Old Habits

Among the convicts are many experts, whose handiwork are marvels of skill and schooled patience. Indeed, it would seem that after years of toil and confinement and with the means of obtaining an honest, honorable living and competence, these men would never return, but criminals glide back to their old haunts and old companions with a fatal facility. Let there be seemingly the fairest hope of reformation that the frost work of new habits appears to melt away at the first fire of temptation. Victor Hugo exhibits a keen insight into human nature, when he makes Valjean rob the Savoyard of his two pence, even after the forgiveness and generosity of the good bishop. As an evidence of this there are a number of prisoners here who have been here before, and several now serving life sentences who have been sent a third time for some offence, which had it been the first or even the second offence, would have been perhaps for not more than two or three years, but the law, in its wisdom, dooms a man who has been convicted a third time in this State to a life sentence.