St. Paul daily globe., 1894-06-18
poor fellow finished his course, and
Mother Earth received him TO her heart.


in the execution of which he was almost
diabolicaIly clever and successful, was
finally caught, arrested and sent to
prison under circumstances which
humbled his pride and brought him to a
painful realization of how far down in
the moral scale he had dropped. He.
! whose hands had never worked at any
thing harder than driving a pen was
put to breaking rock. The unaccuS-
toned labor, the silence. the iron bound
discipline of prison life to one of his
high-strung temperament was some
| thing fearful. but in the calm hours of
| Sleepless nights. gazing at the moon and
! stars through the bars..of his lonely cell,
he came to his better self, and resolved.
with the help of God. to consecrate his
life hencefor:h to better things. With
a nature like his it was like the swing
OF pendulum-the measure of his abil-
lty in wrongdoing was the measure OF
his capacity to do right. He began I'M
mediately, and ON his release brought
all the fine powers of his mind aud will
to aid him in the course he had marked
out for himself. 1t was not an easy
task. 1t was much harder than he had
dreamed. Old companions had to be
Stunned, old desires resisted. It's said by
those who have been addicted to steal
ing that the passion tor theftis as strong
in its way as the passion for drink, and
as hard to conquer. So 1t was with this
young man, to his shame and alarm.
UneXampled opportunities for theft
t,, oil c;I l., ha toI
them manfully. He was employed as
collector for firm who knew his history
and took him ON trust. Temptation
could not enter there, for personal
honor was at stake. and he would have
| died sooner than betray that trust.
On one occasion, however. going
| to an Office to collect Il
bill, lie found the place deserted,
! the safe open, aud a large sum of money
| exposed to view therein. The tempta-
| ton to help himself came to him with
| such unexpected suddenneSS and force
| that for a moment he stood rooted to the
| spot. every impulse urging him to the
deed, his fascinated gaze resting on that
pile of greenbacks. But his goud angel
was by his side TO whisper of his new
resolves. and, by supreme effort, he
turned his back and walked away. A
slight noise caused him to look up.
There, gazing down at him through
hole III the ceiling where he was ut
work, was the face of work
man who had been silent spec
tator of the scene. The young man.
weak and giddy from his narrow
escape. thanking God that he had the
strength to resist in his hour of tempta-
ton, went forth to renewed endeavor
| and greater watchfulness of himself.
1t is pleasant to note that in the course
of time the constantly-resisted tempta-
ton lost its force, and III its place came
a strong repugnance to the very
thought of stealing. Years have
passed. and he has held true to his bet
ter self. His example and influence
have been the direct cause of the re-
demption of others, and none who
know him now would ever suspect that
dark and reckless chapter in his life
which closed with the clang Of prison
door. He used to profess himself an
| atheist, but is now an earnest believer
in the watchful Providence invoked by
prayer, for he says that at every turn of
his later life, when his own weakness
might have led him away from the
straight course he had marked out for
himself and into the old paths of sin.
some power outside of himself has
seemed to iEterpese and save him.
D.. a boy Of singu!arly simple and
child-like mind, whose warm heart
crayed affection as the flowers do the
sun. through lack of love. rank injus-
tice and uudeserved and cruel treatment
for course of years, had all the better
impulses of his nature warped and
dwarfed, and the natural sweetness of
his disposition changed into bitterness
of resentment against his lot. The
reckleSsness this engendered led him to
| seek bad company, with whom he
learned to drink. until finally the appe-
tite for liquor dominated his whole life.
The wild vortex of dissipation into
which he plunged made sad havoc nf
| his young life. Friendly hands were
! stretched out then to save him, loving
hearts tried hard to stop him in his
mad career, but all in vain. Soon
the state reformatory claimed him
for its own. although for crime of
which he happened to be innocent, as
the confession Of the guilty one later
proved. He awoke to a knowledge OF
the evil of his ways. and. repentant,
began by perfect prison record to
prove his desire to struggle back to bet
ter things, but all too late to save him
from the terrible effects of the life he
had led. A heavy cold settled on his
lungs, and consumption fastened its re-
morsclesS hand upon him. The tasks he
had so faithfully and uncomp plainingly
| performed grew too heavy for his feeble
hand; and his shrunken figure, pallid
face and painful cough so wrought upon
the sympathy of his fellow couvicts that
voluntary subscription list was started
from their hard-earned prison wages
until the amount earned at the rate of
8 and 1919 cents per day. reached the
sum OF $50. A spokesman was
appointed TO present the request to
the superintendent that the money be
allowed to be given for his benefit in
the hope that he might be granted his
freedom and the money be usei for his
maintenance outside. The precedent
was thought to be a bad one, as the
state allowed the money for the aid of
the prisoners themselves on their re-
lease, and the kindly offer had to be
refused. The friends on the outside
came to the rescue, however, and the
young man was released, to begin a
death in life that lasted for two years
and half. Dependent. sick and suffer.
ing, fading away while friends of his
age were eXuiting i'll youthful strength
lie humbly strove to win forgiveness
for the past by patient submission to
the present. uttering no complaint
grateful for everything. Liquor he
would no longer taste-even the doctors
! DreScrintion for its use he nast aSi ida