The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-05-11
A MYSTERY REVEALED.
Marvellous Story Of Jack the Ripper's
Detective.
MYSTERIOUS PSYCHICAL POWERS
OF ROBERT JAMES LEES.

Committed the Remarkable Grimes
During Spells of Inconsistencies
| -Oaths Taken by London Physicians to
Shield an Associate.
The story recently told by DR.. Howard,
a well known London physician, to
William Greer Harrison, in San Fran
cisco, in regard to the fate of Jack the
Ripper, and which is at last given to the
world, unseals the lips Of gentleman in
this city, who is thus enabled to give a
full and exhaustive search by London
detectives, which, at the conclusion of
in fixing the identity of the famous
Whitechapel murderer beyond the
shadow of doubt, says the Chicago
Times-Herald.
The DR.. Howard referred to was one of
a dozen London physicians who sat as a
court of medical inquiry or as "a COM
mission in lunacy upon their brother
physician, for at last it was definitely
proved that the dreaded "Jack the Rip
per" was no less a person than a physi-
clan in high standing, and in fact was
a man enjoying the patronage of the best
society in the west end of London. When
it was absolutely proved beyond perad-
venture that the physician in question
was the murderer. and his insanity
fully established by commission de-
lunatico inquirendo, all parties having
knowledge of the facts were sworn to
secrecy. Up to the time of Dr.. Howard's
disclosure this oath had been rigidly ad-
hered to.
| A London clubman, now in Chicago,
who is acquainted with DR.. Howard is OF
the opinion that, being in a foreign
country and perhaps under the fl ence
of wine, DR.. Howard has permitted hi.
tongue to wag too freely. Coupled with
this conjecture, he said to reporter Of
the Times Herald:
notice that DR.. Howard has not re-.
vealed the name of the physician who
committed the murders. For this
he has reason to be thankful, as such an
act would have resulted in the total de-
struction of his London practice. AS 1t
is. ne will doubtless be privately repri-
i
clans and Surgeons, as an oath admins
tered under such circumstances is con-
sidered of the most sacred and binding
nature"
The story of Dr.. Howard is substan-
TALLY correct as far as it goes. When
Jack the Ripper" was finally run to
earth, it was discovered that he was
physician in good standing, with an ex-
tensive practice. He had been ever since
he vas IA student at Guys Hospital, an
ardent and enthusiastic vivisectionist.
Through some extraordinary natural
contradiction, instead of the sigh of pain
softening him, as is the case with most
deyotecs of scientific experiments it had
an opposite effect. I his SO grew upon
him that he experienced the keenest de-
light in indictlng torture upon defence
less animals. One of his favorlte pas
times was to remove the eyelid from n
rabbit and expose it for hours in fixed
take a seat near it, totally forgetful of
meals, of the passage of time and Of
everything except the exquisite sensa-
tions he experienced in watching the
agoni zed contortions of his victim.
This passion for int1icting pain grew so
upon the man who was afterward to
rank as disciple of cruelty with Nero
OF Ghengis Khan that as he approached
manhood and his softer nature impelled
him to seek wife he could hardly re-
strain himself from an indulgence in
HIS BARBARIC PURSUITS
long enough to WOO and win her. He had
scarcely been married month before his
wife discovered that he had mania for
commission she gave the following ex-
traordinary evidence:
"One night we were sitting in the
drawingroom. 1t was quite late. I arose
to go to bed. When I arrived upstairs
remem bered that I had left my watch
upon the drawingroom mantelpiece.
descended the stairs. AS approached
the drawingroom I heard the sounds of
a cat mewing piteously. Looking
through the door, which happened to be
open, was Mortified to see my husband
holding cat over the fame of the mod
orator lamp. was too frightened to do
anything but retreat upstairs. When my
husband came to bed toward daylight I
felt that was occupying the same couch
with monster. I discovered later that
he had spent almost the whole night in
burning the cat to DEATH"
The next day he was as kind and low
ing as possible. l discovered later that
he was subject to an unoonquerable
mania for infiicting pain. 1t was quiet
possibl Tor me rs studied him closely
to tell when these moods were coming
on. On such occasions some apparently
trivial act would put me en- my guard
He was apt at such times to begin by
catching fly and twirling it impaied
upon a pin. He was a strange contra
diotion. When our little boy, ouly four
years old initiated him once in this e.
spect the father was actually shocked
and was so indignant that he gave the