Republican Herald

FILLIAL INGRATITUDE AND CRUELTY.

One of the Cincinnati papers put forth a shocking story, the other day, exhibiting an almost incredible degree of barbarity in the treatment of an aged lady by her own children. The substance of the story was that the children, considering the life of their parent too much protracted, and eager to take possession of her estate, had shut her up in a garret and given out a report of her death: that she was horribly neglected in her prison, scantily fed on the coarsest viands, made to sleep on straw, and seldom or never provided with change of raiment or water for ablution. We did not copy the tale, because we did not believe it.

A second version has since appeared in the Cincinnati Times, which varies somewhat from the first. It is, considerably abridged, as follows:

The old lady referred to lived in the city of New York, possessed of sufficient property to make her comfortable in her declining years. A son now living in this city, in good circumstances, it was stated, squandered a part of this sacred fund, and came to this city with her balance, leaving his parent to the charities of strangers. After some time, a daughter of the old lady brought her out to the west, with whom she lived near the Little Miami river, for a while; but at last getting tired of her, she brought her to this city, and quartered her on another sister, who in a short time, reflecting, no doubt, that as her brother had possessed himself of all the old lady's property he ought to take care of her, applied to him to receive her under his roof; this he refused to do. Determined not to be at the expense and trouble of shielding that venerable grey head, she placed her in a carriage and proceeded to her brother's house, when not finding the family at home, she seated her mother on his door steps, and left her in the rain, where she remained an hour or two.

On the return of her son she was placed in a small back room in his house—a miserable straw bed and covering were given to her and then she was locked up. The condition in which she was found is sufficient proof of the treatment she was subjected to.

Suffice it to say that the lady who first heard of the circumstance told it to her husband, who immediately called on one of the sons-in-law of the sufferer, who is in the yearly receipt of several thousand dollars of rent from his real estate, and stated the information he had received in relation to his wife's mother, and his apprehensions that unless something was done immediately she could not survive such cruel treatment. He conjectured truly—the old lady died soon after.

The son-in-law answered, "I know it all: the old woman is very old, and ought to have died years ago: and it was nobody's business."

But our friend was not to be so baulked. He called on the township trustees, and insisted on their going to see her.

After the matter was thus made public he consented to, and did employ a woman to board and wait on the aged invalid. They gave her food, which she devoured like a famished wolf; they cut off her hair and combed her head, and washed and dressed her.

The poor old creature was at last made clean and comfortable, and removed to the roof of a hireling, where she afterwards died.

From a subsequent paragraph in the Times we learn that Mr. Grover, pastor of the Westerly Chapel in Cincinnati, has published a card, promising that the whole matter shall be investigated by a committee, and given correctly to the public.

We suppose that there has been some, perhaps a considerable, departure from filial duty in the case, but that the published statements are largely exaggerated. The name of the old lady, Mr. Grover says, is Tibbs.—N. Y. Com. Advertiser.