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The tough draft of the March Requisition, presented for my approvals contained the monstrous item of $227.50 "for extra provisions supplied to prisoners under sentence of death!" My first impression was that such unprecedented largesse must have been some attempt to extort money from Government upon false pretences, and to satisfy myself I summoned the Storekeeper Eminets, being the parties concerned, and after making due enquiry, found to my utter surprise that these clever fellows had so far practised upon the simplicity of the Storekeeper as to induce him to provide luxuries for them, for the best breakfast and Supper which could be supplied, including the most choice and costly Soups of the season, and that they themselves even went so far as to send down to this book-shop, daily, Bill of fare for the next day, availing themselves, for this purpose, of the writing materials supplied to them to communicate with their friends in their last hours.
On questioning them as to this liberal self-indulgence, they replied, that they had always heard that prisoners under sentence of death always similarly indulged in such luxuries, and on questioning the Storekeeper as to why he executed such an extraordinary order, he told me he had understood from someone that "the condemned men were to have the best chow-chow". I recollect the man asking me the question on the
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