PRISON REFORM. JOHN HOWARD. "I CANNOT name this gentleman without remarking that his labors and writings have done much to open the eyes and hearts of all mankind. He has visited all Europe-not to survey the sumptuousness of palaces or the stateliness of temples; not to make accurate measurements of the remains of ancient grandeur, nor to form a scale of the curiosities of modern art; nor to collect medals or collate manuscripts; but to dive into the depth of dungeons, to plunge into the infection of hospitals, to survey the mansions of sorrow and pain; to take the gauge and dimensions of misery, depression, and contempt; to remember the forgotten, to attend to the neglected, to visit the forsaken, and compare and collate the distresses of all men in all countries. His plan is original; it is as full of genius as of humanity. It was a voyage of discovery, a circumnavigation of charity. Already the benefit of his labor is more or less felt in every country. I hope he will anticipate his final reward by seeing all its effects fully realized in his own.' In these noble words, glowing with the fire of genius, Edmund Burke addressed the electors of Bristol in 1780. All are familiar with the passage, and all know that it refers to John Howard-Howard the Philanthropist, as he is called-a name which has sufficed to point many a charitable appeal, and to round many an eloquent period. But what manner of man Howard was, and what was the nature of the work in which he engaged; what difficulties he had to overcome, and how |