Sing a Song of Sing Sing, But Don't Forget the Booze

...Fancy all tha boy* .n ail the school being whtppeMt...

...Peradventure...

...It would not be inappropii at* to add, I think, that thar* wal n*v»r a cry of "Crook...

...A few paragraphs ago I suggested that we return to the garni precid ing the one contested with the Brooklyn Post Office...

...After thi bleacherites had filed out to maki way for the new arrivals, I, in com' pany with thi rest of tha would-b* | spectators, was obliged to walk slowly through the enclosure lead ing to the stands...

...At all events, on the Sunday of ray visit, I espied no strolling guards upon'the wall, Inasmuch as I have mentioned the base-ball field as the first thing that will hereafter crop up in my memories of Sing Sing, I may ss well in justice to order, develop* the subject and the incidents, concerning it...

...Before the prison is a railroad ground, and I was lid into wonderland as I viewed it...

...It is evident, therefore, that,the convicts of Sing Sing are fellows of penetrating eyis...

...anil protaat, my *)**f brethern, againat our having Mr deserts, Yai, just fancy our being foand out] It is no wonder that w» slwmld wax ecstatic,aa wa MUM an our luck at «acaplng punlihraanti...

...T«a hand drop* powtojut, atoMtVad at thi ipiantity af aJreh whieh h malt eut and brandish...

...It it a remark that it uttered by pomibiy no tow than two Tafeai jakaa, bat MM s f l t t mm few wleM bttBa iDft^A Mt^st Ra)ft (aftatafel tfe all »r«MM)flT...

...That was "He's out...

...In fact, the filler of the oups had unostentatiously dropped a bottle of the precious intoxicant beneath the standa, presumably for the future bensfit of his imprisoned friends, and, sad to relate, the cork of the bottle had bade good-bye to its usual resting place, with the appalling result that the liquor flew out and invaded the I atmosphere of the ground, although aaaaviiai ta Ma droppar wk* so 1» formed tha sarteant-at^rau) taar* was still, ft) « » Mut, i half-a-batUe left...

...The cells of Sing Sing were not like those of my imagination, by any means...

...I had with a laugh, "Nlnitaa...thirty...

...Indeed, one might point with truth to the whimsical fact that Warden Lawes Is not the only gentleman employing the garden to further his pleasures in life, for with my very own orbs 1 witnessed upon the terrace the presence of a youth* ful convict, seated, by the way, in one of those contraptions that swings as you rotk the entirety...

...Lit ul return to tha game taat was played previous ta the Post Office affair, for tha Mutual Wal 'fare Laana pUyi a dauble-lwaiar an Saturdays, and a s Suadays...

...glimmering r i r i r ; a bunch of Negroes...

...yelled back Sing Sing disillusioned mi...

...And the** war* peat o«s* clirk* who had purloined thi MM* of crackers, and other thing* unnecessary to mention...

...Of cours*, you must purden mi for my tremendous stretch of imagination...

...At any rati, we proceeded to the standi, very slowly, and observed the presence of a number of prisoners who stood hard by, and who wera gating at us as awed a manner as that of oar own while we stood gazing a t then, Even the convicts who had witnessed the game in quit* a jovial mood looked at us in a most significant way as we filed out of the standi with the termination of the last inning...

...Lest I forget, It should be noted that in tha Elks contait, tha s*rgaant-at-armi attending to the thirsts of the visiting lookerson was barley able to navigate his way through the aisles, or so hi appraised his friend, thi boose hound I have already alluded to...

...shouldn't be surprised," thought I to myself, "If some convict once esctptd by leaping I over the wall onto a passing train...

...Evidently, Sing Ring is a pretty wit piace, although thi Hudson il af a serene and non-Irritable nature, Merely as a matter of information, let it be remarked that thi, Sing Sing ball performers wear striped stockings, perhaps to remind them of the circumstaneii undir which, they labor or play, Ai for the convioti themselves, they wart clothed, in part, in white shirts and gray trousers, a highly, fascinating combination...

...From An unauthoritative source I have gleaned that the garden in allusion is the property of Warden Lawes...

...Many of thou* in the standi enclosing thi prisoners were Negroes who enjoyed the game immensely, and who war* not reticent in expressing their emu tion...

...And the leanie, by tha way, i* camposed of a saemintly capabli troop of players...

...but realty . . , S I . . . tendant, ••rnjfral Tha butchary I» too horrMila...

...en exquisite forden...

...group of ordinxry men...

...emerged with many a stolen war...

...A "screw" is, in all probability, a gentleman of no popularity among prisoners...

...Thia point wa* brought mor* vividly to my mind as 1 sat in that bus on tha way home, far onea It waa stoppN that w* may procur* rafrashmanti...

...One thing must be said of Sing Sing: It is like a vaudeville bill, in that it is made up of variety, I should not marvel to hear that ft has a basketball team, and a footbail team, and any other team that occupies a niche in athletics...

...Incidentally, tha umpire on bases made on* or two raw dajMfni —in favor of tea visiting te~ However, one amusing and pitabl* cry was raised to thi prisoners' stand by a bleacherlt* as a convict player wal "put out...

...Unless memory fails me, we were all counted twice —It may have been thrlce—by thi guards, suspicious looking Individ uals, who did not take the troubl* of searching us for illicit goods, such as boose, for instance...

...huge, gray wall with * Jot of littles windows (barred window...

...af post-ofilca elarka, I wto sat to bobdaring a Mragtofl «f wTliil Makapaaea Tnaaiarair'i, ImI«4»4 It his essay i- "On Being Found Out...

...To <Mota th* comment ef a f a i t offte* jaater Walt until h* tak*a invmtaryi...

...the Mutual Welfare League (representing the prison of n couple of Sings) was to be pitted against the aggregation known as the Brooklyn Post-Offlce Team...

...It goes: Just pietur* to l'iaiW» «rat», body who do*s wrong txing fvoa« out, and punishetl a«««rdingtr...

...To be sure, there is little likelihood that the convict in question entertained at the time the thought of escape, since it must be noted that he was on the outside of the prison, for not far to the right and above him watched a rather eager gentleman whose sole duty, doubtless,' is to consider the convicts, especially as far as the movements of these alludtrj u irt concerned, , As a matter of FAW, thara a r a so few of these testers around, these towers that contain a rather aager gentleman whose Soie duty, etc Perhaps they have supplanted 4*e old system ; that at placing armed ! guards along the top of t e s lar* rounding wall, and obliging these dwellers of heaven to ramble up and down, keeping a vigilant eye upon anything and everything...

...And to add to th* irony af i t til, the genial, aid Italian ttppad his hat to M a* w« left, and howad prafiMly, a captivating ami!* on hit Una...

...A* I fcMiito home, aecompanlad by * ton...

...In other words, ho is a detective...

...The stereotyped standby of th* Ossining callers as they walk down the hill, and peer into the recesses of tho gray, gray building is: "Better to look in from the outside than to lo >k out from the in* side...

...Tha poor Italian had Man so dumbfounded by thi delug* that ha wal at ? loss for efficiency, with tha result that soma of W* groaariis war* "borrowed," and not, of «oarsi, paid far...

...In the futur* I shall require only them to bntif before roe the Sinf Sing Institution...

...In especial, I was thinking of a fellow who, In reply to a question from our side, "Wo'ra getting out at the end of the gam...

...and «ton tha assistanu an.4 taan tht baad master, (Deator Badfari lat aa call him), Faniy tin prevaMmarshsll being Uad tip, tortitf previously eup*rlntandad tha emrection of tha whota army, Aftar tha young gentlemen have lift thalr tara tor tha faalt) t i w E M , fancy Doctor ^IneolnsinB totwg taken up far ifrtoto fault* in Ml Essay and R«vUw...

...From far us the hill I could see the great, gray building with its iittli holes (the paneless windows) that ware barred only once, Instead of three times, and once «crois, in the middle...

...What then happened to the cup containing the liquor I do not knoWi It is to be presumed, I hazard, that the brandy was put to work, for when the attendant returned another cup was placed on the trsy, and, like its predecessor, likewlse>| contsined a little of the boose...

...Be that as it may, two pleasant and gentle-looking fellows waded through our stands with these cups of water, both passing the boosehound in the rear of me...

...always been under the fancy that prison cells war* each biassed with a paneless window that was barred by three iron clubs...

...an excellent base-ball field...

...when are you getting out...

...Aflat tM cliifymar has crlad Wl aaeaavi, mppoai wi hiiat *#-HWHtM, «M> givi him a coupl* of ttoMttt After Wl hava caat aff tha Biskap, what ara wa to say to tha Mini*tsr who appointed hlmT My Lord Clnqwarden, It it painful to have to us* a perianal eametiM to a boy of your age...

...and a bottle or two of boos...

...After that gentleman had drawn a cup from the tray, and had subsequently drowned its contents within him, he secretly poured soma liquor from his bottle into his cup, and placed it back on the platter, which in turn was carried to the water section of th« stands...

...at any rate, that both are used by that eminent personage...

...At all events, Sing Sing has it* own band, and that was gracious enough to render a few popular selections for us in the progress of the gam...

...Indeed, I shall render an accurate version of the affair concerning the liquor-lover* and his cohorts— the- two sergeants-at-arnm To begin with, the bottle-toter had been himself a convict...

...nd na few of th* rld*rs, alighting and then entering an Italian ihop...

...This was sppsrent from his conversation with the attending prlsonBr, and from his knowledge of tha many convicts oozing around...

...However, it is evidently a custom of the prison to selgrct a couple of its sergeants-at-ar|is, and have, these fellows go through tha stands with a piatter bearing a number af cups containing wster, always in desire on a hot day, especially in a grandstand, or in any other place, for that matter...

...ahoatai by the visitors to tha umpire, a pri soner himself, I have reason to believe...

...Sing a Song of Sing Sing, But Don't Forget the Booze" By HENRY HARRISON Hereafter I imagination to itrein and stnrtth H* **lf to such • degree that H awirt subsequently picture for m« that i-elebratad prison at Ossining on th« Uudton...

...Fait oftka cl*rk»—trusted mm of tha United State* Civil Service...

...Both nines were Out on the field, cavorting about as baseball disciples will do, and otherwise enjoying themselves preparatory to the heralded contest, For some reason or another, It seems that fate has ever dropped your correspondent in the most peculiar of places, for, while seated in the grandstand, I found myself among a boozehtrand or two...

...On tha day before ajy visit, thay defeated tha Keystone Club (a 0-8), and the Xlablif* arays(8...

...also, that the house adjoining it is likewise his...

...how would you Ilk* to be out...

...I V » tHmpStm to m to f*t «n»* «m «m t* - M r i w f -t to « t out, M# m M l tn Mm»"* leUnr it appartstly ttn f l i t Mm paa»-w*rd There is •omith?iif pathetk is Ik* unforttmaM fataa af vartoaa a»M« at l u t hunwri bilng...

...On that IHHAAJR, 1k*t trimmed the New Yirk Xlki by ta* score of (8-4, and the Brooklyn Post Office to tha tuna of II ta A, And in each game tha Sing Sing aggregation employed a different pitcher...

...If it were not romwhat piteous, It would be rather facetious to know of the humer^f Sing Blng visitor...

...I am glad we ar* net all found out, I say again...

...It so chanced, • by* the way, that no less than five "screws" in civilian clothes ware seated near this collection of musicians., So a sirgeantatsrms informed tha liquor-lover behind me...