I had suffered so much in
this place that I wanted to see if there was any enjoyment to be had
there. Satisfaction there was, certainly-the satisfaction one feels
in going back under the most favorable circumstances, to a spot
where he has endured the very depths of misery. After a good dinner
I set out to visit the prison. Here was the very spot in the street
where, only a few months before, I, a ragged beggar, had divided my
mere morsel of money with the poor woman from Rutland. What change
in my circumstances those few months had wrought. I had recovered my
health which bad food, ill usage, and imprisonment had broken down,
and was in the best physical condition. The warden's old coat and
pantaloons had been exchanged for the finest clothes that money
would buy. I had a good gold watch and several hundred dollars in my
pocket. I had seen many of my old friends, and knew that they were
still my friends, and I was fully restored to my old position. My
three years' imprisonment was only a blank in my existence; I had
begun life again and afresh, precisely where I left off before I
fell into the hands of the two Vermont milliners.
All this was very pleasant to reflect upon; but do not believe I
thought even then, that the reason for this change in my
circumstances, and changes for the better, was simply because I had
minded my business and had let women alone.
When I called on Warden Harlow, and courteously asked to be shown
about the prison, he got up and was ready to comply with my request,
when he looked me full in the face and started back in amazement:
"Well, I declare! Is this you?"
"Yes, Warden Harlow; but I want you to understand that while I am
here I do not intend to do a bit of work, and you can't make me.
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