The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1888-09-28
A NIGHT IN 4 HE'LL.

1t was the old ty~pographer who spoke.
He was sitting with II group of friends
and was slipping from Il cup of hot bouil-
lon.
''You know | haven't drank anything
for years except temperance drinks, and L
am thoroughly cured of the desire for
liquor which was for so many years the
bane of my existence. How | ever man
aged to escape from being killed on some
of my sprees is Il mystery to me. But of
all the strange experiences l ever had,
none, | think, equals one | had in New
York when the Grand Duke Alexis was
here, in 1871"
He was q good story-tcller, was the old
typographer, and the party sitting about
| him knew it, and therefore pressed him
to a recital of what they knew must be a
strange story.
The disciple of Franklin didn't seem to
be in a hurry to tell his yarn, and he
stroked his long gray beard and rumin-
ated. Finally, after continued urging, he
said:
''Td tell it, only it's so like q romance
that Pm afraid you wouldn't believe it,"
Then, thoughtfully, "But, by Heavens,
it's true, every word of it, though now,
nearly fifteen years since it happened, it
seems to me like fiction ratherthan fact"
Hesipped his bouillon in silence, seemed
lost in thought for an instant, and then
raising himself and leaning back in his
chair, said:
"Well, boys, here goes; IIl spin you the
yarn.
81 was on IL night case then, and used
to live at the old Merchants Hotel on
Cortlandt street. | went off duty at 4
- -. - H., n,;,, Md fpnn, that IN
used to godown to the hotel and play poker
with kindred spirits until 0 or 10 O'Clock
in the morning.
81 did this on the morning of Novem-
Der 20, 1871. This was Monday. The
Grand Duke Alexis had arrived in the
harbor on Sunday, and he was to have
been received on Monday. So we played
poker longer than usual in order to be up
in the morning to see the procession. But
there wasn't any procession to see, for it
rained in torrents, and WAS as disagree
able q day as one could imagine.
'Td been drinking considerably while
l was playing, and finally went to bed
much the worse for liquor. | couldn't
get any rest, though | slept after Il fash
ion.
"When l got up in the evening | felt
very IOChl. we NpAt, Nis'ihtti, anu biS
weather was enough to give n man the
blues without the help of the liquor l
had in me.
81 was reckless, and decided not to go
to work. had a twenty-dollar bill and a
twenty-five cent piece in my pocket.
81 put on n he Wy overcoat and went
up to the corner of Cortlandt street and
Broadway and started up town. l paid
10 cents for stage fare and had Is cents
left, besides the twenty-dollar bill, for
which l had special use. That was Just
the price of n cocktail. l wanted that
cocktail when l got up to Bond street. So
got out and got it. That warmed me
up a little and l started to walk up town.
mike Murray was running a gam
bling saloon on Eighth street then. l
drifted over there with my twenty-dollar
bill, and there's where my experience be-
gan.
'1t wasn't rs lard to get into a gam
bling house then as it is now, and | had
no trouble in reaching the faro table.
NV head was far from level, but in a
spirit of recklessness | threw down my
twenty-dollar bill and called for a stack
of dollar chips. l got 'em, and l also got
the drink of whiskey l called for.
81 drank frequently and played with
varying luck. Whiskey and settler was
my drink, which was served at the table
where | sat. Finally | ordered Il bumper,
drank it, and that is the last l rcmem-
bcr."
"Nothing extraordinary in that, l
should say remarked one of the listen
ers. 'It was simply an ordinary case of
drunk"
Hold on a bit, and see" resumed the
old typographer. at will be novel before
I get through" lie puffed vigorously at
his cigar for IL moment and then resumed.
"The next thing | knew WAS when I
woke up and found myself in n strange
room. 1t was q little room, and its fur
niture of such a character as to indicate
that | was in II hotel.
''There was n bell pull hanging on the
wall near the bed That proved that. My
vest was On n chair near the bed. l
reached for it, for | was terribly thirsty,
and / wanted to see if there was any
money there to buy u drink with. You
can bet l was happy when found 81. IS.
So | pulled the bell.
"a bell boy responded and began cate
chising him, for ! wanted, above all
things, to find out if my room was paid
for, and how much money | had to the
good.
"'What can / do for you, STRIP asked
the kid who came up in answer to my
ring.
"'Tcll me where / am
"'You're in the Grand Central Hotel"
"'Good. What time is it?'
"rHalf-past 10 o'clock, sir
"AlI right. Bring me Il whiskcy cock
tall He started for it. Hold onl 1
shouted; don't be in such Il deuce OF q
hurry; make it two
"He made it two, and l never saw two
cocktails that tasted so good in my life.
Well, / paid the kid, and gave him 10
cents for himself. That used up a half
dollar. That left me n dollar and a quar-
ter.
Il got up, dressed, and went down
stairs to tackle the clerk and see if I'd
paid my bill. There was al awful crowd
in the corridors, but what brought them
there | couldn't imagine. Everything
that had happened in the past was a
blank. There seemed but one thing to be
done, that was to take n drink. / took it.
then had 10 cents besides my dollar.
"Then l went out and braced the clerk
and found out my bill was paid. That
cheered me up. So | went and took an
other drink. But the crowd in the hotel
bothered me, and | couldn't make out
what it meant. Finally l mustered up
courage to ask what was going IN.
"tWhy, they're receiving the Grand
Duke Alexis, answered the countryman
/ had tackled.
"He was astonished at my ignorance,
- 7 sl-ft H.. lsN .1,,l C.. T Ill.,