The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1881-12-31
OUR NEW YORK LETTER.

; OUR NEW YORK LETTER.
A Noble Charity-A Home for New Yorl
Waifs-The Magnificence Of tho Churcl
Of st. Francis xavier-A Startling Rob
bery-The Cost Of Fashionable Belle
Turnout-The Dead Mans Party, Etc.
New York, December II, 1881.
EDITOR CHIEF:
On the corner of Great Jones stree
and Lafayette Place is one of the mos
magnificent buildings in the city. It il
not only grand in its architectural pro
portions, but in the scope of its useful
ness-grander in design than any othel
structure on the Island of Manhattan
| Within pistol-shot of it are Astor Library
and the Cooper Institute, and, while ir
common with thousands Of others, 1 fee
grateful to old John Jacob Astor and hie
son for the privilege Of using the magni.
ficent library, which is q lasting monu.
ment to their honor, / never pass the
Cooper Institute without invoking q
blessing on old Peter Cooper's head --one
of the noblest old Romans of them all.
But grand as these noble institutions are,
and grateful as we ought to feel for the
princely liberality which has endowed
them, they dwarf in comparison with
the Home for the Friendless Boys, which
has been raised by Father Drumgold on
the corner of Lafayette Place and Great
Jones street. The structure is of brick,
eight stories high, and replete with every
modern convenience that money or gen.
ius can supply. The Office would do for
first-class bank, while the school rooms,
the chapel, the dining rooms and dormi-
tories are models which can scarcely be
excelled. Seen from the outside, or ex-
amined from within, this magnificent
structure might be the home of our
proudest aristocracy. There is none Of
the repulsive paaper-like look that curses
most Of our charitable institutions. Ev-
cry thing about it is broad, generous and
warm as the heart of it's noble founder.
A stranger spcculating on it might sup
pose it an institution for the exclusive
education Of the sons of our millionaires,
but it is not. It is for the wretched lit
tie fatherless and motherless waits,
almost of God and man forsaken, that
this mighty building was reared, and no
great subscription lists were required to
start it; no great nance were required
to give endowment to its roll; no thou
sand dollar checks from the Goulds and
Vanderbilts, the Sages and the Astors
swelled the receipts of its treasury; but,
marvellous to tell, this God-like charity
was reared by quarter-dollar subscriptions,
and of the hundreds Of thousands of dol
lars expended on it not one mill remains
unpaid. It is truo there is much to do
and much to get before the work will be
perfected. but Father Drumgold started
on the principle, "Pay ~ you co." and
he only gets what he has tho money to
pay for; but when his five or six hundred
boys are gathered under its roof, what is
to feed and keep themi Father Drum
gold has faith that would remove moun-
tains, and trusts to Him who feeds the
ravens to fill those hungry mouths. One
admirable feature in this institution is
the manner in which the children are
lodged. Every one has his own separate
room aud as passed along the lines Of
little beds, some Of them scarcely yard
long, could not but think Of the reward
Of the humble priest who planned aud pro-
vided it all.
On Sixteenth street is the church of
st. Francis Xavier, the most gorgeous
temple on the American continent; rich
in fresco, grand in statuary, noble in ar
chitecture-costing not far from mill
lion. But grand and noble as it is, it
will not bear comparison, in it's useful
ness, with the work of Father Drnmgold;
and when the great Cathedral, with its
splendid carvings and its lofty towers
shall hays orumbled to the dust, the in
fluenee of Father Drumgold's work will
still survive. Thousands upon Thousands
of wretched, ragged, filthy waits, whom
the priest aud the Levite passed by, and
who would have found their way to the
State prison or the gallows, have been
saved to society and made honest men by
Father Drumgold; and, in the hereafter,
when he joins in the procession march
ing up towards the great white throne,
these witnesses will speak for him.
Bishops, Cardinals and Popes shall stand
with uncovered heads - the humble
priest goes up to receive his reward. If
there are any who shall read this who
have dollar to spare for the noblest
charity of our time, let him or her send
it to Father Drumgold, Lafayette Place,
New York.
Again we are startled by daring rob-
berry, and when the horse is stolen we
think of shutting the stable door. A
lady, about entering her own door, is
seized by couple of robbers, and pair
of solitaires are pulled from her ears, val
ued at $500. They we're not torn out.
She was not violently assaulted, in one
sense the man took hold of her from
behind and held her with one arm, while
he dax teroualr unbalanced her rin0s with