City Crimes; Or, Life in New York and Boston

by George Thompson

  CHAPTER XVI

  _Showing the Voluptuous Revellings of the Rector and the LicentiousJosephine, and illustrating the Power of Temptation over Piety andMorality._

  Alas, for Dr. Sinclair! the masquerade ball, and the triumph ofJosephine Franklin, were but the commencement of a career of folly andcrime on his part. From that fatal night in after years of remorse andmisery, he dated his downfall.

  He became a frequent visitor at the Franklin House, and continued hisguilty amour, with unabated zeal. Yet neither his own idolizingcongregation, nor the admiring world, suspected his frailty; he wasregarded as the most exemplary of Christians, and the best of men. Whenin the pulpit, it was often remarked that he seemed absent-minded, andill at ease; he did not preach with his usual fluent and fervideloquence, nor pray with his accustomed earnest devotion. In person,too, he was changed; his eyes were red, as if with weeping; his cheekswere pale and haggard, and the rosy hue of health was gone. His dresswas frequently neglected and disordered, and he even sometimes appearedwith his hair uncombed, and his face unshaved. These indications ofmental and personal irregularity were much noticed and commented upon byhis congregation, comprised as it was of people the most aristocraticand particular.

  'Our dear pastor is ill,' said they, with looks of concern and sympathy;but in answer to the numerous questions addressed to him in reference tothe state of his health, he denied the existence of all bodily ailment.

  'Then he must be affected with some mental disquietude,' said they, andforthwith he was beset by a tribe of comforters; one of whom had at lastthe audacity to affirm that the Doctor's breath smelt unpleasantly ofwine!

  This insinuation was received with contempt, for the brethren andsisters of the congregation would not believe anything discreditable tothe beloved rector, and he continued to enjoy their confidence andesteem, long after they had begun to observe something very singular inhis conduct and appearance.

  But in truth, Dr. Sinclair had fallen from his high estate, and become awine bibber and a lover of the flesh. His stern integrity, his sterlingpiety, and his moral principle, were gone forever; the temptress hadtriumphed and he was ruined.

  Why are ministers of the gospel so prone to licentiousness? is aquestion often asked, and is often answered thus--Because they are a setof hypocritical libertines. But we say, may not we see the reason inthis: the female members of a church are apt to regard their ministerwith the highest degree of affectionate admiration--as an idol worthy tobe worshipped. They load him with presents--they spoil him withflattery--they dazzle him with their glances, and encourage him by theirsmiles. Living a life of luxurious ease, and enjoying a fat salary, hecannot avoid experiencing those feelings which are natural to allmankind. He is very often thrown into the society of pretty women of hisflock, under circumstances which are dangerously fascinating. The'sister,' instead of maintaining a proper reserve, grows toocommunicative and too familiar, and the minister, who is but a man,subject to all the weaknesses and frailties of humanity, often in anunguarded moment forgets his sacred calling, and becomes theseducer--though we question if literal _seduction_ be involved, wherethe female so readily _complies_ with voluptuous wishes, whichperchance, she responds to with as much fervor as the other partyentertains them. Therefore, we say that licentiousness on the part ofministers of the gospel is produced in _very many_ cases by theencouragements held out to them by too admiring and too affectionatesisters.

  One evening, Dr. Sinclair repaired to Franklin House at an early hour,for he had engaged to dine with Josephine. He was admitted by a tall,fresh-looking country lad, who had recently entered the house in thecapacity of footman, having been selected for that station by Mrs.Franklin herself, as the lady had conceived a strong admiration of hisrobust form and well-proportioned limbs.

  The Doctor found Josephine in her _boudoir_, voluptuously reclining upona damask ottoman, and languidly turning over the leaves of a splendidportfolio of engravings.

  'Ah, my dear Doc,' she exclaimed, using a familiar abbreviation ofDoctor, 'I am devilish glad to see you, for I am bored to death with_ennui_. Heigho!'

  'And if I may presume to inquire, Josey,' said the Doctor--'what haveyou there to engage your attention?'

  'Oh, views from nature,' she laughingly replied, handing him theportfolio for his inspection.

  Turning over the leaves, the Doctor found, somewhat to his astonishment,that the engravings were of rather an obscene character, consistingprincipally of nude male figures;--and upon these specimens of aperverted art had she been feasting her impure imagination. The time hadbeen, when the Doctor would have turned with pain and disgust from suchan evidence of depravity; but he had lately become so habituated tovice, that he merely smiled in playful reproach, and leisurely examinedthe pictures.

  'I commend your taste,' said he, at length. 'Our preferences are bothstrictly classical; you dote upon the Apollo Belvedere, while in you Iworship a Venus.'

  'Yes--_you_ are my Apollo,' she rejoined, with a glance of passion,encircling him with her arms.

  * * * * *

  Dinner was magnificently served in an apartment whose splendor couldscarce have been surpassed in a kingly palace.

  They dined alone; for Mrs. Franklin was invisible--and so, also, was thecomely young footman!

  After dinner, came wine--bright, sparkling wine, whose magical influencegilds the dull realities of life with the soft radiance of fairy land!How the foaming champagne glittered in the silver cup, and dancedjoyously to the ripe, pouting lip of beauty, and the eloquent mouth ofdivinity! How brilliant became their eyes, and what a glorious roseatehue suffused their cheeks!

  Again and again was the goblet drained and replenished, until themaddening spell of intoxication was upon them both. Hurrah! away withreligion, and sermonizing, and conscience! Bacchus is the only truedivinity, and at his rosy shrine let us worship, and pledge him inbrimming cups of the bright nectar, the drink of the gods!

  Then came obscene revels and libidinous acts. The depraved Josephine,attired in a superb robe of lace, her splendid bust uncovered, and hercheeks flushed with wine, danced with voluptuous freedom, while theintoxicated rector, reeling and flourishing a goblet, sang a livelyopera air, in keeping with her graceful but indelicate movements.Then--but we will not inflict upon the reader the disgusting details ofthat evening's licentious extravagances.

  Midnight came and the doctor, tipsy as he was, saw the necessity oftaking his departure; for though urged by Josephine to pass the nightwith her, he dared not comply, knowing that his absence from home allnight would appear strange and suspicious to his housekeeper anddomestics, and give rise to unpleasant inquiries and remarks. Hetherefore sallied forth, and though he staggered occasionally, he gotalong tolerably well, until he encountered a watchman standing halfasleep in a doorway, muffled up in his huge cloak; and then, with thatinvincible spirit of mischief which characterizes a drunken man, theDoctor determined to have a 'lark' with the night guardian, somewhatafter the fashion of the wild, harem-scarem students at the Universityat which he had graduated--in which pranks he had often participated.

  Leaning against a lamp-post support, he began singing, in a loud andboisterous manner--

  'Watchman--hic--tell us of the--hic--night.'

  Now it happened that the watchman was one of those surly ruffians whonever stop to remonstrate with a poor fellow, in whom wine has triumphedover wit. Instead of kindly inquiring his address, and conducting theunfortunate gentleman to his residence, the self-important pettyofficial adopted the very means to irritate him and render him moreboisterous. In a savage, brutal manner, he ordered the doctor to 'stophis d----d noise, and move on, or he'd make him!'

  'Nay, friend, thou art insolent,' remarked the young gentleman, whodrunk as he was, could not brook the insults of the low, vulgar ruffian.

  'Insolent, am I?--take that, and be d----d to you!' cried the fellow,raising a heavy bludgeon, and dealing the poor Doctor a blow on the headwhich felled him senseless to
the ground, covered with blood.

  'That'll teach you genteel chaps not to meddle with us _officers_,'growled the watchman. 'I wonder what he's got about him--perhaps somedangerous weapon--let's see.' Thrusting his hand into the pockets of hisvictim, he drew forth a valuable gold watch, and a purse containing aconsiderable sum of money. Why did he so rapidly transfer these articlesto this own pockets? Was if for the purpose of restoring them to theowner, on the morrow? We shall see.

  'I 'spose I'd better lug him to the watch-house,' said the'officer'--and he struck his club three times on the pavement, whichsummoned another 'officer' to his assistance. The two then raising thewounded man between them, conducted him towards the Tombs.

  The Doctor, awaking from his unconsciousness, and feeling himself in thegrasp of the watchman, instantly comprehended the state of affairs, andshuddered as he thought of his exposure and ruin. The fumes of the winewhich he had drunk, had entirely subsided; but he felt himself weak fromloss of blood, sick from his recent debauch, while the wound on his headpained him terribly. Oh, how bitterly he deplored his connection withthat depraved woman, who had been the cause of his downfall!

  The awful dread of exposure prompted him to appeal to the mercy of hiscaptors.

  'Watchman,' said he, 'pray conduct me to my home, or suffer me to gothere myself, for with shame I confess it, I am a gospel minister, andwish to avoid exposure.'

  The two fellows laughed scornfully. 'Don't think to come that gammonover us,' said they. 'A minister indeed!--and picked up blind drunk inthe street at midnight!'

  'But I have money about me, and will pay you well,' said the Doctor.

  The man who had struck him with the club, knowing that he had no money,affected to be indignant at this attempt to 'bribe an officer,' andrefused to release him.

  Oh, hapless fate!--truly the 'way of transgressors is hard.' The learnedand eloquent Dr. Sinclair--the idol of his aristocratic and fashionablecongregation--whose words of piety and holiness were listened to withattention by admiring thousands every Sabbath day--was incarcerated inthe watch-house! Yes--thrust into a filthy cell, among a swarm offelons, vile negroes, vagabonds and loafers--the scum of the city!

  The cell was about twenty feet square; one half of it was occupied by aplatform, at a height of four feet from the floor. This platform wascalled the '_bunk_,' and it was covered with the prostate forms of abouttwenty men, including the ragged beggar, the raving drunkard, and thewell-dressed thief--all huddled together, and shivering with the cold,which was intense. The stone floor of the cell was damp and covered withfilth; yet upon it, and beneath the _bunk_, several wretched beings werestretched, some cursing each other and themselves, others making theplace resound with hideous laughter, while one was singing, in drunkentones, a shockingly obscene song.

  Into this den of horrors was Dr. Sinclair rudely thrust; for no onebelieved his statement that he was a clergyman, and indeed hisappearance, when undergoing the examination of the Captain of the Watch,was anything but clerical. His face was covered with blood, his clothessoiled and disordered, his hat crushed, and his manner wild andincoherent. It is more than probable that, had the Captain known who hewas, he would have ordered his immediate discharge.

  Groping his way along the damp, cold walls of his cell, which was inprofound darkness, the Doctor stumbled over a person who was lying uponthe floor, writhing in the agonies of _delirium tremens_. In franticrage, this miserable creature seized the rector's leg, and bit ithorribly, causing him to utter a cry of agony, which was responded to byroars of laughter from the hellish crew. Extricating himself withdifficulty from the fierce clutch of the maniac, the unhappy gentlemanseated himself upon a large iron pipe which ran through the cell, andprayed for death.

  Slowly passed the dreadful night away; and the first faint rays ofmorning, struggling through the narrow aperture in the wall, revealed anappalling sight. Men made hideous and inhuman by vice and wretchednesslay stretched amid the filth and dampness of that dungeon, glaring ateach other with savage eyes. And soon the awful discovery was made, thatone of their number had, during the night, been frozen to death!Yes--there, beneath the _bunk_, cold and ghastly, lay the rigid corpseof a poor fellow creature, whose only crime had been his poverty! Outupon such justice and such laws, which tolerate such barbarities to onewhose misfortunes should be pitied, not visited by the damnable crueltyof the base hirelings of a corrupt misgovernment!

  It is not our wish to devote much time to the relation of unimportantparticulars; suffice it to say, that Dr. Sinclair was brought before thepolice for drunkenness, and was also charged with having violentlyassaulted Watchman Squiggs, who had taken him in custody!

  'You see, yer honor, I was going my rounds, when up comes this ere chapand knocks me down, and would have killed me, if I hadn't hit him alight tap on the head with my club. Then I rapped for help, and--'

  'That's enough!' growled the magistrate, who had himself been drunk thenight before, and was made irritable by a severe headache--'that'senough--he struck an officer--serious offence--looks guilty--oldoffender--thief, no doubt--send him up for six months!'

  The Doctor whispered a few words in the ear of the magistrate, whorubbed his eyes and regarded him with a look of astonishment, saying--

  'Bless my soul, is it possible? Dr. Sinclair--humph! Sentence isrevoked--you're discharged; the devil!--about to send you up for sixmonths--a great mistake, upon my word--ha, ha, ha!'

  The rector turned to watchman Squiggs, and said to him, sternly--

  'Fellow, when I fell into your infernal clutches, I had a watch andmoney about me; they are now missing; can you give any account of them?'

  The watchman solemnly declared he knew nothing about them! The Doctorfelt no inclination to bandy words with the scoundrel; he paused amoment to reflect upon the best course to pursue, under the disagreeablecircumstances in which he found himself placed. A feasible plan soonsuggested itself, and leaving the police office, he stepped into ahackney coach, and requested the driver to convey him with all despatchto Franklin house. Arrived there, he dismissed the vehicle, andascending to Josephine's chamber, explained to her the whole affair, andthrew himself upon a sofa to obtain a few hours' necessary repose.

  As soon as he had left the police office, the magistrate whispered tothe watchman--

  'Squiggs, I know very well that you took that gentleman's watch andmoney. Don't interrupt me--I say, _I know you did_. Well, you must sharethe spoils with me.'

  'I'll take my oath, yer honor--'

  '_Your oath!_--that's a good one!' cried the magistrate, laughingheartily.--'d'ye think I'd believe you on oath? Why, man, you just nowperjured yourself in swearing that Parson Sinclair assaultedyou--whereas _you_ beat him horribly with your club, with littleprovocation, and stole his watch and money. I know you, Squiggs; youcan't gammon me. Once for all, will you share the booty with me?'

  The rascal dared not hesitate any longer; so with great reluctance hedrew the plunder from his pocket, and divided it equally with 'hishonor,' who reserved the watch for himself, it being a splendid article,of great value.

  Is any one disposed to doubt the truth of this little sketch? We assurethe reader it is not in the least degree exaggerated. The localmagistracy of New York included many functionaries who were dishonestand corrupt. Licentiousness was a prominent feature in the characters ofsome of these unworthy ministers of justice. Attached to the policeoffice was a room, ostensibly for the private examination of witnesses.When a witness happened to be a female, and pretty, 'his honor' veryoften passed an hour or so in this room with her, carefully locking thedoor to prevent intrusion; and there is every reason to suppose that hisexamination of her was both close and searching.

  We remember an incident which occurred several years ago, which is bothcurious and amusing. A beautiful French girl--a fashionablecourtezan--was taken to the police office, charged with stealing alady's small gold watch. Her accuser was positive that she had thearticle about her; her pocket, reticule, bonnet, hair, and d
ress weresearched without success. The rude hand of the officer invaded hervoluptuous bosom, but still without finding the watch. 'Perhaps she hasit in her mouth,' suggested the magistrate; but no, it was not there.'Where can she have hidden it? I am certain she has it somewhere on herperson,' remarked the accuser. 'I will examine her in private,' quoththe magistrate, and he directed the girl to follow him into theadjoining room. His honor locked the door, and said to the fairculprit--'My dear, where have you concealed the watch?' In the mostcharming broken English imaginable, Mademoiselle protested her innocenceof the charge, with such passionate eloquence, that his honor began tothink the accuser must be mistaken. 'At all events,' thought he, 'she isa sweet little gipsy;' and he forthwith honored her with a shower ofamorous kisses, which she received with the most bewitching _naivete_;but when he began to make demonstrations of a still more decided nature,she resisted, though unsuccessfully, for his honor was portly andpowerful, and somewhat 'used to things.' But lo! to his astonishment, he_discovered the watch_--and in _such_ a place! French ingenuity alonecould have devised such a! method of concealment, and legal researchalone could have discovered it.

  We left Dr. Sinclair in the chamber of Josephine, at Franklin House,reposing after the exciting and disagreeable adventures of the precedingnight. He awoke at noon, somewhat refreshed, and entered a bath whileJosephine sent a servant to purchase a suit of clothes, as those whichhe had worn were so soiled and torn as to be unfit for further service.

  Reclining luxuriously in the perfumed water of the marble bath, theDoctor experienced a feeling of repose and comfort. He had long learnedto disregard the 'still, small voice' of his own conscience; and,provided he could reach his home and answer all inquiries withoutincurring suspicion--provided, also, his having been incarcerated in thewatch-house should not be exposed--he was perfectly contented.

  His clothes being brought him, he dressed himself, and joining Josephinein the parlor, partook of a refreshing repast; then, bidding farewell tohis 'lady-love,' he took his departure, and proceeded to his ownresidence. In answer to the earnest inquiries of the members of hishousehold, he stated that he had passed the night with a friend inBrooklyn; and entering his study, he applied himself to the task ofwriting his next Sunday's sermon.