PRISON DISCIPLINE. 117 



was cultivated also by the spade husbandry of these 

 men. The gan^s were marched across the main street 

 from a back entrance of the county gaol in charge 

 of an old turnkey ; and so little degradation did the men 

 feel, and so easy was their lot, that escapes were scarcely 

 even heard of or attempted by men who were sentenced 

 to short terms of imprisonment. 



An amusing incident happened to my father when he 

 first came to Aylesbury in 181 2. Old Mr. Sherift", the 

 then governor of the gaol, was an intimate friend of my 

 grandfather's, and he was anxious to assist his friend's 

 son. He offered my father the services of one of the 

 prisoners to do the odd work of the house, such as 

 milking the cow, feeding the pigs, working in the 

 garden, etc., and my father was nothing loth in accepting 

 it. The man, who was undergoing a sentence of six 

 months' hard labour, and had served part of his time, 

 immediately entered on his duties, had his dinner 

 daily and half a pint of beer, and dressed in his 

 labourer's clothes and not in the gaol uniform — was, in 

 fact, treated as one of the servants of the household. 

 My father was seated at his dinner one market-day, at 

 the termination of the prisoner's sentence and after he 

 had had his discharge, when he was told "Jem " 

 wanted to see him. " Come in," said my father ; "what 

 is it you want ? " " Well, sir," Jem replied, " I've brought 

 in your little bill ; " and he handed him a little scrap of 

 paper, made out by himself, charging about 6d. per day 

 for all the days he had been at work. My father said, 

 *' What do you mean, you scoundrel ^ why, you have 

 been a prisoner a'.l the time. If you don't take yourself 



