Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-02-20
MICHAEL nAvlTT's cHuM.
The Solitary auditor to Whom He Deliv-
cred a Course of Lectures in Prison.

The Solitary Auditor to Whom He Deliv-
cred a Course of Lectures in Prison.
/ was RENTED to Portland Prison on
the Sd of February, 1881. Shortly af-
forwards, through the kindness of the
Governor, a young blackbird came
into my possession. For some months
[ relieved the tedium of my solitude by
efforts to win the confidence of my
companion, with the happiest results.
He would stand upon my breast as l
lay in bed in the morning and awaken
me from sleep. He would perch upon
the edge of my plate and share my
porridge. His familiarity was such
that on showing him a small piece of
slate-pencil and then placing it in my
Waistcoat pocket he would Immediately
abstract it. He would perch upon the
edge of my slate as it was adjusted be-
tween my knees, and watching the
course of the pencil as l wrote would
make the most amusing efforts to peck
the marks from off the slate. He
would ''fetch and carry as faithfully
as any well trained dog. Towards
evening he would resort to his perch.
the post of the iron bedstead, and
there remain silent and still till the
aawnlng OF another day, when his
chirrup would again be heard, like the
voice of nature before the herald of
clyllization-the clang of the prison
bell at five o'clock. One evening as
Joe sat upon his perch it occurred tos
me to constitute him chairman and
audience of a course of lectures, and
with him constantly before me as the
representative of my fellow creatures,
| jotted down what Ihave substantially
reproduced in the following pages.
y y II y =
The infirmary garden in Portland
Prison was aglow with the bloom of
she late summer flowers which the
5overnor had kindly permitted me to
SOW in the early portion of the year..
The English Channel, which often lulls
the weary Portland prisoner to sleep
oy the storm-chorus of it's waves as
shey dash against the rocks underneath
she walls. lay in unrut1led calm. From
The headland upon which the great
convict prison stands could be seen the
picturesque shadows which the Dorset
shire cliffs flung out upon the bosom of
The sea. Away beyond the coast line
appeared harvest fields and homesteads
melting into the distance and so sadly
suggestive of what Imprisonment was
not-liberty. home and friends; con-
turing up that contrast between the
manacled and the free which constitutes
The keenest mental pain in the punish
ment of penal servitude. 1t was a day
which would fill ones whole being
with a yearning to be liberated day
Of sunshine and warmth and beauty,
and the moment had arrived when my
resolution to give. freedom to my little
teathered ''chum'' could no longer be
seltishly postponed. | opened his door
with a trembling hand, when quick as
2 flash of lightning he rushed from the
cage with a wild scream of delight,
and in a moment was beyond the walls
OF the prison. The instinct of freedom
was too powerful to be resisted, though
had INDUCED the fond hope that he
would have remained with me. But
he taught me the lesson, which a
never be unlearned by either country,
prisoner or bird-that nature will not
be'Genied and that liberty is more to be-
desired than letters of gold.-..Leaves
from a Prison Diary"