the wall. I was
so giddy that I could not stand erect, while my eyes burned and ached as
if they had been seared with a red-hot iron. I fell upon the plank bed,
but open flew the peep-hole and again rang out the ominous growl,
"Pace!"

And this is what I was condemned to do hour after hour through the
livelong day. The only respite comes when meals are brought in and
during the night, when the prisoner is left alone. But throughout the
day, from 6.30 in the morning to about 7 at night one must pursue the
eternal round--two paces forward, right about, two paces back, right
about, and so on. The punishment cannot be escaped; it is not suspended
for illness until collapse comes to the relief of the hapless wretch. It
is a refinement of cruelty which probably is not to be found in any
other country. Little wonder that the continued dizziness and lack of
ability to stretch the limbs bring about a complete nervous prostration
and reduce the strongest man to a physical wreck within a very short
time. And if the hapless prisoner declines to answer the stern command
"Pace!" then bayonet prodding, clubbing and head-cuffing are brought
into action as a stimulant.

Ages seemed to have passed before the door opened again, although as a
matter of fact, there is only about 4-1/2 hours between the mid-day and
the afternoon meals. I lost all account of time, even during the first
day of my incarceration. An hour's pacing seemed like weeks. This time
the gaoler brought me another basin containing a greenish liquid, very
much like the water in which cabbages are cooked, accompanied by a hunk
of black bread.

The method of serving the meals is distinctly German. The gaoler opens
the door. He places the food on the ground at the entrance and pushes it
along the floor into the cell as if the inmate were a leper. I tasted
this repast, but it was even more noisome than the dinner, so I placed
it beside the bowl which I had first received, and which with its spoon
was left with me. Even if one could have swallowed it I should not have
received a very sustaining meal, seeing that it had to suffice until
5.30 the next morning--13 hours without food. Moreover the food is
served out sparingly. It is not designed to nourish the frame, but is
just sufficient to keep it going though with depreciating strength.

Daylight waned to give way to the blackness of night and in my cell I
could not see my hand before my face. Yet darkness was not an
unmit