Lights and Shadows of New York Life: or, the Sights and Sensations of the Great CityMcCabe, James Dabney
History
Lights and Shadows of New York Life: or, the Sights and Sensations of the Great City
McCabe, James Dabney
New York (N.Y.) -- Description and travel; New York (N.Y.) -- Social life and customs -- 19th century
The female prison is in charge of an excellent matron, who has held her
position for more than twenty years. Men are never confined here, and
male visitors are subject to certain restrictions. In this portion is
located the room used as a chapel. Religious services of some kind are
held in the Tombs every day in the week except Saturday, and the effort
is made to give all the denominations an opportunity of doing good.
Sunday morning and Tuesday until noon are devoted to the Roman Catholics;
Sunday and Tuesday afternoons to the Episcopalians; Monday to the
Methodists, and Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to the other Protestant
denominations. Some of the Protestant clergy sometimes attempt to hold
religious services in the main hall of the male prison, so that the
prisoners in their cells may hear what is going on. The latter pay
little or no attention to the preacher, and frequently interrupt and
annoy him by their shouts, jeers and imitations in their cells. The
Sisters of Charity are in charge of the female and boys' prisons, and do
a vast amount of good by their quiet ministrations. The boys are kept in
a large room during the day, and are locked up in separate cells at
night.
[Picture: THE PRISON CHAPEL.]
One of the principal rooms in the Tombs is "The Bummers' Cell." It is a
large apartment, shut off from one of the main halls by an iron railing.
It is always tolerably well filled, and on Saturday nights it is
overflowing. Here are confined those against whom there is no serious
charge; persons arrested for drunkenness, or for simple disorder on the
streets. On Sunday morning the visitor will sometimes find a large crowd
of men collected in it, not all of whom are unfortunates or criminals.
Some are well-dressed, well-to-do persons, who have had the misfortune to
be drunk and noisy on Saturday night. Some are strangers, residents of
other cities, who have started out from their hotels to see the sights
and have a merry time, and who have fallen at length--and fortunately for
them--into the hands of the police. A few are persons who have been
wrongfully or maliciously accused of crime.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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