16 TRAVELS THROUGH NORTH AMERICA: 
litary cell, about nine feet long and four wide, 
where he remains debarred from the sight of 
every living being excepting his gaoler, whose 
duty it is to attend to the bare necessities of 
his nature, but who is forbidden, on any ac¬ 
count, to speak to him without there is ab¬ 
solute occasion. If a prisoner is at all refrac¬ 
tory, or if the offence for which he is impri¬ 
soned is of a very atrocious nature, he is then 
confined in a ( cel! secluded even from the light 
of heaven. This is the worst that can be in¬ 
flicted upon him. 
The gaol is inspected twice every week by 
twelve persons appointed for' that purpose, 
who are chosen annually from amongst the 
citizens of Philadelphia. Nor is it a difficult 
matter to procure these men, who readily and 
voluntarily take it upon them to go through 
the troublesome functions of the office with¬ 
out any fee or emolument whatever. They 
divide themselves into committees; each of 
these takes it in turn, for a stated period, to 
visit every part of the prison; and a report is 
made to the inspectors at large, who meet to¬ 
gether at times regularly appointed. From 
the report of the committee an opinion is 
formed by the inspectors, who, with the con¬ 
sent of the judges, regulate the treatment of 
each individual prisoner during his confine¬ 
ment. This is varied according to his crime. 
