The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1871-07-15


sToS SELDES, Newsdealers, 9lS Main Street
and at the News Depot of w. A. EDWARDS, 22s
East Broad Street.
l A Most Mo,tifying Rpon--The Rece,
Negro OMrage.-ln the evening papers Of
Thursday, and the morning papers of yes,
terday, including the Enqure1, appeared a
report of an attempted outrage by negro
boy, aged II, on the person of respectable
white lady. The name was not given in
the papers, but it was soon known in every
part of the city who she was, and coming
to her ears it caused her deep shame and
modification to find that mere attempt at
robbery by a negro in her sleeping apart
ment had been exaggerated into most
horrible personal outrage. Yesterday the
story, which had started from the police
office, gathered as it rolled, and there was a
repetition of the ssthree black crow" sensa-
ton. BY the time it had reached Rockets
it had assumed most frightful proportions.
The facts are simply these:
The family who keep the house at which
the lady, her husband, an unmarried sister,
and niece have rooms, on the previous day
employed a negro boy, who came well
recommended, to assist around the house
and do chores. At night, as there was no
place else for him to sleep, he was per-
mitted to occupy the hall or passage-way.
The lady, whom we shall designate as Mrs.
-, has rooms up stairs. Her husband
is absent most of his time, attending to his
duties as an engineer on the railroad, and
Mrs. --' and her sister occupied the
same bed. !, 1t being very warm, the
doors were left open. They both retired
early, but about eleven O'Clock it began
to rain, when the sister got up in the
dark to shut the windows. In passing
through the back room, she brushed against
something soft, which she mistook for the
clothes Of her niece. but now believes it to
have been the negro boy, who was then
concealed there. Returning to bed, she
was soon asleep. 1t was not long before
Mrs. --, who was still awake, felt some
thing tugging stealthily at her night gar
ments. As the house was hospital in
Confederate times, her first thoughts, wo-
man like, turned on the ghosts of the dead
who had perhaps died in that very room.
As her garments continued to be cautiously
tugged, her fears increased, but she was too
much terrified to cry out. She tried to
waken her sister by pulling her without
making a. noise; but finally became so
alarmed that she found her voice and cried
out, waking the sister-who is a lady of a
good deal Of sold North State" courage,
with very little nonsense in her compost
ton. When she told her what had hap
pened, the sister laughed increduously, and
said she was only dreaming turning over
to go to sleep again but Mrs. - was
too well convinced of the presence of some
thing or somebody in her room to yield
her convictions, and she watched the floor
from the low bed very steadily and with
fear and trembling. Pretty soon she was
was certain she saw dark object like
man crawling away towards the foot of the
bed. Then She screamed, and again woke
her sister, who, this time thinking there
was some cause for alarm, got up, but
could not find match at once to strike a
awakened by the noise, and came up to the
room, and pretty soon light was obtained.
At this time the frightened lady was SO
overcome with her terrors-being also in a
very delicate state of health-that she hold
convulsively to her sister, and would not
let her go. The lady of the house, who
had come upstairs, then looked all around
the room, but seeing nothing save a black
cat of huge proportions, was disposed
to laugh at Mrs. is fears. Pretty
soon, however, happening to look under the
foot Of the bed, she in terror exclaimed,
"Indeed there is man there, sure enough ~
Then there was a. general screech,
and all scampered down stairs in the great
est fright, and called upon the only gentle
man in the house to go for the police. An
officer was brought in, and they all went
up to the room. After searching around,
the negro boy, who had been hired that
day, was found hid behind the ladies cloth
ing in the wardrobe. He was at once taken
to the station, and, by what the officer had
heard from the frightened ladies Of the
house, he concluded, no doubt, that some-
thing more horrible than robbery had been
attempted but it is not probable that the
negro would have undertaken anything Of
the kind under the circumstances and the
lady's opinion is that he was merely tug
ging at her night-dress to ascertain
if she was sleeping soundly or not,
that he might pursue unmolested his
design of robbing the trunk in which her
husband kept his money! fact the rascal
had no doubt discovered in the way they dis
cover all these thing, from some seryant-girl
confederate. lie had already entered the
room of a gentlemanm the house and stolen
dollar bill from his pocket, which crime
he confessed the next morning at the sta
tion-house besides, some rolls were found
on the steps outside, which he had left there,
no doubt, to be taken as he quit the place
after the completion of the robbery.
This is the whole story, and as no out
rage was committed or attempted, and the
lady and her husband and friends feel deeply
chagrined at the reports that have been in
discreetly and unwarrantably circulated,
we trust that all who have heard them or
have had any hand in giving them publicity,
will do the wronged family the justice to
publish as widely this explanation and
general denial of all the sensational re-
ports and rumors concerning the affair.
We clip the above from the Enquire Of
this morning, in relation to the recent re.
ported attempt at outrage upon the person
of respectable married lady of this city
We do so to crafty the lady and hel
friends, as well as to give the colored boy
the benefit of the statement.
Postponed. The appointments Of assis
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