eration was so painful that the poor wretch fainted. She told Mrs. Fry
that she had worn, for some time, an iron hoop around her waist; from
that, a chain connected with hoops round her legs above the knee; from
these, another chain was fastened to irons round her ankles. Not content
with this, her hands were confined _every night_ to the hoop which went
round her waist, while she lay like a log on her bed of straw. Such
tales remind one of the tortures of the Inquisition.

The "Newgate women" were especially noticeable for good conduct on the
voyage out. Their conduct was reported to be "exemplary" by the Surgeon
Superintendent, and their industry was most pleasing. Their patchwork
was highly prized by many, and indeed treasured up by some of them for
many years after. Officers in the British navy assisted in the good work
by word and deed; in fact, Captain Young, of Deptford Dockyard, first
suggested the making of patchwork as an employment on board ship. From
some correspondence which passed between Mrs. Fry and the Controller of
the Navy, in 1820, we find that the building for the women in New South
Wales was begun; while in a letter written about this time to a member
of the Government, she explains her desires and plans relative to the
female convicts after their arrival at Hobart Town, Tasmania.

This letter is full of interesting points. After noticing the fact of
the building at Hobart Town being imperatively needed, she goes on to
suggest that a respectable and judicious matron should be stationed in
that building, responsible, under the Governor and magistrates, for the
order of the inmates; that part of the building should be devoted to
school purposes; that immediately on the arrival of a ship, a Government
Inspector should visit the vessel and report; that the Surgeon
Superintendent should have a description of each woman's offense,
character, and capability, so that her disposal in the colony might be
made in a little less hap-hazard fashion than hitherto; that the best
behaved should be taken into domestic service by such of the residents
of the colony as chose to cooeperate, while the others should remain at
the Home, under prison rules, until they have earned the privilege of
going to service; and that a sufficient supply of serviceable clothing
should be provided. She further recommended the adoption of a uniform
dress for the convicts, as conducive to order and discipline, and, as a
last and indispen