He took my hand and there was a steady light in his eye that made me believe every word he said. But when I asked him how he got such a faith, he could only tell me that he went to a ‘mourners bench’ two years before and sought till he found it. This did me no good, for there was no place accessible here. In sore perplexity I read the Bible from day to day and prayed, taking my turn in praying aloud and reading with the others. At length I thought I began to see that trusting Christ must be something like taking his words and teachings for my guide, trying to do all that he commanded, and leaving the result while I did this with him. This was not that sudden transformation that I had hoped, but I soon found that it opened up a good many things that I had never dreamed of. One of these seemed especially strange under the circumstances. I had yet but a slender hope of ever escaping from the prison except by the way of the scaffold. But in spite of that dark prospect as an absolute test of my obedience—‘Will you, if satisfied that it is God’s will, be ready to give up the profession of law if you ever get home and go into the ministry?’ The first and spontaneous reply was, No! I had studied law and meant to practice it if I ever got where law reigned. But at once the self response was clear, ‘What kind of obedience was this?’ I saw that I was not sincere in professing to enlist under Christ as my captain unless I would really obey him. It would be a poor allegiance that stopped short with the things I wanted to do. For a long time I could not pass this point. The difficulty when communicated to my prison companions seemed utterly absurd. ‘Try to serve God in the prison where you are,’ they said with a cheer plausibility, ‘and do not bother about preaching, being a lawyer or anything else, when you get out, for you never will get out.’ This seemed good advice but it would not give a serene mind or the victory over the fear of death, which I so much desired.
“One after another of those in the prison found the comfort I lacked. And it was not until wearied and worn-out that I vowed that if God would only give me peace I would serve him as sincerely in prison or out of it as I had tried to serve my country, and in any way he might direct. From this time I did have a steady conviction that I was on the Lord’s side and that I had a right to commit myself and my life to his keeping. Though all newspapers were strictly forbidden, yet through the kindness of negro waiters we were supplied and thus kept posted regarding war news.... We all remember with deepest gratitude the visit of a minister. When he left he promised to send us some books and did not forget to promptly forward them. These we took good care of, read thoroughly to all in the room, and then returned, asking for more. These he generously gave and we thus continued until we had read nearly his whole library. Those only who know what a dreadful weariness it is to pass days without any definite employment can realize the great boon these good books bestowed on us. It made the prison room a veritable school, and in view of our religious efforts the character of the books was just what we would most have desired, as they were of a religious cast, which only made them the more welcome. But there is no employment upon which I look back with more pleasure than that for which the minister’s books furnished us the material. With fifteen persons in a room not more than eighteen feet square it was needful to preserve quiet if any reading must be done. We therefore appointed regular reading hours, two in the forenoon and the same in the afternoon. During this time no one was permitted to speak above a low whisper and all noise and running about was forbidden. Those who did not wish to read might sleep. Sometimes the books were read silently, but for a part of the time in nearly every period a volume of general interest would be selected and read aloud. These books would often furnish subjects and arguments for discussion in the debating periods that followed. We gained a great deal of knowledge in our novel school, which has been of lifelong value. Books of travel, adventure, history, biography, and theology—no fiction—were freely read and brought the freshness of the outside world into our dreary captivity.”
The foregoing gives us a vague idea of what can be done for the welfare of the prisoners in the jails, work-houses, and penal institutions of our land, towards making the prisoners happy by supplying them with good books, tracts, papers, and such like. Oh, the neglect on this line! Were prisoners thus supplied, their minds would not be occupied during the solitary hours in scheming and planning the best modes of perpetrating crime. Get a man interested in a good book and you thus place him in good company. He may never see you, but with deep feelings of gratitude will ever have the kindest feelings toward those who thus bestowed the kind favor of placing him in possession of such a companion.
For the entertainment of the prisoner and to develop an interest in literary work they have been allowed to publish prison papers. Some of these are very small while others are large and well edited. About three years ago at Sing Sing Prison, in the state of New York, it was decided to issue a bi-weekly twenty-six-page paper to be edited and printed entirely by convicts. No article is allowed in the paper except those composed and furnished by the inmates of the prison. When papers are thus printed and distributed among the prisoners it has a great controlling influence and creates a general interest in literary work.
TOBACCO ALLOWANCE.
Most prisoners are users of tobacco, yet there are many who do not use it. Some prisons allow a pound of tobacco a month, some two pounds every month. This is generally manufactured at the prison where it is used. One of the modes of punishment, and a very effective one too, is to deprive the men of their tobacco for disobedience. With many this is one of the most severe punishments instituted. When a man enters prison he is given a copy of the rules of the prison and also a ticket stating the privileges of the use of the library, books, letter-writing, tobacco allowance, etc. Failure to comply with the rules ofttimes means to be deprived of these privileges for a month or longer. Some time ago we placed a number of tracts in prisons showing the evil effects of tobacco on the human system, the filthiness and offensiveness of tobacco, etc., and we were pleased to note the results by way of convincing many prisoners to discontinue the use and give up the habit. While some are able by strong willpower to discontinue the use of it, yet but comparatively few people can in their own strength quit its use and rid themselves of the appetite. But many can testify that they have not only been able to quit its use, but have had the appetite removed by the power of God in answer to prayer.