Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1886-01-22
A FAMILY AFFAIR
BY HUGH CONWAY,
Author of Called Back" as.i Ozark Daya'
CHAPTER-NVII CONTINUED ~,
CHAPTER XVIII.
TIE SWEETS OF II9gHry-

TIE SWEETS OF LIBERTY.
20 Liberty! thou goddess heavenly
bright! Profuss Of bliss and pregnant WIZ
delight" Every bard has sung the JOYS O.
Liberty; every writer has said his SAL rpsr
her glories. Patriots have died for her. snt
Instrumentation ones especially-hav
made her 8 convenient stalking horSe Tt,
subject being suck stock one. and apt
quotations 50 plentiful, there is no need L
6ilate upon the frame of mind in which Mrs
Nller's acquaintance, Mr.. Maurice Hervev
lste No. 1850, found himself, when Port!sas
prison at length discontinued its ungrudSin.
and machine-like hospitality and restostt
hun to the outer world, free man ssve 70:
the for1nality of once month reporting hi.l
self to the police, and that general suspicious
surveillance which is so irksomc to The
usually modest and retiring nature of {
ticket-oflsave man.
The goddess heavenly bright" showed he.
face, the first time for some years, TO MSu
rice aervey on the very day when Mis-
Clauson and Sylvanus Morils went 10 Black
town.
Mrs. Miller, who had manifested so keen
an interest in the felon's enlargement, r.
manned in complete ignorance Of the happ7
event. This was due to no omission on kel
part. She had written twice to the govern :,
Of Portland, begging that the date of The
couvict's release might be made known Il
her. The letters were dated not from Oa.A
bury, but from some place in London T&s
first letter was duly acknowledged, and TIE
information vouchsafed that the date con {
not be exactly fixed. To the second letter
she receved no reply. The reason for such
apparent discourtesy was this:
i - 81
drawing very near, SO he was told thas /. q.
friend had written, and he was asked if l.,
wished to be sent to London to meet Il.
He cast down his eyes and i'll reSpec, =;
way stated that he was sorry TO say that l.,
attributed his present shameful position +
certain evil counsel which the writer had
Siven him, and which he had followed liz
did wish to be sent to London, but would
rather avoid this woman than seek her
After this avowal Mrs Miller's letter lie,
manned unanswered.
He was an educated villain, who had Eecu
sentenced to five years penal servitude f..
uttering forged bills. Like most such men
who are sent into seclusion for the good o;
the community, Maurice Hervey was able tc
realize, without such severe treatment q.
was needed to convince the Apostle Paul
that kicking against pricks is fooliShneSS
He had been ordered to pay certain debt
Misbehavior meant that the debt would be
exacted to the uttermost farthing; whereas
good conduct would i'll time tighten the obi.
cation and induce his creditor to accept q
handsome composition. So he did to the
best of his ability such work as was al
lotted to him. He was too clever to attemp;
the elbow-woru trick of interesting the
chaplain by pretended conversion. HI
sagely reflected that chaplaius must by thi.
time have grown wide awake. But he wori
\ contented, inoffensive look, spoke civilly (
his iailers, complained Of nothing, and gave
no trouble. 1t was only in the seclusion OF
bis circumscribed cell of corrugated iron
that No. 1880 scowled, grated his teeth and
clenched his hands. 1t was only there that
while his heart craved for personal freedom
lis lips noiselessly 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 anC
water diet. dark cells. and that humiliatine
exercise with the cranl: known as "griDd
ing the air. would have had no fiss,t-, !. a
value.
Before leaving Portland he was toll -.
TIE Discharged Prisoners Aid So &c; :"
would doubtless do something for him He
expressed his gratitude for the information,
but added that unless from disuse his ri:;ht
hand had lost its cunning, he could earn a.
honest-he emphasized the word-livelihood
without difficulty. He had been au artist,
and could again pursue that craft under O
new name. During his detention he had
gwen his janitors proof of his graphic ab.li,
ties by the craving of sundry states with
complicated and not inartistic designs. The I
works of art are still shown to visitors to TIC
prison as curiosities.
So, practically free man. Maurice He
vey stood in the streets of London at o'c!0c,:
on the second day of the new year Thc.e
was little about him to attract attention..
By merciful and sensible dispensation, du"
ing the three months prior to his ernaaci., g
ton convict's hair is left to nature, so th2t
in these days of military crops Mr. Hervcy
head, which no longer resembled Fitzroy
stormdrum, was not signal of danger. The
suit Of clothes which replaced the durable
prison dress was rough and i'll fitting, bu.
not such as to create remark. In London
that night there must have been hundreds OF
thousands of respectable men who locked
neither better nor worse than Maurice Her
yey.
Free Mt lastl Free to turn where he 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 the past
by honest work, or by dishonesty sink lower
and lower in the future. In his pocket tho
sum of i've pounds seventeen shilings and
sixpence, the result of years of self-enforcod
good conduct and unavoidable hard labor
The lingering of this money gave him rev,
or at least awoke a dormant sensation. II
was more than four years since his hands
had touched a coin Of the realm Think of
that and realize what penal servitude means
The first use he made Of his liberty and
money was characteristic, and 1 fear may
awaken indulgent sympathy in the minds of
the majority of man. mot woman-) kind
He went into tobacconist's and bought a
ninepenny cigar. He lit it, sat down upon
q chair in the shop and for some minutes
smoked in blissful, contented silence. The
shopkeeper eyed his customer narrowly. His
general appearance, especially the look Of his
hands, did not seem compatible with what
the tradesman called "ninepenny smoke
gent. Hervey caught the mans eyes fixed
on his hands. He himself glanced at them
with look Of disgust and a muttered curse
Years Of turf-carrying and digging and delv-
ing for Portland stone play havoc with a
gentleman's hands Hervey's nails were
broken, blunted and stunted; his fingers
were thicksned and hardened. Altogether
his hands were such as person solicitous as
to the refinement of his personal appearance
would prefer to keep in his pockets.
There were other actions which showed
the ticket-of-leave man to be possessed Of q
fastidious nature. The first enthraIling
solemnity Of the rebound enjoyment Of good
tobacco having passed of, he left the shop
and went in search of a ready-made clothing
establishment Here he bought shirt and
collar, pair Of shining boots, q hat, gloves,
and cheap suit which for q few days would
hang together and present an appearance
almost fashionable. He asked permission to
change his apparel on the premises. Then
having had a brown paper parcel made of
the suit presented to him by a generous
government he went his way, no doubt
much relieved by the anaeIioration of his ex-
ternal condition.
After few more purchases needed by q
gentleman for his toilet, he found bis money
had dwindled down to very little. He had,
however, enough left to buy q shiny black
bag. Into this he tumbled his parcels, and
hailing hanson paid his last shilling to be
to the door of wen-known hotel.
A luxurious dog this convict