Fame in Prison

Cromwell Argus, Volume LXI, Issue 3160, 27 April 1931, Page 6

Fame in Prison

A convict- who was recently released on parole from a State penitentiary in the L'nited States found linuseli not only muled as ono ol me leading' composeis ol America, but also as the fortunate possessor of a bank balance ol /_. 15.000. When a lenience ol death passed upon Damascus (Jallur was commuted to one of penal servitude lor life, he was sent to ban Quentin prison, where the authorities allowed him to exercise his bent for music, says a writer in the 'Sunday Express.' lie organised a band, which was soon hailed as one of the finest in the l'nited States.. Then he sent compositions to music publishers, who banked for liim the royalties that accrued. There is a similar story of another American. He had given way to drink, and had received a sti ft* sentence for a crime he had committed while under the influence of liquor, lu prison he was given permission to produce a magazine, and so high a standard was reached, that, when'a copy came into the hands of a leading editor, ii was arranged that the young man should be given a new start upon his release. The prisoner made several hundred dollars from articles which lie wrote while he was completing'his sentence. In England, John iiunyan earned immortal lame with his -Pilgrim's Progress," which he wrote. while serving a sentence in Bedford) gaol. But there is a still more remarkable story. When Sir James Murray was compiling the Oxford Dictionary, some of the most valuable information was sent by a Dr. Minor, who wrote from a small village in Berkshire. So great was the assistance rendered by the doctor, that Sir James Murray arranged to call on him. Then, and only then, did he discover that his mysterious helper was an inmate ot Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum, whither he had been sent for a murder committed during a fit of insanity. In the preface of the Oxford Dictionary " there is an acknowledgment to Dr. W. C Minor, of Crowthorne, Berks.