The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1895-09-27

the jail, the courthouse and the school
went hand in hand in the procession Of
moral progress and always occupied the
four chief corners of every we'll planned
village, The church was backed, or
surrounded, by the cemetery to
strengthen the impress Of its teachings.
In the school the rod was displayed
conspicuously and used vigorously; not
SO much to punish youthful foibles as
to impress upon the youthful mind the
idea Of punishment and to prepare it
| for an early reception of the comforting
doctrine of eternal damnation, The
Judge at first, did not amount to much.
He was a sort of go-between, uniting
| church and jail. The church did the
judging The judge was used to give
legal sanction to the verdict of the
church and to start the secular arm of
punishment The jail and the church
remained the two great powers for
good; the Jail with its free hangings be-
| ing little ahead and rather the more
attractive institution of the two.
Great the pity that these supremacies
were ever invaded! AS everybody
knows, New England theology is not
what it used to be; and the sad confess
sion must be made that Litchfield the
ology has not escaped the contagion.
Litchield theology is not what it used
| to be. There is not a church in Itch
| field to-day in which one may feel sure,
of a Sunday, in having presented to
him with proper detail those realistic
| pictures of the internal regions. and of
the torments and tortures of the
damned in which our ancestors delight
ed; in which they found such strength,
comfort and joy; and in the continued
presentation of which their children
| grew up to be light to all nations still
| sitting in darkness. This is the reason
! why the burgesses in their wisdom,
seeing, realizing and deploring the
| weakening of the church, or spiritual
arm, have determined to strengthen
| and exalt the secular arm of justice
and punishment by an enlarged and
expanded display of Jail. Could any
| act be more commemorate, more beauti-
full, more inspiring, in this age of cal
lous Indifference and ofSagnostic inqui-
ry! If all New England would do like
wise there might still be hope for re-
vival of the unspeakable benefits
| wrapped up in one small unspeakable
| word
There is another and subordinate
point which must also be considered.
The superlative qualities of Litchfield
air are too well known to need further
discussion in these papers. People
may continue to wonder why the air of
one particular locality should be moral
ly as well as physically Strengthening,
while the airs of adjoining localities
possess these qualities in a less degree
or in no degree at all; but the fact is
incontrovertable Even Norfolk, Thorn
aston, Washington and Watertown no
longer dispute, but acknowledge and
ask permission to send their moral and
physical weaklings to Litchfield to be
healed and purified. 1t has been impos-
! sible to keep these facts from the crimi-
| nal classes of these and other subordi-
i nate places. Very few criminals are so
| very criminal as to desire to remain
/ criminal. The consequence has been
/ that from one end of New England to
| the other there has been pouring forth
| from between prison bars plaintive
| bowls for Litchfield! How could bur-
gesses resist the appeal? Would they
be worthy of their position and of their
Il reputation did they not respond? How
/ beautiful now, from both points of
view, appears the growth of the Jail!
1t may not be beautiful to the physical
eye, to the eve of passing curiosity, or
to the eye of fashion; but to the moral
eye, the philanthropical eye, the eye of
the colonial dame, the eye of the colo
NAL warrior, and to the eye of the flu
ture, no object of contemplation can be
more enhancing. Litchfeld once more
shows herself a leader and a teacher in
the things which lie nearest and closest
to the heart and mind of humanity.
Once more humanity bows down to her
and acknowledges her gracious sover-
eighty.
i Important as all these matters are in
their bearing on the world at large,
there is another matter of more per-
sonal nature in which Litchfield is just
now deeply interested. When man
becomes engaged to be married his rel
atives must fling themselves madly at
him and enfo1d him with rapturous
embrace. These must be followed by
his friends who, in the order of their
intimacy either embrace, shake hands
formally in ceremonious measure, or dc
something or-other in between All
must look at the engagement from the
mans point Of view Tell him that
there was never anything like it before
and that he is the luckiest as he should
be the happiest Of men. OF course he
will say: 81 am" Then, If not sooner
the prospective bride must be sought
out by the lady part of the community
and-But what takes place is not
known to man, nor ever should be- II
seems to be an occasion for tears. But
whether tears of joy, or tears of woe
man may never know. There are prob.
ably both joy tears and, if not exactly
woe tears, plaintive tears, apprehen-
sive tears, fearful tears, don't-knov
tears. Joy and woe are so close togeth-
) err that perhaps the same tear will dc
for both.
All this congratuIation business, in,
Guiding the tear, Litchfield has done
} and done most properly and becoming
ly. But now there arises a question OF
more general nature. Can mans
| relations to the community where he
lives, and to the people in it, be such
! that he should not marry?
, If a Litchfielder, for instance, have
made himself and his surroundings
bic h hits bis manners bic borsac T,is