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Show CHAPTER SIX With the exception of the Tower, the Newgate Prison rose above all other prisons in England, its b.attlements and towers announcing its preeminence. It was an imposing, dark, foreboding, brick structure. Before entering, Lathrop inhaled deeply the cool night air which carried the scent of a budding spring. Once he passed through the outer and inner doors, fresh air would be just a memory. This was not his first introduction to a London prison. He had been in the Clink in Southwark many times years before on behalf of Elise. It was at the closing of the inner door--massive, oaken, and faced With iron--that the tomb-like corridor, reeking with putrid odor and heavy moist air, brought back the old remembrance. To him there was no curse so unrelenting as the rank smell of the unclean in body and spirit. The best he could hope for would be the dulling of the sense of smell as time would pass. When the heavy cell doors were drawn open so that new prisoners could be shoved inside, Lathrop observed that without exception, all prisoners suffered from the filthy conditions imposed upon them. Men wore unkempt beards; hair was long and hung in greasy strands; dirt was ground into and was part of all flesh. The cells themselves were small, about 7' x 13', |
