The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1890-01-15

My friend Jenkins, who is connected
with the reportorial staff of one of the
morning papers, has an unconquer-
able propensity TO delye into the niys-
tterious-a failing. by the way, which
pursuit of his professional duties OPP
portunities were not lacking for the
qualification of his peculiar penchant,
and, as a result, his stock of stories,
when in a reminiscent mood, are end
less.
One day, while seated in a Park
row resort for the metropolitan Bohe-
mians, was fortunate enough to find
him in a loquacious mood, and was
not slow to draw him out" as the
lawyers say.
profound students of psychology
and metaphysics, began this Bohc
milan lover of the morbid and bizarre
in life, ARE aware that in apparently
sane and healthy people a lurking
predilection for dcpravity in some of
its innumerable phases exists un-
known TO their nearest friends. Tho
unhappy victims of this morbid trait
are, of course, aware of their moral
delinquency, but make no effort TO
overcome it, aware, no doubt, of the
futility of such an attempt, such traits
it&l and, therefore, insupcrable, or,
more properly speaking, incradicable.
Masters of fiction have from time to
time chosen as their heroes or heroine
members of this class of humanity, as
for instance Stevenson's 'Jekyll and
Hyde. The elaboration OF the char
acter Of the physician Jekyll was un-
dertaken by the great novelist to dc
monstrate the practicability of tran
scendental medicine.
During my connection with the
daily press of this city / have in the
pursuit of my professional duties met
with some strange incidents, among
which the case of Emma Brown stands
out boldly. An ultra-fashiOnable bevy
of young ladies, moving in the most
aristocratic of this great city's social
circles, gave a fair at one time for
acharitable purpose. The patrons of
the fair consisted exclusively of the
creme de Ia creme of metropolitan
society. The social standing of the
course, precluded the possibility of any
person other than the wealthiest from
attending. 1t is needless to say that
it was Tremendous success in a finan-
cial sense.
but it isn't of the fair that I'm go
ing TO speak, but of the beautiful
young lady, who among the many
beautiful young ladies who were her
co-laborators at the bazaar, was abso-
lutely the queen regnant. The per-
suasive and electrifying smile that
played in bewitching undulations
around her sweet mouth were the all
potent magnet which drew the dollars
of the sterner sex from their pockets
and swelled the receipts of the under
taking.
Il was assigned to write about the
affair for my paper, and can personal
ly testify as to the beauty and grace
of the elegant and charming Emma
Brown"
At this stage of his narrative Jenkins
asked for light, and after blowing an
cvanescent cloud of fragrant smoke
from his Reina turned his keen and
searching eyes upon me and said con-
fdentially in an undertone:
Her name was not Emma Brown ;
what 1t really doesn't matter / saw
her frequently after that at many no
table social gatherings, and she was
invariably the cynosure of all eyes,
literally the observed of all observers.
She acted as bridesmaid at the
wedding of one of New York's richest
ladies, and as l was assigned to write
it it is needless to say that she figured
conspicuously IN my report In fact,
TO be brief in the description of her
personality, she was the petted iaugh-
ter of wealth and society belle.
'.At about this time the police got
wind of the existence of gang of
young thieves of both sexes operating
in the slulns of one of the down town
wards. either the Fourth or Sixth, 1
don't distinctly remember which. One
of their number, hardened and incor-
rigible Young thief of the Artful
Dodger type, was arrested for picking
pockets in the Bowery: The property