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Life of Thomas Eddy

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apartments, and are not suffered to come out, or to have communication with other prisoners, but are constantly watched by keepers day and night. Expe-rience will evince, that among any given number of convicts, one tenth part may be fairly considered as desperate and hardened villains, who appear incor-rigible; and, it is of importance that such should be carefully selected and separated from the rest, as it is more probable they may, by proper management, be reformed. As another means of reformation, attention is paid to their religious and moral instruction. A large room in the prison, very neatly finished, is set apart for the purpose of divine worship. This room, and the gallery round it, will accommodate about six hundred persons. In this place the prisoners are assembled on the first day of each week, when one of their number reads a sermon and prayers, and the rest join in sing-ing psalms. It is expected that the public preachers of the gos-pel in the city will cheerfully devote a small portion of their time to the service of these unhappy beings, who have so much need of their instruction, and of the counsel of the truly good and benevolent. As no distinction of sect exists in this great work of charity and benevolence, it is hoped that religious characters of every Christian denomination will feel it their duty to visit them on the day set apart for divine worship; since it is obvious that a due atten-tion to this important duty must produce the most salutary effects on the minds and conduct of the pri-soners, and most powerfully promote the great plan of reformation.* * As rational and immortal beings, we owe this to them, nor can any criminality of theirs justify our neglect in this particular. HOWARD. Connected with this scheme of punishment and reformation, is another object, which, though of infe-rior importance in a moral view, is yet deserving of