cumstances of every individual; he must adapt him-
self and his instructions to their wants; he must
teach the ignorant, arouse the careless, touch, if it be
possible, the impenitent, lead the willing, and be all
things to all men, if by any means he may save
some. To the morning and evening services of de-
votion, are to be added the more direct and elaborate
instructions of the Sabbath, and the no less important
influences which may be effected in private inter-
course with the convict. The Sunday school may
communicate the most valuable information on many
subjects; and every improper influence may be, and
ought to be, absolutely excluded. It is this system
of addressing the intellectual and moral qualities of
man, of treating the convict as a being of a compound
nature—both physical and spiritual—that constitutes
the peculiar merit of the prison discipline, which is
now about to be introduced. No new discovery has
been made, unless it be considered one that criminals
may sometimes be made susceptible of moral influ-
ences. It is only the adaptation of well known prin-
ciples to a new class of subjects. It is merely carry-
ing to the lowest, the most ignorant, and the most
degraded class, that plan of education which is nearly
universal among us, and which should be entirely so
every where. The exercise of mere force, which has
been so long considered the only means of punish-
ment, is at length yielding to the rapidly strength-
ening conviction of the superior efficacy of moral
influence.

At the same time Mr. Eddy

was labouring to change
the penal code of the state of New York, and estab-
lish his penitentiary system, his mind was deeply
engaged upon other charities. An Hospital had been
founded in the city of New York, by the munificence
of individuals, 011 this and on the other side of the
water, a few years before the commencement of the
revolutionary war; but that momentous event chang-
ed the whole course of things in this country, and