Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1877-05-09

sat in DR.. Tobe's Office. He had beep
reading IL letter when entered, and be-
vond simple saluthton, nothing was said
until he had folded the missive, and laid it
aside. His eyes were moist as he finished
the pcrusaI. and he wiped them with his
handkerchief. Then he got up and shook
me warmly by III hand, and after few
passages of friendly banter, he said TO mt;
"Slt down. old fellow, I've got u story
for v0u." And be- laid his hand upon the
letter whi;h he had been reading. ~
won't bore you. It's simple sketch and
the coloring you can put in for yourself"
seated myself, ard the doctor told me
as follows
Twelve years ago was called to the
police court to give my testimony concern
ing the result of IA post nl0rten on the body
of man who had been killed in IL street
brawl. This case having been disposed of,
| took n seat within the bar to watch the
wheel of justice revolve upon other cases.
They came up from the prisoners dock
one by one, the old, the middle-aged and
the young, representatives of all degrees
of crime and degratlation,-a wonder
ed as saw them passed off to punish
ment, how many of the poor creatures had
been absolutely born to II life Of shame; !;
how many had been led thereto by sur
rounding circumstances and influences
over which they had no control; and how
many might have fallen from better
estate through criminal choice. At all
events, C ,uld not put away the convic-
ton that here was IL field for missionary
effort. But nev,r mind my moralizing.
| Only suffer me to say that, rs | mentally
| fired shot at what conceived to be mis-
directed missionary effort, the thought
forced itself upon me, What have | done
in the way of this redemptionP And |
concluded that had better wait until ]
had redeemed myself from inaction before
blamed others for misdrection OF action.
II had Just finished this reproof upon
myself when prsonersteppe up from the
dock who particularly attracted my atten-
tion. 1t was boy, not more than four
cen years of age, and rather small at
hat. lie was light of frame, and thought
Slightly understood, but every inch Of him
was finely strung and firmly set, and his
form was beauty itself. His face was thin
and pale, and his textures of II clear,
Grccian cut. | saw him first in profile,
and us his wavy hair u sunny hue,
Struggling into ringlets here and there
swept back from his full brow, thought |
had never seen II more tempting study.
| When he turned his face toward me, | slw
II pair of large blue eyes, and found that
the view thus obtained Of his features was
equally interesting with the other. His
clothes were ragged, but not dirty and
here was no dirt upon his hands nor upon
his face. This struck me fOrcibly, because
most of those who had come up from the
prison-rel had come beared and grimed.
lie ans nswerel to the name of Dick
Printe, and was up for petty larceny and
the officer who presented him said this
was the third time he had been up for like
offending. The judge nodded grimly, for
he himself recognized the lad as one who
had before passed under his sentence. The
boy could not plead innocence, for he had
been caught in the very act of pilfcrlng,
and he acknowledged his guilt. The
Judges brow was black with judicial
thunder, but he did not deem it worth
while to vent much of it upon SO insig-
nifcant an object.
$50! this is The third time!" he said.
The boy started and trembled, and l
thought he tried 10 speak; but the awful
voice Of power sounded again: You il
come to the galluws, sir! do you know
that? You are incorrigible! Haven't you
had enough of prison life yet?
rhe boys trembling ceased and he
looked defiant He stood erect, his blue
eyes flashed, and his finely cut nostrils
were distendGd.
"By this time / had called to mind
where and when, on former occasion, !
had seen that same boy. had been call
ed to his mothers death bed but three
years before. | remember the name,-
PrntIe, e,-and l remember the curly-head-
ed boy who had held her failing hand. And
remembered that had then heard the
dying woman's story. Her husband had
once been captain of 81 ship, and account
ed seaman of very first class; but rum
had broken him down, and cast him, n
complete wreck, upon II dark shore. She
had suffered more than she could tell-had
sunk to the sorrowful level where | had
found her, and was only too glad to die.
And, dying, she had left her boy the in
mate of n den of criminals; and in her
obliviousness, wherein only these children
of night bad been her friends, she looked
thankfully upon the keeper of tho den
when he promised TO be a friend to the
boy
Il thought of all this while the prison.
er stood ut the bar and before the SEN
tence had been pronounced, l stepped over
and touched the clerk upon the arm, and
told him that would like to have that boy
placed in my charge for month. The
clerk whispered to the Judge, and the
Judge beckoned to me. | went to him,
and he told me he feared it would be of
no uso.
1.-The little rascal is utterly incorrigi-
be- said he. This is the third time
within the year that he hls been up for
stealing"
"I looked at tho little fellow, and mark
cd the finely cut lines of the handsome
face, now SO defantly set, thought to
myself that If he were suffered TO grow up
into manhood of crime he would give