Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1882-09-14
GOTHAM GOSSIP.

Correspondence Crawford Avalanche.
NEW YORK, Sept. 5, 1882.
The sensation of the week was the
remarkable disappearance and equally
remarkable recovery of the little Brook
lyn girl, Lizzie Selden. The child was
sitting on the stoop of its parents one
evening, when n young woman came
along and taking it by the hand com
PEELED the poor little thing TO accom-.
pany her during several days of very
devious wanderings. Her name was
subsequently ascertained to be Maggie
Keppel. What object she could posi-
bly, have had i'm stealing the Child is
past comprehension. According TO her
own admission she simply took n
fancy to it," and desired to have il
with her What might have been the
fate Of little Lizzie had the newspa-
pers not made sensation of the story
God only knows. Maggie keppel is II
thoroughly bad woman. Besides pos
ses sing a more extensive acquaintance
amorg men tlian is usually considered
proper for female, she has been in
prison for larceny. In addition to
, this, there Gun scarcely be any doubt
TO those who have closely watched her
since her confinement in Jail that her
mind is unsound. The child's future
under these circumstances would have
been anything but happy one. To
draw out its possible meanderings
would form n fit subject for n novelist
| of the school of Gaboriau or Belot.-
Nor must it be believed that case
| like Lizzie Selden's is of rare occur
renee in this great city, or that every
one of them ends as fortunately. Ii
occurred just at a time when news in
the city is dull in the extreme, and the
papers. having plenty of space at theil
disposal, happened simultaneously tC
think il II subject worth spreading oil
As, in addition, the parents of the chilt
were wealthy and well connected, tbs
publicity thus given spurred the po
lice OH to work and brought forwar,
an important witness, young McLaugh
lin, who accompanied Maggie durin;
the greater part of her wanderings tn,
first night she had possession of th'
child. A look at the blotters at tha
department at police headquarters
which takes Charge of missing persons
would reveal a sad list of children, a
we'll as grown people, about whom
J nothing has ever be, Il heard or seen
and who, in spite Of diligent search
have disappeared as completely as
they had been wiped off the face O
, the earth. Parents in the city cannO
be too careful with their. little ones
Well-dressed children, and particular
~ little girls, are wonderfully attraC
tive for criminals of "a certain class. -
) Then again, many are stolen in TN
hope Of securing u big reward for thei
return, and il that be not forthcumin
. the criminals will sooner make ava
with the stolen little ones than Civ
; them up for less than their own price
. A curiosity i'm this field of crime is til
. fact that it has happened very FRI
. quently that children were stolen b
: abandoned women, simply to have a
: 2 object to love. An old detective a
. urcG LIE tlict gevcral such cases Ina
3 come under his experience. What ma
Z seem strange, but after all is quite na
ural, is that these children were inv
riably we'll cared for and provided wit
= every kindness, the creatures emplo.
}, ing the best portion of the proceeds
their wretched trade to make the
+: happy.
But enough Of this leaf from Il
dark side of metropolitan life. III
n =. L..