The New York Herald Newspaper, February 9, 1873, Page 7

NEW YORK'S SHAME. Weartrending Revelations from the Fourth Ward. A SERHON OF SERMONS. 4n Evening’s Investigation of ‘Heathenism at Home. RECRUITING THE ‘CRIMINAL RANKS. ‘Children of Tender Years Trained to Robbery and Immortality. ‘How the Jails are Filled and Vietims Supplied for -the Gibbet, ALAS FOR CHARITY! Ignorance and Vice Defying the Laws mh of God and Man, ‘De THE EpiToR or THE HERALD:— “Causa latet, vis est, notissima.” While travers- ‘tg one of the thoroughfares of the lower portion @ our city a few evenings since, during the recent ‘wapleasant weather, this old quotation occurred to my mind at what appeared te me an extremely @pportune moment. The “‘effect’ was so painfully waible that I almost invoiuntarily set to work to @iscover the hidden springs whence it flowed. ‘Wite, degradation and squalor ‘were seen on every hand, not altogether confined to persons advanced tm years, who had been battlmgseason after season agaiust the adverse decrees of Dame Fortune, but fhe most touching evidences:of crime were to be geen in the youth, the rising spirits of the present generation, How true it is, I thought, “that @ne-half the world doesn’t know how the other half Ives)’ but, with your permission, I will endeavor to detail for the readers of the HERALD the result of my investigation of this unhappy half, which, alas! has been so long neglected that it will require all the Christian piety, energy and practical philanthropy of the other halt to release it from the deadly, vice- dike grip of immorality. AFTER THE HOLIDAYS. No better time could have been chosen. It was ‘efter a season of general joility and merry-making ‘with the haifof the world supposed to be steeped %m dense ignorance on this important question. ‘Whey nad just recovered irom the delightful dissipa- thon of the holiday season and were entering upon ‘the ordinary humdrum life of another year, which ‘will be more or less like the last. What that life is they know better than I can tcllthem. What life te to the nether stratum of socicty they don’t Know. Most of them have never seen it, though ®% is 80 near them. Many of them, I know, would like to see some of it, at least; wut they are not preparea to encounter the personal discomiorts which an actual pilgrimage Would involve. I prepose to gratily them to- day to the extent of letting them have one ertwo glimpses of a strange life that to them is “so near and yct 80 far,’ without any more trouble om their part than haif an hour’s reading. They an easily spend an evening much less profitably, ‘even from a religious point of view, perhaps, than by reading, marking and inwardly digesting the Sollowing paragraphs. SOMEBODY HAS DEFINED “LIFE” to be, no more nor less than the nervous system Tn that case physical life and social life follow the game rules to some extent. In animals hivn up in the scale of creaton the elements of intelligence aad feeling are centralized in the brain, and they radiate thence throughout the body in the nervous egystem. in the creatures ranking close to this ide of the line separating the animal and vegetable kingdoms the nervous life has several headquarters, distinct from but similar to cach other, As if following this example, upper-class life in New York (as io mearly all other great ctties) congregates in and areund one well known lecality, while the lewest- elass lile forms itself into separate gangiions, ‘which are scattered all over the island, and which @iffer from each other but slightly if at all. Human exastence in these centres of degradation and Mery Ought to be somewhat better known than {tis to those who dwell around the great head ceatres of wealth, respectability and prosperity. dom. It was Saturday evening.’ 1 steod undera Iamppost, at one of the Roosevelt street crossings, im the beart of the Fourth ward. The streets ‘were in 2 filthy condition, the neglected sidewalks aferded generous accommodation for numerous and treacherous pools of melted snow, each about two feet distant trom the ether, and a cold, pierc- tmg, saturating, dirty drizzle came down from somewhere overhead. Altogether the place, the time and the weather combined to make one deel as dismal and uncomfertable physically as it ‘Was possible to imagine, THE HRART OF THE FOURTI WARD. Under the most favorable circumstanceé the Pecality is not a picasant one. Relatively situated fn apy other city in the country as it is in New York, Roosevelt street would be a safe, respect- able and well cared for thoroughfare. It forms the main approach to one of the East River's prin- ‘cipal ferry lines, and several thousands of Brook- lyn’s residents pass and repass through it every day, much to their own danger and disgust, in going to and from their places of business in the lower part of this city. A more repulsive daily promenade it is not easy to conceive, and that it is met entirely as perilous as it is otherwise disagree- able is due solely to the watchixiness and pluck of @ mueh maligned class of persons—the police force Of the surrounding precinct. The \voyage over the East River ferryboats would try.the temper of an ordinary saint; but jts being succeeded by the necessary march through Roosevelt street, at any hour of any day or night in tne year, would make Job himself swear like a divinity student on a spree. The place is a narrow Mane with broker sidewalks amd atossings picked mnto carefully.contrived pitfalls. The houses are of all ages and sizes, uniform onjy ip their grimi- mess and dirt. They are tenements of the lowest @rade, with filthy stores on the ground floor, the majority of which are rum shops ef the vilest de- scription, apd the basements and cellars are.occu- s@led as lodging Aavees, of horrible edgr.and ap- arance ani patronized by the veriest outcasts. the sights and.smotis are sickening to the last de- Eee; even through the disinfecting weather ¢f is evening, tae most offensive odors rush out ftrqm every open. daorwmay. As is Roosevel!, so are Bg parallel and cross streets in the neighbor. ON UE STREET CORNER. Atthis honr—six o’cloas—the stream of Williams- gers returning home from the city surges over ankle deep in mud and slush, to- q is the ferry. Qn, straight on, they go, looking Fesaee to the right nor to the left, and paying so ttle attention to the surrounding sights and @ounds that a stranger might be excused for think- ing them all blind and deas. They are well used to all.that i to be seen apd heard in that ugly portion of their homeward route, and they know that to passon galckly and “keep never minding” is the ‘very best thing they cap do. By half-past seven e@’clod: the atreain Of passers-by had subsided, and Was to be seen in the Petey ie new but tts own favored population. Cold and disagreeable a8 the weather was, they appeared to be ali out of doors, for this is Saturday it, and, therefore, a la Digit. The comparatively few grocery stores all full, and so was the aolftary butcher's shop hin The residents here have not been do- ing their marketing for Sunda: onny, to-day at Washington and Fulton markets. It 4s only now they are laging in their stock of provisions for to- morrow. jth wondering eyes wide open at my strange request, a thinly ‘clad womam passing under the lainp Where I am standing allared me THE CONTENTS OF A BASKET she carried on ber arm. In it were a few ounoss of tea, a pound of sugar, a couple of dozen potatess, $wo oF taree pounds of sFagEy-looking mest, A NEW YORK HERALD, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1873—QUADRUPLE SHEET. dwarfed and frezea turnip and two bread. That wae@ll she coud afford to purchase atcne time. [ was about to ist dows the cover (a piece of not very clean towsh, when something Miistening among the potaloes caught my eyes. was a ange ‘ack bottle; it wus ‘on the bottom of basket: it contained whiskey, wuicn ccst sixty cents, aud i¢ was se first thing purchased. ‘“Todleed. sir, it isn’t in- ‘unded for meseli ner the onld man, a:ther,” the oor woman explains; ‘uayther of us touches it, ut we expect thavsome ould frinds will cali to see us to-morrow, aud ure we’d rather be widout var Dreakfust than not have a little dhram to offer ‘em," 1 wiil now give you the description I nuted at the time, A POURTIC WARD GIN MILL, The liquor stores src und here do a roaring trade te-night, They do a move profitable t’ade ou ether occus.ons, perhaps, but certamiy a very briek and Doisterous ume this eveulng. 1 have been clossly watching the ram shop on the opposite corner ior over an heur. In and owt pass customers of every age and size and of beta sexes, Iconc’ude Vit go in to ace how tmings leok. ‘The piace tp crowded and i can see every stage of int xicatioh there. Women, with bro.én und bloated features, and men 01 still more iorbidding aspect, are stand- fag im tront of the bar Loh jown the liquid Fenn pee proposing ribald “some ‘mut- “Dg snatches of ribald songs, some bandeing rioald jests und coarse compliments, and all Ina condition of drunken, wretched raggedness. Some few oi the men are prematurely old and wrinkled and are confir victims ‘of bad ram, but tte Ina,ority range between ‘sixteen and twenty-five years, and are entering or ave fully ente:e? upon that career which mecessitates the builing of State privons and the employment of nangmen. Nove o1 the Women who are drinking look less ilran thirty-five, What their'lives have been up to this it is easy to see, and what their lives are now is vi sili mere pi They are im the very last stage siame. ‘the road by whica such women travet to hell rat first sini and pleasant ‘and fringed with fowere, and they oiten rot over itm elegant carriages. But the end of that is covered wath eye Stumes and knee deep filth, and the wretched wayiarer has to mp over it with naked feet. The malu tie whic binds thowe bodies and sou's is maddening whiskey. One hour's Lead health woud bring cn yeflection, and et Lee 1e8 agate) is carte in genta. How Solis i them conirive to acquire money eto! pay forthe vile stuf they are now drin! eee ys 1s tery tome. It is impossible they could “earn” it by tue old shameful sule of themselves, for iy lumps o! corruption new cover their faces, and tl very eyes are melting out of their suckets, wi a loathseme disease, Though tue sight @ them is sickenias, there ig something much worse to be seen in that room, a much worse #ixht, because one cam luok with greater composure on @ mangied body beside the railroad track than at the sul’ living, but doomed victim, on whoin you sec de- struction rushing without the power to avert it, At the lower end of the counter stand halfadozen young girls between tho ages ol ten and feurteen, with pitchers in their hands, Tney are sent Lere by lw0lisu, hearticss and depraved fathers and mothers iotetcn in some ale “ior faintly uge,’and there they are now warchins, listening to, and even taking partin the horrid scene before | me. ““Come away, Sarah, Vin too ion out,” says one. “Ah, hoid on; what a hurry jou’re in,” re- plies Sarah, who continues an unclean couversa- tion with @ biackguard of twenty-one or there- abouts, wearing a sporting cap anda bla keye. I have a strong notion now thot tf 1 could grasp Saren’s fatuer by both ears forone second and hold his poli against a hard flag, he’d be apt to wake next morning with @ bad headache if he could wake at all. ROOSEVELT STREET AT NINE P.M. Fortnnateiy, 1 have these ‘observations com- picted beiore tie barkeeper jas time to notice my presence, and I can retire without puretas ng any of his valuable wares, Lighting my ¢'gar and pro- tecting myseif as weil as | can @zaist the cold aud damp air, Iresum. my position under an awning and beside a lamppost Om the cerner. It is nine clock, and the peuple on the streets grow more numerous. They are oi two ciass:s. which, though unfor unately compelled to herd together and live ém the same neigiborhood—often in tre same house and even on the same floor—are yet tu tally distinct and dissimilar, I mean the honest poor and the victous poor; and they can be as easily qis- tinguished trom cach other as can the virtuous daughter of wea.thy parents from the flaunting courtesan who lives next door to ner in the regton ol browa-stonedom, Itis casy, too, to see that the great majority of the degraded creatures now beiore me were once much better than they are at present—many of them better than { am wio writ? about them; that they have not always been so vile and so vicious, and that they were brought to this complexion through tne horrible influence of the heilish fuids that are sold to them ag rum and gin and whiskey. A HARD CASE. Here a half-clad wretch comes staggering along through the siush. He is neither a tiei nor a hlack- guard, you can see, but he lias already come into closer contact with boti than 18 healthy for um, He does hard work occasionatly—nis dress tetls you that—but it is enly wnen he has no money to buy Hquor and cannot get it otherwise. When he does work and gets nis wages, he goes with it to the rum shop and stays tiere until the last cent is gone. He has a family whom we shull see vy and by; but all the decent iecliugs of bis nature have been de- stroyed by liquor long since, and he lets thein Make out the cause as best they can. It is, per- haps, just as well for them he cannot get home to-night. As he staggers across the atreet to do so his foot slips and he falls into a peel of dirty, freezing slush: tries to rise u again, tails miserably, rolls over on his back and prepares to remain there. jen short minutes in that undesirable bed would eifectually cure him forever of his love for whiskey; tut @ policeman, who has seen him fall and noted his inciination to le in the bed he had made ior himselr, goes over ang lifts hum un. Tae fellow has almost lost the use 0i bis legs, but his tongue is more capable than ever it was. He abuses the eiticer in very foul language indee?; but tac guardian of tiie peace dexterously tucks fim under his arm, and, after laughingly telling the poor wretch to give “as much chin as he tices,’ but beware of “showing fight,” rapidly escorts him to the station house. He is the last Of at least adozem similar cases—not all of them of his sex—which I have seen from this ‘corner within the past hour. “POOR BUT HONEST’—AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE. He was the last caso of the kind I saw that night, for I thought | had scen quite enough of them tosuit my purpose; | had “loafed” around that corner ior over three hours; I was getting chilled to the marrow and had made up my mind to go straight home when a noise beside ine at cted my atten- tion, It said, ‘God help us! God help us! God help us!” J thought I knew the voice, and I was rignt. It was thatof a decent peor man whom I knew @ jew yeurs azo 9s a porter in the store of a gentleman ei my acquaintance. His employer had a high regard (and so had 1) for Tom —— (I sup- pose ‘Tum’ had another name, but if he had we never knewit). My friend—Toin’s ‘boss”—lost his business about two years ago, and Tom lost a situa- tion from which he derived @ much larger income than his master, and in which he was treated with much more confidence than if he had been @ rtner in the cencern. That was the last lhad heard or seen of Tom before this night. So Il speak to Tom, and ask him if he knows me. Kaow me? To be sure he does; he’d know me, he says, if I was dug out of the burned ruins in Centre street; and he is mignt; giad to see me, too. Tom lives right here in this neighborhood now—and sorry he 1s for that same; but he can’t heip it, and the will of God be done! In explaining how he came to live here Tom tells me d story of misfortune and disappointment since I last saw Lim, and of desperate struggies to keep himself and his family honest and decent, which have peen pretty successful, up to this at all events, Where he Hives is not a very nice place, to be sure, h@says; but if I'd go to see it Tom would take it as @ great favor, and it would make him feel good for many a day. “Perhaps I will, Tom,” I reply, “but just tell A in particular dia I hear you praying just 10" “Idn’t I see that man lugged off by the polfte- man, just now?” “Yes, I saw that man.” Well, Tom has known him for some time past; they live ps the same house, and on the same floor, in fact. The man is exactly what I conjectured— an irreclaimabie und degraded drunkard. His ex- ample, no less than tis own miseries, has driven his wife into’ the same course of ru! nd both have made their chudren what—— ‘Tom was afraid to say what, but [ can tell him now. After this I gladly accepted Tom's invitation to visit hu and progeeded to do it instanter. As we walked along Tom explained that he was seldom out se late; bat.his wife had just discevered she had for- gotten something at thegrooery store in the after- noon, and,he went back to fetch it. Me. was re- turning now. We passed a couple of grown-up GIRLS WITH PITCHERS in their hands. I knew where they were going, but their sopee ‘ance gave me a new thought. t asked Tomif,he could teil me why it was tnat, while I met :bundreds of women and girls over thirty and under fifteen around there that evening, Inever saw awingle female between those ages} Yes, Tom knew that well enough, and he sighed heavily ani siogk his head as he gave the reason. ‘There were anly four young women in the block where he lived. When they started in “life” (which they nearly all dia@—“You know what 1 mean Uf ‘life,’ said Tom), they were young and fresh found places to live at in better neighborhoods, where they remained while the bloom was upon ‘m; but when that was gone they were bound to eTavitate back to the old sium; uniess, in- deed, they weut into the grave ,by the shorter Trante followed by Mapd Merril and Hattie Adams, “And you mean to tell me, Tom,” said I, “that all the females brought up in tbs locality adopt a life.of prostitution?’ “Ido tell you,” said he, “that\pf all the girls fin three blocks of @,uere you stand broweht up wit! pap pe gs ea become bad ae oe as fmf e ) and so fore then. ‘This is the house, sir.” wu lems ts THE TENEMENT HOUSE IN CHERRY’ STREET. I follow my old friend into # dark ha\lway beside a store and up @ flight of wet and slippery stairs. A door is half open on the Janaing, and I can see three ten playing cards at a tabie, two youngmen and one witha bald head, An old wonnn mid a young one are sitting before the stove, one sewing and the other reading aloud from a newspaper. Tom yas in his head and wishes them all a *‘happy New Year,” anda cheery response comes batt wish ing him “the sage and @ great many of them.'’ The: invite him to come in; he fe rhaps ne will belore sey hd to bed, and he closes the deur. facin “They're people,” from the ould counthr, y work hard every day and amuse thimselve ‘om, “not long ont way in th’ evenin’. A never saw ty’ ould mag por one of the boys oyt- ‘| fonow hiw, snail loaves of | side the door aither nightfall since they came here, They tive here becanse—well, for the same raison that 1 do, Lod bel) us.” When we neared the top Of the second fig :t Toméald sudaéniy,.“ Stand here @ minute, sir, tit tcome back.” He assed down stairs again and returucd in @ moment with @ lighted lamp which he procured trom his Iriends-on the wurst door. He wis accompaned by the old mau I saw play.ng cards Witn hia * two boys.” ANOTHER HARD OASE, Ni Wek 10 te, Tory ? 1 sappose it is that woman again,” said the old mon.- “inaeed, then, it is wobing. else,” says Tom, at the same time holding the light over the braised face 0i @ hal-dreesed WonuR, o about lorty years 0: age, who was lying im u drunken r+ by no mewns @ecent posit.on across the top ol the stair- ease. Tae old man unwks ‘trere’ll be bive murdncr to-night: sania when the woman’s husband comes ‘hone; bat Tom assures him there 1: no danger of ‘that, lor she husband a or:suid nas just been hauled ‘out'of ‘the gutter and into the poiic: s:ation. Then honest Tom nands me tae limy, andy asking me to lits the prostrate aud uncoiscious ‘woman on b:s strong shoulders as he would a baby gaa proceeis upstairs with her. A sinall glass jos falls Gut ot her bosom aud rollsdown'to the ‘bottom of the steps, Tom utters a yong maledic- tion-oa botiles in genera: aud their usual comtents ‘in ‘particular and continues his way to the top floor. ite enters tie first room on the landing. Tuere is no light, no fire, no human being there. ‘There ig un‘o.d trickle bed in.a windowless inver room, into wich my iriend dumps his burden and throws the dirty quiit over it, “The childher are alkout on'tie strevts,” he remarks, “and'they’re Qituer no g-od you may be sure.’” THE HOME OF THE “POOR BUT HONEST,” We enter the noxt door on'the same-fioor. It leads into a suit oi three rooms. One is-a “living room,” whici t# lgnted in the day time by twe windous from the stieet. Off it ure two pedo, one of whien is hinted also frein the street, an: the ether H@nted froin that at secondhand. The fermitufe is dread? iy pan and scant, bat it ana the waged ce ling ani wararpeted floor are won- deriully clean, wud @ bright fire gleuwms throuzh the te stove, wincn ts very welcome to me ite of fest now. To's wile is ‘there, and having heard 1 Speak O. me frequently as one who had shown hm i Seoeapemyerrened betore x: mesg Pienaar ith great hearctinesa. iu ‘en ar Bearattewn vote tiem ‘themselves with a plain picture-book; but the eldest, a-girl about Rhine veara of age, {5 sobbing heaviy in 4 corner by herselt ‘Tom is evidently” ama; at this s.cht, -looks inguiringly at ts wi who expla it ae found the now sobbing Neils a romping around the front: door with certain other little gils whose companionship had been strictly forbidden, for reasons, whereupon Nelly got soundly whipped, “That's rigit, ould woman,” sald Tom. my pet, until Gea enables me to lave’ t! Place, whenever youre nut at schooi rei you must be always in tils rdom. it 1s hard,” ¢ inued poor Tom, turuing ts me with something very like a tear in hiseye, “itis hard, sir, to keep childher from the compaby of little people of their own age; butidon’t want her togoawa, when sie’s fiiteen and come back here wien she’s tuirty, Nvily’s @ goo? girl and she hasu’t a dhrop of heperety 9 but dacint blood in her; but, trom what I’ve seen here, Tin as sure as [ live that if the Virgin Maury herself was reared gahvantin’ about thim: sthreets below, ‘isn’t to her id be prayin’ to-night to watch over my childher. There's at laste as good and as honest tathers and motiers a8 we are obliged to live aud bring up their famiiles xround here, and they nad childher that Ought to be at jaste ax good as mine natura ly; but I’ve seen their little girls co away as regular and as sure as tt they were reared tw one of thin dance houses down there, and atl from being allowed to spind their eteure hours on the stoops and around the sthreets.” Here ‘om makes u pause and looks very serious “Nelly, infernal for a while, but he son brightens up and fells ws wile hed like ‘to have a cup of tea ax secon as phe can “geb the childher to bed.” He insists on my waiting to join him and i gladly consea’, for I know 1t was for that he ordered it, “L wish i had something stronger in the house to offer you,-sir.” says Tom, “put [don’t d..rink meseil nor allyw adhrop of 1 to come Into where I live. I te: the pledze trom Father Mathew thirty years , and that pledge was as sthron against incouragin’ others to drink asagainst dhrinkin’ mesel!. I have kept tnat pledge ever since a5 well as I could, one part a9 well as th*other.” I assure Tom { dow't drink eltier, which pleases my humble triend) very much. While tne tea is getting ready and while we are partaking of it Tom repeats the story of the misiortunes and disap) ointments whieh brought him to live in tue Fourth ward, and then he tells me of tus prospects for tie near future, which give me strong reasons to expect that he will be enabled to remove his household goods to @smali viiage on Lony Island next Summer, and which, I really do believe, trings as mach joy to my beart for that humble, worthy man’s sake as it does to Tom's for his own. HOW THE ARMY OF CRIME 13 RECRUITED. It is now half-past ten o’clock, aud I take a hearty leave of Tom and his wife, Tom accompa- nies me down the dirty stairs, and wants togee me all the way home, but I successiully insist that he shan’t leave that house towight. Beore L part n&m him f ask if there are many such men as hun- self living in that imimediate locality—at least, honest men who work tor a living, and do their utmost to bring up their children honestly, “Oh, yes,” ‘Tom assures ine, “there are hundreds of such people there, compelled to reside there by circumstances,” which he explained, but which I have not space to repeat. Many of them do strive hard to keep their children out of the devil's ways and means committees; but in tiat, he feeis cer- tain, not one out of a hundred succeeds. ‘It is hard for a father to mistrust what he considers the innate goodness of his virtuous wife's children; but Tom squarely confesses that, 80 overpowering would be the chances against them, he feels that if he had no hope of quitting § that portion ol the Fourth ward at ne distant day, he would take his three children to the East River that moment and “drown them like pups.’ Tom puts the case in very strong terms certainly, and he knews best whether or not he puts it correctly. At all events, it may be worth the trouble of. our blatant political and social “reformers” to con- sider whether each of more than a score of such plague spots in this city does or does not send Jorth its hundreds of weil-trained thieves and: pros- titutes, and nothing else in human shape, e year as regular y as Obristmas comes, and those nurseries of crime and degeneracy can or cannot be destroyed. It is awful to think that the average number of persons arriving at the age of uberty each year im a thickly populated district rke this almost exactly represents the number of recruits which it iurnishes per annum to this country’s army of crime and profligaty. WORSE, A THOUSAND TIMES WORSE! As I walked along Cherry street towards Roose- velt, after parting witm honest Tom, I passed a group of little girls—nope of them fourteen, and one could net have been many weeks over .ten ears of age. The night, as I have said, was pierc- ingly cold, but they auntered along as slowly and with as little of the air of being on a journey ora articular errand as if they were fine ladies stroll- ig over the beach at Long Branch any fine even- img in July. Following @ short distance behind them was a up Of boys of about the same vary- Ing ages. cir slow walk and their thin, poor clothing, taken in connection with the seve: ity of tae weather and the lateness of the hou! me thinking, and my attention was by mo u diverted from them by the strict silence and wat fulness which they preserved, instead of the gab- ble and noise which I had some Hans to consider inseparable from a group of little people of their age. After walking another block I encoun- tered a similar group, and as | neared the corner where I had steod earlier in the night I passed a thira group. These were going iu the same direc- tion as myself, and I determined to gratify a wish I had to find out allabout taem. When I reached my lamppost I stood and waited. The three little girls came along, and as they passed me on the cor- ner, with the light of the lamp shining full on their faces, the whele three joeked at me ina manner there was no mistaking. ‘The tallest of the girls was really @ bud which on other soil might soon burst into a lovely flower, and which SP rren to deserve a better fate tham the one that is certainly instore for it. I beckoned to her and she came. Her twe pgs ape fell back, spoke in hurried whisperg to the group of boya behind them, and then they all disappeared somehow, as if the pave- ment had swallowed them. “Now, see here, Sissy,’ I said, “Look at this dollar bill, I want to ask yeu a few questions, and if you tell me all L.want te Know, and tell me the truth, I'll give you the dollar."’ A DOLLAR'S WORTH OF CONFRSBION. Yes, God was to judge her, she would, and she did. e Was thirteen years old, and was reaily leading an immeral life. Her frst step in that direc- tion was take: out siX menths ago. ler father, one night, was locked up in the station house. man came into the reom where she lived with her mother and a little sister and two brothers. The man had whiskey, and he and her mother got “tight.” They gaye her some, too, When the bet- tle was ali gone they sent her out for another, and after she came back the man outraed her, with her mother's drunken knowledge and consent. Every night ever since, when her father 1s away, ber mother sends her out to ‘earn’ money to buy whiskey with. The younger of the other two girls who were with her is her sister, One of the group ‘of boys is her brother. When she gets hold of @ drunken man the other two girls and the boys fol- low, and while she and they all hold the hands of the brute, © of the diest of the boys goes hrough hii and robs hi ‘They have often made amisome hauls in that way, and it is qnite sale, for when the drunken man leaves their hands be makes no outcry; he is ashamed to tell a poiice- mag or anybody else how he got robbed. That's what the other groups I met with were doing, too, The second girl who was witn her (whose features were positively beautiful and whose face and figure were extraordinarily mature-looking for her age) has other resources. She selis‘news- papers during the evening around the hotel and other barrooms down town. (Yes, 1 knew that; IT recollected her at once; I had seen her several times selling. papers in every hotel barroom within five blocks of the City Hall.) But she had other “pusiness’’ besides selling the evening papers. She induces PIOUS-LOOKING GUESTS FROM THE COUNTRY— many of whom will read this with a bitter grin of Tecognition—to accompany her % the miserable apegrments inthe Fourth ward where she lives with a dronken and debauched stepfather, “Greeny” no sooner finds. himself in her room uné@eniably compromised than in steps the st > father im fot haste to answer @ scream from tne rl, At first there is going to be homieide, and hom tae indignant ‘“parient*® subdues his angr assion by & mighty effort of self-control most eai- Bing bo behold, and deyermines o haud “Greeny” over to the officers of the law, accomranied by & charxe of Outraung a chAd, which, the evidence being over, ower uc, nevus Sing Simg lor several years ot “Greeny's” ie and disyrace for the re- mainder. Stepiather’s “iviend” entera and father Steps out ora policeman, Wiile he ia ai genton his virtuously indignant quest “Greeny” te made te see the advantaze of emptying his kets into the hands of the “irend” om con’ von of being allowed to make immeatate tracks re hotel and thence to hie native cr adopted ge. “Now, Bi-ay,’’ said I, ‘one question more: Where do you five #” jo. — Cherry street.” 1.00 the top floor, back room 1” “Yea; do you knw it?” I told ner Low her mother had gone to bed, She I toid her how her tather had been picked up from the gutter near whe! and beew taken to the station house, diun’t know that, and she was really sorry when she heard it, for the tears stood in ner eyes. She ulwaya called him “Jim” and Kitty’—never had addressed her nis as “Futher” and ‘Mother’ im all her lie, ler own name was Annie, “Now, Annie,” said [, giving her the promised dollar which aie had farth fully ea: ned, “will you promise me you'll take your brother and sister ome with you at once, and that you won't come out again ior this ry atall events” Yes, she gave the prom.se, and / toink she kept it, for i didn’t see her again. WHAT ARR Wi GOING TO DO ABouT IT? When I par:ed witn Tom I thought I had learned all that was t be known about those ‘“digzings;”” but my interview with tuat doomed girl oi thirteen only inctted me to make further investizations. made them, and, indeed, | am not sorry that the Space now at my disposal will not allow of my at- tempting to give tne result tn this article. I went through ths rum shops, the colli the dollar prot..ela, tne blind alleys, the tumbie-dewn tenements and ail the other hell-concetved institu- tions oi this terrible neuzhborhood, and the bare recollection of what I saw and 1 to make one’s blved run col my pl to moralize over the whole now—others will do that—bat If help a desire to ‘impress upon “better classes” and our rulers the fact that the elements of an apvalling danver to tiem. und to us-all al Mereasing with w rapidity most trightiul to con- template, If the sore spots ai New York mee 18 LOL thin Mitted to continue to grow and fester and multiply aa they are growing and festeiing and muitiplying now nO Man in his senses can doubt that, in the event of any serious socialur political eruption taking place among us, our magnificent city wiil cease wo be. 1 would aiso record my opinion, tor the benefit of my pious and worthy evangelical friends, that the spending of miliions of money ior the Christianizing of heathens in Airica and Poly- nesia must be aboat the most-exhilarating piece of tun that tue devil can enjoy, asiong ‘the heathen a@tour dvor” remains in the condition in waica I saw him dispormug himaeif. JUNIUS JONIOR, AN APPEAL FROM “‘FREE LANCE.” EE Rare Albums tor Sale in Behalf of a Noble Charity, To THE Eprtor oF THE HERALD:— Ifgenius be patience, ag Button asserts, it must be awarded to Mrs, Vincenzo Botta, who is more than well known to social and literary circles of this city. Deeply interested in the French Fatr that was organized by the women of New York in the Autuinn of 1870, Mra. Botta, ever the avant- garde of deserving charities, determined to con- tribute to it a valuable collection of autegraphs, photographe and sketches. Appealing as well to the Old World as the New, Mrs. Botta was ably seconded by the Hon, John Jay, Hon, John Bigelow, Hon. J. L, Mot.ey, Hon, Geo. P. Marsh, Madame Ristori, Lady Amberley, many other prominent persons abroad, .and almost every lead- ing man and woman at hoine, Our artists, as usual, promptiy responded to the call. Jervis McEntee contribuied @ moonlight (in oli) of the “Ducal Palace” at Venice; James Ham- iiton, a “Sunset at Sea,” which, appropriately enough, is in water colors; F? 0. C. Darley, a draw- ing of “An Indian Attacking Butfalo,” quite as appropriately iu Indian ink; James Hart, a rural scene, in oil; R. Swain Gifford, “Seal Rocks,” San Francisco, in water colors; W. Wittredge, “Wagon ‘Train on the Plains,” in oil; 8. R. Gifford, “Distant View of the Pyramids,” in oll; F. Morans, “A Scene from Hiawatha,” in sepia; Gustave Doré, a pencil sketch; Huntington, two figures in pencil, and so on to the number of seventy-nine charming sketches. Then, foreign painters in Kome sent through Mr. G@'P. A. Healy twenty-two admirable souvenirs, thirteen sculp- tors contributed photographs ol their best statues and twenty-two artists gave, with their sketches, photographs of themselves, Of rare American autographs, wit accompanying photographs, there are no less than 400, Not a President of the United States is absent, Washington, Adams and Jeffer* son being present in rare manuscripts. Franklin is there; 80 are Jaines Otis, General Israel Putnam, Benedict Arnold and Lafayette; Alexander Hamil- ton and Aaron Burr lie quietly side by side, and Clay and Webster are closer companions than ever before. Generals and admirals are marshalled in battalions; Washington Lrving, Cooper and Haw- thorne are made most interesting by lengthy manuscripts. ‘There is a fac-simile of the first telegram, the gitt-of Protesser Morse, and there is the first AUlantic cable message, certilied to by Mr. Cyrus Field himself, Pvets, including Longfellow, Lowell, Emerson, Whittier, Holmes, Bayard Tay: lor, are as tiick as leaves at Vallambrosa—Edgar Poe not being forgotten, taough his letters are most rare—and there is nota woman of note but has given as much of herself as wil! flew from ink and speak through a camera obscura. England is generous in her offerings, and beginning with Wil- liam 1V.—a bad beginning makes @ good ending—one iob-novbs with Pvel, Russell, Derby and Breugham, becomes interested in Join Stuart Mil’s discussion on education, Her- bert Spencer’s argument concerning the principles of psychology, Darwin's pleas in behalf of our humbie ancestry, and an original unpublished poem of twenty-leur lines by Professor Tyndall, whose wildest admirer never would have supposed him capable of so extraordinary an indiscretion. Macaulay and Hallam, Dickens, Thackeray and George Kilot, Ruskin, Charlette Bronté, Browning, Tennyson and scores of their peene enrich the pages of Mrs. Botta’s unique album. Nor is the Continent less Javish o1 its gifts. ‘There 18 a very valuable letter written by Napo- leon the Great; there are missives from later mem- bers of his Jamily, Jootncingone trom Napoleon the Little, Madame De Staél, Guizot, Michelet, Victor H Lamartine, De Tecqueville, Thiers and his . Ary Scheffer, Dupanioup, Father Hy. cinthe, Henry Martin, Jomini, Sainte-Benve, Tal zac, George Sand, Henri Laine, uvé, Countess Guiccioll, Louvestre, Jenny Lind, er, Auber, Frederica Bremer, Hans Christian Andersen, Kos- suth, Bismarck and hundreds more follow gne another in quick succession. Liszt contributes three pages of autograph music never published and cemposed expressly for Mrs. Betta. Italy's best and greatest grant favors as heartily as her sun shines. Cavour, Antonelli, Mazzini, Manzoni, Ristori, Siivio Pellico. Aleardo Aleardi, Merca- dante, ‘Verdi, Rossini, Guerrazzi, members of the House of Savoy; li, Carlo Poerio, Dall’ Ongaro, and many, many more, bring tne ‘‘wo- man country” nearer te us thanever. In addi- tion to these two great albums ef sketches and autographs, with pkotographs, there is a smalier album, given by Mra, Jay, containing photographs of the House of Hapsburg. Yet, again, there box containing 438 autographs, not mounted, con- sisting of poems, letters, documents and other in- teresting manuscripts, among which are am origi- nal Kyrie Kleisen, by Schubert; notes by Schumann, Mendelssohn and Weber; imperial photographs o! the great composers, and finally there is a unique collection of parchment documents of Austrian Emperors, presented by the Hon. John Jay. Undertaken as a labor of love, this collection has absorbed the leisure of three years, for not until recently has Mrs. Botta been willing to con- sider her work completed—completed too late to aid the object fer which it was originally begun. at Will she do with it? Tne leading minds of France have become prefoundly impressed with the belief that their country ean ay be regener- ated through popular education; that “what you would have heed in the lise of @ nation you must first put into its schools.’ Professor Hippeau, of the Bureau ef Public Instruction, who visited the United States under the pices of the late gov- ernment, and wrete most enthusbastically in favor of our educational system, declares, in behalf of himselfand others, that it is their ambition to establish on the banks of the Seine one of those schools, Which in all the American cities visited by him were the objects of his admiration and co-lavore! envy. It 18 to the education of women particularly that the efforts of these deveted men will be directed, for “who dneates ® woman edu- cates @ generation.” +As they earnestly de- sire to establish =in Paris = @ school for girls on the American system, where moral and religious teacirimg, unsectarian in its character, and confined to the simple traths of Christianity, shall go hand-in-hand with literary and scientific instruction, Mrs. Bolter has deter- mined to make America their lasting benefacter. The first contribution to this great work will be from the sale of her collection, amd to the pur- chaser will be accorded the honor of founding the institation and giving it his orher name. Five thousand dollars only are required to bring about a consummation devoutly to be wished, It is a small sum for 80 great @ treasure, and so much greater good. Five thousand dollars invested in souvenirs of past genius to produce living brains will realize more than legal interest to some generous souls whose ideas of principle are not gauged by the standard set up in Wall street. To hear the sound of a New York name from schooigirls’ lips on the banks of the Seine ought to be worth more than $5,000 to @ wealth: women rk her sex as well as she lo herself, or to a wealthy man loving that sex better than ANNEXATION. The Proposed Consolidation of New York and Brooklyn. Pub'ic Sentiment Favoring the fcheme- The Great City of the New World—Bridging the East River at Asteria and Opening a Highway to the Coal Fields of Pennaylvania—A Brilliant Pie- ture of the Futnre—Views of a Prominent Brooklynite. The question of the proposed annemMtion of Brooklyn to New York is now being strongly agitated in the former city, where there seems to be a rapidly increasing public sentiment in favor ef the scheine, This subject has been periodically discussed for the past fiiteen or twenty years, but until now the sentiment appears to have been directly against consolidation. The advocates of it have been laboring by argument and otherwise to convince thetr opponents that the greatest advan- tages would be secured by such @ measure, and have succeeded so far that steps are now being taken towards the accomplishment of the plan proposed. At a recent meeting held in Brooklyn a committee was appointed to name another committee, who will confer with a committee representing New York, with the view of perfecting the preliminary measures necessary to the passage of an act by the Legislature placing both of the great cities under one municipal gov- ernment, That meeting was attended by many of the representative citizens of Brooklyn, including A. A. Low, 8 B. Chittenden, J. 8, T. Stranahan, Demas Barnes and others, aud their proceedings were regarded with great interest by the public. One of the strongest points of the opposition is that consolidation would kill Brooklyn, as it did Williamsburg. This assertion is met with an em- phatic denial and the argument that the annexa- tion of Brooklyn would make it an important quar- ter of the greatest city of the New Worid, and that it would be far better for Brooklyn to be such than than the suburb which it now really is. The great indebtedness 61 the city of New York is also pre- sented asan argument against annexation by its opponents, who object to bearing the burden of the results of misrule in the metropolis, and this is met by the argument that the indebtedness of the two cities is atmost equal when the tax- able property of the two cities is brought into account, These arguments have been advanced pro and con., and the verdict has been, as before stated, that the sentiment of the people is now largely in favor of the change. A representative of the HERALD yesterday ealled upon Mr. J.8. T. Stranalan, President of the Brooklyn Park Commission and @ prominent resident of that city, who had made the subject a study for some years past, for the purpose of ascer- taining his views in regard to the matter. Mr. Stranahan was found at his ofice, corner of Court and Schermerhorn strects, and expressed his willingness to converse upon the subject. The fol- lowing conversation then took place :— COMMISSIONER STRANAHAN’S VIEWS. REePoRTER—MYr. Strananan, I have called to as- certain your views upon the subject of the pro- posed consolidation of the cities of New York and Brooklyn under one municipal government, You have given the matter considerable attention, and the result of your observations will be considered with interest by the public, . MR. STRANAHAN—Wel, sir, I am thoroughly in favor of the consolidation of the two cities for the reasons that have been urged for twenty years,and | those reasons have been known to you, probably, and to every one. I would sooner be a part of one great city than form a portion of @ suburb as brooklyn, you know, now is. REPORTER—To come to the point, sir; what, in your opinion, would be the advantage derived irom the consolidation? Would a better municipal government be secured to the people? Mr. SYRANAHAN (emphatically) —I do, sir; for the reason that the larger the representation the abler the representative. Of course, the number of Aldermanic districts would be less—yon see that, oi course—and the representation would be larger, so much as to be beyond the reach of the smalier cliques of WARD POLITICIANS WHO NOW CONTROL THE ELKO- TION of Aldermen. Rerorrrr—Would not the municipal govern. ment, for the reason that New York city is largely seme be placed in the hands of one party entirely 3 Mr. STRANAHAN—No, There would be an in- creased Jocal interest, which woukl tend to keep down political or party class, which ts always favorable, The democratic party has a large ELL, in Brooklyn also; but these are only minor objections. e are to have in this neigh- borheod, right here, 1E GREAT CITY OF THE NEW WORLD. Let us make it as large and powerful and in- fluential as we can, not only for our own reputa- tion but for the reputation of our country. You ask me what the advantages of annexation would be. I say the terry question would be one, the question of water rights would be another; the question of bridging our river at etl mela as it will be bridged, is another. We would reacn the personal estate in ®e city of New York, much of which we carry there ourselves, in the way of taxa- tion. As to the ferry question: the city of New York owns the lerry franchises. Since the coloniai gov- ernment the Legisiature of the State of New York has delegated to the city the control of our ferries, which, theugh now a quiet question, has often been a very vexed one between the twe cities. You will perhaps ask in that connection about the water rights. Tae jurisdiction of the city of New York extends up to our piers, and if legal proceed- oe are necessary we have to go to New York, being withia her jurisdiction. RePorrex—You think that in event of consolida- tion the East River will be bridged at various points ? Mr. StRANAHAN—Yes, I think the most impor- tant point AFTER THE PRESENT BRIDGE shall be eG would be from Astoria, by way Of the islands in Hell Gate, to the shore of West- chester county, The spans would be short, and the erection of a railway bridge for railway traitc and pasecnaer § ‘attic would be entirely feasible, and, y Way of such @ bridge, Brooklyn would be con- nected with the Eastern and Western roads and soon with the coal fields of Pennsylvania by way of asuspension bridge which would be built across the Hudson River at West Point, RevorTkK—This would not be done without con- solidation ? Mr. STRANAHAN—Not go well. It is easier for THE COMBINED CITIES to work for the whole than a portion, than one city to work singly for @ part. EPORTER—Shouid the two cities be consolidated, Mr. Stranahan, a great many people here say that Brooklyn will have saddied mpon it the great in- debtedness of the city of New York, which they ave to aid in paying off. ‘That seems te be t objection. ir, SiRANAHAN—The indebtedness of the two ou cities is very nearly equal when you bring into account the taxable preperty of the cities. In my opinion, there need be no difficulty in that re- ‘ard. ‘Then you must remember that there would money saved in the way of public buildings. RerukTeR—In cage the scheme Is carried out, do you think that the five county tewns of Kings county should be included ¥ FURTHER ANNEXATION, Mr. STRANAHAN—It might not be wise to embrace at once, arbitrarily, the county towns, though tt would be very convenient to do ao, that we might cease to have acounty government. it is equally important that the three lower towns of West- chester county should be annexed at the same time, aor datos it would be wise to add the towns of Newtown, Queens county; Long Island City, Astoria, and other villages.” ‘But I would leave the annexation of all these towns to be de- termined by the people themselves, I would not arbitrarily annex them, ~ REPORTER—Don't we think that the questi should be submitted to the people of New York an Brooklyn also? Mr. STRANAHAN—The Dill that it is proposed to pass is but apreliminary measure, perhaps quite sufMicient for the time, @Ve will have to go to the Legislature again and the@iscussion for the coming year would indicate wha®Would be wise in that re- gard. Ihave given a good deal of thought to this question for some twenty years or more and I have | never known, 80 far as my observation extends, the sentiment so strongly IN FAVOR OF ANNEXATION as itis now. It is indeed rather surprising to me. REPORTER—There appears to be a feeling among agreat many of our citizens that consolidation would kill Brooklyn—that is, it would dolor Breok- lyn just what consolfdation did for Williamsburg— absorb its lite. De you think such a state of affairs would ensue? Mr. STRANAHAN—No, sir, We are now @ suburb of the great city of New York. In case of annexa- tion we would become AN IMPORTANT QUARTER of that great city, and the diiference to Brooklyn between these two positions is very important— between being a suburb and an important quarter ofa great city. It lies in that very question. That is the st: ongest point that has ever been made, in himself. Which is it to be, man or woman, or bot ? Whoever the benefactor, may he she soon reward Mrs. Botte fer her untiring devotion bo ag upseldsh idea FREE LANg | my mand. Feople do not putit in that shape ex- netly : but substant that to tt, v ‘Bgronsan—So you think that if the question of 7 consolidation or no consolidation were submitted to the people they wouid be in :avor of people pope dak the former Mr. STRANAHAN—I ¢.nnot doubt it. The Amert+ can people, you know, were never known to go tao gag annexation. (And he chuckled at the joke. } lances the favorable sentiment you re- ferred to confined to capitalists mainly or peopie @ nerally? Mr. STRANAHAN—The indications are favoravie in every quarter, and more especially in political quarters, tran was ever beiore the case. ‘There ta less objection on the part of political men, The times, in jact, are favorable to us. in that regard, KEPORTER—Isn’t it just @ little strange that our POLITICIANS ARE IN FAVOR OF IT, when consolidation would probably largely destroy their chances of office ? Mr. STRANAHAN—Perhaps I should hardly say ‘‘in favor;” but tueir opposition is much less than E ever knew it tobe beiore. In tact, everything is more favorable to the proposed change than ever it was before. RerorTsk—Ilow does the matter stand now? Has any bill been prepared yet to be submitted to the Legisiature t THE SITUATION. Mr. STRANAHAN—At a meeting held at Mr. Chit- tenden’s house Mr. Uhittenden and Mr. Winslow were empowered to appoint a committee on the part of Brookiyn, to consist of ten gentlemen, to take the matter in naud, and to see that a commit- tee of like number was appointed on the part of the citizens of New York. ‘Those committees have not yet been announced. The reporter inquired of Mr. Stranahan his opinion as to what weuld be THE FORM OF GOVERNMENT proposed, and he replied :—‘*We have not discussed that question at all. That must be left to the future, That a nice arrangement can be made we do not doubt, This matter o: annexation is one about which there will be no great haste—no snap judgment, It willrequire the best thought oi the: ‘two cities, and the disposition is todraw out that best Judgment.'? ‘the interview here terminated. ANOTHER TORPEDO EXPLOSION, Consternation in a Dey. Street Factory Two Persons Wounded=The Windows Demolished. At half-past ten o'clock yesterday morning the occupants of the buildings in Dey strect, near Church, were startled by @ loud ex- plosion on the street floor of No, 40 Dey street, occupied by John Sparks as a union torpedo manufactory. Several hundred people quickly gathered, a fire alarm was sent out, and for half an hour there was a lively commotion about. the building. Sergeant Moloney and Roundsman Hassen were quickly at the place and, with the firemen, discovered that @ composition, con- sisting of nitrate of silver and alcohol, used in the manutacture of the torpedoes, aud whieh was in @ glass jar in the rear oi the room, had exploded, The proprietor, Sparks, had his hands, arms and” face badly lacerated, and a woman named Catharine McGuggin nad her face and arms badly corn, When the terrific explosion occurred she rushed to the ,hatchway, and, seizing the rope leading down to, the ground floor, slipped down it, The rope did not reach within fliteen feet of the ground, and she fell this distance, dislocating herankle, Her hands were also badly torn by the rope in descending, and she was sent to the Park Hospital, Her injuries are not of adangerous charact-r. At the time of the explosion there were working on the floor about twenty girls and men, but they all escaped injury except those named above, ‘The fire was quickly: put out by the department, and after the smoke cleared away a sad scene of wreck and rain was visinle. The steve was thrown over, tue glass of the front windows blown out, and rear windows, Sa8h and part o: the wall carried dewm into the yard, It 18 @ matter ol surprise how any one workin:: in the rear of the room escaped, On thie flour above Were about twenty girls, who were panic-str.cken, a8 Well as those Om the third floor. Anticipating further explosions the terror< stricken people rushed wut turough a small scuttie to the roof and made thelr way to the adjoining _ roofs, where they were found by the police, Tne ~ proprietor was taken to the Church street station house, Where his wounds were dressed and he left for his home In Brooklyn. He projessed to be un- able to account for the cause of the explosion, but some of fhe eile say he Sronned the jar upon the floor. The Fire Marshal will likely make an inyes— tigation that will show the danger of manutactur- ing these dangerous explosives in the bulit-up portion of the city. THE JUVENILE MURDER IN SIXTH AVENUE, \ It is Claimed-to Have Been Accidental— The Murderer Threatens the Life of His Grandfather. Coroner Young yesterday proceeded to the Thirtieth street station house and investi- gated the circumstance attending the shoot ing of John ©. Shatier, the nine-year-old boy, by William Baker, a thirteen-year-old playma’ particulars of which appeared in yesterday's HeRaLp, The Coroner learned that about six o’clock on Friday evenmg a number of boys, in- | cluding Shafer and Baker, met at No, 522 Sixth ; avenue, where they were accustomed to take a lady's pet dogs out for an airing. Owing to the weather being bad they did not take the dogs out, and spent the afternoon in the room at play, inter rupted by occasional children’s quarrels, Just beiore dark Baker pulled out a pistok and began playing with it. The other boys were alarmed, aud one cautioned him to put it away. The young scamp, however, Lked the consternation of his companions, and, pointing it at Shafer, the pistol was discharged, itis claimed, dentally. The tatal ball entered the right.vem- ple, penetrated the brain, and, passing down- wards, lodged behind the left ear. ‘The little fel~ low sank down with a groan, and ex; almost immediately. Baker threw the pistol under @ bu- reau, and, running out, hid in a cioset im @ stable across the avenue, where he was found by the po- lice, and locked up in the Twenty-ninth precinas station house. Dr. Marsh yesterday made a post~ * mortem examination of the body oi the boy, who lived at 528 Sixth avenue, and the inquest Will be held at the Dolan House to-morrow st elevem o'clock, The Coroner learned that the pistol had been loaded for the young shooter by aiter whem the poilce are looking. is also re- ported that Baker recently threatened to shoot his grandfather, and the ampression is the pistol was secured for this furpose. ANOTHER MURDER IN BROOKLYN, A Father Arrested tor Beating His Son to Death—Refusal to Go for Beer the Cause of the Crime. John Fox, a boy thirteen years of age, died on Friday night last at bis parents’ residence, 62 Hop- kins street, under circumstances of @ suspicious character. Officer Sweeney, of the Ninth precinct, was on duty yesterday morning, when he was in- formed that the boy haa not been seen out of doors since Tuesday night, 4th imstant, and the neignbors believed that the father, Peter Fox, a German, had killed his son. A Man name? Bluintzm: and the wife of the latter stated that on the night fm question they were awakened from their slumbers, in an epart- ment adjoining the room in which the Foxes live, by a great noise. They heard Fox tell his boy to go and get some beer, but the cltild refused to obey the mandate unless his father gave him the money with which to pay for the desired beverage. Thea the listeners heard the boy cry, and the sound of biows as thougn dealt with a stick echeed through the room, the man swearing fearful oaths in Ger- man, meanwhile. “For God's: sake go in,” said = Mrs. Blintzman to her husband, “and take @ stick to stop that man from beating that peor boy.’’ The husband of the humase woman, however, declined to interfere, Then they, heard @ noise which they described as sounding: like some one thrown from one end of the room to the other, and the child cried out, “Don’t ktlt me, father! You'll murder me! The boy then commenced to groan and the neighbors fell asleep, ‘The child was seen no more alive by the neighbors. Having been thus informed, Onicer Sweene: walked Into the apartments of Mr. Fox and ask: if there was anybody dead tn the place. The mother of John replied that her son was % that he fell out of a window and died from the injuries received. The policeman then visited a hall bedroom, in which the body lay, covered with bruises and the flesh on the back amd shoul- ders being a livid mass. Detective Leav then arrested Peter Fox on charge of murder locked him up in the Gates avenue station house. ‘The prisoner, who is evidently @ man of very low order of intellect, is @ laborer by occupation. He stated, when taken into custody, that John died from injuries sustained by falling out of a sleigh a week ago. The Geroner will Javestaske the case theroughly, and the inquest will be held on Monday. BURGLARY AT SING Sina. During Thursday night or early ou Friday morn ing the residence of Mr, Henry Young, President of the Manhattan Gas Works, at Sing Sing, West- chester county, was entered by some unknuwa party or parties, who ransacked the house and car- ried away property to the value of nearly one thous sand dollars, The booty consisted of linen, cloth- ing, jewelry and several boxes of prime cigars. The burglars effected an entrance by forcing & cellar window, through which access was ed to the upper portion of the house, where locks and bolts speedily gave way before the marauders. Mr. Young and famuly were absent at their city resi dence when the burglary was perpetrated, the only occupant of the dwelling being @ coach whose slumbers, it is reported, were Bot disturve by the noisy operations of the robbers, for whos@ detection a large reward has been offered, some man, ©