The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1872-03-07
Scenes in the TOmbs.
DENCE QUEENs-INsTANCEs OF TOTAL
DEPRAvITY.
Firth AvENuK HOTEL, March 2.

lt FIFTH AVENUE HOTEL, March 2.
thought had seen wretchedness befor'
yesterday, but l was mistaken. / know
have been in the Moscow beggar's market
where they steal your clothes at one end ant
sell them before your eyes at the other
have seen the Tartar women who make u,
their miserable demi monde of Mini Nov
gorod fair, and have seen mothers ON thu
lower Volga sell their own daughters wo
manhood for the paltry sum of a dollar, but
never saw forty such miserable, low, vulgar
and totally deprayed women as saw huddlet
into room of the Tombs yesterday.
These women had been gathered in from
panel houses and low dens in the Sixth Wart
by Captain Kennedy. They said they came
from the dens kept by Lizzie, of No. 143
Nellie Horton, of No. IS, and Scotch Mag, O
No. SO Baxter street. Some were bonnet
less, some shoeless. Many had fearful scars
and unwashed blood-marks on their faces.
Out of the whole forty there were but two
whose hair had been combed in week. In
many instances their hair was greasy, and in
tangled and clotted knots.
Good Mrs. Foster, the motherly matron Of
the Tombs, who always lets me 60 where j
want to, let me in among these miserable
wretches. They were all sentenced
to two months on the Island, or were tC
be IN few hours. l tried to talk with them
but Jeers, curses, and wild laughter met me
on all sides.
"What are you here forp' asked, by way
OF hearing what they had to say.
I'VE are poor, innocent, foolish virgins,
sir" said girl, who could not hsve been
over eighteen. ''We don't go with any one.
We only blk men, steal their pocketbooks,
rob them of their clothes and then, if the
d-d idiots peep, we only throw them out OF
the window or down stairs. "Yes," they all
joined iu, "We are all poor, innocent girls,
sir. We don't want to go over on the Island
where they don't have any Sabbath Schools.
We want to stay with our dear mothers.
where we can drink rum and rob man now
and then," and then all who were sober
enough set up boisterous laugh. (
What will you do when you get on the Is
land?" / asked. -
"Work like son of gun, and not spend
id cent" replied girl not over sixteen,
whose face bore marks of good deal OF
spoiled beauty
Some of these women lay on the floor fast
asleep, or were undoubtedly recovering from
drunken stupor.
What can you do with these women ?' /
asked Mrs. Foster, the matron.
20 sir, you can do nothing. They cannot
be reformed. They are past redemption.
Many OF them have been over to the Island
three or four times already. They will dc
anything. presume they stole something
from you while you were in there.
l have gotten quite used to these charity
and correction subjects, and 1 always button
my coat over any diamond or stray piece o.
Jewelry, for only few weeks ago / went into
cell to give some friendly advice to half 9
dOken boy pick pockets, when they stole my
gloves and pocket-handkerchief
What these forty poor, fallen women need.
ed most was water-pure cold water, and
want my Aunty Foster to keep dinging at the
Commissioners of Charity till they give her
six bath tubs with hot and cold water in each,
and when she gets them want her to see to
it that each of these dirty women is put
through hot bath as soon as she reaches the
Tombs.
Will you see to it, Aunty?
Cleanliness is next to godliness, and nc
man or woman can ever be made to respect
themselves till they are made clean and
wholesome. The best preacher or school
master for these forty women would have
been forty bath tubs and forty clean changes
of clothing.
CONFIDENCE QUEENS.
Up in woman's cell were the two women
recently arrested as Confidence Queens
The youngest is a handsome young lady Of
twenty-five. She came from Danbury, Con.
necticut. Her name is Libbie Doesis. Hel
companion is Eustacia Valeran, who is a wild
ow about twenty-eight years old.
Both OF these women were in a very funny
mood. They laughed and jested, and TOLD
wonderful stories without number.
Finding them as bright as chain-hghtning
and withal women of superior culture,
spent some time talking with them. They
look down upon the ordinary women prison.
ers, feeling that they are superior, and that
they inhabit charmed circle. l found them
to be women of great vanity, but devoid oi
pride. They were vain of their sharp deeds,
good looks and nice clothes, but they had NO
pride about honesty, integrity and good
name.
''What are you here for? / asked, by way
of opening the conversation.
"Well," said Miss Libbie, Eve are suffering
Queens. Don't you know all Queens suffer +?
Didn't Mary Antoinette suffer, and Lady
Chow long have you been here?'
"Oh, we are only on transient visit--we
didn't bring our wardrobes with us. We are
not dressed to-day. Wednesday is our recep.
ton day." broke in Mrs. valeran with mocl
gravity.
"How did you practice your little amusing
confidence games %' 1 asked.
"Oh, we are innocent, sir, of any evil in
tentions," she continued, laughing, 1--WE arr
indeed, suffering Queens"
But how do they accuse you of having
done it?'' continued.
20, that is different thing The migrate
fIII md .I<J
bic and are bosom friends and that we took
nice room on Sixteenth street. Then they
say went down to the fashionable stores,
looked over laces, cloaks, cameps hair shawls,
&C., and told them to send them up to the
house with the BILL"
swell, what then? ?''
why, they came up. Libby took them
from the boy and came into my room to gel
the money, leaving the boy waiting"
"What then?"
''Nothing, only suppose he is still wait
'Waiting-still waiting for theer
While he was waiting Libby and hunted
up new boarding place. Why / suppose, ,
she said laughing, ''that there are fifty o
those confiding youths even now anxiousl,
awaiting our return, but alas / can never
come back to them. Pm engaged here
Don't you see?''
'Have you ever been arrested before ?''
"How could we be? Don't you see we
are young and innocent ?' asked the elder
Mrs. Valeran. .'But they do, the worldly
newspapers do tell story which happened iu
Cincinnati few years ago."
'What was ?'' / asked.
They say gentleman called at Clark 81
think the name was Clark-on Fourth street
and ordered quite nice lot of diamonds and