Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1879-06-14
aoTTsCHA1K'S pRogEGE
A Promising Musician In Poverty, Hun
ger and Dirt.
New York Mercury

ne predictS Tor the lad-lt the latter
shall pursue his music-a position
among the great pianists of the age,
chasing him with List and Thalberg.
On last Monday morning the same
Henry CoOk-nOw a man thirty years
of age-wss found by officer Chiardi.
of the society for the prevention Of
crime, lying upon a mattress covered
with filth in a
STATE OF lNT0XICATI0N,
in the second floor, front room. of ten
ement house No. 142 Hester street,
His child Cecilia, five years old, and
his little son Henry two years of age,
were crying for food, not having par
taken of any thing to eat for two DAYS
and two nights. The stencil that ema-
mated from the apartment when the
officer went into the room was almost
empowering, for it abounded in hu-
man filth and refuse. Cook was rolling
and tossing on the mattress, which was
soaked in water from an overturned
slop,jar, clad only in his shirt. His
wife, who had been reared in opulence.
and was a woman of culture, refused
to desert him, although she was in fear
of her life, and sat upon the floor,
weeping and wringing her hands. A
bottle half full of whisky was at the
mans side. The only things left in
the room in which the tamily lived
were a trunk aud a mattress. The floor
was bare chairs, table, carpet, cloth
ing, everything, had gone to the pawn
brokers, and on the Saturday previous.
when he burst into their room, crazed
with trouble and thirst, he stripped of
his coat, pants and vest, and handing
them to his wife, begged aud threaten
ed her by turns to take them to the
pawn shop and get twenty-five cents
for them, and with the money purchase
whisky. AT first she refused to com
ply. He grew Infatuated at her denial.
aud swore he would kill her if she did
not obey. The FIRE Of madness was in
his eye; he was quaking from the ter
rible delirium that follows prolonged
excuses, and he saw
LIZARDS, T0ADS,i SEBPENTS, AND
SHINY ANIMALS
in Imagination upon the floor. She
begged him to let her take five cents
for bread. He cursed and said no
money should be spcnt for anything
except for Liquor. The poor woman
believing that he would be quoted
by the whisky, and that he would
indeed kill her in his frenzy il it we're
kept from him. did as he requested.
pawning his clothing and ~expendine
the proceeds in liquor. She was al
weak from the want of food,
and the children were suffering also. !
She begged a crust OF bread from a
neighbor and gave it to the girl, who
ate it ravenously and cried for more.
After that the mother was too weak
to 20 out again, until she was rescued
by an officer. Meanwhile the apart
ment remained ~uncleansed. and the
Odors that arose from the pollution
attracted the attention Of the
neighbors who reported the matter TO
an officer, who, in turn, mentioned it
to Captain Anthony Allaire, of the
Eldridge-s street police s%tetion. The
visited the apartment. and, after
ordering it to be cleaned and purified,
notified officer Chiardi. The family
were all taken to the Essex Market
Henry Cook was sent to the
lnebriate Asylum, and Cecilia was
in charge of the Sisters Of st.
Dominick. Some friends who had
the family in the days Of their
prosperity came forward and promised
to aid Mrs. Cook, who retained
possession of the boy Henry.
THE UNFORTUNATE MAN
who had fallen so low received in his
youth a fine education, and he speaks
huently, besides English, the Spanish.
Italian, French and Portuguese Ian
guages. At a very early age he began
TO manifest an extraordinary talent for
music, and at ten years of age gave
piano r%ecitals in Havana and other
West India cities, which commanded
the admiration Of professors and con
noisseurs, as well as the applause of
tile public. Among others who adj
mired his remarkable manipulation Of
the keyboard, extraordinary compass
and effective technique, was Colts
chalk, who/became so enraptured with
the youth playing that he insisted ON
his accompanying him on another
piano at his Havana concerts in the
adaptation for four hands of "Oios
CruellOz' aud the -" Matche du Mutt"
The mcrcurial Gottschalk endeayored
to persuade Cook to accompany him to
the United States, but the Mlatter's
parents objected. A few years afcer-
ward, however, Cook took Il trip to
New Orleans, where his appearance
was received with SO much favor that
he determined to remain there. Bv
the death Of his father he became
possessed Of considerable property and
this he invested in an enterprise which
proved Improbable, and Cook con
fined his attention aiterward strictly
to his profession. His concerts were
always well attended, his position as
oIglnist of a leading church in New
Orleans brought him in a good income
and his list of scholars was continually
increasing. About seven years ago he
married a
CULTIVATED AND NORTHUMBERLAND
YOUNG LADY
from this city who was visiting the
Crescent City. Finally he concluded
to try the metropolis. He gave his
first concert in Steinway Hall. Ue
was sick and out of spirits on the
night Of his debut here and should
not have attempted to play before a
critical New York audience in his