New York dispatch. [volume], February 03, 1867, Image 1

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

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VOLUME XXII.
it-' . _ __ _ _ .
TJie New York Dispatch,
PUBLISHED
EVEBV SITLHDAT JIOBMMJ
AT No. ft FRANKFORT STREET,
A FEW DOOES BELOW TAMMANY HALL.
SUBSCRIPTION PRICE, St 00 A YEAR.
«®“ A SECOND EDITION, containing the latest news
from all quarters, published on Sunday morning.
FW* The NEW V ORK DISPATCH is sold by all News
Agents in the City and Suburbs at TEN CENTS PER
COPY. All Mail Subscriptions must be paid in advance.
Canada Subscribers must send 25 cents extra, to prepay
American .postage. Bills of all specie-paying banks taken
at par-
TERMS OF ADVERTISING.
Hereafter, the terms of Advertising in the Dispatch
willix- as follows:
WALKS ABOUT TOWN 30 cento per line.
BUSINESS WORLD 20 “ ” *’
SPECIAL NOTICES 18 “
REGULAR ADVERTISEMENTS..IS “
Under the heading of “ Walks About Town” and Bus
iness World” the same prices will be charged for each in
sertion. For Regular Advertisements and “Special
Notices,” two-thirds of the above prices will be charged
for the second insertion. Regular advertisements will lie
taken by the quarter at the rate of one dollar a line.
Special Notices by the quarter will be charged at the rate
of one dollar and twenty-five cents per line. Outs and
fancy display will be charged extra.
and
Adolph B. Deraism.es.—TAais indi
♦idual, last week, furnished us with a poem as original,
entitled “ Resignation,” which we published. It was al
most literally stolen from Longfellow. There is scarcely
h day that we do not receive poetry which is attempted to
be palmed upon us as original that is stolen from some
standard author. Occasionally our memory is defective,
and we may print tho offspring of a brain as the emana
tion of one who is naught but a counterfeit. Mr. De-
Taismes need not send anything mdre to the Dispatch,
ae we can have no further confidence in his truth or
honor. We may be imposed upon once, but cannot be a
second time by the same person. We hope that Mr. D.
may learn from this—if he is actuated by no higher mo
tive—that after all, honesty is the best policy.” Several
of our readers have kindly called our attention to tho
piracy, and we thank them all for the interest shown in
holding up to public contempt the individual who could
be guilty of so weak a folly and actuated by sn ambition
»o pitiful.
A Radical.—“l have had an argu
went with a miserable hybrid—a native of Madland,
who claims to be a full-fledged Southerner—regarding
Mason and Dixon’s line. He claims more free soil than I
an? willing to concede to the traitors. Will you please
inform me about where it runs ?” Mason and Dixop’s
line was originally drawn to settle boundary disputes be
tween the Colonial governments of Pennsylvania and
Maryland. It is situated on the parallel of 39 deg., 43
min., and 26.3 seconds, and properly begins at the N. E.
corner of Maryland, and runs due West. This celebrated
line has been used in speeches and writings to designate
where freedom ended and slavery begun. However, as
the whole country is now free territory, we will hence
forth hear very little about “Mason and Dixon’s Line.”
A. Al. C.— “l have had a dispute
with a friend, and we have left the matter to you fdr de
cision: Was Wm. R. King, elected as Vice-President on
the ticket with Franklin Pierce, ever sworn into that
office, and did he ever perform the duties of the office ?”
Wm. R. King took the oath of office in Cuba, on the 24th
of March, 1853, and died of consumption on the 13th of
April of the same year. He never performed the duties
of Vice-President. David R. Atchison, Senator from
Missouri, succeeded Mr. King. Senator Atchison be
came somewhat notorious during the Kansas troubles as
the profane leader of “ border ruffians.”
Bluff. —“ A bet was made between
two parties, and left to you to decide: A. and M. play
bluff; A. has in his hand ace, two, three, four and five
spots, and bets on them. M. sees him. A. says he has a
straight. M. says he has not, and takes the money. M #
says the ac 6 cannot be counted that way, and A. holds
that it can. Which is right?” A. is right. In this case
the ace counts, as it is, one. It is the privilege of the
majority of cards to be either highest or lowest in a
straight. For instance: the six spot may be highest in
one straight and lowest in another.
J. IV. S.— “ Will you please inform
me of the meaning of Punicum Pellum, which words I re
cently met in one of the speeches delivered in Congress ?’’
Punicum Bollum” was the name given to the celebrated
wars undertaken by Rome against Carthage, and which
finally ended in the complete destruction of the last
named city. It was in the<e wars that Scipio Africanus,
Scipio the Younger, Hannibal and Fabius made them
selves famous.
Frank has a friend who insists that
Amesterdam. the capital of Holland, has apopul&tion
equal to that of New York, and that in commercial
Affairs it is a much more important place. “Frank”
wishes to know if his friend is right? Amsterdam con
tains less than one-third as many inhabitants as this
city; and though a flourishing city, as a centre of com
merce, it is of little importance in comparison with New
York.
Jasper. Only one deduction of
S6CO is allowed from the aggregate incomes of a family
composed of parents and minor children, even though
one parent only may be living. It is not essential that
the children Jive with the parents. Husband and wife
are regarded as members of the same family, though liv
ing separately, unless separated by divorce or other ope
ration of law, such as to break up the family relations.
A Manufacturer. —“ lam selling
goods on four months’ credit, but have to make monthly
returns of sales to the Internal Revenue Department,
and pay manufacturers’ tax every month. How much
discount have I a right to deduct when paying my
-taxes?” No discount whatever. You are supposed to
cover all taxes by charges upon, the goods, and the gov
ernment has no knowledge of “time” sales.
A Constant Reader wants to know
if agents canvassing for a manufacturing company are
required to take out license? A canvassing agent is re
quired to pay a “ special tax,” which has been substitut
ed for the “ license law.”
W. IL B. J.— We know nothing
whatever about the gift enterprise in question. It may
or may not be a genuine affair. Don’t buy any tickets
till perfectly satisfied that it is an honest undertaking.
Frank.— We cannot tell which of
the two schemes, in regard to which you question uh, is
the best.
Adolescent Depravity—New York’s
Nubsebies of Chime.— From the annual report of
the Commlseions of Charities and Correction, of this
■city, we learn that there are in Now York some thirty
thousand homeless friendless children between the
ages of five and twelve, who are receiving no educa
tion, but who are growing up in ignorance and crime,
the probable future candidates for the prison and the
gallows. Utterly destitute, many without parents,
and all without the active, effective sympathies of
those who could raise them above want, how can it
he that, .as they grow up, they should be other than
dissolute and criminal. It is this class that fill our
reformatories and prisons; and, because of their de
fective discipline, it is sad to believe that the place of
punishment for tho first offence is the school of the
greater villanies, and that the boy sentenced to 30 or
fiO days for petty theft, and entering the prison con
trite or remorseful, steps from it hardened and defi-
resolute in wickedness, and conscious that to him
.the world of honesty and virtue is shut out, and that
there is no future for him but in successful crime.
JThere is now, in the city of New York, a sharply de
junea criminal class, constantly augmenting in num
bers as well as in depravity, and corresponding in
organization and habits of life to the dangerous
Classes of the great cities of Europe. There can be
no weU-grounded hope for the diminution of crime
while thisi class shall exist. It is idle to rest on the
feeble palliatives of benevolent associations unaided
by the strong voice of public opinion. They can
effect nothing, nor can mere governmental measures.
The sensible repression of crime can only be accom
plished by the dispersion of the criminal class
through the earnest and continuous action of the
tertiQle community. When the public mind shall be
aroused to a sense of the magnitude of the evil and
ite aspect, we may hope for its abatement;
and the aseocia tions which abound for the moral ad
vancement of the depraved will then become ready
and ueeful instrumentalities to fulfill the purposes of
their benevolent founders.
Reorganized.— The German Repub-
Jican Central Committee of this city, held a meeting
® n Jnday last> and reorganized for the ensuing year
py the election the following efficers: Chairman,
A. Erbe; Vice-Chairman, Dr. 8. Watermann; Secro
fery> P r - M - Raese; Finance Committee, H. Wes
endonk, P. Cook, H. Itjchard, A. C. Rau, Philip Frank
epheimer; Correspondence Committee. A. Gercke, IV,
yeueterer. L. Bonsmer. 4, TanzeK
PMBHED BY A. J. WIAMffl.
SWINDLES ]N THE CITY. |
The One Dollar Jewelry Gift Concerns-Re*
suit of Last Week’s Article—Only One
Arrest this Week, then the Beaters are
Beat—The Confidence Men of the City-
How they Operate—Various Ways In
whleh Beats are Made—Fasts for Our
Rural Friends to Ruminate Over.
The article of last week on the Dollar Gift Enter
prise establishments has done some good; it has
sent the fingor-posts, who dole out bills to the passers
by, and stand, like Hamlet’s ghost, before their little
show-cases inside of the premises to hide their heads.
For that service to the public, the Dispatch is, at
least, entitled to thanks. f
But one arrest was made the past week, where be
fore there were dozens, and that arrest was of
little account. The fellow who came under the sur
veilance of the police keeps the furthest down dollar
establishment in Broadway, very near Bowling
Green, and all he took was six dollars; but that six
dollars, it appears, was like a God-send. In these
hard times it was not to be shoezed al, though two
years ago these fellows would have flung such a trick
in the victim’s face, and told him to clear but. Then,
if they could not make a hundred out of a customer,
they swore like the troopers in Flanders. Now they
are as meek as Moses in Egypt, and will be satisfied
with a ten or a the dollar operation. Time works
wonders. ' s /
These Broadway fellows, after beating the rustic
out of six dollars, seemed so elated that they knew
not what to do. They must have been starving, for
they immediately shut up shop, adjourned to a
neighboring restaurant and had box stews each.
Victim went into the box adjoining, and had a box
stew likewise. It was there he overheard old Joe
Miller jokes related at his expense. While waiting
for the stews, one of them got off a comic screed, be
ginning—
“ If I had a donkey and he wouldn’t go,
D’ye think 1 would wallop him ?
No, no.”
vb :
“ No, no,” joined in Finger-post and Roper-in in at
the same time. “ Serve him,” said one of the party,
“ as we done the jolcel half an hour ago, soft soap him
and let him slide down the gearing to—hey waiter,
bring those stews.” •«-
This satisfied the countryman that he had been
fleeced, and he called upon the police for assistance.
They came at the call, but the place was still shut up,
and the officer left. The yokel, bound to have satis
faction, waited off for a time till the doors were again
reopened and the finger-post took his stand, with bill
in hand, in front of the door, when off he rushed for
an officer. The bivalvers were astonished at the ap
pearance of an officer, and still more so when taken
before the Mayor, who ordered the finger-post to re
turn the money he had caused to be taken by a swin
dle. Finger-post couldn’t do it, the money in ques
tion had been invested in bivalves, and had gone
to that bourne from which no oyster returns. The
order to refund was imperative. The concern was
“cornered;” it was now on “shorts.” They talked
at first of pledging their rings, but the question was,
who would take them ? The brass of the establish
ment, sold as gold, would not amount to six shillings.
The dilemma was finally surmounted by one of the
concern hypothecating his benjamin (overcoat) at
Simpson’s.
A BLANK. '
After taking the trouble of going round the city to
get the exact residence and location of these cheap
jewelry swindles, we called on Inspector Dilke to get
a correct list of the owners of these places, but he
said that although nearly all of them had been ar
rested at sometime or other, no such record as the
public would like to see had ever been made. The
practice when these fellows are hauled up for a
swindle is to make them refund the money and let
them go. In two years there has been but one con
viction of a one dollar gift enterprise swindler, and
that was the notorious thief, Lewis Pike, and all that
he received after conviction was one month’s impris
onment and a fine of SSO. That was a healthy sen
tence.
OTHER SWINDLES—THE CONFIDENCE MEN.
He who has ever read of Gil Blas, will remember
that therein figures a duke of great Integrity. The
man that would have dared offer a bribe to him would
have been annihilated. But he had a secretary—of
smooth tongue, and fair speech, who never objected
to a gift, and the Duke took all that was given him by
the secretary and no questions were asked; he took
his ducats, pocketed them, and when stuffing them
in his pockets, although told they were fees, he knew
to a ducat what had been paid. Does not history in
rascality as well as in everything else repeat itselt?
Of course, the patricians of modern times, however
unlike the modern Dukes, of olden times, don’t trust
to their secretaries or clerks, but see to getting the
ducats in their own dukes. If it were not so, how is
it that murder can be committed with impunity and
if no reward is offered—if the case is shrouded in
mystery—the last heard of the affair is the Coroner’s
inquest; but let it be a robbery where money is at
stake and there is a reward, then there is a great dif
ference. . .
OUR CONFIDENCE MEN
are well-known to the police. Some of them have
been plying their .avocation around West street for
the last twenty-five years. The authorities have the
likenesses of some of these fellows—some half dozen
but scores of others they have not got, and never will
get, although they are well-known to tho police. The
likenesses of the following confidence scamps have
been taken recently:
William Corbett, Frederic Wood,
William Mood, Theodore Bishop,
Stewart Wilson, Hugh Smith,
Frcncis Weaver, William Howgan,
James Martin, James Dickson,
Robert Neal, Amos Thorne,
Ed. Allen, Lewis Pike.
Of all the fellows following this life, how many are
annually convicted! Very few indeed.
A POLITICIAN TAKEN IN.
The smartest of man are sometimes taken in by
these gifted fellows. The other day an old staler
and a well-known politlciau was passing one of those
places. There was a target company excursion in his
Ward to come off soon, and knowing that he would be
called upon to contribute a prize, seeing what purport
ed to be a silver cup in the window, he thought, like
Mrs. Toodles, and her door-plate, that it would be
handy to have in the house. He accordingly entered
the place, invested his dollar, and got the cup. Behind
the petition, he saw a alight commotion, and like an
old stager, he ventured behind the scenes to see tho
scene, and there he beheld the envelope game. He
was told as were others, (all the rest in the ring), that
by the investment of S2O they had a chance to draw
an envelope with S3OO. Old stager was very dubious,
and could not be coaxed to invest his S2O. He knew
the tricks that were played, and though satisfied that
he had not lost sight of the envelope,he would not put
his twenty down. The plaver knowing the customer
he had to deal with, asked him if he would not invest
on the envelope he held in his hand. No. It was then
opened, and sure enough the S3OO was in it. At this
stage of the proceedings, a broad-faced countryman
entered and witnessed the proceedings. He was a
confederate, of course, and when the same envelope
was replaced, he whispered to this old stager. “ Say
you put your twenty up, and I’ll put my twenty
and we can divide. The thing is in one of these two
envelopes.” The bait took, and the two shelled their
S2O each out ; the envelope was drawn, and when
opened, it was nix. That target company’s cup cost the
old stager s2l.
THE FIRST GIFT ENTERPRISE
on the one dollar principle was started by a German,
about twelve years ago. The promoter landed in this
city in December, he put his machinery in motion in
January, and had his first drawing in February, by
which he cleared $1,300. Tn prizes he paid out about
S6O. The proprietor was not well enough posted up,
or his concern might have continued on for a year on
the capital of $75 on which it was started, and there
by made thousands out of it, had not a beat claimed
a prize which they refused to pay, when the concern
was crushed under foot by Mayor Westervelt.
A SMART OPERATION.
The confidence game is all that its names implies.
You are the victim of circumstances—you are robbed,
and you can’t believe it. For instance: Last Satur
day, early in the morning, a gentleman strolled
leisurely down the dock where lay a California
steamer. With cigar in his mouth and hands stuck
in the pockets of his monkey-jacket, a gentleman,
who looked very much like a sporting character,
came up to the steamer and saw a rustic old fellow
and bls son of about twenty. They had come from
the interior, taken their passage for California, and,
from their garb, it was evident they had read Youatt
on horses. At a glance, the confidence man read all
that in, when the following conversation ensued:
Swell.— Going to California, eh ?
Rustic.— Yes.
Swell— (Taking the cigar out of his mouth and look
ing with a patronizing air around him)—That’s your
son, I suppose ?
Rustic.— Yes, sir.
I think, from your appearance, you could
take care of horses ?
Rustic.— Bet you !
Swell.— Well, now, I want to—well, I think that I—
you could be serviceable to me, and it would put
something in your pocket. I am going to ship a
valuable sorrel mare, and if you would undertake—
your son, I mean—to see to it on the voyage—well I
wouldn’t grudge forty dollars. It would be like found
money to the boy.
Rustic.—l can lake care of a horse, I bet you.
Swell—~Wen (takißg a long puff at his cigar), how
lucky I am to get such a jgan to look after the ware,
NEW YORK, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1867.
I wouldn’t lose her for any money. Come and see
her; she is stabled in the other street. There is time
enough; you won’t sail for five or six hours yet.
The swell, as he said this, proffered a cigar to the
rustic, gave him a light, and in a twinkling the two
were trudging along West street, and up Courtlandt,
to Gilsey’s Building, which has an entrance on Court
landt street and an outlet on Broadway. Suddenly
the swell’s cigar went out, and he asked for a light.
After getting the light, and very politely returning
thanks, as the “ first gentleman” of Princeton Col
lege will in time show us when he gets Jerome’s
medal, he paused for a second in abstract thought,
and suddenly recollected that h<» had a bill of SIOO to
pay. He pulled his pocket-book out, and found that
he had only fifty dollars in change. The balance,
which he took occasion to show, was only SI,OOO and
$5,000 notes. Couldn’t rustic oblige him with the
loan of fifty dollars, till they got up to the stables
where the sorrel mare was ? Rustic gave the SSO in
a second. Swell accepted it with as much nonchal
ance as he would have done a chew of tobacco at the
barkeeper’s expense. Swell went up into Gilsey’s
Building, but never returned that way again. Rustic
waited an hour outside, until he found he was beat;
then he called on the police and told the above story.
But victim could not afford to lose his passage; he
sailed that afternoon for California, leaving the swell
to enjoy his SSO so easily gained. t
PAINS-TAKING OPERATOR.
Very few people have an adequate idea of the
amount of time, labor, money and ingenuity that is
required or is used sometimes by a first-class cohfi
dence operator. Having paid his passage up to Chi
cago with some emigrants, he usually tries to pay his
expenses by victimizing a greenhorn, but never
enough to break him, as then the emigrant would be
likely to make too much noise. He only borrows
enough for present use, and yet retains the confi
dence of his victim. For instance: Confidence men
are well posted up on the geography of the country
and the residents of some particular locality. That
is their chief capital—the knowledge of men and
places. That furnishes a considerable fund of small
talk, upon which they enlarge, A gentleman who
recently arrived from Peoria, Illinois, on his way to
Germany, was very innocently ]>led to the amount of
$250. Coming down on the Central road, a very
plausible gentleman took the seat adjoining, and
entered into an agreeable conversation. The new
made acquaintanceship was cultivated, and when they
arrived in the city, both put up at the same hotel.
Lite in the mofnlng, after a comfortable nap and a
substantial breakfast, confidence man and his victim
sallied forth to see the city. Confidence man in
formed victim that he had purchased SIO,OOO worth
of dry goods that he intended to take to Ger
many. The two went out arm-in-arm, as friends
would do, confidence man acting as guide to the Hoos
ier. At length they drew up in front of a Peter Funk
dry-goods auction store, on the steps of which stood a
confederate, picking his teeth. While tooth-picking,
he took his hat partially off and botfed to Tompkins,
the victim, and then turned around to his associate,
and exclaimed: •*
“ Smith, I suppose you want these goods of yourn
shipped this afternoon. The boat sails to-morrow.
You go with ’em, of course. By-the-bye, there is five
hundred of the ten thousand due.”
“Is that all,” exclaimed the operator, taking out
his note-book and looking over his memorandum,
“I thought it was more. Well, there is $250, and
my check for $250.”
“ I can’t take your check, it is after banking hours,
and I want the cash very bad this afternoon. Can’t
your friend give the cash and oblige you; he knows he
can get the money after the bank opens, or perhaps
the hotel will do it.”
“Damn the hotel,/ says the confidence operator,
“ they know me well, but they will charge me ten
per cent, to cash it to-night. It is a gross swindle,
but sometimes business men hate to submit to these
gross outrages.” •?
“ Well, all I've got to say,” chirps in number one,
“is this, there’s your goods, all ready for shipment,
“ they’ve got to be shipped this afternoon, and if
they don’t go, I’m no loser; perhaps your friend can
obligd you ?”
“Well, I don’t like to ask a stranger. I would
rather go to-night to Mr. Duncan or Mr. Sherman, at
Delmonico’s, where they are probably dining.”
“Pshaw! you can’t find them there. If you can’t
raise that trifle, I assure you your goods can’t go by
this steamer.”
“ Well, loan him that trifle till he gets back to the
hotel. There is his check, there, now, is my adver
tisement,” says No. 2.
Such was a nicely played game, where there ap
peared tO be, and possibly Beamed eonld be no collu
sion. The $250 was paid by the Peoria gentleman, a
bottle of wine was opened, and victim and operator
returned to tho hotel together, but while victim waa
standing at the bar waiting for confidence man to
join him in a drink, thinking it mighty strange that
he should stop so long in the yard, he looks for him
self, and finally discovers that he is tho victim of cir
cumstances.
THE PATRON DODGE.
This process of swindling is very easy. A few hours
previous to the sailing of a California steamer, ft gen
tleman of thoughtful mood, paces the deck with
thoughtful down-cast eye. He gives himself the air
of consequence, looks like a cabin passenger; a good
judge of human nature, he suddenly accosts a strange
passenger that he thinks has a few greenbacks stowed
away, and asks nim with a patronizing air what he
means to do when he gets to California.
“Farm it,” is the answer of the honest plowman,
who, being at last on deck, thinks he is free from
landsharks.
“Ah I you mean to buy a farm, then ?” is the re
joinder.
“ O, no, not until I see how the land lays.”
“Ah! that’s sensible. But look here, my friend,
I’m going there, too. I think I can put something in
your way. I’ve gofb farm of two thousand acres—a
sheep-growing farm—.l’m in the wool business. I
want a superintendent. Will you take SBOO a year
and found, to superintend it?”
The baits takes, and the confidence man asks his
servant ashore to have a smile. Thay go ashore,
have several drinks at the confidence man’s expe se,
when suddenly the great wool grower remembers
that he has a bill of SSO or a SIOO to pay and has noth
ing in his possession but some drafts on a California
house which he patronizingly thrusts in his help’s
hand, who is so elated at the success that has attended
him on the start of his journey that he thrusts the
bogus drafts back, and gives the money without a
scruple. After the money has been loaned, several
other glasses are punished and the confidence man
at the first corner gives his victim the slip.
The above are a few of .the ways in which the na
tive as well as strangers are fleeced, and it is actually
too bad that the gift men, and their finger-posts
can’t be shut in door, at least and from the bar room
of hotels, and the confidence men from the docks.
FIRE DEPARTMENT.
FIRES DURING THE PAST WEEK.
Date. Time. Signal. Location.
Jan. 26 8:05 P.M. 32 21 Spring street.
“ 26 9:21 P. M. 4 17 Albany street.
“ 26 10:12 P.M. 64 21 and 23 Ann street.
“27 8:22 P. M. 365 1,503 Broadway.
27 10:48 I*. M. 281 S. XV. cor. Teutti avenue
Fortieth street.
“ 28 11:13 A.M. 284 254 West Sixteenth street.
“ 28 3:52 P.M. 36 758 Broadway.
“ 28 7:28 P.M. 64 65 Nassau street.
“ 28 10:09 P.M. 147 107 Walker street.
“29 1:21A.M. 31 93 Bowery.
“ 29 3:00 A. M. 65 421% Broadway.
“ 29 3:25 A. M. IC3 False Alarm.
“29 3:30 A. M. 176 298 Houston street.
“29 9:30 A.M. still 113 East Twenty-third st.
“ 29 11:04 A.M. 3 33 Chatham street.
29 7:00 P. M. still rear No. 409 Second ave.
29 317 West Sixteenth street.
* 30 5:47 P. M. 34 536 Broadway.
“31 4:00 A.M. 236 rear 246 East Fifteenth st.
“ 31 6:10 P. M. 53 40 Fulton street.
“ 31 7:10 P.M. still 7 Caroline street.
Feb. 1 4:04 P.M. 258 725 and 727 Sixth Avenue.
“ 2 11:51 A. M. 6 False Alarm.
MILITARY MATTERS.
AN ELECTION.
An election for major of the 9th Regiment, N. G.
S. N. Y., waa held at their armory in 26th afreet, on
Thursday evening, Jan. 31st, and resulted in the
election of Captain Charles S. Strong, by a nearly
unanimous vote. The major left New York with the
regiment in 1861, as fourth sergeant of Co. F, a-nd, by
successive promotions, attained the position of adju
tant of the regiment. On his return to New York he
was elected captain of Co. F, and by faithful service
has reached hia present position. Knowing the ma
jor personally, we congratulate the regiment that
has promoted so efficient an officer.
THE MILITARY CODE.
The Major-Generals commanding the several di
visions in this State were invited by Brig-Gen. S. E.
Marvin, Adjutant-General, to meet the Govoror’s
staff at Albany, on the 30th inst, for the purpose of
revising the “Military Code.” There were present
at the meeting Major-Gen. Shaler, Major-Gen. Carr,
Major-Gen. Barnum, Major-Gen. Gates, Brig.-Gen.
Marvin, Adjutant-General; Brig.-Gen. Batchellor, In
spector-General ; Brig.-Gen. Palmer, Commissioner
General Ordinance ; Brig.-Gen. Darling, Engineer in
Chief. Gen. Marvin acted as Chairman, and Col. Hart,
Assistant Inspector General, as Secretary. A thor
ough examination of the “Code” was made and some
amendments thereto will be recommended to the
Legislature. An adjourned meeting will take place at
Albany, on Thursday, Bth inst., when other matters
of importance, relating to the military of this State,
will be taken into consideration.
THE SOLDIERS’ PETITION.
The petition signed by over 1,500 veterans, asking
for payment of bounties to those who have lost their
discharges, and wh<? have been discharged by reason
of disability other than wounds, was presented to
Congress on Tuesday last, by the Hon. Wm A. Dar
ling, of New York. Information received from Wash
ington by Col. J. B. Herman, manager of the Sol
diers’ Relief and Claim Agency, No. 136 Canal street,
indicates that there is a good prospect of the passage
ot a bill securing the rights of those two classes of
men, unjustly deprived of their bounties. Those
who have signed the petition, as well as those who
£ave been unable to do so, are requested to attend
the mass meeting which will be held at the rooms of
the Soldiers’ Agency, No. 136 Canal street, on to-mor
row evening, the 4th inst, at 8 o’clock, when all in
formation received from Washington will be com
jmjmcated to the meeting; .
antr fnhjnihnt.
PIUSES mm LIFE.
More about Tenant Houses—Some Speci
mens—Their MoraV Political, and Physi
cal Condition—An Appeal to the Legisla
ture—Cellar Life In this City.
With the constantly-accumulating wealth, magni
tude and prosperity of the city of New York, has also
steadily increased the various and manifold evils that
seem to be, to some extent, inseparable from a great
city. Manhattan Island is filled, from one end to the
other, with nuisances which are to be regarded as
injurious to public health and to the welfare of every
citizen. Yet, notwithstanding frequent attempts at
reform, we are still afflicted with' filthy streets, made
foul with nogelected garbage and domestic refuse, and
all sorts of predisposing causes of disease. The most
favored and wealthy districts are being seriously
encroached upon by the easily-removable offensive
nuisances, and yet no successful argument or effort
has yet been made for their removal. The nuisances
continue, and, indeed, increase in opposition to
the pleadings of an offended and refined community,
and the aggrieved senses of a million of people. This
is the condition of things to-day, and yet it is a well
attested fact that wisely-administered sanitary regu
lations would remove and prohibit nearly all the evils
complained of.-
Attention has, from time to time, been called to
this subject, and now more than ever is it before the
public, and radical measures for a permanent relief
are demanded in a manner that oannoi oe misunder
stood. To the State Legislature alone do the people
look for remedy, and ©very consideration of humanity
and good policy require its adoption. The first point
of attack should be against
THE TENEMENT HOUSES OF NEW YORK.
That the gross and terrible evils which cluster
around these places may be properly understood and
appreciated, we have been at some pains to collect
data concerning them, that cannot fail to arouse a
fearful interest, and demonstrate the positive neces
sity of reform. In the districts where tenant-houses
are most numerously located, we find the greatest
sanitary wants and social evils, and the most zealous
philanthropy and incessant individual effort have
failed to correct the evils.
The most marked feature of the tenant-houses is
the small size of the apartments, whereby overcrowd
ing each family ensues. A common mode of their ar
rangement is as follaws: On a lot of the usual size, 25
by 100, will be erected a front house 25 by 50, and a
rear house, 25 by 25, with a court 25 by 25, frequent
ly less, in which are located hydrant, cesspool and
privy. These houses are commonly five or six stories
in bight above the basement. The principal rooms,
of which there are four on each floor, occupies the
width of the building, front and rear, with small bed
rooms between, one to each main floor, making, in a
six-story building, twenty-four families. Each family
averages five members, and frequently more, as it is
common for the occupants of these houses to tak&
lodgers. There are, however, many places where the
overcrowding far exceeds this. The facilities for ven
tilating these small apartments are, for the most
part, confined to doors and windows, the hallways and
parages are dark and narrow, and the house sur
rounded by others of greater bight, shutting out the
cheerful and health-giving influences of sunlight and
air; and thus is constituted what may properly be
termed ~v
A PERPETUAL FEVER NEST.
Situated at the lower end of Washington street is a
row of the worst class of tenement houses. They
stand in the rear of those of. similar character, cover
ing three ordinary sized lots. One of the front houses
Is four stories in hight, the other two three storiM
each. The first floor of one of .the latter is used as a
stable; that of the other two as grocery stores, the
principal business of which is the illicit sale oi.
poisoned whisky. Tho upper floors of all these
buildings are divided into numerous tenements, all
of which are small and deficient in light and ventila
tion. The rear row consists of three story buildings,
uniform in size and arrangement. The first floor is
two feet below the level of the court in front, and
from want of proper drainage, is subject to more or
less flooding during heavy rains. Each floor is
divided into six main rooms, with two small bed
rooms in the rear of each, making fifty-four apart
ments iu the row, exclusive of hall-ways. All these
apartments are filled to the utmost capacity by the
poorest class of tenement population. The space be
tween those front and rear buildings vhries from six
teen feet at one end to thirty feet at the other. This
space is occupied by a small stable and numerous
rickety sheds, and piles of old refuse. One of the
privies stands immediately in front of one of tho
rear houses, at the distance of six feet. The other is
some twelve feet from the door of another house.
This court is surrounded by the walls of warehouses
and other buildings on all sides, and is reached by
two narrow passages, one at either extremity of the
premises. Throughout all these quarters, apart
ments, halls, stairways, passages, etc., the utmost
neglect of all hygienic laws prevails. And, in addi
tion, the street throughout this whole neighborhood
presents habitually the vilest condition of filth, and
reeks with the most offensive odors. In the early
Summer, typhus fever and measles are always preva
lent, and mos t frequently fatal
I* That such premises as we have described, should
be a perpetual uest of eruptive fevers and physical
decay, is certainly not surprising.
THE “ GOTHAM COURT”
is another forcible illustration of what the modern
tenement house is. At one time most of the houses
used for herding families together, had been built for
other uses, but they were found so profitable a specu
lation that wealthy men, disregarding the disgrace,’
invested their money in the erection of buildings for
this special purpose.
One of the largest of these barracks is known as
“Gotham Court/’ It stands on a lot fifty by two
hundred and fifty feet; is entered at the sides from
alleys eight feet wide, and by reason of the vicinity of
another barrack of equal hight, the rooms aro to
darkened that on a cloudy day it is impossible to read
or sew without artificial light. It has not one room
which can in any way be thoroughly ventilated. The
vaults and sewers which are to carry off the filth of
one hundred and twenty-eix families, composing near
ly eight hundred persons, have grated openings in
the alleys, and door-ways in the cellars, through
which the noisome and deadly miasma penetrates
and poisons the dank air of the house and the courts.
The water-closets for the whole vast establishment
are a range of stalls without doors, and are accessible
not only from the building butfrom the street. Com
fort in such a place, is out of the question, common
decency is impossible, and life is a horrible and
wretched brutality.
MORE SPECIMEN TENANT-HOUSES
From a report prepared for the Senate Committee,
by Col. A. J. H. Duganne, we make the following ex
tract, relating to a personal examination of a number
of these tenant houses in different parts of the city.
“ Rotten Row” is located in the Eighth ward; con
sists of fourteen houses, front and rear. There is no
single room of which the wood-work is not decayed,
or plaster half-rotted, from walls and ceiling. The
stairways are dark, broken, and filthy. Rent varies,
for a single room, from $3 to $9 per month. Op
posite this block is another. In a space of one hun
dred and eighty feet by fifty, dwell at least 600 per
sons, surrounded by accumulations of filch that are
pestiferous.
“ Soap-fat Alley,” No. 42 Hammersley street, re
ceives its name from the chief avo cation of its in
habitants. The doors, or apertures of entrance, are
pierced in a wall forming one side of the alley, and
reached by means of open stairways constructed on
the exterior.
In Mission Place, Five Points, is a four-story brick
building, with eight rooms on a floor, each occupied
by a family. The average number of persons in fami
lies is seven. The floors of this house are.covered
with dirt, so long accumulating, under constant
travel and spilling of water, as to have acquired the
consistency and appearance of the greasy refuse of a
woolen mill. Sluggish, yellow droppings hang from
the low ceiling; a dark, green slime blotches the
walls.
The “ Bagdad Hotel” is erected at the corner of
Forsyth and. Stanton streets. This structure, and
another called “ Folsom’s Barracks,” appear to have
been built as an experiment for the purpose of ascer
taining how large an amount of money could be ex
torted fromthe poorest tenants occupyingjthe smallest
habitable space. The Legislative Uommitte pro
nounced tho “ Folsom’s Barracks” one of the worst
dlaces that came under inspection.
In Manhattan place, between Goerck street and tho
East river, stands a block known as the “ Barracks.”
The buildings are three stories high. In the narrow,
dingy rooms of this abominable structure , the repul
sive effects of filth and darkness were noticed by the
Legislative Committee, at their examination, in the
almost incredible swarms of house vermin, over-run
ning walls, floors, and ceilings. Some of the tortured
occupants complained of their inability to sleep at
night. Their haggard looks attested the truth of what
they said, and it was further indicated by unmistake
ablc evidence; for the walls of several rooms; recently
lime-washed, exhibited broad crimson stains, the
marks of conflicts with myriads of infects through
long.night watches of the wretched people. The raf
ters and walls of these houses, like many others in
spected, harbored such incomputable numbers of
vermin, that it is plain no cleaning process but fire,
reducing all to ashes, ever eradicate the pest.
At No. 34 Baxter street is a tenant-house containing
one hundred families, and denominated a “model.”
Rooms thirteen by eight feet, each having a dark
closet for sleeping purposes, here “accommodate”
families, at a rent of $7 per month.
Most of tho lowest class of tenant-houses have deep
basement and cellar apartments. It is calculated that
between twenty-five and thirty thousand souls live
under-ground in the city of New York.
In Mulberry street, near the “ Five Pointe,” stands
a large tenant-house, dilapidated and dangerous in
the extreme. Reconstructed, through ite intertoj?
from an old wooden church, once used by a Baptist
society, It has been adapted for dwelling purposes in
the most careless manner. The sewer connection is
a four-inch pipe, wholly inadequate as a conductor.
Eighty-jive apartments in this fabric contain more
than one hundred families, numbering three hun
dred and ten persons. The basement is entered by
shattered steps, five feet two inches below the street
level. Families dwell in the vaults of this basement,
and pay $8 per month for the damp, destructive
quarters. On tha jlfth jloor of this building, $4 50
per month is charged for an apartment. The entire
hovel is sub-based and partitioned with pine boards;
its entries and passages are dark and cramped; its
walls, floors, and ceilings of such inflammable ma
terials that, in case of fire, it would be impossible
to prevent a general conflagration. Should such a
calamity take place at night, scores of the unfortu
nate inmates must perish in their beds, and few of
the whole number could find egress through the
narrow passages. Yet, in this structure, bad as it is,
the main entrances, owing to the fact of its former
church occupancy, are wider than uaiial.
But we think enough has been given to fully attest
the great and growing evils of the tonant-house sys
tem, as it to-day exists. There is, however, Onp
phase of the subject that seems generally to hive
been lost sight of. It is
THE IMMORAL TENDENCIES ‘A
which accumulate by such close and
mingling of all ages and both sexes, which are tfUly
frightful, and the unfortunate occupants of j>jVerty*s
hovels and burrowing places are constantly eifcosed
to the most debasing influences. Sitting together
upon the same broken box, lying together upon the
dame dirty straw, covered by the same filthy shreds,
vieing with each other in the of foul ob
scenities, may be found the habitants of these dens
Of corruption and misery. The sights that are to bo
met in some of these places are enough to make the
soulXslcken and turn in horrdr from them. Vice,
with its pretentious brow, and wretchedness, with
hollow f'.TlGC'lr -J—, -
•ua iust stand side by s|de. By a long continued
residence in these places, whatever of self-respect the
occupants may once nave had is crushed by the de
grading circumstances by which they are surrounded.
This is one of the features of the tenant system most
to be deplored. It not unfrequently happens that a
respectable mechanic or in er chant is reduced, by un
avoidable misfortune, to penury, and is compelled to
leave his comfortable home and take a shelter in one
of these miserable and meretricious barracks; and
with this necessity commences a deterioration of
moral perception. It is impossible for one of 89
many families to keep the places common to all clean
and orderly: and what is habitually witnessed in the
apartments of neighbors will soon be tolerated in
their own. •*
But enough has been said and written upon the
subject to convince all of the necessity of reform. It
has'been discussed from the pulpit and the rostrum
and through the press, until the evil and the remedy
are equally patent to those who give the least thought
or care to its consideration. The recent report of the
sanitary condition of New York by the Council of Hy
giene, and issued by the Appletons, is a com
plete argument, and one upon which our Legislature
may safely act. If the health and the moral and so
cial condition of the community in which we live are
regarded as of greater consequence than political
dominance, and the best interests of the people pre
ferred to those of a few individuals, we shall not have
long to wait for at least a mitigation of the evils com
plained of. Immediate action in the right direction
may save us from the perils of pestilence and sudden
death.
Modest Merit re. Impudent Assurance—Tripe
and Traps of City Life—The Dodges off the
Dodgers.
The possession of property, or the acquisition of
the means whereby we may live in ease and elegance,
seems to be the greatest object of human pursuit.
To escape the mandate, “ by the sweat of thy brow
shalt thou eat ®pp«wri* to t>e a universal
desire; and, though toil is the inevitable lot of all,
there are but few who take kindly to it, or who would
not transfer it to others if they could. Very few of us
like to do what we have to do, and are only impelled
to the discharge of daily tasks by the sharp spur of
strong necessity. This accounts, no doubt, for the
vast number of drones that cluster around every hive
of industry, supping on the choicest sweets, frisking
in the warmest sunshine, but never contribuing to
the stock of riches from which they draw a generous
supply. There are some men in every community
who won’t work ; and, although to secure an im
munity from legitimate toil demands the exercise of
faculties which would, if honestly directed, bring
their owner exceeding great reward, they will resort
to any and every expedient rather than enter the
lists of faithful, honest workers. And too frequently do
we find rascality reaping the reward which we know
should be only accorded to honest industry. The
trouble people sometimes take to reap the results of
roguery would excite admiration, and even emula
tion, if more worthily directed. Skill, ingenuity, in
vention, patient, industrious application, even educa
tion and refinement, are not infrequently brought
into exercise in the practice of the most nefarious
operations. Indeed, there sometimes cluster around
the most reprehensible rascalities elements which
impart an almost romantic interest to them. The
originality of some of the devices of crime chal
lenges attention even while it inspires loathing and
disgust, It would be easy to enumerate instances to
any extent in Illustration of the ability that is fre
quently employed for the most infamous purposes.
The career of the late Monroe Edwards, the most
accomplished of forgers; Ketcham, who recently de
faulted to the amount of millions; and, even later,
the case of Henry B. Jenkins, who is alleged to have
embezzled $300,000, are all cases that show that edu
cation, refinement and gentlemanly deportment are
not infrequently associated with adventurous ras
cality.
THE LATEST DODGE,
and the most heartless and cruel that we have heard
of in this part of the country is that of a young man
who from all accounts has enjoyed a protracted and
successful career of villiany. He is described by the
police as being about 25 years of age, 5 feet 10 inches
in bight, and has light hair and blue eyes. He has
been in the habit of calling upon persons who have
relatives in Sing Sing Prison, and stating that their
relative has met with a serious accident while work
ing in the quarries at that place. The story varies.
Sometimes the unfortunate is described as having
been injured by a blast, and at others, that a frag
ment of rock has fallen upon him. Of course the re
latives or friends are willing to remunerate him for
his supposed trouble and expense in informing them
of the disaster, communication with the intorior of
the prison being exceedingly difficult. He has also
called upon those who have relatives in the Tombs
or on Blackwell’s Island, and stated that ho was
possessed of considerable influence with Police Jus
tices, and that for a certain amount he would either
procure the release of the relative, or cause the term
of imprisonment to be shortened. In this manner he
has obtained considerable sums of money. How he
has obtained his information does not appear, but
certain it is that he possessed the names and address
of those whom he professed to bo anxious to serve.
The police hope to be able to arrest him soon.
A CONFIDENCE WOMAN
was recently arrested in Brooklyn, who gave her
name as Rachel Drew, to which she added about a
dozen aliases. She was charged with obtaining
money under false pretences, and after her arrest
and exposure she was confronted by more than one
hundred persons who had fallen victims to her
pathetic stories and specious representations. She
was an elegant and accomplished woman, most be
comingly attired, and possessed of an air and manner
that seemed to preclude the idea of dishonest prac
tices. In the course of an examination into the
charges against her, it was disclosed that in less than
one week she realized upward of $1,200 in the city of
Brooklyn. Her plan of operations was simple, yet
shrewd, and had within it all the elements of success.
She first managed to acquaint herself with the name,
location and character of the residents of some
wealthy district. She would then make one of them
a call, and state that she had been recommended to
do so by her dear friend, Mrs. , and her mission
was to solicit aid for some lady in great distress, or
some worthy charity sadly in want of material aid.
In nine cases out of ten she was successful in her
plea, and she even obtained the sum of ten dollars
from the police captain who subsequently arrested
her, but who at the time had no suspicion of her
real character.
A FASHIONABLE SNEAK THIEF
last week operated very successfully on the pro
prietors of the Pierrepont House, the largest and
most fashionable hotel in Brooklyn. He was driven
to the house in a carriage, and registering his name
as that of a highly esteemed Member of Congress,
asked to be shown to his apartments, and requested
that his baggage be carried thither. It soon became
whispered in the house that Hon. was a guest.
Several of the boarders took pains to make his ac
quaintance. He was invited to a private “ hop,” and
with much eclat was introduced to the aristocratic as
semblage. Being a man of elegant exterior, polished
manners, and supposed wealth, and distinguished po
sition, he was the object of most devoted attentions.
The next day ne hired a carriage, and invited several
of his new-made acquaintances to ride with him.
From one he borrowed SSO, pretending to have left
his rfbney at the hotel for safe keeping. On the third
day of his stay, ho accompanied several of the lady
boarders to the Capitoline skating pond. But he
didn’t return with them, but took his speedy flight
from 1 the city, having previously stolen some S3OO
from the.hotel, to which he has not since returned,
even to pay his board and carriage bill. His trunks
were subsequently opened, and found to contain a
good quantity of coolers’ chips.
IU NO. 11 BAWORT ST.
ANOTHER ADROIT OPERATION
was disclosed by the arrest, last week, of a German
named August Kline. His system of operation ap
pears to have been to first visit the place of business
of his intended victim—usually a jeweler—and ascer
taining the shape and size of the casket, or case con
taining a coveted prize, proceed to obtain a fac simile
of the same, and filling it with some substance cor
responding in weight to the article desired, return to
the trader, and under the pretence of examining the
desired prize, gain possession of the same by adroitly
slipping the casket in his pocket, leaving in its stead
the imitation case. This game, Kline is accused of
having successfully practiced on the 24th inst., upon
John M. Clewers, of No. 537 Sixth avenue, whom he
managed to swindle to the amount of $92 in jewelry,
leaving, in ite stead, a box which, upon being opened,
was found to contain some splendid specimens of
Scranton coal; and subsequently upon Reynolds &
Go., of No. 04 Chatham street, from whom he is ac
cused of purloining a valuable revolver and case, val
ued at $lB. On Wednesday last, Kline attempted a
repetition of this game upon Mr. Fritz, of No. 105
Hudson street, and so far accomplished his object as
to reach the street with his prize, which consisted of
a gold watch and chain vafyed at SB2. The game,
however, being discovered soon after the departure of
the thiefi he was immediately pursued and captured.
We might multiply, instances of such roguery to
any extent, but the foregoing are sufficient to illus
trate our theme, and exhibit a glimpse of the
mance of rascality.
A Broadway Merchant is Charged With Com
mitting an Indecent Assauit upon a Ser
vant-girl in his "«■
Witnesses-His Discharge.
On Tbiiftday last, Anne Casey, ft servant lately in
the employ of William Lintojcum, a merchant tailor,
doing bUsihess at No. 756 Broadway, and residing at
No. 274
lice Court, wage a complaint against her
formet employer, whom alleged to have com
mitted an indecent assault upon lier. 3?he statemenj
made by the girl was that on the night of Jan. 20, Mr.
Linthicum canie into her room, and indecently as
saulted hQi; she screamed, and th6 house-keeper, Mrs.
Julia T. Pdlk, caw£ TQ9W, and on attempting
to enter, found tho fldor lotkea. Ifi a moment after
ward the ddojf was opefied, and Mr. came
out. On this Justice Rogan granted a
warrant, and icfeused was arrested. H 6 admitted
being in the room dif the girl, but denied having
committed ah assault > upon her, and ex
plained his in the room by saying
that he supposed a mate f&ative of the housekeeper
was therS, ana he went in to Hearing the house
keeper coming, the 6onseqflbnc6k of being found
there flashed upon him, and he locked the door, but
conscious that had committed no wrong, in a mo
ment after opened It. 4
The magistrate allowed him to go on his parole, to
await an examination. Yesterday the case came up
for examination, and tho following testimony was
taken: ‘v- • &- J
Mrs. Julia T. Polk, of No. 195 West Thirtieth street,
being sworn, testified as follows: lam a married wo
man; Ido mot live with my husband; I have been
separated from him for almost two years: I have
been employed by Mr. Linihieurii as governess; I
went there the Ist of July, and left him last Satur
day; I recollect tho morning of the 20th of January; I
heard complainant’s testimony; I was the person who
knocked at the door; I came down stairs because I
heard some one open the front door, and I thought it
waa my brother who had come in; I went iu the
dining-room, and seeing no one there, I kno9ked
at her door; the door was shut and fastened;
I knocked three or four times; I also halloed, and no
one answered, until I called for the eldest son
of Mr. Linthicum; Mr. Linthicum then unlocked the
door and came out; I cannot say whether he was un
dressed or not; I went into the room and Annie pre
tended to be asleep; I shook her and she said “ Why
Mrs. Polk what is the matter?” I replied, “Annie,
youarQabad girl and must leave this house; Mr.
LinthiCum then said he had gone there on business,
anil Llu.ivL I.V. Ixtvli « Lxu u.v*v, uljv mat
as far as he knew, Annie Casey was a virtudus girl; I
noticed him particularly at the time and ho was fully
dressed; he had no overcoat on, and I do not know if
he had boots on; I do not know that he had a collar or
cravat on; he had not had sufficient time to put on
his clothes; when I took hold of the girl I pulled her
out of bed by the arm; I did not drag her around the
room; she had no night robe on; it did not take a
minute for me to pull her out of bed; after this oc
currence I saw Mr. Linthicum standing at the door;
I left his employ because of this transaction.
Cross examined—l went up stairs to my room and
then came down again to see Annie; Mr. Linthicum
had gone to his room previous to that; I called Annie
into the kitchen and asked her if Mr. Linthicum
had ever been in her room before; she said
no; I asked her if he had ever made im
proper advances to her, and she said he never had;
I asked her if he had laid his hands upon her person,
and she said he had never troubled her; she said she
was first aroused by shearing me come down stairs,
and then saw Mr. Liuthioum in the room, and she
had exclaimed, “Oh, what will Mrs. Polk say?” I
said, “Annie, Mr. Linthicum was undressed in your
room, wasn’t he ?” and she said he was not, that it
was too dark for her to see what he had on; I spoke
to her again on the subject, after daylight, and she
then told me that Mr. Linthicum nad come to her
room on business, to see if my brother was in the
house, and she was sure ho meant nothing improper
by going there; I asked her if she would remain
there after I left until Mr. Linthicum’s sister came,
and she agreed; I left on Monday to get boar#, but
was disappointed, and returned to the house, remain
ing until Saturday; complainant was discharged on
Thursday, as Mr. Linthicum’s sister was expected to
bring an old housekeeper with her; I think it was five
or si? miuntes after I heard the door shut until I
knocked at the bed;oom door; I think it was three or
four minutes before the door was opened: as I passed
into the room, I saw Mr. Linthicum at the door; I
never asked his consent for my brother to lodge
there; he told me that he had heard some one mov
ing about the house in a still manner, and he had
gone down to see who it was; at the time I went into
the room, I did not hear any noise, and Annie said at
that time that Mr. Linthicum had not touched her.
Charles Zimmerman, a nephew of the accused, tes
tified that he had a conversation with Annie the
morning after the occurrence, and she then stated
that Mr. L. had not touched her; that he had come to
her room expecting to find Mr. Clark (Mrs. Polk’s
brother) there; that he had on his clothes at the time
of his entrance and did not remove them: finding
that Mr. Clark was not there, he turned to leave, and
at that time Mrs. Polk made her appearance.
This closed the case, and the magistrate informed
the parties concerned that he would take the papers
and examine them, and render his opinion at 3
o’clock P. M. At that hour the magistrate annourfeed
to the parties in attendance that he had looked over
the papers, and that he could see nothing in evidence
to warrant him in holding the accused, and that he
should therefore dismiss the case.
Mr. Linthicum, after the decision of the magis
trate was made, stated that the counsel tor the prose
cution had called upon him and intimated that if he
would pay a certain amount the case could be settled.
Mr. L. refused and told him he could do as he chose
in the matter, and hence the prosecution.
Death of an Infant from Exposure.
—An Unnatubal Mother. —On Friday last, Mrs.
Christina Schmirgert, an ignorant and orutal German
woman, living at No, 124 Liberty street, gave birth to
a child, and not wiching to be troubled with the care
of it, the unnatural mother, on the following night,
placed the infant in a basket, and deposited it in front
of No. 100 Liberty street. She was seen to do so by a
citizen, who followed and saw her enter her own
house, and then notified the 27th Precinct Police of
the transaction. The babe was returned to the moth
er, who was threatened with arrest should she repeat
the inhuman action. Yesterday morning the child
died, it is alleged, from the effects of exposure to the
intense cold of Friday night, and subsequent neglect.
Coroner Gamble was notified, and by his direction
the body of the infant was removed to Bellevue Hos
pital dead-house, where Deputy Coroner Joseph G.
Shaw, M. D. , will make an ante-mortem examination,
and ascertain what was the cause of death. Should
it be as suspected, Coroner Gamble will cause the ar
rest of the woman, who is at present confined to her
bed from sickness.
A Sporting Man in Trouble. —Mr.
E. P. George, a tailor doing business at the cor
ner of Eighth street and Broadway, caused the ar
rest of one of the scions of our first families, John B.
Borst Jr., the son-in-law it is said of George Law,
whom he’charges with larceny. Borst is pretty well
known in Sporting circles Mr. George it appears made
some clothing for Mr. Borst and gave it to his mes
sage boy to deliver, if he received tho cash. The boy
acted according to order, and refused to give the
clothing up until he got the money. |Mr. Borst forci
ble took possession of the clothing claiming that they
had been paid for. Mr. George It appears had made
two overcoats for the accused the last one costing SBO,
but as it did not suit him, he sent back and said
George Law would buy it. Mr. George did not see
the transaction in that .light, and lhence he told
his boy to get the money before he delivered the
clothing. When fie took forcible possession of the
clothing Mr. George had Borst arrested for larcency,
and Justice Ledwith heldh im for examination.
Alleged Theft of Jewelry.—Yes
terday, Catharine Lyon was arrested on the com
plaint of Thomas P. Lyon, residing at the Putnam
•House, in Fourth avenue, who charges her with hav
ing stolen from him a diamond pin valued at S2OO,
and a ring valued at S3O. The pin was found in the
possession of the prisoner, and she admitted having
pawned the ring. The accused admitted taking the
valuables, but said that Lyon was drunk at the time
she took them, and, having lived with him as his wife
for two years, she considered herself justified in do
ing so, as she was afraid he would lose them. She
emphatically denied that she intended to steal them.
Justice Hogan committed her to the Tombs to await
an examination. The complainant was at one time a
deputy keeper at the Jefferson Market Prison, and at
that time the accused was employed there as cook.
The case will be further developed on the examina
tion, which has been set down for an early day.
NUMBER 13*
[Original.]
SING TO ME OF STTMMffifl./
By Kitty van V
Birdie, sing to me of Summer,
For my weary heart is lone,
And the Winter winds are wailing, >
O’er the hills with dreary moan.
Birdie, sing to me of Summer,
Of the golden glowing hours,
When the harvest moon lay streaming
Floods of silver o’er the flowers.
Ah, thou wilt not sing, my Birdie !
Dost thou mourn thy warbling mate.
Is thy glad song hushed forever,
And thy wee heart desolate ? %
Then no more the Summer, Birdie,
Cometh nightly unto thee;
And no more will soft love shining,
Send its mocking glare o’er me.
TUB LION IN TUB PATH
KY JOHN SAINDERS,
AUTHOR OF “ GUY WATEBMAN’S MAZE,” “ BOpSO
TO THE WHEEL,” 810. '
CHAPTER LIV.
SLIPS BETWIXT THE CUP AND LIP.
Putting a half sovereign into the njanager’6
hand, Sir Moses took his leave; both gentlcj
men seemingly pleased with the meeting. -
Unluckily, Sir Moses had occasion, in an in?
discreet moment, to use his handkerchief, and
in taking it from his pocket, aS in advancing
toward the outer door, the manager politely?
following behind to see him out, he drew some?,
thing with it that fell. . jy
Sir Moses heard the fall, but was too much 4
master of himself to turn round, guessing onlja.
too well what it was that had fallen. Hef
passed on, hoping most anxiously to hear the
manager still following.
No ; he has stopped. "" ’’•(■W >
Sir Moses can only, in politeness, now turn td
see what is the matter.
The impression of the door—the door to the
commercial holy of holies—is in the hands of
the manager; and how he looks at it, andwhafi
he thinks, we leave our readers to judge. : )
Poor Sir Moses! He turns pale, red, black,
even while vainly striving to turn off the dis
covery with a laugh and a lie. '
“On, you’ve picked up something I dropped/
Ah, yes ; that’s a good story. I’ll tell it you.’’ •
“Stay, Sir Moses,” said the manager, taking
one of the blunderbusses from the rack, “I
think it is probable Mr. Bichard Coombe would
like to hear the story, too.” • .
“ Ha, ha, ha! Very good, very good. Is ha
so fond of a jest ?” .«*)»
“Very. Particularly, when there’s ap elew
ment of the grim in it.” y >
The manager pulled a bell-rope that Sit
Moses had not previously noticed, and a loud
ring was heard in some distant quarter. i
Sir Moses seemed to grow fidgety, to try to
speak, to try to smile, to try to feel the moneyjj
in his pocket, as if to try a bribe, but he seejp£
Cd tU Xccl lb vruuld not taviee.cad, ro Saj(] witti Si
certain recovery of his audacity : ’ ’■)
“Well, come, my friend, tell me—what are
you going to do ?”
“ Send for Mr. Bichard Coombe."
“ And what’ll he do ?”
“ Set the dogs on you!”
“ Murder me ?”
“No, not exactly murder. We don’t call it
murder if you should be killed.” '»,< t
“And you really mean you’d serve a poor fel
low like that, who, after all, has only wanted tq
make a bit of a start for himself at the.,
outset—l mean, at the decline of life)
having been always one of the most
unlucky devils under the sun ? Hang it, man
let me off for once. Take a five-pound
my whole capital—and I’ll swear never to coma
here again in this way as I long as live." .
“ Can’t be done,” said the manager. 1/
“ Well, old fellow, mind one thing—Mr. Rich-k
ard Coombe will think not of me alone, but of
you.” t
“What d’ye mean by that?” . I
‘ ‘Haven’t you let me take those impressions ?’t.
The manager changed color a little at thisjy
and there was a pause, during which the mop®-
Sir Moses urged his suit again. At last tha
manager said—
“ Come, I will give you a chance while doing?
my duty. I’ve got the impressions, and I’nf
smashing ’em together in my pocket while T
speak—and see there I” «• - w-I
He opened a window, and threw the lump of
wax out, and it was heard to fall in the watef s
below. H
“Now you may say what you like, my nobld
Sir Moses, and who’ll believe you ?” ,
“ Well, that’s magnanimous, I confess,” ob<
served Sir Moses, with increased audacity. I
“ Magnanimous ?” said the puzzled manager?
“ Certainly, if you are going to give me a?
chance for my life and limbs, my soul and body,’
my skin and bone.” t
The manager could not help a dry laugh at
the impostor’s good humor and confidence,
even under such trying conditions. . >
“Well, look you; you see where you are.’
There is the door ready open for your escape, I
am going to the kennel. I shall open the door,'
You will be then a hundred yards in advance,
for you may start at once 1”
“ Hold, I entreat you, one moment 1” said!
the anxious Sir Moses. “ You are armed; you
—you’ll fire at me if I attempt to escape before
you give me leave. Give me, then, one boon/
and I ask no more. Let me have one look
outside, that I may not rush instantly into de
struction.” < ■■
“ Well, that’s fair. Go, then ; but, take my
word for it, I’ll fetch you down if you start f
and then, if I miss you, there’ll still be tha
dogs 1” )
That last argument penetrated, and was ac
cepted as final in Sir Moses’ brain. So ho
walked very slowly out, arranging his dress,
handling matters in his pockets, and so on, and
then took a good look out. ■<'
Ho seemed so familiar with the scene as not,
to have the smallest need of instituting the exi
amination he had spoken of. But his attention
seemed to be directed to the question of thq
people be met, for the dinner hour;
was nearly Over.
One rapid glance satisfied him, aud then ba
turned, and said coolly to the manager : «. ji
“ Ago has its privileges. lam an old man in(
constitution, if not in years. You cannot want
those brutes to tear me in pieces. You want tq
frighten me. I deserve it, I own. But I qm
frightened. Won’t that do, without your tak?
ing any more trouble ?” , I
The manager could scarcely resist an answers
ing smile to the smile that accompanied these!,
words, but he said: ■'
“Well, if you can escape to that hill, there
are many chances for you, and the ddgs don’ff
caro to go much further. If you go to the edgq
of the pond, you ought to be able, even though
you are not very active, to reach the hill. Fcaff
my friend, is a fine incentive. Good-bye. I’nx
oil for the dogs! I’ll go slow, and advise yofr
to go fast!” ar.
Sir Moses needed no further hint. In an ink
stant he sprang out like a shot from a b<sw, and
the manager, seeing the movement, was aware?
he had beoii twice humbugged. His pity and?
geniality vanished. He really had meant tdf
take care no harm should happen beyond th?
horrible fright, for he had ordered the hulnair
brute who fed them to be ready to go with tbemk
and restrain them ; but, Seeing the second de?
ception—the old man change into a young ona
—his whole spirit soured, and he rap, with k
real thirst for vengeance, to the kennel, shout?
ing aloud: ■ ■ ' •I
“Now, Butcher, now! Unchain then)l
There’s an interloper here 1” J
The door was opened and the dogs unchained
simultaneously. Butcher ran out, the ddgs
with him, till they were all in the open air, and
saw the fugitive careering along at a great pace}
leaping every obstacle in his progress—fences?
ditches, water-courses.
Away went the dogs, soon leaving Butcher
behind.
Sir Moses cast one glance behind him ; sawt
nothing just for one moment, then saw the twq
black monsters, side by side, crossing a littlq
knoll, and obviously rapidly gaining on him.
There was no cry from either of them, and
the unhappy Sir Moses remembered vividlj
just then the story the manager had told liinj
of their silence while worrying the sleepy arjjd
san in the mill,