of a mule. Weeks rolled by with
only one remarkable feature, and that was Good Friday. The "sacred day"
was observed as a Sabbath. There was no work and no play. Christians
outside were celebrating the Passion of their Redeemer with plenteous
eating and copious drinking, and dance and song; while I and my two
fellow-prisoners, who had no special cause for sadness on that day,
were compelled to spend it like hermits. Chapel hours brought the only
relief. Parson Plaford thought it an auspicious occasion for preaching
one of his silliest sermons, and when I returned to my cell I was
greatly refreshed. Opening my Bible, I read the four accounts of the
Crucifixion, and marvelled how so many millions of people could regard
them as consistent histories, until I reflected that they never took the
trouble to read them one after another at a single sitting.

Once or twice I caught a glimpse of Mr. Ramsey in chapel, and I
occasionally saw Mr. Kemp in the exercise-ground. But I knew nothing
of what was going on outside. One day, however, the outer silence was
broken. The Governor entered my cell in the morning, and told me he
had received a letter from Mr. Bradlaugh, stating that our original
Indictment (in which he was included) would be tried in a few days,
and that he had an order from the Home Office to see Mr. Ramsey and me
separately. It was some day early in April; I forget exactly when. But
I recollect that Mr. Bradlaugh came up the same afternoon. He saw me
in the Governor's office. We shook hands heartily, and plunged into
conversation, while the Governor sat turning over papers at his desk.

Mr. Bradlaugh told me how our Indictment stood. It would be tried very
soon. He was going to insist on being tried separately, and had no doubt
he should be. In that event, his case would precede ours. What did I
intend to do? His advice was that I should plead inability to defend
myself while in prison, and ask for a postponement until after my
release. If that were done he believed I should never hear of the
Indictment again.

My view was different. I doubted whether another conviction would add
to my sentence, and I was anxious to secure the moral advantage of a
careful and spirited defence in the Court of Queen's Bench before the
Lord Chief Justice of England. The Governor had already supplied me with
writing materials, and I had begun to draw up a list of books I might
require, which I intended to send to Mr. Wheeler.

"Oh,