The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1884-07-27

= raIh IA Is
NJ IN. eminent prison rsformer. Elizabeth Fry.
ITnliko tho conpasion biographies In this col
i.o,ion TINT concern themselves exclusively
Win women Of letters tsome Of whom are quite
sorvo,ten by modern readers. and havo there
fore but doubtful right to bs called fHmous).
tho present memoir has for It's subject one
whose work lay outside OF literature. but whose
lame Is built upon rock. Not only for her
positive accom- lishment. but also for the pO-
lent and persistent Impulse communicated
10 Others Mrs. Fry stands In tho front
rank Of social philanthropists. Of those
benign and noble beings whose whole lives
are consecratcd 70 tho good Of their fellow
creatures. whose presence 10 . blessing. and
whose example IL perennial inspiration. 30
long as public opinion Keeps tile impress OF
tho work that chastened and enlightened u. 30
long ~ justice shall be- tempered with grner-
psity and mercy. her nanle will DO linked
with that OF Howard In the grateful memories
Of those who believe that the aim Of criminal
legislation should DO reformation. and not
vengeance. Yet while the fine Of q devoted
reformer like Elizabeth Fry will long out
live that Of second or third rate writer's
like Margaret Fuller or Mary Lamb and needs
no Irrelevant superlativss from over-zealous
biographors to rescue 1t from eclipse. 1t Is we'll
that the breadth and depth OF the social OWL
which she remedied should be recalled to tho
present generation. thUt We should DO reminded
ofwhat the English penal system was when this
woman laid TO heart tho Scriptural suggestion.
Il was in prison. and ye visited me-"
On her prison experience the readers Of this
welcome biography will mainly DWELL yet they
will find In the earlier chapters u sufficiently
detailed description OF the circumstances In
which sho was reared. and by which her In
s,inctively helpful and kindly nature was
impelled toward practical reform. Eliza
beth Quincy. who was born at Norwich
In 1850. was. in tho strictest sense. q gentle
woman. her father being Of an ancient
stock. and possessing handsome fortune.
while her mother was also OF o highly re-
spectod family. Her ancestors on both sides
had long been Quakers. but her parents had
somewhat departed from the rigorous tenets Of
their co-religionists. They abjured. for in
stance. the strict garb. and the absurd use OF
thee for tho second person singular. Q gram
NAUTICAL blunder OF which We are sorry to OBJ
serve that even the poet Whittier 10 guilty. not
finding the right pronoun. thou. sufficiently UNI
conventional. The young daughter OF the
Gurneys was taught music aud dancing. and
We hear OF her riding in q scarlet
coat and she seems to have seen a
good deal OF society. not only among the coun-
try families in the nsighbOrhood Of her fathers
ancestral seat. Earlhsm Hall. but also in Lon
don. whore she spont ono or two seasons be-
fore her marriage. She was first lad to serious
thoughts OF religion and OF duty by q Quaker
preacher. one William Slavery who had great
Influence in his day though his name Ia now
forgotten. The now conceptions OF life which
she now began to form. and which caused her
to adopt. distasteful as they were the dress
And coioauialisnls Of the plain Quakers."
we're confirmed by her marriage at 10 to Mr..
Joseph Fry. a man Of wealth and good posi-
ton. but a Quaker Of the straitest scot She
loon accustomed herself to the tenets and Gus
toms Of her husbands household and connec-
lions. and. after while. became herself min
lister. or authorized preacher. among the
Friends. She was soon. however. to expend
Tho energies OF o remarkably earnest and
philanthropio spirit In other ways than
sxhortation.
1t 10 said that in her childhood Mrs. Fry ex-
pressed 80 keen desire to visit . prison that
her father at last took her 400 ono. It lie GER
tain that in 1916 she visited Nswgate with the
view OF minstering to the necessities Of tho
leniae felons. and. for all practical purposes OF
charity. this was her initial step. 1t was not,
however. until January. 1917. that house.
hold troubles permitted Mrs. Fry to actively
apply horsolf to the task OF prison reformation.
During the preceding years considerable i'm
provsments had been effected In the English
penal system. owing mainly to the exertions Of
Howard. but how much remained to be accom-
plished may be learned from the account OF tho
state OF things in Nswuste prison at the time
when Mrs. Fry entered on her labors there.
We are told that the women's division in that
Jail then consisted Of but two wards and two
cells. comprising n superficial area OF only 100
square yards. Into this narrow space were
crnmmed about 800 women. innocent and
guilty. tried and'untried. more misdemeanants.
~ we'll as those who were about to
pay the penalty OF their crimes unOn
the galows. 10 tho same filthy holes
were to be found numerous children, the of
spring OF the wrctclled women. and who were
learning vice and detilenent from tho very era
die. ALI the inmates were destitute OF suff-
Gent clothing. for which there was no provision
from ANY public funds: In rags and dirt. with
out bedding. they slept ON the floor. the boards
Of which were raised on one end to supply
sort OF pillow. In the same rooms they lived.
cooked. aud washed. With the proceeds Of
thcir c!amorous begging when any stranger
appeared among them the female prisoners
purchased liquors from a tap in the prison.
Spirits were Op~nly drunk. and the ear was ~.
sailed bv the most revolving language" Shock
Ing WAS the condition OF Sswgate at this
period. that OF other English prisons was far
worse. In DHdford. for example. the dungeons
for fsloAs were eisvsn feet bslOw the ground.
and upon tLsir sarthen floors. which were
slwAys wet and shiny. the inmates had to
sheep. At Nottingham the dungeons were cut
into the solid rock. nAd could osIy be entered
after descending more than thirty steps. At
Salisbury the prisoners were chained together
q Christmas time and sent In couples TO beg.
At Ely. whore the prison Was In = ruiRous
state. the prisoners ware chained on their
backs to tho door. while iron coilnrs were rivst-
cd round their nocks and heavy bars placed
across their legs. In some OF the jails the
sleeping rooms were so crowded that 1t was
impossibB for all the prisonsrs to lie down
at night together for sheer lack Of space. In
other prisons open sewsrs Fan through corri-
doris and cells. 80 that the iplaates had to fight
for thoir lives with tho vermin that fourshsd
there. Torture had been prohibited by English
law. but many inhnman keepers sul used
humbscrsws aud iron caps with obnoxious
prisoners for tho amusement OF themselves