one man saying that they had so little rice that they had to "drink the
foul water to fill themselves;" another shrieked, "Would I were in your
prison in Hong Kong," and this was chorused by many voices saying, "In
your prison at Hong Kong they have fish and vegetables, and more rice
than they can eat, and baths, and beds to sleep on; good, good is the
prison of your Queen!" but higher swelled the cry of _kum-sha_, and as
we could not give alms among several hundred, we eluded them, though
with difficulty, and, as we squeezed through the narrow door,
execrations followed us, and high above the heavy clank of the fetters
and the general din rose the cry, "Foreign Devils" (Fan-Kwai), as we
passed out into sunshine and liberty, and the key was turned upon them
and their misery.

We went into three other large wards, foul with horror, and seething
with misery, and into a smaller one, nearly as bad, where fifteen women
were incarcerated, some of them with infants devoured by cutaneous
diseases. Several of them said that they are there for kidnapping, but
others are hostages for criminal relations who have not yet been
captured. This imprisonment of hostages is in accordance with a law
which authorizes the seizure and detention of persons or families
belonging to criminals who have fled or are in concealment. Such are
imprisoned till the guilty relative is brought to justice, for months,
years, or even for a lifetime. Two of these women told us that they had
been there for twenty years.

There are likewise some single cells--hovels clustering under a wall,
in which criminals who can afford to pay the jailer for them may enjoy
the luxury of solitude. In each ward there is a single unfettered
man--always a felon--who by reason either of bribery or good conduct,
is appointed to the place of watchman or spy among his fellows in