New York dispatch. [volume], February 11, 1866, Page 6, Image 6

About New York dispatch. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1863-1899

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6
I Written for the New York Dispatch.]
STORIES OF THE STAGE.
BY crNNABELL.*
The Old Sliaksperean Actor.
This walking shadow still is seen,
Though dwindled from what it has been,
A poor stage-player, who struts his hour
And frets with sound and fury’s power,
The Idiot’s tale is almost told,
For I am miserably old;
Life eignifieth nothing: breath
Comes with existence, goes with death.
My memory has treacherous grown,
And makes the characters unknown;
I trip, stick, stammer out the word,
Rendering the context quite absurd;
My hearing’s dead and dim’s my sight,
I stumble on things day and night,
All faculties are going fast,
And their weak owner cannot last
Bow different now, to when I shone
The public’s favorite—alone;
What wealthy friends moved in my train)
No wonder, then, that I was vain,
But time reality brings forth
And proves such treasures little worth.
Deceived by love in early prime,
The lady fled I fancied mine.
Grave faults will number many a one,
The.deed of darkness I have done.
Who’s innocent ? Let him alone
Cast forth the first uplifted stone.
Nature implants fires in the blood
Which may be quenched by doing good.
And Charity forgiveness wins,
Covering a multitude of sins.
Strength and agility of limb
Has gone, the blood is getting thin;
My wardrobe, which is much too large,
Has vanished in another’s charge;
My props and trinkets all are sold,
And poverty can’t comfort cold;
Where silks and velvets once were spread,
Homespun surrounds this form instead.
To look back—’tie but yesterday,
1 moved the hero of the play;
The Dramatis Personae gone,
Leaves me to hum this truthful song ;
Fortune—a fickle goddess proves;
Beauty—a gift the maiden loves;
Friendship—a visionary name;
Love—a disease of feverish vein.
l*ve found one chum through every ill,
My brother actor, singing Will,
Wearied with fate’s perplexing frown.
With his play-book I’ve lain me down;
Read it, then sank in tranquil rest;
Or should I be by dreams opprest,
Waking, I’d find my comrade near
To soothe me with a smile or tear.
Of every age I’ve touched the link,
The child in nurse’s arms that sink;
The eatchel’d boy in shining face,
Creeping to school with snail-like pace;
The lover penning with a sigh
A balled to his mistress’ eye;
Then soldier like I’ve fiercely fought,
And reputation bubbles sought.
I became manager in time,
Full of wise saws when tippling wine,
With fair round belly Capon lined,
Like Justice surfeited and blind.
I dared my brother artists shun,
And for the golden fools’ calf run,
Made money fast, but when it fled,
Cursed my cold heart and brainless head.
My dress now, morning, night and noon,
The lean and slippered Pantaloon
With spectacles—and pouch on side,
loon.o, «*«J oInUUB. BlianK tw WltlV.
My voice once strong as could be found,
Now pipes and whistles in the sound;
I feel nhlivixxn’o childish wing
bans eyes, taste, teeth, sans, everything,
* G. C. Howard
A D ARK “PAGE.
MUSHERS OF THE PAST YEAR.
THE WORK OF THE KNIFE AND THE PISTOL
IN THIS CITY-SIXTY MURDERS LN A YEAR
—THE MURDERERS ALL ALIVE BUT ONE’
Wo have obtained, at considerable pains, a
sarefully condensed list of all the known mur
ders that have occurred in this city in 1865.
During that year there were sixty murdered,
and the assassins all live except the policeman
Wagner, who, rather than submit to arrest,
♦ommitted suicide. Several of the murderers
have been sentenced to be hung, but none were
executed; judgment has been staved off by a
stay of proceedings on appeal; others have
been discharged by proclamation, the Grand
Jury failing to find bills of indictment; others
have been punished with imprisonment in the
State Prison or Penitentiary for from one year
to life. There has been considerable rivalry
between the pistol and the knife as to which
should send the most victims out of the world.
By the knife sixteen came to an untimely end,
and by the pistol, nineteen. So far as known,
there were no deaths at the hand of the poi
soner.
JANUARY.
At 4 o’clock on the morning of the 2nd of
January, Harry Lazarus, the pugilist, was killed
by Barney Friery who was then in the company
of James McDonald and “ California Jack ” and
James Clark. Friery asked to shake hands
with Lazarus and while making this friendly
request, he stabbed him in the neck, and then
remarked “I’ve fixed you.” Cause—Reckless
ness of human life.
Richard Brown, while standing in front of his
own door in Birmingham street, received a bul
let in his heart, and died. Four mon were ar
rested for the murder, but on examination, were
discharged by the Coroner. Cause—Unknown.
Some trouble occurred in the bar-room of No.
7 Chatham square, when one John Tower was
followed out to the sidewalk and hit on the head
with a cart-rung by the bar-keeper Thompson,
from the effects of which Tower died. Cause—
Fight with the bar-keeper.
William Fitzgerald, alias Beebe, was shot on
the evening of the sth of January, in the saloon
No. 192 Bleecker street. Cause—Dispute over
a $2 counterfeit bill.
Officer Felming attempted to arrest Robert
Churchill, charged with various robberies in
Westchester county, when he was shot corner
of Fifty-seventh street and Fifth avenue. De
liberate murder.
Edward Brennan, bar-keeper at No. 31 Mer
ecr street, was beat to death over the head with
a champagne bottle by Hiland A. Main. Cause
—Liquor wasn’t given when demanded.
Abraham Brown and friends when making
New Year’s calls, acted in a disorderly manner.
They were requested to be more orderly by
officer Thompson, of the Eighteenth Precinct.
The officer was knocked down and kicked, when
lie drew his revolver and shot in the crowd and
Brown was killed.
William Johnson, while sitting quietly in the
Old National Theatre in Chatham street,
was beat to death by a man named “Siem”
end Thomas Cohen. Cause—Love of mischief.
Johnson K. Pollock, was shot at the corner of
Lispenard and Churcb street by Harry Yelvcr
ton. Cause—Jealousy about a woman of the
town. The woman held the pistol and the man
directed it and fired it at deceased.
Johanna Lamb, living at No. 24 Oak street,
was knocked senseless on the floor by her hus
band Roger Lamb. While senseless he sharp
ened a knife on a stone and then stuck it in her
heart. Cause—rum.
FEBRUARY.
Isaac Cunningham called at the house of Mrs.
Edward Donohoe, who was ironing. He used
insulting, indecent and profane language, and
when revising to leave when ordered, she hit
him with the smoothing iron and caused his
death.
Daniel Lawrence received seventeen stabs at
the hands of William Smith. Cause—Both were
rivals for the favors of a courtizen at No. 126
Hester street.
APRIL.
John Page, while walking past the corner of
Liberty and West streets, a stranger came up
behind him, and knocked him senseless with a
cart-rung. The murderer then threw the cart
mng behind a liquor bar and coolly walked up
Liberty street and escaped.
Catharine Keaiy, residing at No. 122 East
Fourth street, had a quarrel with her husband
Henry, because the dinner was not ready, when
he stabbed her, inflicting a wound that caused
death.
MAY.
Arnaud Lang, residing at the corner of Broad
way and Tenth avenue, was suffocated to death
by a fire kindled by an incendiary.
A woman, about 25 years of age, known only
a.s Henrietta, who had been living in a disreput
able honso in West Broadway, died suddenly
under circumstances that led to the belief that
violence was the cause. The night previous to
her death, after retiring with a friend, a scream
was heard; the strange man shortly after left
the room, when one of her companions entered
the room of deceased—she was found in the
agonies of death.
On the 24th of this month, the ship John
Bright arrived in the bay with 764 passengers
and a crew of 24 sailors. The ship was sur
rounded by a swarm of small boats containing
boarding-house runners. A sailor, named Mur
phy, jumped overboard and tried to desert. He
ewam for the boat, and would have been res
cued had it not been for the mate, who stood on
deck with pistol in hand, and threatened to
shoot the first man that would rescue him.
Afraid for their own lives, the runners rowed
from the sailor as he swam toward them, and,
in view of a hundred men, he was compelled to
sink beneath the waters, None dared to give
him help. The mate, Eaton, felt irritated at
the desertion of his crew.
John Stewart, a well-known thief and bounty-
Jnmper, with a number of accomplices, got up
a row at a picnic at Jones’s Wood, for the pur
pose of committing robberies at the festival.
In the melee, Stewart was mortally wounded by
Patrick Curran.
JUNE.
Albert Ainsley was shot by policeman Gusta
fue Webber. Webber M just to
pay, and came home insane. He abused his
wife, and Ainsley requested him not to strike
her, when he received a bullet through his
heart. Webber fled, was pursued by the police,
but before he could be captured he sent a bul
let through his head.
Emma Wolfer, a German, was murdered by
the noted abortionist, Charles Cobel, at No.
85 Columbia street. The alleged seducer, Dr.
Max Hoffman, was arrested at the same time
with Cobel.
John Abrahams, living at No. 257 East 12th
street, became involved in a quarrel ■with Wil
liam O’Keefe. In the quarrel, O’Keefe drew a
knife and killed his neighbor. Both lived in
the same house.
A young man, supposed to be named Kelly,
entered Laird's bar-room in South street, where
he insulted the barkeeper and a gentleman
named William Ahearn.* Ahearn took hold of
deceased and threw him on the floor, and when
taken up ho was unconscious. He died two
days afterward.
Michael Coogan was shot by his step-son,
Michael Gorman, at No. 99 Caiinon street. Tho
difficulty arose about Coogan’s mother having
formed a morganatic marriage with deceased.
Patrick Cavanagh, of No. 277 Tenth avenue,
died from the effects of a stab received at tho
hands of John Drake. Cavanagh was in Drake’s
■ house, and, without any cause being assigned,
he called Cavanagh a scoundrel, ana plunged a
knife in him.
■ Teresa Estrado came to her death by a pistol
shot wound at tho hands of Antonio Gravast.
It was difficult f.n Jotenulue wJaetßei’ tlie shoot
ing was accidental or designed.
Mortimer Maguire became involved" in a
quarrel with a stranger at the corner of Hous
ton and Crosby streets. The police came up
and separated them. Maguire went into No. 14
East Houston street, and asked to bo accommo
dated with a bed. In the morning ho was found
insensible, and taken to the New York Hospital,
where he died. A man named William Mahon
was arrested on suspicion of being the mur
derer.
JULY.
John Callahan and Thomas Duffy had an an
gry altercation in a shanty in Fifth avenue,
near 116th street, which resulted in Callahan
drawing a dirk-knife and stabbing Duffy in the
abdomen.
George Wagner, a cabinet maker, residing at
No. 516 Broome street, went to his house about
four o’clock in the afternoon, and had an alter
cation with his wife regarding money matters
—money that she refused to give up to him.
What that conversation was, the dead only can
tell. During the dispute, Wagner became en
raged, and seizing a short-handled ax that was
lying on the floor, he chased his wife through
the hallway to the rear of the building, just as
she was about to pass into the yard, and dealt
her a terrible blow on the head. The murder
ous weapon was driven into the skull, and held
fast there until taken out of the victim by the
police.
James Smith, a young man aged twenty-four,
went up to Jones’ Wood to attend a Fenian
gathering. Returning home with some friends,
e landed at Alien’s Point, Fifty-fifth street,
and entered Allen’s porter-house, and had re
freshments. While there, another party came
in and accused Smith’s party of stealing a pair
of oars. Without waiting for an explanation,
Smith was knocked down, beaten and kicked,
and while down three horrible stabs were in
flicted in the neck. He managed to get on his
feet, and ran about thirty yards, when he fell
and expired. Frederick Hooker was arrested
a sthfi nuirrlarox’-
Patrick Murphy, residing at No. 99 Bayard
street, returned home somewhat under the in
fluence of liquor, and meeting Charles F. Cor
ner on the stoop, became involved in a quarrel
with him. Blows wore exchanged, and before
the fight was over, Murphy either fell or was
thrown from the stoop to the sidewalk. He was
taken up stairs insensible, and expired. Cor
ner said he was sorry for it; he did not intend
to throw him off the stoop.
AUGUST.
At three o’clock on the morning of the sth of
this month, the cry of murder was heard at No.
34 East Broadway. On proceeding there, tho
police found the dead body of Thomas Tris
tram, with blood flowing from a pistol-shot
wound in the breast. Three brothers, John,
Richard and Thomas Tristram, with their
mother, resided there. One of the brothers
was arrested for tho murder. There was a fam
ily difficulty in the house, but tho cause of it
does not appear. Liquor, however, was at the
bottom of it.
Bernard Gray, bar-tender, corner of New
Bowery and Madison street, died from the ef
fects of a cut in the neck made by a glass in
the hands of John Groves, who escaped.
Malachi Coughlin was shot in the breast by
Emerich Schneider. The accused was beaten
in front of his own house, when he shot at ran
dom and killed deceased.
On the 15th of this month, another very bru
tal murder was committed. Thomas Walker
and Arthur Rorke, policemen, of the 29th pre
cinct, were on duty in Seventeenth street and
Seventh avenue, and they saw twelve or fif
teen young men about fifty feet off, have a wo
man. They took her into a carpenter’s shop
and she immediately screamed for help. As
the officers rushed in, the men rushed out the
rear of the premises, but in going out one of
the ravishers, placed a pistol to the ear of Walk
er and sent a bullet in nis head. A man named
John Ward was arrested for the murder, and
his companions were held as accessories or as
witnesses.
At a fight between two engine companies at
the corner of Ridge and Delancey sts., a man
named Mathew Bettman received injuries that
caused his death.
A child was found bv the police on the pave
ment at the corner of Broadway and Twenty
fifth street, wrapped up in some old rags. The
head was bruised and both arms were frac
tured. The child was supposed, after birth, to
have been wrapped up in the rags and thrown
from an upper story window.
SEPTEMBER.
About half-past 11 on the evening of the sth,
a disturbance occurred in tho liquor store, cor
ner of First avenue and Thirty-second street,
between Charles Ashenfeldt and Edward Kelly.
The dispute arose about some job of work on
which they had been both engaged. They had
a fight and the combatants fell. Verdict of the
coroner’s jury, “We find that the deceased
came to his death by an accidental fall while
engaged in a scuffle with Edward Kelly at
Thomas Higgins’ porter house at No. 545 First
avenue, and the jury believe that the killing was
unintentional.”
Julius Honpel, a little boy six years of age,
was shot in the side by August Berghold, a re
turned soldier, at the corner of Pitt and Stan
ton streets. Berghold had been drinking free
ly, and on coming out of the saloon where ho
had been imbibing, said he would show his
friends how they used to blaze away at the
Robs. He pulled his pistol out and fired up the
street in a reckless manner and caused the
death of Hoppell
Ellen Gallagher, residing at No. 192 Mulber
ry street, died from the effects of kicks and
blows inflicted by her husband, Hugh Galla
gher. On the examination it was proven that
it was an almost every-day occurrence for him
to beat, knock down and kick his wife, and
when beaten to insensibility, lift her up, throw
her out in the landing, shut the door on her
and lock her out, leaving her to sleep or die.
On the Bth of this month, John Hackett in a
quarrel with his neighbor, John Green, in front
of their dwellings, inflicted a mortal wound
with a knife.
About 6 o’clock in the morning, Frank Bil
larger, a canal boatman, and two companions
entered the saloon of William Kehoe, No. 29
Coenties Slip, and had drinks. They got into
an altercation with the proprietor, who ordered
them out. Billarger refused to go, and wanted
to know of Kehoe how he would like to have a
bowie-knife thrust into him, when Kehoe put a
buUet in Billarger’s ear. Ono of the witnesses
said he thought Kehoe did all he could to put
the deceased out.
On the 19th, a disturbance occurred at a pic
nic held at Paul Falk’s brewery, 110th street,
in which two brothers, Daniel and William Claf
fey, were stabbed. Daniel died, but the other
recovered. A great number of persons were
arrested, but all were eventually discharged.
An abortion, it is alleged, was performed on
Mrs. Lucinda M. Hicks, nee Sagendorf, in the
house of a Dr. Griddle. The body was taken
out of the city and brought back again, but the
inqneat only ended in a big advertisement for
the alleged murderer.
OCTOBER,
Daniel Wall came to his death at the hands of
Daniel Dunahoe.
John Sherry and John Vernon quarreled and
got into a fight in front of a tenement house in
Baxter street. They drew knives, and a boy
named William Pigott came in between tnem,
who was hacked to death. Which of the two
did it is for a jury to say.
At a late hour on the evening of the 14th,
several men entered the lager beer saloon No.
372 Hudson street, and seated themselves at
one of the tables and commenced to play cards
and drink lager. Subsequently, these men
evinced a disposition to quarrel. When closing
time came, Henry Hammond, the bartender,
took the cards from them and said he was
going to close. This so enraged them, that to
restore order, Mr. Ramming, the proprietor,
roturxxod. the oarda. TLia rhftm for ft
time, but it was evident they were bent on a
fight. The place was kept open until about
half-past two in the morning, to give the brawl
ers an opportunity to go without raising a dis
turbance. About that time, Mr. Bamming went
behind the but to draw a glass of lager, when
one of the party drove a knife in the brain of
Mr. Rimming. When the police arrived, the
murderers were gone, and Mr. Ramming lay a
corpse behind his bar.
Florence MoCarty was fatally stabbed in
“ Slaughter House Point,” No. 9 James’ Slip,
by Dennis Foley. Feniamsm was the cause of
the murder.
James and John Johnson, residing in this
city, had been ordered from the Jersey City
cars [frequently, by Officer McWilliams of that
city. They threatened to get even with the
officer if they got him in this city. The officer,
passing up Courtlandt street, was assaulted by
the Johnsons, and John, who put his hand in
bis pocket as if to draw a revolver, gave him his
quietus by putting a bullet through his head.
NOVEMBER.
Daniel McDonald alias Yankee Dan, quarrell
ed with a man named John Goodman on some
political subject. Ju Ue altercation, Goodman
NEW YORK “ DISPATCH.
drew a knife and at one thrust severed the ar
teries. McDonald died in a very few moments
afterward.
John Carroll alias Cahill, and John Connolly
alias O’Connell, were arrested for the murder of
officer Duryea at Jones’ Woods.
Lavina Lutz, according to a coroner’s jury,
strangled her child, then afterward disposed of
it in the out-house.
John J. Ross took a female to the Northern
Hotel. Ho was oflhred a room for himself, but
not the woman. An altercation arose between
him and the bar-tender, James Hammond.
They had a souffle ; Ross was picked up insen
sible from the effects of a blow or the fail, from
which he died.
Tihn Avoce, a Chinaman, was mortally
wounded at tho hards of Joan Abbott, also
Chinese. They had a quarrel about money
matters. Avoce commenced the assault, when
Abbott terminated the dispute with the knife.
James Nally, residing at No. 730 Second av
enue had a quarrel on the sidewalk in front of
promises No. 265 First avenue, during which
Farley drove in Nally’s skuU with a brick.
DECEMBER.
Patrick McCudden, an officer of the General
Sessions, was shot by Michael B. Lynch, a bar
tender in tt liquor saloon corner of Broome and
Marion streets, while there was a disturbance
in the place.
Peter McCer-ty died from violence inflicted
by Michael Healey. The two lodged at No. 46
Mulberry street. anA a miaun<teratanding aris
ing Between them, Healey threatened to take
McGeraty’s life. C liter boarders in the house
separated them, and they went to bed. At two
o’clock in the morning, the cry of murder was
heard; the boarders rushed into the room and
found McGeraty weltering in his blood, and
Healey standing over him with a knife. The
first remark he made was: “ I did it; lam sor
ry I did not kill him.”
Six unknown men entored the lager beer sa
loon of John Shangler, No. 593 Third avenue,
and called for refreshments, which were fur
nished them. During their brief stay, a dis
pute arose between one or two of the strangers
and several men sitting at another table only a
few feet distant, concerning a matter of trifling
importance. At a remark made by one of the
strangers, Alexander Cunningham, a young
man 22 years of age, got up, believing himself
insulted. He took off his coat and rushed at
the offender, who at that moment raised his
umbrella and thrust the point in Cunningham’s
eye. The strangers then all left the house, and
it was not known until after they had left that
the umbrella had penetrated the brain. Cun
ningham feU to the floor insensible, and died
very shortly after.
Dr. Henry Otto Clauss, while playing billiards
with the proprietor of the house, Charles Car
son, had some dispute about the runs they had
made, when the doctor thrust his sword cane
through the body of Cai son.
Mrs. Rosanna McGaghay and Francis McGag
hay, were found dead in their apartments in
the tenement house No. 597 Grand street.
Their death was caused by suffocation from tho
gas of the stove. The flue of the chimney was
closed up by order of the proprietor of the
place.
DOCTORJARMES.’
A Legend of tho Calaveras Hills.
BY ROBERT GREELEY.
One of tho wildest districts to be found in the
State of California, is the hilly district in which
are situated the natural bridges of Calaveras.
For many miles around, the landscape gives
evidence of some terrible convulsion of Nature.
The mountains are thrown together in all ir
regular and uncouth forms; the gorges are
narrow, and seamed by great fissures, through
which mountain-torrents discharge themselves,
laden with the gold-mixed debris of the hills.
Vast fields of sands are interspersed with rocks,
in the form of boulders, so thickly as to render
the passing across them a painful task; and
others are undermined by streams which im
part to the whole country round about a cavern
ous and volcanic aspect.
When tho early miners first penetrated to
this district, its appearance was so bleak and
forbidding that none could be found sufficiently
daring to pause and pitch their tents. There
seemed something weird and supernatural in
the very atmosphere, which sent a chill to the
marrow; and winds that whistled shrilly
through the ravines, appeared the echoes of so
many phantom voices, warning the intruders to
be off, on the peril of their lives.
In due course of time—that is to say, as time
is measured in California—a mining-camp
sprang into being in one of the contiguous val
leys. Pack trains, laden with goods of every
description, began to cross the mountains; and
groups of prospectors more frequently made
their appearance. But, strangely enough, al
though the nature of the ground promised lu
crative results, no adventurer took up his
“claim” (allotment) in those almost inaccessi
ble retreats, which even the roving savages
shunned as the appropriate dwelling-place of
evil spirits. The matter grew to be part of the
staple conversation at the camp ; and, but for
the circumstance that all its denizens were
making their fortunes in a pleasanter locality,
while there was still room for more, there would
have been no lack of persons brave enough to
test the producing capacities of the yet untried
district.
Yes ; there was one, a certain Joe Humphreys,
a restless visionary, who was never satisfied
with doing well, but was eternally meditating
some plan by which a fortune might be made of
a sudden, and without exertion. Joe had
dreamed three dreams of an immense golden
nugget, which he felt convinced he was yet to
find by groping among the stones of the forbid
den locality; and so, abandoning his good-pay
ing claim at the camp, he took to prowling over
the desolate field in which he was convinced that
his fortune lay hidden.
Ho was thus engaged one morning, turning
over stones and boulders, and occasionally re
sorting to his divining-rod, when a harsh, rasp
ing voice screamed out to him, as it seemed
from the very bowels of the earth beneath him:
“ What arc you doing there ?”
Joe sprang back a pace or two, with his knife
brandished in one hand, and his revolver, ready
cocked, in the other, and the look of ono who
thinks that his time has arrived. Almost at
the instant, a gaunt, spectral figure, clad in
rags, and glaring at the intruder through two
wild eyes, peering from amid a tangled hedge
of long, coarse hair, stood before him. There
was nothing so very formidable in his looks,
however, for his arms were at the moment
filled with herbs; and Joe (his first panic
over) recognised in him a poor, half-demented
fellow, who, having ruined his health in the
course of his mining adventures, made a sort
of living by selling herbs to the miners when
he could find herbs to sell, and when he could
not, resorted to the less independent system of
begging. It was known that Doctor Barebones,
as they called him, had a hut or cavern some
where among the hills : but this was the first
time that any of the campers had come within
stone’s-throw of his dwelling place.
“ What should I be doing here, you old scare
crow ?” retorted Joe, bristling up, as he saw it
was only the doctor. “ What should anybody
be after, but gold, in such a spot as this here?”
“ Why, I am not hunting for gold, and yet I
live here. Strange fancy —isn’t it ? But I like
it better than crowded places. Ha! this is my
patrimony, Joseph, How do you like it ? I’m
not afraid of any one coveting my claim, for
there is not as much gold in all of it as it would
take to gild the head of a pin.”
“Ithottght different,” answered Joe : “but
the place does look forbidding enough, for cer
tain. What do you find here ?”
“ Herbs.”
“Nothing but herbs? Well, Doctor Bare
bones, if that’s all you find, I’d advise you to
buy a pestle and mortar, and open a Galen’s
shop at the camp. It would pay you better,
depend on’t. But here’s a dollar for you ; and
now I must get back, or some one ’ll be seizing
my pile without asking leave. We’ll meet again,
doctor, and may be I’ll be the instrument of
bringing fortune to your door.”
That night, as Joe Humphrey’s sat before the
stove at the “ Miner’s Rest”—the only tavern
in the camp—relating his experience to a crowd
of gaping loungers, all of whom were more or
less under the influence of whisky, the door
was opened, and Doctor Barebones entered,
looking, if possible, more forlorn than ever.
A party of miners and adventurers were
gambling at a table in the corner, on which
glistened huge piles of money, in dust and
coin. The doctor seated himself between the
group at the stove and the group at the table,
and bent a cold and apparently uninterested
eye upon the game.
Joe went on with his story (suppressing, how
ever, the fact of a nugget of pure, glistening
gold which he had found in the course of his re
searches that morning), and the game in
creased in interest. The betting became fu
rious, and large sums of money changed hands.
The doctor’s eyes were suddenly lighted up
with a sparkle of animation. He fidgeted rest
lessly in his seat, called f or brandy and swal
lowed it, rising in a fit of uncontrollable excite
ment, rushed up to the table, threw down a
heavy piece of gold, and exclaimed, to the
amazement of all prooout ;
“ I’ll go you a a twenty on ths ace."
The bet was accepted, and all sprang to their
feet to see the fun.
The doctor won, then lost heavily, then won
again, and so continued, until by midnight he
had nearly emptied the pockets of the crowd;
and in yet another hour, he was turned from
the door of the tavern the loser of all he had
won, and some two hundred dollars of his own
money into the bargain.
“ Fool 1” he almost shrieked, as he fled, with
downcast head, and his ragged garments drawn
closely about his skeleton figuxe. “ Fool that I
was to take part in a game to which I already
owe my ruin I It must nave been—it must have
been the liquor. But I may yet take my re
venge.”
The next day found Joe Hnmphreys groping
among the rocks; and the next evening found
Doctor Barebones again leaning over the game
sters’ table, absorbed in play. But this time
the luck was in the doctor’s favor—so much so,
that he set out for his mysterious retreat some
hundreds of dollars the richer for his two
nights’ adventure.
This time the curiosity of the miners induced
them to note the direction he took. It was a
cloudy eight, with ocYael9»al wtvryala of moon-
light; and as the Doctor, in spite of his seem
ing infirmity, sped like an antelope, it was
found impossible to keep up with him. Several
days passed, and Joe Humphreys, who had
gone away prospecting as usual, had not come
back. The miners shrewdly suspected that
“ something was up,” and organized an expe
dition to follow the doctor to his lair. They
were obliged to travel some miles before they
met with any indications of a trial: but at last
having struck a point about midway between
the upper and lower Natural Bridge, they came
upon the nearly lifeless body of poor Joe. He
was barely able to articulate; but pointing with
his arm up to the nearest hollow, he faintly
murmured:
“ The doctor’s an infamous scoundrel. He
has robbed and murdered me, and I dare say
hundreds before me. Up yonder ravine you’ll
find him; but as for me, you may leave me
alone to die. I can’t live many minutes longer,
and your time is precious.”
He died almost as the words escaped his lips.
The party pushed on, and sure enough, soon
found the doctor intrenched within an irregular
fortification of rocks, from which he dealt de
liberate execution upon the foe, while a tall,
weird female at his side reloaded his rifles.
Before the pile of stones, of which the doctor
had constructed at once nis fort and his habi
tation, yawned a pit, the bottom of which was
filled with brush ana rubbish—a bear-fall, ap-
11 xhe ifoctor’s position was well chosen, and he
had dealt severely with the enemy; but at
length a lucky shot pierced his brain, and he
fell. The assailants sprang forward with a
yell, and were speedily in possession of the en
closure, in spite of the desperate resistance of
fered by the woman, who clubbed a rifle, and
dealt many a vigorous blow before being cap
tured.
Within, the habitation was comfortably fur
nished with skins and lounges, fashioned by the
occupant’s own hands. A child crouched in a
distant corner, munching a fragment of hard
bread. Close by was a rude garden patch,
which the doctor had forced the woman, who
appeared to be heartily tired of her bondage,
to cultivate; and at the bottom of the hill were
found a miscellaneous collection of human skel
etons—the remains of prospectors whom this
viUain, to prevent the discovery of his secret,
had put out of the way.
The habitation was found to be literally
stuffed with gold, in dust, scales and nuggets:
and on every side indications of the same metal
were met with in profusion. It turned out to
bo, in fact, the richest mining region in all the
district.
The Original Jeremy Diddler.—The
original of the character of Jeremy Diddler, in
Denney’s humorous farce of “Raising the
Wind,” was an individual of the name of Bibb,
an engraver. John Taylor, in his amusing
reminiscence, thus records this singular being:
“How Bibb supported himself, having relin
guished engraving, it would be difficult to con
ceive, if he had not levied taxes upon all whom
he knew, insomuch that, besides his title of
Count, he acquired tho title of ‘ Half-crown
Bibb,’ by which appellation he was generaUy
distinguished; and, according to the rough,
and, perhaps, fanciful estimate, he had bor
rowed al least two thousand pounds in half
crowns. I remember to have met him on the
day that the death of Dr. Johnson was an
nounced in tho newspapers; and, expressing
my regret at the loss of so great a man, Bibb
interrupted me, and spoke of him as a man of
no genius, whose mind contained nothing but
the lumber of learning. I was modestly begin
ning a panegyric upon the Doctor, when ho
again interrupted me with : ‘ Oh ! never mind
that old blockhead. Have you such a thing as
ninepence about you ?’ Luckily for him, I had
a little more. Another circumstance of a simi
lar nature was told me by Morton, whose dra
matic works are decidedly popular. He told
me that Bibb met him one day after the suc
cessful performance of one of his plays, and,
concluding that a prosperous author must have
plenty of cash, commenced his solicitation ac
cordingly, and ventured to ask for the loan of a
whole crown. Morton assured him that he had
no more silver than three shillings and six
pence. Bibb readily accepted them, of course;
but said, on parting: ‘ Remember, I intended
to borrow a crown, so you owe me eighteen
penee.’ This stroke of humor induced him to
regret that Bibb had left him his debtor.”
A Convict’s Hoax.—The Toulon
journals relate the following singular hoax:
“ During the recent epidemic of the cholera a
convict at the Bagne, apparently in the last
stage of disease, declared to a jailor, under a
promise of secrecy, that he had concealed in an
abandoned quarry in the department of the
Isere a sum of 15,000 f., the produce of a rob
bery at Grenoble, and offered that sum to the
latter on condition that he would pay some few
legacies written down on a piece of dirty paper,
which also contained a plan of the spot where
the treasure was concealed. The convict then
appeared to grow worse, and presently fell back
motionless, and the turnkey, imagining that
he was dead, covered his face and gave him up
to the hospital attendants. The next act of the
turnkey was to ask for leave of absence, with
the intention of going to secure the sum so un
expectedly made over to him, but, his request
having been refused, he deserted and set out,
hoping to reach the spot described on foot.
However, on arriving at Marseilles his resources
were exhausted and he himself worn out with
fatigue. He was consequently obliged to seek
a confederate, and having excited the cupidity
of the proprietor of a small inn at which he had
alighted, they came to an agreement that the
landlord should pay the expenses of the jour
ney on condition of receiving one half of the
sum about to bo dug up. On reaching the spot
indicated the men saw they had been the vic
tims of a hoax, and on returning to Marseilles
the jailor found himfelf arrested for desertion.
He then learnt that the convict was not only
still alive, but had three times before duped
persons in nearly the same way. His object,
however, in so acting does not appear clear.”
St. Valentine’s Day.—Now that
eupid wiU soon be sending “ messages of love ”
like snow-flakes around, a brief account of the
origin of “St. Valentine” may be of interest.
The practice of choosing a Valentine on the
14th of February is said to be of very ancient
date. The precise time when it originated is
not however given, hence it has been a subject
of much controversy. Valentine was a presby
ter of the church who suffered martyrdom un
der Claudius the second, at Rome, A. D., 271.
There was another named Valentine, a priest,
who flourished about the same period, who
gave rise to a sect of fanatics called Valentin
ans, who adopted his opinions, abandoned the
Christian faith, declared against baptism, in
dulged in all kinds of licentiousness, and taught
the doctrine that there were thirty gods and
goddesses, fifteen of each sex, which were called
ZEones or Ages. But the commonly prevailing
opinion is, that on this day the birds choose
their mates, and hence from time immemorial
it has been the practice among all civilized na
tions to select it as the time for sending billet
deux and other tokens of friendship, love and
regard between the sexes. The custom is a
harmless one, but is at times rendered absurd
and ridiculous, by turning it into the medium
of scandal and caricature between those who
have no personal regard for each other.
Theological View of Negro Testi
mony.—A very bold and telling speech in be
half ef the right of negroes to testify in the
courts was recently made in the Tennessee
Legislature by a Mr. Richards, who said, in the
course of his argument: “ Why, Mr. Speaker,
to touch very cautiously upon tho domain of
theology, in which I am but little versed, is it
not a act that the Methodists, Presbyterians,
Baptists, and other religious denominations of
the South have professed for years to have
Christianized multitudes of the negroes, and
made them fit for Heaven? And will these
good people have us believe that a man may be
a good Methodist or Baptist, and yet not fit to
be believed on oath ? That he may be worthy
to take the sacrament, and unworthy to stand
in the witness-box ? That he may Bing before
the Almighty as a saint in glory, but cannot go
before a Justice of the Peace to swear to an ac
count of five dollars for work which he has done
in the workshop or cotton field ? If that be re
ligion, Mr. Speaker, and these the principles on
which it is based, I think the less we have of it
the better for public morality.”
Lessons from Tombstones.—The in
scriptions on the old gravestones of New Eng
land contrast curiously with those to be found
on European gravestones. The former usually
call upon the passer-by to prepare for death,
while the latter generally convey invitations to
pray for the soul of the departed. The follow
ing is a fair specimen of an old-time epitaph,
which may be read in a graveyard at South
Dedham, Mass.:
“ Ho, passenger, it’s worth your while to stay,
And take a Dead Man’s Lesson by the Way.
I was what tboa art: Thou .halt be
What I am now: What ocuib ‘tv* lav me ana tnee?
Now go Uiy way: but stay, take one word more;
For auglft thou know’st, thy staff stands next the door.
Deathis the door; the Door of Heaven or Hell.
Be warn’d. Be arm’d. Repent, Believe, Farewell.”
And on an old tombstone in a churchyard in
Denmore, Ireland, may still be seen the follow
ing witty inscription:
“ Here lie the remains of John Hall, grocer. The world
is not worth *jig, and I have good rawne in saving 60.”
Two Rogues Instead of One.—An
incident is related of a woman in England
whose husband, a weilthy man, died suddenly
without leaving any will. The widow, desirous
of securing the Whole property, concealed her
husband’s death, and persuaded a poor shoe
maker to take his place while a will could be
made. Accordingly he was closely muffled in
bed as if very sick, and a lawyer was called to
write the will. The shoemaker in a feeble voice
bequeathed half of all the property to the
widow. “What shall be done with the re
mainder?” asked the Jawyer. “The remain
der,” replied he, “I grto and bequeath to the
poor little shoemaker across the street, who has
always been a good neighbor and a deserving
man,” thus securing a nch bequest for himself.
The widow was thunderstruck with the man’s
audacious cunning, but did not dare expose the
> wl w two rogues the .
TAKE HEART. -
By Bdna Bean Proctor.
All day the stormy wind has blown
From off the dark and rainy sea;
No bird has past the window flown,
The only song has been the moan—
The wind made in the willow tree.
This is the Summer’s burial time;
She died when dropped the earliest leaves, \
And, cold upon her rosy prime,
Fell down the Autumn’s frosty rime—
Yet I am not as one that grieves.
For well I know o’er sunny seas 1
The blue bird waits for April skies;
And at the roots of forest trees
The May-flowers sleep in fragrant ease,
And violets hide their azure eyes.
0 thou, by winds of grief o’erblown
Beside some golden Summer’s bier—
Take heart! Thy birds are only flown.
Thy bloosoms sleeping, tearful sown,
To greet thee in the immortal year 1 ;
gw
More new books! No end to
book-making! Verily authors as a class are an
inaußtrioTiß of people. How much xnidnip'lit
oil must be wasted ; how many brains racked
and ransacked; bodies fatigued, and constitutions
shattered to produce the vast amount of literature
with which our market is glutted. Every week we
find our table piled high with works just from the
press; novel upon novel by the same writer until one
is almost forced to the conclusion that they have
adopted the same plan that England pursues in
building ships (t. e.) manufacturing by the mile and
cutting them off to order. Before the reader has had
fully time to understand one work, out comes anoth
er from the same pen, usually equal, sometimes su
perior to its predecessor. Under such circumstances
one is quite unable to find words to express their
opinion without foiling into a sameness, which if not
a fault, must, at least, be looked upon as a misfor
tune. Occasionally, an author “unknown to fame,”
makes his appearance. With what fear and trembling
be presents his maiden effort, so doubtful of its re
ception that the leaves fairly quiver as you turn
them. He is fearful of that dreadful ogre, public
opinion, and nervous as to what the critics shall say
of him.
We do not believe in discouraging genius, yet one
should be just, and deal honestly with such works as
come under their notice. A dozen lines of good
sound merited abuse might do more toward making
the reputation of a winter of talent, than pages of
undeserved praise, by pointing out to him errors,
easily overcome, which he, if left to himself, or be
slobbered with flattery, might, in years, fail to de
tect—or if he has no talent, which unhappily is too
often the case, it might turn his mind into a different
channel, convincing him, that although a capital hand
at opening oysters, he is not just the chap for an au
thor.
We would not, however, by the proceeding re
marks, lead our readers to conjecture that we are
bored with many works of questionable merit. Such
is not the case ; it is only occasionally that a book of
that character finds its way to our desk, and then we
invariably, in as feeling a manner as possible, give
our honest views of the production. This week we
have been unusually favored by receiving a copy of
The History of the Plots and Crimes of the
Great Conspiracy to Overthrow Liberty in
America. John Smith Dye, author and publisher.
No. 100 Broadway.
From the hasty perusal we have been able to give
this work, we ascertain that the object of the author
is to give in as small a compass as possible a com
plete history of the political crimes originating with
African slavery, and perpetrated by its friends during
the last century in America. The author claims that
it is necessary for the good of future gpnpm.finn« tn
show how these men resorted to the most atrocious
means to defeat the nation’s will and control the gov
ernment, and all these failing, how they rose in open
rebellion, determined to destroy the power they could
no longer control.
He also brings evidence (conclusive, he thinks) to
show that all the chief magistrates elected since the
foundation of the government in opposition to the
slave interests, in some form or other, became vic
tims of assassination. The book, aside from its im
portance as a national history, is interesting from the
racy, pointed style in which it is written, and also
from the writer’s evident weakness for anecdote. We
give a brief extract illustrative of this, when in speak
ing of annexation and slavery, the author says :
“ The Slave and Free States were now equal in
number, and it was impossible to get one lone State
admitted, as that would give a majority to one or
other of the parties, but by coupling two together,
which had previously been done with Arkansas and
Michigan, when one was slave and the other free, they
went in with a ‘rush.’
“This worked so well before, that it was thought
that, like bears in couples agree, Florida and lowa
would make a good pair, since they represented the
two great principles of State. If they had both been
black, or unfortunately both white, all would have
been in vain.
“But when there was one of each color, they were
admitted out of kindness, as lovers, together. By
this double process, it kept the slave and Free States
always equal in number; but the annexation of Texas
had brought in a large amount of new territory. The
slave power now began to get uneasy, fearing, legis
latively, that it would not be able to run slavery into
“It was power that was needed. Like the bachelor
who married a widow who had already buried five
husbands, when they were about to retire to bed the
first night, Mr. Shuttlecock, (for that was his name)
remarked, “My dear, I have always made it a rule in
life, just before retiring io bed, to return thanks to
the Giver of all good.’
“ ‘ Oh 1 how delighted I am,’ says his new wife, ‘ it
puts me so much in mind of my first love ; Mr. Rog
ers, my first husband, always did this.’ Both kneel
ing by the bedside, Mr. Shuttlecock commenced :
“ ‘ Oh, Lord 1 I adore Thee, to-night, in a new capa
city; I need now Thine assistance more than ever be
fore. Please guide and direct *
“ ‘ Stop! stop I my dear,* cries his experienced
bride, tapping him on the shoulder, “ I can do that;
pray for strength; strength is what you need most.’
“ It was strength, although of a different kind, that
the slave power wanted.’’
A Noble Life. By the author of
“John Halifax.’’ Harper & Brothers, publishers.
This is a neat little volume, beautifully bound and
clearly printed. The story is plainly and purely told,
and the moral easily drawn. The hero of the story is
represented as a poor, deformed Earl, of vast posses
sions, entirely helpless from his infancy, yet blessed
with a mind quite as superior as his physical condi
tion was inferior; added to this, a warm, affectionate
disposition, and a kind heart prompting him ever to
deeds of benevolence and goodness, whereby his life,
instead of the heavy burden it might seem, was one of
usefulness and pleasure.
Day’s American Ready Reckoner ; or,
People’s Calculator. Dick & Fitzgerald, Pub
lishers.
A valuable addition to the accountant’s library, and
one which every person having any monetary trans
actions will find of great service. It recommends
itself alike to the employer and employee, as it con
tains tables of aggregate values, wages, salaries,
board, interest, timber, plank and land measurement,
with explanations of the proper mode of reckoning
them, and simple rules for measuring land.
Martine’s Sensible Letter Writer.
Dick & Fitzgerald, Publishers.
Few things are more difficult to perform than the
writing of letters by those unaccustomed to epistolary
undertakings. In this book we have good specimens
of correspondence on all matters, from the plain,
straightforward business document to the dainty love
letter. A study of the specimens here given will tend
to improve the style of the majority of those who
write letters.
W Jarh of gift.
A Brother Pursues an Erring Sis
ter, and Reclaims Heb fbom a Life of Sin
and Shame.—Some four weeks since, says the
Cincinnati Commercial, the family of a retired
merchant of Chicago were sorrow-stricken at
the discovery that a daughter of eighteen—a
beautiful and accomplished girl—had eloped
with a worthless young man, for whom she had
unfortunately formed a strong attachment.
She had retired, as usual, the night before, but
early in the morning, before daybreak by two
or three hours, she had left th, house, taking
with her some clothing in a valise, and all her
jewelry, and what money she had been able to
accumulate, and had proceeded in a hack to
the depot, whence she had accompanied her
seducer in the direction of St. Louis. The err
ing girl’s oldest brother, with whom she had
always been a much-loved favorite, immediately
started in pursuit of her.
He had immediately suspected that this
young man, Edward Baxter, was her compan
ion in the elopement, and the suspicion became
as good as positive knowledge when he learned,
at the depot, that a trunk bearing the name of
Baxter had been started in the direction of St.
Louie. Taking the next train, young C pro-
ceeded directly to St. Louis, where he made
diligent search for several days, unsuccessfully,
however, and he was obliged to return home
without having accomplished his object. About
ten days since, the brother again visited St.
Louis on the strength of information that his
sister had taken to the stage, under an assumed
name, in some low capacity. And this was ac
tually the case. Adhering tenaciously to her
worthless lover, she had permitted him to ex
haust all her means, and finally to pawn her
watch and diamonds for a “stake" at faro.
And then, too proud and remorseful to write to
her friends, and having a mind of considerable
culture ana a taste for theatricals, she had ac
cepted an engagement in a theatre.
Arriving at St. Louis once more, her brother
discovered that Baxter, having made a heavy
winning at poker, had left with his sister, and
that he had probably gone to Cairo. He traced
them to Cairo, and rapidly from Cairo to Louis
ville, and still on from Louisville to Cincinnati,
where he arrived on Tuesday week, and took a
room at the Walnut street House. Although
worn out with fatigue and anxiety, he had dis
covered the house—to his horror, one of ill-re
pute—to which Baxter had taken his victim,
evidently with the intention of deserting her.
On the following day, Grau’a opera troupe
played “L’Africaine,” at the Mozart Hall, and,
knowing that the girl was passionately fond of
opera music, young C proceeded thither,
feeling positive that he would come across his
sister. And he was not disappointed. He
found her seated in the dress-circle, elegantly
attired in opera costume, and looking surpris
ingly beautiful, despite the marks of care and
bitter sorrow which were not to be concealed.
Her companion was a stranger to the brother,
being a Cincinnati friend of Baxter’s. The long
story of the opera was told through hours which
to the brother seemed tedious nights. The
grand orchestral and choral beauties of the
music were lost to him as, with eyes constantly
fixed upon a disgraced though still-loved sister,
he waited impatiently, with too much good
sense to create a scene, the moment which
should restore her to his care.
The curtain at last fell upon the death scene
beneath the manearilli tree, and the brilliant
audience arose and slowly passed out and down
to the street. Close to his sister and her com
panion, though observed by neither, young
C crowded his way out and watched them
enter a hack. Then, springing up by the side
p/ the dljYVii bp »«PP»P»nJpa topffl to tbeiy
destination, and on the pavement in front of
the house made himself known to the girl, and
gave her to understand, in language firm but
kindly, that she must accompany him home.
The faithful brother left on the following Fri
day for Chicago, taking her back to her home.
A Horrible Tragedy in Florida —A
Young Girl makes a “ Martyr” of Herself.
-—The most heartrending occurrence we have
ever been called upon to chronicle, says a Geor
gia paper, took place at Monticello on the 9th
ult. A young lady of education and refinement
has been gradually losing her mind. One even
ing, at about ten o’clock, she retired to her
room. An hour later, a youth who was board
ing in the same house, having occasion to pass
by the lady’s room, heard her offering up to the
Throne of Grace an unusually fervent prayer,
and pausing to listen, imagined he smelt burn
ing rags. Immediately notifying the gentle
man of the house, the family rushed to the door
of the young lady’s room, and being unable to
effect an entrance, burst the door open : when,
oh I horror of horrors ! there sat the maniac in
the centre of a feather bed enveloped in the
flames, while, with hands clasped together, she
petitioned the God of heaven and earth. Upon
entering the room, the rescuers heard a voice,
in tones of rapture, issue from the flames:
“Oh! ain’t this glorious! Ain’t I a martyr!”
The fire was promptly extinguished, when it
was found the poor lady must have been burn
ing for some time; for, from her waist down,
every vestige of clothing was destroyed, not
withstanding she was dressed in heavy woolen
fabrics, and had on a broadcloth cloak. The
character of clothing she wore was all that pro
tected the upper portion of her body. The
flesh upon the lower portion of her body and
limbs was actually baked brown, and notwith
standing, we are assured she did not appear to
suffer pain. She was conveyed to her home,
and by this time doubtless nas passed to that
land where the weary find rest. From all the
circumstances attending this truly lamentable
tragedy* it is evident the unfortunate maniac
premeditated her own destruction. She moved
all her clothing from her own home, destroyed
Jier ambrotypes and letters, and after all was
iieady, set fire to her clothing (hanging in a
wardrobe in her room), and then deliberately
igniting herself, jumped into bed.
Ijove and Money—A Love of a Wife
Runs off with Another Man and the Funds
—ls Pursued and Caught.—On Thursday, Ist
inst., says the Cincinnati Commercial, a young
man from this city arrived in Memphis in pur
suit of his wife, who, it appears, had abandoned
his bed and board, and fled with a river man to
the city on the first Chickasaw Bluff, taking
with her S7OO, which grieved her husband more
to part with than his faithless spouse.
The young man gave his name as George En
glish, and awoke the sympathy of as many peo
ple there as did Shylock when he bemoaned the
loss of his daughter and his ducats. The be
reaved Benedict watched the streets, hotels,
and theater with lynx eyes, and at last espied
the faithless one leaning lovingly on the arm of
the gay and jocund son or Neptune, who,
strange to relate, did not bethink him of using
his triton on the infuriated husband as he
rushed frantically up Main street to seize him
by the throat. He only, in fact, bethought
him of his legs, which he used to such advan
tage as placed several squares between him and
the man ho haJ wrongua.
Meantime, Madam stormed, scratched, bit
and threatened, but the S7OO were at stake, and
she must go to prison or disgorge. That was
the ultimatum; and finding no help for it, she
was obliged to go to her boarding house and
draw from between the bed-ticks, where it was
reposing in crispy coziness, the wallet contain
ing those comfortable S7OO. The wrath of the
injured husband subsided the moment his hand
clutched the package, and smiling sardonically,
he politely bade the lady a very good day, and
wished her much joy in her new-found love.
The foolish wife is said to be quite good look
ing, and hails from Cleveland, Ohio, where her
friends and relations reside.
A Tragedy in a French Village—
The Result of “Domestic Infelicity.”—The
village of Charleval (Bouchec-du-Rhone) has
just been thrown into consternation by a shock
ing tragedy. M. Moucan, the proprietor of the
Cafe du Bouf d’Or, at the place above men
tioned, after living some time very unhappily
with his wife, had agreed with her to obtain a
judicial separation, and meantime Mme. Mou
can, with her son, three years old, went to re
side with her father, M. Noyer, at Cadenet, a
town in the neighborhood. Shortly afterward,
Madame Moucan and her son, accompanied by
her father, went to Charleval on business con
nected with the proposed separation. As they
were returning to Cadenet in the evening, in a
cabriolet, along with a Madame Castor, they
were met about half a mile from Charleval by
M. Moucan, who fired two shots at his wife with
a revolver, inflicting a slight wound. M. Noyer
then alighted to seize the murderer, and also
received a shot and several stabs with a knife.
Though wounded, Madame Moucan, who appa
rently was apprehensive of an attack, had pro
vided arms, and, drawing a pistol, attempted to
discharge it at her husband, but it missed fire.
He then fired at her again, but missed, and
then stabbing her with a knife, took to flight.
Ono of the shots had killed Madame Castor on
the spot. The horse, terrified by the reports
of the pistols, ran away with only Madame Cas
tor’s body and the child in the cabriolet, but
was stopped at the first village, and the child
escaped unhurt. M. Nover ana his daughter
were soon after found by a carrier and taken
home. Madame Moucan, who was enciente, was
prematurely confined a few hours after of a son,
who was alive, and she herself was expected to
recover. Her father’s wounds, though severe
were not dangerous. The next morning the
gendarmery went to arrest the murderer, but
when ho saw them approaching he discharged
two shots at his own head, and expired soon
afterward.
Suicide of an English Servant Girl.
—A Stbanoe Stoby about a Lie.—An inquest
has been held at the Strand Union, Bow street,
Eng., on Mary Smith, aged 16 years, servant to
Mrs. Farrow, No. 3 Tavistock street, Covent
Garden. Mrs. Glinister, housekeeper to Mrs.
Farrow, deposed that she found deceased hang
ing by the neck by a ropo attached to the wall.
Witness cut her down. She never had any
reason to suppose deceased contemplated sui
cide. She was about to leave. She had told
some untruths. Mr. George Smith, a gentle
man residing in the Adelphi, stated that the
deceased was formerly in his service, and he
thought her a cheerful, honest, quiet girl. On
Monday she called on him at his house and told
him she was very unhappy in her place and
could not agree with the housekeeper, who was
always knocking her about, and who had on
one occasion thrown a hammer at her, but
though it did not strike her it, went through a
looking-glass. Mrs. Glinister, the housekeeper,
said it was not true that she had ever thrown a
hammer at the deceased. Had sometimes re
monstrated with her for untidy habits, and on
one occasion pushed her by the shoulder, Af
ter that the deceased expressed her regret at
having aggravated witness. Jane Roberts,
charwoman, deposed that deceased always ap
peared to her a lively, good-natured, and kind
person. On Wednesday deceased said to wit
ness, “ I have told a fearful lie about the house
keeper throwing a hammer at me.” She also
said she would give £2O if she could recall the
lies she had told. She would rather meet death
than that Mrs. Smith should know she had told
such lies, as Mrs. Smith had been more than a
mother to her. The jury returned a verdict of
“ Temporary insanity.”
Another Chicago Mystery—Two
Human Arms Found “ Lying About Loose
and Cabeless.”—The Chicago Republican, 3d
inst., reports another mystery : “At an early
hour yesterday morning officer Prince of the
Third Precinct police, discovered two human
arms lying upon the platform of the freight
depot of the Galena and Chicago Union rail
road, just below State street bridge.”
On which occasion the Cincinnati Commer
cial comments: “ There is no mystery about
it. Those limbs were undoubtedly ejected
from a hydrant, and then blown about by the
wind until found. It is only a short time since
Chicago was startled ‘by the discovery (we
quote the Times') of dismembered portions of
flie human body, which were picked up in
broad daylight, in the most crowded thorough
fares of that charming city. Discoveries of
this sort, fragments of bodies in the streets,
and thumbs and fingers spiritng out of the wa
ter pipes, however, no longer startle, or create
even a ripple or excitement. The citizens
think no more of picking up an estray index
finger, or an unclaimed big toe, than they
would of finding a cast horse-horse, or a truant
hairpin. The Times speaks of finding a pair
of fingers lying about loose as an insignificant
affair, put it is of opinion that the finding of a
bundle containing ‘ two human arms,’ freshly
dismembered, ‘the hands turned up to the
shoulder,’ the whole tied up in a mosquito net
ting (which it says happened the other day,)
is well calculated to cause an exclamation of
horror to rise to the lips.” If this is all true,
Chicago must be “ a healthy sort of a place to
live in.”
Crime in France—A Brief Summa
ry A poor little boy, scarcely three years old,
was murdered at St. Denis by two workmen,
after the perpetration of an act to which we
cannot allude. Strange to say, in the house of
a police commissary, opposite the Ministere de
ITnterieur, a girl’s throat was cut by her lover,
who appears to have done the same to several
of his other mistresses, after robbing them of
their money and jewels. A husband threw his
wife out of the window of a house in the Rue
Myrrha, and has been condemned to twenty
years of the galleys. To this we must add the
assassination of a naturalized Englishman, M.
Lavergne, who having made his fortune in In
dia, wished to spend the remainder of his life
in Paris, and unfortunately met in the Calais
steamer a certain Poncet. with whom he formed
an acquaintance. Poncet overwhelmed the old
gentleman with civilities, and invited him, two
ays after his arrival, to drive with him to the
Bois d’Arganteuil, near Neuilly, where the poor
old man was next day found murdered and
stripped of his money and watch. Hie Indian
servant gave evidence that his master had the
habit of carrying on an average the sum of
£4O in his spectacle case, which he wore at
tached to a chain round his neck. Poncet
proved to be an escaped convict, and has been
to death, go groat was the excite-
Sunday Edition. Feb. 11.
ment of the mob to catch a glance at th©
wretched culprit that a company of infantry
naa some difficulty in preventing the crowd
A l ? a En e Q al n ng S. the tribunal de la Cour
d Aqbiscb, Rue St. Fierro,
A Sad Case of Seduction—A Mother
and Her Daughter Ruined Ry the same Max*
—About a year ago, says the Boston Daily
Voice, of the 2d inst., a fellow named David
Pattyplace won the affections of a widow named
Fanny E. Bailey, of Milford, Mass., seduced
her, borrowed all her money, and even mad©
her sell her house and give him the proceeds*
Having effected the ruin of the mother, he re
solved on accomplishing a similar outrage upon
the eldest of her four children, and accordingly
induced this young girl to abscond with him to
iH? residence of her cousin in the State
Rhode Island, where he represented her to be his
wife*
Mrs. P hearing the situation of affairs*
followed her erring daughter and endeavored!
to persuade the rascal to give her up, but hei
refused to do so, and took the deluded girl tor
Cohoes, N. Y., where he procured board and!
lived with her as with a wife, until Friday of
last week, when he deserted her, leaving her
without a cent of money or a change of cloth*
mg, to be turned away by the boarding-mis
tress, to whom he was indebted for three weeks 9 ’
board, lhe police captured Pattyplace shortly
aiterward, and took him to Cohoes, where an
officer from Milford was in waiting for him. Th©
prisoner and his victim were both taken to Mil
f°rd, and it is to bo hoped he will be punished
to the extreme extent of the law.
A Married Man sends the Wrong
Letter to His Wife—What Came of it.—
n e understand that a well-known business;
man of this city, says the Indianapolis Heralds
Jan. 24, who has a wife and a family, has given
rise to a good deal of talk by his attentions to a>-
fair and frail damsel. The gentleman is in New
york, and wrote an affectionate letter to tho
object of his guilty passion, urging her to join
him, and enclosing fifty dollars to pay hen
traveling expenses. At the same time ne wrote
a loving letter to his wife, deploring the urgen
cy of the business which kept him away from
the bosom of his family, and bewailing the te<*
diousness and tastelessness of the hours unen«
hvened by her dear presence. By some odd
iatality the letters were mixed, and the wife goto
the one intended for the mistress. She had
scented a rodent for some time, but now there
was no room for doubt. Pocketing the fifty
dollars as so much good out of evil, she placed
the fatal letter in the hands of a lawyer, who"
who will proceed to bring suit for a divorce.
—— 3
The Fugitive from the Mormons.—*
We gave recently an account of the suffering©
of a young girl who had escaped from the Mor
njons (one Louisa Blackburn,) who was found ir&
Mahoning Co., Ohio, under a haystack, where
she claimed to have existed for twenty-two dayer
without food, through the very coldest of tha
season, is still alive. The Erie Dispatch says,
last week, owing to the terrible condition of her',
feet, amputation became necessary. The sur-*
geons performed the operation while the pa
tient was under the influence of ether. She
was anxious to have it over with, saying, “If I
live I live, and if I die I die, and go to Jesus.”
While the doctors were preparing the
cko O cvi»».iy ctx-Txg; a iivmu, uuct requested that
prayer be offered up. When lifted from.,
the bed to the operating table, her right foot
fell off of itself. The operation was speedily ~
performed without pain or delay. It is very
doubtful if she can recover from the terrible
trial to which she has been subjected. She caw
keep no sustenance, or very little, on her stom®
ach. The case seems incredible.
j
A Contraband Charged with Biga»
my. —Daniel Nelson, a contraband, living ort
Eighth etrret east, near Maryland avenue, was
arrested, says the Washington Evening Star of
the 3d inst., yesterday, by Officer Leaves, on:
the charge of bigamy, preferred by his second
wife, Emily Nelson, and last evening the casG
was heard by Justice Walter. It appeared from .
the evidence and the statement of parties that
Nelson came from Virginia, and over two years
ago his wife and ten children were sent South
before the Confederate armies; that after her
came here he married the complainant, who
was cognizant of all the facts, with the under
standing that if his first wife should appear thei
complainant should give up all claim to him.
A short time since the first wife appeared with
her ten children, and Nelson left the complain
ant, according, as alleged, to the terms of tha
agreement ; but the complainant having had a
child by him, was not satisfied, although the
defendant agreed to pay two months’ house
rent for the complainant and to support the
child, to give her a start, and obtained the war
rant for nis arrest on the charge of bigamy.
Justice Walter dismissed the case.
A Real Tragedy and Mystery in a
Theatbe.—“OnTuesdaynight, at our theatre,”
says the Indianapolis Herald of the Ist inst.,
“while Miss Heron was harrowing up the feel
ings of the audience with the fictitious griefs ofX.
‘ Medea,’ a real tragedy was being enacted in
the parquette. A young, beautiful, and accom
plished lady, who resides on Tennessee street,
in company with a male friend, was observed to
take a vial from her pocket and hastily swallow
its contents. Noticing something strange am!
wild in her manner, the young man asked her
what it was she had taken, when she replied
that it was only a little cough mixture. In a
short time, however, she became deadly ill, and
was taken home, where she confessed that shft
had taken poison—a mixture of oxalie acid and
opium. Physicians were called in, and every
thing possible was done for her relief. At last
accounts it was thought she would recover.
The affair, so far as we can learn, is enveloped
in mystery, no cause being assigned for the
rash act.
t (
A Peculiar Contract—A New Wax
to Get Rid of One’s Wife.— The following tri-
Eartite contract was signed by an “ aggrieved”
usband, his wife and the destroyer of his
peace at Cincinnati, Ohio, a few days since :
Cincinnati, Ohio, County of Hamilton, 1
January 23, A. D., 1866. f
I, John Fly, before Almighty God, and by
these presents, do relinquish all claims to my
wife that was (Fanny Fly) for the sum of five
hundred dollars. Ido further promise that I
will never molest or seek to regain possession
of said Fanny Fly during my naturallife ; that
I will never employ others to molest or seek to
regain her, and that I relinquish all claim,
title or possession I ever had in said Fanny Fly.
I subscribe to this of my own free will, and am
of saue mind. " (Signed)
John Fly.
Attest: Fannie R ,
Fbank R —.
An Ingenious Way of Getting Rid
of A Child.—A keen Custom House official on
tne American side of the St. Croix, says tho
Portland Advertiser, met a woman crossing a,
bridge with a bundle in her arms. “ Wliat
have you there ?” he demanded. She hesitated,
stammered and then said, “ Nothing dutiable.”
He insisted on seeing it; slio voeictoU, a strug
gle ensued, at last she yielded and placed tha
bundle in his arms, saying, “ Take it, then, anil
much good may it do you.” Then she returned
to St. Stephen, wliile he made for the light to
examine his treasure, which proved to bo an in
fant a few days old. The mother has been un
discovered, the Poor House officials refuse to
take the child, and so the energetic officer is
allowed to enjoy his whole capture.
More About the Yelverton Case.—
The sister of Mrs. Theresa Longworth writes to
a cotemporary on the subject of the late verdict
of the Scotch Jury in tho case of the action
against the Saturday Review, saying in the
course of her letter: “My sister has asserted)
her position as an honorable wife, by the aid
and sanction of her family, who believe in her
truth and the sanctity of her marriage, though
most anxious at the same time to obtain from
his Holiness the Pope a dispensation from tha
unhappy bond. In the meantime I trust andl
pray that the Great Just Judge of all tribunals
will yet remove this stigma from her beloved
name, and that an English public will not be
lieve that which never has and never can ba
proved against the most enduring and unrepin
ing of God’s suffering ones.”
A Negbo Murderer Burned to Death
fob his Cbime.— The negro who committed s
diabolical murder of a white girl and boy in
Union county, Arkansas, a few weeks since, was
followed and arrested in Bradley county by ne
froes. After being brought back he confessed
is guilt, and went to the place where the mur
der was committed, and got the knife which he
had used and afterward concealed under a log.
After the proper examination, he was burned
to death, old negroes and Federal soldiers as
sisting in bringing pine knots to make the fire.
The negroes manifested the utmost anxiety tc
have him brought to justice, and actually fol
lowed him a long distance to arrest him. ‘
A White Man Commits Rape Upon a
Neobo Woman.— A rape case before Justice
Miller, of East Saginaw, 111., has been creating
considerable attention for a few days past..
The complainant was an old colored woman,
between 40 and 50 years of age, weighing 197
Sounds, and the mother of fourteen children,
he defendant was a young white man about 25
years old, weighing about 140 pounds. After a
lengthy examination, the young man was com
mitted to trial in default of bail.
Abduction of a Young Girl of Fif
teen Yeabs of Age. —A man named John Mul
ligan, 22 sears of age, a painter by trade, was,
says the Brooklyn Times, of the 7th inst., on
Thursday arrest ed by Officer Sullivan, of the 42<J
Precinct, on a charge of abduction. The com
plainant is Wm. H Hazzard, who alleges that
the accused, on the 4th and 6th inst. abducted
his daughter, 15 years of age, away from her
home for improper purposes. He took her to s
house No. 64 Prospect street, at which the two
were found together, and Mulligan arrested.
A Negro Attempts to Rape a White
Gibl.— A most brutal assault was attempted
upon a young lady residing near Redoubt No.
9, at Mobile, by a black scoundrel. The poor
girl screaming with all the power she could
command, caused her relatives to rush to her
assistance, when the negro fled and jnfse