The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1892-04-07

and upward at a rapid rate and if you and
l, fellow cOnvicts, wish to keep step in the
ranks we dare not stop at any point to see
the procession 60 by, for if we do we will
find ourselves alone in desert. If we would
not be left alone we must move on pausing
not to bewail the fact of having once
''stubbed" our toes on stone in our path
way in the past, but moving on as rapidly
as possible on the right road. keeping a
sharp lookout for these stones and prOfiting
by past experience, we will be able to steer
clear of them.
But" says one, "what good will it do
me to try and improve my talents or better
my intellect or fit and qualify myself for
the duties of life outside these walls when
can never hope to pass beyond them? What
benefit can derive from careful prepara-
tiOn for the beauties of life which l can
never more participate in or enjOy?" All.
my dear boy. it is to you especially that
wish to say word of encouragement and
comfort. First. you do not. know that you
will pass your life here. Pardon may come
even after years of patient waiting; but
ask in all sincerity. will it not be more liza
BILE to come to you who have improved
every minute of your time here. to you who
have worked and studied with patient zeal
to make yourselves eligible for it, to show
by your earnest effort that you have not
only had thorough reformation, but that
you are capable of yet benefting the world
by living in it? The practice of the princi-
Piles of true manhood and womanhood were
never totally disregarded or lost in this
world nor they never will be. Task, again.
is not pardon more likely to come to those
who truly merit it than to those who DO
not? Here then is an incentive to urge you
onward and to lose no precious time. But,
on the other hand, suppose that pardon
never does come. that life for you will end
here, there is still white, winged angel of
comfort who will tell you that to help you
bear the lonely and heavy burdens of a con-
vict'S life, it will be to your interest to delve
that much deeper. to drink that much more
from the fountains of truth, from the
springs and wells of knowledge to satisfy
your thirsty souls for happiness, that having
your lives robbed of everything else that
makes life pleasant you should seize the
only way to happiness left-the improve
ment of your mind. For while your bodies
are here imprisoned your minds and souls
need never be. Stone walls and iron bars
can never impriSOn the minds of men. You
can. by the aids you have here in good and
useful books. 60 out and visit all the noted
and beautiful places of earth; you can roam
over the lands celebrated in poetry and
song; you can travel to Rome and see *'its
treasures of dead art. its glory of living
nature;" you can witness the battles of
Alexander and Bonaparte and rejoice with
them in their victories. You can enjoy the
mysteries of the heavenly bodies in the
solar system; you can participate in the
struggles of right against wrong. and grow
enthusiastic in the political struggles of the
nation-in word. you can travel out and
away from these prison walls and forget
their existence. The days will grow shorter
and less lonely, and the sweet communion
of gifted minds of all ages will be yours as
the poet said:
Full many gem of purest ray serene
The dark unfathom'd caves of ocean bear;
Full many flower is born to blush unseen.
And waste its sweetness on the desert air
But you will not have lived entirely in
vain. You can please the great Author of
your being, the Creator of heaven and
earth. by fulfilling as far as lays in your
power the purpose of your creation. We
are the ones to suffer for wasted oppOrtu-
mites. for golden moments passed by unim.
proved. Wasted hours, days and years will
count against us in eternity besides robbing
us OF happiness in this life.
bob N. ROUND"