My Criminal Life
| Author | Bent |
| Published date | 01 October 1979 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X7905200426 |
| Date | 01 October 1979 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
The continuing story
of
19th Century England.. . .
MY
CRIMINAL
LIFE
BY
SUPERINTENDENT BENT
CHAPTER
XI
Events and Cases -Grave ond Gay.
About the year 1868 a person named Travis resided in Gagsfields,
Newton Heath. He was a hawker of blacking, and on Sundays he
invariably went
out
fishing. Some Sabbatarians, however, got hold
of him, and asked him how much he got byfishing on the day ofrest.
He told them about eightpence, whereupon they promised that they
would give him that amount weekly
if
he would leave off Sunday
fishing and go to chapel. This he agreed -to, but as the payments
dropped off in about two or three months he resorted to his
piscatorial pursuits again.
His wife was an inmate of Prestwich Lunatic Asylum, and in her
absence he had formed an alliance with a woman who kept a small
shop near to where he resided. To me it was pretty clear thathe had a
desire, if possible, to get his wife out of the way.
One day he went to visit the unfortunate woman at the asylum,
taking with him two or three Eccles cakes, which he gave to her.
Shortly after he had left, his wife and' another inmate went to a
lavatory in the asylum to eat these cakes, when it was discovered that
inside each there was a dozen pins bent in the shape of fish-hooks.
The two women at once showed the matron what they had found in
the cakes, and I was sent for. I apprehended Travis, and then took the
cakes to be analysed, and as it was found that they contained
antimony in addition to the bent pins he wassent for trial on a charge
of attempting to murder his wife.
Whilst he was awaiting his trial the fellow sent me a memorial. I
cannot now remember all
that
he said, but amongst other things he
implored forgiveness, and declared
that
he had never done any harm
to anyone in his life, adding that for two years he had been a
"locomotive" preacher. I went to the woman with whom it was said
he had cohabited, and asked ,if she would kindly show me a bonnet
the old blacking chap had bought her. At first she denied having one,
417 October 1979
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