isbane. It is more than one thousand feet long, and has a draw
in the center to permit the passage of ships. Ned and Harry strolled
across this bridge when they reached the end of Queen Street, and on
arriving at its farther end they turned around and retraced their steps.
When back again in the principal part of the city, they continued to the
end of the peninsula, where they had expected to find huge warehouses
and places of business fronting the river. Instead of these edifices
they found the Botanical Gardens and other parks occupying the point of
land where the river makes its bend. It was an agreeable surprise to
them, and they remained in and about the gardens for an hour or more.

Whenever they came to any of the public buildings during their stroll,
they ascertained the name of each edifice from some by-stander or
shop-keeper. They observed that all the buildings were handsome and of
good construction, with the exception of the court house, which had a
very low and mean appearance. The curiosity of the youths was roused by
this circumstance, and Harry spoke to a good-natured cab driver to
ascertain how it happened.

"That's easy to tell, when you know," the driver answered.

"Well," said Harry, "if you know, won't you kindly tell us?"

"Certainly, sir," the driver responded. "You see this is the way of it.
That court house there used to be the female prison in the old times,
and for years it was crowded with women that the government had sent out
here to punish 'em. They were lifers, most of 'em, and I suppose they
are pretty near all dead now. If any of 'em is alive, they're pretty
old. Them that was kept in prison had to do hard work, making clothes
and that sort of thing, but a good many of 'em went out as assigned
servants to do housework, and they had to work in the fields, too; but
those days is gone now, and all the prisons we have in Brisbrane in
these times is for them that commits crimes right here on the spot."

"Do you mind that round building up there with the mast on it," said the
cab driver, pointing to a structure that looked like a windmill with the
arms of the mill removed.

"Yes, I see it," said Harry; "what about it?"

"We call it the Observatory," was the reply, "and that's what it is.
That mast there is for signaling ships when they come into the harbor.
In the old times there was a windmill there, where they used to grind
grain into flour and meal for the convicts to eat, and I gues