Milford chronicle., 1892-05-27
rHE raAaEoy Of agnay LITTLE.


A Case for Orthodox Congregationaiists
to Ponder over.
NV accidental walk through Water
street. tie first after many long years, re-
called the tragedy Of Henry Little I have
told YOU Of his birth on a farm in Ohio, d
bis GENTLE, God fearing mother, have hint
ed at his early religious sentiments, have
ala how he came to New York imbued
4oith a sincere notion Of rescuing immortal
s6uls. viii now recount a tragedy that
baA no equal in the wide range Of more
alAtu.enty years journalistic experience
For years Henry Little was unhag
gino in his devotion to the great cause.
AZ led the prayer meeting, he exhorted, he
evineed every purpose to continue in the
FOOD work that he had so heroically begun,
and as a final proof that he intended to de-
vote his soul and body to the service Of his
Redeemer he married young and comely
woman who had sought the shelter Of that
home from the streets.
For more than year their dual lives ap.
reared to be happiness ITSELF In the sum
mer of 1876 my duties had taken me TO
london, and for the time busy cares had
crowded all thoughts Of Henry Little out
of my mind.
on n fogov September afternoon in Lon
a.
anneared before NE in an Office on Fleet
street. whore was employed. It intro
dueed itself to me as that Of Henry Little
and aDpealed to me 20 rescue a young
woman whom he had induced to elope with
him to England. He asked nothing for
himself; said frankly that he was penni-
less and destitute; that the small amount
Of money he had had when they fooljshiy
embarked for Liverpool had been exhaust
ell that be had pawned every article of
iewelry that he or his girlish companion
possessed. and that while he cared not
what became of himself he did want to
save the foolish woman from the fate that
undoubtedly threatened her OF course
was shocked, but the surprise was TO fol-
low. He told me that he had left the
Young woman at Ludgate hill railway
/ station, and asked if / would kindly go
there and take her in cab to place Of
safety until her parents could be commu
nicated with by cable.
Without feeling any special interest in
the case beyond what l felt in him-and, /
may admit, in a rather confused state OF
mind-I went alone to Ludgate hill. It
was only a three minute walk. 1t had
never occurred to me that / would not be
able to recognize Titles partner in crime,
and it was not until had entered the gen
eral waiting room that that thought flashed
upon me. Before had decided what to do
/ the Young woman advanced, introduced
herself, and ] soon was made aware Of the
! fact that she was the daughter Of q man
who. after Banker Hatch, had most liber-
ally contributed to the support Of the re-
| formatory missions in Water and Dover
streets.
/ realized in an instant the awful blight
that this thOughtless girl had brought
upop a devoted father. To complete this
/ mart of the story cabled at once to New
| York and gave the girls parents the first
iutimation they had had for more than a
month as to their daughters whereabouts.
Back came a reply to draw for all neces-
sarv- expenses and send the young woman
/ home on the first steamer. This was done.
She arrived safely in New York, was for
/ given and resumed her old place in her
/ church.
had happened to be in the right place
at the proper moment and had been the
means of saving fellow mortal
For six months / heard nothing of Henry
| Little. The great city Of London had re
/ ceived and swallowed him as a mere atom
among its four millions of population.
One day saw in a New York paper that
/ Henry Little had appeared at the Tombs
without counsel, had surrendered, had
produced witnesses against himself, had
/ Dleaded guilty to the embezzement of a
small amount of funds belonging to the
/ Water Street Home for Women, and had
! been sentenced to a term at Sing Sing, In
the prison his conduct was most exem-
plary and he received full Communication
1 therefor When he emerged with the
prison pallor on his face-just as / had
seen it on Jerry McAuley's cheeks so many
years befOre-he called upon me to say
| that ne had turned his back upon an hon
est life, that virtue was a myth, that hon
est endeavor profted him nothing, that
| God had forgotten him, that hell was his
portion, and that he neither hoped nor
cared how soon he established the truth of
/ his belief
Never did fiend incarnate talk so wildly
| blasphemous as did this man, whom l had
| known in his gentle boyhood, who had been
\ raised in the county Of my nativity, and
\ who had been baptized in the village
| church. where his family had attended ser
vice for several generations.
He left me abruptly, before had recov-
/ cred from the shock which his words gave
me.
/ For years, often as l have thought of
| him, never have seen his name until l
read the account Of his tragic death while
robbing a bank in a Texas town.
/ He died burglar with his boots on
/ julius Chambers in New York Recorder.