New-York tribune., 1869-01-02
troll his meriment; but it gradually subsidized in

IT, gentlemen 20 Mr. Burn then politely offered to
escort us to The Pit. where there was leetle purp
of five months" a. Dir. Burn termed rough, sandy
haired terrier, PLAYING with rat. He's only a
larner, gentlemeni he remarked, IN an apologel9
tone bun he'll Kill in a week. DO believe he Wili.
How fondly Mr. Burn gazed on that leetie purpi
how he eyed him with the air Of q cOnnoisSeur llo
then CALI our attention TO the tiers of seats for the
spectators OF rat and canine contests, which ne IN
formed us would accommodate 800 persons, though
we were at q loss TO conceive how the unucky Occu
pants Of the top row could possibly SIT there the
seat being only about 80 inches FROM the roof he
knew he said tlat 475 gents were present when
the blacland-tan lnow stuffed and ornamentin2 the
window killed 800 under the hour SIT" and with
look of pride he added, and no did il easy SIr'
Bat the thought of past scenes, and days gone by
neygr TO ir be ssbed tIoss days Is gone.
Nv kind friend, Mr.. De Bcrgh, has ruined my blsl-
ness. But they are warmnt and nobody can't per-
suade me they're not" at the bare idea OF rats not
" Put thcv are warmnt." he repeated. p" aud Nr De
Be IN knows il, tOO and what's more, ne won't try
the law. Whyl Because nc knows he'd be beat,
Sir; that's why. But it aint no use me a talking,
Sir; only lose my temper; but can't abear to see
people q nlCddln with what they don't understand"
Mr Bum very kindly offered 10 turn OF dozen or
tyyov for or amuseent at 10 cents apiece gentle
men% but this Wo politely declined. ho insisted,
however, on our taking another glass OF aie IOr
which having paid, we wished 3lr Burn good even
ing again had the honor of shaking hands with HIM.
and took our leave he giving us n most pressing IN
ytation TO call in and sec him again..
Kit Burn il certainly an original character. mat
ls business is adisreputable one. 10 one Wil at
tempt to deny, and his views OF Christianity may
not De all that the missionaries c0uld wlsh %uh,
Burn is a good neighbOr, and a kind friend, ana no
Will not allow thieves ana craftsmen Gnance IN
his house, but Turns them ont at once. lie ought
not then TO be placed in the Same category as such
men as John Allen and Tommy Haddcn for, as he
himself expressed il 10 us, cruelty 10 warmint II At
is cruelty, Sir surely amt ne same as tho cruelty 10
humans, carried on mp the street SIR But because
think rats is warmiut, Sir, and the parsons don't
they pray for Inc every day at the meetng-house at
II o'clock. But not by name, Sir. No, poor ht Barn
fHN a.
ng sinners
10 describe with truth and sufficient force those
dens in cellars which are termed underground lodg-
inghonses requires the artist brush rather man Ae
pen. No words can convey an adequate impression
of their utcT wretchedness; tor 10 IS the accuinua-
ton of little details OF misery which renders these
SleopiUgplaCcs horribly rCpUlsiye 70 any one ac-
cUstomed TO q civilized mode of life Imagine your
self descending through sort OF trap-dooF entrance
into an underground cellar. only OF eight feet
high. lis dngy walls and b.ackened ceiling dimly
it MP by the filthy Kerosene nght-lamp when the |
old hag who i5 prOprieress, holds over her head to
enable you to look around AT first You can see but
lttle bat becoming accustomed to the gloom, you |
find that you ne standing IN pefiecl mae OF Deo'
Ranged round the room az closely pacEed rs posi-
BILE with a narrow open space down the middle, are |
f3 thily dirty beds, all fnil Look aJ the one near
est YOU. 1t contains an elderly man and woman OF
at least five and twenty years Of age. The old hag,
who is inclined 10 be communicative, tells you that
they father and daughter. You 5hudder and pass
on. In the next bed lies fine, handsome-looking
labOrlnQ man Of 40 his brawny stretched out at
right angles on the dirty bundle which does duty for
pillow. the head OF sleeping bOV resting on 6dcn
Neither the father or his boys have any other
covering on them than tho bed clothes. lie ls awake,
and, i'm a tone of voice which implies certain feel
ing of shame az being seen IN such den he informs
Won that he once had comfortable home OF his own.
- But nay wife, Sir took 10 drinking she sold my /
,ttIo nus of furnifI one after another: then all nv
@lotLc., with tho exception OF what had on /; and
finally. she stole my tOols--and here am but, lOI-
tunaely for me- she died last 50th of July" And,
with deep sigh, he addcd-"Ah, Sir, she was a bad
woman" Beyond this poor fellow are three strap
ping young men, all sleeping heavily. Aud then
there s another shocking aght-a man, his VIE,
and their gOWn-up son, fast asleep IN the same bed.
But why c0uunue this dreadful tale of misery and
unnatural dc gradatOn. lt ~ tue same sad story all
around the room. and al around the neighborhOod
-men. women and children, many OF them III state
of nudity, sleeping indiscriminately together -
We visited place after place, cellar after cellar.
least find some tew rather better than the rest But
il was not So aud i'm OF these deDs human misery
seemed to have reached ITS climax. AS we entered
tho door OF tins particular cellar y low, thn wall
struck my ear. l turned quickly to our detective,
saying: surely. that Is. the cry OF newborn
baby, Yes, Sir.D said the woman who lighted
us IN an unusually well spoken Irishwoman, at the
same time pointing toa figure bed in the further
corner OF the room, that poor woman mas Just been
claimed, in such scene as thisp We'll Sir" she
replied poor folks can't afford to be pertcler rs
Eif avenue And that's true, SIR, quietly OBJ
served the poor creature of whom we were speaking
We hurried away. IN one OF these wretched dens.
young lrshwOman, who was sleeping near the en-
trance, Suddenly sprang out OF bed. and planting
herself in the doorway, made grab at one OF our
party with tigerke fcrocity, nj the same time pour
ing out torrent of abuse against us for coming in
Her whole demeanor showed that she was quite capa
bic of mischief. Without taking the slightest
notice OF the infatuated lrishwoman our detective
turned 70 the prop1etress and quietly re,
marked " If there is the slightest disturbance L
shall report this house 10 the sergeant In an instant
tho landlGdy and her husband were busy pacitying
the angry woman implOring her not 10 get them into
trouble She soon retired sullenly TO bed, scowling
fcarully at us durng the few moments we remained.
Tho detectives professional instinct told HIM, that
would in all probability have become still more |
violent. lie knew that these lodging-house keepers
are III the habit of exercising considerable influence
As we emerged from one of these places our atten-
ton was arrested 10y the sound Of many footsteps,
rapidly approaching. As We stepped off tho pave
n ent fo allow the crowd 10 pass shocked to
see that they were carrying the apparently hteless
body OF n woman We ostopped one OF the crowd 10
ask what was the matter. "Oh. only woman
poisoned herself; they're taking her 70 tho hospital
And away our informant hurried veNed TO think
that by 6toppinE TO our inquiry ms Iisclated
gaze upon this poor creature OF misery had been for
- moment interrupted. Only woman poisoned
herself" Only poor human being. who, tired of
battling with life of sorrow, unable any longer to
mako head against her SEA of troubles, had thought
by selfdestructon - put an end to them.
While thinking over TINS scene, perfect mass oil
mud and tatters, with baby III her arms, came up
and told pitcous tale Of starvation and distress.
How she had once had 4 home OF her own; how her
husband bad been III for months; how this one
misfortune had been the sole cause OF their
present condition. The wOman's eye and
chattering Jaw told their own sad. tale; she
showed no apparent signs OF DehS uilhkaru' III
fact her whole deincap0r seemed 10 subStanate her
statement Iasked her where she lodged she re re-
Piled that she lived in one OF tIe underground eeI-
nrs =. / et me SEQ your husband" l said. We fol-
lowed hcr into hoyel in every way similar to those
we had already visited, and pihahle sight met our
eyes On one of those filthy beds lay poor, eniaGl,
ated fellow. who looked as though death would
claim him in n few hours. My i1end SAID % the
woman, q" If give YOU some money, Will you prom
iso me not 10 spend cent Of II in drlnk She sinl-
ply replied, II wiz" lie took dollar bill from hrs