Morris tribune., 1882-01-05
"JANUS WEATHERCOCK."
A Murderer of Striking Resemblance I
Guiieau.

A Murderer of Striking Resemblance to
Guiieau.
Some of our readers may recall the re-
markable career of o man named Vain
wright, who fourished III England about
fifty years ago, and bore many striking re-
semblances to the man now on trial for the
assassination of President Garfield. The
late James 7. Fields gave the following
graphic acco unt of this "clever rascal, as
he called him in paper published in
Harper's Magasine five or six years ago,
and afterwards rereprinted in q small vol
ume under the title of Barry Cornwell and
Some of his Friends"
"Proctor, in his younger days, was evil
IDENTITY much impressed by that clever ras-
cal who. under the name of Janus Weather
cock scintillated at intervals in the old
London Magazine. Wainwright for that
was his real name-was so brilliant,
that he made friends for time among
many of the first class contributors to that
once famous periodical; but the Ten Com
mandments ruined all his prospects for
life. A murderer, forger. a thief-in
short, sinner in geheral-he came to grief
rather early in his wicked career, and suf-
fered penalties of the law accordingly, but
never to the extent of his remarkable
deserts. I have heapd Proctor describe his
personal appearance as he came sparkling
into the room, clad in undressed military
costumes. His smart conversation declared
those about him into the belief that he had
been an officer in the dragons, that he had
spent large fortune, and now condescend-
ed to take part IN periodical literature with
the culture of q gentleman and grace Of an
amateur. How this vapid charlaten in a
braided surtout and prismatic necktie
could SO long veil his real character from,
and retain the regard of, such men as
Proctor and Talfourd and Coleridge is
amazing. Lamb called him the kind and
lighthearted Janus, and thought he liked
him. The contributors often spoke of his
guiltless nature at the festal monthly board
of the magazine, and no one dreamed that
this gay and mock smiling London cavalier
was about to begin career SO foul and mon
strous that the annals of crime for centuries
have no blaoker pages inscribed on them. To
secure the neans OF luxurious living with
out labor, and to pamper his dandy tastes
this lounging, lazy literature resolved to
become murderer on large scale, and
accompany his cruel poisonings with for
geries whenever they were most convenient.
His custom for years was to effect policies
of insurance on the lives of his relations,
and then, at the proper time, administer
strychnine to his victims. The heart sick
ems at the re cital of his brutal crimes. On
the life OF the beautiful young girl named
| Abercremble, this fendish wretch effected
an insurance at various offices for se18, 900
before he sent her to her account with the
rest of his poisoned too conf7ing relatives.
So many heavily insured ladies
dying in violent commissions
drew attention to the gentleman
who always called to collect the money.
But why this consummate criminal was not
brought to justice and hung, my Lord
Adinger never satisfactorily dIvulged. At
last this polished Sybarite, who boosted
that he always drank the richest Montepul-
ciana, who could not sit long in a room that
was not garlanded with flowers, who said
he felt lonely in an apartment without q
fine cast of the Venus de Meaici in it-this
self indulgent voluptuary at least commit
ted several forgeries on the Bank Of Eng
land; and the Old Bailey sessions of July,
1887, sentenced him to transportation fol
life. While he was lying in Newgate, prior
to his departure with other convicts to New
with former acquaintance Of
found him still possessed with a
morbid self esteem and pool
empty vanity. All other feelings and in.
terests wers overwhelmed by an excessive
idolatry of self, and he claimed q nov
| quote his own words to Dickens) a SOU
whose nutriment is love, and its offspring
art, music, divine song, and still holiel phil.
osophy. To the last this super. refined
creature seemed undisturbed by remorse
What place can we fancy for such reptile
and what do we learn from such career
Talfourd has SO wisely summed up the cast
for US that leave the dark tragedy with
the recital of this solemn sentence from
paper on the culprit in the Final Memorials
of Charles lamb
"Wainwright's vanity, nurtured by sell
fshness and unchecked by religion, becam,
disease amounting perhaps to monoma
mia, and yielding one lesson to repay tn
world for his existence, viz: that there il
no state of the soul SO dangerous as that il
which the voice of the sensualist are enven
omed by the groveling intellect of tn
scornes."