The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1876-12-14
ONE OF DICKENS, CONvICTs.
Spending n Lifeline In Solitary Connne-
ment--.DecarntinR n Cell Under DIM
culties---A Singular Character.

| Spending n Lifeline In Solitary Connne-
ment---DeosratinK n Cell Under DIM
cultios---A Singular Character.
Over thirty years ago, says Phila-
delphia letter, when Charles Dickens
made tho tour of this country that re-
suited in his "American Notes" he de-
voted much Of his time to the inspec-
tion of our prison system. Our priDci-
pal prison, then as now, was tho Eastern
penitentiary, in which the system of
solitary confinement prevailed. Mr..
Dickens in o few graphic sentences
pictured the miserable condition of the
unhappy convicts TO whom the sound of
a human voice is almost unknown for
year after year. n
That Mr.. Dickens notion of the sys-
tenn was O fair one, the experience of
many years and the testimony of some
of the best minds of the age
have shown; but many men are
still Livingstone of them now within
the walls of the prison itself-who are
ready to testify that the institution was
as light and airy thirty years ago as it is
now, and recent personal visit con-
vince me that it is as pleasant and
wholesome place rs is compatible with
massive stone walls and unyielding bars
of iron. Possibly Mr.. Dickens inagi.
nation, as is apt to be the case with men
Of such high strung sensibilities, was
wrought upon by his surroundings. At
all events, those who read his vivid de-
scription will shudder more at the
picture 80 powerfully brought before
them, than they would be apt to at the
original.
The building covers a square, and
branches off from circular hall in the
center into seven long corridors, oil
well lighted and excellently ventilated.
Everything is as clean as soap and water
can mako it, and within the cells,
which are ranged along the corridors in
two tiers, there is neatness and cleanli-
ness which would shame many model
. housewives.
In Dickens time there was prisoner
OF forty ears or thereabouts, whose de-
jected appearance especially attracted
the attention of the novelist. He was
: in the corridor fronting the entrance,
} and had devoted oil the time allowed
him from his work to painting and orna-
menting Lis cell and cultivatirg bis
little garden--a patch Of ground about
eight feet long and five or six feet wide.
Dickens describes the cell and the gar
den briefly, but devotes long para
graph to the downcast expression and
, demeanor of the prisoner.
1t was the arrest of this man-Charles
, Langheimer by name-that suggested
this letter. IIapgheimer was discharged
, from tho penitentiary in September last,
J and lately was brought ND before q
magistrate charged with stealing an
overcoat. He is seventy. four years old,
with bushy gray whlsAers aud griZzled
hair, and has all the appearance of a
well-to-do mechanic. AS far as L can
ascertain, he is not hard drinker, but
the police and the prison authorities
say that his long life has been one con-
slant series of larcenics. In prison he
loves to work, and shows great taste and
ingenuity but, once at large, his itch
ing of the fingers returns. and he is soon
i'll trouble again. When Dickens saw
; him, he was serving his third term for
grand larceny. Since then he has
'",done " three terms of five years each,
. and five others OF year Or two each,
returning to the prison with the regu-
! larity Of the seasons.
! The cell he occupied in 1912 is one of
the side shows of the prison, but the
garden is not as well kept as it was then.
The walls and ceiling of the cell are
elaborately painted i'll red, blue, and
green. Every time he comes back he
tries to get his old cell but failing in
| this. he goes to new one, and content
: edly begins the work of embellishments.
, When l saw him, just before his release,
| he had spent nearly a year in cell in
tho southern tier, and had painted and
8 arranged it so thoroughly that it looked
| ALMOST inviting. The paint he obtained
by soaking colored yarns in which he
| worked in water, and extracting the dye.
Such trifies as he could obtain from the
: chaplain or the warden he utilized with
t wonderful ingenuity. His garden bed,
$ like that described by Dickens, was
coffin shaped, but his flowers were
= the brightest and most blooming in .he
prison. He sat at his whesl as the war
den ushered me into the cell, looking up
with pleased expression at the sound
OF our voices, but never stopping his
work for a second. An expression OF
surprise at his wonderful ingenuity drew
9 forth faint, Pickering smile which was
l painful to see, but after tho first glance
9 he did not look mp again, although ]
81 could see that he heard every word we
=. said, and watched our motions sharply
q out Of one corner OF his eye.
q He will take up his old quarters fol
a year or two more, and am glad to
S say that his comfortable cell has beer
0 reserved for him. He is standing or.
t gument for the authorities of the prison
= in favor of the silent system. "Why,'
s they say, "if this man wanted to, he
|, could get out of this State and into New
U York as soon as he is released, for oul
0 prisoners seldom go away empty hand
t ed, and there he could serve his time il
Sing Sing or on Blackwells island an6
q herd with his fellows. This system may
not work the same with all men, but the
o stories of insanity arising from solitar,
confinement are all bosh. Invariably
r we find that our insane prisoners were
Q mentally unsound when they came I,
d us.