284 WHEAT AND WOMAN 



usual word of his defence of any act or habit with 

 which I found fault, " Well, I guess you know 

 what you want, but, Boys Alive ! that's how we 

 did it in jail." He was full of the kindest senti- 

 ment and good feeling towards his caretakers, and 

 couldn't say enough in praise of the kindness of 

 Sergeant Dubuque ; in fact every detail of prison 

 life had his strong commendation. It seems that 

 prisoners in Regina are comfortably lodged, well 

 fed, and have liberty in the intervals of work to read, 

 write, and talk to each other ; and there was a bath- 

 room, not reserved for the ordeal of that first 

 baptism of humiliation, but for the regular care 

 and cleansing of the body which most surely is of 

 aid in the refreshment of the energy of the soul. 

 Judging from his personal experience the entire 

 prison system of Regina seemed formed on the basis 

 of a generous, wholesome desire for the uplifting, 

 rather than the down-treading, of those human 

 beings who lose their footing in the mire. 



I listened with deep interest, and was so glad 

 to think that I was at last in a country, and a British 

 colony, where, since there was clearly no mauvaise 

 honte about doing time, a system of justice had 

 been thought out, altogether ahead of that which 

 condemns the fallen to pass out of the unhealthy 

 and demoralizing atmosphere of the sacred frying- 

 pan of the Scribes into the even more debasing 

 period of torture in the sanctimonious fire of the 

 Pharisees. One day, in talking to a mutual acquaint- 

 ance, I expressed my satisfaction at Adam's service 

 as hired man, and also my admiration for the system 

 of justice which encouraged a young nation to stand 

 up for the fact, that once a transgressor against the 



