Pictures and Problems from London Police CourtsHolmes, Thomas
History
Pictures and Problems from London Police Courts
Holmes, Thomas
Crime -- England -- London; Poor -- England -- London
I got a cab, took her to the railway-station, and saw her safely into
the train off to her brother who, I knew, would not be pleased to see
her, for he was as helpless with her as myself. Six months she stayed
in the country, and many were the letters she wrote to me, all couched
in the most endearing language--they lie before me as I write, and
bring it all back to me. She got tired of writing letters, and her
brother got tired of her; so one night at eleven o’clock I found her
on my doorstep, and all her worldly goods with her--three brown-paper
parcels of good dimensions. She always had them with her. Few people
saw her at liberty without those brown-paper parcels. Many people
have asked me what she carried tied up in brown-paper. Every piece of
clothing I had given her for ten years was tied carefully up in those
parcels. When her clothing got too bad, I gave her some better; but all
the old pieces were carefully treasured and jealously guarded; on no
account would she part with any.
In two days’ time she bade a cheerful ‘Good-morning’ to the magistrate
at North London, who promptly discharged her, because she looked so
nice and had been away so long; and before she could well speak she
was ushered out of court. But that did not suit Jane, so next day she
appeared again, and this time more evidence had to be given by the
police--she had taken care of that--so time was given her to get in her
usual string of interruptions, and Jane was happy.
For over thirty years this farce had gone on, and all this time
a demented woman had been looked upon and treated as a confirmed
inebriate. Of course she took drink, and plenty of fools were always
ready to treat her, nay, even to entice her into a public-house for the
purpose of hearing her talk and seeing the fireworks. It has always
seemed to me an extraordinary thing that publicans who knew her so
well, and knew what would happen, should allow her to be served on
their premises; but so it was.
Cakebread became a great nuisance, not only to the public, but
especially to my family. As soon as she was discharged from prison she
would make her way to the street in which I lived; but she never could
remember which was the right house, and as there was a number of houses
exactly alike, she invariably began at the first and inquired at every
one till she arrived at mine. After calling at one house, and being
told that I lived farther on, sometimes she would insist that I did
live there, and would make herself comfortable on the doorstep, where
she would remain till taken away by a policeman. The neighbours began
to look coolly at me; they did not want any of Jane’s glory reflected
on them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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