Qass Book. COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT AsMODEUs IN New-York, ■With malice: toward none, with charity for all." President Lincoln. 2 (^^•\sc%^\^ .ii£w7:5^ c New- York : ■ LONGCHAMP & CO, PUBLISHERS. 1868. ^ Entered, according to Act of Congi-ess, in the year 1868, by LONGCHAMP & CO., In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New- York. JOHN A. OR*» t OREEK, PRINTERS, II AND 18 JACOB STREET, NEW-VOR». CONTENTS CHAPTER I. V'.'ii.î is something like a preface, . . . . CHAPTER II. ^l■ V t what cost luxury is obtained in New- York, 9 14 CHAPTER III. In v.h ^ Asmodeus, after adverting to some contradictions in the American cha- • ,cv begins Helena Ronfort's history, 26 CHAPTER IV. !n V, ; ' the reader makes the acquaintance of some eccentric characters, and in 4smodeus derides the American people for a predominating mania, aiiu aundry oddities, ^ ,8 CHAPTER V. Shows an expeditious way to settle accounts, and how tenants may pay their house-rents with little trouble to themselves, 55 CHAPTER VI. In which Asmodeus relates a sad mistake of Judge Lynch, 65 CHAPTER VII. Which may be passed over, if the reader does not care to read D. D, Merryman's adventures, gj CHAPTER VIIT. In which Asmodeus sketches the judiciary worid and institutions of New- York, . 99 vi Contents. CHAPTER IX. Shows the way the best institutions are sometimes vitiated, and also why popular governments are not always the cheapest, 117 CHAPTER X. In which it will be seen gambling, though prohibited by law, is an ordinary pas- time in New- York, 131 CHAPTER XI. In which Asmodeus descants on the most powerful agency of civilization in the United States, . . 147 CHAPTER XII. Gives the sequel of Helena Ronfort's historj', 161 CHAPTER XIII. In which, after " pitching into " politicians, Englishmen, and Indians, Asmodeus relates the adventures of Blanche Rivingston 174 CHAPTER XIV. In which Asmodeus takes the reader to an insane asylum ; then to a political club, which is but "one remove" from the former, ..... 195 CHAPTER XV. In which the reader assists at some religious services, intermixed with dancing and sundry recreations, .......... 213 CHAPTER XVI. Shows how and where the good people of New- York pass their evenings and spend their money, with little profit to their morals, ..... 238 CHAPTER XVII. Is a serious one, and ends with a catastrophe, 253 CHAPTER XVIII. In which Asmodeus relates Dr. Saunders's history, 274 CHAPTER XIX. In which Asmodeus, after speaking of the way many people live in New-York, takes the reader to a Pythoness, 287 Contents. vii CHAPTER XX. Shows the way to recover a lost article, and gives a pickpocket's confession, . 302 CHAPTER XXI. Contains a barber's authentic history, which exhibits some characteristics of an obsolete institution, 311 CHAPTER XXII. Takes the reader to a place where the Goddess Fortune is daily worshiped ; and, after assisting at a coroner's inquest, to the house of an aristocratic family, 344 CHAPTER XXIII. Contains a mendicant nobleman's historjs 366 CHAPTER XXIV. And last. Asmodeus's farewell to the reader 373 AsMODEUs IN New- York. CHAPTER I. WHICH IS SOMETHING LIKE A PREFACE. ,HOEVER has read the Lame Devil, from Le Sage,* has very likely wondered at the fancy of the novelist releasing a polite devil from his captivity in a vial, for the purpose of revealing to the world the mysteries of Spanish society. The poets of the eighteenth century yearned in song for the good old time when people amused themselves with fairy tales ; and in our own century we are even more in- clined to consider as a mere fancy of the mind the inter- ference of genii, either good or bad, in human affairs. True, writers of olden times have more than once al- luded to Asmodeus. In Tobit's book, for instance, he is made to bear a not very enviable character, being charged with the murder, one after another, of Sarah's seven husbands ; and for that bloody performance, he was pointed out as the demon of divorce, or the evil genius of marriage. Tobit himself could only get rid of * Bora in 1668, died in 1747. His works, Gil Bias and the Lame Devil, are among the most popular novels up to this day. 10 Asniodcus in New -York. this unwelcome visitor by dint of praying and fasting. It appears, also, that the great King Solomon got into diffi- culty with the same devil. According to the Talmud, he was expelled from his kingdom by Asmodeus ; and the au- thor or compiler of that book is cautiously reticent of the causes which brought on this catastrophe, through an ill- disguised fear of Asmodeus, whom he calls, with every mark of respect, the chief or prince of demons. Those who believe that Jewish legends emanated from God are, therefore, ill-qualified to discredit the existence of the personage we allude to, especially when we consider the remote times in which the momentous events we have briefly related occurred. On the other hand, as the Mer- cure Galant^ a French periodical, asserted, in 1707 — the year the Laine Devil was printed — that Le Sage could never have written so charming a work but for the help of a supernatural genius, one is free to believe Asmodeus did really remove the roofs of the houses of Seville, to show to an eager public what was going on therein. We admit, moreover that our hero has been seldom heard of, either in the Old or the New World, for one hun- dred and fifty years past ; the consequence being, that peo- ple have come to doubt whether he ever existed. What he did during that long period of time ; where he resided ; the services, good or bad, bestowed by him upon mankind, are circumstances involved in obscurity, and which I could not learn, though enjoying Asmodeus's friendshijD several days. That friendship and how it happened are, after all, the points of interest for the reader ; for to this circumstance is due the present work. So, dropping all needless disqui- sition concerning the existence of the prince of demons, I will explain how I became acquainted with Asmodeus. Asmodeus in New -York. 1 1 I had just arrived in the commercial metiopoHs of the United States, not for the jDurpose of studying the manners and institutions of that great country, (an enterprise which had been so successfully done, it seems, a few years before that it opened to two young writers the doors of the French Academy,) but — -and I state it plainly— only to make money. People want plenty of elbow-room in the Old World ; and the New offers to merchants and operatives facilities to be found nowhere else. But with whatever en- ergy he has been endowed, no man finds it easy to ac- quire wealth or achieve success in a foreign land. Every thing is against him. He struggles among men whose tra- ditions, habits, and laws are unknown to him. He feels his way in the dark, and often stumbles into pitfalls. Guides for travelers ha.ve been published in every lan- guage, in both hemispheres ; but if any one be enlightened as to the roads he has to follow and the stopping-places where he may gratify his curiosity, he is, nevertheless, left in the dark as regards the habits of the country he goes through. Their institutions themselves remain a dead let- ter for want of opportunity to see them in operation, as the most ingenuous commentaries leave too often in unpreju- diced minds false or exaggerated notions. In our age, the fight for a living is difficult everywhere ; a great deal more so when carried on in a strange land, and against adversa- ries to whom a knowledge of their native country and its wants secures, almost to a certainty, the prize. Now, while I was thinking over the adventurous spirit which drives, nowadays, so many young men from their native land, and wishing to possess some magical power through which I could detect the weak points of those among whom I was destined to live, somebody knocked at my door, and I saw coming in A sin ode II s in Nezv-York. ASMODEUS ! Such, at least, was the name by which the individual who interrupted my meditations introduced himself ; and on hearing this name, which has so conspicuously figured in both ancient and modern literature, I stared with aston- ishment at the stranger. He had all those peculiarities of figure and countenance that tradition gives to Asmodeus — a mocking smile, a small stature, and a queer though tasteful dress. He was leaning on a stick — a needful companion, as I supposed, for his claudication. He sub- mitted awhile to my examination, and then said : " I am Asmodeus — the same that conducted a favorite novelist through the labyrinth of human passions. Euro- pean people and their vices have been so often depicted, that in America only we may expect to find something new. Yet, even here, new pictures of society are not easily taken, as mankind is nearly the same ever^^where. Whatever be its climate, we find the same passions, vices, and faults, in every country. The complexion changes, the blood is more or less colored, but the passions that burn under our mortal envelope are nearly identical, whether men lire near the frozen seas or by the banks of the Orinoco. Still, in spite of hundreds of books published at home and abroad, the United States are little known, and no coun- try, on account of its future greatness, deserves to be more closely surveyed. The task, I admit, is not an easy one ; for American society likes to enshroud all its actions, good or bad, in mystery, and it especially distrusts foreigners. When Americans condescend to show themselves, it is with the expectation that the observer will be favorably impressed. You wish to know something of the doings and feelings of a people among whom you have resolved Asmodeus in Ncw-Yoi'k. 13 to settle. Come along, then, with me ; I will show them as naked as was Truth when emerging from the well. I care little whether I am pointed out as a good or bad spirit ; I shall be satisfied if I succeed in amusing and teaching the reader. Such was the run for the book I suggested to Le Sage in the last century, that two young men fought a duel for the possession of the last copy. But it is not for me to promise you the same infatuation from the public for the work that will reflect, as in a trusty mirror, our strollings in New-York. The present generation is dull, and soon becomes tired of every new thing. I am well aware of it ; and it remains to be seen how they will welcome the name of a devil whose mirth their forefathers so much enjoyed." I eagerly availed myself of the proffered opportunity to become at once acquainted with the men and things of the New World ; and as Asmodeus warned me we should visit the mansions of the wealthy, as well as the abodes of vice and misery, I hastily threw a cloak over my best clothes, and went out with my unexpected and obliging guide. CHAPTER II. WHICH SHOWS AT WHAT COST LUXURY IS OBTAINED IN NEW-YORK. U OU are the Count of Montgomery," said Asmo- deus, knocking at the door of a splendid resi- dence situated in one of the principal avenues of New-York. "A title of nobility has a pleas- ant sound in this country, which boasts of democratic insti- tutions. As for the name you assume, nobody will quarrel with you about it ; for heraldic science is very limited among men unincumbered with a nobility ; and besides, every body takes up, as a matter of course, whatever name suits him. Not a few even change that commodity as often as their linen. We have Washingtons and La Fayettesby the dozen, their number being quite as large as the innumerable Smiths and Browns. Another peculiarity of the American people deserves also to be noticed : many a father names his son, besides his Christian name, after either a friend, benefactor, or some great man, dead or living. When two or three generations have passed away, the family name is lost sight of, and the other, more pleasing or better known, holds its ground. It is in that way we have in the United States so many families who delight in the name of Wash- ington — not to speak of other famous names — though in reality they have no blood relation with the founder of the great republic." We entered. The lady of the house, richly attired in a Asmodeiis in Neiv-York. 15 silver-brocaded dress and wearing a crown of diamonds, very kindly welcomed us, thanking Asmodeus for bringing in a distinguished stranger. The introduction over, we mingled with the crowd, and went through the rooms opened to the guests, while the lady led to an adjacent room a few female friends, to show them her necklaces, rings, bracelets, and other jewels. " American ladies," said Asmodeus, " avail themselves of every opportunity to exhibit their treasures, down to their silver, china, and linen. They are fond of jewels, the most showy being especially in favor. But I would not war- rant that all those gems that flash in the gaslight are genu- ine stones. There is such a demand now for California diamonds that, very likely, many sets now adorning the wives of lucky speculators are mingled with worthless imi- tations. Time is necessary to learn how to distinguish precious stones from spurious ones, and few persons can devote as much leisure as did yonder Jew banker in col- lecting pearls, the smallest of which in his possession is worth twenty thousand dollars. He recently gave to his wife a necklace made up of twenty of such pearls, and their number increases every year." In the mean while, dancing had commenced in several spacious rooms ; in others, card-playing was being in- dulged in. Servants, wearing black garments and white neckties, were busy carrying refreshments around. Many persons, preferring the pleasures of eating to those of play- ing or dancing, were seated in another room at a table load- ed with meats and delicacies. Next to this, another room, elegantly furnished, was crowded with young and old men, indulging in smoking. Boxes of cigars were piled up on elegant étagères ; and I noticed that many a smoker, be- sides the cigar he was smoking, filled his pocket with that 1 6 Asmodeus in New -York. luxur)^ ^^'hiîe going through the several rooms opened to the pubhc, Asmodeus called my attention to their costly furniture. Some of these rooms were lined with fine bro- catel, imported from France and Italy, China and Japan, the latter conspicuous for their fantastical drawings and patterns ; others with Persian and Indian cloths ; and the several pieces of furniture were of unexceptionable taste. Some were inlaid with gold, bronze, or China ; some were made up of rosewood artistically carved. Gems of art and curiosities of every description were displayed upon étagères ; and through the house, made bright as day by hundreds of gaslights, one w^alked on soft, smooth carpets of the best manufactures of Europe. They alone were worth a fortune. Amazed at such luxury, exceeding that of many a patri- cian family in Europe, I thought our Amphitryon was either one of those wealthy merchants whose ships carry the American flag over the broad ocean, or those manufactur- ers who build up enormous fortunes at the expense of the public. *' You are mistaken," said Asmodeus. " We will call, by and by, on one of those merchant-princes you allude to. For the present we are in the house of one of Juno's priest- esses. You are aware, Juno was called Lucina when she superintended the birth of children. But the lady who has welcomed us so kindly is far from assisting in the birth of children ; her calling, on the contrary, is to prevent it ; she practices inf^mticide every day, and it is by carrying on this business she has obtained the wealth she is making so great a display of Every one of those window-shades, so nicely arranged to ward off the rays of the sun, cost one thousand dollars. They were painted by our best artists, none of them having declined to display his talent for the Asinodeiis in Neiv-York. 17 benefit of Madame Killer — such is the name of the owner of this splendid residence. As there are thirty windows, you may easily figure up the cost of those gorgeous shades. That of all the furniture is in the same proportion : every piece of it, I dare say, has been purchased with the money received for the murder of a child." Bewildered at these revelations, I thought Asmodeus was deceiving me. He quietly continued : " That stout gentleman, going from one to another, and making himself affable with every body, who looks like a good-natured person, and whose unctuous manners remind one of a clergyman, is the husband of Madame Killer. He is an accomplished scholar, and has obtained his diploma from one of our best medical colleges. He might have obtained a competency by honest practice. But when Ma- dame Killer, already enriched through her nefarious busi- ness, hinted that she was disposed to marry him. Bungling eagerly took the hint, and espoused this abortionist. " Of course, after the marriage, Madame Killer retained her own name, as it was already a notorious one. Love, you may be sure, had nothing to do with this matrimonial transaction. Madame Killer married Bungling because his science might be of some service in many delicate cir- cumstances — in about the same way a merchant takes in a partner when he has too much to do. The couple have been uniformly prosperous since they married, about ten years ago. True, they had two or three unpleasant mis- understandings with the police on account of a few poor creatures dying of ill-treatment at their hands ; but they came out of all of them triumphantly." " Must I infer from this that the laws of America do not punish infanticide ?" said I, " that fearful crime of getting rid of children before or after their natural birth. Even 1 8 Asmodeus in New -York. the unfortunate who stakes her life to conceal the conse- quences of a fault is amenable to law ; she is punished for child-murder, as well as her accomplice, in every civilized country." " By and by," answered Asmodeus, " I will explain that subject to you. I will content myself, for the present, by saying that the laws of America are no less severe than those of Europe, as regards the crimes of infanticide and abortion. But in such cases, as well as in many others, the law often remains a dead letter." I longed to depart from the house. I fancied, after As- modeus's frightful revelations, the very air we breathed w^as impregnated v/ith deadly miasma. Dancing had been interrupted for a while ; and in a hall, connected with a conservatory filled with rare and odoriferous plants, a concert was beginning. Every note from a sonorous piano sounded in my ear like the wailing of one of those poor little beings the Amphitr^^ons had brought to an untimely death. And then, of what character were those women, crowding the rooms, in spite of the crumpling of their splendid dresses t Who w-ere those men, who had either accompanied or were courting them ? " You are quite mistaken," said Asmodeus, " if you be- lieve we are in the midst of a mixed crowd, such as that denominated the de?ni-7nonde in the French capital, and not tolerated, as yet, at private receptions here, or at places of public resort. To be sure, what is called the social evil unfortunately exists in New- York as in the large cities of Europe ; but it keeps aloof from decent society. It is true, that such is the discretion of corrupt females, it is often impossible to distinguish an honest woman from one who has lost her chastity. Of course, I do not speak of those creatures so deeply fallen into habits of corruption • Asmodeus in New -York. 19 that they shrink no longer from exhibiting their degrada- tion. Perhaps we shall have an opportunity of visiting the backgrounds of our civilization, where those wretched creatures live. For the present, I must set you right con- cerning the standing in society of the guests of this house. " Most of those men, who so often appreciate the good things serv^ed around by the waiters, are wealthy merchants, lawyers, and physicians. I even recognize among them a few magistrates and legislators. They have accompanied their wives ; and some even have brought their daughters to this dreadful house, where some unfortunate woman is, perhaps, dying in the upper story, and paying with her life the violation of nature's laws. Some guests have come through curiosity, attracted by the splendors of a residence opened for the first time to the gaze of strangers. Others have availed themselves of the opportunity of gayly spend- ing here a few idle hours, and do not trouble themselves with the Amphitryons' respectability. Lastly, many guests did not deem it safe to decline Madame Killer's invita- tion • for that Thug of society holds in her hands the honor of hundreds of families, and it would be dangerous to arouse her resentment. A single word from her lips, some well-concocted story, would bring on awful scandals. She could, for instance, apprise yonder husband, so atten- tive to his wife, that the latter, during the two years he has served his country abroad, has applied to Madame Killer's art to remove the consequences of an adulterous intrigue. That young man who has just inherited a large estate, and seems so much enamoured of that light-haired young lady, might learn to-morrow morning, through an anonymous letter, that the fair beauty, instead of spending, as he be- lieves she did, the summer months in the country, had secreted herself in Madame Killer's hospitable house. 20 Asmodeus in New -York. " Undoubtedly, the dread of some awful revelation has brought here many persons, as out of five hundred invited guests only a few do not attend Madame Killer's soirée. But I am far from believing that they would not have come under any circumstances, even had they been free from fear of personal consequences. Madame Killer is wealthy, and nobody cares about the way she has obtained her wealth. Whoever is worth one million dol- lars, no matter how acquired, honestly or dishonestly, is welcome everywhere, and his soirées and receptions are attended by the best society. I see, for instance, talking with Madame Killer, a merchandise broker, whose name was given to a ship launched this very morning, and who would be shut out of decent society in any other countiy. Three years ago, he failed to the amount of two or three millions of dollars. According to his balance- sheet, he could pay fifty cents on the dollar ; but when his book-keeper joyfully informed his employer of such an unexpected result, ' Change it, by all means,' exclaimed the broker ; ' my creditors do not expect even fifteen cents on the dollar, and were I to give them fifty, what benefit would I derive from my failure ?' And he paid ten cents only on the dollar. " Near that honest broker, who has become wealthy in consequence of that transaction, and at the same time a man of importance, being now a director of a trust com- pany and other concerns, see that young man wearing side-whiskers, after the English fashion. His light hair and blue eyes denote his German origin. He is an ex- change broker, and made two hundred thousand dollars last year in this quick way : Pretending to have realized large profits in stock-gambling, he succeeded in inspiring Asmodms in New -York. 21 such confidence in the president of one of our most re- spectable banks, where he kept his account, that his checks were indiscriminately certified by that officer. One check for two hundred thousand dollars was in that way certified, and the money had just been paid out to a compeer, when the directors of the bank discovered the adventurer had but a small deposit in their hands. He failed the next day, and the president, who had rashly caused a heavy loss to the bank, blew out his own brains. " The guest who is making his bow to the lady of the house was formerly secretary of one of our railroad com- panies. The stock had gone up one hundred per cent above par, on the strength of the managers' report, exhibit- ing the prosperous condition of the company's affairs, when an over-issue of stock, to the amount of two millions of dollars, was detected. To satisfy the public clamor, the secretary and another officer of the company were dis- charged. But all inquiry respecting this stupendous fraud was indefinitely postponed. The discharged employees of the company now live in high style, and give parties, which their former employers, the directors of the railroad concern, do not fail to attend. " Next to him, that dandy who is talking with a gentle- man whose beard, though he is a judge of the Supreme Court, might grace the chin of a musketeer, is a wealthy banker's son. He is fresh from the State's j)rison ; and, strange indeed, the magistrate he is speaking to is the very one who sentenced him — perhaps, because of the pressure of public opinion, which must, after all, be taken into consi- deration. Our dandy, M^hen his father retired, became sole manager of a banking-house, and attempted to double, in a few weeks, the wealth his father had toiled thirty years to accumulate. Discarding legitimate speculation, he 22 As moduli S in New - York. gambled at the Stock Exchange, which soon swallowed up the money and other deposits confided to his keeping. Then he became almost crazy. To keep up his credit with our banks and procure resources, and led astray by the hope of realizing profits large enough to make up his losses, he became a forger. He imitated the signatures of his correspondents, his own friends — in fact, of every body in town ; and, one morning, the people were startled in reading in the newspapers that forged notes, amounting to several millions of dollars, were flooding the street. The young man was sentenced to prison for a term of five years — one for each forged million, as remarked the wag who is now talking with him." " How is it he is out of prison ?" " That is precisely a point of American law which de- serves a passing notice. Most of the State governors are vested with the pardoning power. When the exercise of such a prerogative devolves upon State legislatures, corrupt- ing influences are less to be apprehended. A single indi- vidual maybe coaxed to pardon by his political friends, or even bribed. But money and political connections are of little avail when one has to deal with one hundred legisla- tors. In New- York State, the Legislature has no control over the pardoning power, which is vested exclusively in the governor. The family and friends of that youth rep- resented his crime, stupendous as it was, as the first he had ever committed ; its enormity was represented as a proof of temporary insanity — the great argument, nowadays, of our lawyers — and he was set free by the governor, after remaining a few months in prison. He shows hmiself again among the wealthy classes, and is as kindly received by them as he would have been had he never forged notes to the amount of several millions of dollars — so deeply Asniodcns in New - York. 23 rooted in the American people is the feeling of tolerance, and especially when those who are the objects of it are millionaires, or in a fair way to become so. " Among the fair sex here, many ladies really deserve that name from their decency — curiosity alone has attracted them ; but the dresses of many others, the most ele- gantly attired, have not been paid for by their husbands' money. How could it be otherwise, when most of them spend, in tinsel and jewels alone, the salary of those poor men, or the profits of their business ? I firmly believe that out of the three hundred male guests, one half of them earn hardly two thousand dollars per annum — about the rent of the houses they live in ; and how they are enabled to face their other expenses is a problem which Euclid himself could not solve. I apprehend, also, that more than one of those fair young girls knows the way to those fashion- able houses where foolish women, to satisfy their passion for luxur)", jeopardize their chastity. Others have, through correspondence carried on in our newspajoers, entered into some intrigue, the end of which, perhaps, will be an un- pleasant confinement in this house. But, contrary to what takes place in many countries, where men complacently boast of their amours with the fair sex, affairs of love are kept here sedulously shrouded in m3^stery — a progress anyhow, as it is a homage paid by vice to virtue and de- cency. Lovelaces and Celadons are far from having free scope in America. Women, when their honor, whether justly or unjustly, has been assailed, do not shrink from any means to protect it and avenge themselves. Some cowhide the indiscreet suitor ; others seek even in his blood a retaliation for a real or imaginary insult. " Public opinion ranges, in general, on the side of the fair sex, and the courts side with public opinion, when, in 24 Asmodcus in New -York. a case of seduction or of a breach of promise, the victims have recourse to them. Lovers are, therefore, affected with a salutary dumbness — being aware that their Hves or for- tunes are at stake, in case of any indiscretion. Add to this, that when an insulted wife, or a young girl whose prospects have been marred by a villain's treason, does not strive to vindicate her honor, her part is infallibly taken by a hus- band, a father, a brother, or even a cousin. The avenger provides himself with one of those pretty revolvers exhi- bited at all jewelers', and even in druggists' show-cases, and shoots down the defamer or seducer in broad daylight — even on the Sabbath-day, on the very steps of a church, as happened at the Federal capital a few years ago. True, the murderer is prosecuted ; but the jurors general- ly consider as justifiable murder the killing of a man for the above causes. And, in most cases, the man who has shed the blood of a fellow-creature reappears in society with an increase of popularity." At this moment, we noticed some excitement among a few young ladies standing near a songstress who had just been rapturously apjDlauded. A gentleman of command- ing appearance, but deadly pale, was speaking to her in a tone loud enough to be heard by those standing by. "You are certainly much indebted to Madame Killer," said the gentleman ; " but I wonder how you can sing in a house where you brought to an untimely death an innocent be- ing !" And bowing graciously to Madame Killer, he dis- appeared among the bewildered assembly. "Ah!" said Asmodeus, with a sarcastic smile; "the songstress's husband is dissatisfied with meeting her at Madame Killer's ; and this occurrence spoils that excel- lent person's parly ! Let us go ; we can do nothing more here, and have lime enough to visit one of those Asmodeus in New-York. 2$ merchant princes, as we call here traders who become millionaires, whom you alluded to, a few moments ago. And I purpose, as we go along, to relate to you the his- tory of the pair whose meeting has somewhat disturbed this partv." CHAPTER III. IN WHICH ASMODEUS, AFTER ADVERTING TO SOME CON- TRADICTIONS IN THE AMERICAN CHARACTER, BEGINS HELENA RONFORT's HISTORY. EOPLE, as individuals," said Asmodeus, snuff- ing the bracing air of the street, " exhibit con- tinual inconsistencies between their doings and their principles. Take, for instance, the Americans, who have inherited from the English a digni- fied prudery ; who go to church every Sunday ; and, ser- vice over, sing hymns at home the rest of the day ; who prohibit traveling on Sunday, and close up inns and tav- erns for the sake of keeping the Sabbath, as that day of rest is called in Protestant countries. Again, were we to believe this young nation's panegyrists, all and every American family is a sanctum of purity ; for whatever scandal or crime is served up to the public by the morn- ing papers is invariably attributed to foreigners. Well, on reading those same dailies, one is struck at the audacity and nakedness of their advertisements ; at the impudent transactions carried on through their columns. Were we to admit that style is the man himself, according to a pro- found thinker, might we not infer that the press is the mir- ror of a people's morals ? It is customary with American journalists to speak contemptuously of the miserable con- Asniodeits in Neiv-York. 27 dition of European populations ; to deride their habits and traditions ; to scoff at their corruption and moral decay. Still, in no country of Europe would newspapers dare to insert such indecent advertisements as those that disgrace the American» dailies ; and from which it might be inferred that there is no true appreciation, in the United States, of decency ; of reverence for law and religion ; of those re- fining influences which govern human conduct elsewhere. Nowhere in the Old World would a quack doctress be al- lowed to inform the public that her profession consists in preventing the natural birth of children and thwarting the laws of nature. That such a nefarious business is profit- able and extensive, is clearly shown by those very adver- tisements. Independently of the cause, common to all countries, which explains, though it does not justify, the crime of infanticide — I mean the desire to conceal the consequences of a fault — it seems that another has greatly contributed, within a few years past, to increase that fear- ful crime — I mean the fear of bringing up numerous chil- dren. In the New-England States, the number of children for each family, which was generally five before the War of Independence, is to-day but two. Many women, to satis- fy their love of luxury, undoubtedly prefer to spend for finery the money that should go toward bringing up their little ones, and are thus led by degrees to silence their conscience, and, finally, to offend the laws of nature. They even boast of their skill and success in violating those laws, when exchanging confidences with their friends ; which fact goes far to prove that the standard of morals is very low, at least in large cities. "If I had any desire to dwell upon such a subject, what details could I give concerning many lying-in establish- ments, whose advertisements are a puzzle to those not in- 28 AsiJiodeus in Nezv-York. itiated in the mysteries of the present age ! When unsus- pecting persons read, for instance, in the daihes, that in- fants are wanted for adoption, how could they imagine those benevolent advertisers are but debased creatures, whose business it is to bring slowly but surely to their graves innocent beings whose birth was a shame — whose bringing up would be a burden to their mothers ?" " Asmodeus," said I, "while you are thus indulging in this philanthropic dissertation, you forget that you pro- mised me the songstress's history." " I am coming to it. You will see, after all, this disser- tation, as you are pleased to call my observations on con- flicting notions in American character and morals, has some bearing on the following narrative. HELENA ROXFORT'S HISTORY. " The name of the young lady whose singing was so ab- ruptly interrupted at Madame Killer's is Helena. The gentleman who interrupted her is her husband, Edward Ronfort. Helena belongs to one of the most ancient families of New-York — if we may call ancient those fami- lies whose origin can not be traced beyond three or four generations. And it is so with all American families boasting of their antiquity. There are some who attempt to trace their origin beyond the settlement of the English colonies in North-America, and claim for their ancestors some of William the Conqueror's followers. But such pre- tensions can not stand a critical examination. The found- ers of the English colonies, with few exceptions, belonged to the needy and, in some cases, to the most dangerous classes of society ; and it may be doubted whether any one among them, when coming over to find a new home, on a I Asmodeus in New- York. 29 new continent, ever thought of providing himself with a pedigree or genealogical table. " The origin of those American families the proudest of their birth is, therefore, of comparatively recent date, the aristocratic pretensions of Helena's parents to the contrary notwithstanding. They assert themselves to be upon an equality with the oldest stocks of the mother country, and they hold social intercourse only with the few descendants, most of them wealthy, of those Dutch colonists who set- tled in the State of New-York over two hundred years ago, with some Southern planters who contrived to save their fortunes through all political commotions, and with a few families whose members have occupied high offices in the Federal or State administration. They have formed out of these varied elements a small colony, a sort of China, in the midst of the New-Yorkers. They compose what is called, in the upper part of the city, the crème de la crème oî society. As far as possible, they marry among themselves, after the Jewish fashion, and at their parties receive only foreigners of noble birth. Their servants are trained to wear a livery — a modest one, it is true ; for the Ameri- can people would no more tolerate to-day than in the times of President Adams servants gorgeously and ridiculously liveried, as is customary with the English aristocracy and petty German potentates. It is the fashion with them to ridicule republican institutions, and in the secret of their hearts they long for those of monarchical Europe. They are, in fine, what may be termed American Bourbons. " None among them shows more scorn and disdain for the working classes than Helena's father. He is fond of luxury, and his success in business permits him to keep his house in fine style. Ele is president of a wealthy bank ; and it was more than once surmised he uses the bank's 30 Asmodeiis in New- York. money for personal speculations. If so, he is only doing, after all, what two thousand bank managers of the country^ who form a privileged class and fatten on immunities detrimental to industry and commerce, have done before him. " The president's children were brought up in the way the offsprings of wealthy families generally are in the Uni- ted States — that is, in the midst of all the enjoyments wealth can afford, and with the privileges of an unbounded free- dom. European observers often wonder at the weakness of paternal power in the United States, and at the loose- ness of family ties. But they forget that a family's internal discipline reflects everywhere a nation's political institu- tions. With the Romans, as long as institutions which were republican but in name were in existence, the pater- nal power was unrestricted ; and such it remained, by the force of tradition, even after the imperial form was sub- stituted for an aristocratic republic. Wherever the Ro- mans carried their flag, the paternal power knew no limit ; and, as a matter of course, it was so during mediaeval or feudal times. In North-America, neither an aristocracy nor an oligarchy was ever known. The first settlers adopted everywhere a popular form of government ; and at the time the war with the mother country took place, the habits of the colonists were so imbued with democratic principles that a republican constitution was the only one the founders of the New World deemed practicable. In every country where unbounded freedom exists, that free- dom commences at the family threshold. The paternal sceptre is wielded with mildness, parents being compelled by public opinion to keep but slight control over their children. " As a consequence, young men choose the trade or pro- Asniodcus in Neiv-York. 31 fession they like, often dispensing with their parents' ad- vice ; and as soon as they are enabled so to do through their profits or salaries, they leave the paternal roof. Many, like birds that mount the air, as soon as their feathers are fully grown, emigrate to some distant terri- tory or new State of the Union, in pursuit of a fortune, oc- casionally sending letters to the ' old folks,' as parents are usually termed in America. "In virtue of the same principles and notions every- w^here, girls go alone to private or public schools, to church, to parties — from time to time even paying visits to friends living in a neighboring city or State. On most occasions, they are neither accompanied by a duenna, as in Spain, nor by a chambermaid, as in France ; but by a young man, a sort of cavalier se?'vante, who seriously plays his part, lavishing marks of a disinterested and respectful attention. This knight is kept in office as long as the young miss is satisfied with his politeness and devotion. When he displeases, he is dismissed without ceremony, and his functions are transferred — I will not say to a rival, (for relations of this nature, though between persons of different sexes, do not savor of love,) — but to another party and companion. Such Platonic intercourse, or flirta- tions, as they are called in America, are looked upon by both parents and children as harmless pastime, or as a necessary preface or preliminary to matrimonial bonds. For this reason, the mutual privilege of separating from each other is well understood ; and when exerted, neither resentment nor deception is manifested. It is a right the young man and the young girl undeniably have, in case one of them is satisfied they are ill-fitted to make the long journey of life together. In most cases, a candid expla- nation takes place, followed by a friendly separation ; and 32 AsînodcHS in New- York. pleasant recollections only grow out of such temporary relations." " Are they always free of any sad consequence to the young girl ?" said I, interrupting Asmodeus. ^^ Always and never are two bold words," replied my companion. " But young American ladies are not kept, as in Europe, in a state of complete ignorance as regards the relations between the sexes ; and they know where to stop when danger commences. I am aware that purity of morals, especially in large cities, is fast passing away. Still, the freedom enjoyed by young girls in the United States is far from being exposed to the many dangers it would be in Europe. On the other hand, flirtation teaches cautious- ness CO young men ; for, let any one either write a letter or do any thing that may be interpreted as an engagement, and he is infallibly caught in the snares laid by many an unscrupulous spinster, encouraged too often, in their hunt after husbands, by greedy lawyers and sympathetic jurors. '' Helena, fair and gracious, like most young American la- dies, was ' trained for the world,' as say complacent moth- ers — meaning, I suppose, that the main object of educa- tion is to prepare the fair sex to adorn society ; and so Helena was brought up a stranger to notions of a higher order concerning the part women ought to play in modern society. " When eighteen, she could perform on the piano, em- broider, sketch — in short, had a smattering of almost every thing. Above all, she was well posted on Parisian fashions. She learned to sing after her marriage, o wing- to the encouragement received from a foreign song- stress, pleased with Helena's fine voice. Her marriage had been brought about in the way usual in similar cir- cumstances. Helena introduced, one evening, a young Asmodeus in Neaz-York. 33 man to her father, and informed the old gentleman she was engaged to him. The introduction over, Helena's father asked the young man a few questions concerning his prospects and family. Tea was brought in ; the ' old folks ' played whist with a few friends, and no further notice was taken of or allusion made to the engagement. " The young man she had chosen for her future husband was handsome, and belonged to a family in good standing, one of the relatives having recently served a term of two years as Governor of the State of New- York. Though passionately fond of Helena, Edward Ronfort discreetly kept aloof, as other young men were also then paying their attentions to her. When he discovered that he was the most favored, he expressed his desire to accompany her to parties and elsewhere, and a regular flirtation com- menced — a means, as previously explained, to ascertain whether strong sympathy exists between two persons of different sexes. Between Ronfort and the banker's daugh- ter this sympathy was not slow to show itself, maturing into an engagement, which led to a wedding a few months later. " In many States of the Union, lads fifteen years old, and girls ten years of age, may marry without the consent of their parents. Magistrates, equally with clergymen, have the right to solemnize marriage. The gentleman and lady go to a magistrate or to a clergyman, and declare they have resolved to marry. The ceremony is immediately proceed- ed with. When it is over, the magistrate or clergyman re- ceives his fee, delivers a certificate of the transaction to the bride and groom, when required, and, in less than ten minutes, the act which is held by all civilized nations as the most important in life is performed. No previous publication is required ; all facilities are afforded by law 34 Asniûdeîcs in New -York. for conjugal unions, its main object being, one would think, to 'increase and multiply' the population of the vast continent of North- America. " Sometimes, but very seldom, the bride's parents ob- ject to her marrying the man she has chosen. But public opinion is, in general, against them ; and they are con- strained, in most cases, to soon relinquish all opposition. A few years ago, a young lady fell in love with her father's coachman. To prevent what was, in his judgment, an ill- assorted union, the father undertook to take his daughter abroad ; but he vv^as prevented from doing so by the offi- cers of the law, and the young lady availed herself of her unrestrained liberty to marry her lover. " Children care little for their parents' approbation when they are determined to marry, because they seldom receive a marriage portion or a dowry from them ; while in Europe, money in all conjugal unions is a consideration second to none in importance. The paternal power is intimately connected there with the power of money, and its neces- sary intervention is all-powerful. In America, young men marry the girls they love without troubling them- selves about the marriage portion or dowry question. They know they will find in labor a means to support their family, and do not seek it in matrimonial speculations, to the detriment of feelings of manliness and personal dig- nity. They consult their hearts, and nothing else. Hence, it follows that unions are better assorted and, I think, more happy in the United States than in the Old World. A dowry or a marriage portion is no better than a bondage to European husbands. If scrupulous, they are inces- santly under apprehensions of compromising what they consider as a trust confided to their keeping for their children. Should they be so unlucky as to squander A s mod eus in New- York. 35 the money they have received from their wives, they feel miserable the remainder of their life, vainly striving to re- trieve their losses and reestablish the trust in its entirety ; while, all the time, they are bound to keep up their house on a footing proportionate with the fortune brought by their wives. In the United States, a young husband ignores all those impediments and cares at the beginning of his career. His wife cheerfully shares his bad or good fortune, and in no case has any ground to comiDlain. Some- times foreigners of noble birth, but poor, or mere adven- turers, hunt for heiresses, and, according to European tra- dition, stipulate for ready cash before marrying. Public contempt is their reward. All decent houses are shut against men making a mercantile transaction of an act which mutual sympathy only should control. " Neither do sensible Americans admit that it is proper for a man, after toiling all his life to acquire a competency, to give it away for the benefit of his children — at the very moment, too, when old age and its infirmities make it the most needful. In their judgment, money given to chil- dren to secure their marriage, is a custom not to be thought of in the New, and should be left unreservedly to the Old World; as it proves to be, in most cases, a source of discord to the newly married pair, a burden to their parents, and. finally, an incentive to evil passions. " Helena's father was too much imbued with the ideas prevailing with his countrymen, to either thwart the choice of his daughter, or to setde on her, at the time of her mar- riage, any money. Besides, Edward Ronfort, when he married, was in rather easy circumstances. His father, \vho died a few years before, left an income of five thousand dollars to each of his four children, and as much to his widow — the latter receiving, besides, a handsome residence 36 Asmodeus in New- York. situated on the sea-shore a short distance from New- York. On bequeathing that property to his widow, he had stipu- lated that all his children should reside there at pleasure, summer or winter, whether married or unmarried. That testamentary disposition proved fruitful of momentous con- sequences, as will be seen hereafter. " Edward Ronfort and his wife spent there the summer months. During winter, they boarded in a fashionable hotel in New- York. Helena gave birth to two children, and their happiness, perhaps, would never have been dis- turbed but for the coming home, after a long absence, of Robert Ronfort, elder brother of Edward by two years. " Robert had gone to California a few years before, in pursuit of a fortune. He was there at the time Edward married. After securing a competency in California, he had himself married there, but soon after lost his wife. Robert's mind was much depressed at his bereavement ; and when he came to reside in the paternal mansion — as he had a right to do according to his father's will — his rel- atives and friends did their best to soothe his grief and remove his melancholy. Helena, in particular, showed a deep sympathy for her brother-in-law ; and Robert, who was then about thirty-four years of age, gradually recovered his strength and cheerfulness. " To keep himself busy and divert his mind, he estab- lished an evening school for the operatives of a factory near by, and also a Sunday-school for their children. Himself and Helena were the principal teachers of these schools ; and while accomplishing this good work, an inti- macy sprang up between them which proved a source of grief to two families, and added another chapter to the his- tory of American domestic scandals. "Seven years had now elapsed smce Helena married I AsmodcHs in New- York. 37 and two since Robert had returned from California, when Edward was obliged to go to the far West to take part in a law-suit in which important interests were involved. His love for his wife had so increased that he felt sorely- grieved to leave her, and only did so on the assurance from his lawyers that his absence would last but a fev/ weeks. But those weeks proved to be months ; for, if law- suits in other countries require a long time and many tedious delays before they arrive at a conclusion, they are, in the United States, almost interminable. At last, after bringing his cause to a favorable issue, Edward wrote to his wife that he was coming home. But this piece of news, instead of filling all the members of his family with joy, struck terror into the hearts of two of them — his wife and his own brother. " But," said Asmodeus, interrupting his narrative, "here is the house of the opulent merchant on whom, we propose to call. I will tell you, at another time, the sequel of the domestic drama to which you have listened with so much interest." CHAPTER IV. IN WHICH THE READER MAKES THE ACQUAINTANCE OF SOME ECCENTRIC CHARACTERS, AND IN WHICH ASMO- DEUS DERIDES THE AMERICAN PEOPLE FOR A PREDOM- INATING MANIA AND SUNDRY ODDITIES. iHE house, in front of which we had arri\'ed, was standing alone, surrounded by beautiful gar- I dens, and it looked like a princely residence — in fact, few sovereigns in Europe live in so splendid a palace as that of this merchant of the young Republic. Such was the thought that flashed through my mind as Asmodeus announced his name. That name operated like a talisman, for the doors were instantly thrown open. I had time, moreover, to observe the external appearance of the building. Entirely of white marble, it was of great size, and the architects of the New World had exhausted their ingenuity to make it a masterpiece. Eveiy stone of the edifice was finely cut, and every orna- ment stamped with unquestionable taste. The outside appearance foreshadowed the inside mag- nificence ; and I did not wonder at the number of jaspei and rare marble pillars seen throughout the large halls and parlors. Masterpieces from every country in the world Asmodeus in New- York. 39 adorned this spacious mansion, whose owner, a gentleman of about sixty, kindly greeted us. He gave a party that evening, and dancing was going on in a large conservatory fitted up as a ball-room for the occasion. The society seemed more refined than that we had just left, as the men we mingled with looked more sedate, and the ladies talked and laughed less loudly. " You are not mistaken," said Asmodeus, to whom I made this observation ; " here may be found, excepting those Bourbons I alluded to a few minutes ago, the best people of New-York. Here are merchants worth millions of dollars ; manufacturers, magistrates, bankers, and some distinguished foreigners. The Amphitryon seldom gives parties, but he is particular about his guests. He has not, as yet, forgotten an occurrence of a somewhat painful nature which happened in the beginning of his mercantile career. He had been extremely lucky in all his ventures ; so much so that he was nearly worth one million of dol- lars. Though living in a modest house, situated in a modest street, he decided, one day, to give a large party to his best customers, and, in consequence, invited the wealthiest and oldest families of New- York. None of them answered his invitation, and the party came off with- out any guests. After that, it is said, the future million- aire swore that he would astonish by his wealth and luxury that proud mercantile aristocracy which he could not win by kindness and urbanity ; and uniting caution with a rare perspicacity, he accumulated a fortune which at the present time is one of the largest in the United States. " I must state that at the time this episode occurred, he was not, like to-day, one of the largest importers of the country ; he was simply a retail merchant,, and the thirst 40 Asniodeiis in New -York. for social distinction is so deeply rooted within certain classes of New- York society, that wholesale merchants and importers believe themselves to be far above retailers, whatever be the w^ealth of the latter. Down-town mer- chants look with disdain on the up-town retailers, the very men v.'ho purchase the goods they have imported. Again, our host was not born in the United States, a circumstance the import of which he was far from realizing when he tried to mingle with the picked society of New- York. " Foreigners, even after residing half a century in this country, retain the mark of their birth, the natives persist- ing, even after aliens have become wealthy, to treat them as adventurers. " You must also bear in mind, that the native Ameri- cans candidly believe themselves to be intellectually superior to foreigners. Hence, their way of sjDeaking with pity and disdain of European people as no better than In- dian Pariahs, or any other inferior race. They are not aware, perhaps, that the most illustrious men in the Uni- ted States, in almost every branch of human labor, are foreigners. Not to speak of our host, whose business amounts to over one hundred millions of dollars per an- num, the prominent bankers of New- York are either Eng- lish, German, or French. The journalist whose energy gives an unparalleled development to the American press is a foreigner ; the Union is, perhaps, indebted for her preservation to a foreigner ; for, in the course of the late gigantic civil war, it was owing to the ingenuity of a Swedish gentleman that the navy of the Northern States escaped destruction, a catastrophe which would have very likely altered the issue of the struggle then going on. "The learned men whom the American people most frequently boast of— Audubon, the celebrated ornithologist, As mo dens in New -York. 41 and Agassiz — are foreigners ; the first, the son of a French admiral, was born in Louisiana before that country was purchased by the United States ; and the other, a Swiss by birth, was indebted to the natural phenomena of Swit- zerland for his first, and perhaps best, effort. "The preeminence of foreigners in science, trade, and finance is not, after all, a fact of recent date in the history of the United States : it has been so since the American Republic first took rank among the nations of the world. Astor, whose name is known on both sides of the Atlantic, and who donated a valuable library to the city of New- York, was born in Germany ; Stephen Girard, who bequeathed two millions of dollars to Philadelphia for the establishment of a college which is a pattern for other phi- lanthropic institutions, was a Frenchman ; and a Swiss — Gallatin — when the war for Independence was over, was intrusted with the duty of saving the public treasury from bankruptcy. But such is the pride of the American peo- ple, that when a foreigner residing in the United States becomes celebrated, either because of his talents or a use- ful discovery, they claim the illustrious man as an Ameri- can, contending that he is indebted for his genius to his settling in this countr}'-. " Now, if you wish to know the ordinary topics which absorb the American mind, mingle with the company and listen to their conversation." Following the advice of my companion, I listened to the gentlemen who were idling through the rooms. Every- where that word, " dollar," constantly repeated, struck upon my ear. All conversation had for its subject mer- cantile and financial transactions ; profits, either realized or to be realized by the speakers, or the general prospect of the market. Literature, art, science, the drama, all 42 Asmodeiis in New -York. those topics which are discussed in polite European society, were not even alluded to. Another peculiarity I noticed — namely, the practice of self-commendation and praise. Egotism seemed to permeate the mind of every body. The word " I " was constantly on the lips of the speakers. That maxim of good old Franklin, " Never speak of yourself," thought I, is quite obsolete here, as well as many others, perhaps, of the same philosopher. At any rate, the practice of making one's self of importance, of magnifying one's own achievements, seemed to me not less shocking than that burning thirst for money which, even in the midst of pleasure, preys upon the American mind. I imparted my observations to Asmodeus, who said : " Many times I have heard experienced physicians and men of unquestionable science seriously contend that all Americans, without exception, are more or less demented ; for all are afflicted with that inveterate mania — money-mak- ing. Day and night, their minds are bent on the means of acquiring wealth ; all their thoughts, all their acts, converge to that one point. It besets, it haunts them in their stores, at home, in the street, at the theatre, and in church. There is no room in their brains for any thought but that of mak- ing money. " Well, a monomaniac is one who is preyed uj^on by a single or predominating idea ; and the love of money pushed to extremes, as it is in this country, having invaded all classes of society — males as well as females, old as well as young men — indeed, all alike — is a positive sign of mental derangement. Indeed, the American people have come to that point of weighing the worth of a man by the wealth he is possessed of, and thereby to proportion their estimation of him. i:^ Asutodcics in New -York. 43 *' In England, (I state a fact which I refrain from ap- preciating,) nobility or birth is alone looked upon as the true standard of merit. In fact, England is nothing but an aristocratic hierarchy : at the head is the queen ; next 'ù come the dukes ; then the marquises and earls, viscounts and barons. The government, in all its ramifications, from generation to generation, is transmitted to some noble family ; and even in the servants' hall, an aristocra- tic hierarchy is still found : yellow-plush looks with dis- dain upon the cook, and the cook hardly condescends to hold converse with the hostler, who, in his turn, living in the stable of nobility, considers himself many degrees re- moved from the tillers of the land and workmen in the cotton factories. "Equality thus being out of the question in England, it is a positive fact that nobility, with but few exceptions, is considered the standard of merit. It is true that men of eminence and popularity have sometimes been allowed to occupy stations of secondary importance in the English cabinet, notwithstanding they have sprung from the mid- dle classes. But a nobleman, like Russell, Palmerston, and my Lords Derby and Aberdeen could alone, up to our day, aspire to the premiership. If ever a plebeian be- comes a premier, the traditions of eight centuries will be put aside, the constitution of England imperiled — indeed it will be the signal for a momentous revolution in the habits, ideas, and social organization of feudal England. " In Russia — it was so, at least, not many years ago — the favor of the reigning prince was the standard of me- rit. In all despotic states, favorites are all-powerful ; neither birth nor talents has any thing to do with the qualification of men for public offices and public esteem ; 44 Asviodcus in N'cw-York. and oftentimes the sovereign's favor rests with the most servile of his subjects. "There is hardly any other country than France where the sole standard of merit is merit itself Birth has nothing to do with Frenchmen ; it occupies no room in their affections or prejudices. The aristocracy of France is rather nominal than real — a souvenir of the past — as an aristocracy without landed estates hardly desen^es that name. In diplomatic or militaiy affairs, in all branches of public administration, personal merit is the only avail- able qualification for office-seekers or office-holders. " In the United States, the masses are, very properly, indifferent to the prestige or claim of birth ; but, at the same time, we find they entertain but a faint regard for personal preeminence and real talent. "The standard of merit in the United States is money! An Englishman, when he desires to be informed about a stranger, propounds this question : ' Is he a man of good family — of birth?' With the Frenchman, the question would be : 'Is he a man of talent ?' With an American, the question invariably is, ' How much is he worth V — an expression certainly applicable to the value of a bag of corn, of a hog, or, in the palmy days of slavery, to a lively negro. Painful as it is to confess it, I repeat that the standard of merit in this democratic country is money. A learned man, if poor, is looked upon with scorn and pity. James Fenimore Cooper would have been shut out from every aristocratic house if his coat had been shabbv. This aberration of mind is pushed so far that it gives birth to the most ludicrous distinctions in social life. For in- stance, I am worth, in the common parlance of the day, ten thousand dollars — my left-hand neighbor thinks he is worth fifteen thousand dollars ; consequently, he declines Asmodeus in Nezv-York. 45 all acquaintance with me, and does not recognize me when we pass each other in the street. But it happens that my right-hand neighbor is possessed of about twenty thousand dollars ; now, his wife would get excited if her lord showed the slightest sign of recognition of the left-hand neighbor, worth five thousand less ! " From a general point of view, the American people may be divided into two classes, the poor and the rich — • the latter often harsh and indifferent to the former ; for poverty is one of the greatest known crimes in the United States, You may now easily understand that those who are not rich exhaust their ingenuity to make others believe they are so ; and thus the fortunes of many persons are but superficial. Their houses are often heavily mortgaged, and sometimes the dresses of their wives — of many, per- haps, of the ladies we see here — are worn out before paid for. But as the people of no other country have more regard for appearances, those who want credit resort, as a necessity, to outside show. Why wonder, then, at the many fitful changes in life here so frequent? "The present generation resembles those governments alluded to by an old philosopher, which, by dint of borrow- ing, keep themselves up in the same way that the body of a man, just hung, is held up by a rope. The Americans, as long as possible, pile expediency upon expediency to keep up their credit, and often have recourse to means that a tolerant public calls smart, but which, in any other country, would be severely punished. " The pursuit of gain has polluted private and public morals, and corrupted political institutions ; even patriotism is made subservient to it. Most of our public men serve their country with the hope, and the well-understood con- dition, of making money. In trade and industry, all 46 AsjHodeiLS m New -York. means are resorted to to obtain the golden prize ; for it is generally admitted that the end justifies the means, whether honest or dishonest, and that, finally, the wealthi- est man in the land is sure to be the greatest in the esti- mation of his countrj^men. " Some persons who have accumulated wealth by chi- canery, build palatial residences in Madison or Fifth ave- nue, give balls and soirees ; and the élite of society, hold- ers of high public offices, ministers of the Gospel, and generals of the army, all attend, because the glitter of wealth has, upon the minds of the American people, the fascinating influence reptiles have over beasts. And such is the result of the generally accepted notion that the worth of a man is in proportion to the bulk of his purse. "You have doubtless noticed that Americans admire « every thing they do, every thing they sa}', every thing that transpires in their country — it is a weak point which never escapes a foreign observer. They candidly believe their country is the finest, their countrymen the most intelli- gent, and their countrywomen the handsomest on the face of the earth. They also believe that the armies and navies, arts and sciences, industry and commerce of other nations can not be compared with their own. But I would not find fault with this self-admiration were it not so constantly conspicuous, especially when the hearers hap- pen to be foreigners. This self-admiration has spread from individuals to hamlets, cities, counties, and States. There is hardly a State which does not believe itself superior, in some respects, to its neighbor ; not a city that does not as- sert its supremacy over others. " But, after all, this harmless rivalry is an incentive to progress. By the same reason, the Americans, with their Asmodeus in Nezv-York. 47 unbounded confidence in their own capacity and universal aptitude — any one among them being ready to be lawyer one day, physician the next, merchant, legislator, even President of the United States — would have achieved less wonders in the arts of peace were they lacking in self-re- liance, like the effete nations of the Old World. " Owing to this indomitable faith in their capacity, they ignore this feeling of envy so deeply rooted in the heart of the European masses. When he looks at the palatial re- sidence of a New- York merchant, the workingman feels moved to make his way through the world, knowing that wealth lies within the reach of every one v/ho, in this country, displays sagacity and perseverance. " What I can not consider as a weak point of a people entering national life is that disease, that scourge I have before spoken of, and which seems to catch hold of for- eigners themselves after a few years' residence in this country. Take, for instance, that wealthy merchant whose hospitality we now enjoy. He is one of our most respec- table citizens, a man of refined mind, a scholar ; and still it may be asked whether there is any laudable purpose in his accumulating millions ; crushing young competitors, as he does, in the mercantile arena, failing to comprehend that, when they have become millionaires, merchants should, like soldiers after they have conquered, leave the field to others, " The truth is, the worship of gold dims the intelligence and hardens the heart ; and those men who are now play- ing whist with our Amphitryon afford a striking proof of it. One of them — that one who gives himself many airs, and looks like an English snob — has made a large fortune by means of a combination which he carried through with the aid of some respectable banking-houses. He was director 48 Asmodeiis in Nczv-York. of a company whose regular dividends had amounted to twenty per cent for a couple of years, when he prevailed upon his brother directors to increase the capital stock of the company from ten to twenty millions of dollars. Our man subscribed for the new stock and sold it out before the public had any intelligence of the increase. The shares were worth three hundred dollars each before the watering-down of the stock ; when it became known, they fell to one hundred dollars, and (a fact which shows a dreadful state of public morals) the honesty of the trans- action, which put several millions of dollars into the pock- ets of the master-spirit of it and his accomplices, was hardly questioned by the community. " To-day, this man plays Maecenas ; he imports from Eng- land his carriages, horses, even his servants, every one of whom is six feet high ; and recently he was one of a committee of New- York capitalists who, taking upon themselves to suggest to the President of the United States some financial measures, prefaced their discourse v/ith these words : ' Your Excellency will please notice there are ten of us here, worth altogether one hundred millions of dollars ! ' " The other two players are avaricious men, who would beat Harpagon himself One is an importer, who lives in a cold room in the third story of a modest house down- town. During winter he warms himself in the parlors of one of our hotels, which are properly the coffee-houses of the United States. You may see him every morning at the Custom-House, though he is sixty years of age, mak- ing his entries himself ; he is his own bookkeeper, cashier, chief of correspondence, and even sweeps out his own of- fice, I am told. His annual profits exceed one hundred thousand dollars. He is a bachelor, because he could Asmodais in New -York. 49 never find time, as he asserts, to seek for a wife. On Sun- days, as a diversion from his week's work, he rubs and brightens, one after another, the eagles he has received ; for all his transactions are carried on in hard cash. That singular old man is worth several millions of dollars, and in spite of his fortune, he very seldom opens his purse for charitable purposes. ' Any gift of mine,' sa^'s he, to ex- culpate his stinginess, ' is attended with sad consequences to the recipient.' And then he relates that, a few years ago, a niece of his, the only relative he had, informed him of her approaching wedding, when, in an unaccountable fit of liberality, he sent her fifty thousand dollars as a dowry. The bride did not know her uncle was wealthy, and hence, when she received this handsome gift, lost her reason. ' And now you can understand,' invariably adds this miser, when he is asked for alms, ' the reason why I am decidedly averse to alms-giving. " The second player is also an old bachelor, who made large profits out of the frequent alterations in the tariff of duties on imported goods. When he invites a friend to dine at one of our fashionable restaurants, he is astonished to find that he has no money in his pocket-book, and his friend has to foot the bill. It is said he has gathered a voluminous library of fine books borrowed from his friends — of course, never to be returned. His only diversion is somewhat singular, and costs him every year a few thou- sand dollars. Fifteen years ago, he purchased a large pro- perty in France, a description of which he chanced to read in some newspaper. When the survey of that property w^as completed, he sent one of his clerks to manage it. The map of his domain is hanging up in his office, and every few weeks he resolves, on looking at it, to make some alteration. One dav, a summer-house must be 50 A su LO da I s in Neiv -York. built ; the next, some material is ordered ; sometimes a wing has to be added to the main building; again, the plan of the garden and walls is to be modified ; and all these improvements and alterations are carried on through correspondence with his clerk — for he has never visited his property, and will doubtless die without seeing it. " Such eccentric characters are not very numerous, it is true, in America. Frugality is the exception, prodigality the general rule. Nobody thinks of to-morrow. " A few years ago, some benevolent persons conceived the project of establishing an asylum for incapacitated and ruined merchants ; but they gave it up as completely im- practicable when it was stated there were, in New-York alone, several thousand old merchants reduced to beggary. Among these were nearly one thousand who had been worth, in the course of their mercantile career, one hun- dred thousand dollars each. " If the American people were not as conspicuous for their prodigality as for their love of money, they would be a con- temptible set of mortals. But it seems that Providence has always ready for every evil a remedy ; and on seeing the readiness of the Americans to spend money, one can not fail to wonder at their feverish anxiety to make it. At the same time, there is no people so easily misled by ajD- pearances, so liable to be deceived. They permit them- selves to be cheated like children ; in fact, there is in their character too much puerile ingenuousness. They delight in relating to each other stories and anecdotes, which they applaud with enthusiasm, and on the hearing of which any European would soon grow weary. Indefa- tigable speakers, they nevertheless lack the talent of con- versation — an attainment which is to be found only in old and polite society, and among people whose instruction is AsinodeiLS in New -York. 51 not superficial. It is principally in public meetings they exhibit their wonderful oratorical power : any one among them is ready to speak at any time and on any topic. He will keep his hearers attentive during several hours ; but his sentences pass away like a fugitive noise ; for extem- porizers have few ideas, either in the New or the Old World. " Concerning that other natural disposition of the Ameri- cans to be easily cheated, it is a singular feature in the character of men whose mercantile aptitude is so great and speculative power so acute. But the truth is, the United States are the cradle of ' humbug,' (an American word which has found its way into all spoken languages,) a paradise for charlatans. I recognize among this com- pany three physicians, who have made enormous sums of money, not through the honest exercise of their pro- fession, but simply by selling pills and other nostrums — infallible, of course, for all known diseases. One can hardly imagine the amount of their transactions and the number of workmen and agents they employ for the mani- pulation and sale of their panaceas. " I lately visited one of those physicians' establishments. He showed me a department for the manufacture of pills and other medicines, another for their packing, another for their forwarding, another for the printing of circulars, pamphlets, and almanacs, with which the country is flooded, and many more of less importance. " Four hundred operatives are employed in that factory, whose products are shipped to all the States of the Union. And what are they ? Harmless waters or flour-pellets, for the most part, according to the candid confession of the owner of the factory. " Said he : ' My remedies can never hurt any body, while 52 Asmodeus in New -York. I am satisfied they cure many people, so powerful is the imagination as regards health ! ' " Speaking of a favorite compound, he said he had in his possession thousands of certificates from most reliable individuals, stating that such and such compound promptly removed indigestion and symptoms of ague, cured the headache, soothed the nervous system, created a salutary perspiration, relieved rheumatism, purified and invigorated the blood, gave and increased appetite, cured marasmus, kept the brain clear and bright, and removed, without in- terrupting the ordinary occupation of the patient, all dis- eases the flesh is heir to. "The American is always in a hurry. When he feels sick, he purchases, without waiting for a physician's advice, an already made-up remedy for his supposed disease. The profession of physician would not be very profitable did not the American ladies require, more often than the other sex, medical attendance." In the mean while dancing was going on, to the strains of an excellent orchestra. After every quadrille, many young ladies patronized the richly laden sideboards and tables ; and I noticed their appetite might, without injus- tice, be compared to that of Albion's fair daughters. I also noticed the soirée was lacking in that warmth and anima- tion conspicuous in like parties in Europe. There were many foreigners among the guests ; and one could per- ceive that there was a marked coolness between them and the Americans. The latter were shy and reserved, did not seem exceedingly fond of intercourse with the former, and did not court it. " I suspect," said Asmodeus, " though they often assure them of their sympathy, that Americans dislike foreigners ; Asniodeus in New -York. 53 who, in their turn, if we are to beheve the natives, do not like the Americans. " It is an undoubted fact that, in the opinion of many, the continent of North-America ought to belong exclusively to those born on American soil ; and they see with feelings of sorrow thousands and thousands of Europeans landing ever}'- year, to compete with them for its possession. These persons have long considered, and perhaps consider to- day, as a national calamity, the homestead law which grants to every immigrant a farm of forty acres and over, after the fulfillment of certain easy terms and conditions." Among the ladies who seemed most interested in the dancing, and looked at it with feelings of undisguised gra- tification, I noticed one whose countenance interested me. One might have easily mistaken her for a marchioness of the old European aristocracy, so dignified was she, so kind and gracious were her manners. " Ah !" said Asmodeus, "you are looking at a lady who will find, on her return, her home deserted. Some ten years ago she lost her husband, a general in the army, whose name had often occupied public attention during the war of 18 12. When that war was over, he was ap- pointed ambassador to Europe, and married, before leav- ing America, a lady of remarkable beauty and attainments. After several years spent in Europe, both returned to the United States. Here the general died, leaving a hand- some fortune to his widow. She devoted herself to her children and grandchildren, giving them a good educa- tion ; for this lady has been a grandmother for twenty years, being now about sixty years old. A short time ago, a music -teacher — introduced into the family to teach her children — pleased the general's widow, and, to the surprise of her friends, she soon married the adventurer. 54 Asmodeîis m New -York. By dint of coaxing and threatening, he contrived to have all the fortune of the old lady transferred to himself ; and this very night he has taken passage for Europe, while his wife, whom he declined to accompany under pretense of indisposition, is enjoying herself at this party. To fill the measure of his villainy and ungratefulness, this man has eloped with the granddaughter of his wife, a child some sixteen years old !" Here the fire-bells began striking at various points of the city, and several steam-engines rapidly passed in the street. " Let us go to the fire," said Asmodeus ; " such a spec- tacle will fitly terminate our adventures and observations for tliis night — or rather morning, as the dawn of day will soon break. There is, besides, in the mode of extin- guishing fires, and also in their varied causes, an interest- ing subject for observation." p CHAPTER V. WHICH SHOWS AN EXPEDITIOUS WAY TO SETTLE ACCOUNTS, AND HOW TENANTS MAY PAY THEIR HOUSE-RENT, WITH LITTLE TROUBLE TO THEMSELVES. E soon reached the fire. A large building, sup- ported by pillarSj and which looked like a church, was in flames. It was situated in one of the great thoroughfares of New- York, and occupied by a dry-goods firm. The sight was grand and awful. Flames were bursting from every side of the building, from the basement as well as from the upper stories — a fact easily accounted for, as the large ware- house was filled with dry-goods. The devouring element raged fiercely, and the superhuman efforts of the energetic and intelligent firemen were of little avail. Such was its intensity that they and the spectators were obliged to move some distance from it. Soon all hope was lost to save either the building or the goods stored therein ; and the firemen turned their attention to protecting the neighbor- ing houses only. " Were all the boxes full," said one of the lookers-on, " the fire could hardly make greater progress." " Either full or empty," replied another, " the fire insu- rance companies will have to pa}-." " Here are sagacious observers," said Asmodeus, " and 56 Asmodeiis in Nczu - York. they plausibly explain the causes of this fire and its rapid progress. The merchants who owned that store often gamble at the Stock Exchange, and have recently suf. fered heavy losses. Many of our merchants have aban- doned old and sound traditions : they are no longer satis- fied with slow but sure profits, so great is their thirst for money. Fortunes may be rapidly made nowadays ; and the Stock Exchange is the only field which offers a chance for large gains. Sudden reverses, it is true, are met with in ninety-nine cases out of one hundred ; and inexperi- enced stock-gamblers are often led astray by delusive hopes. Such has been the fate of the partners of that firm, Vv'hose books are now destroyed by fire — an accident which will have for its result to conceal the true situation of the concern from everybody. Their credit, to this day, has not been impaired, because nobody but their stock- broker knows how their resources have been squandered away, and to-morrow they will stand on firmer ground than before, when it is known that they have been fortu- nate enough to get rid of their goods at a satisfactory price, with no apprehension of bad debts — their debtors now being the fire insurance companies, bound by their policies to promptly adjust their losses. Should they sus- pect any thing regarding the origin of the fire, they will keep their suspicions to themselves, as they are aware that, though the law deals severely with the crime of arson, a condemnation is next to impossible, because the jury vv'ill not be disposed, unless some witnesses de visu are produced by the State, to return a verdict of guilty. Now, it is obvious that, when a man sets fire to his own house, he takes care nobody shall see him in the act." " Then I apprehend that the business of fire insurance companies, in the United States, is not a profitable one ?" Asmodeus in New -York. 57 " You are mistaken j with the exception of a few which are badly managed, nearly all distribute handsome divi- dends. Their premiums are proportioned to their risks. Admitting the latter to be ten times greater than in Europe, the premiums for insuring are simply increased in a cor- responding ratio. In this case, as in many others, honest people suffer for the rascality of others. Besides, owing to frequent and serious fires, every body takes care to get insured. Hence, sound companies are relieved from the necessity of keeping, as in Europe, a staff of brokers and agents for the purpose of drumming up clients. The benefits of such institutions are so well appreciated by every American, that his first care is to insure his house and goods as soon as they are purchased. Some ill-na- tured people assert that the number of fires increases to- ward the end of every year — that is, at the time merchants balance their books and make inventories. I will not vouch for the correctness of this assertion, but I am quite satisfied the crime of arson is nowhere so frequent as here. Revenge, in some cases, and cupidity, in many others, are the incentives. But in every one the incendiaries act with the conviction that the law is powerless. " To the above causes of fire, I must add the extreme imprudence of the American people, and the poor mate- rials employed in the construction of houses. The devour- ing element has often free scope, and the firemen very seldom succeed in saving a building when once fully ablaze. The fire extends and increases as quick as lightning, and even stone itself makes but a poor show of resistance." As if to confirm Asmodeus's assertions, the walls of the warehouse came down with a tremendous crash ; and soon ^8 Asinodeiis in Neiv-York. only the pillars which supported and adorned the front of the fine edifice remained erect. I noticed, during this magnificent scene, that policemen had no trouble to maintain order in the street, and also the excellent discipline displayed by the firemen. " You must know," said Asmodeus, always disposed to give information, " that such is the frequency of fires, the people do not so much enjoy the fine sight." " When the fire-bell rings, few persons leave their beds, unless the fire threatens their own house. Police-officers, therefore, have very little difficulty to keep off spectators. As a general thing, they know well how to maintain order. If they were impudent and domineering, as they are in many countries of Europe, their task, with such an exci- table population as that of New- York, would be surroun- ded with difficulties; for at the slightest cause, and on any occasion, bloody fights would take place between them and the rough inhabitants of the lower wards ; for, as a general rule, Americans are impatient of control, and the show of too much authority is apt to excite their worse feelings. Policemen are, in reality, the citizens' servants. If you want any information, apply to a police- man ; in case you have lost your way, he will direct you aright ; if you have any difficulty with a coachman — a rough and insolent set of men in all countries — the near- est policeman will quietly, and in a gentlemanly way, set- tle it, to the satisfaction of both parties. In case any policeman intentionally forgets his duty — for no class of men is free from fault — you have only to take down his number, make the fact known to his superior ofi[icers, and he will be made to apologize for his rudeness, besides re- ceiving a severe reprimand. " The costume of policemen, I think, exerts a salutary Asm ode us in Nczv-York. 59 influence on their behavior. Suppose, instead of a club, often concealed in a side-pocket, they carried a sword, and wore a three-cornered hat, it is quite certain they would soon lose all their present politeness ; they would gradu- ally adopt the overbearing manners of military men, a class seldom urbane in time of war, and who become in- sufferable in time of peace. " Concerning the good behavior and discipline of fire- men, it is now a novelty, because of recent occurrence. It is owing to the fact that the extinguishment of fires now devolves on a body of paid men, while previously it was intrusted to volunteer companies. Of course, these volun- teers were impatient of control, and had become quite a nuisance in this metropolis. If you wish to see the con- trast between both systems, we have but to cross a narrow channel which divides New- York from a sister city — the third in the American Union, from the number of its in- habitants, but which, in realit}^, is a suburb of New- York, as most of its inhabitants transact their business here." In spite of the late hour, I assented to the proposition, remarking, however, that perhaps no fire would be raging in the neighboring city, when we arrived there. " Rest easy on that score," answered my companion ; "fires are just as extensive and frequent in Brookl}^! as in other large cities of the Union. Besides, with the volunteer system, when the alarm-bell does not ring for a real fire, it does for a mock one, to give to rival companies an opportunity of settling some old quarrel. We are therefore sure to see, at all events, the mode of extinguish- ing fire as practiced throughout the States, with few excep- tions." Within five minutes' time, we were on the other side of the river — carried over by one of those spacious ferry- 6o AsmodeiLS in Nczv-York. boats which constantly ply between Brooklyn and New- York, and which my guide, in his figurative language, compared to a. street in motion. As he had foretold, we heard, on landing, the alarm- bell, and saw at a distance a glaring light, toward which we hastened. The crowd increased the nearer we ad- vanced ; company after company of men, w^earing red flan- nel shirts, ran in the middle of the streets, dragging with fearful rapidity ponderous steam-engines, whose suffocating smoke darkened the atmosphere. The shrieks of these engines, and the wild yells of the firemen exciting each other, as in a steeple-chase, imparted to the scene, in the twilight, a wild, weird appearance. One might have easily mistaken the firemen for a troop of Indian savages going to a bloody festival, but for the thick smoke issuing from the engines, and which rather reminded one of those fero- cious Cyclops alluded to by Homer. One of the specta- tors, who failed to get out of the way in time, was crushed by one of the engines ; while a fireman, stumbling, was trampled under foot by his companions. We soon arrived at the fire. From a dwelling wrapped in flames, came fearful shrieks and lamentations. Many families inhabited it, and a few of the inmates, unable to escape by a single staircase, had taken refuge on the roof of the house, there imploring help. The firemen made a dreadful noise, running to and fro, and gesticulating like maniacs. They failed to agree upon a plan of relief — that suggested by some being rejected by others as impracti- cable. Amid this chaos, no trace of discipline could be seen, and hence, no understanding as to the best way to check the fire could be arrived at. Unfortunately, while those of the inmates who had escaped to the roof were becoming more and more enveloped by the flames, some Asmodeiis in New -York, 6 1 firemen noticed a bar-room at the corner of the burning building. Its doors were instantly burst open, and, no longer attending to the fire, they gave themselves up to carousal. Suddenly a dreadful crash was heard — the roof, with those upon it, had fallen into a perfect sea of flames ; the main walls of the building began to oscillate like trees in a gale, and before they had time to escape from the bar-room, some firemen also were buried under the smok- ing ruins. Horror-stricken, we left the scene, only to witness an- other sad sight. The fire had destroyed every thing, and as the services of the steam-engines were no longer re- quired, every one of them was slowly driven away by the firemen. " The engine-houses," said Asmodeus, " are, most of them, elegant buildings, and sometimes used as assembly or club-rooms. The young men who fill up the ranks of the volunteer companies are generally clerks and mechan- ics, who leave their desks, stores, or factories at the first stroke of the alarm-bell, and seldom return for the remain- der of the day. They are not subject to any reduction of salary, as their absence from work is apparently justified by the requirements of public service. Besides, for obvi- ous reasons, employers carefully refrain from exasperating such a dangerous set of men. The volunteers, in conse- quence, spend a part of their time in the engine-houses, enjoying themselves in every way, and giving, from time to time, sociables to their friends of the fair sex." We were going the same way as one of the engines, and soon its drivers, at the intersection of two streets, met a rival company. All at once deafening shouts were uttered by the firemen, and they began hurling low epithets at each other. As with the warriors celebrated by Homer? 62 AsmodeiLS in New -York. it was the prelude to a fierce struggle. The firemen threw stones at each other — indeed, any thing they could get hold of, and revolvers, also, were soon brought into play. The fight threatened to be bloody, when a platoon of police- men made their appearance. Brandishing their clubs, they succeeded in separating the combatants ; but during the fight one of the engines had been turned topsy-turvy, and broken in many pieces. The grief of the firemen to whom it belonged — a grief so heartily felt that many almost wept at sight of its ruin — would have provoked our risibles but for the sad scene we had just witnessed, and the cries of the many wounded volunteers. " Volunteer firemen," said Asmodeus, " are a power in the state. The political party that secures their vote is sure to win the day in local elections ; hence the reason why this system is still kept in existence in many States. These volunteers are active and influential canvassers, and many public officers are indebted to them for the situations they occupy. " In spite of their name, volunteer firemen cost a city much money, as they very frequently bleed the municipal treasury ; for instance, for the purchase of new engines, for repairs of old ones, building of engine-houses, and indemnity for disabled members. But withal there is no question that some good emanates from this system. Now, suppose a body of firemen to be as efiicient as in some countries of Europe, we should be deprived of a powerful element of imjDrovement in the United States. Take, for example, New- York. The frequent occurrence of fires has entirely transformed that great metropolis, and altered its outward appearance for the better. For- merly, one could see, on the great commercial thorough- fares, main streets, and avenues, only ill-looking two-story Asviodciis in Neiv-York, 63 brick houses. In their place, white and brown-stone man- sions, four stories high, with all the modern improvements, have been erected, also many warehouses, as spacious and handsome as palaces. "To fires, undoubtedly, the city of New-York is in- debted for such a thorough change within a few years. To them it is due that the Unied States possess the most regular and handsome cities in the world. At the same time, the art of building has remarkably advanced, and architecture has kept pace with the requiremens of the age. In short, as you see, you would be wrong in hastily condemning the volunteer system, which produces such valuable results." While Asmodeus was thus talking, half seriously, half- jocosely, we had arrived at the ferry, where a crowd at- tracted our attention. About a dozen men were in a state of great excitement. " I recognize him," said one of them ; " I know him well ; I used to go to his saloon every evening." " Let us hang the rogue !" exclaimed another " He is the cause of my brother being buried under the burning ruin." " My father also has perished !" said a young man. " And so has my poor baby !" added a woman, amid heart-rending sobs. The man who was the object of this outburst of popu- lar indignation was trembling from head to foot, and could utter only faint denials. " You scoundrel !" shouted a man among the crowd, " you set fire to your house to swindle the insurance companies." " No doubt of it," said another ; " and at the same time he wanted to cash the full amount of his policy, 64 As mo dens in New -York. after insuring to twenty times their value the poisonous liquors he sells us." At these words, an infuriated fellow, grasping the saloon- keeper by the neck, commenced to beat him. Soon others kicked the wretch, and the crowd, which by this time had considerably augmented since the beginning of this inci- dent, shouted, to a man, " Hang him ! hang him !" These savage threatenings, quite unexpectedly, were the means of saving the bar-keeper's life. A w^ell-dressed gentleman, very likely a lawyer — for, according to Asmo- deus, lawyers always emerge from the ground at the slightest sound of a riot or other disturbance — stepped forward and exclaimed, in a stentorian voice, that the law ought to follow its course ; that the bar-keeper, whether innocent or guilty, was entitled to be judged by a jury of free men. " We are not," said he, " in Texas, or in a new territory, where there is no other law save that of brutal force — no other magistrate than Judge Lynch ! We have the honor to be citizens of the first State, by its wealth and popula- tion, of the American Union ; and the citizens of a coun- try unrivaled in the world must respect its laws. Be- sides," said he, in wdnding up his harangue, " if you permit yourselves to be led aw^ay by rashness, if you trample upon the sacred rights vouchsafed to us all, you will be false to your American origin. Foreigners only — Irishmen only — may be bold and unruly enough to deprive a citizen of the benefit of the law in a free country !" For fear of being mistaken for Irishmen, the rioters gave up their project of hanging the bar-keeper, and he was taken in charge by two policemen, who had just made their appearance, when the crowd scattered in every di- rection. ,_„.^ CHAPTER VI. IN WHICH ASMODEUS RELATES A SAD MISTAKE OF JUDGE LYNCH. jHO is this Judge Lynch ?'' said I to Asmodeus, when on board the ferry-boat. " In Western wilds," said he, "and in terri- tories not yet provided with reguLir forms of government, the rude pioneers know no other form of ju- risdiction, no other form of proceeding, no other penalty, than those of Judge Lynch. Such was the name, it ap- pears, of the settler who first advised the pioneers, in cases of murder and robbery, to take the law into their own hands, and to vindicate, in a summary manner, outraged justice and society. As there are no jails in those vast regions just redeemed from the red man, the settlers, not knowing what to do with evil-doers, deal with all of them in the same manner — that is, they hang them. " However, the incident we have just witnessed reminds me of quite an interesting episode, which exhibits, in a sad and striking manner, the danger of these popular verdicts ; and I have just time enough to relate it before the boat reaches the New- York side. " A few months ago, on Christmas eve. Doctor Hamill, a friend of mine, invited me to spend that holiday with liim — an anniversary always impatiently looked for and religiously observed in the United States. A particular ^ Asmodais in New -York. circumstance made that festival, last year, doubly pleasant to the doctor. His father, an old gentleman of nearly eighty, had decided to celebrate his golden wedding — that is, having married fifty years before, he meant to make, according to American custom, the fiftieth anni- versary of his marriage a great family reunion. " I accepted the invitation, and we set out on our jour- ney. The doctor's family resides about one hundred miles from New- York, and his dwelling is reached by means of orte of the many railroads which connect the metropolis with the remotest parts of the State. " When we arrived at a small place called Middletown, our journey was brought to a sudden stop. A snow-storm had been raging for two hours, and the locomotive was suddenly stopped by the huge mountains of snow which the wind had piled up in the valley where Middletown is situated. So we were obliged to stay there until the com- pany's employees had made a pathway for us. " Very luckily — a fact which no traveler in the United States will wonder at — we found a large and convenient hotel in Middletown ; and as we could not resume our journey until the next day, the young people among the travelers soon arranged to have a ball in the parlors of the hotel, and thus turned an unpleasant incident into a merry one. " The sedate men of our party, (and I was one of them,) after enjoying a few moments the sight of the dancing, re- paired to another room for the purpose of playing whist. While the waiters were bringing in tables and cards. Doc- tor Hamill offered us some genuine Havana segars, and related the following circumstance : "'I witnessed, many years ago,' said he, 'a never-to-be- forgotten drama in this very village of Middletown, where AsmodcHS in New -York. 67 the snow-storm now detains us. It was, like to-day, Christmas eve, and I was on my way to the small town of Amenia, where my family resides, to spend with them the holidays. But a mishap prevented, as you will see, my joining them. At the time I speak of, Amenia was not connected by railway with New- York. An entire day and night — not a few hours, as to-day — were required to reach there. When we arrived at Middletown, the driver of a coach containing six seats, in which twelve travelers had been closely packed together, declined to go further. None of us insisted that he should take us that day to our destination, ten miles further, as night was coming on and a severe snow-storm had set in. We stopped at the only inn then in the village, and after warming our limbs by a wood fire, we repaired to the beds which had been prepared for us. At about midnight, we were awakened by the opening and shutting of doors and by terrific shrieks. We got out of bed at once, and inquired of some servants we met in the hall the meaning of the noise that had disturbed our sleep. The servants were so frightened they could hardly speak. At last, in an- swer to our inquiry, they pointed to a great light in an open space in front of the inn. We went out and saw a man hanging from a post over which our host placed a lantern every night. The unfortunate man was struggling in the last agonies of death ! About fifty men, anned with rifles, surrounded him and kept the lookers-on at a dis- tance. Some of these men had blackened their faces ; others concealed theirs by the folds of their cloaks or broad-brimmed hats. A short distance from the post a fire was burning, and its red light, reflecting on the crowd, the wretch swinging in the air, and the snow-storm, then fiercely raging, made of the whole proceeding a scene of 6S Asmodeus in New -York. horror and desolation. After a short tune, the contortions of the wretched man ceased ; the rope holding him up was cut, and his body fell heavily to the ground. Two men among the mob then threw it into a wagon and drove away at full speed, while others scattered the em- bers of the smouldering fire in every direction, and soon every thing was enveloped in darkness. " We returned to the inn, none of us, as may be im- agined, disposed to sleep again after» the terrible scene we had witnessed. We stood in the bar-room, and waited for the dawn of day ; indulging, from time to time in smoking, and drinking whisky-punches. Neither did our host de- vote to sleep the rest of that eventful night. He kept us company, and anticipating our desire, related the circum- stances which had brought on the awful transaction we were talking about. " The man who had just been hung, our host informed us, was, a few days previously, one of the most popular and esteemed citizens of the country. He was the son of a highly respectable farmer living a short distance from Middletown, and his marriage with one of the prettiest girls of the village was to have taken place the day after Christmas. He had received the education most of the American people obtain from our free schools, and helped his father in the management of his farm. He used to come and spend a few hours every week, at the very inn we were then stopping at, and which was a favorite resort, especially on Saturdays, for farmers living ten miles around. He was a young man of affable disposition, frank and open in conversation, and was always welcomed by his neighbors. The conviction that he had committed an awful crime was certainly deeply rooted in their minds ; for they were, according to our host, the very men who. Asmodeus in New -York. 69 taking in their own hands the vindication of the law and of society, had put George Harris — such was the name of the young man so summarily dealt with — to death. Five days before, he had gone to a small town named Gregory, about ten miles from Middletown, for the purpose of pur- chasing some wedding-gifts. He met there a young doc- tor, named Plunkett, who was then collecting his bills, as was then, and perhaps is now, the custom of country phy- sicians, at the end of the year. The doctor had been very successful ; for he had collected about one thousand dol- lars, nearly the whole amount due him by the country peo- ple. The two young men spent together a part of the day at Gregor}^, and left in the afternoon, as was stated by some witnesses, and admitted by Harris himself But while the latter reached his home, Doctor Plunkett was doomed to see his own no more. His corpse was found about two miles from his home, the day after he had met George Harris, and at the very spot where they had sepa- rated. His horse had returned without his master, and some relatives and friends, uneasy about his absence, had gone in search of him. The poor man had been shot in the head while, doubtless, talking with the murderer. Plunder had evidently been the motive of the foul deed ; for a few dollars only were found in the pockets of Plun- kett's coat ; while it was found, from the testimony of many persons, and a memorandum made by the doctor himself, that he had collected over one thousand dollars. When found, he was holding in his right hand a small pocket- book, which he had evidently snatched from the murderer during the struggle which, according to the relatives and friends of the doctor, had preceded his assassination. This pocket-book revealed the perpetrator of the crime ; on the first page the name of George Harris was written ; 70 Asm dens in New -York. and while many persons recognized at once the hand-writ- ing of the young man, others asserted that they had seen the pocket-book in his possession on the very day the mur- der had been committed. " ' The county judge and the sheriff went at once to the farm of George Harris's father. George was absent ; he had gone to Middletown, for the purpose of settling a few bills, and he had already paid five hundred dollars when he was arrested, in the very room of the inn in which we were standing and listening to our host. Harris was very much astonished and depressed on hearing of the violent death of Doctor Plunkett, and gave the following details concerning his acquaintance and transactions with the murdered man. According to him, he had met the doc- tor in the town of Gregory, on the homeward journey of the latter from his collecting trip. Harris had never seen him before, yet their acquaintance ripened, in a few hours, to such an intimacy, that the doctor lent George five hun- dred dollars on hearing of his lack of money to defray his wedding expenses. Plunkett had refused any written ac- knowledgment for his loan, declaring he would not con- sent to be reimbursed until his new friend should be in better circumstances. As a token of friendship, he would accept only the pocket-book which Harris had just pur- chased, and in which he (Harris) had written his name. Nobody was present during this transaction ; and both friends, after spending a few hours together at Gregory, had returned home, separating at a branching-oft' of the road. " ' None among the magistrates — not even his best friends — could believe George Harris as to the way he alleged the money had come into his possession. Who could be- lieve that a man whom he did not know the day before I Asinodeus in New -York. yi had loaned him such a large sum of money ? The suspi- cions derived from the discovery of the pocket-book were on the increase, when two new facts corroborated the cir- cumstantial evidence which pointed out Harris to be the murderer. In searching the house of George's father, the sheriff found a revolver, one barrel of which had been re- cently discharged ; and it was stated, besides, that George, after returning home on the day of the murder, had begged one of his sisters to wash his clothes. When questioned about this circumstance, she declared that those clothes were saturated with blood ; and as regards fhe revolver, that weapon was recognized as belonging to the doctor. In fact, only one revolver had been found in the doctor's possession, though it was well known he carried two when riding out. " ' Harris explained the above facts as follows : he as- serted that Doctor Plunkett, before they separated, and as night was coming on, had lent him one of his revolvers, to 13rotect his life in case of need ; and, concerning his blood- stained garments, he related that, a few minutes after leav- ing the doctor, he heard the report of a gi.ni. About the same time, a wounded deer ran by ; and hoping to finish it, he had shot at the deer with the doctor's revolver, and brought it down. Then, alighting to carry off his prize, he had the disappointment to see the deer spring to its feet — nay, shaking off his assailant and covering him with blood, the beast had escaped in the woods. " ' Unfortunately for George Harris, the investigations made on the spot failed to confirm his explanation. No- where in the woods could be seen any trace of the struggle which he said had taken place between him and the deer. On the contrar}^, and as a convincing proof of Harris's guilt, near the spot where the doctor had fallen, a ball of >j2 Asniodeiis vi A^ezv-York. wadding was found, which no doubt had served to load the murderer's weapon. This wadding was formed of pieces of an old country newspaper ; and when the other barrels of the revolver in Harris's possession were emptied, it was stated that their wadding was composed of the same mate- rial ! " ' All these circumstances left no doubt in the magis- trate's mind, and even in that of his neighbors and friends, that Harris had murdered Doctor Plunkett ; and he him- self but slightly persisted in denying the charges preferred against him, as proof after proof of his culpability was brought forvv'ard. He was taken to the county jail ; but fearing he might escape, and for the sake of an exam- ple, the country people had burst open the doors of the jail, and, in spite of an energetic opposition from the sheriff and his assistants, they had removed the prisoner, and hung him in front of the inn at which we were stopping. " ^ Early the next day, the snow-storm had subsided • the sun rose amid a clear atmosphere, and we were soon in readiness to resume our journey. After packing up our clothes and paying our expenses, we drove off, with a feel- ing of relief in leaving Middletown. " ' It is rather a singular thing,' pursued Doctor Hamill, * but it is nevertheless true, that though I have, time and again, traveled through this village, to-day is the first time I have stopped here since the dreadful occurrence I have just related. The inn which at that time sheltered us (and in similar circumstances to those which have interrupted our journey) has disappeared ; it has been replaced by a build- ing adequate to the exigencies of the times and the increase of the town. New streets have been opened ; elegant man- sions have been built; every thing here now breathes of happiness and contentment ; and I know of no place more Asmodeits in New -York. 73 lovely in the fall than this small town, with its winding ri- vulet coursing down the hills, looking like a belt of silver, and those beautiful hills themselves covered with trees of golden foliage. But notwithstanding all these beauties, I feel uneasy here. I fancy I again see Judge Lynch with his terrible followers ; the red flames of the fire which lit up the forms of the bloody men, wrapped in their cloaks and hiding their faces, as if ashamed of their actions ; and, lastly, that miserable wretch, swinging in the air, and who, I imagined, cried out, " I die innocent ! " ' "Doctor Hamili w^as here interrupted by a heart- rending groan from an adjoining room, and at the same time the landlord came in, and inquired whether there was not a physician among us, who could do something for a traveler, who had arrived the day before, and was now suffering intense pain. The doctor instantly followed the landlord, saying, however, that he w^ould soon return, as he felt anxious to play w^hist by the side of the bright wood-fire — that unparalleled rare luxury to a New-Yorker. " But it seemed to be fated that we should not play whist that night, in the pretty village of Middletown, as you will see ; for Dr. Hamill's visit to the patient in the next room lasted over two hours, and we were just on the point of retiring to our sleeping-apartments (it being now midnight) when he reappeared among us. His face was singularly altered, and as white as the snow which con- tinued to pelt against the windows. He emptied, one after the other, two glasses of the whisky-punch we had duly appreciated while waiting for him ; and after recover- ing the balance of his mind — to use his own expression — the doctor gave the following explanation of his long absence. " ' I have alwavs distrusted,' said he, ' the voice of the 74 Asniodciis iji N'ew-York. people — irreverently assimilated to the voice of God. People may err in their judgment and acts as well as a single individual. More than that : I hold that a crowd of persons, acting under the heat of the montent, is more liable to commit errors than a single individual. They excite each other, their imagination reaches to an extrava- gant pitch, and, unwilling to wait for the " sober second thought" which w^ould bring them back to reason, they instantly begin to execute extreme measures, adopted under the spur of passion, and from which any sensible man, conscious of his responsibility, would certainly recoil. In the United States, especially, with a people fickle and easily excited, great danger is to be apprehended from these verdicts of the mob, these tumultuous manifestations of public opinion, which are too often mistaken for truth and justice. The masses, obeying too sudden impulses, blinded by anger and resentment, know no control, no obstacle, to restrain them, and therefore use unmercifully an irresponsible power, to the possible detriment of reason, justice, and humanity. " ' I needed this exordium as a fit preface for the melancholy scene I have just witnessed in the next room. A man in the prime of life, and who appeared to have been once possessed of a strongly-built frame, was writhing under the most acute torture. I saw at once that his earthly career must soon end, and I gave him a few drops of a strengthening cordial. When, after much trouble and difficulty, I succeeded in obtaining from the patient some explanation respecting the locality and progress of his sufferings, I arrived at the conclusion that he was dying through starvation and exhaustion ! His hollow cheeks and wild staring eyes made him a dreadful sight to behold. His bony arms, which he kept most of the time Asmodcus in New -York. 75 over his head, made, when in motion, the same noise as those of a skeleton, and his voice was so weak I was obhged to lean over his ghastly face to understand what he meant. I gave him another cordial, mixing with it a few drops of laudanum, and he soon experienced some relief. " ' Thanking me for my attention, " I feel," said he, " all is up with me in this world. I may have one hour to live, but no more. I will avail myself of that time to confess to you an awful crime. Remorse has long preyed upon my mind ; for fifteen years I have led a miserable life. I believe I ought not to carry with me to my grave a secret which I feel I can reveal, at the present time, without danger to myself, while my confession may be the means, perhaps, at some future day, of saving the life of a fellow- mortal from the impetuosity of a mob, misled by preju- dices or a sudden thirst for blood. " ' " I was hardly twenty years old when the sad event I am now about to reveal occurred. I had unhappily fallen into tlie company of men who possessed no scruples about the means to obtain money, and who gave full reins to their evil passions. We passed most of the day and night in gambling-houses and other places of resort for idle and corrupt persons ; and when we grew tired of that life or deemed it prudent to disappear, for a while, from town, we repaired to the woods, living on game and plunder. One day, we were (one of my boon companions and myself) lying nigh a ditch, waiting to shoot game. Thick bushes prevented the passers-by from seeing us. Night was coming on, and, tired of our long watch, we were just about giving it up, when we perceived two men on horseback coming straight in our direction. They stopped in front of us, to exchange parting words ; for the road branched off at that 76 AsniodcîLS in Neiv-York. place, and, as their conversation led us to believe, they had to take opposite directions to get home. One of them was profuse in his thanks for a loan of five hundred dol- lars, and anxiously insisted on giving his friend a receipt for said loan. But the lender resolutely declined to receive it. ' Then take this pocket-book,' said the bor- rower, and keep it as a token of the friendship which will forever unite us.' The horseman accepted the gift ; but, at the same time, drawing a revolver from his coat — ' Gift for gift,' said he merrily ; ' as you are now a capitalist, and as night is approaching, you want a weapon to protect your treasure. As for me,' showing another revolver, ' I have this to protect my carpet-bag, in which is the balance of my money.' At these last words, after heartily shaking hands, they separated. " ' " We had not missed one word of this conversation, and the same devilish idea flashed through our minds when we heard one of the horsemen speak of the money he had collected. We were strangers in that part of the country, and could travel one hundred miles from it before another sun had set. Hidden by the thick bushes which bordered the road, we followed the horseman about one hundred yards, and then stopped at an angle of the road which he had to cross. A few seconds after, he was in sight. ' Take charge of the man, and I will look after the deer,' whispered my companion, pointing out a stag at some distance. We fired at the same time ; but while the horseman fell to the ground a corpse, the stag, though wounded, had sufficient strength to run away, tracing the course of his flight by his blood. We found five hundred dollars in the carpet-bag of the horseman, who was holding in his hand the pocket-book which his friend had pre- sented him a few minutes before. Then, as we were hun- Asniodeus in Nezv-York. yj giy, we searched for the wounded deer. We found it lying in a hollow ; and while we were cutting it in pieces, we made a discovery that greatly puzzled us. Though my com- panion had fired only once, the beast had been hit twice- Anyhow, we hastily left the wood and that bloody scene, in which I had played the principal part. Twenty days later, we reached the banks of the Mississippi, on our wa}^ with a thousand other adventurers, to newly discovered gold mines. When we arrived at the borders of civiliza- tion, and were on the eve of moving into the endless soli- tudes of the great West, we purchased a lot of newspapers, as is usual with pioneers, with the view of lightening the tediousness of a long journey. In one of those papers I read an account of the murder I had committed, and thus learned the name of the horseman my rifle had mortally \YOunded. His name was Plunkett, and he was a physi- cian. I read in another newspaper that his supposed mur- derer — a young man named George Harris, the same who had given the pocket-book, as a token of friendship, to the physician— had been hanged. This George Harris, fifteen years ago to-day, was taken out of jail by an infuri- ated mob, and put to death for a crime I alone had com- mitted! Since this discover}^, that crime has heavily weighed on my conscience, and my life has been one of continual suffering. I vainly tried to procure by hard work a respite from the remorse that was fast consuming my strength. Even the sight of gold (and I found large nug- gets almost without any trouble, while my companions could find but small bits of the precious metal) had the effect to increase my grief and suffering ; for I had become a murderer for the possession of it ! My mind gradu- ally gave way ; every night I had terrible dreams, in which I saw a violent mob hang the unfortunate Harris, 78 Asmodeus in Neiv-York. while he was protesting his innocence. Soon after, it seemed to be my turn to become the object of the mob's fury. Laboring under a frightful halkicination, I felt the executioners, with their rough hands, pass the fatal noose around my neck, and drawing it closer and closer, until, my breath, leaving my body, I fell a corpse from the post ! What is truly horrible and unaccountable is, that, after those dreadful nights, and while the song of birds and the splendors of the rising sun and the morning's perfumed breezes seemed to invite mankind to renewed life and hap- piness, this awful hallucination still clung to me ! Wide awake as I was, I imagined I still felt the rope gradually pressing against my neck ; I became almost suffocated ; my throat seemed to grow narrower, and in spite of all my efforts I could not swallow food ! " " You now understand how I thus gradually became lean and shrunken up like a skeleton, and why all reme- dies are powerless to prolong my life !" " ' After this frightful confession, the unfortunate man sank back on his bed, his pulse rapidly decreased, and I found it was useless to give him any more of the cordial I had previously administered. I had scarcely time to perform another important duty. Tearing out a blank leaf from my diary, I hastily wrote the following declaration, taken from the lips of the dying man : " ' " At this solemn moment, and soon to appear before my God, I declare that, on the twentieth day of December, i8 — , I murdered Doctor Plunkett, and am the sole author of the crime for which George Harris was hung by the people." " * " Sign," said I, holding the murderer's hand, after reading him the few lines I had written. " If George Harris's parents are alive, your declaration may cheer their Asniodeus in New -York. 79 remaining days, and you will leave this world more con- tented in mind by offering to the victim of a fatal error the only reparation that now lies in your power." " ' He signed with a bold hand, and whispered a few words of satisfaction at what he had done. Then he closed his eyes — stretched out his arms — the death-rattle ap- peared, and a slight spasm told me that Doctor Plunkett's murderer was no more ! ' " After pronouncing these last words, Doctor Hamill took from his pocket-book a small sheet of paper on which was written the murderer's confession. After we had examined the document and satisfied our curiosity, the doctor put it back in his pocket-book. " ' I will carry it with me,' said he, '■ as long as I live. Who can say I shall never again witness Judge Lynch's nocturnal revels ? or that I shall never sit as a juror? In the first place, that declaration will go far to calm a popular outburst, and to secure, as the murderer himself hoped it would, to any man charged with a capital oftense, the pro- tection of the law ; and, in the second place, it will help me to demonstrate to my brother jurors that, when the life of a fellow-creature is at stake, something more than a chain of circumstantial evidence is needed to authorize society to take away his life.' " The ferry-boat had reached the New- York side at the very moment Asmodeus terminated this impressive narra- tive. " Every body should read this dreadful story," said I. " On seeing how very possible it is to make mistakes, the Americans should be less hasty in depriving a man of the benefits of the law." " Undoubtedly," answered Asmodeus ; " still, in the sparsely populated cities of the Far West, the terror 8o Asmodeiis in New - York. inspired by Judge Lynch is, to some extent, salutaiy. I even believe the same summary practice would be pro- ductive of much good were it resorted to, from time to time, in some of our large cities ; as, perhajDs, there is no other means to relieve them of the many scoundrels and rogues who infest them, and whose political connections secure them from the stringency of the law. Indeed, I would not have objected to the hangingof that bar-keeper, who is guilty of the most atrocious crime, and whose avariciousness has caused the untimely death of a score of poor people. All the charges brought against him by the mob were true to the letter, and he was indeed fortu nate in having his life spared, through the interference of a pompous lawyer. But lawyers are meddlesome fellows ; they are forever poking their noses into every affair. To-day, you shall see those of New- York at work ; for I propose to show you, after you have taken a little rest, how justice is administered in the United States." CHAPTER VII. WHICH MAY BE PASSED OVER, IF THE READER DOES NOT CARE TO READ D. D. MERRYMAN's ADVENTURES. HAD, indeed, great need of rest : I was ex- eedingly tired, both in body and mind, which unpleasant state may be readily imagined from my excursion with Asmodeus and the terri- ble scenes through which we had passed. Still, I could enjoy but little repose, so busy was my mind with the many incidents of that excursion. Most assured- ly, thought I, in many respects the morals of the Ameri- cans are strange. We find here a society which is not as yet firmly seated — a premature civilization, which, like a plant in a conservatory, has had no time to ripen in con- formity with natural laws. But pure gold, I doubt not, is largely mingled with scoria. The Americans' love of money is very great ; but does not Asmodeus himself ad- mit that the evil is corrected, to a certain extent, by their love of luxury and by a liberality which seems inexhaust- ible ? And I recollected, in this respect, that no people, in the hour of want, had ever vainly appealed to the Americans. According to Asmodeus, wealth is the cri- terion for public estimation, and the standard of merit in the United States. But is it not so in every other country? Here, every body is more or less engaged in business ; and as there is no nobility, no class distinctions, wealth or success in some calling is about the sole thing 82 Asniodeiis in Nezu-York. that can create distinction. Then, the observations of Asmodeiis concerning marriages in the United States im- pressed me favorably. I felt pleased to know that women were left free to choose their own husbands — heiress- hunters being almost unknown and always despised in America. Paternal power is weak, it is true ; but this is the result and consequence of democratic institutions. It is well to be taught, from youth, to rely on one's self What progress could a people, providentially designed to settle a continent like America, make, were they trammeled by the many prejudices, timid laws, and obnoxious re- straints by which the masses of Europe are shackled.? And I concluded it were wise not to disapprove too has- tily of either the , habits or institutions which permit the American people to make such gigantic strides in the career of progress and power. A burst of laughter here interrupted my meditations. I turned and perceived Asmodeus standing beside me, fanning himself with his handkerchief, and in a very mer- ry humor. " I have just met," said he, after recovering himself, "in the hall of this hotel, a very queer personage — something like an apparition — a ghost — a spirit j and while you dress yourself, I will relate to you his adventures. But I must candidly warn you that the conclusions you may deduce from my narrative will not, perhaps, be in conformity with the optimismal reflections that pervaded your mind when I interrupted you." D. D. MERRYMAN's history. "About two years ago, the city of Omega, situated in the State of New-York, was thrown into much conster- nation, in consequence of a sad accident. The good Asmodeus in New -York. Z^, people of that lovely town were startled one morning, on learning that their beloved minister, D. D. Merryman, had been drowned the day before, while on a fishing excursion with his children. As the minister's clothes had been found on the banks of the river, and his children had de- clared they saw their father, after swimming for a time, sink beneath the waves, no one doubted the awful catas- trophe. The coroner held an inquest, and half-a-dozen wise men of Omega returned a verdict of accidental death. In consequence of this sad calamit}^, a New- York life in- surance company paid the minister's widow the sum of twenty thousand dollars, for which the divine had insured his life a few months before. "At the time of this occurrence. Dr. Merr3'man was a great favorite with the Omega ladies. Handsome and good-hearted, he had been consecrated when twenty-three years old, after devoting, for a time, his theological talent to Erastus Braggart's notorious agency. This Erastus Braggart had long been connected with periodicals, when, one day, he published the following advertisement : " ' Intellectual Bureau. — Tired of newspaper false- hoods and humbugs, and anxious to benefit my country- men, from this day I place the intellectual faculties I have been blessed with, as well as the large experience of the world I have acquired, at their disposition. Henceforth, the Intellectual Bureau I have just started will furnish (or- ders executed at twenty-four hours' notice) epistolary mas- terpieces for lovers of either sex ; eloquent speeches for congressmen and politicians : sermons of the highest evan- gelical standard for ministers of the Gospel ; circulars for merchants ; sensation novels for publishers ; dramas of assured success for authors ; and, for aspiring poets of the United States, poetic works, compared to which, those of 84 Asmodeus in New -York. Homer and Milton will sink into insignificance. From this date, to attain either distinction or a fortune, or even both, churchmen, statesmen, tradesmen, men of science, of means, of large imagination, etc., etc., have but to apply to my Intellectual Bureau, where other information, if re- quired, may be obtained.' " This singular undertaking, it is said, brought large sums of money to Erastus Braggart, who kept in his em- ploy many talented young men. There were in the agency a theological department, in which were written sermons for ministers of the Gospel ; a political department, whose business it was to keep ever ready, on every topic, thrilling speeches for congressmen and politicians ; an academical, or belles-lettres department ; and a few others of less im- portance, " As secrecy was a well-understood condition of this un- dertaking, those among our congressmen, ministers, and authors, who dealt with Braggart's agency, were not known to the outside w^orld. But, though the mystery con- cerning it was never cleared up, it is, nevertheless^ a well- authenticated fact that the pulpit and forum had their palmiest days during the agency's existence. " Merryman, after being consecrated, to charm the Chris- tians of the town of Omega, where he had been sent to ex- ercise his vocation, with his eloquence, had but to open his portfolio to find it replete with sermons on every con- ceivable text, duly elaborated, while in the theological de- partment of the agency, for Braggart's clients ; and, as Omega's faithful people were left in blissful ignorance that others had previously enjoyed their pastor's rhetoric, they lauded his learning and eloquence to the skies. " However, as his annual salary amounted to hardly eight hundred dollars, on account of the scanty contribu- Asmodeus in New -York. 85 tions of the members of his church, Merryman, in the second year of his ministry, devised, as a means to in- crease it, a very sagacious plan. He put up at auction the pews of his church, and, owing to a preconcerted under- standing with some friends, the biddings were exceedingly spirited, and the result highly gratifying. Pews near the pulpit were knocked down to some ambitious people of Omega at a large premium ; and, through this auction, Merryman carried his income up to fifteen hundred dol- lars. As soon as it became known, this bold stroke of his genius found imitators throughout the States. Ministers of the Gospel became speculators, and, instead of humbly begging from the faithful, they sold them the privilege of listening to their sermons. In that way they created for themselves a pleasant independence, while, at the same time, largely increasing their salaries. The letting of church-pews has now become a very extensive practice, some of them yielding, though the fact seems hardly credi- ble, twenty-five thousand dollars per annum, and even more ; and such are the inducements they present to capi- talists, that churches are often built for the sole purpose of selling their pev/s ! " Having so remarkably improved his prospects, D. D. Merryman decided to marry. He had favorably noticed among the female members of his church, Cora Cackling, the daughter of a well-to-do farmer. She was not actually beautiful, but she had a very pleasant disposition, and Merryman thought her quite fitted to enliven his parson- age. Before the third year of his pastorate had expired, he fairly entered upon his honeymoon, which, it is said, sometimes lasts the whole year in the United States. " Such, perchance, would have been the case with Merry- man and his wife, but for Erastus Braggart's accidental visit, 86 Asmodeus iit New-Yo7'k. a few months after their marriage. • The ' Intellectual Bureau ' still continued in existence, supplying, as usual, the pulpit, bar, and stage, with its masterpieces. But Braggart now aspired to pla}^ a still more conspicuous part. He was ambitious to enlighten not only a few classes, but the whole of mankind ; and he was busily engaged in estab^ lishing a new religion, when, returning from a tri^D for that especial purpose, he made a short stay at Omega. "It is certainly strange that spiritualism, or the pre- tended intercourse with the spirits of an invisible world, should have made its appearance in the United States at about the time Swedenborg's doctrines (foretold by him- self) were in the ascendant. When, at the point of death, he was asked by one of his friends whether he persisted in his belief and assertions, as contained in his works, the Swedish philosopher answered affirmatively ; adding, that nobody would, a hundred years hen-ce, doubt the sound- ness and truth of his spiritual teachings. It may be that Braggart had read this incident in one of Swedenborg's numerous biographies; and, learning, one day, that two or three young girls, living in a northern county of the State of New York, fell, from time to time, into magnetic trances, during which they pretended to communicate with spirits, he believed the era predicted by Swedenborg had arrived. He went to the village where the young girls lived, for the purpose of hearing their revelations ; and, satisfied with the experiment, he was on his way back to New- York, when he met his former employee. Merry- man. "The minister, proud to entertain such a noteworthy personage as Erastus Braggart, took him to his parsonage, where he was not slow to notice the fine figure and intel- ligent countenance of the minister's wife. She was no Asinodeus in Neiv-York. Sy longer the homely country girl the minister had married. Hymen had polished a rough marble and fashioned a charming statue out of it. Her auburn hair fell in massy curls over her finely rounded shoulders, her blue eyes were brilliant with the soft light of love, and a sort of poetical halo seemed to surround her, by which bystanders were in- voluntarily entranced. " It may be doubted whether Merryman was conscious of the great change that matrimony had wrought in his wife, and of her actual beauty and wit. But Braggart saw, at the first glance, that she was the very woman he was in search of, to help him in his forthcoming revelations to the world of a new religious system. Under some pretense, he lengthened his visit to Omega, and before taking his departure for New- York, he had come to a thorough under- standing with Mrs. Merr}anan regarding their future opera- tions. The small town of Omega, it seems, had become tiresome to her ; and when Braggart pointed out the noto- riety in store for her, she became willing to play a conspi- cuous part in the spiritual exhibitions he had in view — that of intermediary, or medium, between the dead and living. So, every thing prepared, one evening, she hastened to New- York, to meet Erastus ; and Merryman, on return- ing to his parsonage, found it deserted. "The minister learned of her whereabouts from that very notoriety Braggart had promised her. Cora had com- menced a series of lectures, or revelations she pretended to have received from the spiritual world, and upon which a new religious system was to be based. People fond of new sensations flocked to her lectures and apj^lauded the fair lecturer. They were moved to enthusiasm by her sympathetic voice and facility of expressing startling theo- ries. Cora, with an imperturbable coolness, described per- 88 Asmodeiis in Nezv-York. sons who had been dead many years, and repeated con- versations she said she had held with their spirits. Many illustrious men of modern, and even of ancient, times, were the objects of her so-called supernatural power ; and her in- tercourse with the invisible world continued several months, until interrupted by the medium's mysterious disappearance. Among the persons converted to spiritualism, a wealthy merchant had early shown himself as one of the most en- thusiastic, and he finally prevailed upon Cora to confer on him alone, to the exclusion of the public, the benefit of her intercourse with the world of spirits. " In the mean while, D. D. Merryman had taught himself to look philosophically at his conjugal misfortune. Cora's lectures in New-York had created such a sensation that he could not think of ever taking her back to his parsonage — even admitting that she might be willing to resume her for- mer quiet and decent life. As her notoriety increased, owing to her extravagant style of living, and the great dis- play she made after her acquaintance with the wealthy merchant, the minister concluded that a divorce was now the only issue forced upon him ; and so, after she had been absent over a year from his roof, Merryman obtained a di- vorce from Cora Cackling. But, shortly after, he married again. "With few exceptions, ministers of the Gospel do not remain in celibacy. The feelings of Protestant communi- ties regarding this matter are altogether different from those of Roman Catholics. A Protestant minister must marry, if he wishes to enjoy the full confidence of his flock ; though he can not in that blessed condition obviously entertain for it such inexhaustible devotedness as the Catholic priest, who belongs entirely to his flock. It has been contended that the imagination is not as fervid with people of the Protes- Asmodcus in New -York. 89 tant persuasion as with Catholics ; and also, that they are less kindly of heart and less disinterested in mind. If so, Protestant communities must not expect from their minis- ters qualities with which they are only moderately endowed. But, if public opinion approved D. D. Merryman's second marriage, it was for him the occasion of many unpleasant trials — like those that conquered Peter's opposition to a Castillan Hidalgo.* Merryman's second v.'ife was afflicted with that troublesome mania, jealousy, and in its most un- pleasant form — retj'ospecfive jealousy. She forever fancied that her husband still loved his first wife, and more than once caused Merryman to regret that he had married again. However, maternal duties soon absorbed the thoughts of the minister's wife and brought some relief to her husband. Those duties were almost constantly required for six years ; for after the lapse of that time, the minister had a family of two boys and two girls — an evident dispensation of Hea- ven's bounty, in the opinion of the old ladies of Omega. " Large families, in fact, are far from being considered a burden by country pao^Dle. The corruption that has in- vaded large cities is, as yet, unknown in most country- places, and Malthus's theories and charlatan practices do i>ot obtain among them. They feel no uneasiness in bring- ing up their children, nor any anxiety for their prospects. They are aware that when boys arrive at the age of fifteen, they will make money enough to meet their own expenses ; and, as regards the girls, if they are pretty and modest, husbands will not be wanting. Consequently, the increase * An allusion by Asmodeus to the following legend : Peter declined to allow an Hidalgo to enter Paradise. "Go through purgaiory's probation first," said he. " I have been twice married," replied the disappointed Castilian. " That is another affair," gently rejoined Peter ; " a second marriage is equivalent to purgatory's pro- bation. Come into Paradise I" 90 ^ Asmodeus in Nezu-York. of his family gave no uneasiness to D. D. Merryman. But an occurrence took place about eight years after his second marriage which was destined to work a considera- ble change in his prospects. He was obliged to go, from time to time, to New-York, to confer with some brethren of his church ; and on one of these trips he met, on her way to the metropolis, a friendless young girl in search of a situa- tion. The doctor felt a profound compassion for this young lady, thrown upon the cold charity of the world. He recommended her to some friends, gave her money, and returned to Omega, well satisfied with his day's work. " In this affair, the minister had been guided by pure motives of Christian charity; but the devil delights, as you know, to turn aside the best intentions, and he resorts especially to very wicked means when he wants to over- come a servant of God and plunge him into sin. It ap- pears that D. D, Merryman visited this young lady, whom he had made his ward, several times. She had become a teacher in one of our public schools. At the time the minister chanced to meet Angela, she was hardly twenty years old, while Mrs. Merryman was nearly thirty-five, being of the same age as her husband ; and the latter could not help contrasting the beauty and loveliness of the young teacher with the fading charms and morose dis- position of his wife. " No matter to which persuasion he belongs, in spite of his layman's dress, the countenance always betrays the Roman Catholic priest or the Protestant minister. Angela was, therefore, well aware, from the beginning of her ac- quaintance with Merryman, of his sacred character, and she displayed all the arts of female coquetry to lead her protector astray. It may be supposed he became a too willing victim to the snares laid by the fascinating Angela ; Asmodeus in New -York. 91 for a few months after meeting her, Merryman, besides his home in Omega, had fitted up a temporary one in New- York. This estabHshment proved a costly luxury, and Merryman was far from being wealthy. To complicate the difficulties of his situation, his now frequent visits to New-York awoke in the bosom of his legitimate wife the slumbering fires of jealousy ; while the old ladies of Omega began to gossip among themselves of the repeated ab- sences of their pastor. Merryman was not slow to realize the dangers of his situation — dangers that were every day increasing ; and he was gradually led to devise some means to extricate himself from the embarrassing situation in which he was placed. The shortest and surest one, perhaps, was to leave Angela to her fate, and never to see her again. But the minister had it not in his heart to abandon the young teacher ; because, besides being pas- sionately enamored of her, he was fearful she might expose him, in case he should determine to put an end to all fur- ther intercourse with her. Scandal is the very thing the Americans, in every station of life, are most afraid of As, in general, they make a parade of virtue, they inevitably lose public esteem when they turn aside from its paths. If traders, they no longer find countenance with banks and bankers, and ruin befalls them. If ministers of the Gospel, the result is the same ; and Merryman knew too well that his church would be deserted and his pews unsalable, if his intrigue with Angela became known. " After duly considering every side of the case, he de- termined to elope with Angela. But, as he had imbibed casuistic principles from his theological studies, he took care to reconcile his duties as a father with his love for the teacher. To that effect, he insured his life for a sum of twenty thousand dollars, payable, in case of his death, 92 Asinodeus in New -York. to his wife and children ; and to procure the means he needed to carry out his plan, he sold two houses purchased out of his savings. A few months after these transactions, the inhabitants of Omega, as I related in the beginning of this veracious narrative, were startled to hear that their beloved minister had been drowned." Here Asmodeus again gave way to a fit of laughter, and then resumed his narrative. " Think of my amazement on meeting, a few minutes ago, that same D. D. Merryman, whose untimely end the Omega community has long lamented ! I met him in the hail as I was coming here to take you out to show you, ac- cording to my promise, how the judicial institutions of the United States are operated. I recognized him at first sight, skillfully disguised as he was ; for," added Asmo- deus, in a vainglorious manner, "it is not an easy matter to deceive a little devil who has seen much of the world ! " ^ My dear doctor,' said I, ' how glad I am to see you, and looking, too, as young and handsome as ever.' " ' Sir,' he angrily replied, moving off, ' you mistake me for another.' " ' Oh ! no ; my name is Asmodeus, as true as yours is Merryman, who was, a few years ago, the beloved pastor of Omega. If you have forgotten me, I have not you, for the very reason that I chanced to meet you on a memo- rable occasion of my life. I had just broken my leg for the second time, and a country physician had so badly ad- justed it, that an accident of no consequence, if properly attended to, put my life in jeopardy. A few old ladies at that time called you to my bedside, to reconcile me with heaven and prepare me for that country " from whose bourne no traveler returns." But I got out of the scrape in spite of the ignorant country doctor, but with the un- Asmodcus in New -York. 93 pleasant result of limping a little more than before. You now understand, my dear doctor, that a man snatched from the brink of the grave can hardly forget those whose busi- ness it is to gently push him into it. But, at the time of the occurrence I allude to, your face was as smooth as that of an infant ; to-day, you wear both mustache and whiskers. Again, your hair was at that time of a sandy color, and now it is as black as ebony. Please, tell me, my dear Mr. Merryman, the meaning of this wonderful and no doubt successful transformation.' " ' I will confide all to you, on condition that you will not again call me by my real name,' said the minister, looking anxiously around. ' There is no use, I see, to dissemble with you. Let us go to some secluded place, and I will unvail the mystery to which you seem to attach so much importance. " ' I had resolved,' he began, ' to leave my family for- ever, but, at the same time, to secure to them the means of subsistence in case the plan I had matured should suc- ceed. I arranged, in consequence, a fishing-party with two of my children. We accordingly enjoyed ourselves all day, boating and fishing, about two miles from the town. When night came on, saying I would take a swim, I undressed myself and told the children to quietly wait for my return. After swimming about av/hile, I dived under the water and swam toward the opposite bank, which I reached in safety. Nobody was in the vicinity, and so I landed unseen. I had, a few days previously, concealed a few clothes in a clump of bushes ; and after putting them on, I waited to mark what effect my manœuvre would have upon the children. I perceived from my hiding-place, they felt uneasy concerning my absence, and perhaps also about themselves, as it was now growing dark. Soon they 94 Asinodeus in New -York. commenced crying aloud, and attracted the attention of some country people who were passing by. The latter, after learning the cause of the little ones' trouble, began at once to search for me. Relieved now of all anxiety concerning the children, and having nothing further to do in that vicinity, I rapidly walked away. The night was very dark, and I would have experienced much difficulty in traveling but for my knowledge of the country. I walked till the dawn of day, and then took a little rest in a wood near by. When I awoke, I cut off my light hair, covered my head with a black wig, adorned my lips with a thick mustache, and my face with heavy whiskers \ and when I looked in a pocket-mirror I had with me, I could hardly recognize myself. Satisfied my identity could not be easily discovered, I took my course toward the nearest railway station. I arrived, in a few hours' time, at a small town in Canada, where it was agreed, before I left her, Angela should meet me. I waited there for her a whole week. At last she came, bringing with her several newspapers, in which was an account of the sad accident that had de- prived the Omega community of its pastor ; and we in- stantly made preparations to sail for Europe. " ' With so restless a people as the Americans, who are so fond of traveling, we could not think of settling in the vicinity of the States. I was artfully disguised, it is true — so much so that Angela hardly recognized me when we met ; still, I thought somebody might have the same per- spicacity you have just exhibited — though several years have elapsed since we have met ; and therefore, impelled by a sense of safety, we took passage on board the first ves- sel that sailed for Europe. " ' I had provided myself with twenty thousand dollars, and expected, on arriving in England, to increase my re- AsDiodciLS in New -York. 95 sources by means of some occupation. But Angela would not listen to any project of that sort. She wanted to see the world ; so I unwillingly submitted to her desire, and said no more about it. " ' I loved her more passionately than ever ; and be- sides, I soon perceived she had discovered a secret that placed me entirely in her power. The newspapers she had brought me contained editorials respecting the con- tract of insurance I had made for the benefit of my family ; my foresight was highly praised, and presented as a com- mendable example to the public in general, and ministers of the Gospel in particular. One word from Angela would arouse the company's suspicions, provoke fresh inquiry respecting my sudden departure, and finally deprive my wife and children of the fruits of my insurance. In conse- quence, I thought it advisable to blindly follow Angela's Vv'hims and fancies, for fear of exciting her resentment. " ' To tell you the truth, the two years I spent with her in Europe gave me a foretaste of hell's torments — that is, if such a place as hell exists — a matter concerning which you know, perhaps, more than myself. Sometimes she wished me to marry her, as she could no longer tolerate, she said, her degraded existence. As I had assumed, on leaving America, the name of Samuel Elope, she desired me to resume that of Merryman. I resisted, of course, because I could not condescend to commit an act of bigamy, and also because it w^ould prove a dangerous experiment to resuscitate Dr. Merryman of Omega. Sometimes she found fault with my beard, and objected to my dyeing it and my hair — the safest way, undoubtedly, to conceal my identity. She declared she had fallen in love with me, when I used to shave and had light hair ; that she could never have loved the bearded mulatto into which I had 96 Asniodeiis in New -York. transformed myself. In short, not a day, not even an hour passed that was not marked by some quarrel insti- gated by this devilish woman, which inevitably ended in her threatening to divulge the trick I had devised, as she said, to bleed a life insurance company. More than once, I confess, I regretted having left my home, in spite of every circumstance that once tended to make it irksome. " I found that only traveling would make our association endurable, and soften Angela's bitter temper. So we successively visited Scotland, Ireland, and England ; then France, Spain, Italy, and a part of Germany. But our traveling expenses were rapidly exhausting the money I had brought with me ; and one day I made the sad dis- covery that only one thousand dollars remained in my pocket-book. " ' Now is the time to return to America,' said Angela. * There, if they do not always make fortunes, smart, ener- getic men easily find a means of subsistence. Besides, I am disgusted with the Old World. All European countries, when compared with the United States, seem backward by at least a centur3\ I feel distressed, and my republican feelings are hurt by seeing everywhere females working like cattle, and society divided into classes and castes, as it was in the time of the Pharaohs or the days of the Crusades. And what an amount of misery these country people endure, living in thatched shanties, with not even a window to ventilate them ! Their very costume is painful to contemplate — wearing, as they do, a loose frock, and walking barefooted — except the better classes among them, who wear wooden shoes. I long to see again the pretty cottages of New-England, and their decently-dressed women ; I long to travel on American railways, in those spacious cars in which people move and breathe freely ; Asmodeîis in New -York. 97 in short, I long to return to a country where all men are gentlemen, all women ladies !" " ' While relieving herself of this harangue, Angela packed up her things ; and notwithstanding my objections, the next day she paid for her passage on board a German steamer bound for America. I was weak enough to follow her, and we arrived here five days ago. I have already met some former acquaintances ; but though they did not re- cognize me, I do not feel secure, and think it best to leave this great metropolis at once.' " ' And Angela,' I ventured to ask the minister ; * what has become of her ? ' "'When on board,' answered Merryman, sighing and visibly depressed, ' I deemed it prudent to shut myself up, most of the time, in our cabin. Angela, who had no rea- son to keep herself secluded, was constantly promenading the deck or singing in the saloons. It appears she made the acquaintance of a wealthy Californian, who was also on his way to the States. The day after we arrived, while looking for her through the hotel at which we put up, a messenger handed me the following letter : " ' " My Dear Doctor : We have, indeed, had a pleasant time together — spending, in our tour from one place to an- other, about twenty thousand dollars, which is considered a large sum on the other side of the water. Unfortunate- ly, by living in such fine style, I gained a taste for luxury ; and as you are no longer in a situation to satisfy it, I have accepted the gracious offer of a wealthy Californian to be- come his housekeeper. The Morning Star is just steam- ing up ; and when you receive these few lines, I shall be on my way to the Pacific coast. So, farewell, reverend sir. gS Asmodeiis in New -York. Do not become excited; and above all things, dp not weep for me, lest your grief find an echo at Omega. " Angela." "'Now,' concluded Merryman, after reading this letter, 'mindful in my conscience of what I owe that poor, erring girl, I myself intend to sail to-morrow for California. I will endeavor to bring that stray lamb back to the path of virtue. But, with or without her, I am determined to set- tle in that wonderful State, and to forget, by hard work, the faults, errors, and deceptions of a misspent life !'" CHAPTER VIII. IN WHICH ASMODEUS SKETCHES THE JUDICIARY WORLD AND INSTITUTIONS OF NEW-YORK. jHILE going to Justice's temple, as Asmodeus ironically termed the spacious building where most of the courts of justice in the American metropolis hold their sittings, I did not cease admiring the handsome edifices which line the commercial thoroughfare of the city. Many of the warehouses, where all the products of the world find room, have a very im- posing appearance, most of them being built of white mar- ble and in the most tasteful style. And what bustle every- where — what activity — what confusion ! The city of New- York is built upon an island called Manhattan, whose area does not exceed fourteen thousand acres ; and when it is considered that the capital of France contains within its present limits eighteen thousand miles, there can be no wonder that the value of real estate has, within but a few years, so rapidly increased. At the same time, the shape of the island renders circulation a matter of great difficul- ty to the million and a half of individuals living within the limits of the city or in neighboring towns, the inhabitants of the latter coming every morning to transact business in New-York. Broadway, the principal thoroughfare^ is often beset with fearful dangers — wagons, drays, and carriages of 100 Asinodeus i7i Nezv-York. every description choking it up for blocks, as well as many by-streets and avenues. Foot-passengers have often to wait very long before they can cross from street to street — unless they belong to the fair sex, in which case they are soon escorted safely over, as polite policemen seem to make it their principal business to open a way for the ladies. I noticed that very few of what we term old people are met with. Every body looks young ; old men walk with an elastic step, and seem to carry easily and comfortably the burden of many years. " People here have no time to grow old," said my com- panion, guessing my thoughts. " Their business, the bracing air they breathe, the general activity pervading all things, make men forget the encroachment of years, and hence they grow old unconsciously. Contrary to the custom of European merchants, none here thinks of retir- ing from business, even after accumulating wealth. Men of eighty years, and over, go regularly every morning to their office, and wonderfully withstand the ravages of time. Repose seems unbearable in the United States. Millionaires themselves keep ever busy, until death snatches them from their labors. To the inhabitant of the New World may be quite properly applied that well-known sentence : ' In the grave only there is rest for man.' "With such a people, and considering the favorable situation of New- York, with its two rivers, navigable for the largest ships ; with a harbor in which all the navies of the world might safely ride at anchor ; with an admirable net- work of railways, it is impossible to predict any limit to the development of that great metropolis. To-day, it is the commercial and monetary market of North- America. Before a quarter of a century has elapsed, when railways Asmodeiis in New -York. roi shall connect the Pacific with the Atlantic Ocean, it will become the mercantile and financial centre of the world. Its population, with its steady increase, will before the end of the present century exceed that of London." By this time, we had arrived at the court-house, and we entered one of the rooms where a case was in progress. This room was lined with green hangings, and an iron railing separated the magistrates and lawyers from the public. It looked like one of the halls for the adminis- tration of justice in Europe. The presiding judge was assisted by two others. At his right, a little further off, twelve jurymen were seated, and on his left were the district-attorney and the clerk of the court, behind whom could be seen many newspaper reporters. Opposite was a wooden bar, behind which seats were disposed for the lawyers ; and in the middle of the room stood a bench for persons whose testimony was to be received. There were no soldiers present — not even a single policeman — in a word, not the slightest sign of brutal force, or of what is termed " authority" in the Old World. A young girl was on trial for the supposed murder of her mistress ; and no one but one of the keepers of the prison where she was detained was standing by her. Neither the presiding judge, his assistants, the state-attorney, nor the prisoner's counsel — in short, nobody in the room — wore a costume distinct from that of the public. The red or black gown, worn by magistrates in Europe; the ponder- ous wig of English judges and lawyers; the square cap and white band of French advocates, are unknown in the United States ; and it does not appear that the adminis- tration of law is less dignified, because of the repudiation of the staid ideas of past ages. According to Asmodeus, the Americans are, as a 102 Asmodeîis in New -York., general rule, a good-natured people. They are cool, not over-fond of heated debate, and good breeding seems to be quite common. Writers who have burlesqued American habits and reproached the inhabitants of the United States with gross improprieties, have done so either for specula- tive purposes or to revenge some supposed personal slight. The trial was indeed conducted with perfect decorum ; and the audience, refraining from expressing either appro- bation or disapprobation, exhibited much respect for law and justice. I was struck by another peculiarity — namely, the slowness of the proceedings. I learned that the case now going on had commenced ten days previously, and that five days more would be required to bring it to a con- clusion. I readily believed it on seeing the wranglings and chicanery resorted to, every moment, by the prison- er's counsel ; and I could understand, in consequence of an incident I will relate, how trials which would terminate within a day or two in Europe, last a fortnight and even more in the United States. According to the state-attorney, the young girl had been induced to kill her mistress in the hope of marrying the victim's husband. The murder had been committed in broad daylight, while the lady was alone. On their side, the girl's counsel contended that robbers, stealing into the house, had been surprised by the poor woman, whom they assassinated to get rid of her resistance and testimony. Suddenly, one of the counsel rose to propound what seemed to me a nonsensical question — that of ascertaining at what time the moon had shown on the night previous to the day the murder had been committed. The discussion on this point lasted two hours. The counsel of the ac- cused asked leave to produce an almanac, which demand the state-attorney strenuously ojDposed, as being contrary to Asmodeiis in Nciv-York. 103 the law. After a long rejoinder from one of the prisoner's defenders, the court ordered that the almanac be produced. The triumphant lawyer then drew from his pocket an almanac published, it appears, by a gentleman belonging to his own political party. The state-attorney, who be- longed to another party, objected to the production of the almanac, as coming from a suspicious source ; and then both delivered themselves of a wearisome argument on the merits of their respective parties, the court-room all the time resembling a political arena. The fight over, the presiding judge decided that only an official almanac should be produced — the one published by the Smith- sonian Institute of Washington. Nobody in the court- room had this impartial document in his possession ; it was even surmised by some malicious persons that such a document never existed. To clear up this point, an order was given to one of the ushers to go to some stationer's and procure the Smithsonian Institute's Almanac. In consequence of this incident, the court adjourned, and Asmodeus availed himself of the adjournment to give me some infonnation respecting a few ' limbs of the law,' as he facetiously called members of the bar ; and, also of the judicial institutions of the United States. " That stout gentleman," said he, " whose red face and whiskers unmistakably proclaim him to be an English- man, arrived, a few years ago, from the United Kingdom, leaving behind him many debts and a not very enviable reputation. He was welcomed here by every body as a victim of the aristocratic institutions of Europe. An Irish widow, who had just inherited a large fortune from her husband, took a fancy to this merry son of Albion, who undertook to solace her widowhood by marrying her. Within two or three years he squandered his wife's for- i04 A s VIO dais in New -York. tune, and then recovered his freedom, after a somewhat scandalous divorce suit. This late member of the English bar lacks neither talent nor energy, and as he is a jovial man, is quite popular among his friends of the legal pro- fession, and also with people who are bankrupt. When he pleads for a bankrupt, he displays such warmth, such ear- nestness, one would think he pleads his own cause. "That gentleman by his side, whose hair is white as snow, was long looked upon as one of our best speakers. He well knows how to move his hearers to tears. His pan- tomime, especially, is singularly expressive. Many years ago, when yet a young lawyer, he was intrusted with the defense of a poor fellow charged wdth having murdered an old miser. The latter's son was present in the Court of Oyer and Terminer while the trial was in progress. The young lawyer depicted all the circumstances of the murder with such w^ondrous skill that every hearer was moved to tears ; he ended by hurling the curse of the accused on the real culprit's head — ' A wretch,' said he, ' who has tried to add to one horrible crime another as great — that of causing the death of an innocent being.' On hearing the lawyer's curse, the miser's son threw himself at the feet of the judge, and confessed that he was the real murderer ! " But this remarkable mimic, this powerful orator, lacks decency and honesty. I heard him, one day, on his leav- ing the court-room, only a few minutes after obtaining the acquittal of a prisoner, say that he would not venture to employ him for his cook. He is one of those lawyers who have introduced the practice of engaging in suits upon spec- ulation — that is, for a part of what they expect to recover — and also, to buy up claims. An agreement with a client for a compensation, at a different rate from what is pre- scribed in the fee-bill, has for its result to lower the pro- Àsmodèus ill New -York. 105 fessiôn ' in public estimation. A very serious case being confided to the care of the lawyer I speak of, a few years ago, he stipulated that his fee should be one thousand dollars only in case of conviction, and three thousand in case of acquittal. - He earned the latter sum. ".Among the four thousand lawyers in New-York who practice, or are supposed to practice, law, all nationalities ai-e represented. The number of Irish lawyers, especially, is very great. The sons of the Emerald Isle seem to be born with the gift of eloquence ; and what remarkable cool- ness or audacity is always exhibited by these countrymen of -O'Connell! One would think, from their conversation, that America belongs to their race. They no sooner arrive here than they aspire to public offices— the most important even in the gift of the people. Irishmen fill all branches of the federal, state, and municipal government. I am willing to wager, at any time, that out of twenty politicians, a dozen have emigrated from Ireland. " If I am not mistaken, the state-attorney is an Irish- man. He came to this country shortly after one of those political disturbances so frequent in Ireland— believing it the safest plan to place the ocean between himself and the queen's officers. Like all his countrymen, he immediately connected himself with a political organization, and soon his worldly prospects improved. None knows better than he how to make, at a political convention or national com- memoration, an impressive and grandiloquent eulogy on some great man of the Union, living or dead— especially the former. " That lawyer in front of us settled in New- York a few years ago. He was born in one of the New-England States, and his noble countenance, eloquent eyes, and high forehead can not fail to attract attention everywhere. lo6 Asmodeiis in Nc%v-York. He is one of the best debaters in New-York, and is all the more worthy of praise because he had to struggle hard to obtain his present exalted position, being born of poor parents. In politics he is a formidable antagonist to his opponents : but his own party can not appreciate his in- domitable pride and domineering propensities. At the present time, he ranks among the most indefatigable law- yers in the United States. Though his appearance might lead one to think otherwise, he is exceedingly fond of money. It is related of him that, in a cause in which im- portant interests were at stake, (a physician being charged with poisoning a friend who had bequeathed him his for- tune,) he displayed an exasperation, an animosity, unknown before in the States. He was the attorney of the poisoned man's family ; and when the physician, whose doom he had sealed by his eloquence, was hanged, he was the most conspicuous individual among the spectators, as though he was not sure of earning his fee until he saw the poi- soner swinging in the air ! " That old gentleman conversing with him still retains the fires of his youth, and our actresses have no more ar- dent admirer than he. It may be that he acquired from the footlights that taste for emphasis and theatrical effect which he always displays. Pleading one day against a man possessed of a large fortune, and prosecuted for an indecent assault upon a young lady — ' Gentlemen,' said he, looking imploringly at the jury, ' you are fathers ! ' It was all he said ; but the effect was magical. He sank overcome upon his seat ; and after deliberating a few minutes, the jury returned a verdict of conviction. "As is the case in all countries where representative governments exist, lawyers abound in the National Con- gress and State Legislatures. Two thirds of the members As mo de ILS in New -York. 1 07 of the legislative bodies are lawyers, which fact shows how great their influence is in the United States — though that esprit de corps which distinguishes the legal profession in Europe is but little developed here. They have no supe- riors among them ; the equality which exists everywhere is to be found also among members of the bar. It may be even suspected that they are more impatient of govern- mental control than the rest of the population. " Of course, it is from among the legal profession that politicians mainly spring ; and the growing influence of law- yers is well illustrated by the fact that they have occupied the presidential chair since the time of General Jackson. According to the official census, thirty-five thousand persons belong to the legal profession in the United States — a number equal to that of mantua-makers and milliners, and also to that of ministers of all denominations. Out of thirty-five thousand lawyers, two thousand were not born in the United States ; they came here from all parts of the world, which fact seems to demonstrate that if lawyers ex- perience hard times in Europe, they enjoy a better and easier life in this land of freedom. " In fact, in no other country has chicanery more free and lively scope : not because the Americans are a quar- relsome people — few have more peaceable and tolerant dis- positions ; but while the national character has nothing to do with lawsuits and judicial difficulties, which cost the people, every year, on an average, fifty millions of dollars, it is not so as regards the law. And here it is necessary to give a general idea of the Federal Government and of its relations with the several States. " There is a national or central government, having under its exclusive control all affairs of a general character, and principally treaty relations with foreign countries. io8 Asmodcus in New -York. But there is also a separate and distinct government for every State of the Union, composed of an executive power and legislative bodies, like the national government. These particular governments attend to the internal aifairs of their respective States ; but they are not permitted to coin money, to make treaties with foreign nations, or to regulate the general trade of the land, which prerogatives devolve upon the federal power. But, aside from these prerogatives, the field, as regards the internal administra- tion of the States and the relations existing between their inhabitants, is large enough to reap a perfect harvest of fresh laws at every session of the local legislatures. Their members, you may be sure, legislate to their hearts' con- tent. Every representative arrives at the capitol of his State with a law-project of some kind in his pocket, as a means whereby to play the man of importance ; and be- sides, as all law-makers receive a compensation for their labor, they feel bound to earn it. ' \ ^'^--'-^ - " It is really impossible to calculàtëj-èvën by approxima- tion, the number of laws passed by all the States since the American Union first sprang into existence — the mania for legislation, for the reasons I have stated, being cotemporary with the republic. To the innumerable laws in force in the States, we must add those passed by every Congress- since the days of Washington — laws often conflicting- wîfli-: those emanating from local legislatures. Of course, the latter are in force in their respective States only, and great discrepancies sometimes exist between the laws of neigh- boring States. For instance, divorce may be granted for some causes in the State of New- York, while these causes are deemed insufficient in a neighboring State ; civil rights may be acquired under certain conditions in some States,' but not in others ; and perhaps a similar law concerning As mo dais in Nezv-York. 1 09 persons and property does not exist in two States of the Union. Now, yoa can comprehend how such a chaos as this favors the legal profession, and also why the United States are a sort of Eldorado, a golden land for lawyers ; and thus it will be for a long time to come. " The fees that lawyers exact from the unfortunates who must solicit their services are, in general, considerable ; as I have said before, they exceed the fee-bill in almost every case, owing to private and previous agreements. Law}"ers in the Old World are, proverbially, a gi'eedy set ; and though it is safe to be on friendly terms with those of the United States, truth compels me to say they are no better, in this respect, than European barristers. Most assuredly, there are lawyers who, for their talent as well as honesty, are an honor to their profession. But the num- ber of such men is small. As there is no senior or supe- rior, no committee among them, as in Europe, to whom, in case of ill-behavior, they must account, they are too often unrestrained in their dealings ; and I think that foreigners are right when they reproach the legal profession with hav- ing fallen to the level of a trade. Some go so far as to try to drum up clients in the nev/spapers, in the same strain as do patent-medicine venders and other charlatans. I see a few around us who make divorce cases a specialty, and who daily advertise that, through their agency, absolute divorces may be legally obtained in New- York and other States, without publicity, and without charge until the busi- ness is definitively settled. In the West, it appears, there is published a price-current for such proceedings, the fees varying according to the difficulty of the case, the social standing of the parties, and the time they have been mar- ried. Nothing there seems to be easier than to break a marriage contract. On reading his morning paper, a bus- no As))iodcus in New -York. band learns he is free to marry again, and his wife packs up her things and quietly departs. " With few exceptions, laws are not codified in the States, and the reports of judicial decisions, published in some of them, are insufficient to establish a common law; even the law of precedents would be quite powerless in a democratic country, where the caprice of the hour rules every thing. " In general, in American courts of justice, when a case is new or offers serious difficulties, magistrates have re- course to the principles established by English jurispru- dence. But as the judiciary depends on popular suffi'age, it often happens that judges are replaced by new favorites of the people, at the very moment they have become well posted in their business. Hence, there can be no wonder that judicial decisions often lack breadth and ability, and even reveal gross ignorance of the general principles of law; neither need one feel surprise at the dilatory and languishing proceedings in the administration of justice, to the detriment of the litigants. " Unity of law — that is, uniform laws for a country — is possible only w^here political centralization exists. In the United States, the political fabric rests on federal ideas and principles ; and as it is probable that the preservation of free institutions and of liberty, as understood in Ameri- ca, depends on the prevalence of those ideas and princi- ples, unity of law is a social blessing not to be very soon realized here. "The Americans, aware of the multiplicity and con- fusion of their laws, never transact any business of im- portance without the help of a legal adviser. In Europe, families in good circumstances employ a physician with a Asmodcus in New -York. in fixed salary ; here they indulge in the indispensable luxury of a lawyer, yearly salaried. " As regards the judicial system of the United States, it is really a labyrinth, where only people well posted in chi- canery may safely pick their way. Besides the Supreme Court of the United States, composed of judges appointed by the President, with the approbation of the Senate, there are Supreme Courts and Courts of Appeals in every State ; Courts of Common Pleas, whose judgments may be sub- mitted to appeals, except in such cases as provided by law ; and, finally, District Courts. These organizations would be simple enough, were the judicial circumscriptions and ascriptions of the different courts well defined. But this is far from being the case. " To speak only of the State of New- York, the officers of the judiciary are eight judges of the Court of Appeals and thirty-three justices of the Supreme Court. The State is divided into two federal judicial districts, in each of which is held a district court. These courts have nearly concurrent original jurisdiction in all matters in which the United States is a party, and in offenses against the fede- ral laws. The Court of Appeals is composed of eight judges, six of whom constitute a quorum. It has power to correct and reverse all proceedings of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has general jurisdiction in law and equity, and power to review the judgments of County Courts. The judges of the Court of Appeals are also independent in their respective circumscriptions. Hence the frequent conflicts, in which all justice is lost sight of, under the ridiculous squabblings and controver- sies which occur. The judges are all elected by the peo- ple. In the County Courts, held by the county judge, as- sisted by two justices of the peace, the judge performs the f f2' Asniodeus in New- York. duties of surrogate, except in counties having a population of over forty thousand. " There is, in the United States, no court to which com- mercial litigation is exclusively and specially confined^a deficiency somewhat strange, and hardly conceivable in a country so much given up to trade. Upon the jury rest a very large proportion of the burdens of every trial ; that is, jurymen are called upon to give verdicts riot only in criminal, but in civil causes. The institution of the jury is justly respected by the Anglo-Saxon race^; but it is surrounded by many inconveniences, as are all institu- tions by which nations endeavor to secure their freedom. Those inconveniences are such that many observers have not hesitated to prefer the prompt method of judging adopted by countries ruled by despotic governments: No- where are trials by juiy free from criticism, and their de- fects are nowhere more apparent than in the United States. However, the institution of the jury in civil causes (as re- gards criminal causes, the judgment by jury is considered necessary) could not be abolished without giving birth to even more serious abuses than now obtain. For judges,' being elected by the popular vote, would be clothed with a dangerous power, were they allowed to decide in civil causes, and corruption would soon, openly and remorse- lessly, invade the judiciary. As it is, these elections lead to frequent abuses ; the judges seldom forget they belong to a political party, and when one of their adherents is engaged in a civil lawsuit, or is criminally prosecuted, they can hardly conceal their sympathy ; and in case of a crim- inal offense, if they are obliged to apply a penalty, they will reduce it to the smallest punishment possible, and then, even, not without regret. " If you had been present at the opening of the present Asmodeus in New -York. 113 case, you might have formed an idea of the difficulties attending trials by jury in the United States. The clerk of the court called successively three hundred names, from which, to use a law phrase, to impanel a jur^', that is, to single out twelve impartial and free men to sit as jurors in the case. But, as every body reads newspapers^ it happened that out of these three hundred persons whose names were called, only two or three had formed no opin- ion upon the case at issue ; the others were excluded from service for want of an impartial disposition of mind. So three hundred new names had to be again called to com- plete the required number of jurymen. You can not con- ceive of the reluctance felt by citizens in every station of Ufe, to serve as jurors. With a people so active as the Americans, it is a serious affair to be absent from one's business during several weeks. Jurymen being drawn from the list of voters, many persons prefer to give up their franchise privilege rather than be compelled to serve on a jury. And you may be assured that many of our mer- chants, when they are notified that their names have been drawn, and receive a summons to attend court at an appointed time, at once repair to their lawyers and pro- cure their aid to have them excluded from serving on the jury. If their lawyers fail, they procure from their physi- cians a certificate of incapacity, which sometimes has the desired effect. You now understand the general causes that make the impaneling of a jury an herculean labor. It may, perhaps, be necessary, some day, to establish a sworn body of salaried jurymen, if the American people persist in having juries for both civil and criminal cases. "The difficulty of obtaining a jury, added to other dila- tory causes inherent in lawsuits, resembles the task of Penelope. Among other causes, there is one peculiar to 114 Asmodeus in New -York. the institution of the juiy, which deserv^es a passing no- tice : the law — or rather the custom, for the law is silent in this respect — requires a mutual agreement of the twelve jurymen. There have often been doubts whether the ad- vantages of this rule are sufficient to compensate for the mischief which sometimes results from it. For instance^ an offender often escapes from the law, because one among the twelve jurors could not be convinced or has been bribed. It has been several times vainly tried to change the law, or the custom, and to provide that, in certain specified cases, a verdict founded upon a certain majority should be sufficient. But the proposed change has not as yet found favor, and the unanimity of the juiy will be wanted for a long time to come. " There is, in the United States, a state-attorney, who, in criminal cases, represents the people. But it would be a mistake to confound that officer with the magistrate who represents the government in some countries of Europe. His office is, principally, to conduct all lawsuits in which the state is concerned, and to give his advice and opinion upon questions of law. As regards criminal cases, if we except a few circumstances defined by special laws, he is deprived of the p-rosecuting power. He can not, of course, order any arrests, and when he prosecutes, it is only on the complaint of certain parties, at their risk and peril, and after a grand-juiy has found a bill of indictment. The grand-jury, so called because its number is larger than the petit-jury, must not be confounded with the lat- ter, to which all that has been previously said relates. It tries no question and finds no verdict. No one is present during its deliberations but the officer of the state. That officer brings before the grand-jury cases of supposed crimes or wrongs, with bills of indictment, and the evi- dence on the subject. If the jury does not think the evi- Asmodeîis in Nciv-York. 115 dence sufficient, it ignores the bill, and no indictment is presented. If the evidence be deemed sufficient, it ap- proves or finds the bill, and presents the accused to the court. " The jurors are exclusive judges of the weight and force of the testimony offered to them. In a country where per- sonal liberty is protected by the prerogatives of the habeas corpus, any attempt to overthrow that liberty would be scarcely possible. He is so bound by the law, that any magistrate is sure to abide by it, when he orders an ar- rest and signs a warrant to that effect. Without speak- ing of legal penalties, he well knows his real and personal property is at stake, in case of an error or imdue precipi- tation. Almost any judge, whether of the Supreme Court, of the Court of Appeals, or even of the Common Pleas, has the right to admit any prisoner to bail ; and if it hap- pens, therefore, that bail has been refused to any offender, it may be inferred the crime he has committed does not deserve leniency in the opinion of the magistrates." Asmodeus had reached this point in his observations respecting the judicial institutions in the United States, when the court and jurors resumed their seats. The usher who had been sent for the Smithsonian Institute Almanac had just returned with that document, and deposited it tri- umphantly on the presiding judge's desk. The magistrate, after looking over it a few moments, announced that the moon had risen at nine o'clock, twenty-five minutes, and seven seconds, on the night previous to the day the mur- der had. been committed. We believed that question was now thoroughly settled to the satisfaction of all concerned, and the trial would smoothly resume its course. But we were doomed to disappointment; for one of the prisoner's counsel, to our dismay, begged leave to call as a witness the director of the Washington Observatory, where, it ap- iiô Àsuiodeus in New -York. pears, notes are taken, every minute, of the motions of the stars, and where the moon's behavior, according to the learned counsel, is the object of special attention. This request was the signal for an animated debate between him and the state-attorney, the latter charging his oppo- nents with prolonging the trial beyond all endurance, and with an attempt to tire the jur}', whose verdict they were afraid of. To these attacks and recriminations the pris- oner's counsel retaliated with a sharp rejoinder, asserting that notices or observations made by almanacs deserved no confidence ; that " lying like an almanac " was a pop- ular saying ; that it was far from being proved^ because "an astronomer said the moon rose at such and such a time in the night, that the heavenly orb had obeyed the summons ; that the sky might have been cloudy at the time specified, thus preventing that satellite from illuminating our planet. He concluded by stating as his candid conviction that the jury would run the risk of shedding an innocent Creature's blood, were it to return a verdict without hearing the testi- mony of the director of the Washington Observatory. It v/as evident these last words produced a deep impres- sion on the mind of the jury ; and it was in vain the state- attorney declared that the moon, in reality, had nothing to do with the pending trial, since it was conceded by all par- ties the^murder had been committed in broad daylight. Though the jurors could not possibly understand the aim of the counsel for the prisoner, it was apparent they were' anxious to hear the testimony of the director of the Wash- ington Observatoiy, a celebrity of the times. So the pre- siding judge, thinking, as he said, it was always desirable to throw as much light as possible upon every dark sub- ject, decided that the director's testiniony should be re- ceived, and the crier adjourning the court, every one with- drew. CHAPTER IX. SHOWS THE- WAY THE BEST INSTITUTIONS ARE SOMETIMES VITIATED, AND ALSO WHY POPULAR GOVERNMENTS ARE NOT ALWAYS THE CHEAPEST. |E are near the chamber where the Common Comicil of the city meets," said Asmodeus. " Let us enter, and devote a few minutes to seeing in operation the municipal institutions of a city whose income exceeds that of many a European kingdom. The ' city fathers ' are now sitting ; and if, as a philosopher has contended, people enjoy the government they deserve, you will see that New-Yorkers have no grounds to be proud of that they are now enjoying." We entered a spacious room, nicely furnished. Desks were arranged in the form of a hémicycle, and upon them were scattered books, newspapers, pens, inkstands, paper, and documents of every sort. On the floor, near each councilman, was a spittoon. The attitudes of the council- men lacked dignity and decency. Many had their legs reposing upon the desks, with their boot-soles pointing toward the presiding officer — the latter occupying a more elevated seat than the other members. Many placed in their mouths, from time to time, something which they took from a small, square, silver-papered package, which Asmo- Ii8 Asinodeiis in Nezv-York. deus informed me contained tobacco ; and the black spittle they frequently ejected into the spittoons confirmed the correctness of his statement. The sittings of the councilmen, I was informed, are not public — newspaper reporters only being admitted \ and so, not to attract attention, we mingled among them. But if this chamber was closed to the public, it was not so of an opening or passage, leading to the hall of civic legislation, and which has received the name of lobby. This was crowded with anxious people, and almost every minute some councilman would leave the room to confer with members of the lobby, as if in quest of important informa- tion. This going to and fro at once ceased on the trans- mission of a note to the president ; and immediately a discussion commenced on the privilege of granting some gas company, recently formed, the right to lay gas-pipes in the streets of the city. A member said that, in his opin- ion, the new company offered such advantages to con- sumers, by the superior quality and cheapness of its gas, that the privilege ought to be granted at once. Should they refuse it, they would no longer be the watchful guar, dians of the public interests, but, on the contrary, be suspected of favoring the monopoly of existing companies. The speaker was not allowed to proceed further ; for the president, urged by the majority to put the privilege to a vote, closed the discussion, and the privilege was unani- mously voted. " The most amusing part of this comedy, enacted in the name of the public good," said Asmodeus, " consists in this fact : The councilmen declined to take up the petition of the Hygienic Gas Company until they received some perquisites ; and the note, which one of them has just sent to the president, inclosed a certificate for a thousand shares Asmodeus in New -York. 119 of the gas company, to be divided, of course, among the members of the Council, and also a check for twenty thousand dollars. So, you see, in case the Hygienic Gas Company does not succeed in raising a working capital, and consequently its shares not be worth the paper they are printed upon, the check would be a compensation for their trouble ; and at all events, as their number is twen- ty-four, their vote will bring to each of the city fathers a little over eight hundred dollars." When the excitement of the vote was over, and the councilmen had congratulated each other upon the advan- tages to be derived by the imperial city (a name its inhabi- tants are pleased to give New- York) from the future gas company, the project to sell a public square came next in order. A speculator, anxious to establish a depot, on a public square in the populous portion of the city, for a rail- road company, of which he was one of the heaviest stock holders, offered to purchase that square for one hundred thousand dollars. " It is a very large sum," said one of the councilmen — " a princely offer ; and, considering the precarious condition of the city's treasury, it would be folly to reject it." The majority coincided in this opinion, and the sale of the square to the capitalist who wanted it for his railroad was unanimously approved. " Here we have," said Asmodeus, when the president announced the result of the vote, " a shameful desecration of the city's most sacred interests. Public squares are, in reality, the lungs of all densely populated districts, and we have so few in New- York, that the reduction of their num- ber would be a blow to public health. But these council- men do not care much about considerations of this nature ; they mean to make a good thing out of their vote, and in the following manner : The owners of houses fronting the I20 Asniodcus in New -York. j square will receive, according to the bill, ten thousand dollars each as a compensation for the damage their prop- erty will suffer. The capitalist's proposition has been kept secret, in order to give time to the councilmen to purchase? through intermediaries, all the houses fronting the square, and they will cash the indemnity to be paid to their owners. The result will be that they will become propri- etors of fine dwellings at a low cost ; and the capitalist, on his side, will realize a handsome profit ; for the square is worth one million dollars, and as the compensation he will pay to actual owners, and his purchase-price, will not exceed .five hundred thousand dollars, his own part of the profit in the operation will amount to half a million." Asmodeus was here interrupted by the reading of a re- port from a committee, stating that the owners of several houses on one of the most fashionable avenues had trans- gressed the building-law, the spacious stoops of their man- sions encroaching on the public way, and it concluded by offering a plan for an ordinance to compel the owners to remove the obnoxious stoops. " That report," said Asmodeus, " will fall like a bomb- shell among the nabobs of New-York. They are proud of those large stoops, which give a princely appearance to their residences ; and, to retain them, they will make any sacrifice. The members of the Council well know this, and the report you have just heard read is but a means to bleed the nabobs. The latter will raise money among themselves ; and when the councilmen have it in their pockets, they will discover that the so-called infringement on the building-law is covered by limitation, and will care- fully frame another report to demonstrate that the city has lost all right to demand the destruction of those elegant stoops." A s mod cas in Nciv-York. 121 In the mean while, the walking to and fro of the city fathers and the members of the lobby had again com- menced. The lobby-men, Asmodeus informed me, are, in general, brokers, bankers, and members of the legislature, interested in speculations the success of which depends on some privilege or authorization to be granted by the city councilmen. We were on the point of retiring, when the ^president, energetically hammering on his desk, urged the members to silence, as they had to deliberate on a pro- jected railroad through one of the great thoroughfares of the city. He then explained, in a somewhat long but lucid speech, that, owing to the steady increase of the popula- tion, and also of house-rents, a number of families were compelled to remove to the country, and consequently that many business men were obliged to lose much pre- cious time on their way to and from their offices. A rail- road company had offered to lay rails to the very centre of the city, so as to connect it with the surburbs ; and in view of the grave interests involved, he had believed it his duty to speak to the councilmen of this project and submit it to their consideration. " The capital stock of this com- pany," he continued, " is twenty millions of dollars, in shares of one hundred dollars each ; the market price of these shares is actually twenty-five dollars. But it can be demonstrated that they will go up to par and probably over, if the privilege now solicited is granted by the city council. In expectation of that advance in the price of their stock, the directors of the railroad company will place at our disposal, and at the actual price, ten thousand shares. All the necessary papers have been intrusted to me. You will not fail to perceive that the railroad com- pany's proposition presents such immediate advantages to the public, that it deserves approbation ; and therefore 122 Asmodcîis in New -York. I do not deem it necessary to make any further explana- tion." " Let us vote ! vote ! vote !" shouted the councilmen, as the president ended his speech. They had already made a calculation that every one of them would have about thirty thousand dollars for his share of the operation, in case the stock of the company should rise, as expected ; and in their hurry to vote, they left their seats, and, standing by the president, did not' cease shouting until he declared the right to lay rails was granted to the railroad company, according to the condi- tions and stipulations annexed to the authorization. " The city fathers," said Asmodeus, taking me aside, " are brazen-faced rogues ; their love of gain is equal to' their hypocrisy ; and I wonder how they dare to cover their intense greed with the pretense that all they do is for the public good. But, like professional robbers, who fight among themselves for the spoils, I believe, upon my soul, our city fathers are coming to blows." In fact, the president, as far as we could understand, was endeavoring to secure for himself the lion's part in the division of the shares placed at his disposal, which, now worth twenty-five dollars, their actual market price,' would be, within twenty-four hours, worth perhaps one hundred. A few councilmen sided ^rith the president; while the others hurled at them most insulting epithets' An indescribable scene of confusion followed, and soon they began throwing at each other books and inkstands. One of the councilmen was unfortunately hit by one of the latter articles ; and, exasperated at seeing the black liquid spottmg his shirt and clothes, he pulled a revolver from his pocket, declaring that he Avould shoot his assailant. His example was instantly imitated by others ; and with- Asmodeiis in New -York. 123 out caring to know what would be the result of the skir- mish, we hastened from the room. " A stray ball," said Asmodeus, as he hurried me out with him, " might hit one of us ', and when an individual is provided with but one sound leg, as is unfortunately my own case, he must take care lest some awkward fellow break it" When we were safely in the street, we could not refrain from laughing heartily at the strange wind-up to the coun- cilmen's deliberations. After he had resumed his wonted seriousness — " All this," said Asmodeus, " is the direct product of universal suffrage, as understood and practiced in this first city of the Union. Verily, if he be not the most stupid, man is the most wicked animal of creation. He finds means to pervert and degrade, after he has put them in operation, the most rational theories and soundest principles. Is there, for instance, a more rational and sound principle than that all power must come from the free consent of the people ? Still, see the result in practice of that politi- cal truth, proclaimed by the founders of American inde- pendence. Though New-York City is governed by men elected by popular suffrage, there is not a hamlet among the Hottentots which can not boast of a better government." " What has caused such a state of things ?" " It would take too long a time to explain it. Be satis- fied, for the present, to know that any person of age, after a year of actual residence in the State of New-York, (and it is so in nearly all other States,) is clothed with the right to vote for the officers of the municipal administration. In large cities, the majority is on the side of the most igno- rant classes of the people, and the councilmen are, as a matter of course, elected from its ranks. In New-York City, 124 Asmodcus in New -York. men of quiet habits dislike the noise attending elections, and the riotous manner in which they are often conducted, and, as they are sometimes conscious their vote would not possibly influence the final result, they do not go to the polls. Neither care they themselves to be candidates for any public office, because, though large salaries are in general attached to some of them, the profits of their busi- ness are still larger — that is, unless public officers deter- mine to swell their legitimate salaries by peculation. Again, government officers in this great metropolis, when their term of office expires, do not stand very high in the esti- mation of their fellow-citizens — a prospect hardly to be coveted by any man who can find, in another sphere of action, honest and remunerative employment for his activity or talent. If you read the morning papers, you will per- ceive that the City Hall is designated as the Cave of the Forty Thieves, from a tale bearing that tide in the Arabian Nights ; and you can readily comprehend how every honest merchant, naturally enough, shrinks from associating him- self with such company. " Elections being conducted by the people, and for the profit of demagogues, neither talent nor honesty can be reasonably expected from successful candidates. Again, jealousy — that vice of democratic societies — is strikingly exhibited, not only at presidential, but also at local elec- tions. Democracy dislikes (as if it were afraid of it) any social superiority, resulting either from capability or wealth. "The Athenians proscribed Aristides; and Calhoun, Clay, Webster, and General Scott could never be elected president of the United States. You comprehend the simile. " According to reliable statements, there are in New- Asmodeus in New -York. 125 York forty thousand voters, whose votes belong to any unscrupulous party that has money enough to purchase them. Those forty thousand voters are almost sure to win the day, and vote to a man for the candidate who pays them for their services. But to marshal this large force, leaders are necessary. Those leaders, after providing for themselves, stipulate, in order to assist their friends, to obtain the many small offices in the gift of elected candi- dates ; and the bleeding of the public treasury begins as soon as the fight is over. Some time ago, a lawsuit revealed to the public the extent of this evil, and the consequent corruption of public morals. An officer of the municipal government, as soon as the term of a certain mayor had expired, demanded the return of the ten thousand dollars which he had to pay to the first magistrate of the city to obtain his situation. That mayor, to secure a majority of voters, had spent, it was asserted, over one hundred thou- sand dollars ; and to again obtain that amount, he began selling all the offices in his gift ; he even created new ones,''which he sold to any corporation or person willing to pay for them. " All elected functionaries are anxious, of course, to keep themselves in office ; and on the eve of every election, they make up a common fund, to which they contribute, as do also the clerks in their employ. In that way, they are enabled to meet the heavy expenses attending all elec- tions ; such as renting rooms for the headquarters of their party ; fees for speakers at public meetings, and for bribing voters. Finally, from the pockets of the people comes all the money thus lavished to corrupt them and vitiate elections. With such a sad state of afi^airs, the city expenditures have fearfully grown, from year to year. They amounted to about five millions of dollars when 126 Asmodeus in New -York. \ there were five hundred thousand inhabitants. The lat- ter do not, certainly, exceed one million to-day ; while the former reach nearly twenty-five millions. " One may see, every hour in the day, in the fashiona- ble places in New- York, a crowd of well-dressed, idle peo- ple, having no regular occupation, no known means of support. They are electioneering agents, stump-speakers, and wire-pullers, who marshaled an army of voters at the last election for the benefit of their patrons. The latter, and the political party to which they belong, afford them the means to live in idleness. The privates have been disbanded ; but the chiefs are kept in service, at half-pay, to be again actively employed at the next election. " The legislature of the State of New- York, the majority of which is composed of members returned by rural dis- tricts, has tried, time and again, to put the administration of the most important city of America on a sound and honest basis ; but it has not yet succeeded in cleaning out its Augean stables. These good intentions, and the bills to effect reform, have proved fruitless, either on account of objections from the judiciar}^, or the opposition of the politi- cal organizations, grounded on popular suffrage itself A few years ago, the number of councilmen was sixty ; but they were reduced to twenty-four, in the hope that the reform would curtail the evils of corruption. The mode of choosing heads of departments was changed, in several instances, from an election to an appointment by the mayor and aldermen, with the supposition that they would appoint only men of integrity and capacity. Still further changes were introduced into the original charter of the city, granted by James II., in 1686 ; amended by Queen Anne in 1708; further enlarged by George II., in 1730; and specially affirmed, after the Revolution, by the State le- gislators. But the safeguards enacted against reckless As mo del I s in Nezu-York. 127 expense and abuse proved of little avail ; and the city- fathers, whether few or many in number, seem equally powerless to administer it properly. On the other hand, the appointment by the legislature of special commissions, and the taking of some departments from the mayor's control, have created much confusion in the working of the administration ; and corruption, perhaps, has finally been the gainer by the change. " Corruption has thoroughly wormed itself into the insti- tutions of the United States. It may be found everywhere, in the highest as well as the lowest offices. In fact, all public offices are looked upon by many as a means of promptly enriching their possessors ; and for this reason extravagant sums of money are spent to obtain them. Convictions and princi^Dles have little to do with party strifes : the fight is for the spoils, as the Americans term it ; and the great interests of the land are sacrificed to private ends. " You have seen how New- York councilmen discharge their duty. Go to the State capital, and you will witness the same spectacle ; you will also see it at Washington, the Federal capital of the Union. Most of the laws are enacted to promote private interest. Lobbymen, with their poisonous influence, block up the doors of local legislatures and the halls of Congress. For fear even that corruption may be exposed, there is a law on the statute-book of the State of New- York, the leading State of the Union, to the effect that any witness shall be sent to prison who shall testify against members of the legislature accused of bribery." " But, then, with institutions so distorted by corrupting influences, how can you explain the continued progress of the United States ?" " The problem is easily solved by comparing the New 128 Asmodetis in Neiv-York. with the Old World. The area of the United States is as great as that of all Europe, and contains a population of only thirty-six millionsof inhabitants, who have the privilege of working and turning to advantage the untold and unex- plored wealth of this whole continent. Suppose it to be in- habited by three hundred millions of men, as in Europe, the struggle for a living would be as great as it is in the Old World — even greater, in consequence of the prodigal habits of all classes of society here. Besides, there is here a prin- ciple which paralyzes, to a great extent, abuses resulting from the w^orking of political institutions, and which spreads its beneficent influence everywhere ; that principle is lib- erty, upon which the political and social fabric of America rests. Liberty is the very life of the people ; it is as neces- sary to them as the air they breathe. They are conscious that the working of republican institutions is often neither regular nor satisfactory, but they attach little importance to it. In Europe, public functionaries form a distinct class, a sort of aristocratic body. Every one of these considers himself of importance, is prone to exaggerate the authority wdth which he is olothed, and is constantly disposed to make others feel it. Here it is just the reverse. The Federal government and the local administrations are nothing — the people is eveiy thing ; and ofiice-holders, w^hether in high or low positions, are only the public's servants. Hence, as authority or power does not generally reside in the latter, they cautiously keep themselves in the background, instead of assuming an overbearing importance. They do little work, following the example of the general govern- ment, which has reminded the people more than once that the least government possible is the very essence and fun- damental principle of the Constitution. " It follows, from all this, that, as the Americans are un- restrained, and nowhere and in no way impeded in the Asniodeics in Nezv-York. 129 pursuit of their well-being and happiness, they feel uncon- cerned about abuses which in Europe would prove insuffer- able, and soon bring on the destruction of empires. They are so industrious, their life is so actively employed, they pay little attention to any thing that does not particularly affect their interests. They leave a clear field to rogues and intriguers who trade in politics, because their country, in the mean while, in the rapid development of its re- sources, engrosses their attention to the exclusion of every thing else. As long as this state of things exists, they will lose none of their time in helping to reform abuses which, in their opinion, have very little to do with the general prosperity and prospect of the country. " You may often hear not a few assert that corruption is a natural and necessary element of democratic institutions. According to these theorists, these institutions would perish should the American people at any time become in- different to political rights. The means to keep them alive to the importance of those rights and to bring them to the polls, is to show them that all offices, in every branch of the government, lead to wealth and influence. On the other hand, as popular suffrage, in all the States, is fre- quently resorted to, almost all office-holders, when their term of service expires, make every endeavor to be re- elected, and for that purpose solicit the influence of their friends and partisans. The same is also done by their competitors and adversaries ; and it follows that political excitement is permanent in the country. Now, this poli- tical excitement is the best safeguard of democratic insti- tutions, and the very life of healthy societies. Undoubt- edly politics, eveiywhere in the United States, invades every home, engrosses every mind ; but it powerfully con- tributes to keep the passions of the American people and their indomitable energy alive. 130 Asmodeus in New -York. " No good whatever is free from evil, in this world. But be convinced that the abuses which do not escape the observation of foreigners sink into insignificance, when compared with the mighty results derived from institutions which generate those very abuses. Look at the American people : among the multitude of men passing in the streets, you can not distinguish a poor man from a millionaire. Every body is well-dressed ; and you seldom see women applying themselves to occupations for which nature has not fitted them. Under the sway of democratic institu- tions, every body fully realizes his own worth and dignity ; every body here enjoys a freeman's rights ; and no class of the population is kept in tutelage. Every body treats his neighbor with civility and kindness, because he expects a like treatment ; and while he is conscious of his importance in society, of the part he plays in the working out of his country's destiny, brighter becomes his mind and nobler his heart. With such fruitful and mighty results, demo- cratic institutions may be safely compared to those resting on opposite principles. " While Asmodeus was explaining, in this lofty strain, the workings of the institutions of the United States, we had arrived at a public square situated in the centre of the city. It was now night ; and I noticed many dwellings brilliantly lighted in every story. "These are gambling-houses," said Asmodeus. "They seem deserted during the day, for every thing is quiet inside. Night is the time for their operations, as for some birds of prey — the time to awake to life again. Let us enter one of them ; but bear in mind that self-control is necessary in the place we are going to. In the United States, as everywhere else, it is often the part of wisdom to keep one's eyes shut, and turn a deaf ear to every thing." I CHAPTER X. IN WHICH IT WILL BE SEEN THAT GAMBLING, THOUGH PROHIBITED BY LAW, IS AN ORDINARY PASTIME IN NEW- YORK. SMODEUS nodded to a servant standing in the hall, and we were allowed to enter. We went through an elegantly furnished parlor, in which were many frequenters of the house, either conversing or reading newspapers. We next entered a large room lighted by numerous gas-jets. In the cen- tre of this apartment was a long table, covered with green cloth. This room was crowded with persons busily en- gaged in gambling. Different games of chance, Asmo- deus informed me, are in vogue in the United States ; but the favorite game of European gamblers, roulette, was not tolerated in the establishment we were then visiting. In almost all the States, games of chance, for money, no matter what its amount, are prohibited, and gambling- houses, being considered as contrary to good morals, are forbidden. Gambling for money was not, therefore, ostensibly carried on. The stakes consisted of counters or checks, provided by the establishment. The gamblers settled their losses by means of these checks or counters, representing an understood value. In this manner, it appears, the letter, if not the spirit of the lawAvas satisfied. 132 Asniodeiis in New -York. In case of a sudden descent from the police, it was impos- sible to prove that the persons engaged in the games were playing for money, as no money, in fact, was apparent. "There is no people," said Asmodeus, in the course of his explanations, " that exhibits more respect for the law than the Americans \ but none understands so well how to eschew it when it interferes with its own interests." My companion also informed me that no one can recover money lost in gambling, because gambling itself is illegal. But debts of that nature are as secure as any other, espe- cially among professional gamblers, and they are seldom repudiated. " All those counters and checks," said he, " are as good as gold, and, in this respect, no difficulty can arise. But there are, in two or three adjoining rooms, games of different kinds conducted in private ; and the house, of course, is not responsible for the stakes. Money may be lost on parole there ; but the loser who will not or can not make good his promise generally finds himself in a dangerous predicament. For though there be a few men here who came attracted either by curiosity or because they have nothing else to do, the majority are professional gamblers, whose revolvers are always kept ready for great emergencies." Besides the table in the centre of the room, there were half a dozen others in remote corners, and also in adjoin- ing rooms, and which, as Asmodeus had observed, were occupied by persons engaged in some favorite game. Around the large table stood an anxious crowd. There was evidently an exciting game in operation. Near the centre of the table was seated a banker or dealer, with a large quantity of checks at his right hand, of the denomina- tion of five, ten, twenty dollars, and upward. Thirteen Asmodais in New -York, I33 cards, representing a complete pack, were affixed to the table, at convenient distances from each other, to mark distinctly the bets placed on each. Those who wished to play placed the amount they intended to stake on any par- ticular card on the table. The dealer then producing and shuffling a pack of cards, placed them in a box, from which he caused them to slide one by one. He lost when the card equal in points to that on which the stake was set turned up on his right hand ; but he won when it was on the left. He faithfully and gravely fulfilled his part, as though he were a public notary or any other officer of the law. Every one seemed satisfied with his dealings and decisions ; for, during our stay in this " hell," (a name commonly given in America to all gambling-houses,) no exclamation of any sort was made by the gamblers. I took him, at first, for the proprietor of the establish- ment. "You are mistaken," said Asmodeus; " the host is that stout man whose neck-tie is pinned with a large diamond, and who is playing a game of écarté near yonder window with a constant frequenter of his house. A few years ago, he was one of the most renowned pugilists in the United States. With the profits derived from his vic- tories in the manly art, he purchased a fine house, in which congregated the patrons and amateurs of that art, which is more in vogue to-day in America than in England. Shortly after, he found himself, perhaps unexpectedly, the manager of a faro bank. The game of faro is now in progress at the green table. He gradually withdrew him- self from the noisy companions of his younger years, and soon had the gratification to behold bankers, brokers, merchants, and men belonging to the wealthy classes flock to his establishment. As his business rapidly increased, he purchased this handsome house, situated in one of the 134 Asmodeits in Neiv-York. most f:ishionable streets of New- York. It has become a favorite resort for many persons of good standing in society, and for 'the fancy' of New-York. All transac- tions are above suspicion, for deception would be a dan- gerous experiment. The landlord is married, and very care- ful that every thing is carried on in an orderly manner. Women are not admitted into the gaming-rooms, or even into the parlors of the house. An elegant supper is served up, every evening, to frequenters and visitors." At this very moment a footman came and announced supper. Most of the gamblers did not heed the invitation, so deeply engrossed were they in the game. A few spec- tators, Asmodeus and myself among them, went down into the dining-room, which was, like all the others in the estab- lishment, handsomely furnished. Several ornamental side- boards were loaded with luxuries. Champagne of the best brands was freely passed around ; and when supper was over, the landlord treated his guests to the best Havana cigars. I expected we would have to face a pretty heavy bill for this entertainment, and was on the point of pulling out my portemonnaie, when Asmodeus whispered me to do nothing of the sort. " Such a proceeding," said he, "would be resented as an outrage by the proprietor. Every body, whether known to him or not, may come here, and either take part in or look at the game, as often as may suit his fancy, and enjoy a good supper besides. The proprietor hardly notices those visitors who come solely for the purpose of partaking of the good things served up at his suppers, and drinking his champagne." " But such entertainments are expensive," said I, " and I doubt whether the gambling-houses of Europe would be profitable enterprises were they to treat visitors as is done here." Asmodeus in New -York. 135 " Have you not remarked that the dealer, at the gaming- table, takes away beforehand a percentage from the stakes ? Admitting the percentage to be five per cent only, this seems of little importance to the gamblers ; but repeated through the whole night, it sometimes amounts to five hundred dollars. Why, the proprietor of this estab- lishment, within a few years, has become a millionaire." " I had inferred, from your explanation, that gambling- houses were forbidden in New- York." "And so they are," returned Asmodeus. " But police officers, throughout the States, are singularly accommoda- ting, and never deal harshly with millionaires. This one, for instance, has among his friends many persons of influ- ence. His house is frequented by bankers, la^vyers, magistrates, legislators — occasionally, I am told, by minis- ters of the Gospel from neighboring localities. Think of the scandal a descent of the police would produce ! For this reason police officers never disturb the habitués of houses like this." We ascended again to the gambling-room, and were looking, with that fascination they exert upon even cool- headed persons, at the games of chance going on, when, all at once, the excitement became intense. A new-comer had seated himself at the principal gaming-table, and his high stakes and good fortune struck every body with astonishment. After a while the dealer, in a low tone, held a short conversation with the proprietor, who pulled out his pocket-book and gave him a bundle of bank-bills. Then the game went briskly on, as before. " That young man whose large stakes have caused this sensation," said Asmodeus, drawing me aside, " and who has already won fifty thousand dollars, which the propri- etor of the house has paid with such remarkable coolness, 136' Asmodeiis in New -York. is a petroleum prince. Instead of pocketing his gain and leaving this place, he will play until fortune turns against him. Before daylight, he will have lost his actual profits and one hundred thousand dollars besides. Let me tell you that young man's history. " An Irishman, thirty years ago, arrived in Philadelphia. He was a mason by trade, industrious and sober, which is not often the case with natives of the Emerald Isle. He managed to save a few hundred dollars, and then married. " He had enjoyed the blessings of matrimony over ten years, when, on going to his work, early one morning, he found, a short distance from his house, a basket covered with a linen cloth. He carried it home, opened it, and a handsome baby appeared before his view. To the child's clothes was pinned a paper bearing a few lines, asking, in the name of the Almighty, the person into whose hands the basket might fall, to take charge of the new-born in- fant, for the sake of a poor fellow-creature. The Irishman and his wife, not having any children, at once adopted the litde one, regarding it as a gift sent by Providence. A few years later, the Irishman, who had by his savings amassed quite a handsome sum of money, purchased a small farm in a thinly-settled county of Pennsylvania, and there lived quietly and contentedly, until, one day, in cutting down a tree, it fell upon him, and he was crushed to death beneath its weight. After this sad occurrence, his widow, with the help of the adopted child, carried on the business of the farm, often regretting she could not give the boy an edu- cation ; but they were so far from any school, she could not think of sending her son such a distance from home. " One day a rumor circulated throughout Pennsylvania that, by boring into the earth to a moderate depth, in some parts of the State, oil was found to spring forth. Asmodeiis in Nczu-York. 137 Startling as this rumor was, many persons were forced to believe it, when they saw, with their own eyes, a black liquid, giving a bright light, issuing from certain holes bored for experiment. After this, all persons began ex- perimenting on their own property. The Irish widow im- itated her neighbors, and with the help of her adopted son, bored a hole in her garden. After a few days' work, they struck oil — a flowing well rewarded their enterprise ! "Meanwhile speculators, wild with the excitement of this discovery, besieged Pennsylvania, and that State soon swarmed with them. The desire to possess a portion of those marvelous lands took possession of every mind. Throughout the States every one was affected with the new disease, denominated ' oil on the brain ; ' and soon the value of the oleaginous districts went up to wonderful fig- ures. In many instances, as much as fifty thousand dol- lars were paid for an acre of land. And, availing herself of the general infatuation, the Irish widow sold her farm, for two millions of dollars, to a Boston company, which thought it was very cheap to give not quite seven thousand dollars per acre for petroleum land. The three hundred acres of the widow's farm had cost three hundred dollars a few years before, that is to say, one dollar an acre ! Be- sides the two millions of dollars, the Irish widow had stip- ulated that one half of the flowing well in her garden should belong to her. That well yielded from five to six hundred barrels of oil per day. You may be sure the old lady doted on it. She visited it a hundred times a day, always sur- veying it with amazement, and ascertaining whether it was as productive as ever. Even at night she left her bed to go and view the marvelous spring. During one of these nocturnal excursions, she imprudently drew too near the well with a light — the spring fired up with lightning-like 1-8 Asmodms in Nezv-York. rapidity, and the poor woman, becoming wrapped in the flames, was burned to death. The coroner was summoned to hold an inquest. When it was over, the widow's neigh- bors, desiring to ascertain whether she had sold her farm for as large an amount as was rumored, prevailed upon the coroner to open her safe. It contained two hundred thou- sand dollars in gold, which, no doubt, represented the wid- ow's profits for her reserved rights in the well ; and also bonds of the United States to the amount of two millions of dollars, the said bonds registered in the name of Peter Crazy, the widow's adopted son, and only heir and legatee, according to her will, that was also found in the strong-box. "Now, the young man, whose large stakes a few min- utes ago caused such a sensation, is the same Peter Crazy, the widow's adopted son ; and he came here to-night to complete his ruin. But I must now relate what became of him after becoming possessed of a princely fortune. "At the time he came into possession of this fortune. Crazy did not know the difference between one thousand and one hundred thousand dollars. He could hardly write his name ; and, unfortunately, he had nobody to warn him against the dangers that beset the youth of this world, and to make of him, instead of a spendthrift, a man useful to society. " Suppose a philanthropist, a good-hearted, high-minded man, should suddenly come into possession of two mil- lions of dollars, what a benefactor he might prove to his fellow-creatures ! What useful and benevolent institutions he might found ! What improvement might every branch of human labor receive if he chose to apply to it a portion of his wealth ! " As soon as it became known that Crazy had inherited a large fortune, many adventurers, with whom the new Eldo- AsmodcîLS in Nezv-Yoi^k. 139 rado swarmed, pounced upon him like birds of prey upon a carcass ; and then commenced for Crazy a Hfe of prodi- gahty and vice, the end of which is near at hand. " In Philadelphia, he stopped with his cronies at one of the most elegant and spacious hotels of the city, stipulating for the exclusive use of it during their stay. He bought fine horses, carriages of the most approved pattern, and furnished a maison de joie, where he reveled every night. Many Philadelphians will long remember his daily freaks of extravagance. I will relate one as a sample of the others. One day, as a regiment stopped in the city on its way to the West, he presented it with one thousand bas- kets of champagne — one basket to each man — a piece of liberality that cost him twenty-five thousand dollars. After spending half a million dollars in the Quaker City, he came to New- York in search of new excitements. " Here he met with persons who aroused a new feeling in his mind — that of pride. Those capitalists and specu- lators who drive their fancy teams in Central Park, who keep race-horses, who do their best to resuscitate the fine old times of France under the Regency, were not, he was told, as wealthy as himself. He was bound to live in style, lest he should be taken for a shoddy contractor, who does not know how to spend his money. Crazy, therefore, imi- tated the leaders of fashion — but in the same way Euro- pean wood-cutters are imitated by Australasian savages, who, when they cut down a tree, wait for its fall until they are crushed by its weight. He kept as many as forty horses ; bet heavily at the races, and lost every time ; and hired a theatrical troupe, whom he provided with costly cos- tumes, and who played only for himself and a few friends. One night, he was so delighted with the saltatory skill and pirouettes of the dancing-girls of his troupe, that he pre- 140 Asmodeus in New -York. sented each of them, with a gracefuhiess of manner that Buckingham himself would have envied, pearls and dia- monds worth over one hundred thousand dollars. In short, for a year, he indulged in all conceivable dissipa- tions. But Providence has in store for him one of those visitations that, from time to time, startle and instruct the world. " Crazy believes his main income can never be im- paired. Besides the one hundred thousand dollars he has in his pocket — the last of the money found in the Irish widow's strong-box — he fancies he possesses inexhaustible means in the oil-well. On returning, he will learn that that source of wealth is dried up, and his only fortune consists of the fifty-two coats he has purchased inside of the past month." " What will then become of that foolish fellow ?'' said I to Asmodeus. " Most actors, as you know, are warm-hearted. Those of them who have fattened on his extravagances the past year will feel concerned on learning of the petroleum prince's misfortune, and beg their manager to' do some- thing for him. The manager, who is also a good-hearted man, will hire Crazy to sweep his theatre." I looked closely at the young man whose golden dreams would soon be ended. Fortune was now turning against him ; for the bank-bills he had received from the dealer were fast returning to the proprietor of the house. The petroleum prince, from his past life, had derived a remark- able coolness ; he bore his reverses with an Indian forti- tude ; and when liQ left his seat, after losing his last dollar, he made a polite bow to the proprietor, whom he gracefully, thanked for the pleasant night he had enjoyed as his guest. Asmodeiis in New -York. 141 " It is now over one year," said Asmodeus, " since the proprietor set his mind to gain that prize. He has pa- tiently waited, following with never-tiring care every step of that young man in his rash career, and taking the best measures to get the last fruits of the tree, before the light- ning had stricken it to the dust." " What do you mean, Asmodeus ?" said I. " Simply this : those who keep gambling-houses take care to be regularly informed of every thing transpiring in the city that may be of interest to their business. You may have noticed, lounging around the most fashionable hotels, many well-dressed young men, who spend money freely, though they have no known means of support. They are agents for gambling-houses \ their business is to track the footsteps of travelers visiting New- York, for busi- ness or pleasure. They worm themselves into the confi- dence of strangers ; show them every thing worth seeing in the city ; and finally introduce them to their employ- ers, the gambling-house proprietors. This hunting after wealthy strangers is systematically carried on — it is a science. These agents leave nothing to chance ; they never hurry up the conclusion of the transaction. When the un- wary stranger is in a fit condition for the sacrifice, they take him to the gaming-table with as much indifference and coolness as butchers drive sheep to the slaughter- house. These agents have a commission on the profits realized from all customers they lead to the gaming-table, and they display such" ability they seldom fail to entrap those they single out for their victims. " Crazy had been put on his guard concerning these dangerous men ; but he was powerless to-night against their enticement. Allured with the hope of again building up his fortune, he has just lost all that remained of it. 142 AsmodeîLS in New -York. " There are in New- York one hundred and fifty hells or gambling-houses, all well known to the police, in which several millions of dollars are lost every year, by unwary persons. From time to time, police officers make a de- scent on the most dangerous among them, or (which is too often the case) on those whose owners have little political influence. Twenty-four hours after the descent has taken place, new gambling implements are procured in lieu of those taken away, and business is resumed as before. " Games of chance are now in vogue all over the States, and rapidly multiplying, because the thirst for sud- den fortunes is everywhere on the increase. Gambling is even practiced on board of those splendid steamers that ply up and down the rivers of the country ; and more than one passenger, driven distracted by his losses at the gaming-table, has thrown himself overboard. " As I have before remarked, no cheating is to be ap- prehended here, as the percentage taken beforehand out of the stakes secures handsome profits to the proprietor of the house. But fraud is frequently resorted to in many hells ; and in some of them, whether he loses or wins, the visitor is sure to be plundered of his valuables before he is allowed to depart. Blood is often shed in these places, their frequenters providing themselves, against emergen- cy, with weapons of every description. Some gambling- houses hire handsome females, and the allurements of these sirens are added to the dangers of the gaming-table. New- York keeps pace, in all these respects, with the large cities of Europe ; and in many maisons de joie, unsuspect- ing persons run the risk, at any moment of the day or night, of losing their fortunes, their health, and their honor. " The persons who frequent gambling-houses may be Asmodeîis in New -York. 143 divided into two classes : occasional gamblers and profes- sional gamblers. Among the first may be placed those at- tracted by curiosity, and those strangers I have alluded to who are brought in by salaried intermediaries. The second is composed of men who gamble to retrieve their losses, or those who try to deceive and lull their grief through the exciting diversions that pervade these places. " I see, for instance, to the right of the dealer, a tall man with a well-trimmed beard ; he is a General in the United States army, and married a young girl belonging to one of our best families. A few years after his marriage, his wife disappeared. As she seemed much attached to her husband and a model of chastity, the general belief was she had been the victim of some foul outrage. The friends of her family and the police made active but fruit- less search for her ; and the lady's disappearance remained enveloped in mystery, until she was recognized by an Ame- rican traveler, an acquaintance, in an Italian city. It ap- pears she had removed there, after her mysterious disap- pearance from her native land, and lived quite comfortably with a comrade-in-arms of her husband. The general has been unable, up to this day, to forget his unfaithful wife ; and he comes here, every night, to endeavor, by gambling, to divert his mind from grief. " Near him, that man whose fingers are loaded with showy rings, and who affects womanish manners, is the owner of a newspaper which delights in praising the aristo- cratic institutions of the Old World — a harmless pastime in which any one can safely indulge, in a country where there is no law against the press, and where every body may relieve his mind of any foolish idea or fancy, without injury to any thing but his reputation. Gambling is more than a passion to that personage : it is his very life — as 144 Asmodeiis in New -York. necessary to him as the air he breathes. He has organized lotteries throughout the States, and though they are prohi- bited by severe laws, he has found the means to evade them all and build up a large fortune. He often plays very high, and recently nearly broke the bank. The latter met with a loss of two hundred thousand dollars. " The gambler who is now leaving the gaming-table is a teller in one of our city banks. He long enjoyed the con- fidence of the directors ; but a few days ago, they decided to have him watched, after office hours — a measure now resorted to by many financial institutions, on account of frequent defalcations. To-morrow morning, that teller will be requested by the board of directors to show his books and give an account of the situation and prospects of the bank. But, in spite of his proficiency in book-keep- ing, he will be unable to figure up and represent the seven- ty-five thousand dollars he has squandered away in gam- bling-houses since he commenced, six months ago, to fre- quent them. " I also recognize at the table a lawyer who, a few years ago, married a courtesan, in whom covetousness for wealth had become, during the last years of her life, a ruling pas- sion. A few weeks after their marriage, the courtesan died, bequeathing the lawyer all her fortune. It was sur- mised, at the time, she had been poisoned ; and perhaps her husband comes here to drown his remorse. " That black-haired, rather corpulent man, whose vi- sage is spoiled by a dishonest glance, and demeanor tar- nished by an innate vulgarity, is a teacher of foreign lan- guages. He assumes important airs, as teachers generally do ; and though affecting, in his discourse, a Puritan aus- terity, few men are more intensely devoted to the pursuit of gain. An adventurer, he had but one purpose in view Asviodeiis in New -York. 145 when he settled in the United States and commenced teaching — to find an heiress. After a fruitless search among his young pupils of the fair sex, he finally fascinated and married a spinster. Her savings are nightly dwindling away at the gaming-table." Here Asmodeus was interrupted by a quarrel between two players who, for some time, had been seated at a private table. " Ha ! did you not know," said one of them, (a Kentuck- ian, Asmodeus informed me,) a man of commanding appear- ance, and whose face was hidden by a profuse beard — " did you not know the captain of a steamer, which, a few years ago, plied between Saint Louis and New-Orleans ? At the time I speak of, I was a merchant in the former city ; and, one day, I sent my younger brother to New- Orleans with an important sum of money for one of my correspondents. That brother I never saw again " " Gentlemen," cried out the proprietor of the house, clenching his fist, and his eyes flashing anger, " leave my premises, if you have any difficulty to settle. I do not allow disturbances in my house !" " Keep yourself easy on that score, my dear sir," replied the Kentuckian. " I know the habits of the persons among whom I am, and never depart from propriety and decency. I was only reminding this gentleman," he continued, point- ing to the man he had been previously gambling with, " that my young brother had disappeared ; and I was un- able for a long while to learn any thing positive concerning his fate. I could only ascertain he had gambled with the captain of the steamer I have mentioned, during its trip, and that, one morning, some passengers, inquiring after him, were told he had landed during the night. The truth is, the imprudent youth had been thrown overboard 146 Asmodeiis in New -York. by the villain who had cheated him at play and robbed him of his money." He had no time for further explanation. The man he alluded to pulled a revolver from his pocket and discharged its contents at the Kentuckian. But the latter, pouncing upon his enemy as a tiger upon his prey, flung him to the floor, plunging, at the same time, a dagger into his throat. Then he quietly arose, wiped off the blood which had spurted in his face, and coolly apologized to the proprietor for involuntarily disturbing the diversions of the assem- bly. " But," he added, " you must admit that what I have done is just ; for I have met to-night, in your house, after a six years' fruitless search, the wretch who has just paid with his life the penalty for a foul crime, the secret of which he thought was buried in the Mississippi. I could not let slip the opportunity to avenge my unfortunate brother." In the mean time, a few gamblers had thought proper to leave the house ; while others bitterly complained of hav- ing been disturbed in their play, and urged the dealer to have the corpse removed and resume the interrupted game. " The game is closed for this night, gentlemen," said the proprietor, with an ugly look. ^'The police are already informed of the occurrence, and within ten minutes, they will make a descent on this house. The best thing you can do, under these circumstances, is to go quietly home." He had no need to insist. On hearing the name police, a general stampede was made for the entrance-door ; and we soon found ourselves carried, hurry-skurry, into the street. CHAPTER XL IN WHICH ASMODEUS DESCANTS ON THE MOST POWERFUL AGENCY OF CIVILIZATION IN THE UNITED STATES. COULD hardly stand up — I staggered like an inebriate. No one, I suppose, can witness, with- out horror, the murder of a fellow-creature ; and I could not drive from my mind the awful sight of that murdered man, weltering in his blood. " Try to calm yourself," said Asmodeus. " Whoever is determined to settle in the United States must learn to con- trol his nerves. This country is not a fit abode for pecu- liarly sensitive persons ; it is a place for the strong and energetic only. You can not expect the machinery of a new society to work as regularly and smoothly as in the Old World, where it has been in course of perfection for cen- turies by watchful governments. Indeed, every thing here is as yet in its infancy — cities, industry, institutions, civilization itself. The cities everywhere are growing in beauty and extent. Industry is ever in pursuit of those economical laws which afford adequate remuneration to both capital and labor. Political institutions themselves are, of course, far from being perfect ; and until American civilization takes final shape and firmly secures individual rights and safety to all, revolvers and knives are of ser- vice to society. They correct the law's insufficiencies, and 148 AsmodeiLS in New -York. private morals have no more efficient protector. Owing to the revolver, seduction, as I previously remarked, is not a common thing, because seducers are aware that should the law fail to fully satisfy justice, a terrible retribution awaits them. Dishonest persons, also, are cautious lest they wound private interests which, failing to obtain suit- able redress from the law, vindicate themselves by the re- volver or knife of the wronged party. In the most civilized countries of the world, in spite of moralists and philan- thropists, the duello is considered a useful auxiliary to society, as an avenger of wrongs the law is powerless to punish. Here the formalities attendant upon the duello in the Old World would only prove a loss of time, inconsis- tent with the busy habits of the Americans. But whoever has grossly offended another has no need to receive the offended party's seconds to know his life is threatened. Quick work is made of the business." I stared with astonishment on hearing this, and asked Asmodeus whether he spoke seriously. " Decidedly," he answered. " But we have in the United States, besides those I have alluded to, another auxiliary to law and society, and far more efficient and vigilant — an auxiliary that perceives every thing, renders more service than the police, and does more service to public morals than the thirty-five thousand ministers of the Gospel, who, every Sunday, supply their congregations with long and tedious sermons. "We are now near the dwelling of one of those auxil- iaries to law ; and it is just the time to visit it, if we wish to see in operation one of the wonders of modern industry. "» I understood, on entering the building, what Asmodeus meant. We were in the establishment of one of the most important newspapers in the United States, and, probably, Asmodetis in Nezv-Yoi^k, 149 in the world. From the roaring of the steam engine, we inferred that the next issue of the newspaper had gone to press, to be ready by daylight for perhaps one hundred thousand readers. I had previously noticed the elegant building in which that newspaper was printed and pub- lished. Activity and remarkable order were everywhere apparent ; and, as Asmodeus observed, one could easily fancy himself to be in a temple erected to intellectual labor. In an immense cellar, well ventilated, and. lighted by a hundred gas-jets, we saw the revolving printing-presses whose roar we had heard in the street. Their long arms, taking hold of a white sheet of paper, laid it open upon a table over which passed a cylinder with lightning-like velocity ; while others taking it back, all printed, carefully put it down on the other side of the cylinder. At each revolution, the forms upon the cylinders were passed over by a roller, incessantly providing itself with printing-ink. These giants of modern industry, according to Asmodeus, were capable of printing, every hour, twenty-five thousand copies of the newspaper we were then examining — a newspaper of large folio size, containing forty-eight col- umns of reading matter, and often having a twenty-four column supplement besides. In an adjoining room, many employees were busily engaged folding the sheets fresh from the press, and, after counting, handed them either to numberless boys to sell in the streets, or to messengers, whose business it was to carry them to the post-office or to newspaper dealers. On the first floor, in a room provided with handsome desks, protected by finely wrought railings, was the adver- tising department. One might have mistaken it for a large banking institution. From daylight to a late hour in 150 AsmodeiLS in Nciv-York. the evening, it is crowded by persons bringing in their advertisements and money. On the other floors, we were shown the rooms of the editors and reporters \ a well-stocked library, and even a telegraph apparatus, by means of which communication may be held with the most remote parts of the Union^ and even of the civilized world. In the upper story we saw the composing-room, twenty feet high, pro- vided with all the material requisite to give employment to three hundred compositors. An ingenious contrivance communicates with the different floors and carries the " forms " of the compositors to the press-room below. It is also used by the managers of the paper to issue orders, which are instantly executed throughout their vast domain. ^'' Ab 2tno disce omnes^^ said Asmodeus, after we had examined every thing. " A number of newspaper estab- lishments, in the United States, if not so elegantly, are at least as completely fitted up. For the Press, which is the fourth power of the state in some countries of Europe, is incontestably the first in America. The Press is the prin- cipal means that helps elect the Presidents of the Repub- lic, secure their reelection, or cause their defeat. It des- ignates the members of their cabinet, influences the votes of the legislators; dictates the judgments of the courts of law, declares war and concludes peace. Its voice con- stantly resounds and its activity is untiring. There is not a hamlet where it is not welcomed ; no question it does not raise ; no problem it does not solve. It creates and destroys reputations, and breaks in pieces to-day the idol it worshiped yesterday. Fond of excitement, as sensitive as the ichneumon, as teasing as a spoiled child, impatient of control, crushing all competitors ; in short, as despotic as an Indian potentate — such is the Press in the United States. Asniodciis in New -York. 151 " Almost the first thing an American does, on rising from his bed, is to peruse a morning paper, and after he has completed his day's work, he reads an evening journal. 'lliere are newspapers for women, for old men, and for children. Some are devoted to the married ; some to bachelors and maidens ; to the rich, to the poor ; to the learned, to those who wish to learn ; to every sect and religious denomination ; to every system and theory, to every profession ; and to every folly. " To deprive an American of his newspaper would be equivalent to shutting him from the light of day. Newspa- pers are as necessary to him as the atmosphere he breathes, they are the food and recreation of his mind. He reads them while walking, talking, writing, or eating. Not satis- fied with those he purchases himself, he borrows his neigh- bor's. While families club together in Europe, to secure a newspaper, with a view of reducing its cost, Americans often buy two dailies — one morning and one evening paper, and not a few purchase half a dozen dailies — so great is the eagerness for news ; so general the desire of being posted on the events and things of the day. " After returning from church, the American spends the remainder of the Sabbath in reading the weeklies he was careful to purchase the day before. His wife reads the periodicals devoted to her sex ; and their children enjoy themselves with illustrated magazines. " It has been said the very first thing Frenchmen do, in any country where they go and carry civilization, is to establish a coffee-house ; the Americans, everywhere they settle, promote the interests of mankind and civilization .by publishing a newspaper ! There are scattered, in the far West, small villages in the midst of boundless forests, and in each of which, perhaps, fifty families dwell. Eacl^^vil- 152 • Asmodms in Neiv-York. lage contains a church, which is used, at the same time, for school purposes j and in the only street, invariably called Broadway, over the door of a frame building, situated near the post-office, a large sign informs travelers that the new town is already provided with a newspaper and a printing- office. *' It is ascertained, from official sources and the census statistics of the United States, that many villages, whose population does not exceed two thousand, sustain two semi-weekly newspapers. The United States, politically speaking, being usually divided into two parties, each of these must have its own organ. New political organiza- tions, which soon disappear after elections, must have theirs also. A newspaper is their birth-register. "All nationalities are represented by the Press in the United States. Without speaking of those printed in English — which is, if not the national, at least the most commonly spoken language — there are newspapers printed in German, in French, in Italian, in Spanish, in Hebrew — even in the Chinese vernacular, for the Celestials in Cali- fornia. These are of all sizes : some are as large as front-doors, and others nearly as small as a prayer-book. As regards the color of paper used to print upon, it is varied to suit the publisher's fancy — yellow, blue, pink, purple — ; without speaking of white ; and that paper is made of ; every conceivable material, from cotton down to straw. " Twenty dailies are published in New-York alone ; j Philadelphia boasts of a dozen ; Boston, Baltimore, Cin- cinnati, Louisville, Saint Louis, New-Orleans, and Chicago, nearly as many -, and less important cities sustain half dozen dailies, either morning or evening papers. "The subscription system is seldom resorted to, esp( cially in large cities. Newspapers are sold, by wholesale, Asmodcus in Nezv-York. 153 to agents or dealers, who retail them to the public. By this means, the expenses incident to a complicated sub- scription-list are avoided. Any responsibility at all, were the subscription system in use, would be impossible with some New-York and Philadelphia newspaper-houses, which issue sixty thousand copies daily, and sometimes even more. " With a people so fond of reading, a printing-machine whose powers of rapidity would be adequate to the public wants was a great desideratum. As a matter of course an American conceived the project of, and invented, the cylinder printing-press we have just seen in operation. " Concerning the unrivaled influence newspapers exert in the United States, I must confess they deserve it. No- where else are they so complete and so well conceived. They are not dull chroniclers of passing events, but rather encyclopaedias, where all interesting questions are dis- cussed, and which abound with information on matters of great concern to mankind. American newspapers are in- defatigable expositors of truth and beauty in religion, liter- ature, the fine arts, politics, and science, and one is struck with astonishment at seeing the varied knowledge and real talent these intellectual monitors exhibit every day. " Statesmen and public functionaries are taught by news- papers ; and in deliberative bodies, the most statesmanlike views, the most sensible opinions, the most profound dis- sertations, emanate from former journalists ; and it is owing to the cheapness of magazines and newspapers, that the United States are mainly indebted for their material and intellectual development. " Public schools are, indeed, numerous, and answer, as near as possible, the elementary wants of the people. But the press completes their work, by spreading among the 154 Asniodeus in Neiv-York. masses useful and practical knowledge. Every body feels concerned about public affairs, because every body reads newspapers ; and the power of the Press is nearly bound- less, because it represents an enlightened public opinion — an opinion formed by all classes of society, and not, as in Europe, by a few privileged castes only. " From the comprehensive census published, every ten years, by the Federal administration, it appears that, in 1850, the number of periodicals and dailies, political and non-political, published in the United States, was 2526. In i860, that number had reached 4051. According to the census of 1850, the number of copies, annually printed, was about 500,000,000. Ten years later, it had nearly doubled, being 927,951,548, on an average, thirty-five copies for every citizen of the republic ! " Statisticians assert that the Press is the most impor- tant aid to their researches, and deserving their most seri- ous attention, because no other data can afford so much information respecting the status of society and the habits of the people. On the other hand, an eminent thinker has contended that the diameter of the Press is the diameter of civilization itself. Hence the importance and bearings of the above figures can escape no impartial mind, taking into consideration the number of papers and periodicals published in the United States, which actually equals that of those printed in Europe, with its population eight times larger than that of the American Republic ! "The American newspaper reviews eveiy morning, in its columns, all the countries of the world. Those columns resemble a mirror, in which are reflected all the events which interest or affect the different people of both hemi- spheres. In them maybe found correspondence from all important centres of the world ; for the American Press Asniodcîis in New - York. 1 5 5 employs everywhere, at an immense cost, special corre- spondents, not a few of whom are men of great talent and distinguished writers. " Even advertisements in the American newspapers are attractive — more so than those in papers of other countries. ^Methodically arranged, they cover all branches of human activity, and apply, in turn, to financiers, lawyers, physi- cians, merchants, and business men ; to those in want of a situation, as to those who want help ; and they forget neither our pleasures nor our pains ; neither births nor deaths. Persons in pursuit of matrimonial mates also advertise ; and though foreigners wonder at the most im- portant transaction of life being conducted through the columns of a daily, it has not, as yet, been demonstrated that marriages contracted under the auspices of the Press are less happy than others. " Contrary to what is observed in many other countries, magistrates and policemen admire the press, and extend to it their sympathy on every possible occasion. They regard it as the best detective at their command — the most reliable and efficient agent against evil-doers. When any offense or crime is committed, newspapers give such minute details, such complete information respecting its circumstances and supposed authors, that the latter are soon traced and discovered by the aid of a people whose suspicions and watchfulness have been thus aroused. Though the passport system does not exist in the United States, and in spite of the republic's extensive domains, offenders seldom escape. The Press, with its Argus eyes, soon ferrets them out of their hiding-places, and notwith- standing their disguises. " Every body, you are aware, is at liberty, in this coun- try, to choose the business or profession for which he thinks 156 Asm dens in New -York. himself qualified ; all careers are open, without reservation or distinction. The art of printing is, consequently, un- trammeled, like every other avocation or business ; and it is, perhaps, useless to say that no law foi or against the Press exists. Whoever desires to become an editor or journalist, starts a newspaper at the sole risk of his purse. He needs no previous authorization from State or Federal government ; he has no money to deposit in the public treasury, as a pledge of his good behavior; he is not bound, before going to press, to submit a copy of his pajDer to the scrutiny of any officer of the law ; and he has no fear of warnings from the government. Prosecutions against newspapers by public authorities are unknown ; still, and because the freedom of the Press has no limit, slander is severely punished. But lawsuits, even for slan- der, are not common. True, newspapers are not slow to assail public functionaries ; but the latter, in relinquishing their private life to serve their countr)^, are resigned be- forehand to the attacks of the Press. The organs of the party to which they belong take their part, and public opinion is finally the supreme judge. "Another result, derived from the right possessed by every body to publish without fear what he thinks con- cerning public affairs, must be noticed. The political po- lice, that insufferable nuisance in the Old World, does not exist here, because it is utterly useless. What plot could a political police discover ? what conspiracy ? At the same time, secret societies are not tolerated. Their usefulness, questionable everywhere, can not, in any case, be acknow- ledged in the United States. " Without hunting after scandals in private life, the American Press claims the right to expose whomsoever violates morals or public decency. Vainly such a privi- Asniodciis in New -York. 157 lege is denounced as a dangerous one — as undermining the social fabric. It is an undeniable fact that the fear of newspaper comment is a salutary restraint which, per- haps, prevents many an offense ; but the inconveniences of such a prerogative of the Press are compensated by the multitudinous advantages it procures to society. If cor- ruption has not entirely subverted political institutions ; if public morals are not yet irretrievably lost, assailed as they are by a universal and intense love of money, the American Press may boast of this result. Wicked people are afraid of it — more, perhaps, than of the law. " For all these reasons, sensible Americans consider the Press as the keystone of their social and political organi- zations. Freedom of thought is, in their opinion, not less indispensable than freedom of speech, to arrive at all truths in religion, in morals, in politics, in science. " It may be affirmed that newspapers are the true litera- ture of the United States. They constitute, in fact, the most important branch of literature with democratic societies. When one thinks of the army of compositors whom the four thousand and more newspapers published in the United States employ, of the time required to set in type the mat- ter contained in their thousands and thousands of columns, the efforts prosecuted with such indomitable energy by the Americans to apply steam to type-setting are readily under- stood. If such a problem is ever satisfactorily solved, the world will doubtless be indebted to America for it; and the steam compositor, or type-setter, will be a worthy com- panion to the revolving printing-machine, invented by an American." " But how," said I to Asmodeus, " can the proprietors of American newspapers afford to keep, in every part of the globe, those correspondents you have alluded to .'' 153 Asinodeiis in Neiu-York. Whence are derived their resources to pay so numerous a staff of writers and reporters ? And how are they ena- bled, with such heavy expenditures, to sell their issues to the public at so cheap a rate ?" " In the first place, no Congress has ever been so fool- hardy as to subject newspapers to a stamp duty — a duty the consumer, or reader, has, in reality, to pay. Monopo- lies are always dangerous things, but they are exceedingly so as regards the press. If its freedom was restricted or impeded, that freedom would soon be controlled by capi- talists, and the benefits of the institution cease to be within the reach of the masses. "Well, the masses want cheap newspapers, and conse- quently stamp duties have not been, up to this day, thought of. For the same reasons, postage rates for newspapers are moderate. Besides these causes, which explain why American newspapers are sold at a low price, their pro- prietors derive extensive sums of money from advertise- ments. While advertising is seldom resorted to in Europe, it is here a general rule with business people. No mer- chant expects to succeed unless he makes repeated ap- peals to the public for custom through the columns of newspapers ; and it is impossible to form, an approxima- tion of the amount of money yearly spent for advertising purposes. The receipts of the principal dailies of New- York sometimes amount to four thousand dollars per day, solely for advertisements to be inserted in their next issues. To these profits add those produced from the sale of a con- siderable number of copies, and you will comprehend that the income of some newspaper proprietors in New- York and Philadelphia, and some other large cities, is equal to that of the wealthiest manufacturers of England. " The development of the American Press has kept pace A s mode us in Nezv-York. 159 with that of the country. I remember the first number of the newspaper whose wonderful facilities we have just ex- amined. It was a penny paper, printed on a sheet about one foot square, containing in all sixteen columns. The office of publication was situated in a dark basement of a modest house in a quiet street. That first number con- tained some startling facts concerning the status of New- York City at that time, which was in the year 1835. The editor, who had a great liking for statistics, informed his readers that New-York had,, with its suburbs, a population of 260,000 inhabitants. 'The New-YorJz Directory,^ he added, 'gives 31,150 names, and 2000 immigrants land on our shores every year.' Weil, the population of New- York and its suburbs, to-day, amounts to nearly one million and a half; the Directory contains 500,000 names ; and instead of receiving 2000 immigrants yearl}^, that number ©f foreigners often arrive in a single day. That little quarto sheet has now become a large paper, contain- ing every morning seventy-two columns of reading-matter ! " While profiting by the development of the country, the Press has contributed to it to a great extent. It is but just to admire the enterprise, sagacity, and love of progress of American journalists. At the same time, it is to be re- gretted that they believe it necessary to constantly praise the people and flatter their prejudices and passions, for the sake of retaining an influence over them. Flattery does not lose its name because it is addressed to many, instead of a few, and the flatterers of a people are no less despica- ble than the courtiers of a king. Because of the hyperbo- lic praises which four thousand newspapers lavish on the American peojDle, the countrymen of the good and modest Washington are often exposed to the sneers of foreigners, on account of their overbearing and overv/eening conceit. i6o Asmodeus in New -York. Constantly praise a dwarf for his high stature, and he will soon believe himself a giant." I could not help laughing at this last freak of Asmo- deus's mind, as we issued forth from the great newspaper establishment. "If I can believe my optics," said my companion jocu- larly, " the stars are beginning to disappear from the cano- py of heaven : it is time to seek repose. Farewell, till to-morrow." CHAPTER XII. GIVES THE SEQUEL OF HELENA RONFORt'S HISTORY. IjCCORDING to promise, Asmodeus aj^peared the next day, just as my attention was called to ^j a group of excited men, gesticulating and speak- ing loudly under my window. " It is a shameful thing," said they ; " here is a poor man breathing his last, and no whisky can be procured to afford him relief!" While advancing near the group to hear and see better, I asked Asmodeus whether he knew the cause of their concern. " Of course I do," said he, " and here it is : an intoxicated man, laboring under ^