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CHAPTER II
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Not only did the prisoners whom I knew never betray my confidence, but ex-convicts who knew of me through others sometimes came to me for advice or assistance in getting work; and many an odd job about our place was well done by these men, who never gave us cause to regret our confidence in them. A stranger fresh out of jail applied1 to me one cold December day just before the holidays. I was in the high tide of preparations for Christmas, and to this young man I gladly intrusted the all-day work of trimming the house with holly2 and evergreen3 under my direction, and never was it done more effectively or with more of the Christmas spirit. The man had a beautiful time and confided4 to my mother his longing5 to have a home of his own. He left us at evening with a heart warmed by the vision of a real home, and his pay supplemented by a good warm overcoat. These men used to make all sorts of frank admissions to me in discussing their difficulties. I remember one man saying:

[Pg 34]

"I want to be an honest man; I don't like this kind of a life with all its risks; I want to settle down, but I never can get a start. Now, if I could just make a clean steal of one hundred dollars I could get some decent clothes, pay in advance at a respectable boarding-house; then I could get a job and I could keep it; but no one will give me work as I am, and no one will trust me for board." And that was the hard fact. As the man was leaving he asked:

"Could you give me one or two newspapers?" As I handed him the papers he explained: "You see, if a fellow sleeps on the bottom of a freight-car these cold nights—as I am likely to do—it's not quite so cold and hard with a newspaper under you, and if I button them under my coat it isn't quite so cold out-of-doors." It was no wonder that the man wanted to settle down.

Several incidents of honor among thieves are recorded in the annals of our household. One evening as we were starting for our usual drive my mother exclaimed: "Stop a minute! There is Katy's sweetheart, and I want to speak to him."

Katy was our cook and her sweetheart was a stout6, blond working man closely resembling the one walking up our front driveway. My mother[Pg 35] stopped the man and gave him this bit of information:

"The house is all open and any one could go in and help himself. I wish you would ask Katy to lock the front door." The man bowed, and we drove on.

When we returned Katy reported that a strange man had come to the kitchen door and told her that the mistress wished her to lock the front door. She left the man while she did this and found him waiting when she came back. Then he asked her for something to eat, stating that he was just out of prison, and wished to see Miss —— (mentioning my name). The cook gave him a lunch and made an appointment for me to see him next day.

Katy did not resent the man's being taken for her Joe, for she noticed the resemblance, but there was reproach in her tone as she added: "But you know Joe always dresses up when he comes to see me."

At the appointed hour the man came again, bringing me a message from an acquaintance, a fellow convict who had been his cell-mate in prison. He did not refer to the fact that had he chosen he might have taken advantage of the information received from my mother, but no better[Pg 36] plan for a robbery could have been devised than the circumstance that fell ready to his hand.

But of all the ex-convicts employed at various times on our place the one in whom the family took the greatest interest was George—his other name does not matter because it was changed so often.

One Sunday morning I found George the only prisoner in our county jail. He was a thief awaiting trial at the next term of court several weeks ahead. He had "shifty" eyes and a sceptical smile, was thin, unkempt, and altogether unprepossessing; but I did not think so much of that as of his loneliness. He was reserved concerning himself but seemed to have some education and a taste for reading, so I supplied him with books from the library and called on him once or twice a week; but I made slow progress with acquaintance, and one day George said to me:

"I understand perfectly7 why it is that you come to see me and bring me things to read; you think that you will gain a higher place in heaven when you die." In other words, George thought that I was using him as a stepping-stone for my own advantage—his sceptical smile was not for nothing.

[Pg 37]

How I disarmed8 his suspicions I do not know; but in the weeks that followed before he was taken to prison we came to know each other very well. The prison life was hard on George, so hard that when I first saw him in the convict stripes I did not know him, so emaciated9 had he become; and I was startled when his smile disclosed his identity. Clearly he would be fit for no honest work when released from prison. He made no complaint—he did not need to, for his appearance told the story only too well. George was an insignificant-looking man, only one of the hundreds consigned10 to that place of punishment, and by mere11 chance had been given work far beyond his strength. When I called the warden's attention to George he was immediately transferred to lighter12 work, and was in better condition when I saw him next time.

And then we had some long and serious talks about his way of life, which he invariably defended on the score that he would rather be "a downright honest thief" than to get possession of other people's property under cover of the law, or to grind the poor in order to pile up more money than any one could honestly possess. George thought that he really believed all business men[Pg 38] ready to take any unfair advantage of others so long as their own safety was not endangered.

With the expiration13 of this term in prison George's letters to me ceased for a while, to be resumed later from a prison in another State where he was working in the greenhouses and had become interested in the flowers. That gave me my chance.

In a fortunate hour I had encountered a little story by Edward Everett Hale, "How Mr. Frye Would Have Preached It," and that story had formed my ideal of loyalty14 to my prisoners when once they trusted me, and by this time I had won the confidence of George. Accordingly, I wrote George a Christmas letter making a direct appeal to his better nature—for I knew it was there—and I asked him to come to me on his release the following July, which he was glad to do.

Now, my mother had always been sympathetic with my interest in prisoners, and she dearly loved her flower garden, and had difficulty in finding intelligent help in the care of her flowers. She knew that George was just out of prison, and after introducing him as a man who might help her with her roses I left them together.

[Pg 39]

A few minutes later my mother came to me and reported:

"I don't like the looks of your George: he looks like a thief."

"Yes," I answered, "you know he has been a thief, and if you don't want him I'll try and get another place for him."

But the flowers were pulling at my mother's heart and she decided15 to give George a trial. And what a good time they both had that summer! It was beautiful to see the two together morning after morning, caring for those precious flowers as if they were babies. My mother had great charm, and George was devoted16 to her and proved an altogether satisfactory gardener. Unquestionably the two months that George spent with us were the happiest of his life. My mother at once forgot all her misgivings18 as to his honesty and came to regard him as her special ally; she well knew that he would do anything in his power to serve her.

One afternoon my mother informed me that she was going driving with the family that evening—she was always nervous about "leaving the house alone"—and that the maids were going to be out, too; "but George is going to stay in charge[Pg 40] of the house, so everything will be all right and I shall not worry," she said with all confidence.

I smiled; but I had no misgiving17, and sure enough we all went off, not even locking up the silver; while George, provided with newspapers and cigars, was left in charge.

On our return, some two hours later, I noticed that George was unusually serious and silent, and apparently19 didn't see any joke in the situation, as he had on a former occasion when I sent him for something in a closet where the family silver was in full view. He told me afterward20 that the time of our absence covered the longest two hours of his life, and the hardest to bear.

My home is on the edge of the town in the midst of twelve acres with many trees. "You had not more than gone," said George, "when I began to think 'what if some one should come to rob the house and I could not defend it. And they could never know that I had not betrayed their trust.'"

George spent his Sundays under our trees, sometimes on guard in the orchard21, which rather amused him; and I generally gave him an hour of my time, suggesting lines of work by which he could honestly earn his living, and trying my best[Pg 41] to raise his moral standards. But he reserved his right to plan the general course of his life, or, as he would have said, to follow his own line of business. He knew that his work with us was but for the time, and he would never commit himself as to his future. This was the way he stated his position:

"I have no health; I like a comfortable place to sleep and good things to eat; I like a good class of entertainments and good books, and to buy magazines and send them to my friends in prison, and I like to help a man when he is just out of prison. Now, you ask me to forego all this; to work hard just to earn the barest living—for I could never earn big wages; you ask me to deny myself everything I care for just for the sake of a moral idea, when nobody in the world but you cares whether I go to the devil or not, and I don't really believe in either God or devil. Now, how many churchgoing men do you know who would give up a money-making business and accept the barest poverty and loneliness just for the sake of a moral idea?" And I wondered how many, indeed.

However, for all his arguments in defence of his way of life, when the time came to leave us[Pg 42] better desires had taken root. My mother's taking his honesty for granted had its effect, and seemed to commit him to an effort in the right direction. We had fitted him out with respectable clothing and he had earned money to last several weeks. My mother gave him a letter of recommendation as gardener and he left us to seek employment in the parks of a large city.

But his appearance was against him and he had no luck in the first city where he applied; the time of the year, too, was unfavorable; and before his money had quite melted away he invested the remainder in a peddler's outfit22 of needles and other domestic requisites23. These he sold among the wives of farmers, and in that way managed to keep body and soul together for a time. Frequent letters kept me informed of his whereabouts, though little was said of his hardships.

One morning George appeared at our door seeming more dulled and depressed24 than I had ever seen him. He stayed for an hour or more but was not very communicative. It was evident, however, that he had found the paths of honesty quite as hard as the way of the transgressor25. As he was leaving he said:

"You may not believe me, but I walked all[Pg 43] night in order to have this visit with you. I was off the railroad and couldn't otherwise make connections with this place in time to keep an appointment with a friend this evening; and I wanted to see you."

He hurried away then without giving me time for the inevitable26 surmise27 that the "friend" whom he was to meet was an "old pal," and leaving me to question whether I had another friend on earth who would walk all night in order to see me.

Only once again did I see George; he was looking more prosperous then, and handed me a ten-dollar bill, saying: "At last I can return the money you lent me; I wanted to long ago but couldn't."

I did not remember having lent him the money, and so I told him. "But I want you to take it anyway," he said.

And then, brought face to face with the thief in the man, I replied:

"I cannot take from you money that is not honestly yours."

Flushing deeply he slowly placed the bill among some others, saying: "All right, but I wanted you to take it because I knew that you would make better use of it than I shall." Never had[Pg 44] the actual dividing line between honesty and dishonesty been brought home to George as at that moment; I think for once he realized that right and wrong are white and black, not gray.

For some years after I had occasional notes from George; I answered them if an address was given, but his was then a roving life. Always at Christmas came a letter from him with the season's greetings to each member of the family, and usually containing a line to the effect that he was "still in the old business." When my sister was married, on my mother's golden wedding-day, among the notes of congratulation to the bride of fifty years before and the bride of the day was one from George; and through good or ill report George never lost his place in the regard of my mother.

His last letter was written from an Eastern Catholic hospital where he had been ill. Convalescent he then was "helping28 the sisters," and he hoped that they might give him employment when he was well. Helpful I knew he would be, and loyal to those who trusted him. I wrote him at once but received no reply; and the chances are, as I always like to think, that the last days of George were apart from criminal associations,[Pg 45] and that the better elements in his nature were in the ascendant when the end came.

I believe George was the only one of my prisoners who even made a bluff29 in defence of the kind of life he had followed; and in his heart he knew that it was all wrong. I do not defend him, but I do not forget that the demoralization of the man, his lack of moral grip, was the logical product of the schools of crime, the jails, and prisons in which so much of his youth was passed. Yes, the life of George stands as a moral failure; and yet as long as flowers bloom in that garden where he and my mother spent so many pleasant hours helping the roses to blossom more generously, so long will friendly memories cluster around the name of George, and he certainly did his part well in the one opportunity that life seems to have offered him.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 applied Tz2zXA     
adj.应用的;v.应用,适用
参考例句:
  • She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
  • This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。
2 holly hrdzTt     
n.[植]冬青属灌木
参考例句:
  • I recently acquired some wood from a holly tree.最近我从一棵冬青树上弄了些木料。
  • People often decorate their houses with holly at Christmas.人们总是在圣诞节时用冬青来装饰房屋。
3 evergreen mtFz78     
n.常青树;adj.四季常青的
参考例句:
  • Some trees are evergreen;they are called evergreen.有的树是常青的,被叫做常青树。
  • There is a small evergreen shrub on the hillside.山腰上有一小块常绿灌木丛。
4 confided 724f3f12e93e38bec4dda1e47c06c3b1     
v.吐露(秘密,心事等)( confide的过去式和过去分词 );(向某人)吐露(隐私、秘密等)
参考例句:
  • She confided all her secrets to her best friend. 她向她最要好的朋友倾吐了自己所有的秘密。
  • He confided to me that he had spent five years in prison. 他私下向我透露,他蹲过五年监狱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
5 longing 98bzd     
n.(for)渴望
参考例句:
  • Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
  • His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。
7 perfectly 8Mzxb     
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
  • Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。
8 disarmed f147d778a788fe8e4bf22a9bdb60a8ba     
v.裁军( disarm的过去式和过去分词 );使息怒
参考例句:
  • Most of the rebels were captured and disarmed. 大部分叛乱分子被俘获并解除了武装。
  • The swordsman disarmed his opponent and ran him through. 剑客缴了对手的械,并对其乱刺一气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 emaciated Wt3zuK     
adj.衰弱的,消瘦的
参考例句:
  • A long time illness made him sallow and emaciated.长期患病使他面黄肌瘦。
  • In the light of a single candle,she can see his emaciated face.借着烛光,她能看到他的被憔悴的面孔。
10 consigned 9dc22c154336e2c50aa2b71897ceceed     
v.把…置于(令人不快的境地)( consign的过去式和过去分词 );把…托付给;把…托人代售;丟弃
参考例句:
  • I consigned her letter to the waste basket. 我把她的信丢进了废纸篓。
  • The father consigned the child to his sister's care. 那位父亲把孩子托付给他妹妹照看。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
11 mere rC1xE     
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过
参考例句:
  • That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
  • It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。
12 lighter 5pPzPR     
n.打火机,点火器;驳船;v.用驳船运送;light的比较级
参考例句:
  • The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色,色调明朗了一些。
  • The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。
13 expiration bmSxA     
n.终结,期满,呼气,呼出物
参考例句:
  • Can I have your credit card number followed by the expiration date?能告诉我你的信用卡号码和它的到期日吗?
  • This contract shall be terminated on the expiration date.劳动合同期满,即行终止。
14 loyalty gA9xu     
n.忠诚,忠心
参考例句:
  • She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
  • His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。
15 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
16 devoted xu9zka     
adj.忠诚的,忠实的,热心的,献身于...的
参考例句:
  • He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
  • We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
17 misgiving tDbxN     
n.疑虑,担忧,害怕
参考例句:
  • She had some misgivings about what she was about to do.她对自己即将要做的事情存有一些顾虑。
  • The first words of the text filled us with misgiving.正文开头的文字让我们颇为担心。
18 misgivings 0nIzyS     
n.疑虑,担忧,害怕;疑虑,担心,恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 );疑惧
参考例句:
  • I had grave misgivings about making the trip. 对于这次旅行我有过极大的顾虑。
  • Don't be overtaken by misgivings and fear. Just go full stream ahead! 不要瞻前顾后, 畏首畏尾。甩开膀子干吧! 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
19 apparently tMmyQ     
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎
参考例句:
  • An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽,豁然开朗。
  • He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。
20 afterward fK6y3     
adv.后来;以后
参考例句:
  • Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏,然后吃饭。
  • Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来,这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。
21 orchard UJzxu     
n.果园,果园里的全部果树,(美俚)棒球场
参考例句:
  • My orchard is bearing well this year.今年我的果园果实累累。
  • Each bamboo house was surrounded by a thriving orchard.每座竹楼周围都是茂密的果园。
22 outfit YJTxC     
n.(为特殊用途的)全套装备,全套服装
参考例句:
  • Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
  • His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。
23 requisites 53bbbd0ba56c7698d40db5b2bdcc7c49     
n.必要的事物( requisite的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • It is obvious that there are two requisites. 显然有两个必要部分。 来自辞典例句
  • Capacity of donor is one of the essential requisites of \"gift\". 赠与人的行为能力是\"赠与\"的一个重要前提。 来自口语例句
24 depressed xu8zp9     
adj.沮丧的,抑郁的,不景气的,萧条的
参考例句:
  • When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
  • His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。
25 transgressor b170fcdf8ca641e75b4e5f886709b445     
n.违背者
参考例句:
  • We expect the transgressor to make any atonement possible to him. 我们期待犯了过失的人有可能做到的赎罪行为。 来自辞典例句
  • We expect transgressor to make any atonement possible to him. “我深信,”西丝又重说一遍,“这是你能做的唯一的赎罪的办法。” 来自互联网
26 inevitable 5xcyq     
adj.不可避免的,必然发生的
参考例句:
  • Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
  • The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。
27 surmise jHiz8     
v./n.猜想,推测
参考例句:
  • It turned out that my surmise was correct.结果表明我的推测没有错。
  • I surmise that he will take the job.我推测他会接受这份工作。
28 helping 2rGzDc     
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
参考例句:
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
29 bluff ftZzB     
v.虚张声势,用假象骗人;n.虚张声势,欺骗
参考例句:
  • His threats are merely bluff.他的威胁仅仅是虚张声势。
  • John is a deep card.No one can bluff him easily.约翰是个机灵鬼。谁也不容易欺骗他。


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