The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1893-05-18
A Mistake.

Good men sometimes make mistakes
Probably all good men do sometimes.
Even good prisoners sometimes make
mistakes. We have always thought
that when man suffered some injury
while receiving great many favors,
or when he was denied something for
once, after being befriended in great
many things, it was mistake to for
get all favors because of one denial, or
to lose sight of the multitude of good
things because of the supposed injury.
A man is always happier to remem-
ber the pleasant things and forget all
the unpleasant things, than to let the
remembrance of a few unpleasant
things hide all the pleasant ones. And
yet, sometimes good man may make
this mistake.
We have Occasionly seen it, as we
think, in prisoners. We do not blame
them for it, because their trials are Sc
we're at best. But we are sorry on their
account, because the mistake which we
think they make is mistake against
themselves.
For all illustration; here is prisoner
with us long time. But he makes a
good impression at the beginning of his
life here. He gets the confidence of the
officers in this way, and the result is,
that from the start he has good many
favors. All his prison life really is very
much lightened by the considerations
of many kinds, that he gets. He knows
it and perhaps often speaks of it and ex-
presses his gratitude for it. But just at
the end of his term, he misses some ia
vor or some piece of justice, as he looks
at it, which he is expecting. And in his
anxious and troubled state of mind, at
the moment, all he sees is his disappoint-
ment.
1t is very common thing for our men
to reckon, as well as they can, the time
when they expect to go out Sometimes
them when he first came. They were
not imposed for the most serious Of
fenses. Possibly if it had been known
at the time that he was so much gen.
tleman, and so good man as he after
wards showed himself to be, they might
not have been imposed, but excused
But, be that as it may, the prisoner looks
over the matter and makes up his mind
that they are of tritiing Importance and
really should not have been given him
in the first place, and that of course
they will be taken off.
Then his next step is to see which of
his friends has had more marks than he;
and yet, for some reason, those marks
before the end of his stay, have been
excused. The prisoner does not know
why: but he says to himself that he has
been as good man as that man was,
or better, and has lost fewer marks,
and of course if that man was excused
on his marks, he himself ought to be,
and it would be wrong if he should
not be. The result of it all is that he
concludes that he must go out on the
day a perfect record would indicate.
He sets his heart upon it, and lays his
plans accordingly, and makes no secret
of them. By and by, when that day
comes, he does not 60, and Immediately
he puts on the air of man who has
been grievously wronged.
We do not find any fault with this
prisoner. Perhaps we would not be
so patient ourself if we were the prison
er. The difference between the reckon
ings may not be great deal, possibly a
few weeks or days. Nevertheless, every
day counts with the prisoner, if he is
expecting to 60 out. And so, when a
different reckoning is made by the in
stitutiOn, he feels very much hurt.
Very likely he even reviews his honor
able services in the societies. How
much he has done for rthem-how many
papers he has read-how many parts he
has taken! One would think, to listen
to this injured friend, that instead of
the administration deserving some ap-
probation for having granted these
privileges, the superintendent ought to
lose no time in reckoning up the wages
he should give the prisoner.
We knew man some time ago, who