Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1895-12-14

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1 1,roke to find myself sharen and shorn.
rent Of my thoughts into q new chan.
mel Relief came back, and with a reso-
luton and courage and strength I spent
90 years in that little stone dungeon.
For 20 years never saw star, nor for
Is years the face of q woman or of
child.
That is, from my early manhood,
when the heart beats fast and the blood
runs warmly in the veins-through all
that fearful gap Of time filled to the
brim with the peltings of q pitiless
storm. Twelve months in solitude, then
for 10 years toiling in the mud in a
swamp, hunger driven under the sum-
mer's burning sun, or, thinly clad, ex-
posed to all the billiards. and whirling
storms Of winter. And never again for
a single moment after that first Sunday
did know what it was to fear or de-
spair.
was in Pentonville prison in the
suburbs Of London. All men convicted
in England are sent to this prison to un-
dergo one year solitary confinement At
the completion of the year they are
drafted away to the public works pris-
ons, where. working in gangs, they COM
plste their sentences.
OF my experience in Pentonville dur
ing my year of solitude it sufices to say
that, passing through great deal of
mental conflict, I found I had grown
stronger, and was eager for transfer to
the other prison, where I could for a
few hours each day at least look on the
sky and the faces of my fellow men.
At last the day of transfer came, and
escorted by two uniformed and armed
warders I was taken to the famous
Chatham prison, 81 miles from London
ON the river Midway.
lyon were sent here to work, and
you will have to do it, or / will make
you suffer for it," was the friendly
greeting that fell ON my ears as stood
before pompous little fellow, an ex-
major Of the army, at Chatham prison
one lovely morning in 1874.
had arrived there under escort but
an hour before, strong in the resolve to
obey the regulations if could and new
er to give in if had fair chance; also
with desperate resolve never to submit
to persecution, come what might, and
these resolutions saved me, but only by
q steady and logged adherence to them
on the many occasions, through many
years and amid surroundings that might
well make me, as it did and does many
good men, desperate and utterly reck-
less.
After few more remarks Of q very
personal and pungent nature the little
fellow marched of with a delicious
swagger and q heroic air that had o
powerful effect upon-the warder who
had me up for inspection. at once
turned to the warder and asked, "Who
is that little fellow?'' "The governor"
he gasped out. ''n he had only heard
youv' and then followed a pantomime
that implied something very dreadful
Then marched of to the doctor and
next to the chaplain, who, knowing who
/ was, asked me if I could read and
write, to which I meekly replied, Eyes.
SIR" but apparently being doubtful
upon the point he gave me a book Ask
ing me to read an account Of the battle
OF Agincourt, in solemn tone of voice
I said, when time and place adhere,
write me down as an ass" He took the
book from me, looked at the open page,
gazed solemnly in my face with funny
wagging Of his head, as much as to say,
"You will come to no good, " and fol-
lowed the little major.
Then my cicerone took me into the
main building, filed up to the brim
with what seemed to be little brick and
stone boxes. and halting in front Of one
said: This is your cell You must keep
your tinware clean and bright and keep
your bed and bedding and your cell in
perfect order at all times
Looking around to see If it was safe
to talk, he began to question me rapidly
about my case, and getting no satisfac-
tion he wound up the questioning with
the remark, well, you tried to take all
our money over to America then, be-
coming confidential, he told me what
wicked fellows the other prisoners were,
chiefly because they went to the gov
ernor and repmted the officers, charging
them with maltreatment and bullying
particularly and knocking them about
generally. OF course ths warders never
did such things. but were really Of .
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