amount of suffering we were compelled to
undergo. Chance brought us relief in an odd way.
Some chamber-keepers, who had been shut up
and separated from their brethren, one day called
Acuti to speak to him on their business, urging
and entreating him to permit them to mingle
again with the prisoners. Acuti not only refused
to comply with their wishes, but abused them
fiercely. The chamber-keepers, getting angry in
their turn, suddenly began to answer him in his
own style, calling him " Ugly old dog," " Fox,
without tail or hair!" " Mad dog! mad dog!
mad dog!" He, growing pale as death, left the
place quickly, like a beaten hound. This evidence
of our bully's cowardice did not escape the
chamber-keepers, so that afterwards, whenever they
heard his voice, they began whistling, as if they
called a dog, and when he made his appearance
the cry was at once raised, " The dog! the dog!
out with the dog!" Acuti ceased to enter their
rooms. We had thus found where to strike,
and it would have been very foolish of us not to
get up as we did a universal " Bow wow!
bow wow! bow wow! wow! wow!" whenever
he came near our part of the Bagnio. Prom that
time many of us took off our chains, and though
Acuti knew this he affected ignorance, and it
seemed even that he offered us opportunities of
freeing ourselves of the manacles. But one day,
when almost all the prisoners, political and
common, were assembled in the yard and
corridor, our tyrant, accompanied by soldiers and
gendarmes, entered the Bagnio, and, closing the
doors, ordered the prisoners to remain where
they were. We had now to pay for our barking.

The strictest examination of the chains having
taken place, fifty-six prisoners were selected
and set aside. The rest were desired to return
to their rooms, while the wretched victims were
marched to the slaughter-house, each to
receive fifty strokes. The execution of this
sentence lasted many hours. The blood of
my poor comrades in misfortune was sprinkled
around, their screams were incessant. All the
women of the neighbourhood shed tears of
grief and compassion. The inhabitants of
Procida came to entreat the commander to have
mercy on them, as the whole town was terrified
at the continued cries. The tender-hearted
daughters of the tyrant implored with tears his
pity. The executioners themselves had neither
strength nor inclination to continue the chastisement.
But Acuti, remaining totally unmoved,
smiled upon his work of blood, tossed his head,
smoking a cigar, and placed with his own hand
the poor wretches on the fatal frame called the
"Cavalletti." It is also worthy of remark that
during this entire scene the chaplain stood by
the side of the commander. It would be
impossible to describe how deeply we, who had
escaped, sympathised with and compassionated
our luckless friends. But it is certain that all
ended in our utterly defying the monster who
had tortured them. As they entered pale and
bleeding, as if by common consent we all
cried aloud: " The dog!" " The tiger!" And
in a moment more all was confusion, noise, and
the rattle of chains falling on the flags. In a
few hours all our fetters were cast off. We
then resolved on refusing our daily allowance
until a superior officer was sent us from Naples
to inquire into our treatment. We took no
bread or soup for three days, although Acuti
during that time made use of every means in his
power to persuade us. When he saw that all
was vain, he affected to connive at our escape,
so that if we had been silly enough to attempt
it, he would have had a fair excuse for butchering
us all. He caused the doors of the prison
to be left open, and ordered the turnkeys to
leave us to ourselves. The soldiers were
withdrawn from the interior of the Bagnio. Tour
boxes full of ball and other munitions of war
were placed on the roof, and all was done to
induce us to attempt an escape, and give excuse
for our destruction. But we remained all silent
in our rooms.

The prison was changed into a convent of
mutes. At the end of three days, Colonel Flores
arrived from Naples to inquire into the cause of
the mutiny. Tour of the prisoners, two common
and two political, whom Acuti pointed out as
ringleaders, received one hundred strokes each,
and were left insensible on the spot where they
had suffered. The two common prisoners, who
were chamber-keepers, had been really the leaders
of the whole affair. Without making the least
inquiry into the truth or falsehood of the
statements made by Acuti, the colonel ordered that
all the political offenders should be enclosed in
one place. It was late at night when our new
place of confinement was ready for us, a sort of
cellar, into which we were ordered at once to
descend, while the common prisoners were
directed to ascend by the same staircase. Being
chained in couples, we stumbled and fell in all
directions. One had his head broken, another
his back injured, some hurt their legs, others
had their feet crushed, while all were dragged
along by their chains, the rattling of which
mingled with cries, moans, and oaths. Each of
us brought something with him, or endeavoured
to do so—a table, a mattress, a jug, a saucepan,
a chair, a bench, a basket, or some article of
furniture. At this time we had nearly lost our
reason. Flores walked up and down the room,
smoking a cigar; while Acuti sometimes smiled
at our sufferings, and sometimes looked at us
threateningly. After about three hours we were
got into our new place of suffering. A small
greasy lamp cast its dull light upon this filthy
den. The walls were broken down in different
places, and many of the flags, of which the floor
was formed were taken up and heaped over each
other. Benches were torn from the walls,
everywhere were scattered dirty rags, rotten straw,
broken jugs, plates, saucepans, or other cooking
utensils; but more revolting than all was the
pestiferous exhalation from the open cesspools,
even worse than any we had hitherto
experienced, and the large quantity of filth spread
over all the floor upon which we had to arrange
our beds. The dim light, the black walls, the
smell, the turmoil, the weakness of long starvation