wolfinthewood | Entries tagged with crime

I was reminded of this story by an item in Sharon Howard’s blog Early Modern Notes about ghostly evidence in seventeenth-century murder cases:

The appearing of the Ghost of one Mr. Bower of Guilford, to an Highway-man in Prison, as it is set down in a Letter of Dr. Ezekias Burton to Dr. H. More.

About Ten years ago one Mr. Bower an antient Man living at Guilford in Surrey, was upon the Highway, not far from that place, found newly Murdered, very barbarously, having one great cut cross his Throat, and another down his Breast. Two Men were seized upon suspicion, and put into Gaol at Guilford, to another, who had before been committed for Robbing, as I suppose. That Night this third Man was awakened about one of the Clock, and greatly terrified with an Old Man, who had a great gash cross his Throat, almost from Ear to Ear, and a wound down his Breast. He also came in stooping and holding his hand on his back. Thus he appeared, but said nothing. The Thief calls to his two new Companions, they grumbled at him but made no answer.

In the Morning he had retained so lively an impression of what he had seen, that he spoke to them to the same purpose again, and they told him it was nothing but his Phantasie. But he was so fully perswaded of the reality of the Apparition, that he told others of it, and it came to the Ears of my Friend Mr. Reading, Justice of Peace in Surrey, and Cousin to the Gentleman that was Murdered.

He immediately sent for the Prisoner, and asked him in the first place, whether he was born, or had lived about Guilford? To which he answered, No. Secondly, He enquired if he knew any of the Inhabitants of that Town, or of the Neighbourhood? He replied that he was a stranger to all thereabout. Then he enquired, if he had ever heard of one Mr. Bower? He said No. After this he examined him for what cause those other two Men were imprisoned? To which he answered, he knew not, but supposed for some Robbery.

After these preliminary Interrogatories he desired him to tell him what he had seen in the Night? Which he immediately did, exactly according to the Relation he had heard, and I gave before. And withal deseribed the Old Gentleman so by his picked beard, and that he was, as he called it, rough on his Cheeks, and that the Hairs of his Face were Black and White, that Mr. Reading saith, he himself could not have given a more exact description of Mr. Bower than this was. He told the Highway-man that he must give him his Oath (though that would signifie little from such a Rogue) to which the Man readily consented, and took Oath before the Justice of all this.

Mr. Reading being a very discreet Man, concealed this story from the Jury at the Assizes, as knowing that this would be no evidence according to our Law. However the Friends of the Murdered Gentleman had been very inquisitive, and discovered several suspicious circumstances. One of which was, that those two Men had washed their Cloths, and that some stains of blood remained. Another, that one of them had denied he ever heard that Mr. Bower was dead, when as he had in another place confest it two hours before. Upon these and such like Evidences, those two were Condemned and Executed, but denied it to the last. But one of them said, the other could clear him if he would, which the By-standers understood not.

After some time a Tinker was hanged (where, the Gentleman has forgot) who at his death said, that the Murder of Mr. Bower of Guilford was his greatest trouble. For he had a hand in it; he confesseth he struck him a blow on the back which fetcht him from his Horse, and when he was down, those other Men that were Arraigned and Executed for it, cut his Throat and rifled him. This is the first story which I had from Mr. Reading himself, who is a very honest prudent person and not credulous.

I know you desire to have the Names of all the persons referred to in this Relation, and the exact time and place, but Mr. Reading cannot recollect them now, though he tells me he sent an exact and full Narrative of all to one Mr. Onslow a Justice of Peace in that Neighbourhood, with whom I have some acquaintance, and I will endeavour to retrieve it.

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The Names of all the Persons and exact time and place of all the actions, I find not amongst Mr. Glanvil’s Papers, but the story is so perfect as it is, and so credible, that I thought it worthy of a place amongst the rest.

Joseph Glanvill (1636–1680)

from Sadducismus Triumphatus (1681; text follows 1689 edition)

tags: ghost | apparition | crime | 17th century

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The local free paper today had a headline: ‘Fraud alert for shoppers’. Police in Leicester, it says, ‘have received reports of people being caught out by a scam where they have bet on which one of three cups a pea will turn up under – after the cups have been quickly switched around’. Apparently there is a gang hanging out in the city centre enticing passing shoppers into their ‘game’.

Real thimble-riggers! I thought it was an extinct craft, in this country, at least. Last time I saw thimble-riggers at work was down an alley in the West End of London, some time in the early seventies.

A street conjuror speaks:

I never practised thimble-rigging myself, for I never approved of it as a practice. I’ve known lots of fellows who lived by it. Bless you! they did well, never sharing less than their £4 or £5 every day they worked. This is the way it’s done. They have three thimbles, and they put a pea under two of ’em, so that there’s only one without the pea. The man then begins moving them about and saying, ‘Out of this one into that one,’ and so on, and winds up by offering to ‘lay anything, from a shilling to a pound,’ that nobody can tell which thimble the pea is under. Then he turns round to the crowd, and pretends to be pushing them back, and whilst he’s saying, ‘Come, gentlemen, stand more backwarder,’ one of the confederates, who is called ‘a button’, lifts up one of the thimbles with a pea under it, and laughs to those around, as much as to say, ‘We’ve found it out.’ He shows the pea two or three times, and the last time he does so, he removes it, either by taking it up under his forefinger nail or between his thumb and finger. It wants a great deal of practice to do this nicely, so as not to be found out. When the man turns to the table again the button says, ‘I’ll bet you a couple of sovereigns I know where the pea is. Will any gentleman go me halves?’ Then, if there’s any hesitation, the man at the table will pretend to be nervous and offer to move the thimbles again, but the button will seize him by the arm, and shout as if he was in a passion, ‘No, no, none of that! It was a fair bet, and you shan’t touch ’em.’ He’ll then again ask if anybody will go him halves, and there’s usually somebody flat enough to join him. Then the stranger is asked to lift up the thimble, so that he shouldn’t suspect anything, and of course there’s no pea there. He is naturally staggered a bit, and another confederate standing by will say calmly, ‘I knew you was wrong; here’s the pea;’ and he lifts up the thimble with the second pea under it. If nobody will go shares in the ‘button’s’ bet, then he lifts up the thimble and replaces the pea as he does so, and of course wins the stake, and he takes good care to say as he pockets the sovereign, ‘I knew it was there; what a fool you was not to stand in.’ The second time they repeat the trick there’s sure to be somebody lose his money. There used to be a regular pitch for thimble-riggers opposite Bedlam, when the shows used to put up there. I saw a brewer’s collector lose £7 there in less than half-an- hour. He had a bag full of gold, and they let him win the three first bets as a draw. Most of these confederates are fighting-men, and if a row ensues they’re sure to get the best of it.

Henry Mayhew (1812–1887)

from London Labour and the London Poor (1851)

tags: crime | swindle

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The leaves that hung but never grew

Ghostly evidence

A survival from the past

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