Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1868-08-04
The "Wickedest Man in New York"
Forsakes his Evil Ways-Truth stran-
ger than Fiction.


Prom the Eis. State Journal.
An interesting account has been
going the rounds OF the papers, from
Packard's Monthly, about one John
| Allen, who, for nearly a score of
years. has kept dance house on
Water street, New York, which was
| considered the vilest den of carousal
in all New York, and who has earn,
ed the sobriquet of the "Wickedest
Man in New York" He was man
well educated, and brought up relig-
iously, who has brothers who are
clergymen, who knew what was right
but turned his back on the paths of
virtue and for years has kept den of
iniquity, where he has smiled on all
manner of dissipation and wicked>
ness, and gathered about him the
most depraved characters of both
sexes. The man, however, had many
redeeming qualities. He gave a great
deal OF his ill-earncd money to help
the poor and for other objects, always
welcomed good people to his place,
and was perfectly willing to let them
preach the Gospel to those who fire.
quented his den. He has a great
fondness, too, for old fashioned hymns
and tunes, especially such as he learn
ed Sabbath School. He never tires
of singing them, and some times he
will sing the same hymn and the
same tune over and over again, and
often when religious visitors were
present--men who were not afraid of
communicating themselves by going
among the degraded and the outcasts
and seeking to restore them to virtue
and happiness-would have all hands
join in singing such songs as II want
to be an Angel" ''Shall we meet in
Heaven above" &c. He kept the
New York Observer, Independent, and
other good papers and books at his
place, and declared that he liked a
lively gospel and a muscular religion
Theoretically his theology was sound
and he had great horror of intideli,
~. He had pet boy, Chester, whom
he dearly loved and wants to grow
up good and great man. 1t is said
that one night an inidel came into
the dancing saloon about eleven o.
clock at night, and began to ventil>
ate his unbelief, when Allen turned
on him and utterly demolished his
arguments and compelled him to
''dry up" After he had gone Allen
expressed his detestation of such talk
and especially his reluctance to have
his boy Chester hear anything ofthat
sort. His visitors looked with as
constituent when he exclaimed.
81 know what you're thinking of.
You think that Chester hears worse
than that. But he don't He hears
me swear, and he hears the girls
when they get mad or drunk and
they can talk bad enough when they
get going. God knows; but | don't
care for that That isn't anything.
That don't kill. But TO have Chester
get the notion that the Bible isn't
true, or TO have him hear any man
deny the existence of Sod, or attempt
to make God anything less than God
why, damn it to hell, gentlemen, |
wouldn't have no such notions as
those put into Ceester's head tor all
the world p
The photograph of his den and his
character in Packard'S Monthly seems
to have awakened Allen to a sense of
his sin and especially to have impress
ed on him the danger Of his having
his darling boy grow up in such an
atmosphere. And when his little son
Chester came home from school one
day crying as though his heart would
break, because his schoolmates said
his father was the wickedest man in
New York, he went and consulted
with some of the police and some
good people whom he knew, and fl
nally, he who has turned so much of
his life against the good and the pure
has determined to quit his life of
sinfulness, and with the aid of gem
tiemen prominently connected with
the Howard mission, offers to turn
his house Of carousal into a refuge
for out-cast women. To this end he
offers OF his own accord to pay one,
io"i III vi INC eApeHse necessary IOr
carrying out this plan. A number of
Christian gentlemen accept the prop
osition, and cross hands in the good
work with the man who thus ceases
to do evil and seeks to do well. He
has great struggle before him, and
all good people should encourage and
pray for him and seek to win others
to do likewise.