Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1895-08-14


Lot the stricken door 20 weep
And the hnrt ungallod play,
For sons must watch, while some must sleep.
Thus runs the world away.
These lines were there through all
tho agony Of my incarceration and trial,
but when the thunderbolt fell and 1 WAS
walking back to that little room with
the doom Of life" pronounced upon
me what thought do you suppose came
rushing into my mind?
There was l walking through tho
Underground Stone corridor nss...s..,,
from tho Old Bailey courtroom to my
cell doomed to lifelong imprisonment,
and the uppermost thought In my mind
was Of tho lines had scratched on that
wall. said TO myself they were too
gloomy and depressing; that it was u
cowardly thought and inessage to leave
behind me for some other unfortunate
inmate, and resolved, IL it escaped the
philistines' paint pot, TO leave mes
sage Of hope or high resolve When tho
next morning came-Thursday it was
and the first of scntenCe-I scratched
these lines;
In tho roproof Of chnnco
Lies tho trun proof of men.
An hour after was insane. My mind
became a blank, and / knew and re-
mombered no more until the following
Sunday, when / awoso like one out of
trance and found myself in convict
uniform in a cell, and there with that
brick arch over my head and the stone
floor under my feet, for 20 years lived
and moved and had my being. We lived
In South Brooklyn, near to old No, 10,
the Degraw street public school To that
l was sent, and there got all tho educa-
ton / was ever fated TO have ut any
school except tho school of lifo and ex-
porienco
| attended for some years, and even
now cannot recall without smile tho
absurd incompotency Of every one con-
nected with the institution and their
utter ignorance Of the art of imparting
knowledge to children.
At home had picked mp that grand
art Of reading and went 60 school TO
learn tho other two RS, with any trifle
that might como across floating around
promiscuously. / certainly hope our
much Landed public schools are conduct.
ed on better lines now than then; If not,
they arc frauds from the foundation.
Itwns all very pitiful My blood boils
even now when think Of the traitors
chosen md paid TO see mo fully equipped
and armed to begin tho battle of life
who left me with phantom weapons
which would SILVER into fragments ut
tho first shock of conflict
left Junior A Of old No. 10, with
it's algebra, logic, philosophy theayen
save the word y md advanced grammar,
unable towrite grammatical sentence.
Indeed l took II for granted that in tho
good old days Adam had invented the
word such ~ ho named the animals,
and, Of course, supposed that ho spoke
good English. Tho knowledge OF his
tory gained at No, 10 was strictly lin
tied and exceedingly primitive knew
the Jews in the old days were bad
lot; that Brutus had slain Caesar
that the Mayflowcr had landed our
fathers on Plymouth Rock; that wick
cd George III was tyrant, and that
the boys in Boston had thrown tea
kettle at his head. l knew all about our
George and the chWry tree, and there
my historical knowledge ended.
So hero l was launched out in the
world model scholar--stamped as pro
fcient in grammar, history, logic, PHI
losophy and arithmetic, but yet in use
full knowledge II barbarian, unable to
spell or even write u grammatical letter
and IMMERSED in the ways of the world
"A world, too, whore / would be east
entirely upon my own resources.
My home life was happy. My father
had lost his gripon the world but his
faith in the Unseen remained My
mother, caring little for this life, lived
in and for tho spiritual To her heaven
was place as much as the country viii
lage where she was born. She was nev
or tired Of talking TO us children about
its golden streets and the rest there after
the tolls and pains Of life, But, boy
like, wo discounted all she said and felt
we wanted some Of this world before W,
knocked ut the gates of the next,
Every night Of my lifo in those day
she would como TO my bed TO pray owe
me, over saying as she kissed mo o.
clnsped my hand, MY son, remembe
II you were to pass your whole life her
in poverty and hardship it would no
much matter 50 long us You attain t,
tho heavenly rest. " This teaching wouli
have boon we'll had she only taught IN,
some worldly wisdom with it, but tina
all essential knowledge was kept iron
me- / being left TO learn the ways o
man in that terrible school Of export
encc, the consequence being that whel
after some months was launched on
in lilc WAS a ripe and apt victim to b
caught in tho worlds hugo snare Ii
fact. had my parents designed me b
become traveller IN the Primrose Wa
they could not have educated mo {
} better purpose.
Save when in the school had nevo
been permitted to associate with othe
boys hut was kept in tho house, aud n
TO nv sixteenth year hardly drcamel
there was evil IN the world. was toll
much about tho "wicleed. I" but though
that meant those who smoked tobaee
or drank whisky hardly Thought an
women came under that category; but
II any, then 1t must mean th0so win
caiho around selling apples and oranges
, The reader will gco that when ono
away from the ahelter Of home, Il
thrNntlfutg tho xrrrlIfa ,ao-.i,,,,, ,..