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garden, about one hundred paces from the road; near the house, 
in the street, is a well which supplies the house with water; to 
keep possession of the well was of great consequence to the Bri¬ 
tish, and in its vicinity many men are said to have lost their lives. 
On the ensuing morning I went with Mr. Halbach to Mr 
Vaux, in order to visit under his guidance some other public in¬ 
stitutions. At Mr. Vaux’s w e met several of the public characters 
of the city, with whom I had conversations on various subjects 
of public utility, such as schools, punishments, &c. Then we 
went into a Lancasterian free school, where five hundred lads 
are instructed, and several hundred girls of the lower classes. We 
did not see the girls; it was Saturday, which is a holiday. The 
boys are of various ages, and are divided into eight classes, under 
the inspection of one teacher and several monitors. They obey 
their instructors by signals, all their motions are made according 
to these signals, and they give their answers with the greatest 
precision. They exercise their memory by reciting pieces of 
poetry, and making mental calculations. They write well and 
all alike; they also receive instruction in geography; one of the 
boys had drawn a good and correct sketch of Thuringia. They 
ought to pay more attention to the dress of the children, for some 
of them were in rags. The school is supported by the city, and 
is under the direction of Quakers. 
Of the courts of justice I will say nothing; they are entirely 
formed after the English model. The common law of England is 
so well known, and so many huge volumes written upon it, that 
I need say nothing on the subject. 
The state prison, which, about fifty years ago, was built for a 
county jail, contained ad interim those prisoners which are in¬ 
tended for the new penitentiary. For this reason this prison is 
overfilled with five hundred prisoners; they were not sufficiently 
watched, and therefore often riotous. Through a misdirected 
philanthropy of the Quakers, who have also the direction of this 
prison, there are no guards on the walls, nor in the passages, and 
but five overseers go continually amongst the labouring prisoners, 
and their lives are often exposed. The inspector of the house, 
Mr. Swift, seemed no way to favour this system, which not only 
does not improve the morals of the convicts, but also seems to 
threaten public security. At this time there was a bad feeling 
among the prisoners, and they daily expected a riot. The Quakers 
themselves, in spite of their philanthropy, seemed to have no 
great confidence in the prisoners. In our walk through the 
prison with Mr. Vaux, it was evident from his countenance that 
he felt uneasy, and as the prisoners were assembled on the large 
stairs at twelve o’clock, to go to their dinner, he ensconced him¬ 
self behind the iron grate. 
