Читать книгу Charles Peace, or The Adventures of a Notorious Burglar онлайн

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“You look very ill, sir,” whispered Peace to the cadaverous-looking man who was now next to him.

“Going home,” returned the other. “It matters not whether they convict or acquit me, my race is nearly run.”

“Silence,” exclaimed a warder.

Not another word was spoken. The prisoners went along with their hands behind them like so many schoolboys. The ceremony was humiliating to the last degree.

Peace was directed to cross over to a little office where the governor was standing.

He was then told to take off his boots and stand under a post with numbers on it, with a sliding piece of brass in its centre.

It was a machine for measuring his height.

This was recorded in a book by a clerk.

He was then asked his name, his age, where born, the date of his birth, trade or profession, married or single, together with a variety of other questions, which in most cases were seldom answered truthfully; nevertheless it was a ceremony which had to be gone through.

After it was over he was introduced to the chaplain, whose room was in close proximity to the chapel.