The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-05-23
SISTER OF CHAR|TY'S PERIL
Alone on a Roof With an
Escaped Dangerous
Lunatic.

One of the good Sisters of St. Francis
of the Poor had a narrow escape from a
possibly horrible death at ST. q
Hospital ON Saturday afternoon, She was
alone on the roof of the tall building with
a maniac. Below were nothing but flag
stones upon which she would have been
dashed to death had the mind Of the man.
lac taken a dangerous turn other than
that of a combination of meekness and
fear.
This maniac escaped from Snake Hill
three weeks ago and had been searched
for ever since. He was Stephen Lazarus
brought up in the neighborhood of sixth
and Henderson streets, and confined 70
the Snake Hill Asylum three years ago
as a dangerous lunatic. Two years ago
he escaped from that asylum. He was
found by the police at Carscallen's feed
mill at Eleventh and henderson streets,
where he had a brother employed. He
was brandishing a razor and threatening
the lives of the employees. He was sent
back to Snake Hill. Four or five months
ago he became i'll and was transferred to
the Asylum Hospital. 1t was from this
institution he escaped three months ago.
On Tuesday last he applied for admis-
sion to St. Francis Hospital. The man
looked h~aggard, Ill and careworn. He
said he had no friends in the city. Elk
animation showed that he was really ill.
The Sisters in charge took pity on him,
and he was given a bed in the mems ward
on the third floor. He gave the attend
ants little trouble, and was regarded as
an ordinarily, we'll behaved patient.
On Saturday afternoon at three O'Clock
on the fourth IGOR were aston
ished by loud rappings on the skyilgnt OF
the roof. Looking up they beheid Laz-
arus. He seemed to enjoy their aston
ishment. The Sisters didn't view the
matter in the light of a joke. Open doors
and windows leading to the tire escape
the roof He had left the third story and
climbed to the fourth on the south wing
From there he walked around the veran-
da to the east wins and climbed to the
roof.
One of the Sisters went up on the roof
after him. She believed him to be play
ing some kind of a prank. she ordered
go down ahead of me this minute"
commanded the Sister, or I'll immediate
ly send for the police
The sound of the word police" immedi.
ately changed the whole deineanor OF
Lazarus, who had been lodging them for
three months. He became as doclle as
lamb and as polite as a Chesterfleld;
Back to the ward he climbed, and
walked as though he thought the ponce
were already on his heels. When he got,
below. however, he became obstreperous.
1t was then the Sisters and attendants
became alarmed. The police at h Sew
anth street station house were commune
Gated with by telephone. A few moments
later the Second precinct patrol wagon
rolled up in front of the hospital. AS
soon as the dryer, John Dooley, set ms
eyes upon the obstreperous patient he ex-
claimed
"Why, that Steve Lazarus, a dangerous
iunatic escaped from Snake Hill, and for
whom we've been looking these three
months
When the brave and unsuspecting Sister
who had followed the maniac
to the roof and ordered him
down, heard of this. and re-
allied The peril to which she had sub
jected herself, She almost swooned. She
naturally attributed her miraculous es-
cape TO Divine Providence.
Lazarus was sent to the county jan,
from where he will be sent back to Snake
Hill.