Sunday morning globe., 1901-10-27


most undesirable weakness of limb ant
muscle.
looked ntelligcutly at the doctor and
he sympathcucally whispered You vii
/ come out all right-they nearly did you up
the brutes, but you viii bury ;he bunch OF
/ EN- yet" and then he smiled encourag
ingly. I closed nay eyes and slept until the
doctor had me awakened TO see my wife
about S p IN, The afternoon papers came
out with scare headlines ON my collapse
and stated / was lying unconscious and
was between life and death, in a comatose
state at the prison hospital"
Hence my wife's call. as she was natural.
ly alarmed by the purposed eXaggeration OF
the papers In day or two with the kind
treatment Of Dr. Ward, I recovered sufi.
ciently to be able 20 sit up, the discovery OF
which by the Columbus newspapers start.
cd them on a new tack whereas before
they had reported me as hanging between
life and death, they now came out In scare
head lines, as usual, with the charge that !
was playing 'possumN IN order to enjoy
the luxuries Of the hospital and escape the
penalties Of my just sentence They de-
manded of the prison physician that be
discharged from the hospital forthwith aud
returned TO duty on the contract
While lying in the hospital on the third
night unable to sleep, 1 saw some of the
attendants making wide space at the head
of the ward by placing the cots closer to-
gether and marvellcd much what the object
of IL AN was. Presently some convict
musicians came up TO the hospital under
guard, with their instruments and out from
81.
dens daughter, lady friend from Toledo
and one or two other lady acquaintauces of
the warden's daughter Dr. Ward was off
duty this evening aud his substitute physi-
clan, with few outside acquaiutauces led
the ladies forth TO a quadriIe. The musi-
clans struck mp and away went the merry
party skipping, hopping and waltzing
around the cleared space. My cot was near
est 8t the end to the dancers, and right
opposite me, on the other side of the ward.
was "a prisoner called " Bill Nye, " whom
the doctor that afternoon pronounced dying
and whom he had said would not live until
morning
As Miss Dyer and her male partner swept
past my cot heard Bill Nyc" groau and
she also having heard IL turned round In
her waltz and iu "a loud tone Missed rather
than spoke. oh, shut up and diem The
unfortunate prisoner, unable to move and
without an attendant. lay there a little
while longer groauing. He suddenly ceased,
and when the night attendant came along
fifteen minutes afterwards he discovered
the man dead. This horrible experience in
the hospital recouciled me to leaving II and
its 'luNuries' the next morning, when the
head physician, in response to the public
clamor. informed me that was well enough
to resume my duties ia the suath shop.
Weak and totteriug. 1 braced up suf.
fcently to reach the shop and attempted to
perform the task assigned me- but the
guard noticing my condition suggested that
/ should go the hospital and secure permit
from the physician to remain In the idle
house a few days to build up my strength.
To this I demurred, and asked his permis.
sion to remain where / was, iuasmuch as
residence Of three days In the idle house,
with all its horrible silence and stiffness
would be sure TO finish me or send me to
the bug house" the prisoners name for
the insane asylum Ultimately by the will
iuguess I exhibited to work and my strict
compliance with the rules, ! softened the
guard sufficiently to have him take interest
enough and compel the negro boss to do his
share of our joint task and be less domi-
neering toward his assistant From this
time ON the guard would occasionally con.
descend TO talk with me, until he finally be
came so sociable that he conddsntially in.
formed me of the cause of his preiudices
toward myself These were founded upon
his belief from reading and hearing the
character received from my enemies that
was but little removed from a gorilla, and
never having had the pleasure, as he ex-
pressed ii, of my acquaintance, he now con-
fessed his erroneous impression and hoped
we would get along amiCably.
Meanwhile the days and weeks rolled on
and my able counsel, General Thomas T.
Powell was still enjoying the ocean breezes
of Atlantic City. I could not help con-
trastiug the difference in the recreation we
were each enjoying after the long and weary
siege we had been through during the hot
summer In the Franklin County Court
House, where day after day for three
months we Jointly atteuded-he as the
champion counsel and delender-aud ! as
the accuscd-somet times irritable, but gem
orally submissive client Finally in the
latter part of September the General re-
turned and paid me a visitat the prison. He
informed me that the Supreme Court would
meet about the middle of October and that
he would then file his petition 100 error if
given permission to do SO by the court on
his application He also stated that the re-
suit of this permission TO file a writ Of error
would have the effect of suspeuding my
sentence and that the warden Gould no
longer keep me at hard labor
The General seemed TO be astouuded that
Ben Dyer our mutual friend. had done
nothing for me, but, ON the contrary, had
permitted me 90 remain ON the dirtest work
that could be found on amy of the contracts.
related To- him au interview / had with
Dyer on bis return TO the prison from Rich.
moud. Virginia. a week after my iuure-
ment 300 the penitcutiary II was shortly
after midnight when Mr. Dyer came to my
cell aud awakening me- said:
II am So sorry, Bill TO see you here If there
Is anything loo my power that I can do TO
alleviate your suffering, you can rest as
sured il will be done Tomorrow intend
20 assign you to- the secretary office where
you can dress in citizens clothes. have light
clerical work, good food, and clean, COM
Portable bed Your wife and children shall
visit you at any time. and you can see them
iu my private Office. ! remember with
gratitude what you did for me, and now that
il has come NV yyay | will reciDrocafe mo-