The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1875-09-16
THE STORY OF A WAIF.
A Romantic Episode in the History Of n
New York Asylum for Children.

|
New York Asylum for Children.
These rows of little chairs in Mrs.
Webb's nursery, says New York corre-
spondent writing of the famous "Scot-
land Yard" in that city, have to me q
fascinating interest. Hard, common
little chairs they are; but 1 know that,
had they speech and intelligence, they
would have many a story to tell, many
romance of real life, begun in this room,
at least equal in interest to the wonder
full romances Of fiction. What stories
could be told of the waits who, one time
or another, have sat in these little chairs;
or, who, one time or another, have slept
in the snowy little beds we catch
glimpse of through the half-open door
of the dormitory OF the newly born
infant, fresh burden to the starving
parents-picked up by the passing po-
licemen, half frozen in the snow, wrap
ped in newspaper and nothing more
now grown up to be q strong man OF
woman Of the sweet babe, born in
sin, heartlessly deserted by its fashiona-
BILE mother, adopted and cared for by
some poor, questionable, big hearted
mother who has learned to love it as her
own Of such child, perhaps, in after
years reclaimed by its legitimate mother,
impelled by remorse, and, let us hope,
her better nature Perhaps, of such
child not reclaimed, but now grown up
to maidenhood, passing her days in a
public institution of charity, while the
mother lives in wealth and luxury, indif-
ferent as to the existence of the child,
except inasmuch as the existence of the
child may lead to her own exposure! It
being my purpose to close the present
sketch with some fair example of the ro-
nance that is to be found in our New
York "Scotland Yard" and this last
case Offering some of the best material
| for that purpose, do not know that
can do better than to select it for my
| illustration.
The heroine-nowa comely, dark eyed,
olive-complexioned, graceful girl of fif-
teen-when baby, was given by yelled
lady to a New York policeman, who re-
ceived with the child large sum of
money. The lady, who is the daughter
of wealthy Staten Islander, had secret
ly married Spaniard, worthless fell
low-her music teacher, I believe. By
the advice of her parents, who refused
to have anything to do with him, or with
her as long as she lived with him, she
bribed her husband to leave her and 90
to Europe, where he died n little while
afterwards. During his absence the
child was born, but the fact was kept as
secret as the marriage of the mother,
and, outside of the immediate family,
so remains to this day--the policeman
alone, it is said, knowing her name.
The lady is married again, and has sew
eral children.
The policeman, on receiving the babe
and the money, resigned his position on
the force and went to Utica, where he
bought cottage, and brought up the
child as his own The girl soon showed
her disposition to be self-willed, wild
and impetuous. When but nine years
old, she became q reader of romances
that gave her q longing for adventure,
and suspicion that she was not the po-
liceman's child having entered her head,
she ransacked his desk in which he kept
his private papers, and found enough
there to satisfy her that she was right.
She demanded the name of her mother,
and it being refused, she threatened to
go in search of her. The ex-policeman
tried to pacify her by promising to tell
her all one day, when she should be old
enough and discreet enough to know
now to act i'll the matter but the girl
was full of romantic ideas. and, putting
her threat into effect, ran away from the
cottage. She came to New York, and
applied, without success, for an engage
ment on the stage. and to Mr.. Barnum
for position as rider in his circus.
Then, being found destitute in the
streets, she was brought by an officer to
the police central Office and given into
Mrs. Webb's care. Her reputed father
was telegraphed for by Superintendent
(then Inspector) Walling, and came on
to take her home, but she refused to go
with him, and upbraided him bitterly
for Withholding from her the name of
her mother. Mrs. Webb took charge of
her for several days, trying, with but
little success, to induce her to be rea-
sonable. After a while the girl seemed
to have been won by the matron's kind
ness but it turned out that she was only
trying to get the matron to relax her
watchfulness. One day Mrs. Webb took
her over the building, showing her,
among other things, the prison cells, in
one of which was confined, at the time,
one of the Westchester masked burglars.
The foolish child, attracted by the rather
handsome face of the robber, began
secret correspondence with him, hiding
in the sugar-bowl, that was sent him on
his breakfast-tray from the matron's
room, little notes planning their fight
together from the police central office,
which he duly answered through the
same medium. But Mrs. Webb, instead
of the young lady, happening to empty
the sugar-bowl one morning, found a
note from the burglar to the girl, the
discovery of which, of course, upset all
the plans of these strangely paired con-
federates.
The burglar was convicted, and is
now serving out term of years in Sing
Sing. The young lady is an inmate of
the juvenile asylum near High Bridge,
where, by submission and good beha-
vior, she is trying to win over the ex-
policeman to the fulfllment of his con-
ditional promise TO tell her the secret of
her birth.
At Work.