The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-08-25

eXclalm, IN the case of an Oft-cOnvicted SCoun-
drel of the 'swell mob tribe, over whose
affecting trial she had shed many tears
Lord bless us!" said she, as the jury found
him guilty, and sentenced him to two years
hard labor, $50 thin, and genteel, and with
spectacles on too l declare l should have
passed that young man twenty times without
dreaming of calling out for the police On
the other hand, there are very many persons
less ingenious than the old lady, who inva-
riably regard man through the atmosphere
of crime, real or supposed, that envelops him,
and by means of its distorting influence make
out such villain as satisfies their sagacity
Had one of this last order been favored with
private view of the company assembled to
assist at Mr.. Mullins rattle, and have been
previously informed that they were one and
all thieves, in all probability they would have
appeared thieves; but l am convinced that,
had they been shown to an unprepared and |
unprejudiced observer, his opinion would have |
been that the company gathered in the sllit- |
tle-alley of the "Curly Badger were no worse |
than poor set Of QUITO work tailors, or |
French polishers, or weavers, or of some !
other craft, the members of which affect the
gentility that black clothes and a tall hat is
supposed to confer on the wearer; nor would
an hour in their society, such as l spent,
have suficed to disspate the innocent
impression. Their expenditure was of the
most modest Sort not one man in six ventur-
ing beyond the pot of beer. Their conversa-
ton, though not the most elegant was least
of all concerning the wretched trade they fol
| lowed; indeed, the subject was never men,
toned at all, except in melancholy alusion to
Peter or Jerry. who had been recently
''copped' (talSen), and was expected to pass
"a tail piece in the steel (three months in
! PRISON.. There was one observation solemnly
! addressed by one elderly man to another
! elderly man, the purpOrt of which at the time
puzzled me not little. 'Unluclly Well
you may say it. Black Maria is the only one
! that's dom q trade now. Every journey full as
a tuppenny omblibus!' | listened intently as
prudence would permit for further reference
to the mysterious female who was doing ''all
the trade, and 'eyery journey was cas- full
as a two-penny omnibus but nothing in
the conversation transpired tending to throw
a light on the dark lady; so | mentally
made a note of it for reference to my friend
the inspector. He laughed. ''Well, she has
been doing a brisk stroke of business of late,
[ must say, said he. 'BlacB Maria, sir, is
our van of that color that carries EN- off to
serve their time.
But, as before observed, there was nothing
in the demeanor of either the men or women
present at Mullins rattle to denote either that
they revelled in the nefaIlous trade they fol-
lowed, or that they derived even ordinary
comfort or satisfaction from it. To be sure,
it may have happened that the specimens OF
the thief class assembled before me
were not of the briskest, but taking them as
they were and bearing in mind the spiritless,
hang-dog, mean, and shabby set they were,
the notion of bringing to bear ON them such
tremendous engines of repression as that sug-
geSted by the humane Commissioner of the
City Police appears nothing short of ridicu-
lous. At the same time, | would have it
plainly understood that my pity for the thief
| of this class by no means induces me to advise
that 10 more effective means than those
which GE present exist should be
adopted for his abolition. A peoples
respect for the laws of the country is its chief
pillar of strength, Snd those who have no re-
spect for the laws act rs 80 many rats under
mining the said pillar, and although the rats
assembled at Mullins rattle were not of very
formidable breed, their hatred of the law, and
their malicious defiance of it, was unmistak-
able. For instance, the article to be raiiled
was a silk pocket-handkerchief, and there it
was duly displayed hanging across beam at
the end of the battle-ground. The occasion
1 of the rattle was that Mr.. Mullins had Just
2 been released after four months imprisOn-
/ ment, and that during his compulsory alb
sence from home matters had gone very bad,
and none the less so because poor Mrs. Mullins
was suffering from consumption. In alluding
to these sad details of his misfortune, Mr.
y Mullins, in returning thanks for the charity
bestowed on him, looked the picture of melan
choly. whether she means ever to get
on her legs again is more than | can say,
: said he, wagging his short-cropped head dole
u fully. there amt much chance, / reckon
S when you're discharged from Brompton in
a curable. Yes my friends, it's all agin mC
+ lately, and my luck's regler out But there
u one thing | must mention (and here he lifteC
, his head with cheerful satisfaction beaminj
$ in his eyes, 'and I'm sure you as doesn'
a know it will be very glad to hear It'll,
II handkerchief wots put up to rattle here is tn
II very identical one that | was put away for.
d And Judging from the hearty applause tina
p followed this announcement, there can be n
y doubt that Mr.. Mullins audience were yer
e glad indeed to hear it, But even after thi
ot stimulant the spirits of the company did no
1t rally anything to speak of. Song-singinI
of was started, but nobody sung mix my Doll
lie Pals, or "Claude Duval.' Nobody raised
IS roaring chant in honor of ruby wine, or tn
y, flowing bowl, or even of the more humbl,
IN though no less genial, foaming can. TheI
g was a comic song or two, but the ditties i
Is, favor were those that had a deeply sentiments
ar or even funereal smack about them, I'll
ny gentleman who had enlightened me as
as Black Maria sang the Sexton, the chorr
n; to which lively staVe, ''Ill provide you sue
IN a lodging as you never had before, was take
IN up with much heartiness by all present. Mullin
e. himself, who possessed a fair alto voice
ut slightly damaged perhaps by a four-month
Il soiOurn in the bleak atmosphere of Col
or Bath Fields, sang My Pretty Jane, and
ne very odd sight it was to observe that dogge
We iail-stamped countenance of his set, as accl
lg rately as Mullins could set it, to an eXpressic
e. ,notobfpo tba bawitcbinO Siua aOlicitv of tl