Lights and Shadows of New York Life / or, the Sights and Sensations of the Great City

by James Dabney McCabe

This ebook was transcribed by Les Bowler.

LIGHTS AND SHADOWS OF NEW YORK LIFE;
OR, THE SIGHTS AND SENSATIONS OF A GREAT CITY.

BY JAMES D. MCCABE, JR.

LIGHTS AND SHADOWS
OF NEW YORK LIFE;
or, the
SIGHTS AND SENSATIONS
of
THE GREAT CITY.

a work descriptive of the
city of new york in all its various phases;

with full and graphic accounts of

its splendors and wretchedness; its high and low life;
its marble palaces and dark dens; its attractions and
dangers; its rings and frauds; its leading men
and politicians; its adventurers; its charities;
its mysteries, and its crimes.

By JAMES D. McCABE, JR.,

author of “paris by sunlight and gaslight,” “history of the war between germany and
france,” “great fortunes,” “the great republic,” etc., etc.

illustrated with numerous fine engravings of noted places, life
and scenes in new york.

Issued by subscription only, and not for sale in the book stores. Residents of any State desiring
a copy should address the Publishers, and an Agent will call upon them. See page 851.

NATIONAL PUBLISHING COMPANY,

PHILADELPHIA, Pa.; CINCINNATI, Ohio; CHICAGO, Ill.;

ST. LOUIS, Mo.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1872, by
J. R. JONES,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D.C.

PREFACE.

It is the desire of every American to see New York, the largest and most wonderful city in the Union. To very many the city and its attractions are familiar, and the number of these persons is increased by thousands of new comers every year. A still greater number, however, will know the Great City only by the stories that reach them through their friends and the newspapers. They may never gaze upon its beauties, never enjoy its attractions in person. For their benefit I have written these pages, and I have endeavored to present to them a faithful picture of the “Lights and Shadows” of the life of this City, and to describe its “Sights and Sensations” as they really exist.

This Great City, so wonderful in its beauty, so strange to eyes accustomed only to the smaller towns of the land, is in all respects the most attractive sight in

America, and one of the most remarkable places in the world, ranking next to London and Paris in the extent and variety of its attractions. Its magnificence is remarkable, its squalor appalling. Nowhere else in the New World are seen such lavish displays of wealth, and such hideous depths of poverty. It is rich in historical associations and in treasures of art. It presents a wonderful series of combinations as well as contrasts of individual and national characteristics. It is richly worth studying by all classes, for it is totally different from any other city in the world. It is always fresh, always new. It is constantly changing, growing greater and more wonderful in its power and splendors, more worthy of admiration in its higher and nobler life, more generous in its charities, and more mysterious and appalling in its romance and its crimes. It is indeed a wonderful city. Coming fresh from plainer and more practical parts of the land, the visitor is plunged into the midst of so much beauty, magnificence, gayety, mystery, and a thousand other wonders, that he is fairly bewildered. It is hoped that the reader of these pages will be by their perusal better prepared to enjoy the attractions, and to shun the dangers of New York. It has been my effort to bring home to those who cannot see the city for themselves, its pleasures and its dangers, and to enable them to enjoy the former

without either the fatigue or expense demanded of an active participant in them, and to appreciate the latter, without incurring the risks attending an exploration of the shadowy side of the Great City.

To those who intend visiting New York, whether they come as strangers, or as persons familiar with it, the writer has a word to say, which he trusts may be heeded. An honest effort has been made in this work to present the reader with a fair description of the dangers to which visitors and citizens are alike exposed. For the purpose of performing this task, the writer made visits, in company with the police officials of the city, to a number of the places described in this work, and he is satisfied that no respectable person can with safety visit them, unless provided with a similar protection. The curiosity of all persons concerning the darker side of city life can be fully satisfied by a perusal of the sketches presented in this volume. It is not safe for a stranger to undertake to explore these places for himself. No matter how clever he may consider himself, no respectable man is a match for the villains and sharpers of New York, and he voluntarily brings upon himself all the consequences that will follow his entrance into the haunts of the criminal and disreputable classes. The city is full of danger. The path of safety which is pointed out in these pages is

the only one for either citizen or stranger—an absolute avoidance of the vicinity of sin.

Those who have seen the city will, I am sure, confirm the statements contained herein, and will acknowledge the truthfulness of the picture I have drawn, whatever they may think of the manner in which the work is executed.

J. D. McC., Jr.

New York,

March 21st, 1872

CONTENTS.

I.	THE CITY OF NEW YORK	33
	I. Historical	33
	II. Descriptive and Statistical	49
II.	THE HARBOR OF NEW YORK	59
III.	THE CITY GOVERNMENT	64
IV.	THE RING	75
	I. The History of the Ring	75
	II. Personnel of the Ring	100
V.	BROADWAY	118
	I. Historical	118
	II. Descriptive	123
VI.	SOCIETY	135
	I. Analytical	135
	II. Fashionable Extravagance	141
	III. Fashionable Follies	153
	IV. Fashionable Children	155
	V. A Fashionable Belle	157
	VI. Fashionable Entertainments	162
	VII. Marriage and Death	166
VII.	THE MUNICIPAL POLICE	171
VIII.	THE BOWERY	186
IX.	PUBLIC SQUARES	194
	I. The Battery	194
	II. The Bowling Green	196
	III. The Park	197
	IV. Other Parks	200
X.	THE FIFTH AVENUE	204
XI.	STREET TRAVEL	211
	I. The Street Cars	211
	II. The Stages	216
	III. Steam Railways	221
XII.	HORACE GREELEY	225
XIII.	THE TOMBS	232
XIV.	THE PRESS	244
	I. The Daily Journals	244
	II. The Weekly Press	255
XV.	WALL STREET	258
	I. The Street	258
	II. The Stock Exchange	264
	III. The Government Board	269
	IV. The Gold Exchange	272
	V. Curbstone Brokers	275
	VI. The Business Of The Street	276
	VII. Stock Gambling	279
	VIII. The Ways Of The Street	284
	IX. Black Friday	290
XVI.	THE FERRIES	299
XVII.	THE HOTELS	304
XVIII.	IMPOSTORS	316
XIX.	STREET MUSICIANS	324
XX.	THE CENTRAL PARK	332
XXI.	THE DETECTIVES	351
	I. The Regular Force	351
	II. Private Detectives	364
XXII.	WILLIAM B. ASTOR	372
XXIII.	FASHIONABLE SHOPPING	375
XXIV.	BLEECKER STREET	386
XXV.	CEMETERIES	390
	I. Greenwood	390
	II. Cyprus Hills	391
	III. Woodlawn	392
	IV. Calvary, and the Evergreens	393
XXVI.	THE CLUBS	394
XXVII.	THE FIVE POINTS	398
	I. Life in the Shadow	398
	II. The Cellars	405
	III. The Missions	412
XXVIII.	THE MILITARY	422
XXIX.	NASSAU STREET	426
XXX.	THE METROPOLITAN FIRE DEPARTMENT	430
XXXI.	THE BUSINESS OF NEW YORK	441
XXXII.	THE SABBATH IN NEW YORK	445
XXXIII.	THE POST OFFICE	448
	I. Internal Arrangements	448
	II. The New Post Office	456
	III. The Letter Carriers	460
XXXIV.	A. T. STEWART	464
XXXV.	PLACES OF AMUSEMENT	470
	I. The Theatres	470
	II. Minor Amusements	485
XXXVI.	THE MARKETS	487
XXXVII.	THE CHURCHES	491
	I. The Sacred Edifices	491
	II. The Clergy	498
XXXVIII.	BOARDING-HOUSE LIFE	502
XXXIX.	THE RESTAURANTS	508
XL.	THE CHEAP LODGING HOUSES	511
XLI.	THE LIBRARIES	513
XLII.	PROFESSIONAL MEN	519
XLIII.	PROFESSIONAL CRIMINALS	522
	I. The Thieves	522
	II. The Pickpockets	531
	III. The Female Thieves	533
	IV. The River Thieves	534
	V. The Fences	539
	VI. The Roughs	542
XLIV.	THE PAWNBROKERS	546
XLV.	THE BEER GARDENS	550
XLVI.	JAMES FISK, JR.	555
XLVII.	TRINITY CHURCH	565
XLVIII.	THE HOLIDAYS	572
	I. New Year’s Day	572
	II. Christmas	577
XLIX.	THE SOCIAL EVIL	579
	I. The Lost Sisterhood	579
	II. Houses of Assignation	587
	III. The Street Walkers	589
	IV. The Concert Saloons	594
	V. The Dance Houses	597
	VI. Harry Hill’s	600
	VII. Masked Balls	604
	VIII. Personals	611
	IX. The Midnight Mission	614
L.	CHILD MURDER	618
LI.	THE EAST RIVER ISLANDS AND THEIR INSTITUTIONS	631
	I. Blackwell’s Island	631
	II. Ward’s Island	640
	III. Randall’s Island	641
LII.	BENEVOLENT AND CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS	648
LIII.	HENRY WARD BEECHER	655
LIV.	BLACK-MAILING	658
LV.	FEMALE SHARPERS	662
	I. Fortune Tellers and Clairvoyants	662
	II. Matrimonial Brokers	664
LVI.	EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENTS	666
	I. The Free Schools	666
	II. The Colleges	671
LVII.	JEROME PARK	675
LVIII.	COMMODORE VANDERBILT	677
LIX.	THE BUMMERS	680
LX.	TENEMENT HOUSE LIFE	683
LXI.	CHATHAM STREET	699
LXII.	JAMES GORDON BENNETT	703
LXIII.	DRUNKENNESS	706
LXIV.	WHAT IT COSTS TO LIVE IN NEW YORK	710
LXV.	GAMBLING	715
	I. Faro Banks	715
	II. Lotteries	726
	III. Policy Dealing	728
LXVI.	PETER COOPER	731
LXVII.	THE “HEATHEN CHINEE”	734
LXVIII.	STREET CHILDREN	738
LXIX.	SWINDLERS	745
LXX.	ROBERT BONNER	756
LXXI.	PUBLIC BUILDINGS	759
LXXII.	PATENT DIVORCES	768
LXXIII.	CROTON WATER WORKS	774
LXXIV.	EXCURSIONS	778
LXXV.	SAILORS IN NEW YORK	782
LXXVI.	THE BALLET	789
LXXVII.	THE POOR OF NEW YORK	796
	I. The Deserving Poor	796
	II. The Beggars	802
LXXVIII.	QUACK DOCTORS	805
LXXIX.	YOUNG MEN’S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION	811
LXXX.	CASTLE GARDEN	816
LXXXI.	WORKING WOMEN	822
LXXXII.	STREET VENDERS	831
LXXXIII.	THE WHARVES	835
LXXXIV.	THE MORGUE	839
LXXXV.	THE CUSTOM HOUSE	843
LXXXVI.	MISSING	848

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

General View of New York City, showing the Bridge connecting it with Brooklyn	Frontispiece.
Offices of the Tribune, Times, and World	8
Grand Central Railway Depot	9
First Settlement of New York	37
New York in 1664	45
Broadway, looking up from Exchange Place	53
The City Hall Park in 1869	56
The Harbor of New York, as seen from the Narrows	60
A. Oakey Hall, Mayor of New York	81
William M. Tweed	82
The New County Court House	83
The Robbery of the Vouchers from the Comptroller’s Office	94
Richard B. Connolly	104
Peter B. Sweeny	105
Broadway, at the corner of Ann street	124
A. T. Stewart’s Wholesale Store	125
New York Life Insurance Company’s building, corner of Broadway and Leonard street	127
Broadway, as seen from the St. Nicholas Hotel	129
Saturday Afternoon Concert at Central Park	132
A Fashionable Promenade on Fifth avenue	137
The German	165
Female Prisoners in the Fourth Police Station	176
A Winter Night Scene in a Police Station	181
The Bowery	189
The City Hall Park	198
The Washington Statue in Union Square	201
Fifth avenue, near Twenty-first street	205
Junction of the Fifth avenue and Thirty-fourth street, showing the new residence of A. T. Stewart, Esq	209
New Palace-car for City travel, in use on the Third avenue line	213
Tunnel under Broadway	223
Horace Greeley	231
The Tombs	233
The Bridge of Sighs	234
Interior of Male Prison	235
The Prison Chapel	237
Court of Special Sessions	240
“Black Maria”	243
Printing House Square	246
The Herald Office	249
Wall street	259
United States Sub-treasury	261
The Stock Exchange	265
The New York Stock Exchange Board in Session	267
The Park Bank, Broadway	278
Scene in the Gold Room—Black Friday	291
Broad street on Black Friday	296
The Astor House	305
St. Nicholas Hotel	307
Fifth avenue Hotel	310
The Soldier Minstrel	323
View from the Upper Terrace	333
Foot-bridge in Central Park	335
The Marble Arch	338
Vine-covered Walk, overlooking the Mall	341
The Terrace, as seen from the Lake	344
View on the Central Lake	346
A Female Shoplifter	376
A. T. Stewart’s Retail Store	382
Lord and Taylor’s Dry Goods Store	384
A Five Points Rum Shop	399
A Five Points Lodging Cellar	407
The Ladies’ Five Points Mission	413
The Howard Mission (as it will appear when completed)	419
Nassau street	427
Fire Alarm Signal-box	435
A Fire in New York	438
The Old Post-office	449
The New Post-office	457
Booth’s Theatre	471
Grand Opera House	474
Academy of Music	477
The Old Bowery Theatre	478
Washington Market	488
The New St. Patrick’s Cathedral	496
Union Square	505
Lafayette Place	514
Clinton Hall	517
The occasional fate of New York Thieves	525
The River Thieves	537
A Fence Store in Chatham street	541
The Rough’s Paradise	543
The Atlantic Garden	552
James Fisk, Jr	557
Jay Gould	560
Trinity Church	569
New Year’s Calls	575
The result of following a Street Walker	592
Noonday Prayer Meeting at Water street Home	599
Harry Hill’s Dance House	602
Scene in the Magdalen Asylum	616
Residence of the Keeper of the Almshouse	632
Small-pox Hospital	633
Charity Hospital	634
New York Penitentiary	635
Guard-boats	636
Almshouse	637
The Workhouse	639
House of Refuge: Randall’s Island	642
Bloomingdale Asylum for the Insane	649
St. Luke’s Hospital	650
Institution for the Blind	652
Henry Ward Beecher	657
A New York Free School	667
The Free College of New York	669
University of New York	672
Columbia College	673
The Cooper Institute	674
Cornelius Vanderbilt	679
A New York Tenement House	684
An inside View of a Tenement House	688
Chatham Square	700
James Gordon Bennett	705
A Female Drinker	708
A First-class Gambling House	717
The Skin Game	723
Peter Cooper	733
Chinese Candy Dealer	736
The Newsboys	739
Attack on a Swindler	746
A Stranger’s Exit from a “Cheap John Shop”	752
The Pocket-book Game	754
Robert Bonner	758
The City Hall	760
Tammany Hall	763
National Academy of Design	764
Steinway & Son’s Piano Factory	765
The High Bridge	775
The Fifth avenue Reservoir	776
U. S. Navy Yard, Brooklyn	779
West Point	780
New York Seamen’s Exchange Building	786
The Ballet	790
The Poor in Winter	797
The City Missionary	800
Young Men’s Christian Association Hall	812
The Library	814
The Battery and Castle Garden	817
Emigrant Hospital	819
The Sewing-girl’s Home	823
Stewart’s Home for Working Women	829
Street Venders	832
Shoe Latchets	832
“Glass put in!”	832
Balloon Man	832
Boat Stores	836
The Morgue	840
The Custom House	844
The Fate of Hundreds of Young Men	849

I. THE CITY OF NEW YORK