planned by the members of the secret society.
This murder was the commencement of the worst
and most gloomy part of our imprisonment. A
superior official came from Naples to inquire into
all the circumstances, and, as his coming was
unexpected, the political prisoners had not time
to make any preparations to receive him, or to
conceal what papers they possessed of a
compromising character. Suddenly, the prison was
entered by forty soldiers, who were placed as
sentinels at our floors, in order to prevent us from
moving from one place to another, or from concealing
anything. The most rigorous search was then
made, principally directed towards the political
prisoners. Everything belonging to us was
tossed about and destroyed, and our chains were
rigorously examined. After this day, the first
political prisoner found with his chain altered
was flogged, which gave the rest to
understand what was in reserve for them.
Everything brought into the Bagnio was strictly
searched, and it was not the fault of the governor
if he did not succeed in carrying out his
intention of depriving us of all indulgence and
comfort. But the turnkeys, unable to live on
the small pay allowed them by the government,
did not hesitate to oblige us in a trifling way for
money; it would also seem that they were
inclined to favour us through a feeling of dislike
to their superior, who had charged them with
conniving with the political prisoners, in order that
he might divert blame from himself. At length,
through a bribe paid in Naples, aided by a very
strong manifestation made against him by the
common criminals, we obtained a change of
governor, and came under the command of a
certain De Francesco, who could scarcely sign
his name, and who, besides being ignorant,
was also rather silly and full of low vice,
which he was unable to satisfy out of the small
amount of pay allowed him by the government.
We did not know by what special
services he had earned the favour of Ferdinand,
but it is certain that he had been sent to the
Bagnio to wring as much money as he possibly
could from the unfortunate political prisoners.

This new governor gave us very plainly to
understand that he loved our money dearly. But
though he would fain have appropriated it all to
himself, he found that impossible. In spite of
all other restrictions money was always allowed
to enter the Bagnio, as it served to maintain the
insatiable leeches who surrounded us. We had
to pay the chamber-keepers that they might not
butcher us, the comiti that they might not persecute
us too much, and, finally, to give the largest
share to the governor, for permitting the means
of paying these bribes to reach our hands.
Signer de Francesco had already begun to take
a liking to some of the best of our small effects,
and when we refused him, on his asking for
them, he became much incensed, and watched
the proceedings of the inferior officers closely:
menacing them with severe punishment if they
did us the smallest favour. These threats had
at first some effect, but things soon cooled
down, for the turnkeys and comiti came to an
understanding with each other, and threatened
in their turn to denounce the commander
to a superior official at Naples. The dispute
ended in a compact by which the commander
and inferior officers agreed that every wolf had
the right of killing whatever sheep came in his
way. From that moment a shameless tax was
levied on our purses; we had not only to give up
the trifling sums we had kept from the money
sent us by our families, but had also to submit
to be robbed of our best linen. As the spoliation
extended to the common prisoners also, a
frightful state of insubordination resulted.

In spite of our strong resolve to live out our
misfortunes, if we could, now and then one
who sank under them was removed from among
us to the hospital, never to return. At length we
resolved on once more straining every effort to
have our governor changed. One of our
companions who had powerful friends in Naples,
through them, and through the sacrifice of
another large sum of money, succeeded in this,
and we eagerly looked forward to the hour in
which our new ruler was to take command.
There had been among us at Procida favourites
of fortune, those who got a letter from home,
had a small foot, or got a polished chain. The
arrival of Acuti at the prison, however, brought
with it a terrible change. Were we all to be
destroyed by disease, the natural consequences
of damp, darkness, want of exercise, and general
bad treatment, or by the bastinado, which usually
resulted in consumption? Although this kind
of punishment had been always designed by
Ferdinand as a part of his revenge on us, it had
hitherto been generally bought off. When,
however, Ferdinand read Mr. Gladstone's letters
on his prisons, and heard of the indignation which
those letters excited, he sent to the different
Bagnios men, to whom he could entrust the strict
fulfilment of his order, which was, to seal the
prisons up in silence of the grave. Of the result
of this new state of things I do not speak now.
I only mention, by the way, that at least
one-half of my fellow-prisoners died in the hospital,
chained to their beds, without the consolation
of hearing one kind word addressed to them, or
having one compassionate hand to wipe from
their brows the cold damp of the death agony.
In the hospital extreme measures were resorted
to by the priests to induce the political prisoners
to confess offences. Instead of speaking of God
to the poor dying men, they spoke of the
clemency and goodness of Ferdinand, and woe to
the unhappy prisoners who displayed their disgust
at these panegyrics upon Santa Bomba! Sometimes
one was induced to confess, but at other
times harsh means were used to force them to
do so. To explain myself I will relate what
occurred at the death-bed of a certain Vincenzo
Sciarrone. This man had several times refused
to make his concession, now under one pretext,
now under another; but as he approached death
the eagerness of the priest became so annoying
to him, that he said: " I only confess to God in
heaven. You will glean no information from
me, spies as you all are of a monster of iniquity."