by James Reese
Dearest Thornley,
Much to apprise you of in person. Finally I say, Come! Come at your earliest convenience, & bring with you my much-missed Stokers. I have reason to think London safe, leastways for us. Again, I will explain.
Abberline? Absent; though his men trail us betimes. It seems we busied the Inspector by our letter. As Lady Wilde says, “All the world fancies they can write.”63
Advise of your imminent arrival.
B.
TELEGRAM, THORNLEY STOKER TO BRAM STOKER
13 October 1888.—All four arriving Tuesday next, 16th. Thorn.64
FROM THE METROPOLITAN POLICE FILES65
METROPOLITAN POLICE
Criminal Investigation Department,
Scotland Yard.
19th day of October, 1888
SUBJECT: Murder of Elizabeth Stride
At Duffields yard,66 Berner Street
Body found at 1 am
30th Sept. 1888
I beg to report that the following are the particulars respecting the murder of Elizabeth Stride on the morning of 30th Sept. 1888.—1 a.m. 30th Sept.—A body of a woman was found with the throat cut, but not otherwise mutilated, by Louis Diemshitz (Secretary to the Socialist Club) inside the gates of Duffield’s Yard in Berner St., Commercial Road East, who gave information to the police. P.C. 252H Lamb proceeded with them to the spot & sent for Drs. Blackwell & Phillips.
1.10 a.m.—Body examined by the Doctors mentioned who pronounced life extinct, the position of the body was as follows:- lying on left side, left arm extended from elbow, cachous67 lying in right, right arm over stomach back offhand & inner surface of wrist dotted with blood, legs drawn up with knees fixed feet close to wall, body still warm, silk handkerchief round throat, slightly torn corresponding to the angle of right jaw, throat deeply gashed and below the right angle apparent abrasion of skin about an inch and a quarter in diameter.
From enquiries made it was found that at:-
12.35 a.m. 30th—P.C. 452H Smith saw a man and woman, the latter with a red rose talking in Berner Street, this P.C. on seeing the body identified it as being that of the woman whom he had seen & he thus describes the man as about age 28. ht. 5ft. 7in: comp. dark, small dark moustache, dress black diagonal coat, hard felt hat, white collar & tie.
12.45 a.m. 30th—Israel Schwartz of 22 Helen Street,68 Backchurch Lane stated that at that hour on turning into Berner St. from Commercial Road & had got as far as the gateway where the murder was committed he saw a man stop & speak to a woman, who was standing in the gateway. The man tried to pull the woman into the street, but he turned her round & threw her down on the footway & the woman screamed three times, but not very loudly. On crossing to the opposite side of the street, he saw a second man standing lighting his pipe…. Schwartz cannot say whether the two men were together or known to each other. Upon being taken to the mortuary Schwartz identified the body as that of the woman he had seen & he thus describes the first man who threw the woman down:- age 30. ht. 5ft. 5in. comp. fair hair dark, small brown moustache, full face, broad shouldered, dress dark jacket & trousers black cap with peak, had nothing in his hands. Second man age 35. ht. 5ft. 11in. comp. fresh, hair light brown, moustache brown, dress dark overcoat, old black hard felt hat wide brim, had a clay pipe in hand….
The description of the man seen by the P.C. was circulated amongst the Police by wire, & by authority of Commissioner it was also given to the press. On the evening of the 30th the man Schwartz gave the description of the man he had seen ten minutes later than the P.C. and it was circulated by wire. It will be observed that allowing for differences of opinion between the P.C. and Schwartz as to apparent age & height of the man each saw with the woman whose body they both identified there are serious differences in the description of dress:- thus the P.C. describes the dress of the man whom he saw as black diagonal coat, hard felt hat, while Schwartz describes the dress of the man he saw as dark jacket, black cap with peak, so that it is at least rendered doubtful whether they are describing the same man…. Before concluding in dealing with the descriptions of these two men I venture to insert here for the purpose of comparison with these two descriptions, the description of a man seen with a woman in Church Passage close to Mitre Square at 1.35 a.m. 30th by two men coming out of a club close by;- age 30. ht. 5ft. 7 or 8in. comp. fair, fair moustache, medium build, dress pepper & salt colour loose jacket, grey cloth cap with peak of same colour, reddish handkerchief tied in a knot round neck, appearance of a sailor. In this case I understand from City Police that only one of the men identified the clothes of the murdered woman…, which is a serious drawback to the value of the description of the man.69
The body was identified as that of Elizabeth Stride, a Prostitute, & it may be shortly stated that the enquiry into her history did not disclose the slightest pretext for a motive on behalf of friends or associates or anybody who had known her. The action of police, besides being continued in the directions mentioned in the report respecting the murder of Annie Chapman, was as follows:
a. Immediately after the police were on the spot the whole of the members who were in the Socialist Club were searched, their clothes examined and their statements taken.
b. Extended enquiries were made in Berner Street to ascertain if any person was seen with the woman.
c. Leaflets were printed & distributed in H Division asking the occupiers of houses to give information to police of any suspicious persons lodging in their houses.
d. The numerous statements made to police were enquired into and the persons (of whom there were many) were required to account for their presence at the time of the murders & every care taken as far as possible to verify the statements.
Concurrently with enquiry under head a. the yard where the body was found was searched but no instrument was found.
Arising out of head b. a Mr. Packer, a fruiterer, of Berner St. stated that at 11 p.m. 29th Sept. he saw a young man age 25 to 30 about 5ft. 7in. dress long black coat, buttoned up, soft felt hat (Kind of Yankee hat), rather broad shoulders, rough voice, rather quick speaking, with a woman wearing a geranium like flower, white outside, red inside, & he sold him 1/2 lb of grapes. The man & woman went to the other side of road & stood talking till 11.30 p.m. then they went toward the Club (Socialist) apparently listening to the music. Mr. Packer when asked by the police stated that he did not see any suspicious person about, and it was not until after the publication in the newspapers of the description of man seen by the P.C. that Mr. Packer gave the foregoing particulars to two private enquiry men acting conjointly with the Vigilance Comtee. and the press, who upon searching a drain in the yard found a grape stem which was amongst the other matter swept from the yard after its examination by the police & then calling upon Mr. Packer whom they took to the mortuary where he identified the body of Elizabeth Stride as that of the woman. Packer, who is an elderly man, has unfortunately made different statements so that apart from the fact of the hour at which he saw the woman (and she was seen afterwards by the P.C. & Schwartz as stated) any statement he made would be rendered almost valueless as evidence.
Under head c. 80,000 pamphlets to occupier were issued and a house to house enquiry made not only involving the result of enquiries from the occupiers but also a search by police & with a few exceptions—but not such as to convey suspicion—covered the area bounded by the City Police boundary on the one hand, Lamb St. Commercial St. Great Eastern Railway & Buxton St. then by Albert St. Dunk St. Chicksand St. & Great Garden St. to Whitechapel Rd. and then to the City boundary, under this head also Common Lodging Houses were visited & over 2000 lodgers were examined.
Enquiry was also made by Thames Police as to sailors on board ships in Docks or river & extended enquiry as to asiatics present in London, about 80 persons have been detained at the different police stations in the Metropolis & their statements taken and verified by police & enquiry has been made into the movements of a number of persons estimated at upwards of 300 respecting whom communication
s were received by police & such enquiries are being continued.
Seventy six butchers & slaughterers have been visited & the characters of the men employed enquired into, this embraces all servants who had been employed for the past six months.
Enquiries have also been made as to the alleged presence in London of Greek Gipsies, but it was found that they had not been in London during the times of the previous murders.
Three of the persons calling themselves Cowboys who belonged to the American Exhibition were traced & satisfactorily accounted for themselves.70
Up to date although the number of letters daily is considerably lessened, the other enquiries respecting alleged suspicious persons continues as numerous.
There are now 994 Dockets besides police reports.71
[signature obscured]72
BRAM STOKER’S JOURNAL
23 Oct., ’88.—Have tried to keep my head above this hullabaloo: the letters, the rewards, & the bit with the bloodhounds.73
But now I have word from w/in the Yard that the letter sent to Lusk,74 or rather the kidney accompanying same, may indeed be real, viz., human; in which case it was almost certainly sent by Tumblety; for the organ—its state, means of removal, &c.—matches the mutilations done unto poor Mrs. Eddowes.
Does he mean to taunt us with this last message? Does he want us to know that he knows of our letters?
His letter has caused the police to progress in their suspicions from the Jews to the Irish, owing to its “prasarved” and “tother,” &c.—fools!—and doubtless this was Tumblety’s intent: To stir the pot some more. Oh, it is Tumblety this time, of that I’m sure; if not, why mention the knife so…pointedly? He means to remind me that he did his last deeds with the kukri; but he wants to tell me, too, that he can take the knife back at will. “I may send you the bloody knif…,” &c. Is it a threat, then? I think not, but the CoL75 are less certain, even though I remind them that he needs me, and has said so. Still, scant assurance, that; for what is the value of a murderer’s word?
Meanwhile, here we sit gathered in safety at No. 17: Florence, eager to host a dinner in her new dining room, and put off at present with pleas re: too much business at the Lyceum; Noel; Caine; Thornley, who has left his poor Emily with her nurses; and even Lady Wilde, who has deigned to take an upstairs room alongside the Frenchwoman and the maids, for Ada and Mary have been recalled to tend to us all. We have reinstituted the watch as well, with Caine, Thornley, and me sharing its duties with subtlety, viz. claims of insomnia, late-night hearkening to the Muses, manuscript-tending, &c.
For Florence & the others have been led to believe that we work at our writing ensemble: a play, we say, with which we hope to surprise Henry. “But what,” wondered Florence, who is sometimes sharp and more than socially lucid, “…what has Thornley to do with playwriting?” To which I replied, “He assists us with the character of a medical man, my dear. He loans knowledge as Lady Wilde loans wit”; and there the matter rests. And so Flo. is unsuspicious of us Children repairing to the parlour to plot, and plot we do; but I dare not commit the particulars to paper. Privacy is what’s wanted till our play, our most perilous play, goes-up in two days’ time.
BRAM STOKER’S JOURNAL
Thurs., 25 Oct. ’88., 4 a.m.—No calls, no signs of his being near. Still we keep watch in turns. It is mine now; and so I write.
Thornley has seen to the details and returns to Dublin to-morrow for as few days as his doctoring dictates, returning here post-haste. It falls now to Caine to play his part. “Would that Oscar were here,” says he, though he means it not at all; “for with this foul business he could surely be of help.” It was well Lady Wilde had already retired. (Q.: What does she know of her As-car’s wanton ways?)
To-morrow I step onto the stage, as it were, presenting the Macb. calendar to Henry. He must assent to cast & crew travelling to E’burgh the 2nd week of November, no later. As Mansfield is pulling them into J&H, and coin clanks into the Lyceum coffers, a happy Henry will accede to my calendar, surely. Meanwhile, Peck secures for us the castle.76
6 a.m. now.—I am relieved by Caine. Sleep? Unlikely; as it is too late for laudanum.
BRAM STOKER’S JOURNAL
Tues., 30th Oct.—I watch the blessedly bloodless press; for we worry re: his patience. Will he wait? Has he hearts enough?
No Whitechapel. The CoL forbid me to go.
I wonder: Whence does he watch?
Thornley returns to-morrow from Dublin via Purfleet with the last of our dramatis personae; and so it will soon eventuate. The play, the plan: Imposture.77
BRAM STOKER’S JOURNAL
Friday 2nd November, p.m., post-perf.—He certainly seems sane, does P. No-one meeting him in the larger world would suspect otherwise. Still Thornley stays with him at the Carfax Arms,78 near Fenchurch Street Station, lest Abberline espy him before it is time. Thornley reports that Mr. P. is most amenable to our deal, and walked from Stepney Latch “a malcontented man,” viz. happy in his unhappiness. As per our conditions, he submits to sedation, seclusion & supervision. His time, his life, will soon enough be his own, whereupon he will be free to…to do what his will dictates; but not for three days more; for:
On Monday at sunrise, we shall sneak P. into the day-dark Lyceum and with our trickery make of him a right Tumblety.
Caine wants the week-end to secure our boy accomplices. He is about the business even now. Must have them by Tuesday next, the 6th. For on the 7th, our faux T. goes to Abberline.
Word is already out—out so that Tumblety may hear it—that we all of us shall away to E’burgh for Henry’s Shakespeare Summit, the long-insisted-upon Macb. sojourn, on Sunday the 11th. We are to meet upon the quay of King’s Cross in time for the 11.15 a.m. train, and woe betide any who do not show. No time now for trifling, for this is Life & Death. Would that all concerned could know it, but no no no.
(Mem.: Sent a request round to Constance at Tite Street: We want & need the artwork from the Temple. She will secure it if no questions are asked of her, & no information given to her; for, as Speranza says, “Ignorance is her preferred state at present, no matter the topic.” If she fails, Harker & Hawes Craven will have to create comparable canvases on-site. Q.: If this last, how to explain away the Egyptian themes? They are artists, after all, and disinclined to obedience. Do it! does not suffice. Oh, never have I had to dissemble so! But neither has so much depended on anything I’ve ever done.)
BRAM STOKER’S JOURNAL
5 November 1888.—To-day at noon, Mr. Terrence M. Penfold rose from the bowels of the Lyceum Theatre looking the twin to Francis J. Tumblety. Caine and I conspired in the transformation, Caine knowing Tumblety and I having seen him altogether too often since his return to London. Physically, P. is well suited to the imposture: age, strength, stature, &c. All that was wanted were the bottle-brush moustaches, some reddening hair-dye, and those voice lessons from Caine and me, by which we succeeded—please may we have done so—in converting the Englishman’s accent into the American’s affectation.
And though we have imparted to P. all we know of Tumblety’s mannerisms, &c., we have taken care not to tell him all we know of the man. A measure of ignorance will aid the impostor in fending off Abberline’s questions. (Mem.: Remind P. that, in playing T., he knows only that his hounds were lost, and has heard nothing of their fiery fate; for, having been offended—how???—by Henry Irving, he took long leave of the Lyceum. Tell P., as T., to refuse to say where it was he went in the interim, as he mustn’t have an alibi.) We have also dissimulated somewhat in saying that yes, Tumblety is wanted for questioning re: the Whitechapel outrages, but “so, too, are a hundred other men,” as Caine off-handedly put it. And when P. questioned us as to what we were about, I left Caine to explain and proceeded to pick through the costumery for clothes of the requisite…flash. (Mem.: Confirm that I cut away all labels reading Lyceum Property.)
Mr. Penfold then repaired to the Carfax Arms with Thornley. There the two were to rehearse P.’s lin
es from Macb.; for we will justify his presence in E’burgh. by saying he is an acquaintance of Caine’s—name of Godalming79—who wishes to play the Thane of Ross (& the Porter, of course) in our read-through. Another toff wanting indulgence, nothing more; although to gain Henry’s agreement to this, our Godalming has had to gift the Lyceum Co. money enough to refurbish our lobby. It was Caine’s money, of course; but he gave it contentedly. Far easier to contribute cash than do what it was he did last week-end, viz. troll the depths in search of four Mary Anns both purchasable & amenable to our plans; but this he bravely did, and our Ganymedes were gained, such that now all the supporting roles of our play have been cast. We go-up to-morrow! With T. & his boys, we shall lure Inspector Abberline onto the stage, and by curtain-fall he shall have his Tumblety; or rather ours.
The only regrettable part of the plan is that Mr. Penfold shall have to sit some days in prison. “I don’t mind at all, gentlemen,” said he upon hearing this; “but let no man tell you that incarceration builds character. It simply ingrains it.” Rather lucid, that, from a man wholly devoted to his own death.
BRAM STOKER’S JOURNAL
7 Nov. ’88., 8 p.m.—Down into the hole goes Abberline the hound, following hard the fox, the faux Tumblety!
A sullying business, this last bit; but it must be recorded; so:
Some days past, Caine made contact—under a name not his own, assuredly—with a Mr. Hammond, now resident at No. 19 Cleveland Street, a nondescript street situated between Regent’s Park and Oxford Street. Mr. Hammond’s house is one to which Uranians80 are wont to go when searching out telegraph boys, street types, &c., willing to do…anything at four shillings a go. Caine chose and paid four boys for their compliance earlier to-day, having first ascertained that they were not unknown to the police and that another run-in with same wouldn’t do them excess of harm. That done, naught remained but to create that Dionysian tableau featuring our false Tumblety and his newfound friends. This Caine and Penfold saw to whilst, simultaneously, I carried word to Abberline in person, as promised: The American has shown, and can be caught out to-day at 4 p.m. in the precincts of Cleveland Street—No. 19 in particular—using the name Frank Townsend.