Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1872-03-09


That reminds me Of an incident that hap
pened two years ago. Mrs. H, in
Tbirty-fourth street, sent her little lad, ten
years old, down to his fathers office one eve
ming by the Third avenue railroad. He was a
bright lad and an only sou, About midnight
the father came hom9. He had not seen him.
Then began the customary search. The tele-
graphing and hiring Of policemen, ana the adj
vertising. All without the least success, One,
two years passed away, and then letter came
to Mr.. H purporting 10 be written by his
son in London, and asking him TO send G20O
for GCd's sake, to save him from being sent to
Australia. 1t was the opinion of the police
authorities that he was in the city; that in fact
he had never been out of it, And so indeed il
proved But what grave admission this is tC
make. Does 1t not suggest to the thoughtful mind
a night whose darkness, almost imPenetrabe to
such official eyes as we have, needs exploring
| for oar own safety,
A very dense darkness is that which can
cover child for years from the search Of parents
and a toerably Intelligent police force, with
| money and all the machinery OF law at its com
mand,
little girl was stolen year ago out of a
hallway in upper Madison avenue in the eve
ming. Report was made of the case, and there
it ended, don't think she was recovered But
some time after the disappearance the mother
saw, or declared she saw her daughter from an
omnibus window on Broadway and made a
frenzied and useless descent from the stage, and
ran sheadlOng in the direction the child had
taken, There is something Start.ingly sad in
the idea Of q parent firmly convinced that its
infant is in the hands OF eY-disposed persons in
the same city who cannot be reached.
This ehid-stealing business belongs by ira
diton to the gypsies, and that reminds me that
there are quite a number Of them in this cOun-
Try, and those who come here, sInguiarly
enough, seem TO lose their gregariCus habits.
This free atmosphere is a wonderful solvent
and it affects the criminal no less than the la
boring classes What was going TO say about
the gypsies relates only 10 a case of child
stealing that occurred in 1868 on Long Island,
near Jamaica. A boy about eghI years old was
missed one Monday night just rs the family
were about retiring. New York photographer
Il think 1t was kurt2-had been on the grounds
that afternoon making pictures Of the place, and
the children had been playing croquet at the
time. lie game the next morning and took an
other picture OF rbe same view. But the boy
was not found. They had three city detectives
cut there, but nothing was done except to In
vent theories, until one day young lady, n
niece of the family, brought home the
finished picture of the ground rom Kurtz's,
Almost as soUn as it arrived, somebody in the
house, and dare say it was one of The children,
discovered on the bark OF large tree that occu-
pied the foreground, three hieroglyphics that
puzzled them, They were gypsy marks Refer
enee to the tree itself was made, hut they were
almost obliterated with the weather ana sum
mer parasitic growth. Nobody at the time
thought much about it, But it occurred to the
niece, day or two afterwards, that she would
mention IL TO one Of the officers The first ques-
ton he asked her was, If the artist had taken
more than one picture, aud when she told him
he had, and on different ways, that worthy Off
cial instantly replied, "then we must find that
other picture" Neither of them had the slight
est suspicion how closely they we're treading
upon tbe domain of WiIkie Collins. They went
to the photographers, and with some difficulty
found the negative Of the first picture. There
were no marks upon the tree. "Hah, ;" exclaimed
the officer, 'we'ye got the boy" twas obvious
the symbols had beop made between Monday
afternoon and Tuesday morning, and at that
time the lad was missed. The clue thus given
was successfully worked. The boy was over
hauled by Il deputy sheriff of Broome county
about two months alterward.
have seen these gypsy marks in the city, and
pointed out only last summer a sentence written
on the rocks at Central park.-N y World,