They had not the heart to do it.

They read it to several persons, and eventually it fell into the hands of those ladies of whom I spoke a while ago.

The other day I came across an old friend of mine--a clergyman--who had seen this letter, and was full of it.

The mere remembrance of it so moved him that he could not talk of it without his voice breaking.

He promised to get a copy of it for me; and here it is -- an exact copy, with all the imperfections of the original preserved.
It has many slang expressions in it--thieves' argot--but their meaning has been interlined, in parentheses, by the prison authorities'-- St.Louis, June 9th 1872.
Mr.W---- friend Charlie if i may call you so: i no you are surprised to get a letter from me, but i hope you won't be mad at my writing to you.
i want to tell you my thanks for the way you talked to me when i was in prison--it has led me to try and be a better man; i guess you thought i did not cair for what you said, & at the first go off I didn't, but i noed you was a man who had don big work with good men & want no sucker, nor want gasing & all the boys knod it.
I used to think at nite what you said, & for it i nocked off swearing months before my time was up, for i saw it want no good, nohow--the day my time was up you told me if i would shake the cross (QUIT STEALING) & live on the square for months, it would be the best job i ever done in my life.