Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1904-11-19
IMAM WITH TWISTED LIPS
FOUND IN REAL LIFE "

ApNNlNl NNlI NNINIR'HNNf
T ONDON Nov o.--AmcrIcans may
have learned from q few cabled
lines that real NE pralel to that
famous Sherlock Holmes story
THE Man with the Twisted Lip has
just turned up in London but it is
doubtful % hay have been told how
riklngly tho true story resembles that
which was imagined by Dr. Conan
Doyle.
"The Ma with the Twisted Lip was
90 course a. professional street beggir
who, however out OF business hours
lived In "a South London suburb In
quite stylish way He had a WIFE,
who supposed him TO De something In
the city, to which he went daily He
operated In the vicinity Of the London
stock exchange, and his little game was
TO feign paralysis lie pretended to
sell matches but really relied on the
gratuIties which his pathetic appear
ance drew from passersby- which
made up quite a handsome income.
Cecil dc Smith, as the man call him
self who was arrested, the other day
by the London police as an imposter
also lives in a South London suburb
In comfortable way He too. was
supposed by his wife to be pursuing
some respectable calling IN the city
whore he went every morning, But In
reality he, too, was a professional beg
gar and incredible as Il seems, fire..
quented the nelghborhood Of the stock
exchange an8 worked on the sympa-
thies OF pedestrians by posing as a
paralytIc with matches to sell!
As usual, however, In point Of queer
ness, the true story leaves the imag-
nary one far behind. Mr. Doyle mere
ly made his beggar realize enough 10
keep up "a respectable MENACE But
when Cecil de Smith ceased at the end
Of each DAY TO be the street mendicant
he became a yerltable high-roller. one
OF his suburban neighbors, who testl-
fled against him In court the other
day, declared we used TO think he
was making lots Of money on the stock
exchange. | never saw such a person
for clothes. He'd have new suits, new
overcoats and nothing but the best
would suit him. In the evening, after
he had returned from office, he would
dress UP to the mines with a shining
silk hat, and off he would go to the
west. He would dine at one OF the res
taurants In Leicester square. and spend
the evening at the Empire or the Al
humbra.
Though De Smith did not find II nee
essaiy TO distort his features as did
Neville St. Clair in Doyle's story Il
would be hard 10 imagine more pa
thetic object than he made az he drag
ged himself about Throgmorton and
the neighborng streets. Wretchedly
clad. and dOleful Of countenance he
moved slowly with his head wagging
on one Side and dragging one leg pain
fully after him. When he wanted to
cross the street kndy-hearted police
men invariably stopped the traffic for
him, lie got coppers and occasionally
larger sums from all sorts OF people
particularly poor people, for one OF the
detectives testified that scrub-women
We're among his best patrons. He Is
supposed 20 have made $40 a week
Dr. Doyle's bcggar became one, Of
course, through finding out az news
paper man how much money such i'm
posters make Thu. far De Smith has
failed to tell how he started-in fact he
pleads mot guilty" In spite Of the deh-
mite evidence against him. He has not
yet been sentenced as Il is believed he
has been convicted previously, and the
Scotland Yarders are looking into his
record.