- 

 quire of them. A little after sunrise two mandarins 

 belonging to the prison came in and saw the millet, 

 which is the food for the worst kind of prisoners, 

 measured out. This is the prison fare ; the other 



