The Northwestern standard., 1886-04-10
SER ING 4 LIFE SENTENCE.
GROOVE GF A ooNyHoT,s MIND.
Tne Events OF His last Day in ehe
world are Fresh 1n Mis- RYind.

4 winch enclosed q prison yttTt Slub Win 4
! resonant snap behind q small party OF
! visitors.
Entering the premises one of the party
fell back with the turnkey, and five min
utes later stood in a marrow CELL locked in
with Il man whose body the law would re
lease only when death should free his soul.
s.You want to know something Of my
| life,' began the convict, taking without
| comment the Visitors tobacco and repeat
| ing his question, something of my men
tai life;' as you put it, something of the
/ thoughts and feelings OF a life convict,
/ suppose You're a newspaper man. you
! say Gou would put me on the rack ike
! Prometheus of old and paint pen pic
| tI1re OF my agony that the public shall see
! and gloat over while it admires your skill, ;.
! he went on, with q curious expression that
| had in it no despair, but q certain grim
apathy, as if the features set themselves
| mechanically to All emotion the soul no
| longer evolved.
''Wel," after q moments pause, while
| the visitor stared in astonishment at the
I prisoners language and fueDcy u am
| willing, but [ warn you that I shall not
! writhe under the process: you will find no
| quivering in these barred nerves, no shrink
! ing in these exposed and handled sensi~
biilities EmotlonaIy, sir, I am as dead
| as ] shall be when, sooner or later / shall
| leave these narrow quarters for another
| cell not SO very much narrower and darker
than is this one whose earthly door shuts
no closer and no more inevitably than that
iron one there
"It is u month now'' he continued,
cover twenty years since | crossed the
threshold of this prison and was entered
!
q little past midsummer in the year, and
we came q days journey from the country
seat Of the scene OF my crime. I am in,
as you know, for homicide. Every inei-
dent of that day, my last in the world, is
indelibly printed upon my memory We
started very early The dew was heavy
upon the grass as we drove from the jail
and over the hills to take the train. [
remember just how the sun shown through
the gray mist rising from the river, and [
hoped the fog rolling SO swiftly up from
the valley would lift before we reached a
certain elevation whence q neeting and
distant view of my boyhood home could
be had It did lift. l looked down the
vista OF forest and river and saw distinct
ly the wooded hill against whose side and
at whose feet nestled the little village
where ] was born. White stones in the
graveyard g1istened in the oncoming sum
light; on one neadstone was sure the
rays were falling like benediction glad
TO shine on her grave that day rather than
on the living face Of one whose life would
be forever sunless had she lived to greet
that mornings light.
'SThe day grew hot toward noon; the
fresh ride OF the morning was followed by
a tedious railroad trip, We seemed al
ways to he rushing through dry and
uninviting country. The bushes and
grass by the meadows by which we sped
were dusty and gray the streams were
dried, and the barred stones lay white and
hot in the midday glare. The men who
accompanied me were gruftly kind | re-
member and the people OH the cars did
not bother ane much with their curiosity.
felt all day as if were lifted away from
the mass of 1nankind-we had nothing ill
common, and at that time l was not i'm
pressed that the balance was in their favor
At nightfan we reached-here. | had s.
little sense of curiosity and excitement at
the novelty OF my experience during my
official reception and initiation--even
when, duly recorded, bathed, shaved, and
clad i'm the prison suit ! stepped out into
the STONE corridor life convict eN-
aInined the interior arrangements with
much the same feeling of curious inspec-
ton that you did to-day in your walk to
my cell, and / suffered myself to be locked
in still possessed of that sense of uniil-
personal interest in what was going on.
lit was not much after s o'clock when i
reached may cells clock on &. Thursday
evening in late summer of the year 1865 |
repeated the prisoner without & rising
infection tAthat began my first night IN
hell For as the sound of the tulpkey's
retreating footsteps died away, and the
long corridor settled into the nights still
ness, ala the shadowy drapery Of my fate
fell away. and for the first time the truth
presented itself in all its awful strength.
/ am a c8llege-bred man. and [ was The
a5hlete OF my class, [ WAS % years old,
and as | stood that night clinging in NV
despair to the iron rods of my cell door,
every nerve and muscle of my frame
thrilled with physical power Mentally, |
too, was not deficient Ihad my hopes
and ambitions Like other naen, and little |
while before had looked forward TO the |
years which should bring me the gifts of |
fame and Torture on no meagre scale, My /
guilt Was not OF a nature to grant me even /
the solace OF renlorse. [ scarcely knew |
the man I had killed. 1t was barroom
brawl, q sudden flaming OF temper, a I
furious onslaught in hot blood. and all was
done. The deed | could depIore the |
man deed could not mourn. There
was nothing TO temper or even direct my
despair. Like a wise it held me while the I
hours crept on, my strong frame trembling /
in its force, with only an occasional moan /
breaking from my hps.o
The prisoner paused He moistened his
lips a little and passed one hand lightly
down his face.
ssThe first year such nights were many.
My perfect health was against me. The
regular hours and constant exercise kept
me strong OF limb and clear OF head IT
was hard to crush me down, and / grew to
dread the honTs after dusk, when the
struggle was fierce and long.
ssOnce thought | saw a chance for my
self could get books from the prison
library, and at certain times pencil and
paper ] would write, / thought; pour
out something Of my pent up force in this
way, and | tried it. The second attempt
showed It's futility. A bird may sing in
its cage, poor fool, but strong man
locked forever in stone cell. the very air
he breathes coming through grated win
dows-he draws no inspiration for q pip
ing note.
after that fell back and fed upon