A COMPANION FOR Debtors and Prisoners, AND Advice to Creditors IN TEN LETTERS: From a Gentleman in Prison, to a Member of Parliament. Wherein, First, the Villianies and Insolences of Bailiffs. Secondly, the Evil Practices of jailers and Pretended Solicitors, and Thirdly, the Irregularities of Prisons in General, are briefly Detected and Exposed.  
Together with a Particular Description of Newgate, the Marshallsea, the two Compters, Ludgate, the Fleet, and King's Bench, with Reflections upon Prisons in general, and Proposals for regulating the whole.  
LONDON, Printed, and Sold by A. Baldwin, in Warwick-Lane. 1699. Price 6 d.   

TO THE Right Honourable Sir Francis Child, LORD MAYOR OF THE CITY of LONDON.  
My Lord,  
'TIS Natural for Persons in distress to fly somewhere for assistance; That's a Principle Engrafted into the very Being and Constitution of Men, and in many particulars may be well enough justified and allowed; but than my Lord, there is a very great difficulty in choosing out the Persons, and Representing the Grievances; and truly, I'm afraid our mistakes in those Points have been the cause why so many good Endeavours have proved Insuccessful. That I have made a right Election of the Person I am well assured, both from your Lordship's Character of a good as well as of a great Man, and Lord Mayor of London: So that if the things are well Represented, which I humbly submit to your Honour's Judgement, and withal are Reasonable in themselves, and necessary to be redressed, why than I presume there is but small grounds to suspect the success. As for the Papers themselves, they are indeed what they pretend to be, the Letters of a Gentleman in Prison to a Member of Parliament; who, if he had not been called of from us, by a hasty fate, had long since attempted the Regulation of Bailiffs and Goals, but Sir, this great work (though there have been some advances made towards it) is yet unfinished, and the Poor Debtors and Prisoners do now more than ever, labour and struggle under the Wracks and Tortures of these unmerciful Wretches. My Lord, I need not aggravate the Circumstances to you, they're bad enough indeed, and but too bad without it; So that as things are now, the Regulations of Prisons, and the suppressing the Insolence and Extravigance of Bailiffs, would be a work almost as Meritorious as that of your great Predecessor, Sir William Waller and deservedly Entitle for your sake, the Lord Mayor of the City of London, to another Character and Sword of Honour for ever. I would not spend your Lordship's time in useless flattery, or Compliment your Honour Infinitely above 'em both; only this I must say, that since your Lordship's Election, the drooping Genius of the City is strangely Revived, and Men and things have put on a new Face. But Sir, short Books should have but short Dedications, or rather none at all, neither had I given your Honour the trouble of this but upon some particular Motives: Well my Lord, considering the whole Circumstance, and especially, the Errand these Papers come upon, I cannot much dread your acceptance of 'em, and withal, that you will Pardon their Author, who is, and shall ever esteem it a happiness to be thought worthy to subscribe himself,  
Your Lordships, most Obedient Servant, E S.   

THE EPISTLE TO THE READER.  
THE chief Arguments that urged me to Publish the following Letters are, briefly these two; first, to let the World see what kind of Creatures Bailiffs, Gaolers and pretended Solicitors are, and than to direct 'em how to manage themselves, and to Fence and Guard against 'em with the most security, upon occasion, how far they'll Answer this Design, must be left to the Judgement of those that think them worth their perusal, only with this caution, that the matters here related are no Chimerical Notions or Forgeries, but pure matters of Fact and Truth; Indeed, there is here and there a supernumerary expression intermixed, to make the dismal Relation go down a little the more gratefully, but still the main and substance of the matter is kept within the bounds of every Days Practise and Experience. That there will be some outcries against them, is not to be doubted, and especially among Bailiffs, or some such kind of Creatures, who perhaps may be so impudent to charge them with falsehood, etc. And what if they do, considering the Testimony of such kind of People is but an indifferent Evidence at best, especially when they're Witnesses in their own Case, I think I need not trouble myself much about that matter; the other part of my design is to propose a medium, how these Great and Intolerable grievances may be rectified and redressed, or at lest, if I fail in it myself, to set some better Heads to work about it.  
For I'm confident, as cases stand, these matters require a very speedy redress. The Evil Practices of Bailiffs, etc. Being now one of the greatest miseries of the Nation, but especially of this Town, and must grow every Day worse and worse, till at last they become intolerable.   

LETTER I. OR, THE INTRODUCTION.  
SIR,  
WHEN I had received your Letter, wherein you are pleased to command me to give you the best Account I was able of the Villainous Practices of Bailiffs and their Assistants; the Irregularities of Prisons in General, and the Miseries and Calamities of Poor Debtors in their respective Confinements, I must confess, my wounds began to bleed a fresh, and truly at first sight I could not choose but think, but that your request was very like that of Queen Dido to Aeneas, when she desired him to give her tho●s●d Relation of his Ten Years War, together with the destruction of his City and Country. But ●●●, this Notion from a very few second thoughts was soon superseded by another, which I since am satisfied was far more agreeable both to your Inclination and Design. I quickly foresaw that a Person of your Extraordinary Character could not be guilty of the Barbarous Vanity, to Insult and play upon the Agonies of the Unfortunate, but rather that you had some good Design, after you were fully Instructed in these kind of matters, to Propose an Expedient to your Honourable House for the putting these Affairs in a better Posture. This is indeed a work well Becoming an English Gentleman, especially one of the great Representatives of the Nation; And truly 'tis a subject both of our wonder and sorrow, that it hath unluckily happened to lie so long Unattempted. 'Tis pity sure that England, that is the Mistress of the best Laws as well as the best Religion in the Christian world, should suffer such a dangerous Contagion to rage so long in her very Heart and Bowels, without Endeavouring by some means or other to suppress, or at lest to kerb the Distemper. Well, Sir, I am Mightily Affected with your Generous Design, and since you have been pleased to pitch upon me to give you this Ungrateful Relation, you may Depend upon't, I shall do it very fairly and Impartially, and only Declare to you the pure matters of Fact, and such other Occurrences that have fallen within the Compass of my own dear bought Experience; but than Sir all this will be too much to be drawn into the narrow Compass of one letter; and therefore for method sake I'll Divide it into particulars, and so continued it from Post to Post till I have finished the whole.   

LETTER II. In which is an Account of the base Proceed of Bailiffs in General, and the Villainous tricks and Stratagems they use to extort Money both from the Debtor and Creditor.  
BAILIFFS in General are a sort of Desolute Wretches made up of the Dregss and Refuge of Mankind; they are commonly a kind of Beasts of Prey, that for their jude and vicious behaviour are Banished from the sober Conversation of their fellow Creatures; and sure than 'tis great pity that such vermin as these, which aught rather to be Chained up and driven out from the rest of the World, should be let at large, and withal Entrusted with a privilege that Entitles them to a larger opportunity than ordinary, to Transact and Propagate their Villainous Practices. Sir, I hope you will not mistake me; I am not Declaiming against or Arraigning the Office of a Bailiff, but the persons that Execute it. I confess 'tis highly Expedient there should be such kind of Officers, and truly 'twould be morally Impossible for the Nation to Subsist without some body to Execute the Law in some Cases, but than 'tis very hard that none, or at lest very few but Profligate Rogues and Cannibals should be singled out for such an Employment. I'm confident (with Submission to better Advice) there might be a Medium found out to put the Management of this Affair into sober hands, which would not only be a very great advantage to poor Debtors, but likewise a Considerable ease to Creditors, and a Benefit to the whole Kingdom in General. Sir, I think it will be needless to trouble you with the strange kind of tricks, they use, and the cunning stratagems and devices they have to get Men into their Clutches; that's something Foreign to my Purpose, and therefore I will not Insist upon't; But rather proceed to show you how Basely and villainously they use them when they have once got them  
To go on than, when the Master Bailiff, or Officer (as he terms himself) has got the Writ; why than according to the Nature of the person that is to be Arrested, he immediately whistles for two or three Dogs, or Followers, that are always Lurking about his House upon such occasions; and out he goes, and having boned or Nabed this Defendant (as they call it) why than their next Business is to run him to a Spunging House, which is commonly one of their own; and having sixth him there, if they perceive he's a stranger to their Managements, and under any kind of fear or Apprehension of 'em, than they turn in to him a Kennel of deep mouthed Hell Hounds, that eat and Drink upon him at Discretion; and in the interim another party of Curr's are sent out to hunt the Town to try if they can found any more Creditors that they can by any means Incline or seduce to enter their actions against him; and so having sufficiently gorged themselves, the Master of the Ceremonies calls for the Reckoning, which the poor Prisoner is forced to pay; be it what it will; and than under Pretence of removing him out of sight, etc. They Conduct him to one of their strong Rooms, which they have for such purposes. There the Wretch is left alone, and what's worse, if he calls for Pen, Ink & paper to sand to any of his Friends, 'tis ten to one but they open his Letter, and sand or not sand it as they found it will best answer their Ends. Well, but he must not continued in this kind of Separation long neither, before one of the Gang is sent up to him, who under pretence of a great deal of Civility and Compassion to his misfortune, wheedles and Cajoles him into a Confession of his Circumstances: Which he directly Relates to a Cabal of Rogues below, who are all the while debating which way they may make the most of him. Having thus furnished themselves with the Nature of his Abilitys, &c▪ another of the surliest Curs in the whole Kennel is sent again to him to put him in mind of a Barbarous Custom they have, i e. Civility Money; this Gentleman, with a kind of Unmannerly Impudence, Represents to him the dismalness and charge of going to Prison, and withal let's him know that if he doth not Instantly Compound with the Officer for his liberty to stay there, That he will in a little time call a Coach and carry him away; and thus having worked him up to the highest Pitch of Dispair and fear, he leaves him. After these two have Finished their Managements, the Officer in Chief soon makes his Appearance. Come Sir, says he, what do you intent to do? I dare not keep you, besides, if I durst, I must live by my business, I can't keep my Servants and myself to wait upon you for nothing. You know our Methods, and if you have a Design to stay here to night, why than let me see some Money from you. Here the poor Man is again forced, to speak in their own Dialect, to Lug out, and gives him what he has, or at lest what this Unmerciful Governor is pleased to extort from him; upon which Consideration he's Admitted to the favour of being strongly Locked and Barrocaded up for that night in a Prison, which in all points is equal, and in some worse than that which according to Law, he aught to be carried to; but still they have not done with him neither, the next that Attacks him is the good Mistress of the House, but she like an honest Conscientious Woman doth not want much of him, only six or seven Shillings which the Officers men have Drunk below, and two Shillings for his Bed, and than she'll lay on the sheets; well there's no Remedy, but this must be paid too as well as the rest, or else after all, he must to Prison. Well Sir, to make as short of this sad Relation as I can, upon these and some other Terms of the like Nature, he's at last Locked up till the next morning, and than they begin to play the former Game over again, till at last finding that they have Wracked him as far as the Nature of the thing will bear, they than come to him, and in good Earnest tell him that there are other Actions against him, and that Unless he can raise Money to remove himself to the Fleet or King's Bench, he must after all prepare to go to Prison. From this short Account I Presume you will be able to Judge at the Miserable Condition of those poor Wretches, whose Misfortunes have thrown them into the Jaws of these kind of Vermine. I shall therefore only trouble you with two or three lines more to show you likewise how they abuse the Person's that Employ 'em, and so take my Leave till the next Post. And this they do Chiefly two ways. First, by taking Money to Arrest the Person that is the Debtor; and after, accepting a Bribe from the Creditor, etc. this is a Cheat so common among them; and so well known to every body, that hath been forced to make use of them, that I think I need not Enlarge upon it. 'Tis an Act that they pride themselves in, and look upon it as an Extraordinary point of Honesty and Civility; Insomuch that I have heard one of the Chiefest Masters of the Order, with a kind of vanity, acknowledge, that if he did not get more by Betraying the Creditor, than he did by Arresting the Debtor, he could not get bread by the Employment.  
The other Trick that they use to Cheat the Creditor out of his money, and Sometimes out of his Debt too, is to Persuade him to lay his Action, notwithstanding he knows the Debtor is resolved to bring a Habeas Corpus; nay, I have known some Cunning Debtors myself in such a case, give a Bailiff a List of all the Creditors they were Apprehensive would give them any Trouble, with Directions to go to them and get them to enter their Actions against them, under the Notion, that when once they had made themselves Prisoners in the Fleet or King's Bench, they would not than think them worth any further trouble. In short, the Villainous Devices, and the Base and Insolent Behaviour of these sort of People, have rendered 'em one of the Greatest Grievances of the Nation, but of this Town more Especially. Sir, I Appeal to your own and to the thoughts of every Considering Man, whether it be not a sad Prospect to see whole Herds of these kind of Creatures Ranging about the Town with Swords by their sides, exactly Answering the Devil's Character, Going about seeking whom they may Devour.  
To wind up this Unpleasant Narrative; 'Tis Doubtless a very Unlucky case that the Executive part of the Law should be committed to such Hangmen as these. Indeed I can give no other Reason for it, but that the Nation hath been yet Insensible of the Inconveniency that attends upon it, or rather have thought it a trifle not worth their Notice. But Sir, since you have been so Generously kind to Embark yourself in the Matter, I will not at all question but you will soon bring it to a Happy Issue.   

LETTER III. Wherein the Practices of the Bailiffs belonging to the Sheriff of Middlesex, are particularly exposed and detected; together with a short Description of Newgate, etc.  
THE Bailiffs that belong to the Sheriff of Middlesex are only permitted to execute the King's Writts, etc. but than because they cannot hold a person to Bail for a debt under 10 l. they commonly join themselves with a brother belonging to the Marshalsea; and these two, together with the assistance of 2 or 3 Followers, are a complete Sett to carry on the worthy Occupation.  
Their chief business here (as in all other Counties in England, is to attend upon the Sheriff or his Deputy at the Execution of Criminals, as well as to serve his Warrants and levy his Executions; and for this formerly they had their settled Fees and Allowances; and withal, instead of their Swords and Battoons, which they march with now, were obliged to carry only a White Wand in their hands, to distinguish them from other persons. How this good Custom came to be worn out and discontinued. I know not; but this I know, that for want of having their Fees and Dematds fixed, and some sort of means used to bridle their Insolence and Extravagance, the meaner sort of people are strangely insulted and imposed upon by 'em.  
Well Sir, when one of these sort have Arrested their Man, after they have managed him as I mentioned in my last, why than he must go to Newgate, which is the chief Goal belonging to the County of Middlesex: And here, Sir, I will beg your favour to stop a little, while I trouble you with a short description of that dismal place.  

The Description of Newgate, together with their manner of Government, etc. as it relates to Debtors.  
Newgate (as I said) is the chief Prison for the County of Middlesex, for Debtors, as well as Felons and Traitors, and is divided into Three different Stations or Degrees. The first is called the Press-Yard, whither none but persons that have Money to pay extravagant Prizes for their Lodging and Entertainment are admitted. The Second is the Common Side, where the Rogues and Thiefs, Whores and Pick-Pockets, together with some Miserable Debtors, are all Jumbled one among another, and truly make a very deplorable sight indeed. The Third is the Debtors side, to which miserable place (for I cannot name it without a great deal of Agony and Disorder) my Misfortunes brought me. The manner of it was thus: About a twelve monthago One of these Sparks took me up upon an Execution; and finding that I knew their Tricks too well to be imposed upon, he forthwith conducts me to Newgate: I think 'twas about ten of the Clock at Night before I reached my New Quarters. He had not sooner thrust me into the Lodge, but Cerberus the Turn-Key, with a great many other Dogs of Lower Stations came howling and grinning about me. Their first Compliment was, Sir, have you any money? If not, you must go on the Common Side. Thomas I was not much terrified with their Threats and Oaths, however I told them, If they would give me Liberty till the morning, to inquire into the Custom of the Place, I would be conformable. Well, with much ado and a great deal of Swearing, Cursing and Hectoring, they unlocked the Door that leads up to the Debtors Apartment: but here I was in a worse state than before; being left in the dark upon a dismal pair of Stairs, not daring to stir a foot for fear of tumbling into some hole, and breaking my Neck: and to mend the matter too, comes one of the Dogs that brought me thither, and insults over me for not compounding with the Officer, etc. Well, Sir, between this and the nauseous stink that came down the Stairs, I confess I had much ado to support myself; however I was forced to do it for an Hour at lest before I could persuade any body to come to my assistance upon any terms. At last comes an under Turn-Key, and with a great deal of Indifference and more Impudence, asked me what I'd have? I found now 'twas no time to urge Justice or Humanity to him; and therefore in short I told him, If he would change my Station, I would gra●●fle him to his satisfaction. Here he began to soften a little, and withal told me, That their Custom was to Lock up all their Doors at Eight of the Clock exactly; which were not to be opened again but upon particular Considerations; but however, for half a Crown he'd open the Door of the Debtors Hall, and turn me in there, where I should found a bed and company. With this I soon complied; and so in he lets me; but withal leaves me in the dark again: but here I had not been long before one of the Prisoners calls to me; and finding me to be a stranger and a Debtor, strikes a Light; by the help of which I got a view of my new Lodging; which I must own to you was dressed up with so many wretched and deplorable Circumstances, that in the whole Accounts of my Life, I never met with any thing like it: In this Common Hall (as they call it) were 12 beds at lest, and two persons in every one of them. Where some lay naked, others with shaved Heads without any Caps upon 'em, and most of them taking Tobacco; which together with the Smoke and Stink, made such a dismal Spectacle; that I defy any Poet or Painter to fancy or describe the like: However, Sir, there was no Remedy, but here I must stay; and truly, as cases stood, I was pretty well satisfied I was here too. To make as short of the matter as I can, I walked in this Noble Hall till Morning, when about 7 my Chamber-fellows began to turn out of their respective Kennels, and came to me to demand their Garnish, which they told me was 6 s. and 8 d. This truly I paid without any grudging, and they spent it as freely in good Bread and Cheese, and Ale and Beer; and to make me ameuds, drank my Health, and wished me an happy Enlargement, etc. 'Twould make a man wonder indeed to see with what cheerfulness and Courage some of these poor Wretches undergo this miserable consinement, and how many hard shifts & stratagems they are forced to use, to get half a Crown against Saturday night, to pay for their beds, to prevent being turned over to the Common side, among the Felons, as they certainly are upon the first default. But to proceed: this Ceremony of the Garnish was not sooner over, and indeed it did not last long, but I was called to another, i e. to come to pay my Entrance Fees, and for my Enrollmant, etc. which, as near as I remember, was either 8 or 9 s. more. Upon the whole, I found my charge of walking in the Hall for a Night was about 20 s. which I hope you'll be pleased to remember in its proper place. Well, Sir, I continued still walking in the Hall till about 3 in the afternoon, and had struck up an agreement with a man in a shire to Enkennel with him at night; but my Creditor coming in the interim, and discharging me, that Adventure went of. However, I did what I could to equip myself as far as my stay would give leave, with the nature and manner of the place. I went through all the Debtors Division, and found it all over so Dismal and wretched, that it almost put me out of conceit with Mankind, to think they could be so exaltedly cruel and barbarous to Creatures of their own Species. But now my Discharge being come▪ One of the Curs that barked and snarled at me but the very last night, comes up to me shaking his Tall, and fawning upon me. Sir your Discharge is come, and Mr T— would desire you to walk into the Lodge; where Mr Clerk of the papers meets me, and wishes me Joy of my Liberty, but withal tells me there's a small matter to be paid first, only Seventeen shillings more for Fees; and so I may go whither I please, This new Demand of Fees I confess Disturbed me more than all the rest; however I found a down right denial would not do, and therefore thought 'twould be best to pled Inability; but 'twas all one, this plea was no better than the other; all the answer that I could get was, that they never trusted any body, and that I must sand out for money, and in the Interim return and take a turn or two more in the Hall. Truly with his leave I did not care for walking any more in the Hall neither; and so after a great deal of Wrangling and Swearing, I made up the matter for ten and Six pence. But still, before I must have my Quietus, the Groom of the Chambers must be satisfied too; and his demand was half a Crown for Sheets. Says I, Friend, I had no Sheets; I have not lain down since I came into your Territories. That's all one to me, says he, you might if you would; and I won't loose my Fees by you. I must confess I could not choose but smile at this, though indeed it vexed me too. However, to be quit of them all, I threw him a shilling; and so we parted. Sir, that I may not trespass too far upon your patience, I'll stop here, and trouble you with the Remainder of this Adventure the next Return.    

LETTER iv Being the Continuation of the Description of Newgate.  
SIR,  
HAving, as I told you in my last, satisfied and discharged my Obligations to my respective Governors, I had still a Curiosity to inspect a little further into the Constitution and Rarities of this Famous Citadel; and accordingly to carry on my design, I took one of the Gentlemen of the body to the Tavern, and told him I had a great inclination to be a little more satisfied in the Manners and Conditions of their House, and withal told him, that if he would do me the favour to show me the Rest, I would greatify him for his pains; with this he readily complied, and immediately goes and fetches the Keys, and leads me first into the Common Side; where I must confess to you I was encountered with so many dismal Objects, and so many amazing Scenes of horrid misery, that I cannot begin my Relation of 'em without the deepest Reluctancy and Concern. In one part lay an heap of Rogues and Theives, in another a Clump of Whores and Pick-Pockets, and in a Third a Strange Cluster of Whores and Rogues Jumbled together, and here and there a poor miserable Debtor was scattered amongst 'em, who for want of money to pay his Chamber Rent, was turned over from the other side. Some were almost naked, others almost starved; some were swearing, drinking and blaspheming, others howling and yelping, and lamenting their wretched condition, whilst others were laughing at 'em, and deriding 'em. In short, there was such a constant smoke, such an unwholesome and contagious smell; such a wild Herd of Rude Creatnres, and such an unaccountable confusion and disorder among them, that I was forced to speak to my Guide to hasten me out from 'em as fast as he could. The next place he led me to was the Master Felons Apartment: This indeed was a little better than the former, and but a little; but hither none are admitted but those that have money. Here I confess they did not look quite so deplorable, but bad enough too, and I think their Manners and Behaviour, if possible, are worse than the other. Well, Sir, I had soon my belly full of all these kind of Curiosities; and so I desired him to let me have a short view of the Press-yard, and than I'd have done with him. When I came there, I must own I was something surprised to found such a great alteration both in the place and persons. The place itself was well enough, only a little obnoxious by an ungrateful stink, which I suppose might be derived to it from the Common Side: The persons had most of 'em the Looks and Carriage of Gentlemen; and, to give 'em their due, behaved themselves with a great deal of Courtesy and Civility to me as a Stranger. My Guide would have showed me the Lodgings and the Keeper's house; but these I thought were hardly worth my trouble, and so I desired him to go and take another Pint and I'd discharge him. While we were drinking our Pint, I asked him several Questions, but particularly concerning the management of Prisoners that were under close Consinement; he told me that was good business indeed, and two or three for a time were enough to set up a Waiter in an Alehouse, but (said he) that's a Mystery we must not disclose, and so I pressed him not further. I asked him likewise the nature of their buying of their Fetters, and what might be the ordinary Charge of that? He told me, they always measured that by the Ability and Circumstance of the Person they were to deal with, and had Irons of several sorts and sizes for that purpose. I was putting some other Questions to him concerning the Fees of the Officers of their Family, their Way of Government, and Rules of ordering condemned Persons, etc. but here he smelled me, and so to avoid all future Discourse with some kind of Concern and Jealousy that I had drawn him too far into a Confession and Discovery of their Secrets, he left me.  
And now, Sir, I have done with my lamentable Description of that famous Prison, and yet but only given you a short insight of the Calamities of those unfortwate Wretches that are forced into it. I don't doubt but there are many more aggravating Circumstances attending upon it, sufficient to make it one of the most complete and exalted Seats of solid and substantial Misery upon the Face of the Earth. However, I am very well assured that I have said enough to show any sensible Man the Nature and Circumstance of the place, and to urge him, if he has any Bowels, to contribute his Assistance towards the Redress of it. But I know the Relation will fall into good hands; and therefore I shall not press it any further, but proceed to give you an Account much of the same kind with the former; which shall be the Substance of my next.   

LETTER V Wherein the Practices and Proceed of the Bailiffs belonging to the Marshal's Court are exposed, together with some short Reflections upon their Constitution and Government, with a Description of their Prison.  
SI●  
HAVING briefly laid before you the Character of Bailiffs in general, and particularly of those belonging to the Sheriff of Middlesex, together with a short Description of Newgate, I proceed now, in conformity to your Commands, to give you an Account of the Behaviour and Practices of another sort of Vermin, i e. the Bailiffs that belong to the Marshals Court. These are a sort of Creatures that are in all Respects as bad, and in some, a great deal worse than the former; and truly, considering every thing, have a great deal more Opportunity to be so. As to the original Constitution of this Court, I have nothing to do to inquire into it; only, as I am told, this Court at the beginning was only appointed to determine Causes and Differences between the King's Servants; and that by little and little it hath crowded itself into the Practice it hath now got; and truly I am very much inclined to be of this Opinion, because I cannot found that there is any regular Method established for their Proceed, especially in the great Case of taking of Bail, which is generally made to the Jailor, and is so odd a kind of Practice, that it seems to me as if they were at a loss for some body to do this Office for them, and so were forced to make use of the Jailor. What was the original Practice and Constitution of this Court, I confess, I am not Master of, neither doth it much matter as to my Purpose; but this I know by woeful Experience, that there are more villainous Actions committed by the Bailiffs that belong to it than by half of the Kingdom beside.  
'Tis a most incredible what a strange number there is of this sort of Creatures, some say Fifteen hundred, some a great many more; in truth, I believe there may be a thousand of them that are Commission Officers, besides Subalterns and Cadres, viz. Followers and Setters. I have heard a Gentleman say, that hath been long acquainted with them, that if 'twere possible to bring 'em to a general Rondezvouze they could muster at lest Three thousand chosen Men, able to draw Swords upon Occasion. Now Sir, who can reflect upon this strange Multitude, and withal consider that they are turned lose to pray upon the meaner sort of People only; (for they hare rarely any Business with any but such) but must soon imagine they must needs make a very strange Havoc and Destruction among them. Sir, I'll trouble you with a short Relation that happened within the Compass of my own Experience: some time before my Misfortunes broke in upon me, the Person in whose house I lodge was seized by one of these Parties for a small Debt of about Thirty Shillings that was in dispute between him and a Neighbour; the Man was as honest a reputable Man as any in the Street, and his Word I believe would have went for a hundred Pound in any part of the Town. Well, but for all this, these Sparks had got him, and the Constitution of this worthy Court must not be broken upon any account; he must either pay the money together with the charge of the Writ and the Arrest, or give Bail, or go to Prison. Upon which he sent for me and another Friend, and so we signed a Bail-Bond of 5 l. to indemnify Mr. C— L—, who is the Mr. of the Goal. Their demands for the Bail-Bond, etc. though I filled it up myself (for as I remember never a one of those could writ) was 4 s. and 6 d. and 3 s. and 6 d. more, which they had sucked up in the interim, made 8 s. for this Job: but what was worse, my Landlord being unskilled in these sort of Practices, & not seeing an Attorney, according to the Rules of their Court, the very next Friday, which I think was but about 3 days after this Bail Bond was assigned, and upon the Saturday morning following, the former Partisan, with a stronger Detachment came and beaten up all our Quarters. Here was my Landlord, his Friend and myself, all arrested at the Suit of Mr. C— L—, and kept in strict Durance for the weighty consideration of 30 odd shill. Well, to make up the matter, we sent for the Plaintiff, who would have took his Money and given a Discharge, but that, it seems, would not do now, the Tables were turned, Mr. Christophea Lowman was the Plaintiff, and he must be comprehended in the Articles of Peace, or the War must go on▪ there were several new Fees to be paid, both to the Court and Prison, before we could come to a separate Treaty. In short, the Commander in Chief told us we must give good Guarantees to answer the Damages that should be awarded against us, and that it was not in the Directions of his Commission to come to any other Terms. Well, there was no Remedy but we must sand for some substantial Housekepers to give separate Bail to the Keeper's Actions, or else we must every one of us, in propria Persona, prepare to take a Turn over the Water. To make short of the Matter, we gave fresh Bail, which together with the Spunging, etc. amounted to about 14 s. more. Now Sir, I appeal to yourself whether this be not a very hopeful mess of Law, when 6 or 7 Persons must be engaged, nay, exposed to such a barbarous Gang of Miscreants as these for the poor Sum of 30 s. But to finish my Relation, my Landlord told me, that beside the Debt, he was above 3 l. out of Pocket before he made a perfect end of the Business. It seems the Pretence of this Court at the Original was to recover small Debts at easy Rates, and to bring them to a speedy Issue, this 'tis true was the specious pretence that this Court at firstgot a Reputation by, and this they pretend still; but how well it answers those Ends, I think any man may judge from the Relation aforesaid, as well as from the Sequel of their Practice in General; 'tis true, I think, their Writs for 99 s. cost but 2 s. 4 d. and those for 39 s. something lesle; but what than? they make them Returnable every Court-Day, which is once a Week, and commonly too they crowd in 3 or 4 Names into every one of them, so that when every thing is considered, the Charge of a Writ, and a Suit in that Court, is as expensive as in any Court in Westminster Hall in a Case of Debt. But, Sir, it doth not agreed with my Design to give you a particular History of their whole Practice and Proceed, but only some cursory Hints to let you see in short what a Cluster of Inconveniences attend it. As for their Bailiffs, I confess I cannot think of a Name bad enough to call 'em by; they are the very Sink and Outcast of Bailiffs themselves, a sort of Creatures so Ravenous, Wild and Despicable, that some of the better sort of the Masters of this Order are ashamed to herd with 'em. And is not this than a very dismal thing, that such a prodigious Multitude of these intolerable Vermin should be suffered to pray about among the poor People as they do, and to run in common with them, carrying about Lyes, and setting them upon little Quarrels, etc. that they may force their own Trade, and get an Opportunity to lay their Venomous Paws upon 'em; what a sad Object is it to see 4 or 5 of the Vermin luging and tearing a poor Wretch, first to the Spunging-house, and than to their Jail, for an inconsiderable Debt of 10 or 20 s. perhaps leaving the miserable Wife and Children to beg or starve, or to be kept upon the Parish Charge in the Interim: This is the common practice of every Day; and indeed 'tis almost incredible to be reported, how many honest Tradesmen and Labourers, poor Widows, and the like, have been perpetually ruin'd and undone by their Villainy. But, Sir, I believe my Description of these Matters will be as unpleasant and ungrateful for you to read as they are for me to writ, and therefore I'll leave 'em in the Middle, and so carry you to their Prison and show you a few of the Miseries there too, and than shut up till the next Opportunity.  
This Jail is almost of the same Nature with Newgate, & considering 'tis a common Receptacle for Felons & Pirates as well as Debtors, you must believe 'tis seldom without good store of Guest. For my part when I saw it, I must own I was much amazed at the Multitude that was there, which, as one of the Prisoners told me, was about 160, and near 100 of 'em for small Debts under 5 l.  
Whilst I was making my Observations, I was accosted by one of the most deplorable Objects I ever beheld, a Woman almost naked and perished, who, as she told me, had been kept in there 17 months, for only calling▪ Mr. B .... the Bailiffs Wife Whore Here they live all together promiscuously all Day, till at Night the Keepers drive 'em into their respective Holes and Caverns. As near as I remember, there's no Allowance at all for Debtors that are brought in by the Marshal's Writs, so that unless they have Money to subsist themselves, they must inevitably be starved to death. Just as I was making my Exit one of their Partymen brought in an Old Gentlewoman, whereby I had the opportunity of seeing the Garnish Ceremony performed. I think they demanded in the whole 6 s. i e. 1 for Footing, the other 5 for Garnish; but what was worse, it seems she had been a Fortnight at the Bailiffs House before, who had not left her a Farthing to help herself; so that the poor Matron begged hearty of her Fellow Prisoners to be excused in that Point, but all would not do, they call a Jury immediately upon her, and from a very shor Consideration bring her in Guilty to the Value of 6 s. and that unless the Master of the Cellar would take her Word she must prepare to strip, etc. But, Sir, I would not tyre you with these melancholy Curiosities neither; I have said enough, I presume to let you see what kind of Court and Government this is; there are, indeed, abundance of other things that might be mentioned, viz. the extravagant Fees and Demands of the Jailor and Turn-Keys, and the Tricks and Devices of the Waitors to extort Money from the poor Prisoner, etc. But I have detained you too long already; and therefore I'll take my leave for to night.   

LETTER VI In which is a Relation of the Behaviour and Practices of the Sergeants and Yeomen belonging to the Two Compters, together with the Respective Practice of these Courts; and also a short Account of the Prisons appertaining to the City of London.  
Sergeants are generally a sort of over grown Bailiffs, and in their Nature and Practice the very same as they are: Indeed they pretend to a Kind of Superiority, both in their Morals and Honesty, beyond the rest of the Brotherhood; but truly in the course of my Misfortunes I always found them to be Creatures exactly of the same Temper and Species. Their business is chief to attend upon the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs at their Respective Courts at Guild-Hall, at the Session's House in the Old Bailie, and at the time of Execution of Criminals, and at all other times and places, according as they are commanded; in consideration of which they have a Gown, and some other Fees and Immunities allowed 'em; but this, though it was Originally the chief business for which they were intended, is become now but only the Shell and Husk of the Office: the Sweet and Profit of it consists in the Execution of Actions and Detachments, and 'tis by the Exorbitant Demands and Advantages they make from thence that several of 'em get considerable Estates in a few years. I knew one of them intimately, that in lesle than 12 years purchased 200 l. per ann. Land of Inheritance; How he got it, I need not inform you; but it seems there was some Grumbling in his Gizzard afterwards; for, in a deep Disgust and Dissatisfaction, he quitted the Worthy Occupation, and turned Quaker, and in a little time became one of the powerfullest Holder's forth in the whole Town. These Gentlemen commonly buy their places of the Mayor or Sheriffs, and so do the Yeomen too, which are a sort of Under Vermin that are joined to 'em to help 'em in their Managements, etc. They generally march out in small Bodies, seldom more than two in a Party, viz. a Sergeant and a Yeoman, unless it be upon great Expeditions; such as are the Storming of a Shop, or the Bombarding of a Warehouse, or as it was in former Days before a Peace was concluded between them and their Old Enemies the Alsatians. Now I think there's none but the Knight's Templars hold out against them, and there truly I saw t'other day a strong Party of 'em handled very scurvily. The manner of it was thus; It seems they had undertaken upon very large Considerations to lay violent Hands upon a certain Gentleman that had thrown himself into the Temple to secure his best● Effects, and accordingly finding him in a place where they thought they might make their Attacks upon him with lest hazard, they fell on with a great deal of Fury and Resolution, but truly the Gentleman perceiving the Enemy upon the Walls, and withal knowing how dangerous it was for him to quit his Fastness, immediately gives the Alarm, the sentines soon took it, and in a very few minutes a strong Party from the Garrison came to his Relief; the Fight at first was very bloody and obstinate, and several swinging Bastinadoes were exchanged on both sides, but than the later being every moment recruited with fresh Forces, the former were forced to retreat with a running Fight and leave their Booty behind 'em, and what was worse, two of 'em were taken Prisoners, which according to an ancient Custom in that Garrison were forthwith taken to the Pump, and from thence to the House of Office, and there I'll leave them and go on with my Relation. These Sparks are indeed a limited Number, and withal, are prohibited to arrest any Freman for any Debt under 40 s. They have a Court of Conscience in the City of London for such purposes, where small matters are determined with a great deal of Ease and Moderation; but than for the Foreigners they have no Regard to them, one of them rather than fail may be boned and held to Bail for 9 d. and what's worse, be forced to give the Gentleman that does him this Kindness, 5 s. for his Reward, or else he'll put him in the Compter. 'Tis true, the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs do often take 'em in Considertion, and sometimes displace them for their Villainy and Extortion; but for all that, I'm confident they generally want to be new regulated as much as those that belong either to the Marshalsea or to the Sheriff of Middlesex. They have their Pretences and Artifices to wrack and screw Money from their Prisoners, under the Notion of Civility as well as they; they have their Spunginghouses and Spungers too, as they have: they can betray the Creditor, and trappan and deceive the Debtor as they can; in brief, they can Swear, Lie, Hector, Domineer and Cheat as well as the best of 'em all, and are in the main a very lewd, dissolute and disorderly Gang. Sir, I would not seem in the lest partial, or to represent Men and Things worse ' than they are: I must confess there are divers of 'em, that, abstracted from their Office, as Times go now, may pass Muster well enough; but than consider them in their Function, and there's ne'er a Barrel the better Herring, they're all of 'em of a Peice; Money's the grand Game they all Hunt, and have it they will, and they matter not which Way. As to the Rules of their Courts and their Methods of Proceed, I must own, they are in a great many Particulars very Regular and Expeditions, and withal, I believe, formerly a Suit might be commenced and carried quite thorough for a very small Charge, but than they have well improved the Business here of late, and drawn up the Fees of their Respective Offices to that unaccountable height, that a small Debt is entirely swallowed up before the Cause is half determined. There are several things which upon a general Enquiry will require a Regulation; but for peace sake I won't mention 'em, only these two I cannot pass, viz. their Juries, and their Foreign Pleas. As to their Juries, I cannot help being a little out of humour with some of 'em, especially with their Causecatchers. I mean those Worthy Citizens that have got Estates by being Jurymen, and attend upon it as their ordinary Employment: I'm afraid indeed there's very often some Daubing in those Cases, and that too many of them know which Way the Case will go before they hear either the Court or the Evidence. I'm told there's a a particular Set of 'em, who to make Matters easy and equal among themselves have wisely agreed, that each should have his Case in his turn. This would be worth enquiring into upon Occasion, but at present 'tis out of my Road. And than for their Foreign Pleas, 'tis a barbarous thing, that they should wink at, or rather incline Persons to enter their Actions, fee Attorneys, and perhaps run through the whole charge of their Courts, notwithstanding they know that if the Defendant joins Issue, and pleads that his Debt was contracted out of the Verge of their Jurisdiction, the Plaintiff must be nonsuit, and so not only lose all his own Charges, but likewise be obliged to pay his Adversary's too. Well Sir, to make as short of these Matters as I can, they are an equal Composition of good and bad, and if their Rates were reduced to their Ancient Custom, we might even let 'em rest under the Umbrage of an Old Proverb, that when the Old is gone seldom comes a better. But than in the second Place, for their Prisons, there indeed there's Work enough both for Pity and Regulation: Indeed they are not so often interrupted with Thiefs and Highwaymen as they are at Newgate and other jails, but excepting that, I see very little Difference; their Fees are very extravagant, and their Turnkeys and Under Officers strangely insolent and unmerciful; and for their Common Side, which the poorer Sort are consigned to, 'tis as fulsome and nauseous, and their Beds and Lodgings as loathsome and wretched as any of the rest, Newgate itself not excepted: 'Tis true, if a Man has Money he may be furnished with a tolerable good Lodging in either of the Compters, and so he may in any other Prison about Town; but if his hard Circumstances turn him in common among those that are exposed to live upon the Charity and Customs of the House, why than, were it lawful to wish the Misery and Destruction of an Enemy, we could not confine him to a place better adapted for this purpose than the Common Side in one of these jails. Beside the two Compters, there is another Prison belonging to the City of London, i e. Ludgate; but thither none but Freemen and Clergymen are admitted. This is the best Prison about London, both in Regard to its Endowment and Government, and yet here too, as I'm told, they have lately swelled their Fees to a very strange Bigness. In short, the Jayls all over England want to be surveyed, and to have their Fees and Demands fixed, their Endowments restored, and their Ancient Customs and Immunities new settled and restablisht.   

LETTER VII. Wherein the Evil Practices of Pretended Solicitors are exposed, and their Knavish Tricks and Artifices detected, which they make Use of to deceive Poor Prisoners and others, both out of their Money and Liberty.  
SIR,  
HAving in my former Letters given you a cursory Account of the base Practices of the Bailiffs and Sergeants in general, and hinted to you some of the most common and material Miscarriages of the London Prisons, I shall now lead you a little further, and briefly expose to you another Sort of Viperous Creatures, which, if possible, are of a Nature and Disposition more venomous and dangerous than the former. These are a kind of Vermin that pass upon the World under the Character of Solicitors, and usually derive their Original from Superannuated Bailiffs, or from other Outcast Wretches, that in Knavish Suits and contentious Wranglings have consumed their Estates, and so, are forced to turn Rogues and Trappanners to get their last Bread; the Places of their Rendezvous were formerly the Mint and Friars, but those Constitutions being happily dissolved, they have since been forced to Range at venture about Town. The chief Places they frequent now are the Kings-Bench Walk in the Temple, where they ply constantly, but in Termtime especially, that they may be ready to help an honest Client upon Occasion; or at the Grates of the Compters, Marshalsea, Newgate, and other jails, where under Pretence of a great deal of Knowledge in the Tricks and Turns of the Law, they inveigle poor Wretches that are ready to ca●ch at every Deceitful Twig for Liberty, to fix their Confidence and Dependence upon 'em. Sir, it would be the Work of a Volume to descend into Particulars, and trace these Varlets through the whole Course of their Villainous Practices, I will only therefore, as in all my former, take notice of a few of their most practical and notorious Rogueries, from whence you may well enough judge of all the rest. Their chief Business is Perjury, and this they do to an Hairs breadth; for so much an Oath, they'll swear you through a whole Cause, and, what to an honest Man looks a little strange, do it so nicely and exactly, and withal join the Circumstances and Evidence so well together that I defy the best Counsel of 'em all to catch or trap 'em in it; but than the Person that uses them had best take care too, for if he stops his Hand and does not feed 'em on, or gives 'em any Disgust, 'tis ten to one but they turn tail, join the contrary Party, and by some Knavish Stratagem or other come of from what they swore before, and impudently turn a Witness on the other side.  
This is very ordinary amongst 'em, and to be a good proficient in this useful Art of Changing of Sides, they esteem among themselves to be one of the most profitable and commendable Qualifications belonging to their Order. Another Inhuman piece of Knavery they have (as I mentioned before) is to cheat and deceive poor Prisoners: If they can once pass the Gates and get in among 'em, they're safe enough; and first, to initiate themselves, they put on the Looks and Behaviour of Hypocrites, pray and cant nay, rather than fail, shed some Crocodiles Tears which they're always provided with to colour their Villainy. When they have drawn any of the poor Wretches into a Conference, why, than the first thing they entertain 'em with is, the mighty things they have done for Prisoners in Distress, and all, as they insinuate, in pure Pity and Commiseration to their Condition, without the lest Reward or Expectation of Profit or Advantage. Here they pretend they have such a Judge that is their particular Friend and never denies 'em any thing, such an Attorney is their Relation, and will do their Business almost for nothing; such a Judge's Clerk they have obliged by several Kindnesses and Services, and that the Marshal of the King's Bench and Warden of the Fleet are so much their Slaves and Vassals that they dare not oppose any thing they request of 'em. By such kind of Lies and Shams as these, backed by their Hypocritical Cants and Formalities, 'tis great Odds but some of 'em are catcht. Well, when he finds he has a By't, he first gives him a little more Line that he may have time enough to pouch the Bait, and when he perceives he's sufficiently hampered he prepares by little and little to draw him to Land. Here he must be called aside forsooth, and enjoined Secrecy under the Forfeiture of his Kindness, and withal, solemnly conjured to make an ample and true Discovery of all his Concerns, by Virtue of which he gets fully Instructed which way to steer his Managements with the most Advantage; when he has sounded him to the very Bottom and finds that his Estate or Effects will answer, he proposes in consideration of some small Matter, which they won't fall out about, to procure him Bail. This he can do well enough, for they have always belonging to their Gang some honest charitable Housekeepers that for a valuable Consideration will bail a man at any time; what if they are not in Strictness of Law worth double the Debt? 'tis all one they'll swear they are, and than there's no refusing, but their Bail must be taken. And here their Came gins, when they have Bailed the Person, and got him entirely into their own Clutches, than Mr. Solicitor opens the Nature of the Case to him. Sir, says he, you see what we have done for you, you are now at Liberty, and free from the Dismalness and Expense of a Prison and let lose again into the World, and all this is done for you by perfect Strangers; but than, says he, I know you are a man of Sense and Gratitude, and so I need not trouble you with the Nature of the Obligation: Here he calls him aside and directs him what kind of Offers he should make to 'em; if he says he hath no Money, says he, you must raise what you can, and give 'em your Note for the rest; well, when this is complied with, than one of his Worthy Bail gins his part in the Management; Sir, says he, we found you are a very honest civil Gentleman, and you may depend upon it, that if you should at any time fall into any sort of trouble, if you sand for us we'll come and deliver you immediately: That we will, says the other Cannibal, but than, considering the Gentleman's an absolute Stranger, I think he aught to give us some kind of Security to indemnify us; this is agreed to without doubt, and so a Bond and Judgement, without either Limitation or Defeasance, are forthwith Signed and Sealed, and than they have done with him for the present; but still the worst part is behind; 'tis ten to one but by some Villainous Stratagem or other they get themselves arrested upon his Account, and than they have a good Pretence to fall upon him with their Judgement and sweep away all he has, and so the poor Man is ruin'd and undone for ever. But in the second place, when this cruel Varlet finds the Circumstances of the Prisoner too bad, and dangerous for him to be Bailed, and that there's nothing to be made of him by that experiment, than he tries another, and advises him to bring a Habeas Corpus, and remove himself to the Fleet or King's Bench, and he'll go and compound with the Marshal or Warden (both which he persuades him he has at his beck) for his Liberty, and withal, rather than fail, urges him to cell or pawn his Goods, clothes, or Working Instruments to raise Money to defray the Charge. When he has brought this Habeas Corpus, for which he exacts commonly twice as much as the real Expense of the thing is, and hath fixed him in one of these Places, he certainly leaves him there to get his Liberty how he can, unless he finds he can make a clandestine Bargain, and cheat him out of 2 or 3 Guineas more by some new sort of Artifice: But than, in the third place, if he found the Prisoner too poor and too far in Debt to be Bailed, and that his Condition is so very miserable and low that he cannot by any manner of means raise Money to remove himself, than he possesses him that the Action is wrong laid, and if he will summons the Plaintiff before a Judge, by Virtue of a particular Interest there, he need not question but he'll have him discharged; upon which Motive the poor Wretch parts with all that he has in the World that should assist him in his miserable Consinement, and gives it to him to encourage him to hasten the Business, which when he has once got into his perfidious Paws, 'tis a thousand to one if ever he comes near him any more. Well, when by such kind of Tricks as these they have rendered themselves so hateful and obnoxious to all the Prisons about Town, that they dare not come near any of 'em for fear of their Pumps or Houses of Office; than they steer to the Old Bailie, and endeavour to crowd themselves into the Company of condemned Criminals or their Friends and Relations, and tell 'em that if they can raise any Money, they can make an Interest at Court to get their Friend a Pardon or at lest a Reprieve sine Die; this has been a very useful part of their Practice formerly; indeed 'tis a little blown upon at present, and truly I am afraid that many a miserable Creature hath been deceived not only out of his Money but his Soul too by it. Sir, their Tricks and Villainies are numberless, and 'twould amuse a sober Man to think what exalted Lying and Impudence they impose upon the World; how strangely and mysteriously they twist themselves into the Secrets and Affairs of poor Debtors, and than how barbarously and perfidiously they cell and betray them to their Creditors. 'Tis methinks one of the greatest Riddles that this Town affords, how so many thousands of 'em do to subsist. I'm confident I have seen a hundred at a time scouring among their Clients, the Whores and Thiefs at Hicks' Hall, at a Sessions, and some of them in pretty good Habits too. Well Sir, I will trouble you with them not longer. In short, you see that each of these Pretended Solicitors is a Composition of Solid and Substantial Villainy, a Wretch so compendiously wicked, dangerous and despicable, that in my Opinion the Suppressing of them would be a Work of equal if not greater Consequence, than that of Bailiffs and the Regulation of jails.   

LETTER VIII. Which gives a general Account of the Fleet, and Kings-Bench, and briefly shows Men their Mistake in Purchasing a Pretended Liberty or Freedom from either of them, and withal discovers the certain Danger and Charge that depends upon it.  
SIR,  
THE Fleet and Kings-Bench are the two Chief Prisons in England, and provided with several eminent Privileges and Advantages above the rest. The Fleet in particular, is a well built convenient House, accommodated with good Water, a Conduit, a Chapel where there is constantly Prayers twice a day, handsome Lodgings and Apartments, and so many other Conveniencies that at first Sight it appears to a Stranger rather like a College than a Jail. The King's Bench is much of the same Kind, enjoys the Benefit of large Rules, good Rooms and a Bowling-Green, etc. So that if things were honestly and sincerely managed, an Unfortunate Man might wade through his Consinement with a great deal of Comfort and Satisfaction in either of them. I suppose indeed, it was the Original design in granting these Prisons so many Immunities beyond others, to fit 'em for Sanctuaries for such Persons whose Misfortunes had deprived 'em of their Liberty; but than, here's the Misfortune on't, the Government of 'em too often falls into ill Hands, and than all these Advantages signify nothing. As to the Governors themselves they're commonly Gentlemen, and Men of Parts, and I dare engage for one or two of 'em, they're above a little Kravish Trick or Design; but than they're pestered with so many devouring Officers, Pretenders and Hangers on, that if the Prisoner be not first instructed in the Nature and Temper of the Vermin, 'tis ten to one but they devour him. I was once intimately acquainted with the Chief Person that had the Management of the Fleet; and truly I took the Freedom to tell him my Sentiments concerning the Irregularity of his House, and what a noise it made, and how it was resented in the World; upon which he frankly told me he was very sensible there were several things transacted that aught not to be, and what was worse, as Cases stood than, it was out of his Power to remedy them; and withal, he told me with some concern, that amongst all that great Herd he had constantly depending and preying upon him, there was not two that he knew, upon whose Honesty and Integrity he might absolutely rely, and indeed I found his Words true; for in a little time after, he narrowly escaped being eat up by his own Dogs: but Sir, this is a little Foreign to your Question, and so, if you please to pardon the short Digression, I'll go on with your Design. When a Prisoner hath brought his Habeas Corpus, and is removed from an Inferior Prison, to the Fleet or King's Bench, the Waiter or Tip-staffe, that receives him from the Jailor at the Judge's Chamber, carries him directly to one of these Places, or at lest to some Place near, if he has a mind to compound for his Liberty, without going into the Gates; when this Ceremony of Compounding is over, and he hath given Bond and Judgement to Indemnify the Warden or Marshal, and Security if he has any; why than, he's honoured with a little bit of Paper, which first delivers him out of the Talons of the Scoundrel that waits upon him, and withal allows him the Liberty to walk into the Rules, alias whither he pleases; but yet for all his haste, there's something else for him to do before he must march; next comes the Gentleman of the Papers, and he must have 25 s. for the Fees of the Servants of the House, & 44 s. more for his Commitment Fee, and than he may move, and yet 'tis very hard if Mr. Waiter parts with him without half a Piece for his Attendance; not, not, that must be done too, or else that Gentleman's highly displeased, and God Damn him, he'll be even with him; and so he certainly will, for they are the cursedst Vermin in the whole Gang; but I intent to have a Touch with 'em all by and by, and so I'll let him alone till I come at him among the rest.  
But now the Prisoner hath passed all these Pikes he may go home, and how long must he stay there? why, till he's arrested again, or till the Officers in Chief, or some of the Subalterns want to speak with him, and than a Runner is dispatched to him, to bring him along with him, with Instructions to tell him there's a Declaration come, or that there has been a Plaintiff threatening to sue the Office, and they must understand him a little better, and have better Security, or else he must go into the House. To make short of the Story, 'tis Ten to One but this is all a Device and Contrivance between a Waiter and some little pretending Officer, to get half a Piece, or a Guinea, to equip him at Night with a little Wine and a Supper. But than if they found he will be terrified by such kind of Projects, for the future, they'll suck him with a vengeance, and take their Rounds till every One hath had his snack of him. In short, Sir, as Cases stand now, I cannot see what kind of Liberty this can be they pretend to allow a Prisoner. If his Debt be upon Main Process, why than he may be Arrested again, and so must be forced to bring a New Habeas Corpus, or go to another Jail. If he be under Execution, why than if the Creditor meets him out of the Rules, he presently falls upon the Office for an Escape, and the Office consequently upon the Security; and than 'tis some odds but there's 2 or 3 undone into the bargain. But as Cases stand with me, I must not dive too deep into their Secret History: I know enough to serve my own turn: and I suppose I have said enough too to let any Rational Person see the Expense and Danger he's exposed to from this kind of Freedom. Indeed I cannot tell how far it may suit with some Persons Circumstances and Conveniency more than others: however, in the main, I am very confident there must be more Cost than Worship, and that the Advantage in general, can never answer the Charge.  
And now I would have done with 'em, but that I have forgot to pay my Respects to a few honest Gentlemen, that perhaps would take it in dudgeon, if I should miss 'em, I mean their Worthy Waiters. These are, 'tis true, but the Fag-end of the Corporation; but for all that, they're Persons of Considerable Power now and than. I would not spend much time upon 'em neither, and therefore I'll have done with 'em as soon as I can. The business of these Gentlemen is to wait upon Prisoners when they go out upon their Day-Rules, and to fetch in those that are Escaped, if they can catch 'em, and to run of Errands, etc. These are indeed the uses they are designed for; but truly the Gentlemen being sensible of their own high Qualifications and Merit, have wisely found out some other Employments: some set up for Wardens and Marshals, some for Tipstaffs, some for one sort of business, and some for another: so that in short, they have almost drawn in all the Second hand matters of both the Prisons into their own hands. One of the worthy Knights of this Order, not long since, did me the honour of his Company, once a Fortnight, for a considerable time together, and, as he said, came every time with directions from the Warden to bring me into the House; but for half a Crown and a Quartern of Brandy, we still made up the matter, and parted good Friends. Well, Sir, to sum up this Relation, The Fleet and King's Bench, with all these Inconveniences, are still the best Prisons in the Kingdom: And truly, if a man finds his Circumstances are like to continued him a Prisoner for any considerable time, I think he cannot lay out 40 or 50 s. better than to remove himself to one of 'em; here he'll be secure to found good Company, good Lodging, and the Opportunity of a Chapel, and indeed every thing convenient, with a little prudent Management, to sweeten the bitter Draught, and make the Nanseous Consinement go down a little the more easily.   

LETTER IX. Which contains a Short Reflection upon all the Rest, and also shows, that the Irregularities and Evil Practices of Country Jayls, are in all Cases equal, and in some worse than those at London.  
WELL, Sir, to draw as fast as I can towards a Conclusion of this Unpleasant Task: I shall in this only trouble you with a few short Reflections upon what I have said in my former, together with a hasty View of the Miseries and Oppressions of poor Prisoners in their Consinements in Country Jayls. As to what I have said in general, you may depend upon it for Truth; most of these unhappy Occurrences are Matters that I have either Experienced myself, or been an Eye-Witness of in others. I well knew your Design, in giving yourself and me this Ungrateful Trouble, would not admit of Trifles, and therefore I only singled out some of the most material Passages, and leapt over all the rest that I thought were any ways Trivial or Impertinent. In my Expressions, I confess, I have now and than used a little Freedom and Indecency; but than it was not where but when I had a Wretch, or some base Action to describe, that I wanted a Name or Title to call 'em by. And for my Method, 'twas the best I could think of upon such short warning. Besides, I considered I was to writ Letters, and not Books, and so confined to comprehend what I had to say in as narrow a compass as I could. Sir, I will not trouble you with very many Apologies. I have given you, in as few Lines and Words as I thought the Nature of my Relation would bear, a Dismal Account of the Sufferings of poor Prisoners; first from the Tyrannic and Insolent Usage they are exposed to from Bailiffs in general; and than laid before you some of the Grievances and Hardships, and but some of them neither, which they are forced to under go in their Respective jails and Confinements belonging to this Town. And now, Sir, I will only make a short turn into the Country, and take a transitory View of the State of the Prisons and Prisoners there, and than trouble you not further upon the Subject. The Villainies of Bailiffs and Jailers is an Epidemic Distemper, and hath unhappily spread itself over the whole Nation; and truly I think, when every thing is considered, rages with as much Violence in the Country as it does here in Town. In the Country the Bailiffs have Commenced the Villainous Methods of Spunging, and Civility-money; Nay, they have Improved the Practice of betraying the Creditor, and bringing the Debtor under Contribution: There they Ride Lords and Masters, Insult and Hector even the Gentry and Clergy, and the Common People, especially. Those that are in Debt are their very Slaves and Vassals, and stand in more awe of 'em than they do of their Justices of the Peace. There they live at large, have no body to kerb or inspect their Insolence; but are in a manner let lose, like Mad Dogs, or rather like Wolves and Vultures, to snap at and prey upon every thing they come nigh. There the poor Prisoners are forced to bear the severe Usage and Hardships of their Keepers and Jailers, and have no body to pity or hear their Complaints, or at lest no body to redress their Grievances, or to comfort or support them in their Agonies: There's no Judge there, nor no Tipstaff in the Country to take these merciless Wretches into Custody; but they are jest entirely to the Guidance of their own Pride, ill Nature and Avarice, to Insult and Domineer, Fetter, Confine, Cheat and Impose upon their wretched Captives how they please: And truly their Behaviour in general is inhuman and barbarous enough; and what's the greatest Misfortune of all too, their distance from London, hath rendered their Removal by Habeas Corpus almost impracticable. Sir, I have been a little Curious in these Affairs, and, as Occasion offered, have now and than made it my Business to pry into these unpleasant Mysteries, and indeed thro' the whole Course of my Observations I never found any thing that could distinguish the Practices of Bailiffs and Jailers and the ill Management of Prisons in the Country from these in Town, unless it be that the former are attended with greater Hardships and Severities.  
And now, Sir, I have done with the Subject, and shall only put you in mind of One Thing more, and take my leave. The Cries and Groans of these Miserable Wretches have already taken Wing, and dispersed themselves over the Face of the whole Kingdom: Whether they'll stop here or not, I cannot tell; but this I know, That if there is not some sudden means used to redress their Grievances, in all probability, they will assail Heaven too, and call as loud for Vengeance from thence, as they do for Pity and Assistance here.   

LETTER X. In which some short Methods are proposed for putting those Affairs into a better Posture: And than the whole is Humbly Submitted to better Judgement and Examination.  
AND now, Sir, I am come to the concluding Part of your Commands, viz. to give you my Sentiments how these great Evils may be Redressed and Rectified. And here indeed I must own my Insufficiency; This is the greatest work of all: And to speak my Thoughts of the Matter, seems rather to require the Judgement of a whole Nation than the Single Opinion of a private Person. Sir, all that I can do in this great Affair is only this, to give you my poor Thoughts how both the Debtor and Creditor may best fence and defend themselves against the Frauds and Violence of these kind of Vermin; and than in answer to what you are pleased to urge, add my short Sentiments how the whole may be put in a better Posture.  
First, therefore, for the Creditor, when things are come to that unhappy pass that he's forced to use Extremity, I passionately advice him never to deliver the Writ out of his hands or suffer the Bailiff out of his Sight till he has done his Business; for if he does, 'tis ten to one but he's betrayed, and at once looseth both his Debt and Charge. The Writ is the general Basis upon which they build their consequent Rogueries; when they once get that, they are thoroughly equipped either to betray the Creditor or compound with the Debtor, and they may both depend upon it that for a shilling advantage they'll be false to either Party. And than for the Debtor, let him take this with him too, that although by a large Bribe and Promise or something like it, he dearly purchases their Forbearance for once or twice, whenever he slacks his hand the Peace is broke and all the former Kindnesses are forgot, and the Word is than, according to the common Cry, Bail, Jayl or Money.  
In the second place, when they have got him into their Clutches, I caution him as a Friend not to be decoyed by 'em into a Spunging-house, but if he finds he can't comprehend the Business in a very short time, to repair directly to Prison, for though that be a very melancholy Remedy 'tis the lesser Evil of the two and consequently the better to be chosen. They may pretend that this will expose him to disgrace and to the rest of his Creditors, and put him to Charge and what not, but this is all but a Knavish Blind and a Trick. They make it their Business to do that for him as soon as they have got him. Besides he's no longer welcome with them than his Money lasts, and when they have wracked him out of what he has, he must march to Jail after all. The only Objection that I know of, is the extravagant Fees of the Jailor, and can there be no remedy found out to regulate it? That's strange indeed! I know the grand Pretence is, That their Prisoners are very numerous, and that they are forced to keep a great many Servants, etc. but than, must this be all thrown upon the Wretched and Unfortunate? Why, where's the Justice and Humanity of that? For my own part I tremble to think of these things, and certainly they must be the Subject of a great deal of Wonder and Sorrow to any body that will give himself the Trouble to Reflect upon 'em. Well Sir, to give you my hasty▪ Thoughts of the whole Matter; This infection's Distemper spreads itself so fast that unless Care be taken, and proper Medicines applied to suppress it, it will at length swell into a general Contagion. But than how this may be done, is the great Query. Why, very easily certainly; Let but the Fees of the Bailiffs be settled, let them be prohibited under severe Penalties, to detain any person in their Custody above such a time; Let their Swords be taken from their sides, and their Battoons out of their hands, and their White Wands restored in their places: Let their Number be restrained and limited, and honest men put into the Office; and that part of the great Work's done, And than for Prisons, let there be but a general Surveyed made, their Ancient Liberties and Immunities restored, and Commissioners appointed to inspect into their Endowments, and inquire into their Irregularities in general, let their Fees be Established, and a Copy of 'em fixed continually upon each of their Gates, I'm confident a great many of the Miseries of these unfortunate Wretches, would vanish in an instant; and good Old Hospitable England lie not longer under the ungrateful Reflection of being the most severe and mercyless to her Prisoners, of any other Nation in the Christian World. But, Sir, you have begun the business, and I don't doubt but your Piety and Charity will urge you on till you have happily brought it to an end, which will at once entitle you to the blessings of both Worlds, to the Prayers of the Prisoners and Captives, to the Thanks and Praises of the Debtors and Creditors, and to the good Wishes and Commendations of all, but especially of,  
Your Obedient Servant.   
FINIS.  

THE CONTENTS.  

I. THE First Letter is only an Introduction to the rest, and briefly shows the Cause and Intent for which they were writ.  
II. The Roguish and Villainous Tricks of Bailiffs in general, and the strange Stratagems and Devices they have to extort Money both from the Debtor and Creditor.  
III. In the Third the Irregular Practices of the Bailiffs belonging to the Sheriff of Middlesex are particularly detected and exposed, together with a short Description of Newgate, as it Relates both to the Debtor, Felon and Traitor.  
iv The Fourth Letter is the Continuation of the Description of Newgate, and especially of the Common Side.  
V In the Fifth the base Practices of the Bailiffs belonging to the Marshal's Court, are exposed, together with some short Reflections upon their Constitution and Government, with a Description of their Prison.  
VI The Sixth gives the Relation of the Behaviour of the Sergeants and Yeomen belonging to the two Compters, together with the manner of Proceeding in those Courts; and also a short Account of the Prisons belonging to the City of London.  
VII. In the Seventh the Evil Practices of pretended Solicitors are exposed, and the Cunning and Knavish Stratagems and Artifices they make use of to deceive poor Prisoners, and others, both out of their Money and Liberty.  
VIII. The Eighth gives a general Account of the Fleet and King's Bench; and briefly shows Men their mistake in purchasing a pretended Liberty or Freedom from either of 'em; and withal discovers to 'em the certain danger and charge that depends upon it.  
IX. The Ninth contains a short Reflection upon the whole Subject of the rest, and than shows that the Irregularities and ill practices of Country Jayls and Bailiffs are in all cases equal, and in some much worse than those at London.  
X. In the Tenth and last, some short Proposals are offered for the putting these Affairs into a better Posture, and than the whole is Humbly submitted to better Judgement and Examination.