AMERICAN ITEMS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 3302, 6 November 1878, Page 3

AMERICAN ITEMS.

(From our Mail Filts.) New York Notbs.

New Yom{, Supt. C— Scene, fashionable boarding house near Fifth urenuo; time, midnight; dramalh persona:' handsome mistress of. house, married, but husband in California ;malc friend who had escorted her to theatre and JMmonico's and back to house ; jealous boarder, former admirer, armed with revolverand lviiig in wait for male friend of madamc, the mistress. Madatno and friend lake seat in parlour ; boarder appears with ? revolver, two shots fired and parlour walls slightly damaged, rapid retreat of rival, who forgets hat in hull and cab at door ; jealoils ex-admirer captured by policeman and locked up in station house ; brought into police, court next day and madamo appears against him ; madame tells story of what happened, but declines to give name of male friend $. exadmirer held for trial; madame returns to fashionable, boarding house and curtain falls. * Quite a little play, is it riot ? New Tori produces many of the game sort. Boardinghouse life is simply an enlarged Scl.ool for Scandal. Joseph Surface, Lady Teazle, Mrs Candour, Sir Benjamin Backbite, and all the rest of; them are here by, the dozen all the time. But the Lady Teazles are not quite so innocent as she. in Sheridan's comedy. Nor are the Ue^ky Sharps, -who aro quite as numerous as the Lady Teazles, all of the same patterns as Thackeray's. Both types are fully developed. It is no half-arid-half: with them,., bub all. Lady Teafle 1 eicisf 8 mainly on Fifth Avenue and J thereabout. Becky's dwelling place is all over town. She is usualljfound in the second-class boarding-houses, where second-class lawyers, brokers, and. business men make their homes. Becky dresses well, usually wears some diamonds, iseeiris avert proper" person in the boardinghouse circle, and has gently man visitors/ bufrndneof the other ccx. Bhp is very neat as to her room and very.swedt with the servants, arid when.' f iaarreajß for board; she is sure that Ber: la^£, or^hcr, Jbatfker, as- Hie aase tnay s be, ; will 'be backih town to-morrow. /■--■■'. UAf TeafcUris sitnply » spoiled and extravagant ypjtng wife/ alwijrs in danger of Gripping; bWrtfever reallyjosing Wmturess, experienced in setting ; tntaf.and >itenM hovering 'abouti l^&^a^SfiSf j»usually married, bufc-fot .fl^thO.^d^iteoite her lvpsUhdtis'tepfc kW^^Jn&Hf l h m storage tbathe doeßno^titeoft^flftrt%h

neißKj buay.poor fellow, that perhaps he wsaliyidan'fc help it after all. " ' "- ' I The'admimblo manner m which. the House of BisHbp^, lateitf session here, disposed of the case of Bish jp M'Coskry is commented on by nearly all the newspapers. Not one word of scandal was allowed to 'reach the public ear. When the work was done, announcement was made that Bishop M'Ooskry.had beetfdeposed/f rom his position in the churchy but none of the reasons jappfeared. » Some of the papers think it is a great pity that Mr Beecher did not f belong to the <■ fipscb^al'Chnrcii; sg tnkt he could have beenjtHed/'iii' the K satfie way thit M'Coskry was. j Morality -irould certainly haYe f l»oeia;the gainer. : ■ > ; '.--

Boucicaul(/'s tide of fortune as a dramatist seems, to hare turned. Even with the aid of the superb mounting and admirable acting always provided* 'at •' Wallaces, has attended hia-fewo latest playsthere^-" Mat? riago" and "Clarwsa > sar|p^l:j;Tb!e first was brought out at the operiing of iisfc season, with a tremendous flourish' of 'trumpets, and a decidedly, cheeky .jguff <f rpm tbr^ anthor^w^o' came .' to . thp f dothgtite ; to ,^tell ,the, - audienbe that it was a companion piece to " London Assurance " (the l>est comedy ? byall odds, that he ever wrote) ; but the audience seemed strongly inclined to sit dbwiiupbn ■" Marriage" even- the first night, as all the critics did tlie next day, and Wallaefc found it to his interest to withdraw the play after a feWjWeeia. jßufc " Marriage "was Really .'» su^pessin'wjmparison with " Clarissa fflrlowe.'rflfc'wai thought la&b week that this play wpulfLbe kept on at leafefc long enough to save appearances ; but Wallack is too prudential for anything; of that sort, and finding that tlio i( play,is a positive failure even, in* the" beginning, he has announced its withdrawal after the present week. This isa pretty hard rap on _Mr "Boucieatilt's bump of self-esteem,. which ,is decidedly large, butdf course Waflack* cannot run his theatre , at; a loss, even ! to please Mr B. 'On Saturday night the " School for Scandal" will be J revived, with; new scenic effects and a very strong cast. . But Wallack himself, the best Joseph Surface now on the stage, will not be in it. He holds back till other attractions fail, or at least till the Reason is pretty well advanced. '. .-■

Tlie shocking tragedy revealed by the discovery of the body, of a young woman packed in a barrel and buried in a secluded 'place on Staten Island, is still a: mystery; as to the', manner and motive of the murder. But it has had the effect of again drawing attention to' frequent disappearance; bf young women, who pass out of sight' as completely as though, the earth had swaUowed them.,,, Several perBons have, gone , to. Statea-islan'd . since . tlie body was found, each expecting, ,and perhaps fearing hb ! identify 'it as" the t? body of some female relative, whose, :name isjon the list of the missing., .' boys or men disappear from home their absence may be accounted for in many ways, and there need not necessarily , be fear of foul play- but 1 when the missing person 1 is a young woman j 'handsotne perhips, and sprightly,* thefre is usually but one conclusion to reach.; 15 i$ terrible .to, think of all the homes that are.desblafiecl'ih'this way in New York in. a. single year. ; , Scarcely;aday, passqs with'6ut' t the police .being, inlormed s qf the disappearance, of ,wliq ,/ ; arer, nejver^agam .seen. . ."Where they go or 'what becomes of them is a mystery that cannot be solved. "Brit there can be noj doubt that many ; meet the fate, in one way or, another, of the ' unfortunate one whose body was so strangely discovered on Staten 'lsland." 'jFrom shame to ; death is J>ut a short; stop, jmuL alas ! . .how Imanytafce iE." *^ut sucH a death as the one brought to light bn^StEten'lsliind is horrible beyond expression. /Nothing approaching it in hideous atrocity, has< been knownhore since the dreadful Aliqq.Bowlsby horror; of exactly the c same character, that sent a shudder . through the community a few years ago. | Kearney has, been here a couple of dayp, and will harangue a meeting at Union Square to-nigh b. His presence . in G-otham is udproductive of any excitement whatever; ' The 'woYki£(^ i "]A'e'ti* seem t6 r liaYe lost all interest in him. r : His wild' tirades delivered in other places, and reported in the papers here, have' shown that' he is' merely a noisy ignoramus. '- ; Arid* there is no class so disgusted ..with, Dennis ins Ihis own countrymen. - A few of them believed .in him of coiu-se, but the mass of Irish mechanics and skillod: labourers are; hearbily.iashamed that their country produced this, -Jf blathering agitator]" and would be glad at his immediate retirement to' some place where the public ,eye could never agaui behold him. T ■ jPeter Cooper's refusal to let 'Denhis- speak in ! Cooper Jnstitute has inflamed some of the labour leaders against I the benevplent, old. greenbackor, but he need | not mind. that, : and probabiy, does not, as the men who^ denounce, him .are not of the smallest account. Dennis has been quite willing to bo interviewed, notwithstanding his hatred of the whole brood of "slimy imps."' It is always bo with men who': pitch* into the newspapers. Even" BenV ßutler has a softside for reporters who may possibly be useful' to him. Kearney is findinghis level pretty fast, and it is safe to siy, that; in'a few .weeks lie will Be as unim'pbrtant a person, as any rattle-brain . communist in the country. Consistency is a thing your agitator knows nothing 'about. When! Kearney was in Indianapolis lie extolled the communists and their flag in some of his nhoicoat terms. In New York ho talks the other. way. ; There is i no need of communistic remedies, he says, here, for the power' of the' working-man will right all ■wrongs.^"- : ' •'■■■"' '•' ■■■ "' '' '■•■-=-•"' ■ •:•■■ :

■ Apropos of communism, the great Citizen Megy, head of tho French brethren in New York,, is threatened with expulsion. ; Megy is both, arrogant and ignorant, and he has. lately bceing ;; doing things ,in so high-handed a way that his associates are moved .to. angry threats against him and declarations that thoy won't stand his insolence any longer. Citizens JRobinet and Hanser, respectively editor, and publisher of a, small ; Ircnch ..communistic: organ, are tho chief ass.ailants of Megy, whom they charge with various crimes. Thby even allege that Citizen Megy is a traitor, and offer to proyej that Jic tried to sell his brethren abroad before ho came to tho United Statos. This is likely' to be true enough ," for fellows idf tho Megy stamp aro aljvays ready to earn air honest dollar by treauhory when they can. The present purpose* of Mcgy's enemies, lato" his. ; brethren in conspiracy and murder, is to get him out of the waj'. They probibly won't try the means • they found ho effectual in Paris, thoughif' Megy should bo" found some day with a dagger in his heart or a bullet hole in his head, the community at largo probablywould not mourn muelro'vm' his' late. Tho Schwab wing of the party, if tho communists can be called a party, never took iriheh stock in the Megy crowd.' ThoVSchwabites are all Germans and the Megyites arc aU from France, find though they affect ii willingness tb wbrk together " for the cdmmoh goboof a common cause," and moro of the same sbrlij they do nbt really harmoniso at all, and probably nevor | will. But what of.it it' they. don't?; Tumble them* all together,' iJchwabitos, iMegyites, and the rest, and thoro would riot bo moro than half a dozen good waggon loads iti the lot. [ And that is quite onough to say about them hero. ; . • ■■ ■ . -.•••■■■■■■ .-. l ■:.■■.'• ■■■>■■■'■' 'j' : ■■ ■'■■■, Lykoh.Law, . ;. ; ,;.; .■ : r A .special despatch to .Clio' Cleticiaud Leader cays :— On Tuesday '.afterribbft'thop'oiico authdnties <tf wei*b notified that a young woman namedAlico O'Donnellj a servaritattlio house of i»ir A. K. West, Washington strebt, had my storioußly .disappeared frbiri tho housbV ; She was , prbjmnnK tho supper, .when, at the time indicated, sho stepped on tho pqreh, and was not seen again, from that time until -five o'clock this alternopn, when her dead body was found^ in .a j fence corner, near 'Venice, .in this ' county I vritli her ; 'throat cut ricarlyfrom barjjo ear and: ncr skull fractured. ' ! ' •'%. \ '•■■ Mrs'Wost was away from y horti6 \wWeh'' 'fcho girl was first missed, Visiting ff'ierids.' r On her' return 1 to' her ho\tse, ; j«i*t before 1 * 0 o'clock^ Monday evening; she Fbtikd tho'sopper table just as Alice had left it when sho wont out on tho porch. Aiabp.ub.O o'clock j^ commenced I raining,' ans ,tlie ; 'family. , J ,BUppqßed that, ols ". AHco djtlnofc .rettirnVihb Jiftfl ,g6no/Qufc^uh- : prepared tor the. etonn and ( . would remain away until it ccase|l lattoyil, |at tho girl did«notreturji that .nigiiti Jinc^ at^alat*^ rjiour in the momlps'J^i^r^egt^b^me, concerned forat pnb^ 'macle afcJjchbfaQU^gf M\cm,m»tcirtL f ftb|re; ''ivl{' was^lise norie of her Friends or relatives! seen h^ g r w^ hnH •■ ' ' U The matter was then reported to fche police

authorities and a search commenced for the girl. (Tuesday evening ' Marshal Berrigan, Tdlica Cap. Bower, Coroner Hughes, and i Policemen Nolan and Kelley visited the premises of Mr West, ' and thoroughly examined the residence, cistern, stable, outnoußcs, etc., but no trace could be found of the girl. A club, stained with blood, was found on the Btabler floor, and drops of blood on the stairway leading to the hay loffc. A» no account could be given as to how they came there, the conclusion was arrived at that Alice had been' murderecl. Suspicion was directed to William* IJaylor, a colbured man enlployed by Mr West to- do work about the houße and take care of the "stable. Taylor was arrested s • during the evening. City Marshal Berrigan was satisfied Taylor knew what had beoome of the girl and tried, every means to itiduce him to confess 9 but he protested hi 9 innocence until about 4 o'clock to-day, when he sent for the Marshal and made the . following ? statement j— The murderer's statement: He said he/wentinfco the bain.- at: about .twenty minutes to 0 to' clock, and the first object he saw was Alice lying on the floor with hbr throat cut ; that his first thought was to give alarmj bub it instantly occurred to him thab he would be suspected, so he ...hitched -up. the. horses, put the body in the' 'Buggy;' and drove to within a short distance of Tenice, and threw the body over the fence as stated. On his rotiu'n ho washed himselfyandi removed all the blood stains. When it: became known thab Taylor had confessed the awful crime, the excitement demonstrated _ itself by groups of people gathering on' the ;corners discusssing the affair, and the general expression was one of horror. The friends of the murdered girl began talking of lynch law, and the crowds began to increase in size. Finally the Sheriff became alarmed for the safety ' of Taylor, and determined to remove him to the Huron County gaol, at Norwalk, but before he could he could complete his arrangements for this piu'pose, the law began to congregate about 'the "gaol, and the prisoner wag hurried into a carriage, -and, in "company with the Sheriff and one other person, driven to the County Infirmary, the Sheriff intending to give him in charge of a man who was in the city; from Newark, to be conveyed to that, place; but before this could be accomplished he: was overtaken by the howling mob. V* The mob vthe'n deputized three nien r to consult with the Sheriff, and it was agreed that they would allow him to ..bring. Taylor bnck 'to the city and plnce him in gaol, bub would nofc allow him to be taken to Norwalk. ; They, had proceeded bub a short distance, however, on the return, when the Crowd overpowered him and took possession of Taylor and started for, the, city. Un arriving ab the public square a brief .".consultation was held, and the leaders of the mob decided to hang him. Lynch is king. The excitement was now ab fever; heab. Thousandsvof people, mob and more quiet citizens.etoddback'and looked on, or struggled in wild confusion in the streets. There was no voice raised for mercy, and the determined protest of the officer, with himself, was swept aside before the mad stream of passion. The trembling wretch prayed for mercy, ; but ifc was riot to bo given him. His arms "wei'e: pinioned,, and ho.-. could 1 make np resistance. ;.. : | J'iArope !" shouted a voice, and a hundred voices took it up. As if made, forthe purpose,' the cordage was there. A noose sprang into existence, as though twisted fi rthe dark work it was to do. Ahead the dark figure of a lamppost stood up before the vision, where Washington. street runs into Columbus. The rope was dropped over the neck of the trembling wretch. A hundred hands seized it. It was thrown over the,, posb and, without, a inomenb's prayer or preparation, the guilty mair' was swung into eternity. He hung there between Heaven and earth for twenty minutes, a 1 ghastly object to bo looked upop with dread. _ Then, with, .its hate subsided and its passions gone, the mob disappeared as it came, and those whose hands had held the rope became again atoms in the seething waves of humanity, and wore seen no more. Then bhe officers of bhe law were again allowed possession of whab had been their prisoner, but wa9 now only clay. The rope was cub, a wagon procured, and bhe body removed to an undertaker's. ?

Commenting on the above tho Detroit Free Press remarks:— The gross outrage perpetrated at Sandusky last week in lynching and alleged murderer,' may welt cause the cynics of the time to repeat that stale and threadbare query whether this is the nineteenth century. In a new and half civilised country, without courts', or laws, tho summary .trial and execution of a. criminal by a mob is more or less excusable. But in a civilised community like that of Sandusky, such a proceeding is a crime of the greatest magnitude, so far as the perpetrators are concerned, and an ineffaceable disgrace to. the public authorities. Whether the victim hanged at the lamp-post was guilty or not of the crime charged against him, makes no difference in estimating the act by which ho was deprived of life. If he was guilty it was because he had broken the law 5 and as his murderers broke the same law, thoy acknowledged their unfltnoss to judge and punish him. Tho- City of; Sankusky owes to herself and to civilisation the prompt prosecution and punishment of every man who had a hand in the outrage referred to. Only in so doing can sho maintain her place among the cities of the laud where human lifo is protected by law.