The Tupelo journal., 1915-10-29
APhilanthropis
Spoiled
BY SADIE oLcOTT

for a mission, finally decided to take
one upon herself. She selected the
amelioration Of the criminal classes.
She visited them in prison, and many
ly about the unfortunate circumstances
that had led them to become criminals
that she anne to believe they were all
victims of their surroundings. This led
her to advocate mercy toward them.
Miss Lawrence, who was wealthy,
founded u society for helping criminals
to lead a better life. Her society was
really q corps OF young women who
were proud to be her assistants. They
worked with her in the u and
though during Il term of years they
succeeded in lifting only a very few
criminals up into a better sphere per-
m%anently, they ~persevered.
One of Miss L~awrence's objects was
to induce persons against whom crimes
had been committed to refrain from
prosecution and to take the offender
under their protection with a view to
accomplishing his reformation. She
found this d difficult matter. When
one had been victimized by a conf
dence man he was usually bent rather
on punishment than sympathy. When
n woman lost her jewelry at the hands
Of Il dishonest ervan she considered
It her duty to the state to prosecute
the thief. Miss Lawrence spent much
Of her time in e~ndeavoring to induce
such persons to forego revenge and
help bring about Il new birth in those
who had injured them.
Whenever Miss Lawrence saw an ac-
count in ii newspaper of Il theft or a
robbery She would go or send one of
her assistants to the injured person to
induce him or her to be merciful. One
day, hearing that an elderly butter had
been caught purlOining his employers
%valuableS she went to the jail, saw the
thief, who had been arrested, and
found him to be q man of fifty, of
good appearance and, according to his
account, the victim of unfortunate cir
cumstanceS. His name was Homer
Hawkins. When asked how he came
by the name of Homer he said that his
father had been a pedagogue and an
admirer of the great poet. Homer
Hawkins wept bitter tears over the
condition in which he found himself
and so worked on Miss Lawrence's
feelings that she went to his late mas
ter, secured a promise that he would
not prosecute the case and took Mr..
Hawkins under her own especial care
}or the purpose of giving him an OPP
portunity to show how cruel fate had
been to him.
Hawkins was made major domo of
Miss Lawrence's household. He seem
ed too respectable to be called butler
or to perform the mental services of a
butler. The truth is he did very little
of anything. because Miss Lawrence
had nothing for so respectable a person
to do. He attended to the purchase
of household supplies. and since his
mistress paid cash for everything
she bought her major dOmO was in
trusted with the funds used for the
purpose.
Never was a man more particular in
rendering his accounts. If from the
multitude of payments at any one time
he was at a loss to account for a
dime or a nickel he was so much trou-
bled that his mistress sometimes X
pected that he would burst into tears.
On such occasions she assured him
that so trifling an amount was of no
consequence, but in vain. He would
mourn over the fact that after the un-
fortunate condition in which she had
found him she would surely think him
dishonest. He refused to be COM
forted.
One day Hawkins went out to 90 the
mornings marketing. He did net re-
turn at the usual time and in the
meanwhile a lady called on Miss Law
renee and she sought her kind ofiic IS in
the matter of a criminal who had rob-
bed her. The lady was willing to for
give the culprit, but asked Miss LIE W.
renee to undertake his reform. The
ladies' car was at the door, and she
begged Miss Lawrence to go with her
to a police station to see the prisoner.
Miss Lawrence consented and on the
way the lady told her that the GRIM
inal had called on one of her maids
the evening before and had gone away
with some valuable silver. He had
been arrested in the morning.
When Miss Lawrence reached the
Jail, and the culprit was marched out
of his cell the good lady was aston
ished. He was Homer Hawkins. His
b~enefactress was at a loss what to
do in the matter, but. turning to the
lady who had suffered, was about to
plead for the prisoner, when an in
spector showed her a number of ar
ticles belonging to her that had been
found in Hawkins possession.
There was 4 difference in Miss Law
rence's neighbors losing valpables and
losing them herself. She turned upon
TT Il z,11ol I.-o ~H.l