Page 585 - for-the-term-of-his-natural-life

rise, without light, it is possible that he might get maltreated
did he make himself obnoxious.
The barracks look upon the Barrack Square, which is
filled with lounging prisoners. The windows of the hospital-
ward also look upon Barrack Square, and the prisoners are
in constant communication with the patients. The hospital
is a low stone building, capable of containing about twenty
men, and faces the beach. I placed my hands on the wall,
and found it damp. An ulcerous prisoner said the damp-
ness was owing to the heavy surf constantly rolling so close
beneath the building. There are two gaols, the old and the
new. The old gaol stands near the sea, close to the landing-
place. Outside it, at the door, is the Gallows. I touched it
as I passed in. This engine is the first thing which greets
the eyes of a newly-arrived prisoner. The new gaol is barely
completed, is of pentagonal shape, and has eighteen radiat-
ing cells of a pattern approved by some wiseacre in England,
who thinks that to prevent a man from seeing his fellow-
men is not the way to drive him mad. In the old gaol are
twenty-four prisoners, all heavily ironed, awaiting trial
by the visiting Commission, from Hobart Town. Some of
these poor ruffians, having committed their offences just
after the last sitting of the Commission, have already been
in gaol upwards of eleven months!
At six o’clock we saw the men mustered. I read prayers
before the muster, and was surprised to find that some of
the prisoners attended, while some strolled about the yard,
whistling, singing, and joking. The muster is a farce. The
prisoners are not mustered outside and then marched to

For the Term of His Natural Life