Lewis Stanton Palen

“ By the medium of these experiences he presents a strong arraignment of the Tsar and his officials for the errors they committed in the handling of their own and their subject peoples, and admits us also to a most esoteric revelation of the psychology of prison life. ”

“ In his story we have likewise a fair epitome of the whole tragic history of that great body of Poles which has been forced to find its life under the dominating overlordship of the Tsars and which has constantly struggled toward the hope of a renewed existence of freedom. ”

“ The principal changes which resulted were the segregation of the prisoners in such a way that only the most hardened and vicious criminals were thrown together in the large common cells; the provision of reasonable work for the inmates; the establishment of libraries and occasional talks for the men; and the emphasizing to the officials of the necessity for seeking to ameliorate the moral state of mind of the condemned. ”