Our

"Brudders and sisters," he commenced, Lawd an' Marster said, one time, 'In my Fader's house dar's many mentions. If it war' not so, I would 'a' told you.' But hit was so; an' he done tole us all, befo'han'. Bress de Lawd fur dat! We knows now what we's got fur to 'spect. We can't any ob us git 'roun' de jedgment ob dat day by swearin' 'fo' de Lawd dat we didn't know what was a-comin'. De word's been passed down de line, an' hit's got to us at las'. 'In my Fader's house dar's many mentions!' Dars a mention ob you dar, brudder! What 'ill dey say?" he asked, in a startling whisper. "Dars a mention ob you dar, sister. Is yer ready fur to heah it? An' O-h, dars a mention ob me! May de Lawd a marcy grant, dat dat mention will declare dat we'd washed our robes in de blood of de Lamb, an' ar' fitted fur to walk in de golden streets, to strike de heabenly harp, an' w'ar de glory crown!

"An'sinner-poo'sinner-dar's a mention ob you!" and the pitifulness of the old man's voice was wonderful to hear. "O-h, poo' soul! Whar will yer hide in de light ob dat day, when he dat lobed you, an' gabe his life to sabe you, comes to dat mention ob you? When he p'ints to de holes in his han's an' his side, an' declar's it was jes' fur de lost lambs like you dat he lef' his home in glory and died upon de cross, whar will your 'scuse be den fur serbin' ob de Debil, and disownin' ob your Lawd? O, sinner, kin you dar' fur to meet dat day, widout de blood-washed robe fur to kiver up yo' sins? You kin hab it fur de axin', widout money, widout price. De offer still is open. De Lawd is still a-callin' to yer, 'Why will ye die?' O, make up yo' mind, brudder! Choose ye de Lawd! De day ob grace is passin' an' de time's gittin' short!

"You needn't dodge, poo' sinner! I see yer, ober dar, a-sittin' in de back seat, a-slightin' ob his call. You kin, may be, hide from my ole eyes (dey's gittin' mighty dim), but de eyes ob de Lawd dey's a-gwine to search yer out, and de day of reckonin's comin', when yo' dodgin' will be done.

"O, yes! poo' sinner! In my Fader's house dar's many mentions.' An' dar's gwine to be anoder one ob you, ef you keep on a-slightin' de offer ob his grace. At de las', yo'name'll be called, but de Debil will be de spokesman, and de day ob mercy will be done! When Gabriel blows his trumpet, an de ransomed ob de Lawd shall be caught up in de ar', de Debil takes de leabin's," said the old man with impressive solemnity, "an' sinner, you'll be left!"

An awed silence rested upon the whole congregation as the last words of the speaker fell slowly upon their ears. It seemed as if the doom of fate had been pronounced against them. At length Brother Jonas rose, and after inviting all who wished to escape this everlasting death, and join "de ransomed in de ar'," to come forward whilst the congregation sang:

"Sinner, turn! Why will ye die?
God, your Saviour, asks you why.
He who did your souls retrieve
Died himself that you might live,
Will you let him die in vain,
Crucify your Lord again?
Why, ye ransomed sinners, why,

Will ye slight his grace and die?"

The singing which followed was beyond anything I had ever heard for its wonderful power and pathos. Crowds of the "sinners settin' in de back seats" left their places at once, and joined the throng. around the altar, where the scenes of the previous nights were repeated, and every effort made for their conversion.

I was so affected myself, by the old man's earnest exhortation, that I could not join the laugh, as we went home, at the mistake in his text; and I could only reiterate his prayer, that when the Lord came to his

final "mention" of us, "dat dat mention might de

clar' dat we'd washed our robes in de blood of de

Lamb, and war' fitted fur to walk in de goldon streets, to strike de heabenly harps, an' w'ar de glory crown!"

"NARY OLE Goose."

OLD AUNT SALLY was a "free woman of color," living "way down South in Dixie." She was an excellent cook-her reputation in this regard far exceeding that which she had established concerning her honesty. Whilst serving in this capacity in the family of Mrs. Fanny G, Aunt Sally was arrested upon the charge of stealing a goose from one of the neighbors; and notwithstanding her indignant denial of the charge, she was tried, convicted, and sentenced to pay a fine of ten dollars, or go to the county jail for ten days.

The fine was promptly paid by Mrs. G―, as, in spite of her peccadilloes, Aunt Sally was an indispensable member of the family, from which she had been carried off by the minions of the law; and Aunt Sally, proud of her importance in her mistress's eyes, came home in triumph.

The Sunday following this affair was "communion day" in the church of which Aunt Sally was a bright and shining light. The usual hurry and scurry were going on in the kitchen, betokening her haste to get through her work, and be off to the meeting-house in time to have a gossip with the "bredderin and sisterin" on the church steps, before the service began; and pretty soon Mrs. G beheld her, in gorgeous array, starting out for the church.

Not wishing to hurt Aunt Sally's feelings by bringing up unpleasant truths to her remembrance, Mrs. G― mildly suggested, "This is communion day in your church, is it not, Aunt Sally?"

"Yaas, Miss Fanny, dat it is! Dat's jes' de reason I'se been flyin' round in sech a hurry, so as to be dar in plenty ob time."

"But, Aunt Sally," she hesitatingly explained,

TO THE EDITOR OF THE OVERLAND. Sir: To strike at the root of crime we must protect the children. California has penitentiaries, jails, and almshouses, but, with the exception of the misnamed Industrial School of San Francisco, not a single public institution for the redemption of juvenile wrong-doers.

The State makes provision to a certain extent for the maintenance of merely dependent children, but takes cognizance of delinquents only to incarcerate and punish, and convert into criminals. The attention it gives to the dependent class, in its appropriation of money for the support of "orphan, half orphan, and abandoned children" in institutions that the public has no voice in managing, no knowledge of as to condition, workings, or results, may or may not be effective; and the great prevalence of criminality among the young the very large number of children in public and private institutions—indicate pretty strongly that it is not.

Experience in successful work among the young, the world over, is solidly against the "institutionizing" idea. Only here and there

may a depot be needed (let us name it a developing school) for diagnosis and preliminary treatment. Of such a place this State is in the very greatest need; an establishment for both sexes (the buildings of the two departments properly separated), conducted on nature's principle—the home or family plan -to which all convicted offenders under thirteen years of age might be sent (who were not otherwise disposed of by an agency of which I will speak later), and all under seventeen whose offense was the first and not a felony.

This developing school might consist (like nearly every successful reformatory in the world) of a series of plain, substantial cottages, an administration building, and the necessary out-buildings. It should be situated within a few miles of a railway, on a fertile tract of three hundred acres or so of land, in the heart of the State. Each house should accommodate a family of twenty-five boys or girls and their officers—a master, matron, and teacher. The last-named officer, as well as the master, would supervise the children while. at work. The main building would contain

the office and living apartments of the superintendent, his family, and officers not regularly attached to a particular family group; also the chapel or general assembly room, the shops, bakery, storerooms, shoe-making, and sewing department. In this building might also be accommodations for twentyfive or thirty boys. The principal work of the place should be agriculture. There would be the shops, housework, etc., for a part of the pupils.

Each child, on arriving at the superintendent's office, would be examined by the superintendent in person, and assigned to one of the family houses, somewhat according to his age, but mainly in consideration of his mental and moral caliber and antecedents. It should be remembered that any arbitrary rule in the matter of classification strikes at the fundamental idea of the enterprise: the individualization of the pupil and the process of restitution to society should begin at once. Of the more difficult characters, the very few whom it might be thought unwise to place at once in a cottage group could be retained in the main building, where their character would be under the immediate observation and personal influence of the superintendent; and when mutual confidence was established, and upward progress begun, they could soon pass into the family circle.

There is no sense in thinking of retaining a boy or girl long enough to acquire "a trade." That is the talk of inexperience and antiquity. Keep them long enough to be understood, to get the kinks untwisted, to acquire some self-respect and regularity of habits, to have started in their minds correct views of life, its possibilities for themselves, and the nobility and practical value of labor. When the process has fairly begun, when the disposition is in tune, then send them out to acquire the particular fitness for a life pursuit, amid the surroundings of actual life. I do not advocate "throwing them on their own resources"-not that. Their subse quent care I will speak of.

Not five in a hundred of the boys and girls who get into the courts have good home surroundings-if they have homes at all;

and the purpose of such an institution should be to supply the restraints and helps and influences which have been wanting, and which are imperatively essential to the child-life and its normal unfolding into self-respecting, selfreliant, productive citizenship. To be successful, it must have at its head a man by nature, by special education, and by experience adapted to the work-the greatest that man ever has to do the starting aright of. young lives. He must be a man with a large heart, an unconquerable love for the young and lowly, with a practical head and a keen eye; for after all, more depends on the way a thing is administered than upon its form.

The best kind of institution life is unnatural-only to be tolerated rather than something worse. This, all recognized philanthropic workers agree to. If the children are to be saved, you must, so far as possible, replace, by family care and discipline, the institutional methods of dealing with juvenile delinquents. It is seldom one sees a boy or girl emerging from any institution fitter for the realities of life. Normal development the family circle alone can effect in a child; the promotion of the family principle of existence is at the root of almost every species of charity, and is the end of the maintenance of civil government itself.

It is a wrong of the most cruel nature, and a source of incalculable danger, morally and politically, to society-especially under our form of government-to treat as a criminal any person, young or old, where the antecedents were such that there exists no reason why he should not be a criminal. Merely homeless or neglected children should never be sent to any institution, public or private, save when proper provision otherwise could not be made at once; and then only for detention and care until the agent could procure a suitable place outside.

This agent (an appointee of the Governor, or acting under an unsalaried Board of State Charities) should be authorized and required to act in all cases of juvenile offenders, as in Massachusetts. When a complaint before a judge or court against any boy or girl under seventeen years of age, for

any offense, is made or pending, notice thereof, in writing, should be required to be given to said agent, who by himself or assistant should have an opportunity to investigate the case, attend the trial, and protect the interests of, or otherwise provide for, such child. Such children should have the complaints against them heard and determined apart, separate from the general and ordinary business of the courts. The judge should be empowered to authorize said agent, or the Board of State Charities whose executive officer he should be, upon request of said agent, to take and indenture, or place in charge of any person, or send to the State Developing School (which I have outlined), until such child became of age, or for a shorter period, according to the discretion of said board, and upon the recommendation of the agent.

This plan of caring for the children would of course include, not only their immediate placing out when practicable, but their systematic visitation and careful supervision after being so placed out. This paid agent and his assistants would find no difficulty in securing, as in Massachusetts, the active, systematic and efficient co-operation of local auxiliary visitors, whose services would be without pay.

The results of the Massachusetts juvenileoffender law are, briefly: There are not onehalf as many children in the reform and industrial schools as when the agency was established, although, meanwhile, the population of the State has been forging ahead. The decrease began with the work of the agency, and has not been accompanied by an increase of commitments to jails or other public or private institutions. Only onefifth of the children convicted were sent to institutions, and between eighty and ninety per cent. of the children do well. The economy of the work may be seen in the fact that it costs less than four dollars and fifty cents per annum, per capita, to appear for the children at the courts and to care for them in families thereafter. The results of probation in the cases of the young proved so good, that a statute was enacted permit

ting a probation officer for adults in every city and town in the State, which is now working grandly, and I would advocate a similar law for the benefit of adults in this State.

Children properly treated may, in almost every case, be turned into the path of rectitude; adults, in many cases, only need the encouragement and oversight, for a time, of a good man or woman to pursue right lives afterwards. The motto, "Not alms, but a friend," represents advanced thought throughout the world, on the treatment of the poor: "Not punishment, but prevention and restoration," the idea of work for juveniles.

The Boys' and Girls' Aid Society of San Francisco is endeavoring to do just this work, but on a limited scale, and only needs funds to enlarge its sphere to cover the entire State. It rescues homeless, neglected, or abused children; provides for such in its own quarters until a suitable home or employment is found for them, and continues to look after their condition and treatment; maintains reading-rooms, libraries, baths, a gymnasium, savings banks, sewing school, a class in music, and classes for instruction in other branches; also lectures, entertainments, and à temperance organization. Lodgings are furnished at a nominal cost to working boys and girls who have neither homes nor suitable guardianship in the city. The work is free from sectarianism, and depends upon voluntary contributions for its support. Between May 1st and December 9th, 1882thirty-two weeks-the Society furnished 2,640 lodgings and 6,811 meals to friendless boys and girls; distributed to these children 1,345 pieces of clothing; found employment for 175 boys and girls in this city, and placed in good homes or otherwise started on more hopeful careers 186 children, of whom upwards of a hundred were taken directly from the courts or prisons. The settled policy of its work appears in the truth that it is wiser and less expensive to save children than to punish criminals. Its motto is, "Homes versus Institutions."

The legislature could make this work,

already well established, a State enterprise, by making an annual appropriation to it, the Governor appointing the board of trustees, and requiring them to report to the Governor or legislature annually.

No one can question that there is absolutely no charity-nor employment of any sort in which citizens can engage-which can compare in importance to the State and to the wider commonwealth of humanity with that which has for its end the saving of the children. If we care to maintain the government which was founded on the principle of personal liberty, designed to foster a nation of men, trusting for its value and perpetuity to the degree of virtue and intelligence which lies behind an unrestricted ballot in the possession of the masses, we cannot afford to neglect, or institutionize, or pursue a temporizing and mechanical policy with, the children of the masses.

The results of a study in criminal heredity made by Dr. Harris and Mr. R. L. Dugdale, published in the thirteenth annual report of the New York Prison Association, well illus trate the importance to the State of properly caring for the vagrant children of even a single family.

thorities or by kind-hearted persons, and in the summer they lived on game and on their plunder from farms and barn-yards. Probably as most people passed little Margaret, the future 'mother of criminals,' they looked on her as people do now on the little ragged street-sweepers they meet on our streetseither with utter indifference or with hopelessness, as on an irreclaimable vagabond, or with disgust, as one with whom the decent and virtuous should have nothing to do. The little Margaret grew up thus to a wicked womanhood.

"In a recent visit to the Kingston jail, the able official of the association, Mr. Dugdale, came upon the following criminals, all of whom he found to belong to the same family: The oldest, a man fifty-five years of age, awaiting trial for receiving stolen goods; his daughter, aged eighteen, subsequently arrested as a prostitute, held as a witness against him; her uncle, aged forty-two, for burglary in the first degree; the illegitimate daughter of the latter's wife, aged twelve years, upon which child he had attempted violence, and who was awaiting sentence for vagrancy; and two brothers, aged nineteen and fourteen, accused of an assault with in

"About one hundred years ago, there lived on the borders of two or three forest lakes in Ulster County, New York, a little vagrant girl called Margaret, and four sisters, some of whom were of illegitimate birth. They seem to have been in no respect different from hundreds of little girls in and around this city who yearly come under the care of this society. Their parents were poor, roving people, who made their living partly by hunting and fishing, and partly by stealing. They lived, like our poor city children, crowded in shanties, where old and young, male and female, slept in the same rooms. Like our street children, they never went to school or attended church. They grew up almost untouched by the morality and religion of the day. In the winter they were aided by the out-door relief of the au

a cliff forty feet high, and nearly killed him by the fall. He traced back the genealogy of these criminals, and discovered that the ancestor of them all was the little vagrant girl of whom we have spoken, or her sisters.

"This stimulated his efforts, and after immense labor he finally brought to light the following striking facts as to this unhappy family:

"Seven hundred and nine (709) descendants of Margaret and her sisters are accurately tabulated, whose names are mainly taken from public records. Of these, 91 are known to be illegitimate, and 368 legitimate, leaving 250 unknown as to birth.

"One hundred and twenty-eight (128) are known to be prostitutes, 18 kept houses of bad repute, and 67 were diseased, and therefore cared for by the public. Only 22 ever acquired property, and eight of these lost what they had gained. One hun