The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1887-08-27 00:00:00

THE STOURBRIDGE OBSERVER_:

ITeli her how Mr. Gayford is, pa, if you know?
Mr. Gayford?'
Yes, papa.'
He is better. That is, he has been out. But he is
very much upset, of course. But why Mr. Gayford,
dear? What does Phyllis know or care about him.
Surely my dear child, there is no reason for all these
tears as far as he is concerned.'

He spoke regretfully, and Henrietta nodded her head
with an air of wisdom, glancing at the open wii.dow
to make sure that their mother was not within earshot.
She need not have been afraid, Mrs. Jar 7iB was deep
in consultation with a district visiting lady in the

breikfast-parlour, instructing her whit to do with
certain alms that were entrusted to her for distribution,

--
and giving her a hundred directions as to who to visit,
and what to give in her next round.
That's it, papa,' Henrietta said quietly, regarding
her weeping sister with a look of curious interest. I
don't know what's the matter with her. But if there
were witches now-a-days I should think she was be-.

witched.'
My dear child, do you know what you are talking
about? Who has bewitched her?'
Mr. Gayford, papa.'
And how, pray?'
Oh, I don't know,' Phyllis said, drying her tears,
and seeming to gain confidence from the clasp of her
father's arm. Hetty is right, papa. lam bewitched.
I must be. Tell me something about him, or I shall
die.'

Don't be angry with per, papa,' Henrietta said,
seeing a gleam in her father's eyes that boded wrath.
She cannot help it. Make her better firft and scold

her afterwards.
'You are a very sensible young person,' Mr. Jarvis
said, smiling in spite of himself, 'and I will make her
better if I can. But I must know how it is that one
of my little girls is breaking her heart about a man
she hardly knows. Has Mr. Gayford said anything
to you to warrant it Phyllis, dear P Don't be afraid
to tell me, I am not going to scold you.'
'No, papa, never one word,' said Phyllis, passion-
ately. That's just it. He has only looked and, and
-- I must be mad; there's no other word for it

How is he, papa? Will he die?'
'No, dear, there is no fear of that,' the lawyer said,
gravely. It is no wonder he is ill, with all the strain
there has been on him during the last week. And so
you have lost your heart to him Phyllis? lam sorry
for it, my dear.'
'I can't help it, papa. I am frightened. He has
never said anything to me, but I know what he means
for all that. When I see him he makes me do just
what he likes without saying a word, and sometimes
I feel as if he were talking to me when he is miles
away, and as if he called me. Papa, let me see him,
let me speak to him. There is not an hour in the day
that he does not seem to stand before me, waiting for
me to do his bidding.'
Your mother was right, my dear,' Mr. Jarvis said,
quietly, kissing poor Phyllis's crimson face, and sigh-
ing wearily as he did so. You do want a thorough
.change, and you shall have it. lam glad you have
told me of this—it is a nervous fancy, of coutise, there
is no witchcraft now-a-days—and if it is any comfort
to you to know that Mr. Gayford is better, take my
word for it that he is.' chap 22
And you are not angry with me, papa?'
I shou'd not be angry with you if you were
stricken with a fever, child; and this is much the
same thing. Your lives are too isolated, girls. I
will We care that it is not FO in the future. Your
mother acts for the best, but if you had seen more of
the world, Phyllis would not have taken such fancies
into her head. As soon as this miserable trial is over
I will take you all to the Continent, and we will have
a scamper through Germany.'
Phylhs brightened visibly at the words, and Mr.
Jarvis dismissed her to brush her hair and wash away
the traces of her tears. He smiled at her as she dis-
appeared into the house, but he turned to his younger
daughter with a troubled face as soon as she was out
of sight.
'Tell me all you know about this,' he said, quietly.
Everything, mind. Has Mr. Gayford ever said any-
thing to Phyllis? Do you know what has passed
between them?'
'She has only told me what she has told you, papa,'
Henrietta replied, feeling terribly frightened, for her
fat her looked angry. It has been ever since we first
knew Mr. Gayford. He does not say much to her,
but she seems as if she were his slave. I believe he
could mak, her do anything he chose, and she loves
him with all her heart.'

'The lord hrlp her, poor child, if she does,' tho
lawyer said, so earnestly that his daughter was
scared, and drew back with a startled face.
I am not angry, my dear—only vexed,' he said,
smiling, at her alarm. 'I hope the thing has not gone
very far. I should not like to give either of my girls
to Horace Gaylord, that is all.'
Don't you like him, papa?'

'Poor Mr. Hatherleigh thought so much of him. I
heard him say once that he was the very best man
that ever breathed.'
Frank was confiding; he saw no deeper than the
surface. Poor fellow, he loved his cousin.'
'And don't you think him a good man papa? He
preaches beautifully; he made us all cry when we
heard him.'
Did he, my dear? No, I don't think him a good
man. In spite of his glib tongue and pathetic
sermons, I dnn't believe in Horace Gayford's good-
ness. But we needn't talk about him, dear. lam
glad poor Phyllis has had courage to speak; she will
forget her troubles the sooner.'
He led her to talk of other things, and told her all
there was to be told about the terrible business at
Hillfcrd, and Barney Grubb's arrest.
Mamma won't talk about it,' Henrietta said,
naively. She says it is a disgusting subject, and that
if Mr. Hatherleigh had not been doing something he
ought not he would have been alive and well now.
She never liked him, you know; she thought him BO
very frivolous,'
Poor Frank,' her father said. He was as loVeible
a lad as ever lived. Careless and headstrong, perhaps,
but hii heart was in the right place. I think your
mother was wrong in her opinion of him. I don't
believe he was about any mischief.'
What do you think he was doing, papa?
'Heaven only knows, my dear. That he went into
that wood was certain. He was seen to go in, but
what for or with whom is a mystery. That poor
ferryman had no more to do with it than you or I
had.'

But he was seen, paps.'
'Someone like him was seen, Hetty; we shall find
out who, some day, perhaps.'
Who do you think it was papa?'
Mr. Jarvis shrugged his shoulders and lifted his
eye-brows.
How can I tell, my dear?' he said. I can only
hope, with everyone else, that it will come out at the
trial. Barney will be sent for trial to-morrow, unless
something wonderful turns up in the meantime, and
I am doubtful if anything can.'
It was a very grave face that Mr. Jarvis took with
him when he left Campsie House that afternoon. He
astonished his wife by telling her that as soon as the
Assizes were over he should take the girls abroad. She
could accompany them or not, as she liked.
Are you mad, Mr. Jarvis?' the lady asked, with
much acrimony.
No, lam coming to my senses I think. The girls
have been too much shut up, and a run over the Con-
tinent will enlarge their ideas"
'And do them incalculable mischief at the same
time. Do you propose to take them to jPopish places
in your "run?" Are you going to visit countries
where the horrible—'
My dear, I am going to take them wherever the
fancy leads me,' was the quiet reply. As for Popery,
it will do them no harm. I shall take them to all the
fine churches we happen to come across, no matter
what the religion of the place may be. A little less of
a sort of religion won't hurt them. If you are a wise
woman you will do the ramble with us. You will
come back fresher than ever for your districts, and
your parish bags, and your noble army of paupers,
with their everlasting wants.
You always scoff at everything good, Mr. Jarvis,'
the lady said, snappishly. But she thought the
matter over, notwithstanding, and came to the con-
clusion that a trip to the Continent, Popery notwith-
standing would be very agreeable. There was some-
thin,' in her husband's manner that seemed to show
that he was turning rather restive. Perhaps she had
drawn the reins a little too tightly, and she resolved
to go and see that the girls were not allowed too much
.4berty.
Au,tt it would all have to wait till after the Assizes,
wriclogpre drawing very close now. Barney Grubb's
week orremand came to an end, and the second ex-
amination before the magistrates only brought
forward more conclusive evidence than ever of the
ferryman's guilt. Mr. Jarvis made himself very busy,
hunting up everything that could be thought of in
his favour. Mr. Gayford, who seemed, people said,
as if he were not quite in his right mind, was busy,
doing all he could to prove Barney guilty. The one
great idea of vengeance seemed to have taken hold of
him, till he seemed to be possessed of an evil spirit.
The lawyer met him only once during the few days
that intervened between the committal and the trial,
and could hardly recognise the sauve pleasant-
mannered young clergyman in the wild, haggard-
looking creature that ssopped him to ask after his
family.
I am sorry to see you looking so ill,' he said to
him. Bit Horace Gayford repudiated the idea of
illness row.
lam well, quite well,' he said. 'A little tired,
perhaps. Who can wonder at it. But quite well. I
knew I should not be ill as long as there was work to
do. When it is over, and he is hanged, I may break
down, perhaps. The strain will be over, and one is
apt to flag after a great strain.'
He is not hanged yet, Mr. Gayford.
'No; but he will be—he will be.'
There's many a slip.' The proverb is somewhat
musty. as Hamlet says of another one. But it applies
I fancy that there will be evidence that you don't

_
expect.'
There can be none to do away with the facts, Mr.
Jarvis linw are your young ladies? I hope they are
quite well.
'My eldest daughter is far from well, thank you,'
the lawyer replied. 'I am going to take her away as
soon as this business is over—away, from England,
and all evil influences.'
Mr. Jarvis marked the look that came into Horace
Gaylord's face as he spoke, and knew that he had hit
the blot. The two men turned away from each other.
with an inclinatioa Of the head and p3Tteo,

---'7-Tlje—s---conndieis Mr: Jeri-is muttered to himself.
Phyllis was not romancing, poor child.'
She has told them something, the little fool,' was
the clergyman's inward comment. 'lt was a fancy of
mine to see what I could do, and I have done it; that
Is all.'
Mr. Jarvis thought much and sadly of his eldest
daughter as he prepared for the business of the coming
trial. It would all keep till after poor Frank Bather-
leigh's fate was snown, and Barney sentenced or set
at liberty. And then—well, he hardly knew what
then—the future looked very dark and uncertain; but
he would sever all connection between the Rev.
Horace Gayford and everyone with whom he had any
influence.
And so the days wore on, and the Assizes opened,
and Barney Grubb was formally arraigned for the
wilful murder of Francis Hatherleigh. It was lucky
for poor little Madge Churohill that she had not
bidden her lover farewell alone when he went away,
or she would have been summoned, amongst the host
of witnesses, as the last person with whom he had
had any conversation. Helen was with her as he left
them, and she was believed to be the person most
interested in his movements. She was to appear, and
Horace Gayford, amongst the many. They would have
nothing to tell, except how they parted with the
missing man, and what he had said to them when he
went. It was from other lips that Barney Grubb was
to hear the evidence that would pephaps send him to
the gallows, unless some special Providence interfere 4
to prevent it.

(Ts continua.

THE WHITEORAPEL MURDER.;
C'INFESSION OF THE CONVICT. '
On inquiry at Newgate on Sunday evening a repre-
sentative of the press was informed that the convict
Lir tki had made a full confession of his guilt, which
he signed in the umal manner in the presence of the
Governor of the prison.
The following has been published as the text of the

cot tfession : -
"I, Israel Lipski, before I appear before God in
judgment desire to speak the whole truth concerning
the crime of which lam accused. I will not die with
a lie on my lips. I will not let others suffer, even on
suspicion, for my sin. I alone was guilty of the
murder of Miriam Angell. I thought the woman had
money in her room so I entered—the door being
unlocked and the woman asleep. I had no thought
of violating her, and I swear I never approached her
with that object, nor did I wrong her in this way.
Miriam Angell awoke before I could search about for
money and cried out, but very softly. Threupon I
struck her on the head and seized her by the neck
and closed her mouth with my hand, so that
she should not arouse the attention of _ those

who were about the house. I had long been tired of
my life and had bought a pennyworth of aqua fortis
that morning for the purpose of putting an end to
myself. Suddenly I thought of the bottle I had in
my pocket and drew it out and poured some of the
contents down her throat. She fainted, and, recog-
nising my desperate condition, I took the rest. The
bottle was an old one which I had formerly used, and
was the same as that which I had taken wjth me to
the oil shop. The quantity of aqua fortis I took had
no effect on me. Hearing the voices of people coming
upstairs I crawled under the bed. The woman
seemed already dead. There was only a very short
time from the moment of my entering the room until
I was taken away. In the agitation I also fainted.
I do not know how it was that my arms became
abraded. I did not feel it and was not aware of it.
As to the door being locked from the inside, I
myself did this immediately after I entered the
room, wishing not to be interrupted. I solemnly
declare that Rosenbloom and Sohmuss know
nothing whatever of the crime of which I have been
guilty, and I alone. I implore them to pardon me
for having in my dcspair tried to cast the blame upon
them. I also beseech the forgiveness of the bereaved
husband. I admit that I have bad a fair trial and
acknowledge the justice of the sentence that has been
passed upon me. I desire to thank Mr. Hayward for
his efforts on my behalf, as well as all those who have
interested themselves in me during this unhappy time.
This confession is made of my own free will and is
written down by Mr. Singer at my request. May God
comfort my loving father and mother, and may he
aceept my repentance and my death as an atonement
for all my sins.—Sunday, August 21, 1887.
"ISRAEL LUSK!.

" Witnesses: S. Singer, minister; E. S. Milman,
Governor Her Majesty's Prison, Newgate."
The confession was at once forwarded to the Home
Secretary.
THE EFFORTS TO SATE LIPSKI.

A correspondent, who is well acquainted with the
action taken by the police authorities, writes: No
criminal case in recent times has given the authori-
ties so much cause to regret that their position and
office compelled them to maintain a strict silence. In
the first instance, at the urgent petition of the
prisoner's solicitor, Mr. Hayward, that if a brief
delay were granted irrefutable proofs could be pro-
duced of the convict's entire innocence of the crime,
tlri Home Office and the Government thought, in the
face of such a steement coming from a responsible
gentleman, it would be a great error not to grant a
respite. Rerun, on the strength of Mr. Hayward's ap-
plication, one week's respite was granted, and the pri-
soner and his solicitor were both informed of the
exact terms on which it was granted. During the
past week numerous statements have found their
way into the public prints regarding what have been
called new points and new eviuence which favoured
theories of the prisoner's innocence, or at any rate
cast pave doubts on the evidence adduced at the
trial. Many, if not nearly all, of these reported
fresh facts" were, after patient investigation, dis-
covered to be either unfounded or worthless as
having any direct bearing on the case, so the only,
alternative left on Saturday was for the Home Secre-
tary to inform the convict and his solicitor that the
law must be allowed to take its course.

DECLARATION BY THE LANDLADY.
The written report and the matter supplied to Mr.
Matthews was accompanied by the appended sworn
declaration of Lipski's landlady, who, although of
the same name, is no relation.
"I, Leah Lipski, the wife of Philip Lipski, of 16,
13,..tty street, Commercial-road, do solemnly and sin-
cerely declare as follows: (1) That on the 28th day
of June last I returned with Mrs. Levy from making
purchases at about eleven o'clock on the morning
of the murder of Mrs. Angell. On going into my
room I found that my box had been broken open,
that all the things had been taken out and put back
again in great disorder. That a purse which I left
shut I found open. There were only pawn-tickets
inside. There was no money or jewellery in my box,
and nothing was taken. • I then went up to Lipski's
room to put away some things that I had washed for
him andieft upon the table, and I found that the
things in his box had also been turned over and
were in great disorder. (2) I was informed by Mrs.
Angell's father that Mrs. Angelrs box had also
been disturbed, and some of the things marked
with poison. He showed me an apron with some
poison stains upon it. I did not examine Mrs. Angel's
box myself. I spoke about my box being broken open
on the same day to Inspector Final, to a policeman,
and also to the coroner's officer—a very stout man,
whose name I don't know. The coroner's officer
asked if I bad shown it to the police. I told him
yes, and he said, 'lt is all right.' I did not speak of
that when giving my evidence, as I was asked no
question about it," It may be observed that although
mention has been made of the fact that boxes were
broken open on the morning of the murder, prior to
the discovery of the crime and the admission of
strangers to the house, the circumstance of Israel
Lipski's box having ben also opened and the contents
disturbed had hith-rto passed unrecorded. By the
word " poison " used by the deponent she was under-
stood to mean nitric acid, and the allegation that an
apron and other things in Mrs. Angel's box were
stained with it was another "new fact" upon the im-
portance of which much stress was laid.