Page:Elizabeth Fry (Pitman 1884).djvu/113

Rh Mrs. Fry recognised in them the kindred souls of faithful believers.

After this, the party spent a fortnight at a little retired village called Congenies, where they welcomed  many others of their own creed. A house with “vaulted rooms, whitewashed and floored with stone,” sheltered  them during this quaint sojourn, while the villagers  vied with each other in contributing to their comforts.

At Toulon they visited the “Bagnes,” or prison for the galley slaves. These poor wretches fared horribly, while the loss of life among them was terrible. They worked very hard, slept on boards, and were fed upon bread and dry beans. At night they were ranged in a long gallery, and in number from one hundred to two hundred, were all chained to the iron rod which ran the entire length of the gallery. By day they worked chained together in couples.

At Marseilles a new kind of prison was inspected by her; this was a conventual institution and refuge for female penitents, under the control of the nuns of the order of St. Charles, who to the three ordinary vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, added that of converting souls. Superintending ladies in the city, who bore the title of “directresses,” were not even permitted to see the women immured there; indeed, only one was permitted to enter the building in order to look after the necessary repairs, and even she was strictly restrained from seeing a penitent or sister. It seemed hopeless in the face of these facts to expect admission, but Mrs. Fry's name and errand prevailed. Accompanied by one of these nominal directresses, she was admitted and shown into a large, plainly-furnished parlour. After she had waited some little time, the Lady Superior presented herself at the grating, and prepared to hear