, 1875-09-05

66CIek h0Vuk 4t1 ku0t eu6 NA6 Oo0FQlIE Tue CIl~
dreu. and when l have been in there to sea her
have seen where the children we're kept. 1t WAS
IN the upper hack-room, and there WAS bed for
her there, aud crib for the babies. You can see
how much room there WAS BY looking at this
chamber, which is exactly like that in No. 183."
and showed the reporter room next the roof
about 10 feet square, with an 8fooE ceiling. =" 1t
WAS worry hot and close for thom. believe there
we're four OF them then, and she told mo she
used to give them soothing s,rup 20 keep them
quiet, and I eAw her give them brandy for the
game purpose. Inever SAW her beat them, though
when they cried / hayo heard them being
shaken. and called nut to sharp and roush!T to
"bo quiet" and ''quit crying now" and the liie.
in ill-tempered tones. THIS was about the time
the three babies d:ed go close together"
THE DEAD CHILDREN.
*How old wers the babies that died 7 asked
tho reporter.
1.-The one that died In April must have been
or months old One Of the others was
about the same ago; one was about weeks
old, and another was about q woek youngar."
VISITORS.
"Did any ono ever cali at No. 159 TO look after
theu17"
came in hacks to see their babies we supposed"
ibid Mrs. Qusekenbush ever say who sent the
babies there p was the mkt question.
"She said Mrs. Grant, Of the Home Of tho
Friendless, Was respoueible for them T: that she
sent them there from the Home to be boarded"
Another Of tha neighbors, vhoso tidv appear-
auco and weil-kept apartments testified to her
being goou housewife and in tolerably we'll
to-do circumstances,-a middle-agei lady Of
iutelseuce,-said she had several times called
on Mrs. Qnaesenbush, and. though she thought
the old woman wholly unfit to be trusted with
the care OF babies few weeks old, said she
thought better OF hrs. Q. since having seeu her.
The old woman had to earn her own board. and
ecemed to think ehe had 8 right to earn it thst
wav; abe was not positively cruel to the babies,
but Of couEso did not care for them as mother
wonli, and when they cricd dosed them with
soothing syrup, or scared them, or shook them
ronglly, or scolded themt to keep them
quiet. That naturally sickcned the little
milk or q preparation Of condensed milk.
Of course they died. What else could be ex
rected of hired care OF babies Of that age, taken
from their mothers and given cut to strangers
to be kept for So week
Tho reporter did not reply. but it occurred to
him that nothing else could have been expected,
Ind that it was what must have boen anticipated
both by the mothers who lett their babies thore
and BY the old woman who received them. It
certainly seemed to be what had happened.
The question whether
THE PARENTS
OF apy OF the children had become known in the
peiehborhood was also put to tho lady.
II was told OF the mother OF ona OF them By
always found out somehow who the parents
wore. TINT she might get her money OF them" "
was tho answer. ..Tke second one that died
was that besutiful boy-tho fat boy the
neighbors called him, he vas 80 plump and rosy
when he first cane. He died four or five days
after he was taken there. He must have beou
over months old His mothor came
to SEQ him once, and I saw her:
She WAS very handsome girl and
lady;ike in her manners. though poorly
dressed. The old woman told me the ooY's
father was an actor, George -, at ono OF the
the.tres, and that he had ruined the mother and
deserted her. She Was poor, and had gone
out as net nurse. noticed her as she went
in that day, and almost as soon IS the door
closed heard her call out,
'ou! afY DARLING BLUc-EEED BOT,
is that you:' Then I knew it WAS tho baby's
mother Only mother would talk Like that,
md she talked more. and it WIS Gentler talk than
the babies wore used to in there.
'.Ncxt day that baby WAS dead, and never
eaw more heart-broken looking girl
than was that boy'e mother when she came IN a
close carriage and took him Amy in Lis little
Anotbe. woman living in the block, in re-
sponso to inquiries, said thas she had seen the
baby TINT died in April little girl only about
mouths old. One OF the babies that had d;ed,
and which she had seen, was brought the4e when
it was only week old. It didn't eat anything
and the old woman took no trouble 20 give it any
nourishment, and it IVES slowly plnlng away
SEEMINGLY STARVING TO DRATu.
She asked the old woman why she didn't get
doctor, and also give the child some nour1sh-
mert. In reply the old woman told her the
child's mother had said the child would die. for
the priest had told her it would die within a
month, and that she (afrs. QuacEenbush) Was
not to feed it. Whether the old woman did let
the child starye to death is not kro"n. though
that seems hardly possible. Bns the cnAu o1ea
within few days.
The above ie substantially al taat w&s eiicated
from the neighbors, some half dozen or more or
whom we're Interviewed, and Who AL agreed 10
NnNi had 1fn3i i'm
Mrs. Quackenbush's charge, aod that FIFTH had
been taken away Frlday apparently in 3 dying
conditlou.
This much asccrtrined. The reporter pulled the
bell OF No. 1873, bent on finding out al TINT
blinds were closed, and, after waiting an upcon-
monly long time ntter pulling the bell without
auy response being made, come one peeTed eau
tiol,ely out of the closed blinds, and an 1ustant
after the door vaa opened oy tall man. appaf-
eutly abour SO years Of age. dressed IN seedq ot-
tire. who eyed Tho reporter with forhldolns
Looks.
1he tall man in seedv attire eyed the reporter
SHARPLY for nearly minute, and, without either
TeoIying or bidding the reporter eute@, kept his
hand on tho door-knoo as though undecided
whether to shut the door in his visltor's lace.
At this juncture
appeared Mt door opening, out OF tne hail. ano
he replied, Yes: a.es IN.
.strcl her I'd lle to see her, said the report
er, and he stepped in the hail while tho man en-
tered the apartment out Of the door OF which
the woman had peeped.
In another moment there como into the bali
little wizenod. dried-up old woman with
hawk 's-bill nose aud sharp eye, with which she
regarded her visitor keoaly.
sMrs Qusckcpbush4 is it ?" said the reporter.
She nodded assent end waited It was maui
fest that sne, Ike The man, was suspicious and
on tho alert, aud that what WAS to be learned
must be ob1alnea. not by dirsct questioning and
disclosure OF the object OF the visit but py
strategy, So the reporter began with:
GETTING IMPORTATION.
"Do You taio babies to board 2"
She notiIad assent.
WED, il was to fotch one here this oven-
ing about dark. When everybody wouldn't notice.
could you tako it :" -
"Oh, yes; but I'd lilie to know who we're iss
parents" Tho rcpo1t ter inside no response, and
the old woman. locking moro sharply ioto his
face asked Are you an unmarried man I"
The reporter answered, ~ was the fact, that
he vss, aud the old woman nodded as though
she understood the caso. "And where's the
ln,v nld nt ortar;a}