The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1889-07-13
Selttt StOrp.
A QUEER PATRON.

From BcigrayiA-
In the quiet seclusion og his cell in one
of the London short-sentence prisons
Prisoner No. 10 was wondering what the
world outside was saying about him. His
fingers were busy with the piece Of old
rope he was making into oakum, but his
mind was fall Of an imaginary rport Of
his own ease at the Police Court Tie
even hoped some of the papers might have
devoted short leader 20 him. for his
offence was a strange one.
Arrayed 10 a tattcrei gown Of the cut
peculiar 10 Camfoyd Bachelor Of Arts, with
a battered cap upon his head he had in
broad daylight walked down Regent street
breaking the lamps with long stick.
Proceediu. calmly and without hurry. aud
followed by a rapidly increasing crowd he
hsd smashed some half dozen before po-
liecman appeared and took him into Gus
tody At the Police Court he told the
Magistrate that he had once been an
asSistan. master in a school, bat had lately
got his iyiu. ga the tnrf. on tramp. and
IN other more or les disrcputable WAYS.
He wzs willing enough TO work. bat could
ne; get employment, 50 had broken the
lamrs by way ~ advertisements. He had
one little complaint {, make against The
police lie gave hi- name, Charles Mick
l,reej. to the Inspector, aud that officer
refused to further cmbcIlish the charge
sheet with bis proper do>cription-Bach-
clog Of Arts - Boniiaoe College, Cam
ford. Sentence. tweniy-ouo days impris.
onmcn, With bard labor
Ne 10 vas quite right in his surmisos
His ease was making a good deal Of sensa-
ton outside The PRISON walls II vas
slack time aud editors were rather short Of
subjects. They deemed Charles Mickle-
reed ; exVlpi; good source Of cheap copy,
and they were not wrong, for letieTs about
il poured in freely. Some Of bis old col
lege friends even proposed to De something
for him when he csmc cat, and, a. three
weeks ! not kong there vas Just chance
thcy might no; have forgotten hlm By the
tune be was released
As the prisoner was masiog his oell-do0r
was thrown open. add War,ier Smith in
Official tones announced
No. ll9, the chaplain to see you.
The warler was not, however, quite ae-
cura,e in his assertion, for the clergyman
who entered the cell was not the regular
chaplain Of the Jail, bat the curate of a
neishboriue church, who vas visiting the
prisoners while their usual pastor recruited
himself al the seaside.
The prisoner stood up aud faced his yisi-
TOT, who shut the oell-door behind him
As soon as the sheep 80. fair look At the
shepherd be exclaimed
@Why, josh, old fellow, how are you
at the same tune holding out his hand With
an evident expectation Of friendly grasp
The Rev. Joshua Bamlett recoiled little
Il don't know, prisoner, began he,
whether you mean this a joke. Let me
tell ven j, Is hardly the way To-
"Ohl stow il, Josh, interrupted the
unabashed reproba,e, do you mean to
saw You don't know me It's my beard, |
suppose. Pity | didn't get a spell long
enough to have j, shaved off I'm Charley
Micklcreod.
aWhat Micklerced, my old Camford
friend Yes. now see it Is But oh,
Charley, Charley. what has brought you to
this ?"
.,Proxima,eiy the Government omnibus
known as Black Maria, ultimately that
common complaint of employment.
+ Don't YOU know why | was seat up? You
don't mean to say it ism, in the paper
said Mr.. Micklereed, seriously alarmed for
the success Of his scheme.
Il have been to busy too look at paper
these three days" replied the clergyman
They ought to tell me what each prisoner
has done and the length of his sentence
but my visits are 80 hurried they forget
sometimes.
"Ah! that accounts for it, said th,
prisoner, apparently immensely relived
/ well, | took leaf from the irishman
book and committed an outrage to call at
tention TO my distress. Smashed sons
lamps in Regent street Shouldn't wonde
if thew made music-hall song out of it
Charley Micklereed smashed the lamps t
find himself provender, with an accent oil
the zen, has as good lilt about 1t as tha
thing on the other Charley and the milk a
Chelsea, anyhow. Just look at the paper
when you 60 home and tell me what the.
say when you call again.
My dear Mieklereed, it's against a
rules to tell prisoner what is in the papers
But don't, pray don't, look at this seriou
thing in that light way. You shock m
terribly. You seem as hard as"
AN old horseshoe-nail, interrupted tn
prisoner; ''and let me tell you it's goo,
nail that gets harder by much hammerins
Only the bad ones break.
Il can stay no longer now, said tn
. clergyman as the warder was heard comm
along the corridor IL viii come again Il
morrow But do try, my old friend,
look at this matter in its true light.
"Well don't you forget about the paper
then, was the prisoners parting SHOT.
; The Rev. Joshua Bamlett went straigh
to his lodgings and tried to compose hi
mind. He sat down in his easy chair, i
9 a pipe, and fell into a reverie. How we
t he remembered the old Camford days whe
he and Charley Micklereed had lodged
the same house and belonged to the SAN
2 set. 1t was not in any way distinguishe
set, and Micklereed had been a kind {
J. honorary member of it. That eccentr
= young man always seemed to regard tn
,r;,,oys;t, &c a Y,onL did the World-he W;