The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1889-10-10
Summer and Winter.

tIoII several anu VdrleQ oIIoCtS Oh Uen 5
moral character as we'll as on their material
being. Each succeeding day is figure Of
each passing year, and each year is met
aphOrical abridgment of what our lives
may and will be. We have the heat and
cold. the sunshine and shadow; the spring
and autumn of the year. the adolescence
and senility of the man. The crosses and
strife of this life hide the sun and JOY from
us at times just as the heavy clouds will
often deprive the earth, for period, of
the benign influence OF the heavenly Iumi-
nary. The bright. warm days of summer
expand our natures and make us feel more
charitably and kindly toward each other.
The frost of winter chillS and contracts the
natural eXpansiveneSS of the heart. and
causes our thoughts to be almost entirely
occupied in that which concerns our own
individual welfare and enjoyment. and
thus will cause us to become selfish if
we have the least tendency in that direc-
ton.
Spring, the joyous herald of hope. ush-
erS us into the gladneSS of summer. whose
regal store of abundance may be enjoyed by
the poor as we'll as the rich. Summer is,
par excellence. the friend of the poor man.
1t brings especial comfort to him that can
not be appreciated by those in more favored
circumstances. In summer he does not
require expensive clothing to maintain
health and warmth-the sun cheers his
home. warns his tireSide, and he is happy.
Summer is the season of the year when he
may lay by store of necessities for the
colder and less Favorable seasons.
Autumn is the reverse Of spring, though
like it, it is but the introduction to one OF
the two practical seasons of the year. Au
tumn calls to the husbandman to gather
ND the fruits of his summers labor that he
may be prepared for the coming of the sea-
son whose chilling blasts have no mercy or
pity on those unprepared for its approach.
1t warns the wOrkingman that the time is
near at hand when his expenses will be in
creased and his resources decreased; when
he must pay for the sunlight of his home
and the warmth of his tireside. or 60 with
out them.
Winter is luxury to the rich man; it is
the season of the year when he may exert
himself for pleasures sake; when he may
dispOrt the richness of his garments, and the
regalty of his table and hospitality in
manner that is not possible at other sea-
sons: when he may ''eat, drink and be
merry" when he may squander money on
bricabrac and foreign missions; and lastly,
when he may rest assured that the labor of
his poorly paid employees will pay for all
his pleasures and leave him snug surplus
to hoard away for possible emergency.
TO the poor man winter is but an extra
expense In most cases he breads its ap-
prOach. Winter is the season that tries
the morals and probity of many poor
man to greater degree than any other
period of the year. The man who has a
weak spot in his character will succumb to
temptations in winter that he could easily
withstand at other times. Watch the news
papers and police reports and you will be
aStOniShed at the immense number OF men
that are imprisoned all over the country
during the winter months for the theft of
OvercOats, fur caps and other apparel Pc
culiar to winter. True. they would not
have any immediate temptation to steal
OvercOats or fur caps in summer But it is
not because such articles are not adapted
to summer use that they do not steal them
then; but rather because the winter draws so
heavily on their resources as to make them
more susceptible to temptation at such
time. An OvercOat means an extra eX-
pense of so many dollars; it also means
considerable discomfort to be without one
in the cold season of the year. If one has
not the necessary funds to spare and is
suffering from cold, he can easily win over
moral scruples by the stern law of Neces-
sity. When the body is cold conscience
hibernates, morals relax. and the human be-
ing turns into veritable brute, and is gov
erned entirely by instinct and material
necessities; and. like all other brutes. will
at such times do anything and run any
risk to satisfy the cravings of his body,
whether it be for warmth of clothing or
for food. These latter statements are not