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MITCHEL'S BERTH.

173

"June, 21st, 1848.-Three men came on board the Scourge. One, a tall, elderly gentleman, in a blue naval coat, announced himself as superintendent of convicts. Another was commander of one of the hulks. The third a medical officer." The superintendent asks,"Have you any money?'

"A few shillings.'

"Any credit in the colony?' "None?""

The superintendent calls the chief mate and says, "Take Mitchel's money, and place it to

his credit."

"Here, friend," says Mitchel, emptying the contents of his tri-coloured purse into the mate's hands.

The mate then shows the prisoner his berth. "I followed him down a ladder to the half-deck, and there, in the very centre of the ship, opening from a dark passage, appeared a sort of cavern, just a little higher and a little wider than a dog-house. It is, in fact, the very hole through which the main

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mast formerly ran down into the ship, and would be quite dark, but for two very small and dim bull's-eyes that were set into the deck above."

"Here is your place," said the mate.

"Very well," quoth Mitchel, sitting down upon the stool, and stretching out his feet to the corners of the apartment.

"It is Sunday, the 25th of June. They have service on deck. The prisoners, all in clean frocks and trousers, are arranged on forms over the deck forward; the guards and mates on the quarter-deck, amongst whom I had a seat apart. I attended service for a little variety, also to see what kind of chaplain we have.

"After service the chaplain came to me. He politely offered to lend me books, and even to procure me books from others. I rather like the man. He did not cant as so many of those persons do; but seemed really desirous of serving me, so far as the rules would allow him. He is a Scotchman."

On the 26th, he is installed in a new cell, five

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REMOVED TO THE TENEDOS."

175

feet wide, six feet high, and fourteen feet long. He has a table, chair, basin-stand, and above all,

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a window that is, a port-hole-two feet and a-half square." Here also are two shelves of

books. This looks like the work of the chaplain.

He has also made a friend of the doctor.

The commander informs Mitchel that he is to be removed to the Tenedos (the hospital ship). He protests against it, as he is not sick. The doctor says, "No matter; you will like the change," and so he does. His cabin has a neat roof, with two windows, without any bars. Captain Hall, a kind old gentleman, who has been in Ireland, provides him with a good table. "If an Englishman wishes to be kind to any individual, his first thought is to feed him well."

Here he is in clover, reading Livy, drinking grog, and beginning to feel himself at home with the chaplain and doctor, who are frequent visitors, when the latter enters the cabin in a violent hurry, and says, "An order to remove you directly."

"Where to?"

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REASONS AGAINST SUICIDE.

"Back to the Dromedary."

"I am sorry," continued the doctor, "but you

must go."

He could not pass him as an invalid, so Mitchel had to return to his old quarters, where his friends did their best to alleviate the severity of his sentence. Here he "considered, and prepended, and deliberately decided against suicide."

The first

For this decision he has six reasons. is, that if he were to kill himself, he would be conspiring with the Sheriff of Dublin and Baron Lefroy, who would have been glad to see him hanged, and he had no notion of gratifying them. The last reason is, that he "intended to live, and not die ;" and he has fulfilled his intention. Therefore, he said, "As convict Socrates said, Avdpioтeov, as we are men, let us be men; or as the Christian apostle said, 'Quit ye like men.' What is needful to be endured, endure it. What your hand findeth to do, do it. Love, hate, work, and play, not envying, not oppressing, or brooking oppression. Above all, not lying to yourself or

ESCAPE OF PRISONERS.

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others, and you will see good days before you die,

and after."

Let us now hear the opinions of this remarkable man on the convicts, and the convict system at Bermuda :

"November 20th, 1848.-The whole convict Domdaniel is fluttered in its dove-cote this morning. Three prisoners escaped last night from the Coromandel Hulk, close to my residence. There is school on board these hulks on certain evenings in the week, attended by such of the convicts as choose to learn. Last night was school night in the Coromandel. These three men, one after the other, asked leave to go out upon the breakwater, and as it rained furiously, no guard is with them."

One of the three was soon caught, but the other two are still at large. They enter a house, and supply themselves with biscuit and rum, frightening the inmates nearly to death. As the thousand islands of this archipelago are full of limestone

VOL. II.

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