The novice on first entering had all his acts, habits, and personal qualities registered.

As he advanced in his career, he was surrounded by jealous brethren, who felt it their duty to report his slightest weakness to a superior.

The superiors were watched by one another and by their inferiors.

Masses of secret intelligence poured into the central cabinet of the General; and the General himself ate, slept, prayed, worked, and moved about the world beneath the fixed gaze of ten vigilant eyes.

Men accustomed to domesticity and freedom may wonder that life should have been tolerable upon these terms.