CHAPTER V I.

Howard's visit to the Continent to examine the state of its prisons—Arrival at Paris-Is refused admission into the Bastile-Obtains permission to visit other French prisons-Visits Austria-Inspects the prisons of Ghent, Antwerp, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Bremen, Mentz, Coblentz, Manheim, Hamburgh, Altena, Lunenburgh, Hanover, Hanau-Enters lower Saxony-Returns to England-Sets out on a visiting tour through most of its counties-Again visits the Continent-Inspects the prisons in France, Switzerland, Germany, Holland-Returns home-Revisits the prisons in several counties in England-Preparations for publishing his work.

HOWARD had now collected a mass of most accurate and important information respecting the state and management of prisons in the United Kingdom, and his object was, with as little delay as possible, to arrange it for publication; but, on looking it over, he "conjectured," as he modestly says, "that information respecting the state of foreign prisons would be necessary to make the work complete; to obtain this he determined immediately to visit the continent. Accordingly, after making such arrangements at Cardington as he deemed desirable, and giving directions for the erection of such cottages on his estate in the village, as would prevent his tenants from being unemployed during his absence, he set off for Paris, about the middle of April, 1775, where he safely arrived by the end of the month.

He was fully aware of the difficulties to be

ders. He reached Brussels the 16th of May, and on the following day addressed a letter to the Rev. Thomas Smith of Bedford, in which he writes: "I came to this city late last evening, and have employed this day in visiting the gaols, and collecting all the prison laws I could obtain, having previously done the same in Paris. Rigorous as they are in many of their enactments, their great attention to their prisoners is worthy of commendation. Most of them are clean; there is in none any gaolfever; the prisoners are not ironed; their allowance of bread far exceeds any of ours; they have soup once a day, and a pound of meat each on a Sunday."

The intense eagerness with which Howard now pursued his benevolent labours, will be seen by the following extract from the same letter: "I write to you partly by way of procuring some relaxation from what so much engrosses my thoughts; and, indeed, it is for the same purpose that I sometimes force myself to the public dinners and suppers, though I pay little attention to the highly esteemed French cooks; not having tasted fish, flesh, or fowl since I have been on this side the water. Through a kind providence, however, I am well, and enjoy an easy flow of spirits; and in my journeys have met, on the whole, with agreeable company.'

Proceeding on his tour, Howard next visited a spacious house of correction at Ghent for the provinces of Austrian Flanders, not then quite completed, though it contained, at that time, more than two hundred prisoners. So admirable were its arrangements in every respect, that its benevolent visitor pronounced it "a noble institution." The sexes had their separate apartments allotted them. Both men and women were provided with a bedstead, a straw bed, a mattress, pillow, sheets, and a coverlet. Constant employment was found for all, and a parti

cular account was kept of what each prisoner earned. Those who earned more than their task, were paid accordingly. The house of corerction for the town of Ghent was less clean, but was, in other respects, equally well-managed: the magistrates met at the prison once every week, to inspect it, and to make such arrangements as seemed desirable. The same excellent regulations were observed at another large prison in this city which Howard visited; and the only exception to the general excellence of its prisons, was that belonging to the rich monastery of the Benedictines, in the abbey of St. Peter, which had in its jurisdiction part of the city, besides several lordships. It contained three dungeons, down a descent of nineteen steps, into which Howard entered, but which, he was glad to find, were then without prisoners. Attached to the same abbey, was an institution for the reception of lunatics of both sexes, which he was delighted to find admirably managed.

With the regulations in the prisons at Bruges, where Howard next stopped, he was much pleased. The greatest care was taken to keep the prisoners in health, and the kindest attention paid to those who were sick. The physicians were required to write all their prescriptions in a book prepared for the purpose, which was regularly inspected by the magistrates. Howard had the curiosity to spend some hours in looking over this book, from which he probably gained much information, which he subsequently found beneficial.

After inspecting the prisons in Antwerp, whither our philanthropist next proceeded, but of which he says but little, he passed on to Rotterdam, and travelled thence through the greater part of Holland, visiting the prisons in all the towns through which he passed. At Rotterdam he inspected the pest-house, situate on the opposite side of the river to the town; spacious, and well planned; and rendered memorable as the

encountered, and the risk of health, and perhaps of liberty, he should have to run, in this formidable undertaking: he was no stranger to the extreme vigilance of the French police; he knew that it was almost impossible to gain access to their prisons; but he determined coolly and fearlessly to make the attempt. The first prison at which he applied for admission was the celebrated Bastile, surrounded by its insurmountable wall, and impassable ditch; into the deepest dungeons of which he would have been glad to penetrate, at whatever risk, in the hope of ultimately affording its wretched inmates some alleviation of their sufferings. "I knocked hard at the outer gate," he says; " and on its being opened immediately went forward, through the guard, to the drawbridge before the entrance of the castle: but while I was contemplating this gloomy mansion, an officer made his appearance, evidently much surprised, and I was compelled to retreat through the mute guard, and thus regained that freedom, which for one locked up within the prison it would be next to impossible to obtain." Howard must have had great courage to make this attempt, and it was perhaps fortunate for him, and for the cause to which he had devoted his life, that he proceeded no further, or the loss of his own liberty and the consequent loss of all his valuable labours, might have been the result. Even in passing the guards he was in great danger; but the calm dignity of his deportment probably disarmed them, and prevented their offering him that resistance to his entrance which it was their duty to have made.

Repulsed in the first attempt, Howard became apprehensive that he should meet with the same ill success at all the prisons in France and such would certainly have been the case, had he not, with equal address and humanity, availed himself of a French law, passed in June, 1717, for the re

gulations of prisons; which enacts, that gaolers should admit to all places of confinement, any individuals desirous of bestowing charitable donations on prisoners in their custody, permitting them to distribute their bounty with their own hands, except to individuals confined in the dungeons, to whom their alms were to be given by the gaoler, in their presence. Having this authority, Howard next applied for admission into the Grand Châtelet, a spacious prison in Paris; but the governor refused to admit him without an order from the commissary of police, to whom Howard immediately applied. The commissary, an excellent and most humane man, on learning the object of Howard's visit, received him courteously, and most kindly afforded him every facility for the accomplishment of his benevolent purpose; granting him permission to inspect every part of all the prisons in Paris under his jurisdiction.

Into the darkest dungeons of these, except the Bastile, Howard now penetrated; and although he was on the whole pleased with the attention the French legislature had paid to the subject of prison discipline, which was decidedly better than in England; yet, from the construction of their prisons, there were many cruelties constantly practised. In some of the prisons he descended into dungeons sixteen steps below the ground, damp, dark, and most unwholesome; having no place for the admission of air, but a stone funnel at one corner and yet in these dreary and gloomy caverns, he tells us, 66 some poor creaures were confined for weeks, and even for months together, chained to a stone-wall;" never, probably, until Howard entered their subterranean abode, enjoying the momentary alleviation of a single sympathising visit.

From Paris Howard proceeded to Austria, inspecting on his way several prisons in French Flan