Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1878-01-24

Our New York Letter


New YORK, January IL, 1878.
The annual sale OF pews in Ply.
mouth church came off on Tues
day evening. and netted a little
short of $4,000. As this a.
mount is smaller than the receipts
of previous years, Mr.. Beecher
has voluntarily relinquished one
fourth of his $4,000 salary for
this year, aud will therefore have
to preach at the starvation wages
Of about $288 per Sunday. inclu-
ding the ten or a dozen Sabbaths
Of his regular vacation. As he is
sure, however, of a good income
from his lectures, be hopes to escape
the suferings of want.
Mr.. B4echer's well. known "Life
OF Christ" which was partially
published at the time of the fail
ure of ]. B Ford & Co., bis pub.
fishers, has since been at stand
still, and was generally thought
to have been abandoned. At the
recent sale by auction Of the ef
fects of the bankrupt firm, howev-
or, one of the lots offered was the
original contract which Mr.. Beech
er made with the publishers to
write the book, and this was
bought for 81 600 by a merchant
OF this city, who says he'll hold the
author to the terms of the con
tract, and expects, after all, to
make money out of the work. So
the "Life" will probably be com.
pleted and placed on the market
after all.
Taking ones own life is a mat
ter Of, such ordinary occurrence in
this great city, that the inherent
strangeness of a state of mind
which can force its possessor to
take the mysterious leap in the
dark, is quite lost sight Of, and
suicide in general attracts hardly
more attention than petty larceny.
One such incident this week,
however, has excited consider
able wonder and speculation. In
this case, a young man, the ne
phew and prOtege of rich Brook
Ignite, took a Hudson River ferry
boat on the morning OF bis wed.
ding day, and when the boat was
in mid-stream stepped to the stern,
took out revolver, shot himself
through the head, and dropped
corpse into the river. Nothing
more apparently causeless was ev
er reported. Here was a young
fellow, we'll connected, prosper.
Gus, temperate, and without any
appearance Of eccentricity, delib-
erately, but without warning, put
ting an end to his life only a few
hours before he was to have been
united to the woman to whom he
had long been: engaged, and whom
it was evident he ienderly loved.
What imp OF the Perverse was it
that obtained such sudden and
complete mastery over him? and
what safety is there for any one
when such terrible mania may
lurk berea;h a calm aud reason
able exterior, ready at any mo
ment TO break out into fatal ex.
preston?
1t is painful admission, but
one which verify compels me to
make, that New York thinks more
OF cats than of babies. We bad
a show of the latter a month or
so since, which had three or four
hundred entries, was attended by
fond parents and Stunned
like the plague by the old bache.
lors and maids. Shortly there
after the cats demanded an oppor-
tunity to test popularity with the
babies, and, being accorded the
opportunity, turred out over 700
strong at the American Museum,
to challenge attention and admi-
ration. Some fifty prizes were to
be distributed, to be awarded ac-
cording to the votes of visitors;
and when the fair closed this week
the number of votes cast was
i;uud to be $4,000. Where are
the babies now?
One by one the roses. fall A
little while ego it was Case, who
was allowed five years in which
to reflect in peaceful seclusion up
on perjury as applied to life in
surance. Last week II was ] I.am-