The voice of freedom. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1839-1848, 1846-05-07
From the N. Y. Tribune:

luCoO thhiS9'
Worcester. April %, 1916.
From the N. Y. Tribune:
Visit of the Family to the
State Prison.
The following letter from Mrs. Farnham
Principal Matron OF the Female Prison al
Sing Sing, 10 Judge Edmonds, we pub
lish with great pleasure.
SING SING April IL, 1916.
Hon. J. w. Edmonds, Chairman Of the
Erccutjve Committee Of the New York
Prison Association:
DEAR SIR: We had the Home Branch
of the Hutchinson Family with US yester-
day. They had been invited to visit and
sing in the Prisons, and came up on Sat-
urday for that purpose. Were you &C.
quinted with them, | should not have to
tell you that the simplicity and genuine>
ness OF their characters add as much 10 the
effect Of their music as characters less
beautiful derive from it. Such is the fact,
and nowhere, as you are well aware,
would the peculiar force of this charm be
more keenlv felt than among our unfortu>
nate prisoners.
They took part in the Sabbath services
OF both Prisons. In the chapel of the
Male Prison, af!er a brief prayer, they
sang the beautiful piece entitled
His love can ne'er be told )"
and it would have delighted you 10 see
how the sentiment lit up the hearts of that
large congregation. This was followed
by the announcement of three deaths that
had recently occurred In the Prison. One
of these, as you may already know, was
a suicide. The victim was a young Eng
lishman, about %, who had for sometime
been laboring under depression of mind.
He perpetrated the deed by hanging him
self with his towel, made fast 10 the hook
by which his bed was suspended during
the day.
The statement of these melancholy &C.
currences by the Chaplain was followed
by the very beautiful and appropriate piece
ga brother is dead"
sung by Mr. Joshua Hutchinson. The
most perfect silence pervaded the audience,
and, as the tender, low brealhed strains
were uttered, every syllable, though whis.
pered in the softest tone, was audible, and
gIistenmg eyes and flushed brows in ma
Nv parts of the house testified that neither
crime nor its consequences had yet utterly
exlinguished sympathy or sensibilily.
An eloquent and appropriate sermon by
Mr. RedfeId of Brooklyn was followed by
the singing of the following piece, written
Tor the occasion by our excellent friend
Oliver Johnson:
LAY OF THE PRISONER.
The sigh of the Prisoner is heard by the Lord,
Though Man, in his pride, turns coldly away;
The Savior of men with compassion is stirred,
When sinners in blindness His will d'sobey.
Solo and Chorus.
PITY, kind gentlemen, friends of humanity
Cold is the world to the cries Of Gods poor
Treat us with kindness, ye friends of chrlstia nifty
Give us your love-we ask nothing moreF
The tear of The Prisoner is noted on high,
And God in his mercy deals kindly with all:
Then why should proud man leave his brother ia
die. [wall
Beneath the dark shade of the Prisons cold
Pity, &c.
The prayer Of tfie Prisoner is answered above
When humbly he pleads for forgiveness anc
grace;
The greatest transgressor-oh wonderful love!-
Repentant, may find cen in Heaven a place.
Pity, &c.
Nv.
Oh welcome to us in our dreary abode,
The voice of a brother, the face Of a friend;
His word g. his smile, how they tighten our load
The choicest of blessings on him shall descend
Pity, &c.
You can better conceive than | can de-
scribe the effect o! these appropriate lines
sung as they were with genuineness o
feeling which rendered it difficult tor TIT
singers to suppress their emotions suh
~ciently to carry the performance through
We no longer looked upon glistening eye
and flushed faces, butthe silent tears cours
ed down many a rugged and sin stricken
cheek, and the swelled veins Of many
furnished brow told Of the deep and lonl
slumbering chord which those sounds hat
rea wakened in their bosoms. | wished
that those who regard their fallen brethren
This Solo and Chorus will be recognized al
a parody on those of the we'll known Song Of tn
HutchinJons--" Over the Mountain, over III