The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1868-09-25

veritable "Wickedest Man, was present, and Rev.
John Van Meter, the director OF the Water street
prayer meetings, was present. aud SO were a number
Of his cergymanc assistants, and so were some
thirty Of the female pupils OF the Howard Mission
school, the latter occupying seats ON the stage; ana
busy stirring about was the head man OF the COM
mercial college, prasping after notoriety, while
everywhere throughout the spacious hall were boys
disseminating circulars eul0gstic OF the aforesaid
commercial college At length the aforesaid head
some singing by the Howard Mission school
pupils. These pupils sang. and then the aforesaid
mead OF the aforesaid commercial college
made brief speech, announcing the speedy forth
coming OF the lecturer II was evident that the thin
audience, mostly dead heads made up of the pupils
OF the aforesaid commercial college, OF which he is
lhe aforesaid head, did not put him In a very pleas
anl oratorcal mood for his remarks were specially
cuae as well as brief Altogether it was vsiby
speculation and not visbly paying one.
AZ quarter to nine O'Clock Mr. Dyer made his
DOW 70 'ne audience. II he was late in coming he
hours taking; genuine talking from mere memo
randa before MN, slow, easy, Indifferent kind OF
talking, WIN no AMBITIOUS striving for oratorica effect
even II he possesses oratorcal talent which IS very
doubtful, Judging irom the style OF delivery he
hioited on tns OCCASION The progress OF the lecture
soon revealed that he had seen nothing so very
charming or startling In our metropolis and that he
had not walked about our city with his eyes very
much wider open than most people OF peripatetic
procvites Notwithstanding all this he was, now.
ever, listened to with o good deal OF attention. He
hogan with regrettng his inability to cram within
the limits OF single lecture what he had seen
about New York He had been fourteen wears seeing
wat ne e IN part 70 descfoe Much that he
he wrote an article for certain magazine, the
aforesaid magazine which we have referred to CIV
kachel, whom he had found In Fish alley nearly
starved to death. The publisher OF that article was
rachel ne had sketched. One day this publisher
asked him to take him to Fish alley and show him
thls woman which he did. He would now take the
audience to this same Fish alley. 1t easy to mud
II by going down New Bowery and into Oak street,
ana then ,, step into one OF a row of tene,
TINS tenement house and the poverty OF the
inmates and how they lived. There are forty thou
sand in the city suffering the same stings OF poverty
mostly children. All the little children meets in
the streets selling songs live somewhere. They make
quarter OF cent on each song. He spoke OF lit
Tie crippled girl who sells these songs. lie went
home with this little girl and in damp. dark dis
, NAL room OF back tottering tenement was the
mother OF this child dying by Inches OF diseases en-
gendered by life OF prolonged shame Yet this lit
tie child loved her mother To her she was as pure
az an anger. MOI long since this woman died. Some
christian ladies' caused the dead body be laid out
and very soon afterwards thieves crept in there and
stole everything away even to cutting or the
woman's nair. There was wake over that womanis
body-a scene OF dsgraceful bacchanalian Orgie.
That child was now in a Christian family in the
country He next proceeded to speak OF the forty
thousand Impoverished children living in the city
He described the tenements In which they live and
the number OF stories, low ceilings narrow railways
and poor ventilation Of these tenement abodes
often eghty-four persons are crowded into single
building. Below Twenty-third street there are
SHOW tnein one tenement mousse Win Loo
occupants, and SO could Captain, Thorn, and
so could they ut the Howard Mission. How
could we account Tor so many destitute
and degraded children In the cityS Liquor
shops were the chief agency. These shops are now
everywhere, lining all thoroughIares. There
$500 OF these liquor shops In the city there are
also 647 houses OF i'll fame. OF billiard saloons there
are GAS In the city. he considered the billiard sa
looms as the most demoralizing places In the CITY,
They all have bars and their private games of cards
and their inmates generally fetch up at the Water
md hat fefch afluf
at the wickedest mans II IL had not been closed.
During the past year there were So 500 arrests by the
police OF this city. OF these 81, $50 and
1888 men. OF the women 1.056 were arrested for
assault and battery, sIxty-twO for felonious assault
were arrested for disorery conduct and 700 in
toxicatlon. After giving more OF these statistics,
culied om the las repcr Of the Police Commission.
ers, the grOsshops and houses Of ill-fame ana bill
nard saloons AZ forming one continuous street he
sad they would reach from the City Hail 70 White
Plains. Along this OF streets there would nightly
be murder every half mile robbery every thirty
rods SIX 0utcasts at every door, at frequent inter-
walls men dividing 'swag'' which In year amounts
10 xl4Sl, 1865, eight preachers among the criminals
ana thirty newspaper men TO describe the OF
crime and debauchery. How was the way
Tenement houses must be done away with,
| the East and North rivers must be Dridged,
into one County, These criminals were eo saed
| with good whiskey. Their abnormal appetites
craved .benzine and the most infammatory Of po!-
sOn0us liquors. lie next turned his attention 10 the
Fourth ward, which he pronounced the wickedest
ward In the wckedest city on this Continent, with
the New York Tribune building on its northwest
corner. While In this locality he gave Tom Iiadden
complimentary notice, saying that wicked a. he
was and as much as he had helped TO make the ward
wicked, he always kept private bottle Of good
whiskey for his friends Bucket shops, now came
in for description. This ward, he said, was full OF
these shops John Brannigan OF 81 Oliver street,
being the leading man IN the business. He described
their patrons the utensils which they brought Ia
have filled with liquor among which, ne said wer.
utensils in household use he would not venture 10
name To ears polite In thus connection he told OF two
drunken fathers had murdered because they refused
to get liquor for them John Brannlgan, o. said,
told him that one Saturday night he received sl,s5s
In payment for liquor he sold. Poor women sewing
by the light OF the street gas lamps FOR few
words OF cOndoent sympathy. lie now asked whe-
women Several said "No. but the most of me an
dience cried out ayes, - and 40 he proceeded TO III
late at length on this topic He read frs our aes
tons which had been handed In TO hun by "a dlstin-
guished divine Of this city, whose name, however
he did not mention. These questions were:-i. what
Did they come from the higher walks Of lie I. How
did they come TO fair lie did not answer these
questions catcgorcay, but talked quite az random
on the subject. lie proclaimed that the mOsi OF
them were children OF pious parents, ana m their
childhood were attendants at sabbath school. lie
developed the curious way he took To find Inns our.
lie had visited many houses OF ili-fatne, always IA
company with detective, and through being nitro
duced az Judge somebody or Colonel somebody an
any character except that Of pious man, adroitly
wormed out the Information he sought. lie told
s s9esS 81 nv e Soas g a OF WHOM had been
theme he dessanted upon the theme quite I'M
mediately connected with "Who are gong TO
helf" As he had written an article with this title
for the forthcoming issue OF the aforesaid magazine
and received his pay for II he did not feel like going
back the editor and rob the facts therein stated
or their freshness. He not very lucid or explicit
I'm his statements. but branched on into ser
monizing on the duties OF parents. After
giving an effective narration about old Zeke a
man and brother OF African descent ana
bred and born slave, and another story
about the colorcd woman Rachel-concerninv
whom he introduced his lecture-he rected song
which the latter has been In the habit NJ frequently
singing ior MS deectaton and edincation, OF wnIsn
the following Is the Introductory verse;
Nobody knows but Jesus
Nobody knows tho troubles I sees
Glory HallcluJshl
Sometimes I'm up,
Sometimes I'm down,
Sometimes I'm level with the ground,
sometimes glory CLEANS around.
Gory HsleluJahl
The children a no Mission Gang tho aIo,o