bidwell's travels, from wall street to london prison

7/23/2019 Bidwell's Travels, From Wall Street to London Prison

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Bidwell's Travels,from Wall Street toby Austin Biron

BidwellThe Project Gutenberg EBook of Bidwell'sTravels, from Wall Street to

ondon Prison, b! "ustin Biron Bidwell This

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Title Bidwell's Travels, from Wall Street to

ondon Prison (ifteen $ears in Solitude

"uthor "ustin Biron Bidwell

)elease *ate +arch , --. /EBook 012345


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anguage English

6haracter set encoding 7S8&..94&:

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Produced b! "fra >llah and the 8nline*istributed Proofreading Team athtt%www#%gd%#net# CThis Dle was %roduced

from images generousl! made available b!The 7nternet "rchive"merican ibraries#

B7*WE'S T)"AES#

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Wall Street

To ondon Prison

Fifteen Years in Solitude.

()EE* " +"? W)E6@, " W8?*E)(>S>)A7A" "?* " +8)E W8?*E)(> )7SE 7?TT


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W7T< T


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The stor! has its lesson# The %la! is not amere s%ectacle# The lesson is that in thedoing and undoing of wrong the Bidwell famil!

eH%ended enough abilit! and energ! to stocka good man! reigning Euro%ean families forgenerations#

et the 6omedie


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The Worcester S%!#

+r# Bidwell's book has been com%ared with*umas' famous '+onte 6hristo#' TheeHtraordinar! character of its adventures,indeed, would render it dramatic and %owerfulas DctionL as human truth, it is sim%l!overwhelming# ?o one can read this bookunmoved# (rom ever! conceivable stand%oint,%h!siological, sociological, and literar!, it is amarvel#

Phili% W# +oen#

+r# +oen, of Washburn M +oen, Worcester,+ass#, writes 7 have read +r# GeorgeBidwell's book with the dee%est interest# 7t isa book that deserves to be widel! read, and 7

am ver! glad to recommend it#" ?iece of 8liver Wendell


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(">T W7T< T


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)ev# *r# Edward Beecher

writesL 7 recommend this book to the friendsof moralit!#

8Kce of Street's 7nsurance "genc!,


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?o# :3&&Parents Suited to the Golden "ge&&"6urious Pre%aration for the Battle of ife&&@new that Brutus Slew 6aesar&&George the

Third Was a Bad (ellow Who Got a Tea @ettleThrown at


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CHAPTER I!


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7 "rrive in Paris&&(ield of Waterloo&&+eet the"ntwer% 6hief of Police&&


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Edwin =ames, N#6#, and a Possible ord6hancellor of England&&


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" Starr! Talk&&6ontrast Between +ac'sPhiloso%h! and


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Greenwood +ausoleum&&Earthl!


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Shrouded in +idnight *arkness&&?o Possibilit!of *iscover!&&(inish and Begin "gain&&"maIing8versight&&Pitcher Goes 8nce Too 8ften&&

?o!es "rrested&&>n%aralleled EHcitement onthe Stock EHchange# 1

CHAPTER ""I!

6onsternation&&" +ob of Bankers&&The(inancial World Shaken&&?o!es Taken to?ewgate&&+ac 6ables 7rving&&


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CHAPTER ""!I

"n >nceremonious 6all&&7 am a (enian

eader&&" Stor! Told in the *ark&&+alo!


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"rrival at Burgos&&Startling Telegrams&&)evolution at +adrid&&The )ailwa! SeiIed&&+!Part! in a Tra%&&+adrid 6athedral and a Bull

(ight&&" S%ecial Train Proves a Slow Train&&?o?ews Good ?ews# 4

CHAPTER ""I"

"rrival in Santander&&Gloom! (orebodings&&Sail for 6uba&&Watch the P!renees Sink in theSea&&Two Sisters of 6harit!, 7nnocents on aAo!age&&6ircus at St# Thomas&&Sunset Gun in


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Scene&&6onsternation "mong the *iners&&8er the 6a%tain O9-,--- for Ten +inutes'Start&&?o&&7 Shoot


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S%ain *elivers +e to England&&PinkertonsEscort +e on Board Steamer&&"rrival atPl!mouth&&?ewgate at ast&&When Time is 8ld

and


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Prison +anagement&&Warders >nder +ilitar!*isci%line&&Their ong nited States aws Evaded&&Snug Berths for )everend Barnacles&&6ontributions Go for Salaries&&?o BeneDt toeH&Prisoners&&


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Whitele!, Secretar! of "id Societ!, Sends(oster to Sea&&


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8'Brien&&" Plan +iscarried&&7n the Tolls&&SeverePunishments&&6urtin, *al!, Egan&&Poor *r#Gallagher# 112

CHAPTER "#!

" *ictionar! and ife of the Pro%het =eremiahvs# a Shakes%eare&&Prison


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SiHteen&Thousand&"cre Tea Plantation in 7ndiaand SiHt! Thousand Pounds 7maginar!7nheritance&&Barton Becomes a Great +an&&

The Plot Thickens&&etters from ondon&&Smith*ischarged&&Petition for Barton&&SmithPresents 7t at


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(resh (ailures&&


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here %resented, and ma! it %rove as valuableand engrossing to the general %ublic as it hasto -,--- subscribers to former editions#

GE8)GE B7*WE#

CHAPTER I


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governing bod! and the %rinci%al ought tohave been sent to the %enitentiar! on thecharge of false %retense for drawing their

salaries and giving nothing in return# "nd !et 7remember when eHamination da! came,instead of the committee investigating the%rogress of the %u%ils, it usuall! turned into amere hallelujah chorus u%on our grand %ublicschool s!stem#


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words# +ost of these, with their deDnitions,%arrotlike, 7 had learned to s%ell, but neveronce in all m! school eH%erience had 7 been

taught the derivation of a single word# 7ndeed,7 took it for granted that in the good old da!s"dam had invented the words much as henamed the animals, and, of course, su%%osedthat he s%oke good English# The knowledge ofhistor! 7 gained at ?o# :3 was strictl! limitedand eHceedingl! %rimitive# 7 knew the =ews in

the old da!s were a bad lot# That Brutus hadslain 6aesar# That the +a!ower had landedour fathers on Pl!mouth )ock# That wickedGeorge 777# was a t!rant, and that the bo!s inBoston had thrown a tea&kettle at his head# 7knew all about our George and the cherr!tree, and there m! historical knowledge

ended#So here 7 was launched out in the world amodel scholarR Stam%ed as %roDcient ingrammar, histor!, logic, %hiloso%h! andarithmetic, but !et in useful knowledge abarbarian, unable to s%ell or even write agrammatical letter and unversed in the wa!s

of the world&&a world, too, where 7 would becast entirel! u%on m! own resources#

+! home life was ha%%!# +! father had losthis gri% on the world, but his faith in the


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>nseen remained# +! mother, caring little forthis life, lived in and for the s%iritual# To herheaven was a %lace as much as the countr!

village where she was born# She was nevertired of talking to us children about its goldenstreets and the rest there after the toils and%ains of life# But, bo!like, we discounted allshe said, and felt we wanted some of thisworld before we knocked at the gates of theneHt#

We loved our mother, but her soul was toogentle to kee% in restraint hot, Der! !outhslike m! brothers and m!self# 8n the whole wewere good bo!s, and 7 su%%ose caused her nomore %ain than the average !oungsters#Perha%s the ke!note of her character can bestbe found in the following incident, if that

which was of dail! occurrence could be calledan incident

Ever! night of m! life in those da!s she wouldcome to m! bed to %ra! over me, ever sa!ing,as she kissed me or clas%ed m! hand +!son, remember if !ou were to %ass !our whole

life here in %overt! and hardshi% it would notmuch matter so long as !ou attain to the


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knowledge was ke%t from me, 7 being left tolearn the wa!s of man in that terrible schoolof eH%erience# The conseJuence being that

when after some months 7 was launched outin life 7 was a ri%e and a%t victim to be caughtin the world's huge snare# 7n fact, had m!%arents designed me to become a traveler inthe Primrose Wa! the! could not haveeducated me to better %ur%ose#

Save when in the school 7 had never been%ermitted to associate with other bo!s, butwas ke%t in the house, and u% to m! siHteenth!ear hardl! dreamed there was evil in theworld# 7 was told much about the wicked,but thought that meant those who smokedtobacco or drank whisk!# 7 hardl! thought an!women came under that categor!, but if an!,

then it must mean those who came aroundselling a%%les and oranges# The reader willsee that when once awa! from the shelter ofhome, in threading the world's devious wa!s, 7would be crossing the roaring torrent on the%erilous footing of a s%ear, all but certain tofall into the ood beneath#

*uring m! last !ear at school and for a longtime after leaving it, m! father and motherwere never tired of talking about m! goodeducation# Possibl! the! were not ver! good


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judges, but 7 am conDdent that the!, after all,did not realiIe the im%ortance of a bo! beingwell eJui%%ed in that regard# Their thoughts

and minds were so bent on the other world,and things unseen bulked so hugel! on theirmental vision, that there was small s%ace leftfor things of this earth# The!, good, sim%lesouls, were made for and ought to have livedin the Golden "ge, when all men were braveand all women true, where neighborl! e!es

reected the love and faith withinL but in ourutilitarian da!s the! were sadl! out of %lace,and little wonder if the! had lost their wa! inthis world#

7n their intense longing for the life be!ond thegrave, their %assionate desire to walk thestreets of gold, the!, b! their actions, seemed

to forget that we were on this earth, and thatwe were here with man! shar% reminders ofthe fact#

The same guilelessness was manifested intheir choice of our home reading# The books 7was allowed access to in the house were The

ife of @ing *avid, The


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alwa!s su%%osed Ste%hen had been mart!redb! the 6hurch of )ome#


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black miser! was hidden behind those gildedclouds#

So now at siHteen 7 was about to sail out ofharbor, and how eJui%%edR

"bsolutel! without education, void of worldl!wisdom, and in m! bo!ish brain dividing theworld into two sections# 7n one was @ing *avidsla!ing the Phillistines or dancing before the"rk# 7n the other was =ack the )over and the

Pirate 6hief#


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and let things run on easil!#


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himself so far in m! welfare as to secure me a%osition with a Drm of brokers in ?ew street,at a salar! of O:- a week# +! em%lo!ers were

good fellows, lovers of %leasure and men ofthe world, not scru%ling to talk freel! with meof their various adventures out of businesshours# 7 had lost much of m! awkwardnessand gauche manners, and under the O:- aweek arrangement began to dress fairl! well#+! em%lo!ers did a brokerage business and

s%eculated as well on their own account# +!duties were decidedl! light and %leasant, andbrought me into contact with some of theshar%est as well as the most famous men inthe street# "mong them was a brilliant !oungman of m! own age, who took a great fanc!to me, and freJuentl! %ro%osed that we

should start for ourselves# Being doubtful ofm! %owers, 7 shrank from risking m! scant!funds in an! s%eculative venture# +uch to m!mother's concern, 7 had begun attending thetheatre, and one night, on m! friend EdWeed's invitation, 7 went with him to ?iblo's#"fter the %erformance we went to su%%er at*elmonico's, and 7 was %erfectl! fascinated b!the com%an! and surroundings, going homelong %ast midnight a dierent man than 7 hadlast left it#

The neHt da! Ed came to the oKce and


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invited me to lunch, where, after makingsome dis%araging remarks about the countr!cut of m! garments, he oered to introduce

me to his tailor, who was never in a hurr! forhis mone!# "fter business that da! we walkedu%town together, and, %rom%ted b! Ed, 7ordered O:9- worth of garments, then went tohis outDtter and ordered nearl! an eJualamount in shirts, ties, gloves, etc#

8ne amusing result was that when, a fewda!s later, 7 walked down to our oKce,comme il faut in garb, m! em%lo!ers raisedm! salar! to O3- a week, but this left me%oorer than when 7 had husbanded m! %oorlittle O:-# Soon after, %iloted b! Ed, 7 venturedO9- on a margin in gold# >nluckil!, 7 won,invested again and again, and within fourteen

da!s was O.1 ahead# 7 %aid m! tailor andoutDtter's bill, bought a O:-- watch on credit,and gave a wine su%%er on borrowed mone!#Soon after this 7 went to board at the old St#?icholas, the then fashionable hotel# (romthat time 7 began to drift more and more awa!from home inuences#

Soon after the wine su%%er e%isode 7 threw u%m! %osition, and Ed and 7 started on our ownaccount under the name of E# Weed M 6o# +!%artner's %arents were wealth!, and his father


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had been well known in the street, which factgave us standing#

The !ears 7 s%eak of were fortunate ones forWall street, stocks of ever! kind on the boom,the general wealth of the countr! massing u%b! lea%s and bounds, and ever! kind ofs%eculative enter%rise being launched# 8urDrm histor! was the usual one of broker Drmsin that tumultuous arena&&the Wall street ofthose da!s&&commissions in %lent!, a largeincome, but one's bank account nevergrowing, for what was made b! da! in thewild eHcitement of shifting values was thrownawa! amid wilder scenes at night# Those, too,were, indeed, the ush times for the%rofessional gamblerL for men were notcontent unless the! burned the candle at both

ends# *a! faro banks were o%en ever!wherearound the EHchange, and enormous sumswere nightl! staked in the u%town games#These were ever!where&&all %rotected, andthe %ro%rietors invested their mone! for rent,DHtures, etc#, with as much conDdence, andke%t their doors o%en as freel!, as if

embarked in a legitimate s%eculation#


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brain to the turning of a card which earlier inthe da! the! had given to the market re%ortsof the world# Small wonder that death cut

such wide swaths in the arm! of brokers#Statistics show that it was more fatal tobelong to that arm! than to an arm! in theDeld#

Ed loved to have me with him, and 7 used toaccom%an! him to a game, then Juitefamous, run b! =ohn +orrisse!, who laterbecame a member of 6ongress# "t this time 7never ventured a single bet, and did not liketo visit the %lace# But Ed would beg me to go,and alwa!s %romised faithfull! not to remainmore than twent! minutes# 8f course, histwent! minutes would lengthen into hours#(reJuentl! 7 would take a chair into a corner

and go to slee% until he left the game, thatbeing almost an! hour between midnight andmorning# "s usual, in such %laces, an elegantsu%%er was served free at midnight# The%ro%rietor was alwa!s rather attentive to me,and, to give him the credit due, seemedanHious that 7 should not %la!# "t su%%er he

alwa!s reserved the chair neHt to himself forme# 8ne night while standing beside theroulette wheel, no one was %la!ing, and thedealer was idl! whirling the ball, a suddenim%ulse seiIed me, and the ball then rolling, 7


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%ulled a O- bill from m! %ocket and threw itdown on the red remarking, 7'll lose that to%a! for m! su%%ers# >nha%%il! 7 won, and,

laughing, turned to the dealer and said


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%arent behind me ever read! to draw a check,began to be uneas! over the Dnancialsituation# Strangel! enough, however, it never

occurred to me to cut down m! %ersonaleH%enses, and 7 continued living at the sameeHtravagant rate as when mone! was %lent!&&dining and wining and being dined and wined#=ust here an im%ortant character, onedestined to have an inuence for evil on m!future life, came u%on the scene, and 7 will

halt for a moment in m! narrative to givesome account of him#

This man was =ames 7rving, %o%ularl! knownas =imm! 7rving, chief of the ?ew $ork*etective (orce, and a bad&hearted, worthlessscam% he was# 7 was with several friends inthe (ifth "venue


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at that time invested him with all butautocratic %ower# "n old rounder and barroomloafer, without one attribute of true manliness

and not %ossessed of an! Jualit! which would%oint him out as a Dt man for the %lace#?evertheless, when the %osition becamevacant his %olitical %ull caused his selection#(rom being a mere detective on the sta hebecame chief# "nd trul! this meant somethingin those da!s# The great civil war had but

latel! ended, and the countr! was still reelingfrom the might! conict# The ush times,resultant from the enormous mone! issue ofthe Government, ke%t ever!thing booming#The foundations of societ! were shaken andvice no longer hid itself in the dark caves anddens of the great cit!# The Tenderloin, with its

multifarious and widereaching inuence forevil, was then created, and the %olice of thecit! rea%ed a ro!al revenue from its thousanddens of vice for their %rotection# To be ca%tainof the Tenderloin %recinct meant an eHtraweekl! income of O:,--- at least#


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%atrolman got what blackmail he could on hisown account from the unha%%! women of thestreet# These were considered lawful game,

and woe betide the %oor unfortunate whorefused to %a! the taH# Too well she found itmeant a violent arrest, accom%anied withbrutal treatment, a night in a Dlth! cell, andthen to be dragged before the magistrate,who was some ward heeler, hand in glovewith the %olice# The form of a trial and a

s%eed! siH months on the island from theli%s of the judge followed#

(rom S%ring street to Tenth, Broadwa! was fullof night games&&faro&&each and all %a!inglarge sums for %rotection# This mone!,however, did not all go to Police


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Tenderloin# But the %rotection mone! %aid b!the swindling games around 6hatham sJuare,Ba!ard street, and the whole length of the

Bower!, b! a sort of sacred %rescri%tion,belonged to the ca%tains of those %recincts,save onl! that %art absorbed b! the%oliticians of the district who had a %ull#These usuall! were the "ldermen and6ouncilmen with their henchmen#

/7llustration P>7?G 8>T " O- B7, 7T


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(or the neHt eight weeks m! life went onmuch the same as usual# 7n our business wemade some mone!, but b! one unfortunate

investment lost our entire ca%ital, and what%roved worse for me, m! %artner's healthbegan to fail# *issi%ation, late and heav!dinners and irregular hours began to break anot over&strong constitutionL conseJuentl!one Saturda! he abru%tl! announced hisintention of withdrawing from the %artnershi%

to take a tri% to Euro%e# There was nothing todivide save the furniture in our oKce, whichhe %resented to me# The following Wednesda!he sailed with two members of his famil!# 7saw him o, bidding him what %roved to be alast farewell# 7 left the wharf feeling ver!lonel! and miserable# 7t ma! be well to

remark here that he died a !ear later in 7tal!,one more victim of a fast life, while 7 wass%ared, but took no warning from his fate# 7ntruth, 7 was in the Primrose Wa!, which is everfound a most tormenting and unha%%!thoroughfare#


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became more eHtravagant, fearing m!com%anions would sus%ect 7 was %ressed formone!#


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restaurant was at once recogniIed b! awaiter, evidentl! on the lookout, and usheredinto a %rivate room u%stairs# 8nl! White had

arrived, but soon 7rving and Stanle! came,and su%%er was ordered# With such gentr! asthese wine is alwa!s in order# Then the!became conDdential, and the conversationturned to the subject of making mone!# Aer!skillfull! the! eHtracted the confession that 7had none# When eHcited b! the talk and the

wine 7 cried out, B! heaven, 7 want mone!RStanle! gras%ed m! hand and said 8f course!ou doL a man's a fool without it# 7rvinginterjected "re !ou game to do us a favorand make ten thousand for !ourself Buthow 7 gas%ed# Go to Euro%e and negotiatesome stolen bonds we have, will !ou

(or O:-,--- to become accessor! to a crimeR

7t was an a%%alling %ro%osition, and 7 shrankfrom it with an aversion 7 could not concealan! more than he and his confederates couldconceal their chagrin over the wa! 7 took it,and over the fact that their secret had been

im%arted to another# +ore wine was ordered,and before we %arted 7 had %romised not onl!secrec!, but, worse still, 7 had also %romisedto consider the %ro%osition and give m!answer the following night#


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"s m! evil genus would have it, that ver!morning 7 had a visit in m! oKce from theagent of m! landlord, reJuesting arrears of

rent, and from a tradesman whom 7 wasowing, demanding immediate %a!ment of anoverdue bill#

Pressed for mone! as 7 was, the O:-,---seemed a large sum and oered an eas! wa!out of m! diKculties# 7 shall never forget thatda! nor how its slow minutes dragged duringthe mental struggle# Time after time 7 saidWhat could 7 not do with O:-,---


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nha%%il!, 7 had takenan enem! into the citadel# 7n the miser! of the

struggle 7 drank heavil!#

7n m! eHcitement 7 eHaggerated m! %overt!until it seemed im%ersonated and assumedthe guise of an enem! threatening to enslaveme# (rom . o'clock to :: 7 %aced that mall,and then left it to kee% m! a%%ointment with7rving M 6o#, with one thought surging throughm! brain, and that was that 7 dared not be%oor, the result being that before we %arted,to their renewed Juestion Will !ou do thisfor us 8f course 7 willR 7 cried, and m! feethad sli%%ed a good man! ste%s further downthe Primrose Wa! to death#

/7llustration B>)?7?G )ET>)?E* B"?@?8TES#5

/7llustration 7? (8)T "("$ETTE, ?EW $8)@+B7?G 8? (8)T>?ES#


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The %resent generation has become tolerabl!familiar with defalcations and robberiesinvolving enormous sums# Previous to :.Q:

the! were com%arativel! unknown, the reasonbeing that the currenc! of the countr! wasstrictl! limited# There were absolutel! noGovernment bonds or currenc!, while the fewbonds issued b! cor%orations were not usuall!made %a!able to bearer, and, therefore, werenot negotiable, and were of no use to the

robber# But in :.Q:, to meet the eH%enses ofthe war, the State banks were taHed out ofeHistence and our %resent national currenc!s!stem came into being# 7n addition to theenormous issue of greenbacks, bonds %a!ableto bearer, amounting to hundreds of millions,were issued b! the general Government, b!

the individual States, counties, towns andcities, all becoming %o%ular investments#Patriotism, and %roDt as well, led banks,cor%orations and individuals all over the worldto invest sur%lus funds in bonds, those of theGovernment being most %o%ular of all# Thevarious issues authoriIed b! act of 6ongresswere known as seven&thirties, ten&forties,Dve&twenties, etc#, these terms denotingeither the rate of interest or the %eriod of!ears, dating from the Drst issue, wherein itwas o%tional with the Government to redeemthem# Ever!where, at home, in the theatres


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and %ublic resorts not less than on theEHchange, were heard animated discussionsabout seven&thirties and ten&forties# The

business of the eH%ress com%anies of the>nited States took a new %hase, and for theDrst time in their histor! the! began to be thecarriers of vast sums from cit! to cit!#

Then it was that those gentlemen who workwithout the %ale of the law discovered new%ros%ects of wealth, and realiIed that even tocrack a safe or vault of a %rivate Drm wouldbe rewarded b! a Dnd of bonds that mightam%l! re%a! all risks of robber! under %olice%rotection, while to eHecute a successful raidon a car or even an eH%ress deliver! wagonon the street would mean wealth# ToburglariIe the vaults of a bank meant, if

undetected, an!thing from o%ening amagniDcent bar or hotel in ?ew $ork to asteam !acht and Winter cruises in the tro%icsand Summer nights on the +editerranean#

The Drst cou% in this line, which at oncebecame famous, was startling in its ease and

magnitude# 7t was known, and still is, as Theord Bond )obber!# ord was a ver! wealth!man, who had inherited his millions#


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seven&thirt! bonds, all %a!able to bearer# (orthe thief, if he had an! knowledge of Dnance,and knew how to negotiate them, such a sum

as this in bonds was better than the sameamount in gold, it being more %ortable# 8nemillion two hundred thousand dollars in goldwould weigh u%ward of a ton, and would bediKcult to handle, but that sum in bondswould hardl! Dll a car%et&sack# 7n our da!,with safet! de%osit vaults ever!where, it

seems strange that an! sane man would kee%so vast a sum in an old&fashioned vault in his%rivate oKce, but ord did so#


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safe, stick to more or less of the %lunder# Thegang that got +r# ord's bonds was what in%olice and thieves' slang was known as 8n

the 8Kce, so named because the! wentaround visiting oKces in the business %art ofthe cit!, one of the gang going in on %retenseof making some inJuir! and so engaging theattention of one of the clerks# Then thesecond member would come in and endeavorto attract the attention of an! remaining

clerks, while the third would tr! to get inwithout attracting attention, and, if unnoticedb! those now bus! talking, would sli% aroundbehind the counter to the mone! drawer orvault and carr! o an! cash boH or %ackagevisible which a%%eared to be of value# Thisgang consisted of three men,


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vault# ?one of these circumstances wasknown to these menL in fact, while lookingfor chances, the! stumbled on the %riIe# The

night %revious the! had s%ent at a well&knownfaro game and had lost their last dollar# "t 4o'clock in the morning the! met at a saloonon Prince street, where none but crooksconsorted, and, borrowing a dollar from thebarkee%er, the! took a South (err! stage andstarted downtown on one of man! similar

%iratical eH%editions# 8f course, each %aid hisown fare, as from the moment of starting untiltheir return the! a%%eared to be strangers#"lighting at the ferr!, the! started u% (rontstreet, )ose in lead, he being %ilot&Dsh# (rom(ront the! turned into Broad, and u% Broad to?o# , where there were a number of oKces#

)ose mounted the staircase, it now being Dveminutes to :-, Bullard coming close behind#)ose entered the Drst oKce to the left at thehead of the stairs, which was ord's, and atonce inJuired b! name for a member of awell&known Drm located a few doors downacross the street# ord was awa!# The clerk, inhis desire to serve the gentleman, went to thefront windows to %oint out the location of theDrm# Bullard, who had lingered in the hall,entered, leaving the oKce door o%en behindhim, and at once engaged the attention of theremaining clerk with a letter# Ennis, seeing the


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coast clear, sli%%ed in, went softl! to thevault, and %erceiving the tin boH, seiIed andcarried it out, unseen b! all save his

com%anions# The!, seeing him safel! o,found a Juick %reteHt to follow without an!sus%icion arising in the minds of the clerks# "sa matter of fact, the! did not miss the boH fornearl! an hour#

Ennis carried it to Peck Sli%, closel! followedb! his chums, and there the three boarded aSecond avenue car, all unsus%ecting as towhat a %riIe the! had# "t the corner of theBower! and Ba!ard street the! got out andentered that old red brick hotel on thecorner&&7 forget the name# The! wereacJuainted and occasionall! rendeIvousedthere, hiring and %a!ing for the room# The!

s%eedil! o%ened the boH, and were amaIed toDnd it %acked full of bonds&&Dve hundreds,thousands, Dve&thousands, all %a!able tobearer# The ver! magnitude of their %lunderterriDed them, and, knowing as much as 7 doabout such men, 7 am free to aKrm that if abu!er of stolen %ro%ert! had a%%eared on the

scene and said


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car%et bag and %ut the bonds into it, savesiHt! Dve&hundreds, which the! divided, andBullard resolved to leave the bag with a friend

of his# This friend, strangel! enough, was thewidow of a %oliceman and sister of twoothers# But she knew nothing of Bullard'scharacter, believing him to be a workingman#Ennis and )ose were two ignorant fellows,without the remotest idea of how to negotiatebonds, but Bullard had, and, realiIing how

im%ortant it was to get some cash before thething was noised around, he started out tosell some, agreeing to meet )ose and Ennis at?o# :-- Third avenue, a large beer saloonthen, as now#

Going to dierent brokers' oKces, hedis%osed of ten for O9,--- without an!

diKcult!, and sto%%ed at that#


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been made to the %olice# When +r# ord wasinterviewed b! them and b! re%orters hewould not admit that he had been robbed,

and said if he had been he would %refer tolose the mone! rather than have a fuss madeabout the aair#

This was reall! the Drst of man! great bondrobberies, and it struck the %o%ular fanc!L butif it stirred Wall street greatl!, who shalldescribe the frenI! of eHcitement that brokeout at 3-- +ulberr! street&&Police


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under the vest, haunted the slee% of all thedetective force# 7 sa! the %olice knew


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for stolen bonds# Both of these mencom%romised with their conscience b!beating down the %rice and giving the thieves

but a moiet! of their value# Both of them havetheir fadsL one is a connoisseur in violins, theother has a %enchant for orchids, and hasmuch local fame for the rarities in hiscollection#

Before midnight of the da! of the robber! itbecame known to the force and man! of thehangers&on of the gambling saloons andbarrooms of the Eighth Ward that


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the gambling games&&mostl! at +orrisse!'s, orat +ike +urra!'s on Broadwa!, near S%ringstreet, and %robabl! some went +ulberr!

street wa!# +atters were thickening, and,fearing arrest, Ennis ed to 6anada, Bullard toEuro%e and )ose went West to 6alifornia#Eventuall! Ennis was convicted of a crimecommitted some time before#


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he seems to have conJuered fate# So, too,with the connoisseur in orchidsL but let uswait until the end before we sa! all is well

with them#

Some time later on, meeting one of thesedetectives, now dead, who then ranked as thebest in ?ew $ork, in the conDdence of thebankers, he said 7 am getting old and amnow working for re%utation, and conseJuentl!am not taking an! more %ercentages# 8fcourse, 7 don't molest an! of m! old friends,but those who are not under %rotection 7 runin and send them u% the river CSing Sing asfast as 7 get them to rights#

This need not be considered a condemnationof all detectives, for there were, even in m!

time, a few honest ones of the Pinkerton and=ohn 6urtin class&&the latter being now one ofSan (rancisco's most reliable, who, b!unusuall! considerate judgment, has madehonorable citiIens of a ver! large number ofclerks whom he had been called u%on todetect and arrest# This he accom%lished b!

eHtracting a confession in writing, Dling itamong his secret %a%ers, then sa!ing to thetrembling clerk 7 shall have !ou reinstated in!our %osition, but if !ou go wrong again thisconfession will be made %ublic#


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The following incident will further enlightenthe reader as to the wa! things were done inthose good old da!s

When Boss Tweed was in the full Ienith of his%ower and glor! and of the wealth so easil!acJuired b! certain methods, his daughterwas married# "ll of the then chiefs and districtoKcers of Tamman!, cit! oKcials, judges andheads of de%artments vied with each other inthe %resentation of wedding gifts, amongwhich was a check for O:--,--- from thefather# Seldom has an! bride received a moremagniDcent tribute, for, coming from suchsources, the! were nothing less than atribute# Es%eciall! was this the case with onemuch&admired gift which was contributed b!us just after an illicit o%eration of O1-,--- in

Wall street, O1,--- of which was %aid to7rving#

7n the column list of wedding gifts in the neHtmorning's %a%ers was 8ne solid silver %unchbowl, value O9--, %resented b!Su%erintendent @elso# Shortl! after %a!ing

7rving the O1,--- %ercentage we met him oneevening at the St# 6loud


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to make a Dne %resent to the old man, onethat he could use as a gift to the bride# "sO9-- was not much to our %art! in those

da!s, we assented, and handed over thatamount#

Tian!'s was then located down Broadwa!,and among other things on eHhibition in thewindow was a large, handsome silver %unchbowl# This was %urchased with our mone!,which was known to have been obtained b!forger!, and %resented to Su%erintendent@elso# " few da!s later the bowl rea%%eared inthe window of Tian!'s thus inscribed

V&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&V T86"T


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there# We understood each other now, andcasting aside all reserve, their tongueswagged freel!, and the! eagerl! told me how

conDdent the! were of m! abilit! to dis%ose ofthe bonds successfull!, and also of m! goodfaithL and, furthermore, told me 7 was the onl!man the! would have trusted# 8f course, the!had no securit! save m! word, for under thecircumstances the! could hardl! ask me for arecei%t, and even had 7 given one it would

have been valueless had 7 chosen to retainthe %roceeds of the bonds# Thus, becomingthe im%ortant member of the Drm, 7 told themto %roduce the securities and 7 would sailimmediatel!# 7t was Dnall! settled that 7should go b! the steamer )ussia of the6unard line, which was down for sailing at 2

a#m# Wednesda!, and the! were to deliver thebonds to me on Tuesda! night# >%on m!demanding cash to %a! eH%enses, their facesfell, but Juickl! brightened when 7 told themto give me a thousand&dollar bond and 7would borrow that amount from a friend,using it for securit!# There was no danger ofthe number of the bond being ins%ected, and,of course, 7 would %a! the note u%on m!return and receive the bond again#

/7llustration W" ST)EET "?* S8+E 8( 7TS6


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The! told me man! amusing lies as to howthe securities came into their %ossession, andas to who were the rightful owners# The truth

was, as 7 afterward learned, the! were a %artof the stolen ord bonds#

Bonds issued b! our Government and held inEuro%e, chie! in


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sus%icious of ever! one#


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accom%an!ing me as far as the ferr!, andthere, after shaking hands a half doIen times,we said good&b!e#


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new ideas u%on the science of government#The average and Juiet citiIen, shocked as hemight be and grumble as he did at the

im%udent %lundering b! our masters, theircontem%t of %ublic o%inion and the c!nicaldis%la! of their luHur!, would doubtless haveconDned himself to grumbling and to callingfor slow&arriving thunderbolts to crash theo%%ressors who were des%oiling him had hefelt certain that the %lunder would be

conDned to them, that his %ro%ert! would besafe, at least, from the attacks of thoseinsigniDcant, des%icable but eminentl!dangerous %lunderers who became known tothe %olice as common criminals# This,however, was not so# "fter being a!ed b!iniJuitous taHes, which he knew were

destined to add to the stores of Tweed,6onnoll! M 6om%an!, he had ever! da!abundant %roof that what the big rascals lefthim, the little ones would soon tr!, b!burglar! or robber!, to ravish from him, andthat the! would do it with %erfect immunit!,unterriDed either b! the fear of %resent arrestor of later %unishment# The +ulberr! streetoKce was divided into three or four little%ools, each with its clientele of de%endents,all of whom faithfull! and immediatel!re%orted to their %atrons the result of an!little job the! had been engaged in, handing


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over to the re%resentative of the %ool the -%er cent# of the result, which was


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would have eHcited incredulous andunbounded amaIement#

The gigantic heavings of the war werestruggling to rest, but the men whose mindswere unhinged and thrown o their balanceb! the %ossession of large sums owing fromtransactions, a little irregular, %erha%s, butwhich the necessities of Government%ermitted, were endeavoring, b! an! means,to o%en u% new fountains of wealth in %lace ofthose which the close of the war hadeHhausted#

8ne of the resources %resenting itself mostnaturall! to men in a %osition to %roDt b! itwas s%eculating with other %eo%le's mone!,and ver! naturall! the result of such

s%eculation was disastrous in the highestdegree# When detection became inevitablethe defaulter generall! ed, ho%ing to Dnd ina foreign land safet! from the stroke of justiceand a shelter from the re%roaches of hisvictims#

8ccasionall!, one more resolute, dreadingight as much as detection, ung himself intoschemes which, if the! failed, meant the mosthideous and utter ruin, but which, if the!succeeded, rendered discover! im%ossible,


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and made his %osition more solid than everbefore# 8ne da!, late in the siHties, in the%arlor of a bank in Greenwich street, a

gentleman was anHiousl! scanning the booksof the establishment#


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ittle time was left to him before theinevitable discover!, but the %rom%t andskillful use he made of it to eHtricate himself

from the fearful danger of his %osition makesone almost regret that a man of suchresolution and such o%%ortunities should%rove to the world that high Jualities ma!eHist when the moral sense is entirel!wanting# 7rving was Juickl! taken into hisconDdence, the %osition eH%lained, the

%ro%osition to rob the bank broached, all%ossible co&o%eration in the wa! of leavingsafes unlocked and doors o%en, or what, ofcourse, amounts to the same thing, offurnishing ke!s and information to o%enever!thing, %romised, and then 7rving wasasked if he could Dnd men to carr! the job

into eHecution# ?ew $ork in those da!s waswell su%%lied with such artists, but the rightmen to carr! out so momentous an o%erationhad to be sought# The diKcult!, however, wasnot great, and 7rving %rom%tl! assured thehonorable %resident that he might conDdentl!count on the right men at the right time#

"mong the %rofessionals who twent!&three orfour !ears ago were considered valuablemen at Police


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em%lo!, and whom he forthwith set about toDnd# That not being a matter of an! diKcult!,the same night the three men met 7rving at

his own house, and were delighted over therevelation he made to them#

8ne would like to know with what sentiment aman occu%!ing an honorable and res%onsible%osition, a Sunda!&school su%erintendent, thehead of a great Dnancial institution, wellknown in the mone! world and res%ected insociet!, slunk to a midnight meeting withburglars#

*id no feeling of shame crimson his face, nosinking of disgust o%%ress his heart, as hesli%%ed into a house, where, although he ke%taloof from actual contact with the ruKans, the

details of an enormous crime of which he wasthe author were debated and settled

Prudential reasons doubtless ke%t him fromforming a %ersonal acJuaintance with hisagents# The risk of eH%osing himself to futureblackmail must not be incurred, and one ma!

well believe that he shrank from clas%ing thehands of these men, who were eagerl!awaiting him# Whatever were his feelings, hisdes%erate %osition suered no halting# Thestorm was read! to break at an! moment# 7n


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an instant he might be a wretched fugitive,with terror before him and infam! howlingbehind# But one wa! led out of this lab!rinth#


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heard of those aected b! it


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a%%earance, at least, of great eort to eectthe robber!, and marks of the eort must beleft behind#

7t was, therefore, settled that %owerful toolswere to be %rovided, tools able to tear o%enan! strong&boH in the world# Such articles areeH%ensive, and the burglars had no mone! to%rocure them# ?o man who knows those%eo%le will be sur%rised at this, for, howevermuch mone! the! ma! obtain, the! neverhave an!thing# 7t melts out of their hands,and the! would be themselves embarrassedto sa! what becomes of it#

The %resident's Drst necessit!, therefore, wasto %a! out about a thousand dollars for thejimmies, wedges and all the %ara%hernalia of

the burglars' industr!# This he did# 7rving tookcharge of the mone!, and he had far too greatan interest in the scheme to suer the cash tobe sJuandered# The agreement was that onthe following da! 6onro! should %resenthimself at the bank to hire a vacantbasement, the roof of which formed the oor

of the room where the safes were lodged# The%resident undertook to smooth an! diKcultiesin the wa! of reJuiring references, and%romised that he should be acce%ted as atenant#


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This agreement was %unctuall! carried out#6onro! made his a%%lication, the basementwas granted to him, the rent %aid in advance

for the ediDcation of the clerks, and he atonce entered in %ossession#


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had stolen# So far, the wa! was %lainL theke!s had long before been %re%ared, testedand found to work %ro%erl!L full instructions

were given as to the wa! to use them, but thewa! inside was not !et o%en#

" night watchman was em%lo!ed on the%remises, and he, of course, was to be got ridof# ittle ceremon! was to be used in treatinghim#


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The arrangement Dnall! agreed u%on, to bedetailed %resentl!, shows that if there becircumstances in which a little learning is a

dangerous thing, one of them is not just afterthe %er%etration of a gigantic burglar!#

The +onda! following its eHecution confusionand amaIement reigned in the bank# Theclerks on their arrival were astounded to Dndthe safe doors wide o%en, torn and smashedb! the tools which la! scattered over theoor, and the night watchman, gagged andbound, was discovered, nearl! dead, in aneighboring room# 8ne of the clerks jum%edinto a cab and rushed to Police


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burglar! had been committed b! a well&known burglar named


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street a%%reciation of the calamit! was shownin the dro% in value of the bank's stock from:3- to 1-#

7 re%eat, a little learning is a dangerous thing#+uch knowledge is not to be looked foramong men who engage in such crimes, butone would fanc! that the ever!da!eH%erience of 7rving and his %eo%le wouldhave given them some idea of Dnancialbusiness# The fact is, the! were, if %ossible,more ignorant than their felonious %artners#The Dnancial ideas of the latter scarcel! wentfurther than making chea% %enn!worths oftheir %lunder, giving to courtesans and livinglike lords till all be gone, so that negotiatingthe sale of bonds was a m!ster! far too highfor them&&something which the! could never

ho%e to attain to# But the com%an! includedone man who was a rare eHce%tion to theordinar! ride of such societ!# This was +aHShinburne, a German, a man of considerableeducation, who, in some ineH%licable wa!,had fallen so far from honor and res%ectabilit!that when he saw a thief he consented unto

him#


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themselves# " want of savoir faire, the factthat the! have never been taught to make a%ractical use of their acJuirements, the

%ressure of tem%tation at a critical moment,the absence, %ossibl!, from harm, leading tothe ho%e of immunit!&&all, %erha%s, enter intothe eH%lanation of the secret %rom%tingswhich have led to the Drst false ste%, to theDrst %lanting of the feet in the %ath whichleads to destruction# 8nce the ste% is taken,

to retrace it seems im%ossible# The line whichsociet! draws, and which it %roclaims no manshall overste% without %unishment, ma! bea%%roached ver! closel!, but once on thewrong side, once the fateful ste% is taken, theact is irretrievableL to attem%t to retrace it isto attem%t to undo the %astL it is all but

im%ossible#Thus %robabl! it is that the fall of an educatedman is more ho%eless than that of one whoknows no better# " car%enter or a blacksmithwho has got himself in a tangle has onl! tomove to another town, and if he shakes o%erverted thoughts and %erverted inuences,

he is not much worse o than before#


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nothing more than that the work be done, andif it be done he neither thinks nor caresan!thing more about either it or the worker#

With the educated man the case is dierent#The sentiments of the class he belongs to areless !ielding, the Dneness of his own feelingshas been too dee%l! wounded, and when hehas stabbed his re%utation, he is a%t,foolishl!, of course, to ing the rest of hisres%ectabilit! after it#

With Jualities and advantages which mighthave Dtted him for a useful and honorable%osition in life, Shinburne was at less than 3-!ears of age the com%anion of outcasts# Butwhatever his moral failings, his knowledgeremained, and it was for him, at least, to be

valuable#

To get rid of the bonds in "merica wasim%ossible, eHce%t b! sacriDcing them to astolen goods receiver, who would have givenbut a small %ercentage of their value#

" steamer was to sail for Euro%e that da!, and

it was agreed that Shinburne should go b!her, with one of the other robbers ascom%an!, sell the bonds before the news ofthe robber! could get across the ocean, thenreturn and fairl! divide the %roceeds#


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This was the arrangement, but Shinburne hadalread! begun to have other dreams andother ambitions#


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his %art!, there to receive nearl! O--,--- inbonds, and to set out with +ike


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?o man on all the length of the )hine was so%o%ular as he# ?o man's house and table,horses and gardens were so %raised as his# 7n

the e!es of the beggar nobles of the(atherland the man who could give suchdinners and in such succession, must belongto the choice members of the human race#*a! b! da! +aH's %osition grew more solid#?o breath was ever whis%ered against him,and with a little %rudence he might have ke%t

u% his state and died in the odor of sanctit!#But the taste of grandeur was too sweet, theincense of his little world's atter! too%recious to run the smallest risk of losing it#


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more he might emerge from his ecli%se andbecome a %ower of a certain kind in the classof societ! he could get access to, but his

eH%erience had taught him something#


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the thought of what the! would do to him ifthe! ever met Shinburne#

The onl! man who had an! real success fromthe scheme was the %resident# EH%osure hadbecome im%ossible#


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?orthwestern )ailwa! station in iver%ool totake the train for ondon# The bonds were in alittle handbag, and 7 was free to look around#

Ever!thing was novel and strange, and allthings told me 7 was in a foreign land# 7 had,like most !oung %eo%le, a %articularl! goodo%inion of m!self and something of an idea asto m! own im%ortance#

We arrived in ondon amid a driIIling rain,and 7 was much im%ressed with the might!roar of the traKc in the streets# We drove toangham %lace, where 7 had a regular Englishtea, and liked it immensel!, too# The neHtnight 7 left Aictoria Station for *over, andcrossing the 6hannel to 8stend, went throughto Brussels and sto%%ed there, havingwanted, ever since bo!hood, to visit the Deld

of Waterloo# 7 looked through the cit! thatda!, visiting the famous 6it!


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%a%er, envelo%es, being among them#

Going to the station 7 bought m! ticket for(rankfort&&that old town 7 was destined to seeso much of during the neHt few !ears# 8n m!journe! 7 would %ass through 6ologne, andfrom there the railwa! skirts the bank of the)hine# This being m! Drst visit to Euro%e, 7was intensel! curious to see ever!thing,es%eciall! the 6athedral at 6ologne, and waseager to linger a few da!s along the banks ofthe )hine# But 7 was more eager to com%letethe bond negotiations, and wisel! resolved togo direct to (rankfort, sell the bonds, then,with the mone! in m! %ocket and all anHiet!over, 7 would be in a state of mind to enjo! ashort holida!#

7 traveled through Belgium and some %arts ofGerman! b! da!light, and was, as most"mericans are who travel on the 6ontinent,shocked to see the em%lo!ment of women#Soon after leaving Brussels 7 saw the, to me,novel sight of a number of women shovelingcoal, handling the shovel like men# 7n other

%laces 7 saw them laboring in the brick !ards,digging and wheeling cla!, and ever!wherethe! were to be seen working at men's workin the Delds#


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" traveler in m! com%artment %roved a mostentertaining com%anion#


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7 was !oung, and no doubt he thought meinnocentL certainl! he did not withhold hisconDdence# This is the case he was

investigating

There was a wealth! gentleman b! the nameof Aan Trom% living in "ntwer%, a widower, 2-!ears of age, the father of a grown&u% famil!,and man! times a grandfather# 7t had been hiscustom to go to Baden&Baden ever! Summer,s%ending mone! freel! both in %leasure andin the famous gambling resorts there# The lasttime he had met a woman, the 6ountessWinIerode, one of the man! adventuresses tobe found there, and s%eedil! becameinfatuated# This Aan Trom% was a descendantof old "dmiral Aan Trom%, who, in the might!life&and&death struggle between


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and both had gone on accumulating for 3--!ears#

The self&st!led 6ountess knew all this, and, asthe seJuel shows, knew her man# She was 1-,had been beautiful, was still comel!, withgood Dgure, fair&haired, but with steel&bluee!es# She s%oke man! languages and haddwelt in ever! land from Petersburg to Paris# 7tis needless to tell how the! Drst met or of theintimac! that s%rang u% between them, but 7will merel! sa! in %assing that within Dveda!s of their Drst meeting he had given her amagniDcent diamond bracelet, which hadbeen in his famil! more than a centur!# Thisalarmed his two daughters, who were terriDedat the mere sus%icion that their father was inearnest, and might %ossibl! %resent them

with a ste%mother, above all, a com%arativel!!oung ste%mother, and, so far as %h!siJuewent, a magniDcent animal, with %romise of along life&&so long that her rights of dowerwould make a cut in the Aan Trom% estatesand treasures, which might well cause the old"dmiral to rouse himself from his three&

centur! slee% in *ordrecht 6hurch and oncemore walk these glim%ses of the moon in%rotest of the sacrilege# Then the scandal of a6ountess&adventuress becoming a AanTrom%&&head of that famil!, tooR The! knew of


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his %enchant for the 6ountess, and carednothing for it, until, with a feeling akin tohorror the! observed at the dress ball one

night the 6ountess airing the historic bracelet#7t would reJuire a volume to relate the scenesthat followed in the Aan Trom% domicile onthis %aral!Iing discover!L but %ra!ers, tearsand histrionic touches were all met b! thestolid re%l! of Aan Trom% 7 %lease m!self#

"s a last resort the daughters a%%ealed to the6ountess, oering all their read! cash and a%ension if she would onl! disa%%ear# Butvisions of the Aan Trom% diamonds and of theAan Trom% bank account were in her head andshe was deaf to ever! a%%eal# 7n fact, shedes%ised these heav!, matter&of&fact *utchladies, and rather gloried to think that she

would soon be the female head of the AanTrom% house and ste%mother to these twohighl! res%ectable dames, who would%erforce have to live in her shadow# But then,of course, the 6ountess was a woman, and itis to be feared that even good women love totrium%h over others# She, of course, could

have no love for this %ortl! old gentleman ofsevent!# But it is %itiful to think he was madl!infatuated# The %oor old man, in s%ite of hisunromantic a%%earance, had warm blood inhis veins and %lent! of romance in his heart#


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"t last, in s%ite of gossi% and o%%osition, the!were married, and then, instead of settlingdown, as the ha%%! groom had ho%ed, to a

life of wedded bliss in one of his countr!houses at *ordrecht, ad! Aan Trom% insistedon s%ending her hone!moon in Paris# Therethe! went, and the ver! da! of their arrivalthe bride resumed a liaison with a beggarl!count, who, not being an actual criminal, !etwas written black enough in the books of the

Paris %olice, and for whom the 6ountess hadas warm an admiration as one of her cold,calculating nature was ca%able of feeling#

Aan Trom% s%eedil! found his dream of blissblown to the winds, but he was not so blind asnot to see that his wife not onl! did not lovehim, but was false to him as well# Poor old Aan

Trom% felt he had made his last throw forha%%iness, and ho%ing against ho%e, dreamedshe in time would learn to a%%reciate hisdevotion and would love him, and so tried to%ersuade himself of her truth# The Drstanniversar! of the marriage found them atBaden&Baden, and there the unha%%!

husband, thinking to give his wife a %leasantsur%rise, entered her chamber at an unusualhour bearing a diamond necklace for a%resent, and found her in a %osition whichcould no longer leave an! doubt as to her


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faithlessness# SeiIing a chair he felled hercom%anion, who never stirred againL but theshock was too great for the husband, who

himself fell to the oor and instantl! eH%ired&&the doctors said of heart disease, and 7 thinkthe! were right# This event was onl! a fewweeks old# The will had been read, and it wasfound that he had literall! left ever!thing tom! wife, EliIabeth#


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intact, save a de%osit of 3--,--- gulden inthe Bank of "msterdam, which she securedand set out for ?a%les with a new lover#

The detective&&whom 7 will call "mstel&&discovered that she had Drst been marriedwhen onl! :9 !ears old to a !oung Swiss inGeneva, who soon left her and ed to"merica#


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minutes of m! sta! we walked u% and downthe %latform talking eagerl! of the case# 7 hadbecome much interested, so dee%l!, indeed,

that had 7 had leisure 7 certainl! should haveturned amateur detective and joined "mstel#

/7llustration 8?*8? P876E+"?#&&ST# P">'S7? *7ST"?6E#5

The train started, and, %romising to write mein ?ew $ork the outcome of the case, we

shook hands warml! and %arted#


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brilliant adventuress# She will a%%ear again inthe seJuel#

CHAPTER !IIIT++E) 8AE) "?* ?8


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a deadl! rain on each other# "nd for what

The last face that 7 saw at the 6ologne stationwas that of "mstel, lit u% with smiles as hewaved his hand in adieu# Sitting coIil! in thecorner of the carriage, eager to see all thatwas to be seen, 7 found, as all tourists do,much to charm and delight# But m! thoughtswere on the bonds 7 had to sell, and 7 was gladenough when at 9 o'clock our train drew intothe de%ot at (rankfort#

"lighting 7 took a cab and drove to the


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to serve as an introduction to some of thebankers at (rankfort, and to o%en the wa! forthe negotiation of the bonds# The (rankfort

corres%ondents of the ondon Drm were@raut, autner M 6o#, on the Gallowsgasse#The neHt morning 7 re%aired to the oKce ofthis Drm, and %roducing m! letter was ver!cordiall! received, and invited to make m!headJuarters in their oKce during m! sta! at(rankfort, which for the neHt da! or two 7 did#

nited States bonds %a!able to bearer, as

mine were, could not be sto%%ed, and so faras the innocent holder was concerned he was%erfectl! secure# But the custom amongbankers was, whenever an! bonds were lostb! theft or fraud, to send out circulars


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containing the numbers, asking that the%arties oering them might be Juestionedand held# But as "merican bonds were sold in

millions all over the 6ontinent, and were%assing freel! from hand to hand, as a matterof fact, little or no attention was %aid to suchcirculars, but, of course, had strangers ofdisre%utable a%%earance oered bonds inlarge sums, the lists might have beenscrutiniIed and awkward Juestions asked#

Therefore 7 felt a trie nervous, anddetermined to run no chance of losing m!bonds&&at least not all of them# So 7 resolvedto go to Wiesbaden, some Dfteen miles awa!,sto% at some hotel under a dierent name,leave the bonds there, and take the morningtrain for (rankfort, conduct m! negotiations,

and return to Wiesbaden ever! evening# 7twas at this time eas! to lose one's identit! inWiesbaden, for the town then was, along withBaden&Baden, the +onte 6arlo of the6ontinent, and adventurers, men and women,from all over Euro%e ocked there inthousands to chance their fortune in thegambling halls# "lthough a little in advance ofthis %ortion of m! histor!, 7 will here relate anadventure of mine there, some !ears after the%eriod of which 7 am s%eaking#

7 will, however, %reface m! narrative with a


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brief account of the histor! of the %lace# Thecit! of Wiesbaden, %revious to the (ranco&German war of :.2-, was the chief town of

one of those %ett! %rinci%alities which were%lentifull! s%rinkled over the face of Euro%e#Since the old )oman da!s the town had beenfamous for its hot s%rings, and conseJuentl!for its hot baths, and a good man! %eo%le&&during the Winter %articularl!&&resorted thereto bathe and to drink the waters# "s a matter

of course, the towns%eo%le, as the custom ofsuch %laces is, have recorded man! amarvelous cure, ranging all the wa! fromheadache to h!dro%hobia# But still the townwas of little im%ortance save locall!# The %ett!ruler, with a title longer than his income, livedin the %retentious castle, beguiling the time

b! smoking chea% cigars or ordering onbanJuets whose %iece de resistance consistedof Gebratene Gans und @artoeln, the unluck!bird being tribute in kind from the farm!ard ofsome %easant subject living in a miserablehut on black bread#

But a change was im%ending# " might! wiIard

had visited the %lace, with an e!e Juick to seethe %ossibilities of the situation, with a brainto %lan and a hand to eHecute#


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were his ambition and achievements, he wasa man of the sim%lest tastes#

To see him&&as 7 often have&&in his seed! coat,his old&fashioned s%ectacles on the ti% of hisnose, one would have taken him for a countr!advocate whose wildest dreams were of a%ractice of two thousand thalers a !ear, withan old gig and wheeI! mare to haul himaround the countr! side from client to client#Before his Wiesbaden da!s he had been theguiding s%irit in the direction of the s%lendidgambling halls, the 6asino at


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eJuanimit!, watched the thousand thousandsof butteries and moths of societ! scorchtheir wings in the terriDc ame that glowed in

his 6asino, while he looked on, a c!nicalobserver, des%ising the fools enra%tured withroulette and fascinated with rouge&et&noir#

But one thing he was not afraid of, and thatwas s%ending mone!# To com%ass his businessends he laid it out lavishl!, and in the end hedrew all Euro%e to Wiesbaden# Still broaderand still dee%er he laid the foundations of thefortune that ultimatel! grew to colossal%ro%ortions# But he did not make Wiesbadenfamous without keen o%%osition#


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Slim was the chance the votaries of the gamehad in his gorgeous halls#


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the ravages of an insectL or, again, refusingall invitations, would sit down with his wife toa dinner of boiled turni%s and bacon, washed

down with a glass of Aich! water and milk#This was the town and these the scenesconstantl! occurring there#

?ow for m! adventure# 7n :.2-, just beforethe war cloud burst, covering all that %art ofthe world, 7 was sto%%ing for some weeks atthe


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Nuellen to drink the water, listen to the band,see and be seen, but, above all, to gossi% andtell lies# "t :: a#m# the gambling began in the

6asino, and with a rush the seats around thetables would be Dlled# Then s%eedil! therewould be rows behind rows of eager %la!ersor s%ectators, and what a sight it all was tothe cool&headed observer#

With what keen interest all watched the resultof the Drst turn of the card at the card tablesand the color of the Drst hit at roulette# (or allgamblers are su%erstitious, and are devoutbelievers in omens# Those whose luck or%ocketbooks held out gambled steadil! on, or,if luck turned against them, would leave thetable, go to do some fantastic thing to changetheir luck and then return# "t %#m# the band

Ca ver! Dne one %la!ed in the +usik Saal, andmost of the idlers and morning %la!ersgathered there to listen to the music and todrink and dine#


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merril! on until midnight# Then to bed, eachand all with more or less )udesheimer or


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drawing&room games of the bon&ton in Parisor Petersburg# 8ne brave !outh, an oKcer inthe Prussian Guards, had, in his infatuation for

the 6ountess, and im%regnable, as hethought, against bankru%tc! b! reason of hisgreat fortune, tried to satisf! her cravings fors%lendor of entourage and her infatuation forgambling# The result was that one da! thecrack of a %istol&shot was heard in the6ountess' chamber, and the servants rushing

in found the !oung bankru%t dead, l!ingacross the bed, with a bullet through theheart# The neHt da! a horde of clamorouscreditors besieged the house, where the6ountess calml! told them she had sent forher bankers and on the morrow the! would be%aid# That night his comrades buried their

dead friend with militar! honors# "t midnightthe cortege %assed the hotel, and all e!eswatched the lovel! 6ountess robed in whiteas she a%%eared, her bosom heaving withemotion, while she waved a farewell to herdead lover# Ten minutes later she ed throughthe back door and over the garden wall,falling into the arms of another lover waitingthere#


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"t the time 7 met her the 6ountess' re%utationwas too well known and her beaut! too muchfallen o for her to make an! more grand

catches# " local banker at Wiesbaden becamever! friendl!#


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and won# She begged me to transfer the staketo the black# 7 did so, and black won# Placingher hand on the stake, she said Sir, leave itL

black will win again# Sure enough, it did# SheseiIed the cash, O.-, and handing me adouble (rederick, said in her most bewitchingmanner 8h, sirL be generous and let mekee% thisR 7 said 6ertainl!, madame# She%rom%tl! staked it, and in two turns of thecards it was gone#

We met several times the neHt few da!s, butmerel! bowed without s%eaking#

8ne afternoon, entering the +usik Saal, 7 tooka small table, and, ordering a bottle of wine,sat down to listen to the music and watch thethrong# The 6ountess came in, and seeing me

alone, came straight to me, shook handswarml! and sat down# 7, of course, invited herto have a glass of wine# We soon Dnished thatbottle and ordered another# We had what wasto me a most amusing talk# She was acharacter&&had been ever!where and s%oke allthe modern languages# She assured me that 7

was a ver! charming gentleman# 7n %a!ing m!bill 7 incautiousl! dis%la!ed a gold %iece ortwo, and, seeing she was going to ask me togive her one, 7 saved her the trouble b!%lacing one in her hand# 7n time we became


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Juite good friends# Twice 7 %aid her board billin order to rescue her wardrobe from theclutches of her landlord, and once 7 saved her

from the hands of an irate washerwoman#When, after a time, 7 left Wiesbaden, 7 left heras ga!, as %ros%erous and as eHtravagant asever#

7 did not see Wiesbaden again for over two!ears, but the second week of =anuar!, :.23,found me there# The Prussian Governmentnow ruled in the town, and refused to renewthe license of +# Blanc# 7t had eH%iredfourteen da!s before m! arrival# What achange had fallen on the townR The 6asinowas gloom! and cold, the ga! crowds haded# "ll the life and movement of the streetand %romenade was forever a thing of the

%ast# 7 had located there sim%l! as a%recaution, dis%osing of large amounts ofbonds in (rankfort, Dfteen miles awa!, andreturning to Wiesbaden each night# "t thistime 7 %ut u% at the


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surroundings it was %lain that there was nowno wealth! lover at her beck and call#Because she looked so unha%%! 7 gave her a

cordial greeting, which she returned ratherwearil!# 7t was ver! cold, and 7 was clad in fursfrom head to footL besides, 7 was, a%%arentl!,on the full oodtide of fortune, having withme then a ver! large sum of mone!, some ofwhich she could have had for the asking#

7 said 6ome, 6ountessL let us go togetherDrst class to Wiesbaden# She re%lied that shelived at Bieberich, a small town on the )hine,four miles below +a!ence, and four milesfrom Wiesbaden# "s the train was starting 7bade her good&b!e, but asked %ermission tocall on her the neHt da!# She consented,giving her address as


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been a butter! eHistence, life all oneSummer holida!, no hostages given tofortune, no bond taken against future wreck

or change# ike the butter!, she had roamedfrom ower to ower, si%%ing the sweet onl!,or, like the cricket, had merril! %i%ed all theSummer through, thinking sunshine andbloom eternal# Even when !outh and beaut!had ed, and lovers no longer stood read! toattend and serve, she still found a good

aftermath in her ha%%! harvest Deld on theoors of the 6asino, but when the 6asinolights at Wiesbaden went out, then, for the6ountess, had the Winter indeed come#

+! walk had given me something of ana%%etite, and it now being o'clock 7 at once%ro%osed to have dinner# To m! sur%rise she

said she had alread! dined, and u%on m!remarking that it was earl! for dinner, shere%lied that it was, but as she was owing Juitea hotel bill she feared to give an! trouble lestthe landlord might %resent his bill, and indefault of %a!ment she was liable to arrestand a ver! considerable im%risonment# 7 need

hardl! tell m! readers that the! do thesethings dierentl! in German! than with us# 7could easil! aord to be generous with other%eo%le's mone!, and did not mean to see the6ountess suer for a hotel bill# )inging the


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bell, 7 told the waiter to bring me some dinnerand a bottle of wine# The 6ountess lookedver! uneas! over m! order# 8f late !ears she

had seen life from the seam! side and hadobserved so much of the falseness andcruelt! of men that she had a%%arentl! lost allfaith in them, and no doubt thought me anadventurer, one who might %ossibl! dine andorder eH%ensive wines, leaving her to face anangr! landlord# While dinner was being

%re%ared she told me she was in the greatestdistressL had not even a single kreutIer to %a!%ostage, and, worst of all, was owing for twoweeks' board# She had no means to !, no%lace to ! to, and if she remainedincarceration awaited her# She had for weeksbeen writing ever!where to ever! one she

had known, former lovers, distant, but long&neglected relatives# The result&&dead silenceLno res%onse from an!where# She at last wasalone, caught in the world's great snare, withno friendl! hand to shelter or save# 7t was asight to read this woman's face# There swe%tover it all the conicting waves of regretsover might&have&beens and the gloom!shades of des%air# Both %ro%rietor and waitera%%eared to set the tableL it was for one, butwineglasses for two were brought unsolicited#The! were oKciousl! anHious to %lease $our


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6ountess sat looking gloomil! out of thewindow across the )hine, while 7 watched herface until an inDnite %it! for the shi%wrecked

soul Dlled m! mind# *ismissing the waiter 7went to the window, and standing b! herchair 7 said *on't worr! an! more, 6ountessL7 will %a! !our bill# "t the same time drawingfrom an inner %ocket a book crammed withnotes, 7 %laced seven :--&thaler notes in herla%, sa!ing This one is for !our board bill,

and the other siH are for !our %ocket mone!#7 need not attem%t to %icture her amaIementand delight# 6ertainl! she a%%eared ver!grateful# We had a long conversation and 7was talking to her like a brother# Perha%s hadshe still been beautiful and !oung m! mannerand language might have been less brotherl!#

7 told her she had danced and sung, but atlast the time had come for toil, and suggestedshe should go to Brussels, which is everthronged with tourists, where her knowledgeof languages and her savoir faire could bemade available in one of the man! sho%swhere gimcracks are sold to travelers# 7advised her to oer a small %remium for a%osition# This she said she would do#

7n sa!ing good&b!e 7 %romised to see heragain the neHt night, but 7 found a telegramawaiting me on m! arrival at m! hotel which


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called me to meet two of m! com%anions at6alais, and 7 was forced to leave b! an earl!train# The neHt time 7 saw the 6ountess was at

?ewgate# She visited me there, and was in%erfect des%air over m! %osition and herinabilit! to serve me# (or those who ma! careto know more of her, 7 will sa! that, followingm! advice, she went to Brussels and obtaineda %osition in a Tourist EHchange and within a!ear married the %ro%rietor, who was a

6ouncilman and a man of considerable localim%ortance# She made him a good wife andbecame a true mother to his Dve daughters#When he died he made her guardian to bothof them and his wealth# She became ver!religious, and to the last was a devoutmember of the )oman 6hurch# She died in

:..Q, thirteen !ears after the e%isode at)ieberich#


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CHAPTER I"

WE


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minutes for me# There was considerabledela!, and m! sus%icions were full! aroused,and at one time 7 thought the! had made

some discover!L but, as a fact, m! sus%icionswere wholl! unfounded#

The banker and clerks were sim%l! hurr!ingaround, anHious to oblige me and have themone! out of the bank before it closed# "t lastthe amounts were Dgured u% and veriDed b!m!self# 8ne of the %artners hastened o tothe bank and in Dve minutes returned with aver! %rett! %arcel of --,--- guldenL but, ins%ite of the evident safet! of the business, 7was nervous, and resolved to %ut a gooddistance between me and the town ass%eedil! as %ossible# Before 9 o'clock 7 was inWeisbaden, and, going directl! to the 6asino,

where the! ke%t at all times a million francs,in addition to German mone!, and where the%ossession of large sums attract no attention,7 readil! eHchanged m! mone! for 39- one&thousand&franc notes#

; ; ; ; ;

Going to )othschild's, 7 bought eHchange on?ew $ork for O.-,---, and left the same nightfor ondon# Aer! man! times 7 journe!ed overthat route in after !ears, but never with so


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light a heart# 7 was !oung and enthusiasticL allthe glamour and %oetr! of life hung aroundme, while 7 was too ineH%erienced to notice

whither 7 was drifting, or to understand the%owerful current u%on which 7 had embarked#7n fact, 7 had sold m!self to do the devil'swork, and da! b! da! the chain would tighten,while all the time 7 thought 7 could when 7%leased sto% short on the downward gradeand take the back track# +ore eH%erience

would have taught me that ever! one whoforsook the %ath of honor not onl! thought thesame, but had a %ur%ose to even ever!thingu% some da! and make restitution# "nd to&da!there is not a criminal but who, at the start,looks forward to the time when he will nolonger war against societ!, but will go out and

come in at %eace with all men# But when onecomes to think of it, what a fool's game is thatof a man who Dghts against societ!R

/7llustration T?* " B8*$, )"GGE*,E+"67"TE*, (8)8)?# 7T W"S B)E"#&&Page:-#5

The criminal has but two arms, ver! short andweak the! are, and of esh, too#


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and a million e!es which are never closed,that can %ierce the thickest gloom withslee%less vigilance# The %oor, unha%%!

criminal, b! fortunate deHterit!, ma! esca%efor a little, but at last societ! la!s her irongras% on him, and with giant force hurls himinto a dungeon# "s for the short&lived,tem%estuous success that some few criminalshave, is there an! sweetness in it 7 sa! noLsuccess won in honest Dght is sweet, but 7

know from m! own eH%erience that thesuccess of crime brings no sweetness, noblessing with it, but leaves the mind a %re! toa thousand haunting fears that makeshi%wreck of %eace#

There were no slee%ing cars in all Euro%ethen, so 7 sat u% in a com%artment and reall!

enjo!ed the ride, viewing the countr! b!moonlight# "t midnight we arrived at 6alais,and took the boat for *over# Then the eH%ressfor ondon# "rriving at Aictoria Station 7 took acab to +rs# Green's, where 7 had breakfast al'anglaise#

7 had a little adventure that night going downthe Strand# "t Bow street, on the corner, isthe Gaiet!, a famous drinking saloon,ooded with light inside and out, with morethan a half&doIen handsome barmaids#


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Barmaids are a great institution in England&&that is, the! have never more than one manbehind a bar, none at all in the railwa! bars#

"nd a fearful source of ruin to the girls, asthe! are to thousands of !oung men&&7 mightsa! tens of thousands ever! !ear# These girlsare chosen for their beaut! andattractiveness# $earl!, in ondon and in otherlarge cities of England, a Beautiful BarmaidShow is one of the stated features, and is

held in some %ublic garden or monster hall#These eHhibitions are wonderfull! %o%ular,and thousands ock to them# Aarious beaut!contests are got u%, and all the %o%ularfeatures of voting, etc#, are in vogue# Those ofthe !oung women who win the %riIes maketheir fortunes, for the! are at once engaged

at high salaries for the more aristocraticbarrooms# (anc! what an attraction and evenfascination the gin %alace with lovel! girlsbehind the bar must have to the !outh of agreat cit!# +an! of them strangers, bus!during the da!, but with nothing to do atnight, with the choice of the street or asombre room, but sure of a sweet smile ofwelcome from a fascinating woman in thebarrooms#


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to hel% himself to his master's cashR


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cartwheel, and when 7 said to her Will !ou%romise to go direct home if 7 give !ou asovereign she cried out 8h, sir, God

forever bless !ou if !ou willR 7 gave her theO9, and as she started to run 7 caught her b!the sleeve and said 7 will go home with !outo see if !ou have told me the truth# Shelived close b!, in one of those teeming courtsthat run o from the Strand# We found herbab! naked on a hea% of rags, in a small, dirt!

room, containing two broken chairs forfurniture# 7 felt that there were in the largecit! thousands of similar cases, but this onewas brought home to me# 7 was !oung andim%ressionable&&more than that, 7 had other%eo%le's mone! to be liberal withL so 7 calledu% the landlad!, who, almost dumb with

sur%rise, received the arrears of rent, alongwith a month in advance# EliIa, for that washer name, told me she could get work if shehad clean clothes for herself and bab!, whichshe could bu! for F# 7 gave her Dve, andgiving her m! address in ?ew $ork, told her toDnd work and let me know how she got on#She did Dnd work in an eel&%ie sho% in )edion SJuare,


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7 went down to iver%ool and embarked onthe good shi% =ava# Ten da!s later we sailedthrough the ?arrows#

*uring m! last da! in ondon 7 went toWestminster "bbe!, and s%ent three hours inthat Aalhalla of the "nglo&SaHon race# 7t madea tremendous im%ression u%on m! mind# 7nno other work of human hands do the s%iritsof so man! de%arted heroes linger, certainl!in no other does the dust of so man! of thegreat dead rest, and as 7 read memorial u%onmemorial to de%arted greatness 7 realiIedthat the %ath of honor and of truth was theonl! one for men to tread# "ll through thevo!age the inuences of the "bbe! wereu%on meL 7 felt 7 was treading on dangerousground, and resolved 7 would have no more of

it# Would 7 had then resolved, when 7 met7rving M 6o#, to throw all the %lunder in theirfaces and sa! 7'll have none of it, and herewe %artR 7 felt that 7 ought to do that, butweakl! said 7 need the O:-,---, and 7'll givethe rogues their share and then see them nomore# 7 had full! made u% m! mind to that,

knowing 7rving would be on the wharf, eagerto meet me#

7n sailing through the ?arrows and %astStaten 7sland 7 was making u% m! mind as to


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the little s%eech 7 would make# We ra%idl!neared the wharf in =erse! 6it!, and 7 Juickl!recogniIed 7rving standing on the edge of the

closel! %acked crowd, watching the steamerwith a nervous look on his face# " roguesus%ects ever! one, and although b! this timehe had become %rett! well satisDed as to m!good faith, no doubt he would be ha%%ierwhen he had his share of the %lunder safe inhis %ocket# 7 was standing close to the rail

between two ladies, and saw 7rving before hesaw me# Waving m! handkerchief, his e!esuddenl! fell on me# With a smile and %ointingsigniDcantl! to m! %ocket, 7 gave him asalute# "n eager look came into his face, andwaving his hand he cried out 7 am glad tosee !ouR and no doubt he s%oke the truth#

When the gang%lank was thrown ashore, and 7saw him making his wa! toward it, evidentl!intending to board the steamer, 7 thought howsur%rised he would be when 7 told him 7 wouldhave no more of his game#


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7 don't mean to %ester m! reader with amoral, or b! too much moraliIing, although 7am tem%ted to do so# There is am%le material

for a course of sermons in that we haveanother job for !ou coming to me just then#But, leaving m! reader to draw his own moral,7 must go on with m! narrative#

Going u% the wharf with 7rving, 7 was on the%oint of telling him 7 wanted no more jobs, butweakl! %ut it o, and b! so doing, of course,made it more diKcult#


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be!ond the ken of mortal e!e, not to be foundb! me again until !ears after, when, with thetoils about me, 7 found m!self in ?ewgate#

Then the fugitives all came back, this time tosta!#

+! three graces who adorned the Police*e%artment of ?ew $ork were full of matter ofa new enter%rise, which b! m! co&o%erationwas to make the fortunes of us all# But the!were too evidentl! anHious, too eagerl!desirous to handle the greenbacks m! bills ofeHc

bidwell's travels, from wall street to london prison

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