The Republican journal., 1877-04-05
A Blue-Eyed Baby.

A Blue-E!yed Baby.
The New York World tells this story:
Tuesday afternoon a buAom, bare head
ed, looking Irish woman loud in
| lamentations, rushed into the Central
office clamoring for aid, and Captain Cope
land, with great difficulty, ascertained
that she had been robbed Of her daughter
under circumstances that appeared both
peculiar and suspicious. The woman gave
her name as Anna Welsh, and related that
she lived at No. 56 South Fifth avenue,
rear, and that on Tuesday-her husband.
Il laborer, being out of Work-She took
her daughter Mary, aged seven months,
III her arms and Went out to look tol
work, hoping to find a job in an Office
/ She had yainly sought employment as
scrub woman in Il number OF places, and
was about to ask Il clerk IN the Office of
the Pennsylvania railroad company, cor
her Of Broadway and Spring street. ii they
had need of a scrub woman when a very
| gentlemanly-appe man noticed her
blue-eyed, golden-haired little girl, and
quite unceremoniously got up Irritation
with the pretty child The mother. for
| getting her misery and her errand in her
| pride at the tlattery bestowed on her
darling, allowed the man to pet her baby,
and when he remarked, 'sNhat 4 pretty
blue-eyed baby you haye-won't YOU let
he have it Y She laughingly allowed him
to take Mary i'll his arms, and then recol-
| lccting her errand and believing her
child safe, she turned TO the clerk she had
| been about to address, and finding that
she could not wheedle him into giving her
| employment, turned with a heavy heart
| to where she left the man who took the
baby, prepared TO trudge TO another place
| to seek work. The man had vanished
with the child, and after convincing her
self that her eyes did not deceive her, the
poor mother lndulgtu i'll an OutburSt OF
gllef that enlisted the sympathy nt every
one who heard her. Acting on the advice
OF several gentlemen, she, as soon. as her
terror and excitement would permit. ran
TO Police headquarters and reported the
case.
Captain Copeland reported the facts to
superintendent Nallln9, who saw that
there was necessity for Immediate action,
and an alarm was sent out notifying the
different precincts to look tor the child
and its abductor. Mrs Welsh acrOmpa-
med by Detective Jeremiah Wood. went
back To the office Of the PENNSYLVANIA
Railroad and a9certaincd thar the man
who asked Mrs. Welsh to make him
present oi her baby had purchased il /
ticket for Mobile The description OF the
man was accurately agreed upon bN the
clerks and Mrs. Welsh. and Wood started |
Tor the DesbrOsse street ferry 10 look after
i man thirty five years Old slim. OF NE
dunn stature, with dark hair eyes and
mustache, dark clothes and Il silk hat. |
Mrs. Welsh accompanied him, and they
scanned every person that crossed t. New
Jersey until Z o'clock.
Al ! o'clock Inspector McDcrmott, hu |
was on night duty ut the Central Office.
was visited by Il gentleman who gave his |
name rs Dr. Easton. of New Orleans. and |
who in i few seconds admitted having |
g;lytt" an ti1lnAsE{st,t ;gtdhht Oh tne alIilI
and appeared delighted at having the in |
tant in his possession. He had been lily !
ing ut the fremont House. No. t't;5 Broad |
way, With his wife and tive OF their six
children, and yesterday afternoon pur-
chased tickets for Mobile ior his family lit
the office of the Pennsylvania Railroad. |
His children are all dark. he said, and he
had Il passion almost amounting to Il ma
MIA, for blue-eyed tair-haired babies. AS
he was leaving the office he was tascina
ted by Mrs Welshs little girl and quickly
struck up an acquaintance. He was SO
interested i'll the child that he hardly IT,
membered what he said to the mother,
but believed he asked her il She would
part with it il she found some one to take
good care Of it, He says he understood
| the mother to say she would be willing 70
give up the child, and when She allowed
him to take the baby, he was 50 oVerloyed
that he had q very ndistinct recollection
OF what took place until he reached his
hotel. Here the baby was washed and
| richly dressed. Dr. Easton explained the
motive that induced him to visit Police
| Headquarters by saying that i'll his en-
thusiasm he did not anticipate any obsta
Gle to his retaining possession OF the child,
but that he heard accidentally that Il
child had been abducted, and that the po
| lice were looking for a man answering his
description. and it immediately occurred
to him that a misrepresentation existed
somewhere and that it was his duty TO
communicate with the authorities.
While DR. EaSton was concluding his
narrative, which was embellished with eX
pressions of intense affection for the child
he had adopted in such a hasty manner,
| Detective Wood and Mrs Welsh, who had
tired OF watching at the ferry, entered
Inspector McDermott's office, and Mrs.
Welsh instantly recognized DR.. Easton,
and denounced him as ''the man who took
her child The matter was quickly ad-
justed to the satisfaction Of Mrs. Welsh,
who admitted that she voluntarily gave
the child to Easton, without, however,
imagining that he intended to take it
away. She hurried to the fremont House,
found her baby dressed in all sorts of
tinely, passionately embraced it, and de
cIining DR.. and Mrs. Easton's tempting
offers, carried it home to her miserable
apartment, where she had a good cry
| over it. Al II p. NJ. a reporter o1 the
World found her fondling her baby. In
reply to Il remark that the clllldSs future
would perhaps be happier with DR.. East
on family than with her, she said AM
tWhat Wud he be Wantin' wild it He's
crazy sure. Hasn't he his own to look
for, an fThat Hud he be dom wild me
dallin' ~
Mr.. j. f. Tandy, Treasury expert,
49, ,.l l,