The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1907-07-07
ISOLATION.
LOriginaI.l

been convicted of killing her uncle
| with Ratchet and had served twelve
| years in prison. When the speakers
came on to the platform, 1 picked her
| out at once by the lines of suffering on
| her face. I watched her closely, ques-
| iioning myself as to her bearing if
| guilty. If innocent she gave no clew
| She did not assume a brazen look or
wear either a guilty or a penitent one.
| She changed her position often, as
| though 1t were an effort for her to
face so many upturned faces. Could
she do so at all, especially on a num-
Der of occasions, if she were a muir
deress? / did not believe she could.
When she rose to speak, she looked
out upon her audience much as any
other woman would who had spoken
before from the rostrum. Few women
and comparatively few men can make
an address, especially an extemporane-
Gus one Miss Kennard spoke slowly,
distinctly, every word expressing that
which it was intended to express, and
what she said was of interest. Her
voice was feminine, melodiouS and did
not impress me unpleasantly, as the
voices of women public speakers usual |
ly do. On the contrary, it won me.
She was evidently a worker in the
cause of prison reform and gave re-
suits of her labors interspersed with a
few brief experiences of her own pris-
on career. She did not refer to her !
guilt or innocence or blame any one |
for what she had suffered. When she |
came TO the close of her address, she |
said that she could not have faced us
had she not felt that we were her |
friends. She had already won my /
sympathy. This last statement appeal
ed to my reason. guilty woman
could not have spoken those words as
she spoke them
/ went home and to bed, but not to
sleep. That sad face was before me.
/ heard the sympathetic voice. A pris-
on has always been horror to me, and
my mind was filled with pictures OF
this delicate woman stripped of the
habiIiments of refinement and clothed
in prison garb. her wealth of hair cut,
and, thus degraded, thrust mercilessly
into a cell.
MY resolution was taken. / must see
Miss Kennard, must speak with her,
know her. found no trouble in max
ing her acquaintance. She knew
number of people prominent in the
work of prison reform, and I was in
troduced to her by one of these. 1
made an effort to establish between her
and me such a friendship, intimacy
call it love, if you will-that might
HOY oil hn6 hQpn
conviction of crime, her Imprisonment.
1 signally failed. She was a thing
apart All of an ordinary life for her
held up to the world as accused of a
criminal act. But one interest bad
any hold upon her-the amelioration of
the condition of prisoners. She never
spoke of her own case except in rela-
ton to this object. 1 waited to hear
her mention some incident that tended
to show her innocence, but no refer
ence to the justice or injustice of her
conviction ever came from her lips.
One day / said to her:
LET me hear from your own lips
that a great mistake was made in your
case; that you were innocent of the
charge of which you were convicted"
She looked at me with singular ex-
preston, an expression of negation.
There was no sorrow in it more than
the habitual sorrow that always clung
to her. And she said:
would you know any more than you {
know now?'
Not by reason; by confidence"
"a confidence dead as soon as born. ]
No; were it possible for you to have ]
that confidence you would never have
asked me to speak the words. If 1
could inspire you with confidence to I
day, tomorrow you would be consider
ing the pros and cons in my case,
this or that act of mine de-
noted guilt or innocence. There is but
one secret 1 cannot impart to an indi. ]
vidual or to the world-the secret you {
have asked of me-
/ left her with, it seemed, an icy T
hand gripping at my heart. I burned
to convince myself. the world, that she
was a wronged woman. If / could
not. it seemed that would go mad.
Then 1 would say, "Why, even could Z
do this / could not remove the stain,
the notoriety, the brand of felony"
Then 1 made up my mind that I I
must choose n path that should not
a gain cross hers. lover debarred his
love may tell it and the reason why he
must resign the object of it, What
was there for me to tell? Love? How \
can there be love without perfect con- J
fdence? My reasons? What reason
that she did not know? 1 loved, yet 6
could not love her. 1 could love an
other mans wife and if necessary fight
for her-make a criminal of myself for
her-or / could love her and live inno- :
cent, treasuring my secret in my heart. !,
But this woman on whose life a seal
had been set--how could / love her?
And yet there We're times when / fear
ed for my reason because / could not
Without adieu or farewell 1 ceased
TO visit her. / changed my residence. l
Ii seems that / have been touched by
1 leper and am set apart where / can II
infect no one. In another case even
this might be n bond between us, but
here can be no bond with one who
even white as the driven snow has