The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1889-01-03

saltwater, Minn. Thursday, Jan. 3, 1899.

him. You think OF daggerS and pistols,
and guns. All! but do you think of the
hours. the weeks, the years of mental agony
and torture that this poor unfortunate man
has suffered? One year. ten years. twenty
years and more. have these poor men died
the death of the condemned. and the scenes
through which they have passed before they
were sentenced are indelibly stamped upon
their brains. The judge, with iron nerve
and cold. calm features, has pronounced
the sentence on this man. cOndemnlng him
to thousand living deaths. before he moved
his lips. There it is. all written out in cold,
white lines upon his marble face! DO
you suppose that scene will ever be Obliter-
ated from the mind of this poor condemned
man?s No! If you pardon this man thou
sand times. and put him in palace sur
round him with all the servants in christen-
dom. and give him all the luxuries of life.
the photograph is there; it goes to bed
with him at night and it gets up with him
in the morning. and it goes with him to
work and comes home with him when the
days work is done. 1t is part of his life.
it is part of him! All the freedom of the
world, all the money and treasures of
earth. all the angels in heaven or hell can
not wipe out this picture of the past for him.
He healeth the broken in heart. and
bindeth up their wounds" He sendeth out
His word and melteth them" You venture
to speak to him, and 10! his voice Is gentle.
and his manner meek. You touch his hand
in trembling and fear. No! your blood is
not frozen. It is hand OF flesh and blood.
the hand of poor suffering brother; per-
chance the most unfortunate man upon
the earth.
Is there room in your heart for an unkind
word or look, for this terribly punished.
d0ubly- tortured brother? Perhaps you do
not know this man to be your brother?
Perhaps you think this man condemned to
spend his days in hell?
Not so. my Christian brother, he believes
on the Lord Jesus Christ. and if you are
fortunate enough to win heaven, you will
surely meet him there. For God so loved
the world, that he gave his only begOtten
Son. that whOsOever beleveth in him should
not perish, but have everlasting life" John
iii. 16.
What shall you say to him when. you
meet him in heaven. to atone for the curses
you have heaped upon his head on earth?
Be not deceived; this unfortunate brother
has suffered on earth. ten thousand times
what you have ever dreamed; and yet you
men their trespasses. neither will your
Father forgive your trespasses." Matt
vii. Is. In Roman Italy, the man who
commits murder in the second degree. is
sentenced to fifteen years Imprisonment
The strangers of liberty and life in Ire
land. condemn from the throne of Queen
Victoria to twenty-One years. or there
abouts. In our state of New Jersy am
l am told that the chains of bondage rot
and fall from the limbs of those who were
twenty years. How long shall the proud
their bOasted intelligence and Christianity.
be beaten by Italians, and the bloody
Hinglishmen," in the matter of charity to
the most unfortunate class of their fellow
men. upon the face of the earth? If fifteen
years of bondage and meditation will not
cure the man and convert every drop of
blood in his body, from depravity to purity,
from ungOdliness to gOdlness, then fifteen
hundred years will not convert him to God.
Have courage all We prisoners condemned
for life, for there is mercy in heaven, and
on earth. and God is stirring up your BROTH
ers in your behalf, and even Sunday. Oct.
81 was set aside by God to debate the ques-
ton of prison reform. in His holy temple,
and millions of our fellow men. listened to
sermons preached all over these United
States, on this most important question.
He has set aside this holy day. and called it
''Prson Sunday" Come. let us one and
all, hold out our hearts and hands, and meet
our brothers half way. i'm cleanliness of
body, mind, and conversation. Let us be
charitable to one another, that we may