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IN THE WORLD OF WRONGDOING SUCCESS IS FAILURE.
IN THE WORLD OF WRONGDOING SUCCESS IS FAILURE.
490 Pages. 80 Graphic Illustrations. Copyrighted 1897 by BIDWELL PUBLISHING COMPANY, HARTFORD, CONN. "If an American dramatist or novelist had taken for the ground work of a play or work of fiction the story of the Bidwell family to-day related on another page of the Herald, all European critics would have told him that the story was too 'American,' too vast in its outlines, too high in its colors, too merely 'big' in fact. "The story has its lesson. The play is not a mere spectacle. The lesson
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Editorial New York Herald.
Editorial New York Herald.
" Dear Sir —I read your book with a good deal of interest, and would like to change it for a higher-priced binding if you have one." The Worcester Spy. "Mr. Bidwell's book has been compared with Dumas' famous 'Monte Christo.' The extraordinary character of its adventures, indeed, would render it dramatic and powerful as fiction; as human truth, it is simply overwhelming. No one can read this book unmoved. From every conceivable standpoint, physiological, sociological, and literary, it is a marve
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HAD THERE BEEN WISDOM THERE?
HAD THERE BEEN WISDOM THERE?
We lived in South Brooklyn, near to old No. 13, the Degraw Street Public School. To that I was sent, and there got all the education I was ever fated to have at any school, except the school of life and experience. I attended for some years, and even now I cannot recall without a smile the absurd incompetency of every one connected with the institution and their utter ignorance of the art of imparting knowledge to children. At home I had picked up that grand art of reading, and went to school to
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"'TWAS EVER THUS." OF COURSE IT WAS.
"'TWAS EVER THUS." OF COURSE IT WAS.
The situation my father had obtained for me was with a sugar broker by the name of Waterbury. He was a partner in a large refinery, his office being in South Water street. He was a nice, conservative old man, and let things run on easily. His chief clerk, Mr. Ambler, was every inch a gentleman, who, quickly perceiving what an ignoramus I was, out of the goodness of his heart resolved to teach me something. There were two sharp young men in our office. They liked me well enough, but used to guy m
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A LICENSED PIRATE.
A LICENSED PIRATE.
We had latterly somewhat neglected business—our real business being at night, when we made the pursuit of pleasure hard work. Soon the finances of our firm not only ran low, but were on three several occasions exhausted, so that we not only had recourse to borrowing, but were barely saved from bankruptcy by liberal donations from Ed's parents. His father was a fine, jolly old gentleman, and took it quite a matter of course that it was his duty to help us off the rocks when we ran on them. My par
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FOOLS STUMBLING ON FORTUNES.
FOOLS STUMBLING ON FORTUNES.
The present generation has become tolerably familiar with defalcations and robberies involving enormous sums. Previous to 1861 they were comparatively unknown, the reason being that the currency of the country was strictly limited. There were absolutely no Government bonds or currency, while the few bonds issued by corporations were not usually made payable to bearer, and, therefore, were not negotiable, and were of no use to the robber. But in 1861, to meet the expenses of the war, the State ba
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WHEN BOSS TWEED WAS NEW YORK'S OWNER AND JIM FISK, PROPRIETOR OF OUR JUDGES.
WHEN BOSS TWEED WAS NEW YORK'S OWNER AND JIM FISK, PROPRIETOR OF OUR JUDGES.
What a look of relief and triumph swept over the faces of Irving, Stanley and White when I gave my consent to their proposal to take the stolen bonds to Europe and negotiate them there. We understood each other now, and casting aside all reserve, their tongues wagged freely, and they eagerly told me how confident they were of my ability to dispose of the bonds successfully, and also of my good faith; and, furthermore, told me I was the only man they would have trusted. Of course, they had no sec
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CHEATED VISIONS AND VANISHED HOPES.
CHEATED VISIONS AND VANISHED HOPES.
Saturday night was the time chosen to get into the bank, and the plunderers were to remain there until Sunday. The members of Irving's ring were to keep watch to prevent any officious interference from passers-by or from ward policemen. Carriages were to be in waiting at some convenient place on Sunday morning, and when the men inside received a signal from their police accomplices on the outside, they were to leave the bank, abandoning their tools, and carrying away nothing but the money and th
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GILDED SIRS WHO ARE NOT WISE.
GILDED SIRS WHO ARE NOT WISE.
After a pleasant voyage the Russia arrived, and one May morning I walked into the Northwestern Railway station in Liverpool to take the train for London. The bonds were in a little handbag, and I was free to look around. Everything was novel and strange, and all things told me I was in a foreign land. I had, like most young people, a particularly good opinion of myself and something of an idea as to my own importance. We arrived in London amid a drizzling rain, and I was much impressed with the
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THE MERRY SUMMER OVER AND NO HARVEST STORED.
THE MERRY SUMMER OVER AND NO HARVEST STORED.
From Cologne to Frankfort is about 140 miles, and swiftly our train sped along up the Rhine—the lovely stream about which poets have raved for twenty generations. What classic ground! What scenes have its waters reflected, its mountains looked upon! In the old days its rolling floods made a deep impression on the stout Roman heart. More than one army, carrying with it the hearts of the Roman world, had crossed that river and plunged into the unknown forests beyond, only to go down in the shock o
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"WE HAVE ANOTHER JOB FOR YOU."
"WE HAVE ANOTHER JOB FOR YOU."
About every second day I called on Murpurgo & Weissweller in Frankfort, and talked over matters, and easily saw that everything would go right. All that was necessary was to produce the bonds, and they would hand over the cash. Here in America, though we scrutinized a man's garments, the quality and fit of the same having a certain value, we never take much stock in a stranger because an artist tailor has decorated him, or because he has plenty of money. But in the seventies, all over Eu
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A NINETEENTH CENTURY PRODIGAL.
A NINETEENTH CENTURY PRODIGAL.
Let no man who may be tempted to commit a crime ever fancy that if he takes the first step down hill he will stop until he reaches the bottom. If one of my readers flatters himself he can go one step, with no more to follow, on the downward road, let such an one read this story to the end and then forever abandon such an idea as a fancy born of inexperience. For this history is as a handwriting on the wall, full of warning to all and every one who may be tempted to take one step in any other pat
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"CRACK THE LAWYER'S VOICE THAT HE MAY NEVER MORE FALSE TITLES PLEAD, NOR SOUND HIS QUILLETS SHRILLY."
"CRACK THE LAWYER'S VOICE THAT HE MAY NEVER MORE FALSE TITLES PLEAD, NOR SOUND HIS QUILLETS SHRILLY."
The Eastward Ho was a hint of a project we had frequently talked over as a possible speculation. Here we see how men are led on step by step from bad to worse when once they set out on the Primrose Way. In returning from Europe with the $10,000 commission in my pocket, I vowed never again to engage in any unlawful speculation. I was through! No criminal life for me! Then came the day when we struck for the $20,000 and won, and we were all happy in the thought that our last unlawful deed was over
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RESTEZ ICI, MES ENFANTS.
RESTEZ ICI, MES ENFANTS.
We all landed in Liverpool in the highest spirits, and at once took the train for London, enjoying the novelty of everything. It was settled that George should pursue the venture alone in France, while I should go with Mac to Germany to act as his second there. To keep entirely clear myself, but at the same time to watch everything, to exchange the German notes he obtained and to be ready to help if any one should attempt to detain him. Therefore, after completing certain preparations which requ
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WE TALK OF THE STARS AND DO THE OTHER THING.
WE TALK OF THE STARS AND DO THE OTHER THING.
After we saw George off to Paris on the train Mac and I walked up and down the platform outside of the station, star-gazing. Mac, with his brilliant scholarship, elegant speech, logical force and fiery enthusiasm, made a most fascinating companion. The study of mankind is man, the old proverb says, but like many other proverbs there is a full measure of unreality in it. It takes a good amount of arrogance and conceit for one to fancy he is going to study and understand men. No man can understand
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I PLAY THE SILVER KING.
I PLAY THE SILVER KING.
The next morning we all drove to Hampton Court, the creation of Wolsey, and when tired we went to the Star and Garter. There we talked over matters, and came to the conclusion we must have a hundred thousand apiece before we could afford to settle down at home. We resolved to send off the "percentage" to Irving & Company, and to pay all debts we were owing at home. Mac's heart went out to his father. He longed for a reconciliation, and he determined to send him $10,000 and so make good t
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PIRATICAL CRUISE IN TROPICAL SEAS.
PIRATICAL CRUISE IN TROPICAL SEAS.
The way to the bank vaults with their treasures had been laid open, but there remained many matters of detail to be carried out before we could enter them. There promised to be a delay of several months, but we were impatient over the prospect of delay of even six months in securing the fortunes we wanted, and which we had come to consider essential to our happiness. Our plan to ease the bank of a million or two of her forty million sterling was, roughly stated, to borrow from day to day large s
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"SHOW ME YOUR LETTERS OF CREDIT."
"SHOW ME YOUR LETTERS OF CREDIT."
Fate, Providence, call it what you will, seldom fails to upset wrongdoing, making it rocky for the wrongdoer. By an irony of fortune we carried with us that which was going to balk all, or nearly all, our fine scheme. In our letters of credit in some mysterious way the name of the sub-manager of the London and Westminster Bank had been omitted, although this was absolutely essential to the validity of the letters. There was also another error, an error of such an extraordinary nature—that of spe
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ONCE MORE WE SAIL THE SEAS OVER.
ONCE MORE WE SAIL THE SEAS OVER.
Here in our country we know nothing of the annoyances and humbuggery of the passport system, but now, as in 1872, every person desiring to leave Brazil must be provided with a passport—if a foreigner, from his own Government; if a native, one from the government of Brazil. When ready to leave the country he must take his passport to police headquarters and get it vised, at the same time notifying the police of the steamer he proposes to sail on. Leaving the passport with the agent from whom he b
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LITTLE FISHES WRIGGLING THROUGH GREEN WAVES.
LITTLE FISHES WRIGGLING THROUGH GREEN WAVES.
Once more together and our adventures since we separated related, the question arose: What next? We determined to abandon our dangerous business, for we had capital sufficient to start in an honest career, and resolved to do so. For a long time our attention had been turned to Colorado, and we had frequently talked over a project of going to some growing city there, starting a bank and building a wheat elevator and stockyards. Fifty thousand dollars would start our bank, and $10,000, with some c
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WITH NO REGRETS, WITH NO TORTURING REMORSE.
WITH NO REGRETS, WITH NO TORTURING REMORSE.
Although I had the very respectable balance of $67,000 at the bank, I had not as yet, since my arrival in London, paid it a visit. This was in pursuance of our plans. So far I had only done business with the supernumeraries, and none of the people at the top had ever even heard of me. But we determined that they should not long remain in ignorance of the great American contractor, F. A. Warren. Three months had elapsed since our departure from London on our piratical tour to the Spanish Main. In
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DETAILS NECESSARY, IF TEDIOUS.
DETAILS NECESSARY, IF TEDIOUS.
After the events narrated in the last chapter, I returned to London. I arrived early in the morning, and, meeting my companions, we had a long and anxious talk over my near-approaching and all-important interview with that great Sir of the London world, the manager of the Bank of England. Happy for us if in that interview the manager had asked for the customary references, or had used ordinary business precaution and investigated me, or, indeed, had acted as any ordinary business man would have
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THE EGYPTIANS PASS OVER THE RED SEA AND THE HEBREWS ARE DROWNED THEREIN.
THE EGYPTIANS PASS OVER THE RED SEA AND THE HEBREWS ARE DROWNED THEREIN.
All the details of events leading through the long Summer and Autumn days of 1872 up to the hour when the golden shower began to fall on us are of intense, almost dramatic, interest. I will not, however, lengthen the narrative by giving here any further account of them, but will merely relate the story of the last five days before the actual presentation of our home-brewed acceptances. The bank had been discounting for weeks comparatively large sums for me. Many thousand pounds of the genuine ar
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"ACCEPTED. LIONEL ROTHSCHILD."
"ACCEPTED. LIONEL ROTHSCHILD."
When George and Mac received my telegram they, knowing the difficulties of my mission, deemed it incredible that I had succeeded within a day, so when my telegram came they thought I was attempting some jest. Upon my arrival in London, walking into Mac's room—he being still in bed—I announced that I had in my pocket Rothschild's bill for £6,000, drawn on the London house. He flatly refused to believe me, but when he, and later George, saw the bill, they were forced to believe. I at once took it
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SHOWERS OF GOLD FALL—AND THEN?
SHOWERS OF GOLD FALL—AND THEN?
I shall try and condense into a single chapter the narrative of events in London from the time of my departure until the day, some months later, when our scheme exploded and all took to flight when Noyes was arrested. Our expenses had been so enormous that we were anxious to make enough to recoup them, so it had been agreed that the first batch of bogus bills should not exceed the amount paid out since leaving Rio. I left for Paris on Monday. On Wednesday, Noyes went to the bank and drew out all
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POINTS FOR JUSTICE TO PICK UP.
POINTS FOR JUSTICE TO PICK UP.
Mac and George were without, and were stricken with consternation, for a minute's observation of the gathering crowd and the rushing into the bank of excited people convinced them something unusual was in the wind, and they knew Noyes must be in deadly peril. Mac rushed into the bank in hope to warn or to be of help. Everything there was in confusion. Unobserved in the excitement, he made his way into the parlor and there saw what made his heart stand still—Noyes surrounded by an angry crowd of
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THE IRONY OF FATE.
THE IRONY OF FATE.
In this chapter I give in his own words George's account of his flight from London and his arrest. "Without the remotest suspicion that my right name was known or that anything had been discovered to show my connection with the fraud, I resolved to take the steamer Atlantic of the White Star line at Queenstown for New York. Knowing that all the railway stations in London were being watched, and that any man buying a ticket for America might have to give an account of himself, I sent a porter to
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"EXCUSE ME, SIR, FOR QUESTIONING YOU."
"EXCUSE ME, SIR, FOR QUESTIONING YOU."
"Crossing the narrow street in Cahir, referred to at the close of the last chapter, I went in haphazard at the first door, without knocking, and saw a family eating their humble supper. As I walked in I addressed the family at the table thus: "'Good evening. Pardon my intrusion, and do not disturb yourselves; but by all means finish your supper.' "'Good evening, sir,' was the reply from the man, whom I will call Maloy. 'We are glad to see you; will you sit by and have pot-luck with us?' "'No, th
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THE FLOWERS IN THE PRIMROSE WAY ARE SWEET.
THE FLOWERS IN THE PRIMROSE WAY ARE SWEET.
As narrated in an earlier chapter, I left England two days before the first lot of forged bills were sent in. I left serene and confident of the future. My departure was a happy event in a double sense. All my negotiations had been carried on at a considerable expense of nerve, and in leaving I left everything in such trim that success seemed certain, with all chance of danger eliminated from the venture. I felt that the trying toil was now all over, with nothing for me to do but to reap the har
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FEAR SAYS "NO" TO HAPPINESS.
FEAR SAYS "NO" TO HAPPINESS.
We passed during the day a military post and several squads of armed men. Poor fellows! they were wretchedly equipped, so far as garments went. They all examined us curiously, but did not offer to stop or question us while I marched on ahead of the cavalcade like a drum major, giving the military salute to each party as we passed. I ought to have been fatigued, but I was not. After about five miles of uphill work we began to descend. The road was a masterpiece of engineering, and well it might b
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I WATCH THE PYRENEES SINK IN THE SEA, THEN SAIL O'ER GREEN NEPTUNE'S BACK.
I WATCH THE PYRENEES SINK IN THE SEA, THEN SAIL O'ER GREEN NEPTUNE'S BACK.
It was 11 o'clock when we started. The streets were thronged, and the throngs moving in one direction. That was to the street lined on both sides with churches, whose doors were flung wide open to the surging masses. We went with the current and entered a famous church which was crowded with the pious, their souls rapt in their devotion. Like all European churches, there were no seats, but the audience, closely packed, knelt or stood. We joined the worshipers, but looked around with curious eyes
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"HAPPINESS AND I SHAKE HANDS FOR A TIME."
"HAPPINESS AND I SHAKE HANDS FOR A TIME."
Cuba! What a productive and fertile island it is, with its charming climate and lovely scenery! But, as in so many of the green spots of this world, man has blasted and spoiled all that indulgent nature has lavished here. From the days of Columbus the story of Cuba has been one of wholesale murder of natives, of revolutions—later of insurrections, and deadly civil strife, which have ruined whole provinces once covered with large sugar, coffee and tobacco plantations. Slavery now, as in all her p
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AMAZING FRAUD UPON THE BANK OF ENGLAND! MILLIONS LOST! GREAT EXCITEMENT IN LONDON! £5,000 REWARD FOR THE ARREST OF THE AMERICAN PERPETRATOR, F. A. WARREN.
AMAZING FRAUD UPON THE BANK OF ENGLAND! MILLIONS LOST! GREAT EXCITEMENT IN LONDON! £5,000 REWARD FOR THE ARREST OF THE AMERICAN PERPETRATOR, F. A. WARREN.
"London, Feb. 14, 1873. "An amazing fraud has been perpetrated upon the Bank of England by a young American who gave the name of Frederick Albert Warren. The loss of the bank is reported to be from three to ten millions, and it is rumored that many London banks have been victimized to enormous amounts. The greatest excitement prevails in the city, and the forgery, for such it is, is the one topic of conversation on the Exchange and in the street. The police are completely at fault, although a yo
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THE PHILISTINES ARE UPON THEE, SAMSON.
THE PHILISTINES ARE UPON THEE, SAMSON.
I was very fortunate in my servant Nunn, he being devoted to me, a resolute fellow as well, and thoroughly trustworthy. He felt very badly over my leaving him behind in Havana. Nor would I have done so under ordinary circumstances. The day before leaving on the trip, taking him aside, but not wishing to actually disclose anything, I talked in a very impressive, grave way, instructing him to leave Havana secretly after telling his mistress that I had ordered him to go to Matanzas, a city forty mi
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NIGHTLY IN MY DUNGEON THE MAGICIAN MEMORY WOULD UNROLL THAT SCENE.
NIGHTLY IN MY DUNGEON THE MAGICIAN MEMORY WOULD UNROLL THAT SCENE.
So at last justice had laid hold of me, but I thought it a very shaky hold—so much so that I was confident that I could break away from her, so that she could never weigh me in her balance. I will not enter into the details of events in Havana for the next few days—briefly told, I was nominally a prisoner; actually so, as regards leaving the barracks. The commander, Col. Vascos, was a warm friend, and, living in the barrack, he wanted me to dine at his table, but as I was already planning an esc
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SHARKS, SALT WATER ONES, AND OTHER THINGS.
SHARKS, SALT WATER ONES, AND OTHER THINGS.
The bridge had no protection along the side save a simple stringpiece of timber. On the far side the houses rested nearly against the bridge entrance, forming a street, which I had to pass through. The moon went down at 10, but I could hear loud voices and occasional bursts of laughter until 11. Then all grew still save the night noises of the woods and swamps. At midnight I carried my raft down to the edge of the water, then leaving it there for use in case of a repulse, with my ironwood stick
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ONE LOVELY JUNE MORNING INTO PLYMOUTH HARBOR WE SAIL.
ONE LOVELY JUNE MORNING INTO PLYMOUTH HARBOR WE SAIL.
Ten days after the events recorded in the last chapter I sailed once more into Havana. This time a prisoner. Two days after my capture, by order of the Captain-General of Cuba, I was put on board the little gunboat Santa Rita, a wretched little tub that steamed four miles an hour and took eight days going from Puerto Novo on the south to Havana. I was taken by a guard of soldiers, not to the police barracks, but to the common prison, where an entire corridor was cleared of its inmates to make ro
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RUNNING THE GAUNTLET.
RUNNING THE GAUNTLET.
My life at Newgate was an ordeal such as I hope no reader of this will ever undergo. Day by day I saw the world slipping from under my feet, and the net drawing its deadly folds closer around me. Soon we all were forced to realize there was no escape for any of us. Of course, we were all guilty and deserved punishment—I need not say we did not think so then—but the evidence was most weak, and had our trial taken place in America under the too liberal construction of our laws, undoubtedly we all
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THE BANK FORGERIES.
THE BANK FORGERIES.
"Monday next has been fixed for the trial, and the depositions taken before the Lord Mayor at the Justice Room of the Mansion House by Mr. Oke, the chief clerk, have been printed for the convenience of the presiding judge and of the counsel on both sides. They extend over 242 folio pages, including the oral and documentary evidence, and make of themselves a thick volume, together with an elaborate index for ready reference. Within living memory there has been no such case for length and importan
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"NOTHING LEFT US BUT A GRAVE, THAT SMALL MODEL OF THE BARREN EARTH," WITH DISHONOR FOR AN EPITAPH.
"NOTHING LEFT US BUT A GRAVE, THAT SMALL MODEL OF THE BARREN EARTH," WITH DISHONOR FOR AN EPITAPH.
Judge Archibald proceeded to pass sentence. He began with the interesting and truthful remark: "I have anxiously considered whether anything less than the maximum penalty of the law will be adequate to meet the requirements of this case, and I think not." We had information that a few days previously a meeting of judges had been held and that he had been advised to pass a life sentence. What he really meant to say was that he had anxiously considered whether anything less would be adequate to sa
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HENCEFORTH A LIGHT WAS TO STREAM THROUGH THE FLUTED GLASS OF MY WINDOW.
HENCEFORTH A LIGHT WAS TO STREAM THROUGH THE FLUTED GLASS OF MY WINDOW.
The first day was over, but it seemed to me that something more must come. That what I had gone through could mean the life of a day must surely be impossible. Was there nothing before me but isolation so complete that no whisper from the outside world could reach me, that world which compared with the death into which I was being absorbed seemed the only world of the living? Had I actually nothing to look for but the most repulsive work under the most repulsive conditions? I said there must be
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WHAT, THESE TEDIOUS DETAILS AGAIN.
WHAT, THESE TEDIOUS DETAILS AGAIN.
It will be well to present here some account of those who were to rule my life for so many years. The Board of Prison Commissioners have their headquarters at the Home Office in Parliament street, London, and are under the control of the Home Secretary of State. One of these visits each of Her Majesty's convict establishments once a month, in order to try any cases of insubordination which are of too serious a nature for the governor of the prison to adjudicate upon, he not being permitted to or
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THE DAYS O' SUMMER MERRILY SPENT IN THE LAND OF THE HEATHER.
THE DAYS O' SUMMER MERRILY SPENT IN THE LAND OF THE HEATHER.
In the cell next to mine was a prison genius named Heep, who was one of the most singular characters I ever met. As I shall have occasion to speak of him frequently, I may as well give here a sketch of his life as related to me by himself. He was born in the town of Macclesfield, near Manchester, in 1852, of respectable mechanics, or tradespeople as they are called in England. His father died when Heep was about 5 years of age, and after a time his mother married a carpenter and joiner of the pl
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WE WILL FERRY YOU OVER JORDAN THAT ROLLS BETWEEN.
WE WILL FERRY YOU OVER JORDAN THAT ROLLS BETWEEN.
Once convicted of a crime in England it is impossible, unless a man has money or friends, for him to obtain an honest livelihood unless he is the happy possessor of a trade. All the great corporations demand references that will cover a series of years of the applicant's life, and, above all, strict inquiry is made as to his last employer. This cuts the ground out from under the feet of the unfortunate, and feeling that England can no longer be a home to him he turns his eyes as a matter of cour
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CHAPTER XLI.
CHAPTER XLI.
"WELL MY MAN, WHAT DO YOU INTEND TO DO?" "I WANT TO GO TO AMERICA, SIR." "TUT! TUT! YOU MEAN YOU WANT TO GO TO SEA!" "YES, SIR; I WANT TO GO TO SEA." The Royal Society and The Christian Aid Societies, presided over by a Rev. Mr. Whitely, enjoy a bad pre-eminence in this respect. The year before my release the latter stated at the annual meeting that six thousand discharged prisoners had passed through his society, and I venture to assert that five thousand of these found their way to this countr
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MANY A MAN MORE DANGEROUS WRITES ALDERMAN AFTER HIS NAME.
MANY A MAN MORE DANGEROUS WRITES ALDERMAN AFTER HIS NAME.
Foster's experience during his four years' residence in Chicago was decidedly novel, and it had evidently brightened his wits—that is, increased his cunning without adding to his honesty. And as I think it will interest my reader to get a view of life from the actor's own standpoint, I will relate one of the many stories he told me during the years we worked together. Upon Foster's release from his first term of imprisonment he joined the Christian Aid Society of London, and Mr. Whitely, the sec
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A BATTERED HULK STRANDED ON A SHORE TO WHICH NO TIDE RETURNS.
A BATTERED HULK STRANDED ON A SHORE TO WHICH NO TIDE RETURNS.
I am glad to say that during the almost lifetime I passed at Chatham there were only a scant half dozen Americans who came down to keep me company. One, Stoneman by name, interested me. He was a man of great nerve and quick apprehension, and very truthful, therefore I found his stories of his adventures most interesting, besides the fact that his history was another proof of the truth that wrongdoing never pays. Stoneman was of good parentage, and had entered the army in 1861, making a good reco
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I FIND THE FENIANS WITH ME IN THE TOILS.
I FIND THE FENIANS WITH ME IN THE TOILS.
I had, of course, for many years heard much of the Fenian prisoners in the English prisons, particularly Sergeant McCarty and William O'Brien. Soon after my arrival at Chatham I was placed in the same party with them. We were all three strongly drawn together, but were shy of being the first to speak. Of course, it was strictly against the rules to talk, but as a matter of fact the prisoners find many opportunities for talking, particularly if they do their work. The officers are reported and fi
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IN MOOD AS LONELY, IN PLIGHT AS DESPERATE AS HIS.
IN MOOD AS LONELY, IN PLIGHT AS DESPERATE AS HIS.
I have related how, the Sunday after my sentence, in my despair I took the little Bible off the shelf. The other books I had at Chatham besides the Bible were a dictionary and "The Life of the Prophet Jeremiah." Once, soon after my arrival in Chatham, I took the Jeremiah down from the shelf, but speedily put it back and made a vow never to take it down again; and I never did. It remained in view on the little shelf for nineteen years, while I sat there watching it rot away. The dictionary is a g
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IF PAIN IS NOT AN EVIL, IT CERTAINLY IS A VERY GOOD IMITATION.
IF PAIN IS NOT AN EVIL, IT CERTAINLY IS A VERY GOOD IMITATION.
The world inside of the walls has a public opinion of its own, and it is at least quite as often just as the public opinion whose sphere is not circumscribed by stone walls and iron bars. The man who accepts the situation, resolved to get his hand as easily as possible out of the tiger's mouth, soon becomes known as a sensible fellow, willing to give others no trouble and anxious to have no trouble given him. Such a man will rarely be molested. Patient, uncomplaining endurance always excites pit
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HIS ROW BECOMES FILLED WITH VERY SHARP-EDGED STONES INDEED.
HIS ROW BECOMES FILLED WITH VERY SHARP-EDGED STONES INDEED.
The inhabitant of a cell has a very rough row to hoe under any circumstance, and it has to be hoed, but there is no necessity for him to fill his row with stones and to plant roots in it himself. He soon finds his level, and the impression he makes on his arrival is the one which, as a rule, clings to him to the end. When prison air and prison influence have succeeded in incasing a man with the sort of moral hardbake that renders him callous to those feelings which at first so gall the raw spots
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HE TELEGRAPHED THE NEWS TO MY WARDER, AND BARTON WENT ON HIS WAY REJOICING.
HE TELEGRAPHED THE NEWS TO MY WARDER, AND BARTON WENT ON HIS WAY REJOICING.
My warder friend supplied me with writing materials. I prepared one letter, which I had him copy, and another in my own handwriting. Both were directed to Barton, and informed him that his rich uncle had lately died and had left him one hundred and sixty thousand pounds in money and sixteen thousand acres of cotton land in India. He was also informed that his father had gone to India to look after the property, and that upon his return a petition would be presented to the Home Secretary, who it
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I FLUSTER THE GREAT JUPITER OF MY LITTLE WORLD.
I FLUSTER THE GREAT JUPITER OF MY LITTLE WORLD.
The successful issue of this little enterprise gave me great satisfaction. There was, of course, nothing in it for me, nor did I want anything, but it furnished me with an excellent standpoint from which to address the Home Secretary should the occasion ever arise. The occasion did arise some time after, and I utilized it in this way: A friend of mine had come over from America to see me and to try if it were not possible to obtain some reduction in the sentence. My postman warder was away at th
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"AUSTIN BIDWELL."
"AUSTIN BIDWELL."
Whatever Sir William Vernon Harcourt may have thought about the petition, he said nothing, but I dare say he did not feel flattered. It required no small daring to send it, but as I knew I had nothing to hope from him I could look with perfect equanimity upon any consequences likely to follow. The governor of the prison did not dare to violate the regulations by refusing to send my petition, written as it was on an official form and duly entered on the books of the establishment, but he sent for
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IT WAS NIGHT; SILENCE AND GLOOM HAD SETTLED DOWN ON THE INMATES.
IT WAS NIGHT; SILENCE AND GLOOM HAD SETTLED DOWN ON THE INMATES.
By a refinement of cruelty we had been separated and sent to prison wide apart; for twenty years I had not seen the face of one of my friends. But there was an invisible bond between us that no tyranny could break. How blessed the happy forethought that made us, in that dark hour, amid our despair, make that promise! Ten years had slowly dragged by, 1883 came, and my devoted family felt that I, and my comrades, too, had paid, as was right, our due to justice, and we ought to be liberated. They d
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