The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-12-11

Apa vet as angels in some brighter
 dreams
 Gail to the soul when man doth sleep. 50 some strange thoughts transcend
 our wanted themes
 And into glory peep.
 Henry Vaughan.
 On A cold winter night, not many years ago, was seated in a comforta- ble cushioned chair before a cneeriu. fire at home, listening to the gusts or sharp. piercing wind outside and being of a somewhat sympathetic disposition fell naturally into train of thought in which was contrasted my present comfort with the wants and propaoAe sufferings of the poor in homes apout and around me and linking fancy unto fancy" thought of the many poor, who for some crime or supposed crime were in prison and thus deprived ot tne few pleasures and Still fewer comior'' of their homes.
 Christmas was approaching, when' as ,t sssu,ed to me. the whole world would be happy and joyful and pang snot through me as thought of the chil- aren of these far away convicts, many of them convicts because they were poor and without friends and inhuence to stay the hand of power ana deter- yn,ned that on the morrow I would see tha 7overnor and ascertain if there was not some way by which he could not nave. a day or two before Christmas. a sort of general prison delivery for The poor and unfortunate penitentiary prisoners who were serving terms Of imprisonment for petty offences.
 The idea was chimerical in the ex- treme, because knew at the time that the Governor had no right to turn lot of convicts loose on the people of the State through mere sympathy. that he had no time to sift the evidence in each particular case and determine who were and who were not entitled to his clemency, and yet I could not free my self from the horrible thought that there were many innocent men serving terms in the penitentiary and that un- less I did what I could to right the wrong done them. in interceding with the Governor to interfere in their be- half and exercise the awful power of pardoning, for a wise purpose placed In his hands, that I would be somehow aeld to blame-how. I could not tell, but I was in some manner to suffer if I sat quietly down in comfort and ease and failed to raise my voice against the injustice perpetrated on these innocent, but defenceless men.
 had worked myself into quite @ fe- yer of interest and enthusiasm in the cause and was altogether oblivious of time, as sat there turning this mat ter over and over in my mind. until I was startled to hear the clock on the mantle before me strike the midnight hour.
 well" said I. this thing will right itself in time-if not in time, then here after-for every day the innocent shall unjustly be imprisoned, they will have a thousand years credit from suffering in purgatory and as 1t fig high time all honest men were in bed. I'll retire."
 The mind had become too active. however, and 1t was several hours be- fore fell asleep, when l had this re- markable and most peculiar dream.
 dreamed that had been Governor of a great Commonwealth. but life's f1ftful fever was OCT and I had gone to 'the Undiscovered Country" A voice sweet and low, like softest music. and which thought must be the voice of an angel. said. Give an account of thy stewardship. for now thou cans't be steward no longer"
 The good and evil I had done as private citizen were weighed and the scales evenly balanced. but I knew that unless the good predominated
 
 up in despair, when the voice again said: You were invested by your peo- pie with great power. You had the power of life and death over your fel bowman; you had the wonderful, mar velous, awful power, called the Par doning Power. given you. not as your property or plaything. but in sacred trust; how did you use it?'
 answered. T used 1t very spar ingly. for there Is not much charity shown the unfortunate in the world from which came. but I managed the Penitentiary of my State wisely and made a great deal of money for the people by hiring out the convicts."
 T care nothing about that" said the voice, it does not weigh a feathers weight in the scales, as you see. What did you do with the awful pardoning power?
 During my term of office as Cover nor, and now I wish I had never held 1t, paroled quite number of those who were about to die from disease; they were really unfit for work, and pardoned a few, where the evil dence satisfied me beyond question that they were untustly convicted. Many applications, had no time to consid- CT, but I recall some I did trouble my self about and I will mention them. There came four wives asking pardon for their husbands, who were known to me as Mrs. A, Mrs. B., Mrs. c. and Mrs. D.
 Mrs. A. presented a long petition. signed by nearly every person In the county where she lived and many out