Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-07-30
LONDON DEPRAVITY.
A Story Illustrating one Way of En-
trapping Victims.
"Gat1" IL Cinoinnati Enquirer.

Some thought that the republication In
! this country had been of benefit to the
circulation OF certain newspapers. Others
| took the contrary view. There was pre-
sent prominent journalist who had had
a large experience in England, and he
said: THAT class Of matters might be
carried out to a remarkable degree.
VIII give you an instance.
When the PAU MAI Gazette WAS
started it was large, handsome
! paper, intended to take the lead OF all
! English journals. Its publisher was a
banker who had a large experience also
| IN the publishing trade. The editor WAS
! Mr.. Greenwood, who had electrified Lon
! don by publishing series of articles de-
scriptive OF life IN the city warehouses; or
parish almshouses, where he had gone in
disguise and had himself locked up, and
be told the story of oppression, poverty,
and shame. The editor desired us all to
make contributions of similar character
TO the new Gazette, if we saw anything to
| report.
! AN APPARENTLY DRUNKEN WOMAN.
"One morning about 3 O'Clock l left the
Office to go TO my lodging, and as l went
along Piccadilly, one Of the fashionable
streets of London, in the West End there
OF, saw richly-dressed woman sitting
drunk i'll the window of a large and fash
ionable dry goods store. She wore jew
elry, seemed to be a lady, and there she
sat in an apparently helpless condition OF
intOXicatiOn up in the window of this
store. The few people passing ut that
hour of the night stared at her and came
back To look again, and there was a pO-
liceman close by, but as the
woman was not committing any
breach of the peace, he did not arrest her.
1t occurred 10 me that here was "A case to
make a sketch OF on the plan of Green
woods articles, and l therefore went
through an experience which has never
been related, and which shows what vice
and rufiianism exist in the midst of that
! huge city of London. You NAV not be
aware that long before the PGU Nal Ga
! sette was ever dreamed OF a writer by the
name of Henry Mayhem many years ago
! executed book in several volumes, called
London Labor and the London Poor A
| portion of it WAS suppressed by law, as not
| fit tor publication, although its motive
was a sound one and the book itself ac-
curate. When / saw this woman drunk
! | went up to her and said: Don't you
want to be sent home in a cRbP She re-
| piled that she was drunk and wasn't
| going home at all, and didn't have any
| cab. Said |: you are liable to be robbed
| here or to be taken to a statiOn-house.
| Let me get you cab and send you hOme.'
| very WE'LL said she, you 90 and get it,
/ % 1 lOunu u CAD anu DTouSub III up 10 lne
| sidewalk, aud told the woman to
get in and give me her address
and would send her home. Said she:
You come home with me. / won't
| 20 home unless YOU gO.' Where do you
| liveY Il live at st. Johns Wood men
ti0ning the street and number. So | got
in the cab and we drove to that semi
aristOcratic quarter, which consists
mainly of houses with front yards, IN
/ vuh a bYc nd aY,I flo
| We arrived at her house, and it was right
next door to George EliOt's, the novelist.
! | knew George Eliot well and had often
visited her house, and there | saw it i'm
mediatelv next door to this drunken
wOman's residence. On my way to her
house l thought | noticed once or twice
that she was not quite as drunk as she
had been, but then she had her relapses,
and l concluded that she was a very
] drunken woman still.
NOT DRUNK AT ALL.
'At the door l stopped the cab and got
out. And said [: Here is your house.
Now get out and go in, and l will say
/ goodnight to YOU NO. she replied, Il
am afraid to go through that garden with
out man. You 20 with me- Having
/ gone so far, l took her in through the
! gate, supporting her unsteady move
ments, and the door was opened and |
ment. She opened the door and went in
and | staid there by the door with my
! hand on the knob. She told me to wait a
moment and she disappeared, and In two
| or three minutes she came back,
and behold, she was as sober
as you ever saw a woman in
your life. All that appearance of drunk
enness was gone, and she said: We'll,
! you'll spend the night hereY Said L: No.
| won't. ] am going away in that cab
| You are to do nothing OF the kind,' said
| the woman, looking right at me, sober as
a watch dog. Very WE'LL said |, 'you
shall see.' SO l stepped into the hall and
| between me and the door were three men.
| A single glimpse showed me that they
were rufiians. There / was at "A place
where | could summon nobody, and there
was no ciew to my ever having gone
there, and l might be murdered and
robbed.
BOLD ROBBERY.
81 stepped back into the room. 'Wen,'
said the woman, you are satisfied now
! that you are not going awayp Said /:
| 'Nes, what do you want with meY Said
/ she: How much money have You got in
/ your purser Said 4: Il will lock- and /
! opened my purse and had g. She turned
the CO in her hand and handed me back
/ the empty purse. y on have got a watch
| there said she. L handed her my watch.
/ Luckily | wore night aud SILVER watch,
/ being out late at nights. She took the
watch With some contempt. Now said
| I, madame, nave no money 10 pay for
| that cab Where do you lIYeY said the
woman. | told her. She coOlly computed
the cab rate 20 my lodgings, and said:
! Your fare will be seven and siX-pence,
/ take it, So / took the seven and six
pence and bowed myself out. She gave
/ the word first to let me 20.
SEEING THE POLICE ABOUT IT.
"When reached the cab pol lceman
was standing right by 1t. / told him that
! ! had been robbed in that house, and that
\ IL undoubtedly was den OF robbery, and
that the woman was decOy who affected
/ 70 be drunk I'm her fine clothes to entrap
gentlemen. Very WELL said the officer,
/ you must proceed with me to a police
\ station and make oath, so that warrant
can be issued for this woman Said |. i
/ will do nothing Of tho sort. am not 90
/ ing to appear In the newspapers az hav-
| ing been cheated In "A house OF this sort,
and then as AN informant 'Well,' said
/ the officer, III you don't make any charge
| ! can make no arrest
81 told the man that knew his supe-
/ riors and he would hear from me again.
30 / gOt into the cab and went home, glad
10 get or with my life.