One who guards another's interest as his own and neither flatters nor deceives.
One truer to me than I am myself.—Exchange.
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.—Ps. 19:14.
"Another Chance I Crave"
[Courier-Journal]
Austin, Tex., Dec. 2.—(Special.)—Jake McKinney, who was serving a life term in the State penitentiary at Rusk for the murder of Robert Walker in Jones county seven years ago, has just received his pardon from Gov. O. B. Colquitt on the strength of an appeal for liberty in the form of a poem that he wrote and sent to the Governor. This poetic application was turned over to Mrs. Colquitt by the Governor and it was upon her recommendation that McKinney was given his liberty. McKinney was twenty-four years old at the time of his conviction. During the last four years of his imprisonment he was editor of the prison newspaper, the Alcalde Chronicle. He attended night school while in the penitentiary. His poems and articles in the little newspaper that he published attracted much favorable attention. His pardon application reads in part as follows:
Another chance, 'tis all I ask,
In freedom's sun again to bask;
To hear the voice of loved at home,
And amid familiar scenes to roam.
What saith the Scripture? Is it wise
To gain a world and lose the prize
Of future Joys of Him above,
Who came to save because of love
For sinful men imprisoned here
In sin's corrupted atmosphere?
Another chance to know the life
Beyond the cruel prison strife,
Where Beauty, Truth and Culture reign,
And pleasure comes from Labor's gain;
To see the golden sun at dawn
Spring forth to kiss the rural lawn,
Wet with the kiss of midnight dew,
And brightens to a gorgeous hue,
To please the eye of all mankind.
A gift of God to man so blind,
Another chance to show the world
That darkness hid my flag unfurled;
That flame of ingenuity
Burns brightest where the darkest be;
As all is not as some would tell;
"A soul defiled and booked for hell."
Another chance I crave of thee,
Oh, Governor, but feel and set me free!
Make the conditions what you may,
I will live up to them every day;
I have no friends to plead for me,
Dear Governor, can't you set me free?
Most sincerely
Jake McKinney.