ory," in which they were first received. Some of the letters before
referred to cast a flood of terrible light upon the condition of the
poor wretches who had quitted their country "for that country's good,"
even when under supposed discipline and restraint. A passage from one of
these letters reads like an ugly story of "the good old times!"

The Cascade Factory is a receiving-house for the women on their
first arrival (if not assigned from the ship), or on their
transition from one place to another, and also a house of
correction for faults committed in domestic service; but with no
pretension to be a place of reformatory discipline, and seldom
failing to turn out the women worse than they entered it.
Religious instruction there was none, except that occasionally on
the Sabbath the superintendent of the prison read prayers, and
sometimes divine service was performed by a chaplain, who also had
an extensive parish to attend to.

The officers of the establishment consisted, at that time, of only
five persons--a porter, the superintendent, and matron, and two
assistants. The number of persons in the factory, when first
visited by Miss Hayter, was five hundred and fifty. It followed, of
course, that nothing like prison discipline could be enforced, or
even attempted. In short, so congenial to its inmates was this
place of custody (it would be unfair to call it a place of
punishment) that they returned to it again and again when they
wished to change their place of servitude; and they were known to
commit offences on purpose to be sent into it, preparatory to their
reassignment elsewhere.

Yet, after visiting the factory, and hearing everybody speak of its
unhappy inmates, I could not but feel that they were far more to be
pitied than blamed. No one has ever attempted any measure to
ameliorate their degraded condition. I felt that had they had the
opportunity of religious instruction, some at least might be
rescued. I wish I could express to you all I feel and think upon
the subject, and how completely I am overwhelmed with the awful sin
of allowing so many wretched beings to perish for lack of
instruction. Even in the hospital of the factory the unhappy
creatures are as much neglected, in spiritual things, as if they
were in a heathen land. There are no Bibles, a