New York: Its Upper Ten and Lower Million

As the REV. HERMAN BARNHURST passed from the hall-door of the palace of the merchant prince, and descended the marble steps, his thoughts were by no means of a pleasant characte...

The Twenty-Fourth of December was a happy day with Randolph Royalton. One happy day, after a long month devoted to agony and despair! Early morning light, found him in an upper...

Roderick Borgia leads Lucretia across the threshold of the Golden Room. She utters an ejaculation of wonder mingled with terror. For it is a magnificent, and yet a gloomy place...

Israel Yorke left the Temple, accompanied by Ninety-One and followed by the eleven. Israel, clad once more in his every-day _practical_ dress, with his hat drawn over his bald h...

Attired in black velvet, the golden cross upon her breast, and with a white vail falling like a snowflake over her face and raven hair, she pressed his hand and led him forward...

Meanwhile in the banquet-room, the Legate of the Pope, with the form of his daughter, in her male attire, nestling on his breast, raised his head, and surveyed the faces of the...

As Gaspar Manuel left the house of Ezekiel Bogart, he wrapped his cloak closely about his form, and drew his sombrero low upon his face. His head drooped upon his breast as he h...

About the hour of nine o'clock, on the 23d of December, a gentleman, wrapped in the folds of a Spanish mantle, passed along Broadway, on his way to the Astor House. Through the...

Within,--in the range of parlors, where, last night, Eugene kissed good-bye on the lips of his young and beautiful wife, ere he left for Boston,--where, not an hour after, Bever...

Enter the narrow door of the frame-house, which seems toppling to the ground. You hear the sound of the violin, and by the light of tallow candles, inserted in tin sconces which...

Broadway, a few hours since, all light, and life, and motion, was now lonely as a desert. Gathering his cloak over his white coat, and drawing his cap lower upon his brows, Tarl...

The Court of Ten Millions was once more in session. The judge was once more in his seat; his form enveloped in the coat with many capes, his features shadowed by the hat with am...

Our history now returns to Madam Resimer, whom we left in her most secret chamber, near ten o'clock, on the 24th of December, listening to the sound of the bell, which resounded...

It was near eleven o'clock, on the night of December 23d, 1844, when Evelyn Somers, Sen., sitting in his library by the light of the shaded candle, was startled by the ringing o...

The time was very near. The cycle of twenty-one years was in its last hour. It was the last hour of December twenty-fourth, 1844. That hour passed, the twenty-one years would be...

A single lamp stood on a table, near a bed which was surmounted by a canopy of silken curtains. The room was spacious and elegant; chairs, carpet, the marble mantle, elaborately...

It was toward evening, when, amid the crowd of Broadway--that crowd of mad and impetuous life--there glided, like a specter through the mazes of a voluptuous dance, a man of sob...

As the night set in--the night of December 23d, 1844--two persons were seated in the recess of a lofty window, which commanded a view of Broadway. It was the window of a drawing...

Having once more resumed the attire of Leo the Tenth,--scarlet robe, cap, with nodding plumes and cross with golden chain; Dr. Bulgin was hurrying along a dark passage on his wa...

"Did your best? I should like to know what you take me for? D'ye think I'm a fool? Did not I give you the stuff for five shirts, and fust of all, I exacted a pledge of five doll...

A pleasant place, in summer time, was the country-mansion of the celebrated Doctor N----, situated upon the heights of Weehawken, about one mile from the Hudson River. A huge ed...

Yonder, in the still winter night, THE TEMPLE stands, all dark and sullen without, but bright with festal lights within. Stand here in the dark, and you will see the guests of t...

It was in a large square room, on the second story of his Banking House--if Israel's place of business can be designated by that name. The gas-light disclosed the floor covered...

Bernard Lynn was a tall and muscular man, somewhat inclined to corpulence. His dark complexion was contrasted with the masses of snow-white hair, which surrounded his forehead,...

CHRISTMAS EVE, 1823, was a memorable night in the history of a certain wealthy family in New York. The night was dark and stormy, but the tempest which swept over the bay, and w...

Yes, fallen! nevermore to press the kiss of a pure mother upon the lips of her innocent child. Fallen! never more to meet her husband's gaze, with the look of a chaste and faith...

At the hour of eleven o'clock, on the night of December 23d, 1844, ----. A gentleman of immense wealth, who occupied his own mansion, in the upper part of New York, came from hi...

In the luxurious apartment, where Nameless and Frank first met, a Holy Bible was placed wide open upon a table, or altar, covered with a snow-white cloth. On either side of the...

"We arrived from Europe, only the day before yesterday. Father determined to visit New York, on our way to Havana, where we intend to spend the winter. And to-day, by a strange...

"Here you must leave me," cried Barnhurst, in a tone of desperation, "I have an appointment in this church at the hour of four. Leave me,--at least for a little while--"

"Why, where has Corkins gone?" cried the Madam, and turning abruptly she sought for Corkins, and uttered a shriek. At the same instant Barnhurst raised his eyes from the face of...

My childhood's home! O, is there in all the world a phrase so sweet as this, "My childhood's home!" Others may look back to childhood, and be stung by bitter memories, but my ch...

"But, where shall I go?" was the question that troubled Barnhurst. "Home?" He shuddered at the thought. Any place but home! "Can I possibly get rid of him?" Doubtful, exceedingl...

The diminutive Turk, followed by the Lady in Black, led the way from the hall, to a distant and secluded apartment. She still gathered the hood of her robe closely about her fac...

Leaving Frank to writhe alone in her agony, Nameless and Mary pursued their way through the dark streets, as the morning drew near. They arrived at length, in front of that huge...

It was, in truth, that singular man, who in the course of our narrative, has appeared as the Judge of the Court of Ten Millions as the "man in the surtout, with manifold capes,"...

Madam Resimer was waiting in the little room up-stairs,--waiting and watching in that most secret chamber of her mansion,--her cheek resting on her hand, her eyes fixed upon the...

Before I resume my own history, I must relate an instance in the life of Ernest, which had an important bearing on his fate. (This incident I derive from MSS. written by Ernest...

When I awoke again--but I cannot proceed. There are crimes done every day, which the world knows by heart, and yet shudders to see recorded, even in the most carefully vailed ph...

It was June again. One summer evening I took the path which led from the garden to the summit of the hill which rose behind the cottage. As I pursued my way upward the sun was s...

"Come with me," he said, in a low voice, to Barnhurst. He drew the key from his pocket, and led the way to the door. As though fascinated by his look, Herman followed him,--foll...

"The first thing in order, is the reading of the Will," said Martin Fulmer solemnly. And while a dead stillness pervaded, he read the will; and afterward briefly recounted the c...

Three days have passed since then. Such days as I will never pass again! I have just learned that Gerald Dudley has fled the city. His purpose to obtain Fanny's hand in marriage...

Behind, like a huge black wall, was the city, a faint line of light separating its roofs from the bleak sky. Around were the waves, loaded with piles of floating ice, which cras...

It was on the fourth day, in the afternoon, that my mother desired my presence in the parlor, where she wished to present me to a much esteemed friend, Mr. Wareham--Mr. Wallace...

As midnight drew near, Randolph was alone in his bedchamber,--a spacious chamber, magnificently furnished, and illumined by a single candle, which stood upon a rosewood table ne...

Scarcely had the echo of the front door, ceased to resound through the mansion, when the Madam entered the holy place from which Arthur and Herman had just departed. Her step wa...

They sat near the marriage altar, their hands clasped, and their gaze fixed upon each other's face. The countenance of Nameless was radiant with a deep joy. One hand resting upo...

It will soon fall to our task to depict certain scenes, which took place in the Empire City on the 23d of December, between nightfall and midnight. The greater portion of these...

Alone in my mansion, secluded from the world, I passed many months in harrowing meditations on the past. Oftentimes I saw the face of Walter dabbled in blood, and both awake and...

The next day we were married. In the dusk of the evening four figures stood in the spacious parlor of my father's mansion, by the light of a single waxen-candle. There was the c...

"Does he remember?" was the exclamation of Frank, as concealing the history of the Life of NAMELESS within her bosom, a singular expression flashed over her beautiful face. "Doe...

Having thus given the incident from the life of Ernest, as far as possible, in the very words of his MSS., let me continue my history from the hour when, in company with my moth...

At the age of eighteen I was betrothed to Walter Howard, a young man of polished manners, elegant exterior, and connected with one of the first families of New York. I was beaut...

When I awoke next morning, my mind was clear again, and even as I unclosed my eyes and saw the sunlight shining gayly through the curtains, a fixed purpose took possession of my...

Leaving the farmhouse, we bent our way to the Palisades again. We had been gay and happy all the morning, now we became thoughtful. We entered a narrow path, and presently came...

Here, my friend, let us take a breathing spell in this, our dark history. Horrors crowd fast and thick upon us,--horrors, not born of romance, but of that under-current of real...

The judge interrupted him,--"Bring in the prisoner!" he shouted, and the eleven shuffled into the room, escorting the little gentleman in Turkish jacket and trowsers: "Draw near...

As Dermoyne led Barnhurst forth into the open air, the false clergyman staggered like a drunken man. His tall and angular form shook like a reed; and Arthur, catching a glimpse...

My mother soon afterward gave her first party. It was attended by many of the rich and the fashionable of both sexes, and there were the glare of lights, the presence of beautif...

Morning came, and no suspicion attached to me. A murderess--if not in deed, in thought, certainly--I was looked upon as the inconsolable widow. Walter left Niagara without seein...

Back from his brother's gaze, step by step, shrank Tarleton or Charles Van Huyden, his eyes still chained to that face, which the grave seemed to have yielded up, to blast his s...

As he rose from his seat and advanced toward the iron chest, the curtain of the doorway was thrust aside, and the light shone upon a slender form, clad in black, and upon a pall...

"Now is my time," muttered Dermoyne to himself, and at once he entered the passage, which branched from the head of the stairs, and led to the eastern wing of the mansion. How h...

Away from these scenes of darkness and of crime, let us, for a moment, turn aside and dwell, for a little while, on the fireside ray of a quiet home. Yes, leaving Arthur and Her...

"I am a beggar, child, and you are a beggar's daughter. It is to Mr. Wareham that we are indebted for all that we enjoy. For years he has paid the expenses of your education; an...

A singular look passed over Randolph's visage, as he held the candle over the sleeper's face,--a look hard to define or analyze, for it seemed to indicate a struggle between wid...

After supper, Ernest and I went to the rock on the summit of the hill, where we had met the year before. The scene was the same,--the river, the bay, the dark Palisades, and the...

She gazed upon me with surprise. Obeying a sudden impulse, I said--"Excuse me, Miss, but I promised to meet _him_ here. You know," with a polite bow and smile, "you know whom I...

One evening I was sitting alone, in the back parlor, near a table on which stood a lighted candle and a wine-glass, (for I now at times began to seek oblivion in wine,) when Ger...

Not long after this interview, I saw Fanny Lansdale at church; made the acquaintance of her father--a grave citizen, who regarded me as a sincere devotee--and induced Fanny to b...

The curtain moved again, and two persons came slowly into the room; a man whose wounded arm was carried in a sling and whose livid face was marked by recent wounds,--a boy, whos...

"Frank," said he, kindly, "To-morrow you will leave us forever. Would you not like to see once more the place yonder,"--he pointed across the river to the Palisades--"where we s...

It was toward the close of the afternoon that we took our way from the glade through the forest to the river shore. We crossed the river, and passed through the village. Togethe...

Two persons were sitting at a table, in the Refectory beneath Lovejoy's Hotel. One of these drank brandy and the other drank water. The brandy drinker was our friend Bloodhound,...