Pictures and Problems from London Police CourtsHolmes, Thomas
History
Pictures and Problems from London Police Courts
Holmes, Thomas
Crime -- England -- London; Poor -- England -- London
She had given herself into custody--a not infrequent occurrence. Jane
was not a drunkard; she had no drink crave at all, and when she chose
could do without it. But the smallest amount of drink roused the worst
elements within her; a pennyworth of four ale was quite sufficient,
and after the nearest policeman she would go. The police often fled
at the sight of her; they did not want to take her into custody. Many
an officer has bribed her to go away when she approached him. I have
seen policemen running away and ‘old Jane’ after them to be taken into
custody. When she could not catch them, she would lie down on her back,
screaming ‘Murder!’ and ‘Police!’ when of course they had to return and
arrest her; but not an inch would she budge then till they had fetched
the ‘perambulator,’ as she called the ambulance; and fetched it had to
be, and Jane strapped on it, before they got her to the station.
During the nine weeks she lay out of doors she touched no drink, and
no one could persuade her to take any, but the romantic heart of the
old lady had been touched. A gentleman living in the neighbourhood left
a shilling weekly at a coffee stall on Stamford Hill, that Cakebread
might be supplied with two cups of hot coffee daily. That shilling a
week loomed large in her eye, and became a pound a day; that kind act
of pity on the gentleman’s part she construed into a declaration of
love, and she built many hopes upon it. She became a nuisance to the
stall-keeper, declaring that she was being robbed, and not getting
value for her pound a day. She waited and waited on Stamford Hill for
the lover that never came, but fancying every well-dressed man that
passed to be her love. Hope deferred made her heart, hopeful as it was,
sick at last, so she got her pennyworth of drink and gave herself into
custody.
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