The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1868-07-09

i From Packards Monthly.
THE WICKEDEST MAN IN
| NEW YORK.
He goes by the name of John Allen.
He lives at 3O4 Water Street. He keeps
q dance house there. He is about 45
years old. He is rcputed to be worth
$l0o, 900, more or less, and Is kno1cn t.
be worth over $4,000. He has three
brothers who are clergymen-two OF
them being Presbyterians, and the 9TH
er ., Bsptist-andsis. reported TO have
ones beenAnhistsr Of the Gospel lina-
SELF He Is known formerly to have
been school teacher, and IL man OF
education and fine natural powers; was
originally good man; and is yet a
''good fellow' in many respects. Were
1t not for his good qualities he never
could have. attained unto the bad emil
nence Of being the Wickedest Man in
New York.
The best bad is always the worst.
Take him for all in all, our Wickcdest
Man is a phenomenon. He reads the
Biz lie to his dance house girls, and his
favorite papers are the New York o.
server and the Independent. He takes
them regularly aud reads them. We
have repeatedly seen them lying on the
counter Of his bar-room, amid decanters
and glasses, along with the daily Herald
and Sun. We have also seen dozen
copies of the Little Wanderers Friend
at time scattered about his place, for
he takes an interest in mission work,
and "goes in" generally for progress for
other people.
The Wickedest Man is the only entity
appertaining to the shady side of New
York life which wehave been unable to
fathom, analyze and account for. But
he is too much for us. Why human
being of his education, natural tastes,
force of character and wealth should
continue to live in a Water street dance
house and bring up his children in q
soul destroying atmosphere of sin and
degradation, is more than we can COM
prehend.
For this Wickedest Man loves his
children. His little five-year old boy is
the apple of his eye, the core of his heart,
and the chief object Of his worship. He
never misses All opportunity to sound
the child's praises and to show off his
accomplishments. And, all things con-
sidered, the little fellow is truly won
der. Crammed full of information on
all manner of topics, and" is ever ready
to respond to his doting fatlrer's at
tempts to make his smartness visible to
the naked eye.
We have never visited the Wickedest
Mans dance house without having our
attention called afresh to his little sons
abilities, except once, and then he took
us round to the school which the child
attends, tc let us see that he ranks with
The best, and is a favorite with h is teach
er. This was on the 2sth cay of May
last, at about a quarter to twelve in the
daytime, when we went to 3O4 Water
street to tell Mr.. Allen that the fated
time had come for serving him up in a
magazine article.
For, be it known to the reader, we
have had our pen couched at John Allen
for nearly two years. In the year 1865,
the Sabbath after President Lincoln
was assassinated, we began an explora-
ton and subsoiling Of New York city, as
to its crime, poverty, want, woe, wretch
edness and degradation, which we have
pursued ever since, as other engage
ments would permit. OF course, it was
notlong before we found out John Allen.
We at once recognized his genius for
wickedness, and made him an especial
study. But, as we have said, he battles
lis. We have told him so, and have
frequently asked him to help us out of
our dilemma, but he always comes short
of the complete thing.
We N'ink we know why tl,i. Wicked
est Man persists in his Water street den
that we have in fact penetrated his
secret; but rs We are not absolutely GER
tain as TO the matter, we will not set our
suspicious down in print, lest we should
do him injustice.
We have said that our Wickedest
Man is phen, menon. We meant this
in its application to the deepest springs
OF his character; but it also, and per-
haps equally, applicable to the external
manifestations Of those deepest springs.
Has the reader any notion of a Water
street dance house? Concreteiy stated,
it is breathing hole of hell-a trap
door Of the .bottomless pit. You step
from The street into bar room, wherein
lousy loafers lurk, and which is in some
cases on a level with the sidewalk, and
in others far below it; and there you are
in the gene al midst of things, if it hap
pens to be q dance house Of rhe very low
est class. But usually there is a 'saloon'
in the rear of the bar-room.
Passing out of the bar-room, by door
opening in q partition across its rear,
you enter the dancing saloon, which
o.s, s.~~ n "a