The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1889-11-14
orced retirement from society, many idle

over the past, past which all the SghS and
tears from now until the hour when the
great Archangel with one foot on the land
and the other OH the sea will proclaim to
nations and to men that Time has ceased
to exist, can never bring back or Alright;
while single thought is scarcely ever given
to the advancement of that future around
which our temporal and eternal happiness
or misery is so closely entwined.
Now there are many ways and means of
improving this unhappily existing state of
affairs. Let me cite just two: First, we
should improve the passing hours; and Sec
Ondly when again we enter the race of life
we should forget the stumbles and knock
downs of the past and depend solely and
entirely on ourselves and on our determina
ton to win however numerous and appar-
emily insurmountable the obstacles may be
that lie between us and the flag of victory.
Dealing with the first let Inc picture the
ideal miller: IT'S evening. he is sitting
outside his ivy-clad cottage; the days work
is over, everything around is pregnant with
the sweet OdOr of the flowers that lie with
open petals awaiting the welcoming en-
brace of the beloved and refreshing dew
drop; the waving corn drOOps to the kiss of
the passing breeze; the linnet. and the
thrush pearched upon the utmost bOugh,
warble forth their veSper hymn ere they
fold their wings and seek their rest; and
the little ones as they. play around him be-
deck his aged brow with the hOneysuckle
and daffOdil which in childlike glee they
have woven into garlandS for their own joy
and his sweetest paternal smile. All the
surroundings bespeak the inward heavenly
joy and gladness that comes only to those
who love and fear Him from whom all
blessings flow. On the title page of the
miller's life is written in letters of gold
honesty and good will to neil. The mill
stream is dry. and the old wheel lies laZily
by dripping with the remnant of that water
which is gone never to return, and awaits
the coming OF tomorrow without the slight
est tokens of anXiety-and why? Because
away up in the distance the flood gates are
closed and behind them a dark eXpanse of
water stored away ready at the BELLS ding
dong of the morning to leap forth in mad
dening gladnesS, and fOndly embracing
the old wheel, keep it in its daily song of
joy and duty. All. what an example for
us to follow is that of the good old thrifty
miller, and store away for ourselves in
this the hour of our retirement some good
and wholesome knowledge that will help us
when again the day of our labor dawns
upon us. instead of lying idly by with cool
indifference as to our future, and "killng
a lot of nOnsensical, trashy literature on
love, blood. and murder, that has not nor
cannot ever have any other tendency but to
inf1ame our passions, darken our under
standing, weaken our will, and leave us
nOught as heritage but a propensity to
evil which will ever be dangerously detri-
mental to both our temporal and eternal
welfare.
knowledge is no burden to carry 1t is,
as writer says. 1.-THE glorious preroga-
tive of the empire of knowledge that what
it gains it never loses. On the contrary it
increases by the multiple of its own power;
all its ends become means; all its attain
ments help to new cOnquests,' There is
not one here but who can improve himself
in one way or another; in writing, spelling,
arithmetic, geography, grammar, history.
etc. Let us then store up for ourselves a
useful supply of knowledge so that when
the time comes we may be able to turn that
which we thought came to us for our ruin
to means by which we can teach the
world what stuff we are made of.
Secondly: let us forget the past, and our
motto be self-reliance. TO those among us
who, thinking over the past, nurture feelings
of enmity and revenge against those who
may have unjustly injured them l would
say. what stupendOus nonsense! The
vast majority OF us here are between
the ages of 80 and 40 years, some of us more.
many OF us less. If then we desire to pre-
pare for the winter of life. and to shun that
most to be deplored of all endings-a con-
vict's grave-we have no time to lose over
such miserable and Improbable whimper-
ings Wipe out from your memory every
vestige of the bad and Indifferent past. Go
forth with firm determination to succeed,
for "a man without fixed purpose in life
becomes an easy prey to the temptations
that lead to crime" Don't pin your hopes