The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1883-01-31
NEW YORK CORRESPONDENCE
New YORK CRY,
Jan. IS, 1926

EDkIOh DEMOCnAA
The sensation of the week was un-
cuestionably the suit for $4,000 da.
images for breech of promise of mar
rage, brought by Miss Mary A. A.
Livingston against Henry Fleming,
a Young millionaire. The details as
developed in the course of the trial
were prurient in the extreme, and OF
course the court room in Brooklyn
was packed to repletion with curios.
ity seekers. The ,rial'resulted in a,
verdict for the plaintiff for the full
amount asked for, the very heaviest
amount ever awarded In breech of
promise case in the history of legal
practice. Now, there is no doubt
that such a verdict would not have
been given in any other city in the
Union save Brooklyn. That city has
not it's like in the country. 1t has
more scandals to the square yard
than any large cities have to the
square mile. 1t combines the pecu-
liar friskiness Of Chicago with the
outward occurrences of Quaker
town. Everybody goes to the church
and yet everybody looks as if he or
her had history. Outside Of that,
however, Mr.. Flemipg's case was
grossly mismanaged. His lawyer,
Mr.. Howe, who is very good at saw
ing criminals from the gallows,
seems to have been at sea in this
case. He attacked the girl in the
most brutal manner. He called her
a cyprian and the daughter of cy
prian. On the statement of detec-
tive who seems to be paragon Of as
Unity, he charged her with having
kept an improper lodging house ten
years ago. Now, the girl is not yet
twenty one and the detective simply
ascribed to her the doings Of a wo-
man by the name of Livingston, who
for ten or fifteen years prior to 1874
was fashionable notorious character
Of metropolitan shady life. Ofcourse
the jury had to sympathize and side
with her.
Said lawyer to me, a man who at
one time filled the position of Judge
in one of our leading State Courts,
and who has gained many laurels by
his pleadings at the bar, "the day of
bullying plaintiff or heaping vile
abuse on him, and treating him or
her in such a manner as to arouse all
that is manly in bystanders is over.
A lawyer who attempts to rely on
such q method will not alone lose his
own cases, but he will make himself
liable to prosecution. The spirit Of
the age is in favor of moderation and
it was high time that this spirit made
itself felt"
An appeal has been taken from the
verdict, and additional evidence
against the character of the woman
has, it is claimed, been discovered.
During the trial it was charged that
Miss Livingston had been intimate
with her mothers coachman, one
Alexander Cornelius. This person
has now come forward and produced
the letters alleged to have been writ
ten to him by the girl. This will,
of course, open the sluice gates again.
The spectacle is not edifying. And
yet, strange are the workings of a
woman's mind, or rather feelings,
this girl even now would marry Fle-
ming were he willing. I am so in:
formed by aperson who knows both
parties.
The first of the great masquerade
balls is over. The French Society
LAmitie gave their tenth annual
masquerade at the Academy Of MI,
sic last evening, and Of course the
place was packed after midnight.
LAmitie's is not the French Ball,
it is but the preliminary cauter, to
use racing phrase, to the grand
pageant of the Cercle Franchise de
i Harmonic next Monday. Then in
rapid succession come the elks, the
Liederkranz and the Arion pageants.
The ball-goer will be we'll worn out
by he'beginning of Lent. Tue sea.
son of psnsce and sorrow this yesr
begins on the 7th5 of Feouary, and
thus all extreme worldniness will
have to be compressed into two
tweeks. While at the Amitie ball, it
struck me, that somehow the taste
for masquerades and carnival extrav-
igauces is on the waue in New York.
There were crowds, of to take part
In the fun, and this is bound to kill
such affairs, for when fun en- msasqxe
becomes funereal it ceases to BIZ fun
and everybody walks home "tired,"
in the vernacular of Wall Street, Be.
sides, the societies Who get these af.