Christmas at Frankfort Prison

The prisoners had what was unanimously voted the best Christmas dinner in many years. There were 1100 lbs. of turkey, cranberries, mashed potatoes, oranges, and bananas. There were about 75 fine cakes, 68 of which were sent from Lexington by Mrs. Frances H. Beauchamp, Pres. W. C. T. U. The entire dinner was well cooked and heartily enjoyed by all.

At 11:30, Bro. Jos. Severance, Chaplain, Bro. Geo. L. Herr, of Louisville, Mrs. M. B. R. Day, of Frankfort, and Miss Nellie E. Williams, Junior C. E. Superintendent, of Maysville, entered, and took seats on the stage; these are four of our truest and strongest friends and are most heartily welcomed.

Bro. Severance opened the services by reading the Christmas lesson, i. e., the 2nd chapter of Matthew, which gives the most beautiful description of the birth of the lowly Jesus.

Bro. Herr then offered a fervent prayer.

Bro. Severance' remarks were few; he is still grieving over the loss of his two children, and simply said that this Christmas had lost all of its charms for him, for instead of feeling joyful, he felt sad all of to-day and yesterday, and that we understood why, for instead of four little girls, he had only two. He felt his inability to proceed further, and gave the meeting over into the hands of Bro. Herr to conduct as he saw fit, and catching an idea from the foregoing remarks, Bro. Herr referred to the fact that years ago, Christmas was very sad to him. That he was lying in a saloon in the city of Louisville without friends and without hope. Then in a jovial manner showed by comparison what a difference then and now.

He then said: "I am so glad that Jesus said: 'Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out; I am so glad that he is the same yesterday, to-day and forever. He said: 'Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. There is not a man behind prison bars that Jesus Christ cannot clean up and make him a man."

The audience sat up and took notice when he mentioned a man who had been a homeless wretch, and a degraded sinner, who had spent thirty-two years of his life behind prison bars, but had been converted in the Louisville jail and was now a man of God, the leader in a Rescue Mission in one of our largest cities, and had the financial support of eight of the wealthiest men in that city. He said that whenever a man goes blind, or deaf, or is afflicted in any other way, he is sent to a hospital for treatment, and that this prison is a sort of hospital, and that some of us are so blind that we cannot tell the difference between our own and other peoples' horses. This simile was put forth in such a humorous manner as to cause much laughter.

He then launched into an earnest exhortation to the men to do better. To quit their meanness, as Sam Jones said. "Cease from evil and learn to do well." That to quit one's evil ways was only half the duty, and that the remainder consisted in doing the right thing, and you may have this assurance that the man who is serving the Lord will not get into trouble. "An idle mind is the devil's work-shop." In this connection he gave a very pretty illustration of how one's energies are used in either the right way or wrong way; that if you build a fire under a steam boiler, place the proper quantity of water in it, and then open the throttle and allow the steam to get into the engine, the entire machinery will perform a good work, but if you shut off the steam and tie down the safety valve, the steam is going to exert itself in a disastrous manner by an explosion, and the killing of several men.

"The wages of sin is death, and if you can only open your eyes and see that, you can also see that "The gift of God is eternal life." The only way under heaven by which a man can be saved, is to come over to the service of God and begin to do that which is right.

Now what is the purpose of Christmas day? The world has agreed that this is as near the birth of Christ as we can possibly figure it; it means that 1907 years ago Jesus was born into the world, and the star of Bethlehem came and stood over the place where the young child lay; the angels sang "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, good will towards men," and we celebrate the day in memory of that event.

What is the trouble to-day that causes all these penitentiaries over our land; why all these jails and the strong arm of the law? It is because men will not allow the gospel of Jesus Christ to reign in their hearts. As long as the children of Israel served the Lord, they were happy and prosperous, but as soon as they turned to the flesh pots of Egypt, they began to despair and shame came upon them.

If you were asked what you would rather have above all things, you would say, Just a piece of paper with the great seal of the state impressed upon it, and the signature of the Governor attached. Why? Because prison life is a hard life and you are tired of it. If I were a prisoner, I would want to make my confinement as pleasant as possible and I would become converted immediately, for of all men on earth the man in prison should be the quickest to accept Jesus Christ. I would not want to be a prisoner all my physical life, and then a spiritual prisoner throughout eternity. Did it ever occur to you that hell must be infinitely worse than it is pictured? We read of a place "Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." If this is a picture of hell, then what must the reality be? There is a chance for every man to get out of this prison, but there will be no chance whatever to get out of hell.

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.—Isa. 61:1.