Bidwell's Travels, from Wall Street to London Prison: Fifteen Years in SolitudeBidwell, Austin
General
Bidwell's Travels, from Wall Street to London Prison: Fifteen Years in Solitude
Bidwell, Austin
Bank fraud -- England; Bank of England; Bidwell, Austin; Criminals -- Biography
As I was looking around in a helpless way a key suddenly rattled in the
lock and, the door opening, a uniformed warder stepped in and, giving me
a searching look, said in a rough voice: "Come on; you'll do for chapel;
you have put on the balmy long enough." His kindly face belied his rough
tones, and I followed him out of the door and soon found myself in the
prison chapel. None was present, and I was ordered to sit on the front
bench at the far end. The benches were simply common flat boards ranged
in rows. Soon the prisoners came in singly, marching about two yards
apart, and sat on the benches with that interval between them--that is,
in the division of the chapel where I sat, it being separated from the
rest by a high partition. Soon a white-robed, surpliced clergyman came
in, and the service began; but I had no eye or ear, nor any
comprehension save in a dim manner, as to what was going on. My brain
was trying to connect the past and the present, feeling that something
terrible had befallen me, but what it was I could not understand. When
the services were over I returned under the escort of the warder, who,
when I arrived at my cell, ordered me to go in and close the door, which
I did, banging it behind me. It had a spring lock, and when I heard the
snap of the catch and looked at the narrow, barred window, with its
thick, fluted glass admitting only a dim light, I remembered everything.
Like a flash it all came to me, and I realized the full horror of my
position. Sitting down on the little board fastened to the wall, serving
as bed, seat and table, I buried my face in my hands and began to
ponder. Regrets came in floods, with remorse and despair, hand in hand,
when, realizing that it was madness to think, I sprang up, saying to
myself the hour and minute had come for me to decide--either for
madness and a convict's dishonored grave, or to keep the promise I had
made to my friends--never to give in, but to live and conquer fate.
I determined then and there to live in the future, and never to dwell on
the horrible present or past. Then I remembered the last scene in
Newgate and my promise to accompany my friends step by step, day by day,
in our readings. Finding a Bible on the little rusty iron shelf in the
corner, and this being the fourth day of our sentence, I turned to the
fourth chapter. It gives the story of Cain's crime and punishment, and I
read the graphic narrative with an intensity of interest difficult to
describe. When I read, "And Cain said unto the Lord, my punishment is
greater than I can bear. Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from
the face of the earth," I felt that the cry of Cain in all its intense
naturalness, in its remorse and despair, was my own, and I was overcome.
Laying the book down, I walked the floor for an hour in agony, until
fantastic images came thronging thick and fast to my brain. I realized
that my mind was going and felt I must do something to make me forget my
misery.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account