The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-02-07
NEW YORK GOSSIP.
SOME OF THE MANY CURIOUS
FEATURES OF GOTHAM LIFE.

FEATURES OF GOTHAM LIFE.
The De Lima Case-Now You See EN-.
Now You Don't-Roscoe Conknng's
Vanity-A New Story About HIM.
The Harris Murder Trial
Copyright, 1899, by the United PressN
TIE mysterious absence Of young Edward
De Lima has again called public attention
TO the ease with which a man can disap-
pear in New York. De Lima walked out
of his hotel on Fifth avenue at 10 o'clock in
the morning aud in city of 1000 900
vanished from the sight of man.
Such things are told in novels now
and then, in real life In this
city they happen, no one knows how often
1t is only in the case of a man of some
prominence OF wealth that more than a
passing mention is made Of a sudden and
often to be of special Importance as items
of news. 1t is an easy matter for q man to
lose himself in a great city.
The facilities for mysterious disap-
pearance are unsurpassed. The man who
desires to do so can get out OF the city I'M
observed or he can cross from the west
gin q new identity aud remain lost forever
to the persons who knew him under his old.
name. Then there are the rivers and the
bay. They bear no footprints of the throng
that annually disappear that way. II all
other means fail and man is still deter
mined to lose bin, elf to the world, Brooklyn
is only ten minutes journey across the river.
lie can go there.
Hundreds of men and women disappear
in this city every year, some only for a
time, others forever. Some leave the
country a few take the river route out of
the world, but undoubtedly a majority
remain in the city or the immediate vicin-
ity. So many persons live "A DIR. Jekyll
and Mr.. Hyde existence that when pow
erty or remorse compels them to give up
one life, they suddenly drop out OF the
circles they have chosen to abandon, and
in that little world they are known nc
more. It's much like the villain dropping
| through the trap door of the stage in tbs
last act of a modern melodrama, TO appear
on the street little later without his make
up. But seriously 1t is an easy matter for
| a person to disappear in New York SO sue
cessfully thesbest detectives can find no
trace Of them.
A NEW STORY OF ROSCOE CoNKLING.
All great men are sensitive and Roscoe
Conkling was extremely so. His particu'
lar W6dknokS was uI6SS anu DbTbOuhl dp-
| pearance. He wanted to dress we'll and look
we'll. but his taste in dress was very poor
| He knew this and was in the habit OF ask
| ing q friend to select his clothes for hin
when no ordered new suit. Among Conk
| ling's warmest personal friends was Wal
| street broker who is known as one Of the
| best dressed men in New York. One morn
| ing this broker received a telegram from
| Conkling asking him to come to the latter.
htroT NJ
brokers' time was very valuable, but &c
oblige his friend he left his business and hur.
ried to the senator's office.
Conkling talked to him for an hour OF
| various topics, and then confided to the
broker that he was about to purchase an
overcoat. he wanted his friend, the broker
to go along and select the coat for MIN. The
Wall street man was furious. He had LOST
hundreds of dollars already by his being
away from his office, but without word ht
went out with the senator to select the coat
| The Wall street man was joker in quie
way, and he resolved to get even with the
great politician. He selected for him o
| blue pea Jacket six inches shorter than his
dress coat, and Conkling bought 1t.
"Now senator, you need a red cravat,
| said the broker, and a red cravat was pur.
chased. With his pea jacket and red tie OF
| the senator's appearance was ludicrous II
the extreme. A reporter noticed his re
markable dress, and wrote a special stor,
about it. He took the copy to Conkling anC
| asked him to read it and suggest am
changes If it was not correct. ConKhnI
read the story and his face turned red anc
pale by turns.
"Young man, what,do you expect to gel
for thisp suddenly asked the senator il
thunder tones.
Il can sell that for $50" answered the re-
porter.
"In give you $500 not to publish it )" sale
Conkiug.
81 cannot accept your offer. but il tn
article is distasteful to you l will destro,
it."
The reporter threw the copy in the stove
young man, I'll never forget you. Here
! is my hand on it,"
The senator and the reporter shook hand
and until the death of the former they wer
warm personal friends.
THE HARRIS MURDER TRIAL
The trial of the young medical student
Carlyle w. Harris, on a charge Of murder.
ing his wife by morphine poisoning, brough
| to light a somewhat remarkable fac
| in the criminal history Of New York. Thi
was the first time in twenty years that {
man has been tried in the crimiDa
courts of this city on charge of commit
ting murder with poison. The creates
criminals in the country are supposed to b
in this city, and murder is here a fine art
Several hundred murders per year arr
/! probably committed. and the methods en-
| ployed by the murderers are various but
| for twenty years, SO far as the police records
| show, there was not single case of poison
ing. Men and women have been killed il
almost every way known to criminal in
genuity, but poisoning, one of the sures
and safest methods known, is rarely used.
CURTIS KINGLAKE.