The Northern Pacific farmer. [volume] (Wadena, Minn.) 1878-1885, 1882-01-05
'sJANUS WEATHERCOCK.n
Murderer Of Striking Resemblance to
Gulteau.

Gulleau.
Some of our readers may recall the re-
markable career Of q man named VAIN
wright. who dourished i'll 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 T. Fields gave the following
graphic acco unit Of this "clever rascal, as
he called him in paper published in
Harper's Magazine five or six years ago,
and afterwards rereprinted in q small vol
ume under the title of Barry Oornwell and
Some of his Friends:"
"Proctor, in his younger days, was evil
IDENTIFY much impressed by that clever ras-
cal WAC. 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. thief-in
short, q sinner in general-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. / have heard 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 iterature| with
the culture of a gentleman and grace Of an
amateur. How this vapia charlaten in q
braided. surtout and prismatio 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
lghthearted Janus, and thought he liked
him. The contributors often spoke Of his
guiluess nature at the festal monthly board
of the magazine, and no one dreamed thst
this gay and mock-smiling London cavalier
was about to begin career SO foul and mon
st1ous that the annals Of crime for centuries
have no blacker pages inscribed on them. To
secure the means Of luxurious living with
out labor, and to pamper his dandy tastes
this lounging, lazy literature resolved to
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 ct the re- cital of his brutal crimes. On
the life of the beautiful young girl named
Abercremble, this fienaish wretch effected
an insurance ct various offices for ELS, 600
before he sent her to het account with the
rest Of his poisoned too confling 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 dlvulged. At
last this polished Sybarite, who boasted
that he always drank the richest Montepul-
ciana, who could not sit long in room that
was not garlanded with flowers, who said
he telt lonely IN an apartment without
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 for
life. While he was lying in Newgate, prior
South Wales, where he died, Dickens went
the prisoner to see him. They
found him still possessed with 8
moEbid self-esteem and poor
empty vanity. All other feelings and in
terests were overwhelmed by an excessive
idolatry of self, and he claimed Il now
quote his own words to Dickens) soul
whose nutriment is love, and it's offspring
art, music, divine song, and still hole, phil
osophy. To the last this super. refined
creature seemed undisturbed by temorse.
What place can we fancy for such reptile,
and what do we learn from such career?
Talfourd has SO wisely summed up the case
for us that I leave the dark tragedy with
the recital of this solemn sentence from
paper on the culprit in the Final Memorials
of Charles Lamb
"Wainwrights vanity, nurtured by sell
6shness and unchecked by religion, became
disease amounting perhaps to monoma-
mia, and yielding one lessen to repay the
world for his existence, viz: that there is
no state OF the soul so dangerous as that in
which the voice Of the sensualist are enven-
omed by tho groveling intellect Of the