ELIZABETH FEY, and begging with the utmost vociferation. I felt as if I were going into a den of wild beasts, and I well recollect quite shuddering when the door was shut upon us, and we were locked in with such a herd of novel and desperate characters." On another occasion one of these furious women came rushing round the prison yard, with her arm ex- tended, " tearing everything of the nature of a cap from the heads of the other women, and yelling like a wild beast." This woman afterwards left Newgate a thoroughly reformed character ; married, and settled down most respectably. After a short time these fierce and degraded women, melted to the soul, brutified as they were, urgently entreated to be allowed to share in the benefits bestowed upon their children. Their earnest request was gladly acceded to ; and every exertion was made to establish some kind of system. The women complaining that having nothing to do better than card-playing, fortune-telling, fighting, or drink- ing, they were unavoidably led into evil, the first step was to obtain some kind of work for them. Mrs. Fry and the Ladies' Committee exerted themselves to attain this point ; but the plan met with terrible discouragement. By the officers of the prison and the private friends of the ladies, the idea of intro- ducing any attempt at order among the wild creatures was treated as visionary, absurd, andhopeless; " even if employment could be procured," it was argued, "the necessarymaterials for work would be destroyed 28
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