Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1886-02-26

SER ciyad "orcpiY. The r1aioA for suck
ap.Gra o..oourt-sy was this;
THE G.yut thu mans cnanrJa,iCn was
jra;iag Ns~5 IoGr, 50 he WINS toi that his
fr. nd hal written, aud he vas al: d if he
wished TO be sent to Lol.lJl to ma her.
lie cast down his eyes and ia n respectful
way stated that he was sorry to 81 y tlat Ia
attributed his present shameful pos tiCn {,
certain evil counsel which tho writer had
given him, and which he had followed. He
did wish to be sent to London but would
rather avoid this woman than seek her
Af.er this arowal Mrs. Millcrs letter re.
lnC. ned unanswered.
lie was TN educated VILLAIN, who had been
scn5cnn.d to five years penal serv.tude for
u.tcrng forced bills. Like most slch l;cn
w,o ere sent into sYclusion for the good OF
tie community, Maurice Heryey was able t.
raaiz., without such severe treatment a
vas needed to convince the Apostle Paul
that kicking against pricks is foalishnc s.
lie had lie n ordered to pay certain debt
Mi5bchavor meant that the debt would be
rxactcd to the ut;ermost farthing; whereas
good conduct would in time tighten the obi
gaion and induce his creditor to accept o
handsome composition. So he did to the
best of Lis ability such work as was a.
lotted TO him. He was too clever to attamp,
the elbow-worn trick of interesting the
chaplain by a pretended conversion. H
sagely reflected that chaplains must by this
time have grown wide awake But he wor
a contented, inoifensve look, spoke ciyiily t.
his jailers, complained of nothing, and gave
no trouble. 1t was only in the scclusion Of
his circumscribed cell of corrugated iron
that No. 1850 scowled, grated his teeth and
clenched his hands. 1t was only there that
while his heart craved for personal freedom
his lips noiselcssly framed bitter curses and
VOWS of vengeance.
So it is that if upon his return to freedom
Mr.. Hervey had given his experiences OF
penal servitude to the daily papers, his de
scription of the punishment of bread and
water diet. dark cells, and that humiliating
exercise with the crank known as "grind
ing the air'' would have had no flrst-hand
value
Before leaving Portland he was told that
the discharged Prisoners Aid Society,"
would doubtless do something for him. H.
expressed his gratitude for the information,
but added that unless from dis1lse his right
hand had Lost its cunning, lie could earn an
honest-he EN- .hasized the word-livelihood
without diff u!ty. He had been an ar. list.
and could again pursue TINT craft under Il
new name During his detention lie had
I given his ianitors proof of his graphic aL.li-
ties BY the craving of sundry states with
complicated and not inartistc desi ms. Thee
works of art are still shown to visitors to the
prison as curiOsities
SO, practically free man, Maurice Her
vey stood in the streets of London at O'Clock;
on the second day of the new year There
was little about him to attract attention.
BY merciful and sensible dispensatOn, dur
ing the three months prior to his enancipa-
ton a conv.c,'s hair is left to nature, so that
in these days of military crops MIR. Hervcy
head, which no longer resembled n FltZ9Oy
stormdrum, was not signal of danger. The
suit of clothes which replaced the durable
prison dress was rough and ill-fitting but
not such as to create remark. In London
that night there must have been hundreds of
thousands of respectable men who looked
neither better nor worse than Maurice Her
vey.
Free at last Free to turn where lie liked,
and, within the limits Of the. law, do as he
liked; in splendid health; in the prime of
manhood Free to redeem or cancel tie past
by honest work, or by dishonesty sink lower
and lower in the future. In his pocket the
sum of five pounds seventeen shillings and
sixpence. the result of years of self-enforc e,l
The lingering of this money gave him a new,
or at least awoke q dormant sensation II
was more than four years since his hand,
had touched coin Of the realm. Think OF
that ard 1, aiize what penal servitude means
The first Tie lie made of his liberty and
money was characteristic, and | fear may
awaken inlulg ut sympathy in the minds OF
the majority Of man mot wOman-) kind
He went into a tobacconist's and bought 1
uinepenny ci5ar. He lit it, sat down upo,
chair in tie shop and for some minute:
smoked in blsaful, contented silence. I'll,
shopkeevrr eyed his customer narrowly. H
general 1. po2rance, especially the loo; OF h.,
hands, did not seem compatible with what
the tradeSman called "ninepcnny smoke
GENT H"rvcy caught the mans eyes tiXel
On his hands. He himself glanced at them
with II look Of disgust and a mutternd curse
Years Of turf-carrying and digging AMI delv
ing for Portland stone play havoc wi 4 {
gentleman's hands. Hervey's NILS wer,
broken, blunted and stunted; his finger.
We're thickened AMI hardened. Altogether
his hands were such as person solic.tous a:
to the refinement of his personal appearance
would prefer to keep in his pockets.
There We're other actions whiCh showe,
the ticket-oi-leave man to be possessed of {
solemnity of the rebound enjoyment Of Eoot
tobacco having passed Off, he left the shol
and went il search of ready-made clothing
establishment. Hero he bought shirt ant
collar a pair Of shining boots, hat, gloves
and a cheap suit which for few days woull
hang together and present an appearance
almost fashionable. He asked permission t,
change his apparel on the premises. The,
having had n brown paper parcel made o
the suit Presented to him by "A generou
governm Mt he went his way no doub
much relieved by the amelioration of his ex
ternal condition.
After few more purchases needed by {
gentleman for his toilet, he found his money
had dwindled down to very little. He had
however, enough left to buy shiny blacl
bag. Into this he tumbled his parcels anC
mailing a hanson paid his last shilling to b,
conveyed To the door of a Well-knoWn hotel