Connecticut western news., 1881-02-23
CHAINED BY HER FATHER.
\ Servants Crime that Brought Te
 rible and Unjust Punishment Upo a Child

One of the worst stories of cruelT that we have read for long time come from New York city. There are doub less parallels to the enormity of tn case, but they are-to the credit of ht man nature be it said-very few and fe between. Even the morbid creation l of certain school of French low-lit novels never exceeded the precociou and cunning mal1gnity to which yount woman who occupies cell in the Tomb pleads guilty. I
 Charles E. Crawford, clerk employee in downtown business house, resided in commodious dwelling in Morrisania.i His family consists of himself and wlse "a second matriage-and four chll- dren, the two oldest, boy and gir,, the offspring of the first wife. On the 1st of September last there came to live with the Crawfords as a domestic sel' want, a girl named Mary Dooley. Th' girl was ab Nut twenty years of age, g brunette, with black, bright eyes, goot figure and of rather attractive appear ance.
 The new servant had beer but few weeks in the house when it was observed that number of small fancy articles were missing. Then such small sums of money as happened to be left about the house unguarded by lock and key began to disappear. Mary Dooley does ,o4 4o hov tol of dishonesty at any time. The daughter of MT. Crawford by his first wife is a very pretty and interesting child of twelve years. She is called Annie Louisa, and is sensitive, delicate little thing, with timid, shy manner. She has curly, blonde hair, large, dreamy eyes, and is such child as would arouse sympathy and affection almost in 8 stranger. This pretty baby became the victim of Mary Dooley. When search was made for the missing money, a pocketbook containing $1.5O was found wrapped up in the dress of doll, one of the playthings of the child. With fendishness that is scarcely credible the girl had placed the mon y where it was found. She was too cunning to accuse the child of the theft, and it is said that when MT. Crawford punished the little one for the supposed fault Mary Dooley made show of defending her. Petty larcenies still continued, and as the stolen goods would occa- sionally be found where the child's clothing was kept and in other places a child would have been likely to make 8 hiding place, MT. and Mrs. Crawford became persuaded that Annie Louisa was a thief. Mary Dooley was eau toned to keep a close watch on the child, and she actually succeeded in in timidating the little girl and terrorlzing over her to such an extent that when she was whipped for stealing she would confess that she was guilty.
 "Did you not steal this?" her father would ask.
 "Yes, father" would be the timid reply.
 "Why d,d you do it ?'
 "I--I don't know, I don't know why, '' the pale and trembling child would answer.
 The thefts continued. Every few days something would be missed, and the devilish acts of Mary Dooley always led to the child being whipped as the thief. To avoid further punishment after she had been beaten the unfortu, nate sufferer would acknowledge crime she had not committed.
 At length MT. Crawford seems te have become persuaded that his chile was victim to kleptomania. Many articles were stolen that never were found, and in this case the child would say that she had destroyed them. 4 physician was summoned, it is said and he very iearnedly examined th' child and pronounced her of unsount mind-a keptomaniac. A closer watcl
 was put on the child, Mary Dooley be
 ing her special custodian. The httl ones health had begun to be affecte'
 by the nervous shocks and undeservet punishments she was receiving at tn hands of her parents, who still remaine,
 in ignorance of the true character 0
 Mary Dooley.
 About three o'clock in the afternoo on New Years Day number of gentle
 men visitors who were making "calls
 at Mir. Crawford's were startlC by lou cries of ''Fire P Rushing into the hal
 way they saw flames issuing from bee
 room. After great deal of trouble tn
 fire was extinguished. It was then nc T ticed that the bedclothing in an uppe t room had been set fire to. A numbe
 of burned matches were found lyin
 about the bed Again, Annie Louis was accused of this crime, and ono Il :, more she admitted it, i'll a state of al u iect terror. Her hands were then stIaI , ped to her side, and in this condition , bondage she was kept day and nigh Still the robberies continued. On Jal '' uary IS flames were again discovere . in the Crawford mansion, this time iss1 6 ing from the laundry house. An alarl
 was sounded, which soon brought u v x, fremen and engines. to the spot, al
 after considerable trouble the fire WI ? extinguished. An examination shove l' that the laundried clothes had been sat- S rated with kerosene oil. The paren ..' again suspected their child of being u ID incendiary, and had stout leather be |" made for her with a chain attache
 During the day time the little suffer # was chained to staple in the wall ,d the dining room, and at night to u
 footnOst of her he6stead The wait