Excerpt from The College Folio, Vol. 15: October, 1906 Reade was above all a great student of human nature, and, in fact, of life' 1n general. Not only did he observe life closely, but he was also continually studying newspapers and commissioner's blue-books, seeking out reform measures and trying to interest people in them. Above all he professed to be a moral satirist and castigator and as such he certainly shows himself in his novels. Social problems play a more important part in Reade's novels than religious problems. It 119 Never loo Late to Mend was written for the express purpose of exposing the need of prison reform. At the time of which Reade is writing, prisons were in a transition state and as he says: Under the old (system) gaol was a finishing school of felony and petty lar ccny. Under the new, it is intended to be a penal hospital for diseased and contagious souls. Then, describing the new system, Reade explains that in some new gaols the separate, non-silent system was used, in others the separate silent system, in others the non separate system, and in still others a mixture of them all. It is the separate silent system, with its cruel discipline and unjust severity, that Reade so bitterly condemns. He brings to light the sham of the visiting justices who visit four times a year and see only the company condition of the gaol. The keepers are de scribed as shoving food to the prisoners like one flinging guts to a bear. The crank, the strait waist-coat and the black hole are all denounced as the means of the most cruel and unendurable torture. In fact Reade says that the prisoners suffer as much as the victims of the Inquisition ever did. Finally, through the efforts of the chaplain, a resolute Christian man, the separate silent system is abolished and an ideal system instituted in its place. The cranks, strait-jackets and black hole are disposed of, the printing-press and loom are installed in their places, some prisoners are set free, and all are happy in their freedom from torture. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.