, 1865-11-17

Rnca fumOfB, IL DfSL apparently unt0unde4
md subsequently bu. too we'll authenticated,
Preston King, Collector Of the Port, bad conl
mittel suicide bv jumping into the river from
tue deck Of tho Hoboken ferry boat Patcr-
son, while labosing, 1t Is supposed, under a
fit Of temporary insanity. known to the
business community and to the political
world, but recently an inmate Of the Astor
House and an occupant Of prominent gov
crnmcnta1 position, 1t IL not surprising TINT
the sad tidings Of Mr. Kings demise should
have caused urcat Excitement and fincrre re-
g1ct.
Ills sosounr IN THIS CITY.
Afr. King, since his arrival In New York aad
his occupancy Of the Collcctorship, was the
tenant Of room No. II ABtor House. This
apartment, which n days by-gone had been
honored BY the presence Of Daniel Webster,
WIS LIT by Its lat est inmate on Monday morn.
ing last, and since then no glad tidings Of his
safety have checrcd the hearts Of bis friends.
On bis appointment to the Office Of Collec-
tor Of The Port by President johnson, Afr.
King came to this city and selected the room
dow vacant in the Astor House as his head
quarters, the apartment having Just beeu
Quilted by Thutlow Weed. There he received
Els visitors and spent the few hours which
were not monopolized By the discharge Of
the onerous dutics imposed upon him.
-. HIS ILLNESS.
Some ten days previous to tho 18th Inst,
Mr.. King, 1t is stated, had not been In q pro.
business at the Custom House, having shown
umdoubted symptoms Of alteration Of mind.
To prevent any serious trouble he was placed
In charge Of Mr. Bridges, q gentleman who
had particular interest In hfy welfare: heinz
connected with his family By mailiaQp With
the daughter Of near relative. 4 portion
O. last 7s week was spent at 0sdensburg, where
Mf. kmg usually resided. Immediately upon
whom he had left fu New York 10 come and
meet him at 0edensburg. While stopping
in this place Mr- Kings friends on more than
one occasion noticed the -sInRuIaritY Of his
conduct, and it Is stated that one night he
paced to and fro IN his apartment for several
hours, alternately locking and unlocking bis
door. Afler his return 70 the Astor House
he was still 20 dcrangcd that It WAS deemed
imPrndent to leave him alone, and Mr..
Bridges was constantly in his company;
Hopes were still entertained that his illness
would prove to be temporary, and that In a
few days he would be favored with better
health. These hopes were not well founded.
Or sunday last ". Kings conduct was uu-
usually strange. He #as excited, and his Ian
guage and actions were most eccentric. Dur
Ing conversation which ensued. with Mr..
Weed, who visited him frequently. Nj, King
proposed, apparently In earnest good faith.
that they should adjourn from room No. il,
where they were sitting, TO. the roof Of the
Astor House, and take ! sail through the air.
Ills wish was not gratided, and he was finally
qufeted, and subsequently, retired to rest, still,
however, under rigid surveillance. It Was de-
cided that one Of his relntires should sleep ia
the apartment be occupied, for the express
purpose OF taking care Of the Invalid, and
him.
He LEAVES THE AsToR HOUSE.
While MT. Bridges was still asleep, on Mon
rose, dressed himself and left the house, sub.
seqnently returning and re-enter'ng the
room. At about half past seyen o'clock he
donned heavy travelling overcoat, his hat
and gloves, and again quilted th. apartment
without attracting the notice OF any Of it's
inmates 1ustead Of passing directly to the
made his exit at the Vesey street 1adies'
private staircase, lingering at the top Of
the staircase for some minutes, as though hes
itatfng as to the course to pursue. The servant
WHO was on duty in the hallway that morning
noticed these peculiar movements, but
1ecollect whether or not be had fastened bis
door, matter concerning which he YVES rerr
particular. Fronl the moment Of his dlsap-
pea1ance at the side door of the Astor House
on Monday morning, nothing has been seen Of
the Collector in that viciaity. Whether be
took carriage, as he remarked he Intended
to do, or whether he walked Or rode in car
to the Hoboken ferry slip, are f1cts still
ehrouded In impenetrable mystery, one gem
tleman, however, stating that be saw him
emerge from a Hudson riycr rnilfoad cur.
When Ar- Weed knocked at the door OF Mr,
hmge room It's occupant had departed, nor
could the inquirer CLEAN any information as
to his whereabouts.
TuE FyCTTESfrrr rur rn-ev
The sudden and unaccountable a1sappear-
ance of Mr.. King ,was productive Of Intense
excitement. Though at first the events
which preceded his departure were not known
to the public, tic incidents OF his llnes9 soon
became familiar to all, and, as Z consequence,
the efforts Of the select few who ATTEMPTED to
keep the community in temporary ignorance
ayailiug. But while the absence Of the Col
lector furnished subjects OF conversation to
the business men throughout the CITY, his
friends took immediate measures to ascertain
the whereabouts Of the missing man.
Chief John Young. Of the :. detective
iorce, was notified Of the disappearance
to st; Lawrence county, to Washington and
TO other localities In which the absent ono
had resided at different times. Meantime the
runors were constantly becoming more
numerous and less we'll authenticated. One
report ran to the eject thAt 3fr. King had
been seen during the day in West street,
without hat or overcoat another set forth
that be had te1egraphed to his private seeres
tary from hts house at Ogdensburg; q third
tnat his body had been discovered IN the
1Fcr at aoboken, and that the Coroner was
1ust then engaged In holding an inquest upon
the same. None Of these stories, when in
qared into BY careful men, were proven to
contain even modicum ftruth. But one
established IN f,f
Mr.. K1ug.
TIE TRUE STORY.
but Of the many rumors current ono was
found to possess some share Of likelihood.
from sources unknown it was asceTtained
possibly under temporary alteration Of mind,
bad jumped from the deck or. the Hoboken
ierEy-6oat Paterson, and had perishcd before
he could be rescued. The body thus FIR has
not been recovered. Yesterday Mr. Weed
and detective officer proceeded to Hoboken
In guest ofa clue to the whereabouts Of the