The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1878-03-30
Our New York Letter.
ST. PatricI1'S Day CeIebra ton
A Sneak Thief efCaPtured-Old
Shops Ghost.

| Anew AOEAnJ HAdLSA ~ 1of Os
EDITOR CHIEF:
cts a great day fur Oirland," said
bowld Paddy McCarty, as he looked
up at the decorated cupola on top OF
the City Hall, on Monday last, while a
wheezy organ on the corner of Cham
bers street and Broadway ground out
the inspiring notes of "St. Patrick's
Day in the Morning." l never see
those bare-legged Scotchmen, dressed
up in their turban plaids, wi their
kits and fillibegs and bare hurdles,
pitching heavy stones and climbing
up greasy poles on st. Andrews day,
but have regretted that we here in
America never had Patron Saint. l
have envied the Englishmen on st.
Georges day, as they bowled cricket
and broke each others shins, and got
jolly tight over their Annual Dinner,
and wished that we this side of the
water had been lucky enough to have
a St. George and the Dragon, but 1
don't think that the devil of envy
ever took such complete possession
of my soul as it did on last st. Pat
rick's day while stood viewing the
procession as it filed through the
City Hall Park, after being reviewed
by his honor the Mayor.
The day broke dark and gloomy, a
drizzling rain came down in the morn
ing, but it would have required some
thing akin to the shower that sent
Noah rejoicing on his way to Ararat
to have dampened the ardOr of that
portion of our fellow citizens who re-
gard st. Patrick as the foremost saint
in the calendar. The procession was
the smallest that New York has seen
for years, though I regret to add that
the philanthropic efforts of Theobald
Mathew aud Father Tom Burke have
not produced such golden fruits as
flourish in the garden of Hesperides.
Potheen, Usquebaugh, and Mountain
Jew had evidently been insidiously at
work, and patriotic Mile>ians, who
sought to drown the shamrock in
something else than cowld wather,
were by no means singular or scarce.
The most imposing feature of the
procession was the Grand Marshal
and his aids-such green sashes, ro-
settes, and cooked hats were never
seen since the days of Bryan Boroo.
AS the line filed out of the park the
admiration of the bystanders burst |
forth in enthusiastic exclamations, |
such as, "Tim, dye moind Hennesy,n |
" Dhriscoll, is that Jack Murphy's
horse yer an Z" "Oh. look ut Kelly |
in a swallow tailed coat" McCarty,
where did ye get yer stove-pipe Z"
=" The top o the morning to ye, Paddy
Lynch, it's moighty grand ye look on
top of Il horse" "Finnegan, is that
yer reat.grandfather's cooked hat
that he wore in '987" and such like
remarks were show
cred on the unlucky pedestrians and
equestrians, though they seemed to
be taken and given in the greatest
good humor. A car-driver attempt
ing TO cross the procession at the
junction of Canal street and Bowery,
was knocked off his car by marshal.
The police came to the aid of the car
driver, and it affords me sincere sat-
isfaction to be able to state they, too,
retired with broken heads. The re-
serves were ordered out, and, after
desperate fight, a single rioter was
whom the judge, notwith-
that he fought all the way
to the police station, nearly tearing ;
the clothes from the policemer's
backs, discharged with the hope that
he had suffered no personal incon- I
venience, promising, at the same time,
that no dastardly policemen should
interfere with their procession again.
This was as it should he, and | am
proud that at least we have one of
icial who properly understands the
luties of his Office, and, understanding /
hem, is not afraid to act. The eve-
hing wound up with the usual festivi-
lies, Wednesday mornings calendar
'hOwing no abatement in the drunks !
md disorderlies of former years.
We are now rejoicing in the cap
,ure of Minnie Watson, the most
noted sneak thief of modern times. !
She is young, pretty, petite and
,lump, and looks as demure as a cat.
She came to this country about nine
-ears ago from England, and her plan /
las been to hire out as servant girl in
irst class houses, watch her oppor-
unity, make clean sweep of every
hing, and suddenly disappear. Single
'obberies have netted her from five
o ten thousand dollars in diamonds,