St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-07-23
The Noted Black Museum of
England's Famous Scot
land Yard.
Hideous Mementos of Deeds
Committed by Criminals
Of All Lands.
Murder, Robbery, Fraud and
Other Villainies Com
memopated There.
The Evil That Genius Prosti-
tuted Leads Hayward
Men Into.

A London correspondent of the New
York Sun gives an account of recent
visit to the ''Black Museum" where is
kept collection of relics of criminals
One of the trustees, young detective,
writes, the correspondent, patiently
shows me over AID congenially sets off
its unparalleled treasures. Relieved by
few casts Of celebrated assassins, by a
quaint engraving of a distinguished
hlghwayman of the last century whom
the myrmidons of the law surprised
with two dulcineas, by an admirable re-
production on paper OF the different
parts of an itinerant jewelers. body cut
some years ago by the provost French.
agent de Surete," and by other sim
liar works, the treasures consist of
burglars authentic tools, murderers'
weapons, self-destroyers' historical
arms, great criminals CHASTITY souvenirs,
and their victims ghastlier relics.
Here comes first, i'll a glass jar, the
hand of woman, severed by rough
instrument from the arm; it was found
in the Thames many years ago. Moth
ing else of the unfortunate creature
host of siniSter-lOoking raZOrs, each with
its ugly record; a miscellany OF knives,
every one of them with its
BLOODY TRAGEDY.
Among others, | am given to handle a
fOrbidding curved steel, once the pride
of a jealous sailor, who plunged it into
the heart of an inconstant sweetheart;
time has not toned down the reddish
diScoloratlon on it's blade. Half dozen
spears, originally intended for whaling,
but used against their officers by mu-
tinOuS crew, bring to remembrance one
of the most lugubriouS dramas of the
sea. Yonder is the clerical hat of Rev.
SelbY Watson, who slew his wife. Sus-
pended against one side of the walls are
the Fenian rifles seized at Clerkenwell
about seven years ago. These excellent
weapons, with fixed bayonetS, are made
in two Separable sections, to be easily
packed up and smuggled. The maker,
however, has omitted to set his trade
mark upon them, so he can not be
looked up.
Aghast at the contemplation of store
of ugly life-preservers, Dungeons, Sung
shots and jimmies, many of them
smeared with dried, black substance,
which is blood, it is with relief that
the
HoRRoR-sTRICKEN
eye rests on an unsuspicious little vial.
But the Black Museum has no room for
innocent gimcracks. This vial contains
one of the nicotine capsules with which
the notorious Dr.. LamSon poisoned the
crippled brother of his beautiful wife to
get his money. Close by are the fear
full Ratchet with which Wainwright
killed Harriet Lane, and the spade
which his devoted brother used to bury
her, and four unimpressive buttons OF
the dress the woman wore when aSsas-
Sinated, as we'll rs some of her hair, a
piece of her skin. one of her bones and
a pistol ball found in her brain. SINH
lar relics are preserved of Harriet Bus
we'll, the victim of the great COram
street murder, whose authors are still
unknown and wanted. Under a glass
case are samples of the marvellous base
2 shilling pieces coined by John Helmes,
alias Sydney Allendale, one of the
princes of the unofficial minterS, SEN
fenced only last year to twenty years.
penal servitude. Everybody banked
his 2-shilling pieces as the best pro-
auctions of the mint, but, strange to
say, the half-crown issues were COM
plete failure. Red and black flags of
socialists, ugly sticks, broken gas pipes,
iron bars and oyster knives represent
trophies captured by the police Oh some
of the last riOtouS occasions. A block
object, only four or five inches long by
three and half deep, apparently a
MOST lNNOCUOUS
trifle, is one of the explosive machine
cases, once filed with dynamite, found
in the coal bunkers of one of the great
Atlantic liners. Other Internal ma
chimes, or at least supposed Internal
machines, are represented by a child'S
n 10 Of,
London tram car, and an ordinary can
lister, abandoned in 1881, opposite the
Duke of Bedford'S residence in Eaton
square.
Convicts' letters add the literary ele-
ment of the collection. There is very
well-written note of LEROY, the man
who killed Mr.. Gould on the Brighton
railway, to one of the London theatrical
managers. with reference to panto-
mime written by him. Another inter-
esting correspondence is the one left by
that satanic womOn. Mrs. Waters, the
baby farmer, hanged some fifteen years
ago for the murder of an untold number
of infants intrusted to her care. These
letters throw as much horrible light on
those from whom she got the illegiti-
mate children, and on those with whom
she traded for the adoption of these I'M
fortunate infants, as on herself. With
her correspondence is kept one of the
feeding bottles found in her bed. A
vial Of laudanum was attached to the
neck of the bottle, the poison being
mixed with the food of the children she
could not get adopted, or of those whom
she knew she
WAS EXPECTED TO KILL.
At the end of last year, in the course
of an ungentlemanlY controversy, an
American, Dougherty, shot in London
his friend and countryman, Graham.
The latter soon died from his wounds.
The former was sent to penal Servitude
for twenty years. These two visitors
had come to assist at the great fight be-
tween Kilrain and Smith. They were
travelling, also, for business purposes.
They were card sharperS, and doing
very we'll. They belonged to the class
of players and gamblers who particu-
larry infeSt the transatlantic steamers
The uncomfortable temper of Dougherty
has enabled the Black museum to ac-
guire perhaps the pearl of its collection
in the shape of the most complete and
perfect equipment of a modern card
sharper, for such equipment was found
in the apartments occupied by the two
American friends and appropriated by
the English police. A summary descrip-
ton of it may be useful, as it might put
people on theft guard. First, there is
an implements which the INSCRIPTIONS
player adjusts with leather strap to his
left elbow, between his shirt and coat
sleeves. 1t is provided with nlppers
fixed at the end of an elastic
n. STEEL BAND,
which expands to the hand of the
cheater by his simply resting his arm
on the table. and which folds back to
his elbow by his lifting the arm from
the table. Should this apparatus, both
for supplying and removing cards, not
/, be sufficient in protracted sitting, the
cheater is provided with another ingen-
ions nlant which works lid his leg On