The Bottineau pioneer. (Bottineau, N.D.) 1885-1895, 1889-12-21
THE coNVIcT's CHRISTMAS EVE
BY WILL

- "AAhS
The term was done: my penalty was past;
] saw the outskirts of the walls at last.
When l left that stone punishment of sin,
Twas most as hard as when first went In.
1t seemed at once as though the swift-vOiced
air
Told slanderous tales about me everywhere;
For fear 'twouId get the Gains mark of my
Women would edge away with shrewd She
AS if my very glance would spoil their dresses;
Men looked me over with close, careless gaze,
And understood my downcast, jail-brcd ways;
My hands were so grim hardened and defled,
! wouldn't have had the cheek to pet q chlld;
II l had spoken to a dog that day.
He would have tipped his nose and walked
And so wandered in a Jail Of doubt,
Whence neither heaven nor earth would let me
The world itself seemed to me every bit
AS hard a prison as the one I'd quit
II you are made Of anything but dirt.
II you've a soul that other souls can hurt,
Turn to the right henceforth, whoever passes
It's death to drop among the luwless classes!
Men lose, who lose the friendship of the law,
A blessing from each breath of ar they draw:
They know the advantage Of a good square
When theirs has been disfgured by disgrace.
So Itrudged round appropriately slow
For one with no particular place to go.
The houses scowled and stared as if to say,
You Jail -bird, we are honest; walk away!"
The factory seemed to scream when l came
Stand back! unsentenced men are working
here!'
And virtue had tn appearance all the time
OF trying hard to push me back to crime.
1t struck me strange, that stormy, snow
To watch the different people on the way,
All carrying bundles, OF all sorts of sizes,
AS carefully as gold and silver prizes.
Well dressed or poor, l could not understand
Why each one Rugged a bundle in his hand.
asked an old policeman what it meant.
I1n rLn mo r,,n~x wit, ntnc rnxr har<
While muttering in IL voice that fairly froze,
ITS cause to.morrOw's Christmas. | suppose"
And then the fact came crashing over me,
How horribly alone u man can he!
For souls that have not run their rcckonings
struight;
It isn't for mortal ignorance to say
What kind of night may follow any day;
There may be pain for sin some time found
out
That sin on earth knows nothing yet about:
But | don't think there's any harbor known
Worse for the wrecked soul than to be alone.
Alone!- there maybe never has occurred
A word whose gloom is gloomler than that
word!
You who can brighten up your Christmas joys
With all affections small but mighty toys,
Who fancy that your gifts of love be rash.
And presents are not worth their price In cash,
Thank God, with love and thrift no more at
That E fos! some one to spend your money
A dollar plays a very dingy part.
Till magnetized by some ones grateful heart.
So evening saw me stra ggling up and down
Within the gayly lighted, deSOlate town,
A hungry, sad heart hermit all the while,
My rough face begging for Il friendly smile.
folks talked with folks in new made warmth
and glee.
But no one hld q word or look for me;
Love flowed like water, but it could not make
The world forgive me for my one mista Ike.
An open church some look of welcome wore;
! crept in soft, and sat down near the door.
I'd never seen 'ImOngst my unhappy race
SO many happy children in one place.:
/ never knew how much a hymn could bring
From Heaven. until l heard those children
sing;
I never saw such sweet-breathed gales of glee
AS swept around that fruitful Christmas tree.
You who have tripped through childhoodi
merry days
With passionate love protecting all your ways
Who did not see Il Chrstmas-time go by