k, and sit down. The officers, consisting
of about 160 men, exclusive of a small guard of soldiers, are coming in
from dinner. In appearance they somewhat resemble our Coast-guard, are
tall fine men, with very red faces, and big black bushy whiskers. The
principal warden came to receive us; he has been here ever since the
place has been opened, and we could not have had a better guide, or one
more competent to explain to us the nature of the important works carried
on. And now we have passed into the very prison itself, and stand
surrounded by men who have committed almost every species of crime.
There are some fifteen hundred of them here from all parts of England;
stupid peasants from Suffolk and Norfolk, and clever rascals (these
latter are very troublesome) from London, and Birmingham, and Liverpool,
and other busy centres of industry, and intelligence, and life. Says our
informant, We have a good many captains in the army here, and several
merchants, nor are we surprised at the information.

When we entered, the men had just dined, and were collected in the yard
previous to being examined and walked off in gangs, under the charge of
their respective officers, to work. The gangs consisted of various
numbers, of from fifteen to thirty; each officer felt each man, to see
that nothing was hidden, and examined his number to see that it was all
right, and as each gang marches through the gate, the officer calls out
the number of the gang, and the number of men it contains, to the chief
officer, who enters it in his book. As soon as this operation was over,
the gangs marched out, some to quarry stones for the Breakwater below;
and others, by far the larger number, to construct the enormous
barricades and fortifications which the Government has ordered as a
defence for that part of the world. The prisoners who cannot stand this
hard work are employed in mending clothes, in making shoes, in baking,
and brewing, in the school-room, and other offices necessary in such an
enormous establishment. In this latter employment no less a personage
than Sir John Dean Paul had been occupied till very recently. The scene
was a busy one; all around us were convicts--here quarrying, there
employed in the manufacture of tools, or in carpenters's or masons's
work--all working well, and many of them cheerful in spite of the
presence of an official, and little apparently heeding the sentry
standing near with loaded gun ready to shoot