The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1872-03-12
Child-SteaIing--Cu Instances.
From the New York Sunday World.

That reminds me OF nh INCIDENT that hap
pcned two years ago. A Mrs. H, In
'rhirty-fourth street, sent her little lad, ten
years old, down to his fathers office one
evening by the Third-avcnue railroad. He
was bright lad, and an only son. About
midnight the father came home. he had
not seen him. Then began the customary
search, the tcleglHpbing, and hiring Of po-
licemen, and the advcrtising-all without
the least success. One, two years passed
away; and then letter came to Mr. IL
purporting to lie written by his son
i'll London, and asking him to send G200,
for Gods 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, it proved. But what grave admis-
sion is this to make. Docs it not suggest to
the thoughtful mind night, whose darkness
almost impcnctrablc to such official eyes as
we have, needs exploring for our own safety:
4 very dense darkness is that which can
cover a child for year, from the search Of
parents and q tolerably intelligent police
force, with money and all the machinery Of
law al its command.
A little girl was stolen year ago cut Of
hallway in upper Madison avenue in the
evening. Report was made OF the case and
there it ended. ] don't think she was re-
covered. But some time after the disappear
ance the mother saw, or declared she saw,
her daughter from an omnibus window on
Broadway, and made frcnzied and useless
descent from the stage, and ran headlOng in
the direction the child had taken. There is
something startlingly sad in the idea Of a
parent firmly convinced that It's infant is in
the hands of cyil-disposed persons in the
same city who cannot he reached.
This child-stealing business belongs by
tradition to the Gypjies, and that reminds
NE that there are quite q number Of them in
this country, and those who come here. sim
gularly enough, seem to lose their grcgarious
habits. This free atmosphere is a wonderful
solvent, and it affects the criminal no less
than the Iaboring classes. What was going
to say about the Gypsics relates only to a
case of chid-stcaling that occurred in 1868
on Long Island, near jamaica. A boy about
eight years old was missed on Monday night
lust Us the family was about retiring. 4 New
York photographcr-I think it wis Etrtz-
had been on the grounds that afternoon
making pictures Of the place, and the
children had been playing croquct at the
time. He came the next morning and took
another picture Of the same view. But
the boy was not found. They had three
city detectives out there, but nothing was
done except to invent theories, until one
day young lady, niece of the fumly's
brought home the finished picture Of the
grounds from Kurtz's. Almost as soon
as it arrived, somebody i'll the house, and
dare say it was one of the children
discovered on the bark of Il large tree
that occupied the foreground three hero
glylics that puzzled them. They were
GipSev marks. Reference to the tree itSel
was made, but they were almost OBJ
liberated thcn with the summer parasitic
growth. Nobody at the time thought mucl
about it. But it occurred TO the niece day
or two afterwards that she would mention i
| to one Of the officers. The first question he
| asked her was if the artist'h had taken more
tli;ln one picture, and when she told him he
had, and on different days, that worthy
Official instantly replied, "Thcn we mus
lind the other picture" Neither of then
had the slightest suspicion how closely
they were trcading upon the domain
of Wilkie Collins. They went to tn
! photographers, and with some difficult,
found the negative OF the first picture
| There were no marks upon the tree. "Ha,'
exclaimed the officer, "we'vc got the boy
1t was obvious the symbols had been made
between Monday afternoon and Tuesd,,
morning, and at that time the lad wa
missed. The clue thus given was success
fully worked The boy was overhaued b,
deputy sheriff Of Broomc county tw'
months aiterward.
have seen these Gipscy marks in tn
city, and pointed out only last summer
sentence written on the rocks at the Contra
! Park.