Show TO CONVICTS WOMEN WHO THEIR TALENTS TO CHARITY hary and lizzie norn emans helpful vort in brooklyn interest j ine details or their experience among the outcasts 0 society there are two young women in brooklyn who have laid out for themselves a most unusual line of duty and who havo so modestly and quietly pursued it tint this ia probably the first time their names have ever come before tho public these noble young women are the misses mary and lizzie borneman who have consecrated their lives to work among prisoners and the very poor of the city they were born i the old part of the city lying beyond street and adams and in that vicinity their lives havo been spent for die list five years they have lived with their and sisters at jay street and aro very domestic industrious girls car ing for their younger sisters and adin their mothe in a good old fashioned way so seldom in vogue now of all the family they two alone nry endowed with the gift of bong mary having a strong clear soprano and lizzia a contralto of wonderful strength and beauty to them the gift seemed to be divinely given and they decided even while children that it must be used for some good end seme purpose for n time they sang in churches receiving large salaries for their services but this seemed a selfish use of their beautiful voices and even against wishes of their parents they began on easter sunday ten years ago to sing in raymond street jail at chaplain bass morning services and from that time their talents have been devoted entirely to this work every sunday morning at 9 they are admitted to the corridor of the jail and every tuesday evening and no prisoner who has been locked within those walls during the past ten years but has been comforted by the sound of their voices once in the month always sometimes twice they sing in the kings county penitentiary in the afternoon and since the industrial du home has been started they eich there sunday and thursday evenings aside from these services they eing often in concerts given for charitable purposes nor are their duties entirely confined to singing often they are sent for by some poor prisoner and never a call comes in vain at any time they aro ready to go with words of comfort or little gifts of some kind to the darkest cell to the most desperate prisoner nest to rev mr bass himself these two young women aro best known and best beloved of any persons in brooklyn by the outcasts of society not a few times said miss lizzie to a reporter have we acted as bridesmaids in the jail and penitentiary and have signed our names as witnesses to the marriage contracts quite aa often too have we stood as godmothers to poor little prison bom babes we are often sent for to sit beside the sick prisoners and have seen deaths too within the prison have yun ever many ormo famous criminals here oh yes the saddest duty we ever had to perform in our lives has been to visit some of the condemned men in raymond street jail I 1 shall never forget the morning mills was hanged he was convicted of arife murder and before his death was converted to christianity through mr bass efforts he often wanted us to sing for him and to the last wo went the little organ was placed just his cell door and there we would sing and mr bass would talk to him it seemed always to cheer him butil the day before the execution when while we were there the clothes bo was to wear even to the slippers and hose were brought to him and then he seemed stunned and was like one turned to stone he seemed then to fully realize his position and from that moment lost all of his cheerfulness it was his wish that we come again in the morning and of course we went and song as long as we were permitted to stay were you with any others at such a time yes we were with jefferson before thai we were afraid to go near McElva ines cell he was so coarse and brutal that is language was not fit for us to hear he is the only prisoner we have met who haa not behaved like a gentleman in our presence when wo were visiting mills everyday krainer the burglar occupied au adjoining cell and used to hang a blanket up to his door he might not see us and wo were very careful never to look toward his cell one day however mills told us that kramer wanted to speak to us and we noticed then that there was no screen at the bars of his cell ho asked us to sing some favorite hymn of his and from that time seemed very friendy friend y he afterward was sentenced to two years and a half in the penitentiary and while there sent for us to come to see him ho was a desperate man and had broken out of every prison iu which ho bad ever been confined and had won for himself the sobriquet of bolts and bars few young women truly have witnessed auch scenes as have these binding missionaries and their home is filled with little gifts tokens of gratitude from prisoners new york world |