The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1890-01-30
Sunday Services.

at g. 30 a. M, at which about forty of the Catholic
inmates received holy communion. Father Murphy
also conducted the regular services afterward.
1t being special occasion for the Catholic in
mates the sermon history of the sacrifice of
the mass and its derivation sanctioned by Jesus
Christ. Below is given short extract from the
sermon:
In every age and everywhere, among the most
ignorant and the most enlightened, sacrifice has
been used by men means to worship their
God Among the children of the desert it was the
custom to erect affairs during their travels for the
purpose of worshiping God. These oblations were
considered of the highest Importance. the pious
multitude standing in profound alteration while
the high priest offered up the sacrifice. When
this piety at length degenerated and when the
light of reason was buried for time still find
that men continued the of the sacrifice. In
looking through the ages of history it will be
that in all nations. even among the pagans the
offering of sacrifice was the principal means of
worshipng God. The offering of the sacrifice
among the pagans considered most solemn
act. and should deeply impress us with the idea
that when man affects to worship the Deity he
must do so with reverence and piety.
Before the time of Christ's coming upon earth
the sacrifice offered up representation of
some of the products of the earth. When Christ
had eaten the Last Supper the day previous to
His crucifixion He left to mankind divine herit-
age of His love in the sacrifice of His body and
blood Taking bread He blessed it and giving it to
His apostles said: Take and eat this my body
which is broken for you;" then taking the chalice
of wine He blessed it saying: Drink of this, for
this is my blood which is shed for thee; do this
for comm emoraton of me-" And in this man.
ner was created the present sacrifice of the mass,
which has taken the place of all other sacrifices.
and which is continually offered up every hour of
the day throughout Chrstendom. thus fulfilling
the Prophet Malachi's words THAT God would be
worshiped from the rising to the setting of the
sum-
German Discipline in Penal Instftu-
lions.
The lash has never been abolished as a means
of discipline in penal institutions of Germany.
Generally they use thong twenty inches long,
fastened to handle yard long. The lash is
thickest at the end. The thickness varies accord
ing to the provinces. But the smallest lashes are
two inches thick. Only in Saxony are the dimens-
ions fixed by law. the handle there being thirty
nine inches long and the lash thirty-six inches
The maximum number of blows is left to the
judgment of the prison directors, but it must not
exceed twenty-five in MeckIenburg and Oldenburg.
thirty in Saxony and sixty in Prussia.
The German penitentiary regime provides still
another means of repression, namely. confinement
in cells, the walls and floors of which are covered
with sharp points. In these they put prisoners
dressed in wooden. with nothing but socks on
their feet The cell contains no chair, bench or
bed. and after certain time the prisoner can
neither stand up nor lie down. His body and feet
bleed everywhere. and for a month after he is let
out he cannot walk. Such confinement was re.
sorted to in Prussia fty-six times during 1885, and
of the sufferers fifteen were women.-Selected.
Chinese Ways.
There is Chinese historian. philosopher and
scholar now lecturing i'll the West. His object is
to instruct the people of America to the true
character of the people and institutions of the
Celestial Empire. He says that in China they
have their criminal classes, semi-crminal and
honest. just we have in America. Men who
found guilty of social crimes are punished in
China very much as they are here, except little
more severely. perhaps Then there is another
class composed Of sharp fellows, who are found in
all professions and who hold that everything is
honest and respectable which puts money in the
purse. The men of tn class may charge and col
lect illegal tees practice extortion; sell tissue
goods for silk; pass gilded pieces of bronze for
silver play tricks with ccrds: deal in wooden
nutmegs; sell dressed rats in the market for SPUR
rels and it's all right These tricks they play
upon one another and the law does not punish
them. for the reason that, according to the ethics
of this class all sucD practices right il not de-
tected. The head mandarin of each district en-
deavors to hunt them out however. and when I'M
masked they are required to take name equiva-
lent to shy ster. trckster hummer. dead-beat. etc.
the case may be. This is done to put honest
people on their guard. Pity such a law cannot be
enforced iE America.-Texas Sftings
Carl PretZel's Philosophy.