en put the entire matter of correspondence into the hands of
his deputy, without asking me to do anything about it. Hence, when
subsequently solicited to pass a letter as before, I would answer, "I
have no right to do that, and can not. You must pass your letter to the
deputy." On one occasion, being rather hard pressed to step over the
bounds and pass a line, with the assurance it should never be known,
&c., &c., I gave the decided negative, adding, "It makes no difference
whether known or unknown, the step will be violating the prison rule and
my purpose is so to proceed that at all times and under all
circumstances, I can say with a clear conscience, I have duly observed
every rule." This ended all attempts to influence me in that direction.

Still, I supposed it proper and nothing inconsistent with good prison
order, for me to speak of a prisoner's health and success to a friend
whom I met outside and to the prisoner of having met the friend and of
personal family concerns; or to encourage the prisoners to write to
their friends, if thus requested by letter; or to write to friends
myself, by request of the prisoners. I did something in this line a very
few times, perhaps not a half dozen in all.

Meeting a sister of a prisoner out of the city, one day, I answered her
earnest inquiries about his health, and his reform efforts, carrying
back to him also a word about her health and a request that he write and
send to the new place to which she was about to locate.

A man had a petition before the governor and council for pardon. As
agent for our Association, I inquired of him if he had friends to whom
he could go, if successful, or what arrangement he would need made for
him. He answered that he left friends in England, years before, knew not
whether then living or dead, but he would like to return to them if
living. Writing as he directed, I soon received a reply stating that
some were living, and some were gone, and the earnest desire that he
return home at once to see his father alive, of which I informed him,
and on account of which his pardon was soon granted, and he left.

Finding a man, who had been here a number of months, in a gloomy and
despairing state because friends had not written him since being here,
thus giving him reason to feel that they had cast him off, in which case
he could not think of living, I wrote to these friends, urging them to
what they ought to have performed before. Soon he addressed