The Chronicles of Crime or The New Newgate Calendar. v. 1/2: being a series of memoirs and anecdotes of notorious characters who have outraged the laws of Great Britain from the earliest period to 1841.Pelham, Camden
History
The Chronicles of Crime or The New Newgate Calendar. v. 1/2: being a series of memoirs and anecdotes of notorious characters who have outraged the laws of Great Britain from the earliest period to 1841.
Pelham, Camden
Crime -- Great Britain; Criminals -- Great Britain; Newgate (Prison : London, England)
in getting the point of the bar beneath the fillet. Exerting all his
energies, and using the bar as a lever, he forced off the iron band,
which was full seven feet high, seven inches wide, and two inches thick,
and which brought with it, in its fall, the box of the lock, and the
socket of the bolt, leaving no further hindrance. Overjoyed beyond
measure at having vanquished this apparently insurmountable obstacle,
Jack darted through the door.
"Ascending a short flight of steps, Jack found at the summit a door,
which, being bolted on the inside, he speedily opened. The fresh air,
which blew in his face, greatly revived him. He had now reached what
were called the Lower Leads--a flat, covering a part of the prison
contiguous to the gateway, and surrounded on all sides by walls about
fourteen feet high. On the north stood the battlements of one of the
towers of the gate. On this side a flight of wooden steps, protected by
a hand-rail, led to a door opening upon the summit of the prison. This
door was crested with spikes, and guarded on the right by a bristling
semi-circle of similar weapons. Hastily ascending the steps, Jack found
the door, as he anticipated, locked. He could have easily forced it, but
he preferred a more expeditious mode of reaching the roof which
suggested itself to him. Mounting the door he had last opened, he placed
his hands on the wall above, and quickly drew himself up. Just as he got
on the roof of the prison, St. Sepulchre's clock struck eight. It was
instantly answered by the deep note of St. Paul's; and the concert was
prolonged by other neighbouring churches. Jack had been thus six hours
in accomplishing his arduous task.
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