ISO HAUNTS AND HOBBIES 



alone on the open plain. At each of the four angles of 

 the wall was a quaint-looking little domed turret, which 

 served as a sentry-box. The gateway was surmounted 

 by a parapet, and the whole building, walls, gateway, 

 and turrets, was painted a cheerful yellow ; also the 

 head gaoler had planted rows of flowers, chiefly mari- 

 golds, before a portion of the front wall. Altogether 

 the edifice looked so gay, bright, and Oriental that 

 a picture of it might have served to illustrate an 

 Eastern tale as the castle or residence of some jin 

 or enchanter. 



The inmates of our gaol are in harmony with their 

 surroundings. They are well fed and not overworked; 

 they look plump and contented. They spend most of 

 their time outside the prison in the open air, chiefly 

 working on the roads. So far as the position of a 

 prisoner can be agreeable, theirs is such. One thing 

 about them is very noticeable: their countenances rarely, 

 if ever, have that expression of brutality, ferocity, and 

 moral degradation that, according to description, is so 

 often found among our own criminal population. Indeed, 

 but for their prison dress, they are not in any way 

 distinguishable from ordinary labourers : they have the 

 same quiet manner and placid expression. 



Nevertheless, they are at times capable of acts of 

 savage violence. In my time the guards were always 

 instructed never for an instant to lay aside their swords; 

 and I remember that one of the first lessons impressed 

 upon me when I was given partial charge of a prison 

 was that I should never, under any circumstances what- 

 ever, make the round of the wards unless accompanied 



