Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1866-08-24
T EMP E RANCE COLUMN.
A Sad Story.
A YOUNG GERMAN COUNT DIES IN THE
STREETS.

foreign gentlemen possessing titles of
nobility who visit this country. On
the contrary, we have been more Civ
en- to lionizing imposters and swim
dlers, who affect foreign airs and call
themselves Counts" than to "enter-
tain angels unawares. The police
authorities however, were recently
called upon to investigate a case
- the sad fate encounter
ed 10y titled son Of pfuuu 0GsS ss....s1J,
in this city. 1t appears that a few
years ago, a young German, about
twenty years of age, came to this
country on pleasure excursion. He
was the son of exceedingly wealthy
parents, and heir to a title wel[known
In his land, and which had been hon
orably borne by his ancestors for
many years. Arriving in New York,
the young man stopped at the st.
Nicholas Hotel, where he boarded for
several months. He had plenty of
money, dressed well and made many
friends among the young men OF New
York. He was careful, however, to
keep his title in the back ground, and
but two or three persons to whom he
brought letters of introduction, knew
him as person Of rank. Even these
two Or three persons were stunned by
him. after little while on account of
their knowledge Of his social position.
1t was soon observed that the yonng
man was quite Incorporate in his hab-
its, and frequently the servants of the
house were obliged to carry him to
his room and put him to bed, so much
was he overcome by liquor. 1t finally
became a matter of serious concern
to his friends, and they endeavored
to check his Incorporate course.
Their efforts were useless, and he
continued to get intoxicated daily.
He was finally forced to change his
residence, and found board IN sec
ond-rate clearinghouse. He seemed
to have lost all control of his appe-
tites, and, knowing his degraded con
ditiOn, to have ceased to correspond
with his parents and friends. Money
ceased to come to him, and he began
to feel the want of it. His jewc!rv
soon passed into the hands Of the
pawnbroker, and his apparel became
threadbare. He was unable to pay
his board and was turned into the
street From one boarding house to
another he sought shelter, but was
not allowed to remain long beneath
any respectable roof His craving
for liquor possessed him still, and
whatever he could pawn or sell for
either money or liquor was disposed
of. At length to such a fearful state
Of degradation did this appetite bring
this titled youth that he becamr an
inmate of a low, filthy negro dance
house, and the associate of thieves
and prostitutes of the vilest de- rip
ton. In this horrible place, ragged,
filthy, diseased and drunk, the y0ang
man existed for several week., the
degraded companion of an equally
degraded woman. One cold n.ht in
winter, after having drunk himsc: 10
a beastly state ofintoxication, he was
kicked out of even this den of thieves.
because he had neither money nor
what was worth money, into the
street. On the following morning a
policeman found him lying on the foot
path near the place, dead-dead from
the effects of vile whiskey and the in
tense cold. His body was taken to
the City Hospital He was a stran-
ger to the police, and the thieves and
prostitutes knew nothing further of
him than that he was drunken white
man who had no money. An inquest
was held upon the unknown man" a
verdict of death from natural causes"
was rendered, and, at the expense of
the city. the dead body of the young
German Count was buried among the
unrecognized dead in Potter's Field.
A short time afterwards his parents
died, and an heir was wanted for the
large fortune left by them. An effort
to trace the wandering son, who had
left his home few years before, was
made. He was known to have come
to America, and the detective police
of this city were called upon to find
him. They traced the unfortunate
youth, as above described, from his
splendid apartments at the st. Nicho-
las Hotel to the pauper's grave
in Potter's Field. Yet a single link
was wanting to legally establish the
death of this unfortunate youth
Those who knew him, and to whom
he brought letters, did not see his
dead body, and consequently there
was legal doubt as to whether or
not the man whom the police found
dead was the heir who was wanted.
These friends had watched his down.
ward career, and had often tried to
snatch him from destruction, but his
appetite was stronger than his will or
their counsels.r One of the friends
had, on one occasion, been badly beat
en- by the low thieves when he tried
to take the young man from their den.
But not one of those who saw him
after death could furnish the-link that
was wanted to prove that he who was
the Count while living, was the pau
per whom the city had buried. The
estates were not settled for several
years, and recently the New York
detectives were again called pon,and
again went to work, but with the
same result. The facts, as above re-
lated, have been embodied in the form
of affidavits, and sent to the old coun-
TRY, and it is thought that they will
consequently pass to the next of kin.
IN. Y. Times.