Prisoners -- Biography; Prisoners' writings, English; Prisons -- Great Britain
"Now, tell me; do you never think seriously about your evil ways? You
are getting up in years, and although you appear to be very robust in
your general health at present, you cannot expect to live very much
longer in this world."
"Well, to tell you the truth, I do sometimes think of leading an honest
life. But I am so hardened now to all punishment that I don't care very
much what I do. It's not easy for a man at my age to change all of a
sudden to be a Christian, and then it's so difficult to get work
suitable for one's abilities, that I am almost driven to go on the
cross. I have a very good brother, who has been very kind to me, and
I've been thinking several times of going home and getting work from
him. He is the only man who ever did me a kindness since I was fourteen
years of age, and I love and respect him very much."
This man had been longer in prison than any other I met with. He had
been five times a convict. I considered him the very worst of a certain
class of prisoners that I ever knew, and feel quite convinced that he
will not be many weeks out of prison. He was constantly trafficking
with his fellow-prisoners, and when he could get a chance to steal, his
hands _would_ be at work. I remember his being in the cook-house for a
time, and almost every day he stole several pounds of mutton or beef.
He would steal anything for an inch of tobacco. He was turned out of
the cook-house on suspicion, but they never could punish him for theft
except on one occasion, which happened in the following manner.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account