SHOCKING ACCOUNT OF AN IRISHMAN'S IMPRISONMENT IN A CARLIST PRISON.

Thames Advertiser, Volume VII, Issue 1869, 5 October 1874, Page 3

SHOCKING ACCOUNT OF AN IRISHMAN'S IMPRISONMENT IN A CARLIST PRISON.

Me Heney O'DojfoviN, an Irish gentleman largely imbued with, benevolence, and fearlessness,.which are striking traits in, the characters of most of his countrymen* visited the Oarlists with the best of intentions ;■ in fact, we are told by the special correspondent of fas-Times, that he went to them "on a Samaritan mission." Un-1 fortunately for him; Mr O'Donovan was in the habit of taking Jaudanutii' to '.'procure sleep, and one day a. prying',Oarlist seeing the vial of laudanum, .and!' being" made acquainted ,'witK ;the .nature of .the drugj immediately, informed the ■ authqri-, ties that .Mr,-O'Donovan was an emissary of a secret; society:of Madrid, the. >members of which desired to dispose'of< all aspirants to the Spanish throne, and that that ■ gentleman' sought to poison 'Don 1 Carlos. 'The' unfortunate 'philanthropic 1 Irishman "Was'seized and cast into a Oarlist dungeon, the' discomforts of which he thus .speaks of in a letter to his brother: — ."Imagine .yourself sleeping for two months on freezing tiles in the depth of winter, without even an overco3t to cover you; and rising in the morning—e'est a dire if you were able— with, every joint made stiff by cold and rheumatism ! ; At the end of that time a little straw was distributed among the prisoners—so little, indeed, that all'l could do out of my lot was to improvise a pillow. The food, too, was'as bad as could be, and' so'.limited in quantity that it barely sufficed to.support life. Twice a day was the wretched: pittance served out, consisting of half an, ounce! of garbanzos (common chiek peas), with a few spoonfuls of hot salty water and a piece of black bread about the size of your fist, which felt'to the bite like a piece of baked clay. Such"for months'was'thesustenance: accorded to us unfortunates/At length, towards the end of February, my health entirely gave way.'' Then!! lay for fourdays,graduallybecomin£(unconscious, being at last unable to lift my arm or turn from one. side to. the other. - Then, and.not till then, the chief gaoler, finding that I could , not be roused 1 from the comatose state that I was in, sent for a military surgeon, who got me carried to the hospital in a litter; But a peculiarly disagreeable circumstance had occurred during my lethargy.' The; prison being literally invaded by myriads.of lice, fleas,, bugs, and ants, it was absolutely necessary, in order to.Becuro any sleep at night, to subject my garments during an hour every day to,rigid inspection and- > detergent process. The ears, too, had to be plugged with chewed paper to prevent' the indefatigable : tormentors from ! enter- 1 ing by that portal, wherein : they' often' sufficiently annoyed me. " During , the long period, however, that I remained insensible legions upon legions. of parasites had concentrated : their at-, tacks upon my devoted carcase; .they actually burrowed in the flesh, and increased so that they spread purulent ulcers, in which they buried themselves, : and from which they could only be dislodged by the plentiful application of soft soap in a warm bath, followed by sponging the surface with carbolic acid. I think, however, I have said enough'on these matters to give you a faint idea of whati have gone through—indeed,, even jtliis, recital may by no means be enlivening to you." Through the exertions of a Mr Furley, a member of the Bed Cross Society of Great_ Britain, who is doing a good work in assisting in succouring the wounded and sick of each party of belli gerents, Mr O'Donovan was ultimately released and sent to France. Such are the sad experiences of a civil war in a, European State in this, the 19th century, the age of progress in Christianity and . Civilization! .''

It is an instruction to Dr. Featherston that the "Handbook of New Zealand "'is not to be, given away, Mr., Vogel ..being of opinion, that, publications which do not . cost anything are rarely valued by recipients. All public insti-, tutea and the Press are, however,, to be supplied with copies; six copies are to be.placed onboard each immigrant ship for the.use .of. emigrants. The price to be charged'is to be, left to Dr Feitherston, and it is suggested to him that travellers should be engaged to, sell them throughout the United Kingdom.,,

The schoolmaster is abroad in South Austra-. lia. tie appears indeed, to be "all abroad" there as to certain historical facts with which. his scholars ought to be well acquainted. L'or an. enterprising people, the South Australians; ' have been somewhat behind, the times in ,the , 'Walter of primary education., An attempt was' 'made a short while ago to carry an Kducation Bill framed upon the lines of the very thoroughgoing measure lately passed in; Victoria. AlIthough it failed, the agitation infused new life into the working of the existing system. One of the results has'been tho calling up of a number of the teachers for examination. Will it be believed that the following answers were given' to the questions to which they are respectively appended? Question. What changes > were' at the Norman Conquest?-Answer.: 'First, the introduction of Christianity; second' lithe ringing of, the Corfu bell. Q. What was the cause of the Crusaders, and which of qur : kings took part in, them. . A.— L'he boundary of. jNoya Scotia,..and Olitrles I. engaged in 'them., Q.. What were the chief events of jhe Comimonwealth? . A.-(By .no. less than three,! ic mdidates.)—The gunpowder plot.—rThe state-! ; Indent is made,, however, : in a. report by, the .Chairman of the Board of Edaca-iop.\. TheI publication of facts like this oan but strengthen tho cause, aud quicken the progress, of educational reform in. the ijolony'.'—Sytincif Mail y