[6] "Anecdotes of the Manners and Customs of London in the
Eighteenth Century," vol. ii. p. 378.

* * * * *




THE SKETCH BOOK

NO. XLV.

* * * * *


BEHIND THE SCENES; OR, A BREAKFAST IN NEWGATE.

(_Concluded from page 134_.)


No further delay was allowed. The sheriffs moved on, the ordinary, the
culprits, and the officers did the same; and that class of attendants to
which I belonged followed. I shall not easily forget the circumstances
of this brief, but melancholy progress. The faltering step--the
deep-drawn sigh--the mingling exclamations of anguish and devotion which
marked the advance of the victims--the deep tones of the reverend
gentleman who now commenced reading a portion of the burial service, and
the tolling of the prison bell, which, as we proceeded through some of
the most dreary passages of the gaol, burst on the ear, rendered the
whole spectacle impressive beyond description. Few steps sufficed to