The man was simply doing
his duty, and I daresay he showed me far more courtesy than other
prisoners were treated with. Yet the process of searching is
unspeakably revolting, and I shrank from it instinctively; taking
care, however, by my rapid gestures to render it unnecessary.
Prisoners are regularly searched in Holloway Gaol, as well as in
other penal establishments; and being under the ordinary prison
regulations, like other "convicted criminals," I was of course
subjected to the indignity. I must in candor admit that the
officers made it as little offensive as possible in my case;
yet the touch of a man's hand about one's person is so repulsive,
that I always had great difficulty in suppressing my indignation.
If an officer owes a prisoner a grudge, he is able (especially if
the man is a little more refined than the general run of his associates)
to render the searching an almost intolerable infliction. Sometimes
the prisoners are stripped to their drawers or shirts, without
any particular reason; and the process can even be carried farther,
until they are in a state of complete nudity. On one occasion this
experiment was attempted on me, but I declined to submit to it,
and the brace of officers (they always search in pairs, to prevent
collusion) shrank from employing force.
All the requisite formalities being transacted, I was supplied with
a pair of sheets and a duster; and carrying these on my arm, I was
conducted upstairs to my apartment.
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