A Brief Note From 1843 About A Masher

From the July 14, 1893 Brooklyn Daily Eagle:

“There was a scene of excitement this forenoon in a cheap restaurant in the vicinity of the city hall where young women are exclusively employed in attendance at the tables. A well dressed old looking man entered the restaurant and after taking a seat gave a small order. He did not eat, but sat at the table for nearly an hour with his eyes on waitress No. 2, who is known to the other women as Mamie. Suddenly he beckoned Mamie over to his table, threw his right arm around her waist and drew her down as if to kiss her. She screamed and then fainted. Her assailant was arrested, but as the young woman refused to make a charge against him he was not detained. He described himself in the Adams Street station as Henry J. Spyker, aged 55, of 254 Forty-eighth Street.

When questioned by the policeman, Spyker said he was a bachelor, but thought of getting married some day. He declared that he had really no intention of alarming the young woman, and he was really surprised to see her flop over in a faint. The police think he is slightly demented.”

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