143 
sembled until the spirit moves some one. The individual thus 
excited, then preaches, ad libitum, whether male or female. The 
meeting was very quiet when we entered, and remained quiet 
for more than an hour; the spirit moved no one; at last this fa¬ 
tiguing sitting terminated, and we went home unedified. The 
church, or rather the meeting-house, is very simple, without the 
least ornament; the whole hall is filled with benches, and on an 
elevated form sit the elders of both sexes, with those who are in 
the habit of preaching. 
A Quaker, Mr. Vaux, is at the head of several public institu¬ 
tions in Philadelphia. I was introduced to him by Mr. Eddy: 
he.received me kindly, although using the appellation “thou,”* 
and promised to show me these institutions. The first objects 
we saw in his house, were paintings and copperplates referring 
to the first settlement of the Quakers in this state, and a model of 
a monument which is intended to be erected to the memory of 
William Penn. The model represented an obelisk, and was made 
of part of the elm tree under which this great benefactor of man¬ 
kind concluded his treaty with the Indians, t After that we drove 
to the new penitentiary, a prison which was built near the water¬ 
works. 
Efforts have been made to abolish capital punishment in Penn¬ 
sylvania, and to substitute solitary confinement, which hitherto 
has only been occasionally resorted to in the prisons, for offences 
committed there; it is even intended to inflict this punishment for 
life. It is also wished to separate prisoners condemned to hard 
labour, to give them their tasks in separate cells. For this 
purpose, a large square yard has been walled in, each side of 
which is six hundred and fifty feet long. This yard has but one 
entrance, over which is erected a Gothic building, to accommo¬ 
date the officers, offices, watchrooms, and hospital wards. The 
portal has very much the appearance and strength of the gate of 
a fortification. In the middle of this yard is a round tower, which 
is intended for the watchmen, and from this central point, six 
wings run in an eccentric direction, containing the cells. Each 
wing consists of a vaulted corridor, which runs from one end of 
the wing to the other ; on both sides of each of the six corridors 
are nineteen cells, whose entrance is from the outside. There is 
an opening in every cell, leading into the vaulted corridor, merely 
large enough to admit provisions; this aperture has a small iron 
door attached to it, only to be opened from the corridor. To 
every cell there is a yard, sixteen feet long and seven feet broad, 
* [ u Thou,” in German, is only used in addressing individuals of the lowest 
degree.]—T rans. 
t This took place on the banks of the Delaware, in Kensington, near Phila- 
delphia. The elm tree was struck by lightning, a few years ago and destroyed. 
