Semi=weekly graphic., 1897-06-30

r5uard s. sloEe@t of Hoffman 1raase fame, who served four '.3,g4 i term in the Sing Sing prison 5or Einine Jim Fisk, and was f'- stared 10 citizenship by Governor cleveland, after his release, is said to 6c dying.
 4 stokes has been soiomning 5f Hot Springs, of Virginia, but on advice of his physician, he will I noaslbIe, 20 to Carlsbad, Germany in inc hone Of gaining relief. de is ssia to be 90 reduced in strength, however. as to make this trip im= nossible without endaneeting his life.
 Mir. Stokes gained wide attention in 1872 by killing Fisk He had come from Philadelphia, his native citQ. and was raising to a position of wealth aud inaeunce when the arapedy accnrscd. Young Stokes had been il bright fellow in college and Was ! general fagoriie with his classmates. His father, mer. chant of high standing in PhiIadel= mi. sent him to the metropolis, be iipging that here he would have wider scope for his talent
 Slokes arrived in New York il zfbs earfy sixties. Wal street was in il whi,l of wild and exciting spec aadons at the timo and the young Phifaaeiphiar plunged boldly into the whirlpool He swan straight as an arrow in the boiling sea and kept his head well above water.
 It was at this time that Jim Fisk, then perhaps the boldest and most successful plpnger in the Street and the partner of Jay Go1ld :n the Erie Railroad enterprise, made :he aeouainlance of Stokes and admit tcd him to his friendship. The two men soon became intimate and were much together after business hours. Stokes was a strikingly handsome man and he and Fisk made notable team in certain quarters of the city Fisk put chances in the way of his Friend, and Stokes, quick to grasp an opportunity, soon found the royal road to fortune He accepted all favors was discreet, had the rep utation Of being "a good fellow, and rapidly developed as a linaneier. Fisk prided himself on his keen in sight into human nature.
 Stokes is nice fellow, he wou.d say, "a capital fellow, but | would not trust him further than that.
 The athat9 was asnap of the iin- gers.
 The friendship between the men grew until, suddenly, the ties that bound them were snapped by a wo- man hand.
 Josie Mansfield, courtesan, young and beautiful, drifted to the metropolis from an interior city and with one glance of her eyes won Jim Fisk. He installed her in hand- some residence on West Twenty third street, and there she held re. captions that dazzied that psrt of the city.
 Ed Stokes was guest at one of these receptions. and the hostess looked upon him with extraordi- nary favor. Someone told Fisk of the progress Stokes had made in Josie Nlansheld's affections, and in stal.lly the ties that bound the friends were broken.
 Fisk deserted the woman ana started in to ruin Stokes ifi Wall street. He was doing it rapidly and remorselessly, when-Jahuaiy 4, 1872 meeting him on the grand stairway of the Grand cedtial ho- tel-now ibe Broadway Central
  Stokes shot and killad his former friend and patron.
 The trial and conviction of Stokes followed quickly and he. was fonne guilty of murder in the first degree When he heard the verdict Stokes sprang to his feet and cried iha' Jay Gould had purchased his con yictioD
 A new trial was demanded ant after one Of the most bitter lega battles in the history of crlm'na Jurisprudence. Stokes was sent t prison for four years oa 2 verdict 2 maEsiaughter
 h 1876 hewas pafd oaed md