The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1852-07-15
From the Friend of Youth.
A VISIT TO THE STATE PRISON AT W.
BY MARY IRVING.

Are you ready to go to prison this morn.
ing" askedN friend of me, one sunshny day
of last winter
why" said laughing, 81 don't know
whether ! am ready to give up my liberty, or
not, just now. Have you been appointed con-
stableto
No, but have appointed myself leader of
an exploring party for the day. 80, If you have
fancy for II fine sleigh.ride, and peep at the
inside Of Il prison, you have only to put ON your
bonnet and cloak"
So, in the course of an hour, We, we'll wrapped
in cloaks, wells and muhs, and tucked in snug
| y with buffalo skins, were sliding along over
| the smoothly-worn track. The bells iingled
| the ponies pranced, the sleigh-riders laughed
| and talkcd-and Il merry party il was
After riding several miles we came within
sight of the high bleak walls of huge stone
building NJ constructed AZ to surround large
open square. Two towers were raised at cor
ners of this square court and in each Of these
sentinel with loaded gun over his shoulder
paced TO and fro, overlooking the open space
all the long day, to zee that no one made any
attempt ut escape. Sadly and drearily enough
the grated windows frowncd on us, seeming to
defy the strongest arm.
That il the prison y said one and sudden
ly we were all silent looking up ut the grin,
stones We could not help thinking what feel.
ings must shake the heart Of one who was con.
demned to DE shut within those walls Of granite
and iron, when his eye like ours, first lighted
on them 1t seems a. though the sweet ange
Hope would certainly fold her wings, and
shrink down into the deepest corner of his
heart, leaving him 10 remorse and despair
4. IL tha linn
| hour when we entered the warden's Office A
| man with huge bunch of formidable keys
| stood ready to take us over the building
| Opening the first door, ne led us into an i'm
mense room, ceiled and paved with stone. In
the centre Of this room double row of cells
| had been built up, three stories in height
| Marrow stairways led up TO each story. Every
cell had an iron door, half solid, half grating
to permit the light and warm air to pass in
There were no windows in the cells the door
of most were open, AZ the men were then u
work in other parts Of the building, aud W
looked into them rs we passed along. Their
was hammock swinging from the roof {
each, and II stool beside it, that was all Tn
cell itself was scarcely large enough for tw
men to pass each other in. Oh, sad enough
was to feel that two hundred human creature
|
obeyed the laws of God and man, and have KEEP
their right TO Heavens free mir and sunshine,
| In one of these sat man, with his ha
slouched over his eyes, trying to- read som,
book by the dim light that fell through the
barred window, He was unable to 60 into the
! work-room 80 our guide said and all who ar,
| not in the shops must be in their cells. Every
evening the warden takes his great key
marches them all into this great room, send,
them TO their several cells and locks them in
like Gagged beasts II is quite NJ necessary n,
it would lac 10 look in tigers or wolves, for
many of these prisoners are men who have
committed very great crimes, and who would
not shrink from killing or woundng any OF
the officers, if they hoped by that means to be
able to escape But, poor fellows! perhaps
some will have more to answer for than they,
after all Those who lead others into evil are
surely less pardonable than those who are led
into evil almost unconsciously They will be
punished when Justice ~ done, before the uni
verse. All that men can do, is to cage up the
offenders against their laws-those who steal
and murder ON n small scale.
"Surely, nobody can ever escape from this
place!p exclaimed one Of our party. "Do the
prisoners ever try 10 get OUT"
"Sometimes--not very often, though" said
our leader. "There are men No cunning that
bolts and stones, all that you zee here, won't
keep them in Twenty years ago, two of them
got out of their cells in the night. The sentinel
happened TO be little deaf and did not hear
them until they rushed out upon him and muir
dered him. They had made number Of false
keys, with which they succeeded in opening
every door until they came TO that strong one
wonder which leads TO the women's prison
The key wouldn't fit and while they were
pounding upon it, and working it about, they
awoke the matron. She, suspecting that some
thing WINS wrong, got mp softly and went
through that long gallery to one Of the towers,
where she awoke the guard They came down
with arms, and seized the murderers Since
that time no one has escaped"
You spoke Of the women's prison-have
you many women hcrep
Not many fortunately for the credit Of the
sex Come this way
lie led us into the women's apartment
There sat seven or eight sad looking creatures,
with their faces turned 10 the wall and their
backs toward us, mostly engaged in coarse
sewing. They did not look up, nor lit their
heads II IL a rule Of the prison that the con
yicts shall take no notice Of strangers who
IDpme ~ visit them, but appear ~ il they had
neither eyes nor ears. By the side Of the long
table stood u young woman, with folded arms,
and an open, frank face, looking pleasantly at
us M much ~ to say, ann no guilty one
She was the superintendent Of tbe nocdlcwork.
A little child, almost M small NJ a large doll,
sat on stool in the middle Of the room, lifting
up its smiling eyes but scarcely moving at NIL.
IL looked ~ though it never had stepped out
side Of those bleak walls, nor ever known
what frolic on the green grass was, poorthingl
From this part the guide led us, along the
inner court, 10 the first Of the workshops II
would never do to keep 80 many men shut up,
idle, all the while; they would soon become
sick, or very unhappy So the State has pro-
vided workshops for them, furnished with all
kinds Of useful tools, and persons TO teach them
how 10 make shoes, chairs knives, forks, sc.
We went first into the chair room" Here
thirty or forty men were sitting ON benches,
with their faces turned away from us. Each
was dressed in coat not OF "many colors,"
like Joseph's Of old, but Of two colors, half Of
one, and half Of the other the pantaloons were
Of the same color ~ the coat-one side Of each
leg black, the other drab Can you think Of
any reason for this singular way Of dressing :