The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-03-08
A STRANGE PHENOMENON.
Silly Infatuation of Women For No
torious Criminals.

Chicago TTibuneD
"Sensa tionalism is responsible" says
the chaplain of Reading Jail. the most
famous prison priest in England, 'for
the sad fact that the worse some men
are the more they attract some women.
Bad women attract many men, but
it is not simply because they are bad.
They must be beautiful or clever as
we'll.
But bad men seem to attract certain
Eysterical types of women, who come
from every class, merely because they
are bad. Some of the filthiest. stupid
est, stOlidest, most undressing brutes
1 have ever known in here" and the
chaplain pointed at the soiled four
walls of the extensive yard, have been
simply inundated with offers of mar
riage from unknown sympathizers and
admirers. In fact. such is the curious
fascination of crime to persons of a
certain class that it is almost safe to
say that the more brutal and heartless
the criminal the better are his mat
rimonial chances.
NELL Cream, the famous. or rather
infamous, pOisOner: Deming, the Aus
tralian wife killer; Fauntleroy, and
many others Of the greatest sCOundrels
of our time, might have been married
over and over again If justice had not
substituted the halter for the altar
and Tor a woman to commit a crime.
if she be at all good looking, is 70
awaken tender emotions in many a
manly breast.
"A few years ago. when a certain
young man Of rank was charged with
a particularly heartless crime, at least
a score of silly women promptly fell
head over heels in love with him, and
inundated his solicitor with messages
of sympathy, offers of financial help
and OF marriage. Every day Of his trial
some of them attended the court and
exhausted every stTatagem to get a
word with him, and when he was sem
fenced 70 i've years penal servitude
one woman. an absolute stranger to
him, tainted in court.
so infatuated was one Of his adj
miTeTs that she went 10 live in the
neighbOrhoOd of the prison where he
served his sentence, and was happy il
she caught a glimpse of him on his
way to the quarries. Whether she mar.
ried him or not ultimately 1 cannot
say, but it was certainly not her fault
If she didn't.
In another case, which occurred at
about the same time, a young and
mansiaughter Of her child under pc
culiaby sad conditions. Her case ex-
cited wide sympathy, and to my certain
knowledge at least q dozen men wrote
10 make her offers of marriages. After
a long trial she was acquitted, and
one Of her numerous suitors. a man Of
some wealth and social position. found
home for her, and at the end Of six
months led her to the altar This
strangely united couple are now living
on the continent, and, as I hear from a
friend of mine who is English chaplain
there. are happy together.
1T is comparatively seldom that this
infatuatiOn for a criminal leads to
matrimony as promptly as in the case
of clever and notorious French
swindier who was recently brought
before a French court on a serious
charge. Among his many admirers was
a young woman, who fell so violently
in love with the prisoner that she de-
clared she would marry him in prison.
She applied TO a magistrate for the
requisite permission. Is il true that
YOU would like to marry this man p
the magistrate asked. Yes. sir she
answered, I love him very much. and
il would make US both happy forever.
permission was given, and the prisoner
and his devoted bride were married at
the local mayors Office. with four DO
iicemen as witnesses. II probably viii
be some dale, however. before they are
in a position to enjoy their honeymoon.
A still more remarka bic story comes
from America, said the English
clergyman Some years ago a young
and attractive woman was charged
with grave omense. and. although it
was found that the crime was commit
ted under influence which the girl was
pOweTless to resist she was sentenced
80 a long Imprisonment. The judge
whose painful duty it was TO inhiet
this sentence Vas so moved by pity for
the girl that he frequently visited her
in prison. aud was so struck By her
nstural charm, intelligence and mod
esty that he feH in love with her.
When her sentence had expired he