The Saint Paul globe., 1896-07-31
FEAR OF THE DEVIL
iEi'
SOME REMARKABLE PANIcs AMONG
SCHOOL CHILDREN OF NEW
YORK.
BEELzEBUB PUT TO FRIGHT.
ROYs QUIETED THE GIRLS AND
DISPERSED A SUPERSTI-
TIOUS MOB.
DEVIL SEEING IN ALL AGES.
Luther's Wurzburg Experience With
the DeviI-Some Queer Hal
1ucinatiOns.

The fear of Beelzebub is strong upon
the miserable masses who constitute
the population of New York citys pow
erty stricken East side Ignorance pre-
walls there. and superstition is rife
Out of this universal superstition has
arisen recently remarkable series of
devil seeing panics.
Strangely enough, these devil panics
have centered in the public schools.
It is generally agreed that little
lIebreW girl started the scare She
heard at home that the millennium, or
rather, the jewish equivalent, was
coming, and that prior to its arrival
the devil was coming to remove such
people as had forfeited their righ. to
paradise. The youngster told this story
in the school and the result was soon
apparent. The children did nothing
but talk about the expected visit of the
devil and worked themselves up to
such a state of nervousness that when
the author of the yarn rushed into the
playroom one afternoon, shrieking at
the top of her lungs that she had just
seen the devil, there was a stampede
Although this trouble was soon sup
pressed, the damage was done. and the
The children of other schools talked
about 1t in whispers, and the story
gradually increased in horrible details
until a point was reached where the
mere cry of 1.-The devil! was enough
to set thousand children wild.
The story of the panic in the gram
mar school at Houston and Sheriff
. streets will serve as a sample Of all.
Or1n ,{r,-r Ioe,e
were assembled in the basement play
room waiting for school to open. Sud-
denly little girl dashed from behind
pillar and fed into the street, cry
ing:
''The devil! I've seen the devil!'
Her companions dashed after her,
shrieking. One Of them fell at the
door, and before they could stop a
dozen others tripped and fell upon her
No one was badly hurt, but the uproar
was increased, and almost instantly
a report spread through the neighbor-
hood that something awful had hap
pened at the school. The cries of the
children seemed to confirm the report.
The tenements poured forth terrified
mob of men and women, wild, bare
headed, breathless. They believed that
their children were in danger and
mobbed the school and attempted to
force the doors.
what is it?" they demanded fierce
ly. whats the matter?" Where are
our children?"
IT'S DEVIL" terrified girl p:ped
up. Mamie seen it!''
NO cried a man in the mob; 'its
| fire; / see the smoker
A.
rcr. 'sLet the children out! Let us inr'
Still the tenements poured out terror
stricken parents and late school chill
dren. The street was blocked The lit
tie girls who had run from the build
ing were in danger of being trampled
to death. The crowd itself, wild and
Clamoring, seemed to confirm It's own
worst fears. 1t howled in many
tongues and rushed at the school doors.
These doors open outward and the
rush was easily checked. Two police
men tried to force the mob back, but
for time they were powerless Then
came proof of the value of school dis
cip1ine. The larger boys, who had
reached the school, had not rushed out
with the frightened girls. They made
up the school guard and have been
drilled in the work of preserving order
by the assistant principal
his closed doors and gave them their
instructions in second.
This is all nonsense boys" he said.
i want you to bring the little girls
inside and quiet that crowd. Clear the
sidewalk in front and tell them there
is no danger and that no one is hurt"
The boys, led by their captain, Harry
Leon Kr1ngle, opened the front door and
dashed out. Their organized rush forced
hQ Iy fIn u
walk. They rounded up the little girls,
and, saying to each, 'The principal
wants you inside at once" pushed them
into the school, where they were lined
up and reassured by Miss Bell their
head teacher. The boy guards, SO of
them, cleared a space of sidewalk rs
feet long.
The principal closed the door again
when the little ones were inside and
devoted himself to the work Of quieting
the crowd. The teachers inside started
a song, and the pupils joined until the
chorus could be heard in the street.
The effect was magical.
Nothing has happened" the princi-
pal said. There is no cause for fear
1t would be better if you were to dis
perse."
Let us in where the children are"
sturdy Polack demanded. Let us
see for ourselves
My friend, you must go away and
be quiet" the principal said.
mo-" the man shouted. Let US in"
The crowd, still fearful, was reas-
sured by the singing, but still fingered.
The principal beckoned to a policeman,
and the leaders of the mob fed After
that the police, who had been re-en-
forced, soon dispersed the crowd
And so by 9 O'Clock the panic and riot
were over, and 2,20O children were at
their desks. Beelzebub had been rout-
ed, but it was sharp fighting. The
school guard, young as it's members
are, was of the greatest assistance.
Devil seeing Is not new hallucina-
ton, nor is it confined to the east side
of New York. Moncure D. Conway, in
his "Demonology and Devil Lore" tells
of the visions of the "devip' that oc-
CURED to the Fairfax family, who saw
his majesty on several occasions and