The weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1869-18??, 1870-08-24
Mtskly STANDARD
From the New Orleans PIcayunc, August 10. 3
THE REcON ERY OF LITTLE MOLLY
DIGBS.

Hhf ~ OnnN IN u handsome Residence
in New ns-MyStcriously Missing
for two MonthS-thc Child Concealed
by n Negro Woman and her Son in .,
Private Hospital for womcn-thc Lost
BABY Recognizes its MOthcr-My.tcric.
Yet to Solve.
At an early hour on Tues lay morning Mr.
Thomas Bigby succeeded in finding his lost
child. After weeks OF intense anguish hap.
pincss Is NJ last restored TO the bcrcaycd
family, and the parents clasp their little ono
in their arms Its drcary wandcrings, the
scenes it has passed through, the treatment
it has been subjected 10, Of course cannot
now be described and the public will be
content TO know that il is found, and the
long search ani the drclry watchings are
over.
1t disappeared from it, home on the morn
ing ofthG 9th Of June II will be rccollcct-
ed that the child, in company with its little
brother and u young Indy, Mis- Rosa German.
were playing on Howard street between LAT
aycttc and poyirns nj the time in question.
Suddenly the fire bells rung out, and the
young lady, who had the Child in her arms,
handed it TO the little boy, saying, "llold
Molly while sec where the fire is.'
Let me take the boy said voice near
them, and. turning around, Mis- German
discovered two women "A mulattrcss, tall
and very pretty, and lOw.sct heavy ne
grcss. II was the muattrcss thai spoke. She
had been seen in the street frequently before,
and fire. qucntly noticed lavisling carcsscss
on the baby, which, from its cunning ways
and delicate beauty, usually cNcitcs attention
even from strangers. Miss German went
in the direction Of the fire, and the two wo-
men, one of them carrying the child and nc
Companicd by its little brother, walked
around the corner, up Lafayette street to the
corner of DryadCs.
Here the muattrcss stopped, and giving
the little boy some money, told him to 90 to
the fruit stand and get some bananas for his
sister. The boy went, but when, II moment
aitcrwurd, he returned to the place, the baby
and the woman had disappeared. From
that until this Tuesday morning no trace
OF them could bc found. Immense rewards
were offered for the discovery Of the child
and the arrest OF the abduCtrcss The IN
tire city was stirred with popular excitement,
and young and old united in the search for
the stolen child. Day by day ms the hunt
proved unuvailng' the sympathy of the
community augmented, and no popular
event or public calamity ever engaged more
fully the feelings and synpathes of the
masses. Conjecture runs riot rs to the mo.
tive of the abductrcss and her intentions AT.
iCCting the little one Some said she was an
enemy of the iumily, and her purpose was
revenge.
Others, whose imaginatiOu5 wCreGNCitcd by
.JudOu 5upCrstitons, felt that the child had
been stolen for sacrifice in fetish rites. The
celebration oithis strange mystery on the
following 9th of June give n CoOring to
the suppos.tion, and an intense fear seized
upon the public But reflection relieved
this idea of much Of its terror and the pub
lie finally settled down IN the conviction
whatever that might be- In the mean time
the police and number of citizens were in
ccssant in the prosecution of the search.
Officers were sent of in every possible lircc.
ton, and placards and publications dlsCrib-
ing the child, and rcciting the circumstances
Of its abduction, were scattered broadcast
through the land. News from Cincinnati,
St. Louis, and other cities, came in, but the
infOrmatoW was not reliable The excite
mcnt 'cngcndcrcd here was felt with almost
the same intensity elsewhere. But of no
avail The child seemed to have as ciIcctu-
ally disappeared rs il it had sunk into the
bowels of tho earth. Hope of finding it had
almost died out. Some believed it dead
all thought it finally lost
Early yesterday mOrnind the news spread
like wildiirc through the city that the child
was found.
Just where it had been discovered nobody
seemed to know, though almost every one
had some well authenticated but improbable
story. Finding it impossible to make cor
ncctcd history OF the disiointGd and irrccon-
cilablc stories, II reporter Of the Picdypno
proceeded to Digby's house, on Howard
street near Lafayette, to obtain the news
eP5%d h Of people aroma Nc 'R SGal gitSn 5
story frame building), but learned that Mr.
and Mrs. Digby had gone in n carriage with
their newly found baby to the office of the
superintendent of police. Proceeding
thithcr he found the party, and saw for the
first time the child about which there has
been such excitement, and in which the en-
tire community is interested.
The mother held her little one tondrry in
her arms, and her eyes aulluscd with tears of
Joy, and her whole comntcuaucc radiant with
an unspCakublc happncss. The father was
quito beside himself and could give but lit
tic information rs TO where the child was
found. 1t wnsup town somewhere, however,
and he could drive to the house. In
answer MS to how he had found the baby, he
replied that gcntlcman-an elderly man
had called ut his house early in the morning,
about hali.past o'clodk and informed him
that he had child at his home that he
was quito sure was his Digby's).
Mr.. and Mrs. Digby were still in bed, and
the latter wanted to go with the gentleman,
but hc remembering how often she had been
bitterly disappointed before, insisting on her
remaining ut home, and got ready at once to
90 himself Little did Think said he.
81 was on my way to find my little Moll.'
lie remembered that they got into Jack
son. Street car, but could not say just where
they got out somewhere near Josephine
and Chestnut streets, he thought.
The house was quite nm elegant one, and
on entering with the gentleman lie saw u
lady walking up and down the side lattiCCd
gullary with child In her arms. lie could
scarcely bcliyc his senses Either that was
his long lost, long sought Tor baby, or he was
dreaming. Fearing less he might bc mis-.
taken, lie looked steadily mt the child for
some moments, and, catching her in his
arms, said, in answer to m inquiry from the
lady, ayes, madam, this is my baby Sup.
posc,' suggested the lady, "sho should not
prove to be your child.n "Thon promise
to return her, hut know it's Moll," he an
swcrcd, US he ran out of the house to take her
to her mother
mothers instincts are inialliblc. Mrs.
Digby did not hcsitat, Il moment 1t was
her child. Clasping it in her arms, the lit,
tie one murmurcd, Mamma mamma =" II
was mutual recognition,
Mr. Digby reached home with the child
without the fact OF discovery becoming ge-
morally known. Soon, however the news
spread Throughout that part of the town,
and people locked TO the house from all dI.
rcCtons. The narrow street was literally
Cuwdcd with an eager mass of human he
ings; white and black, young and old, APP
pcarcd rNunlly delighted, aud were universal
in their congratulations. The poor mother
was almost wild with delight She kissed
her child, pressed it TO her bosom, aud al
most somthcrcd itwith carcsscs Her feeling
none could know From despair she had been
suddenly raised to dcirous Joy AS the min
utcs flew By, the crowd on the banqucttc and
the streets grow dcnscr and everywhere to-
kcns of general rejoicing were manifest
In his excitement at finding the child,
Dighy had forgotten to ask the name OF the