, 1881-03-20
thrown back where it was tel, or twelve
years ago. The result so far is really a vic
tory for the RituaIists.

! 9CAlS HBD. 1llb IESHlL So Lac Is EEllI4 d ! ~
tory for the RituaIists.
! PRISON SERVICES.
RELIGIOUS ENERc1sEs AT THE AUBURN
pESIrENrAnY.'
| Special Correspondence Of The CAiee9o Tribune
| AUBURN, y. T., March 1S.-1magine, il you
can, anything more strangely incongruous
than a temple i'll which tile Word of God is
J preached, barred and grated, and the con-
| gregation guarded by armed men to prevent
! the escape Of any member OF it. Yet such
| all anomaly may be Witnessed every Sunday
| i'll Auburn, and no explanation will be re-
| required when it is said that this seeming.
lack Of congruence exists iMtl1e State Pris-
Oil. At & O'Clock Sunday morning, the sa1lls
as Oh a week day, the cony;Gts leave their
I cells and march to the bucSctground to
dump their buckets. THENCE they proceed
to the n,ess-room, where the morning meal is
eaten, after which they return to their cells.
at O'Clock they 60 forth again, this time tt,
the pgison sanctuary. The chapel rs it Is
called Is large room, perhaps 100 feet long
and seyentJ-tive wide. At the front etd is II
platform. In the, centre of this is the Chap
laln's desk, and OH the left are an organ and
seats for tho choir. The auditorinm is filled
with long benches. Aistcsrun down the centre
and on either side. at tho back end, Just to
the right Of the large entrance-inors: is Il
sort Of Il box in which Is \ chair: This is oc-
GNpied by the Deputy.Agent and Warden or
Head Keeper during services. Over the rear
tators. There is a row Of windows on eacl,
side protected By heavy gratings. The bot
toms of the windows are sotne distance from
the floor, and steps lead up to them. Tho
guards. They sit on the broad sills and keep
their eyes constantly on the prisoners. The
walls bear such inscriptions as :" Meekness,"
:: Faitil," " humility" and +" Peace" and the
floor Is bare. The conyicts march i'll cot1l-
panies;; Each company has a leader who
holds his place by reason of meretorious coil-
duct. It is the duty Of the leader to beat
behind another, each man with lis hands
upon the side of the one in front Of
and the, leader stamps with his left foot to
keep his men III perfect order, L good deal
Of noise is created. Tho motion is quick and
the stamping sounds oddly enough to the ear
unaccustoned to it. The front seats are first
filled. When the scat is reached the leader
steps aside and waits until it is filled, with the
exception of one man, wien he takes his place
at tile end. THUS he is ready to head his
company when it marches out. The remain
der Of the company file into seats in the rear.
The keeper stands near and counts Off the
number of men for each scat. Thus it con
tinues until all the men are i'll place. After
the conylcts have marched III the doors are
closed and the voluntary" is sung by the
cnoir. The choir is the Interesting feature
or the services. Every member is a convict.
Sopranos and{ altos, US well rs tenors, bari
tones, and bAssos. are men. while the lnstru-
Ments comprising the orchestra, which
BY males. The absence Of tic feniale
voice is not noted, as there are some excellent
sopranos ard altos I'll the chair. \ celebrated
bank burglar at one time sang as iille So
prano rs Is heard in the average church,
while the Instrumental music is fur more at
tractiye than that heard i'll an cditice in Au-
burn where honest folk worship. While the
choir Is singing, the eye may wander over the
auditory. 4 sea OF human heads lays before
you ;and affords such a study Us p.lrenolo-
large heads, and small heads, and heads Of
shapes. The hue Of the hair is us varied as
the colors Of q rainbow, and embraces every
thing from the snow-Whlte locks to the car
roty-shock. III most Instances it is closely
cropped.
The faces form striking picture. While
many are yirtuous-iooking and Intelligent,
the majority Of them are repulsiEe, and tell
plainly Of 4. the pernic9us taa natures 1H Of
part G are % sailow, in consequences Of contine~
ment, and the eyes are shrinking. All seem
to have contracted an expression which is
described in the phrase. "a hand-dog look"
You. could scarcely pick out a face that
Almost without exception the men sit nerv
ousy in their places and move their hands
and feet nneasiiy. All are clad in the striped
prison suit, although many come in III their:
turn their heads when they come in, and
they must not look about while the services
are in progress. After the voluntary"
prayer is offered BY the cilaplalns This point
in the services Indicates how much these men
fear God. In looking, about you will be sur
prised to see the small number who bow In
communion. The majority hold their heads
up in q defiant way and seem to set at naught
the laws of their Maker, rs well as their
country It needs only & glance to convince
i 'Sunday- school" is held for half an
hour before services. Only, those who de-
sire need attend, and 1t is not one in twenty
The instruction is given BY Young men who
volunteer to do this work. They are mostly
students from the Theological Seminary. |
About the only ones who take any interest !
in the chapel services are the Sunday-school
to break the monotony and hear the music. |
To resume, Il hymn is sung and the sermon |
preached, at the end Of which the convlcts |
rise and sing together. AS this Is the only !
chance they have to exercise their ;{E, voices;
are singing, one forgets everything else: The |
effect is grand. Il thousand voices rise in |
song while the chaplain beats time. The /
great chorus fills the. large room with music !
which, it not sweet, is subllmely powerful. |
As the pitch rises and falls, 1t is like the NUT
tering, rolling distant thunder. The sound |
chains the hearer by its inpressiycnesS. As |
it dies away and leaves the air void, Its /
power is indicated by its absence The airs |
arc simple and easily acquired, and for that !
reason alone are the grarlder. Bars and bolts
cannot restrain the song, and it rolls out
through the windows, in warm seasons, often
attracting crowds in the street to listen to 1t.
With outstretched hands the chaplain pro-
nounces the beneuietion, and while the or
chestra plays, the conyicts, at 10 o'clock,
after having spent one hour in the chapel, |
return to their cells. Tn their way they re-
cciyc bread and coffee, which comprise their
dinner. Bread and water are served twice
during the afternoon, but they do not obtain
supper. The men do not leave their cells
again until Monday morning except to pro-
cure their buckets. The remainder Of the
day is spent in reading and writing. Not a
few Of the prisoners employ their time in
plotting either mischief or escape. Light
headed men and those predisposed to in
sanity are termed "Cranks." This class Of.
men have to be watched very closely in the
chapel. If they become excited they are
likely to Jump up iii their seats and yell. One
Sunday while the chaplain was In the middle
of his sermon he was surprised to see I.
convict pop up like Jack-in- the-box and
shout at the top of his lungs. The prisoners
are easily excltable, and one man might set
ali the rest yelling. Of late nothing Of the