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Show YOUNG CONVICT WAS A GENIUS. Australian Saved from Penitentiary Later Did Remarkable Work. In the gardens attached to the houses hous-es of parliament, Melbourne, there Is an elaborately sculptured fountain, 1 embellished with human figures, birds, flowers and various other ornamental work in stone. This fountain has a remarkable history. It was constructed construct-ed entirely by a convict named William Will-iam Stanford, within the walls of the Melbourne Jail. When a young man of 21, Stanford, In a weak moment, joined a band of bushranglng desperadoes, desper-adoes, was captured and sentenced to terms of Imprisonment amounting In the aggregate to 21 years. One day Col. Champ, the governor of Melbourne jail, was astonished to find a beautiful angelic figure which Stanford had carved out of a'meat bono. He showed it to the leading sculptor of Melbourne who declared that the young man was a natural genius. The Bculptor visited the Jail and gave Stanford some lessons les-sons in the art. ' A "petition for pardon par-don was influentlally signed, and Stanford Stan-ford was released. He became one of the most successful sculptors In Melbourne, Mel-bourne, and completely lived down his Juvenile criminal escapade. |