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This two-fold murder only differs from those preceding it in the respect that its victims were done to death at an hour when the streets of the populous district in which the crimes were committed had by no means lapsed into the stillness of early morn, but were still frequented by a considerable number of persons belonging to the Whitechapel district.

In the East-end, as in the majority of poor London neighborhoods, a good deal of open-air business is transacted on Saturday nights, with the effect of keeping up buyers and sellers alike to a later hour than that on which they seek their homes on ordinary week-nights.

In Berner-street, St. George�s, within hearing of the woman murdered there shortly after midnight, the members of the working-man�s club were singing songs and indulging in other convivial recreations whilst the assassin was doing his deadly work.

Mitre-square, the scene of the other crime perpetrated, in all probability, about half an hour later than that of Berner-street, is an open space surrounded by warehouses and accessible by three thoroughfares.

During daytime it is a busy spot, much occupied by vendors of fruit, porters, and miscellaneous idlers. Yet within its small precincts, approachable from Mitre-street, Duke-street, and St. James�s-place, a woman was butchered in cold-blood, not fifty yards from the quarters of a night watchmen, who heard no sound of a struggle or even of footsteps, although he has alleged that, "as a rule, he can hear the tread of the policeman passing on his beat every quarter of an hour."

Thus, between midnight and one o�clock, two murders were effected at places half a mile distant from one another. It has been suggested�and the idea seems probable�that the assassin, having cut the throat of his first victim in Berner-street, was alarmed by the sound of approaching footsteps, possibly that of a member of the club above alluded to, and took to flight, foregoing his ghastly purpose of mutilation for the moment.

Having reached the purlious of Mitre-square, on his homeward way, and being unsated with the blood he had already shed, he found another opportunity of carrying out his revolting resolve to its uttermost atrocity of detail, induced a second luckless waif of the night to accompany him into a still, deserted little enclosure hard at hand, and there slaughtered her with more than the savagery of a wild beast, hacking her face to pieces, and mutilating her lifeless body in a manner that is all but indescribable.

The Whitechapel crime was committed not far from the scene of the notorious Lipski murder.

The Berner-street victim wore a short black jacket, which was open at the bosom, as was also her old black velveteen bodice, thus exposing her stays and chemise.

Her dress, which was saturated with rain, was of a common black material.

She had an two petticoats, one made of a poor material resembling sacking, and white cotton stockings; but the clothes were in no way disarranged.

One thing is certain, the obvious poverty of the woman and her total lack of valuables destroy the possibility of robbery having been contemplated, and the expedition with which the crime was effected demonstrates that it was the work of no ordinary hand.

Inquiries at the club revealed certain particulars, which are important. Half-an-hour after midnight a member named Joseph Love�a Russian Jew who is a printer and photographer by trade, and is in England on a short stay from the United States�proceeded to the yard in order to momentarily escape the heat of the concert-room.

He remained there five minutes, but nothing attracted his attention. The place was not well lighted, inasmuch as the occupants of the cottages opposite had retired to rest, and the only means of illumination was from an upper window of the club. The street was not noisy, heavy rain having recently fallen.

Later still Morris Eagle, a young Russian Jew and a traveller in jewellery, also passed through the yard.

He, too, was a member the club, and had attended the concert, accompanied by his young woman.

Leaving about midnight he saw his young lady home, and returned at twenty minutes to one o�clock. Finding the front door locked, he passed through the court and entered the club by the side door, but he likewise failed to observe anything unusual.

The steward of the club is a Jew, called Lewis Diemshitz, he having held that position for six months. He follows the occupation of a traveller in common jewellery, and spent the greater part of Saturday at Westow-hill Market, near the Crystal Palace, with a pony and trap. On being interviewed Diemshitz stated that it was five minutes to one o�clock on Sunday morning when he reached the club, and as he drove through the gateway of the yard his pony shied slightly at an object near the dead wall on the right-hand side. He bent his head down and observed something, but could not tell what, although he touched it with the handle of his whip. Jumping off the vehicle be struck a match, and an awful spectacle then met his gaze.

Stretched out on the ground, with feet towards the street and face towards the wall, was the body of a woman, the throat terribly cut and blood trickling down the gutter in a stream. Stricken with horror Diemshitz rushed into the club and raised the alarm, shouting out that something had happened, though not saying what.

Then, accompanied by Eagle and another member, named Isaac Kozebrodski, a Polish Jew, he went back to the yard, and after another match had been struck the trio assured themselves that a foul murder had been committed.

In all haste, Eagle and Kozebrodski ran out for the police, and after some delay found Constable Lamb, 252 H Division, in Commercial-road. On the arrival of that officer he perceived that the dead woman was lying on her left side. In addition to a ghastly cut on the throat there were scars on the left temple and cheek, the wounds being discoloured with dirt. The body was still warm. No signs of a scuffle could be discovered, but the idea of suicide was negatived by the absence of any weapon.

At once a messenger was despatched to the police station in Leman-street, and some constables quickly arrived on the scene with an ambulance, the superintendent and an inspector of the H Division speedily following.

The first precaution taken was to close the doors of the yard and the entrance of the club, the members of which were informed that they could not leave until each individual had been searched and his belongings examined�a process which occupied until nearly five o�clock in the morning, when the men were told that they were free to depart, no clue to the murder having been met with.

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Meanwhile Dr. Phillips, the divisional surgeon, was fetched from his residence in Spital-square, and shortly after two o�clock that gentleman came upon the scene, accompanied by Drs. Blackwell and Kaye.

It was then obvious that the jugular vein and the windpipe had been severed; that the wound, which was nearly three inches long, and ran from left to right, had been caused by a very sharp instrument; and that death must have been instantaneous.

No ring or jewellery of any sort was on the deceased, but two handkerchiefs�one large and one small�were found in her pockets, together with a brass thimble and a skein of black worsted. Part of on old evening newspaper was found crammed into her bonnet.

As soon as the intelligence of the terrible occurrences became noised abroad, there was, to use the expression of a lodging-house keeper, in Ewer-street in the Borough "a row in the lodging-houses."

By "row" he meant a general feeling of consternation.

"Most of the people who come here," said the submanager of the establishment in question, "are mostly of the lower classes, though sometimes we do get a man or woman here who has seen better days."

In the meantime the adjourned inquest had been held, and after a most eloquent charge from the coroner the jury brought in a verdict of wilful murder against some person or persons unknown.

CHAPTER XIX.

CUNNING OF THE MURDERER.

IF the general idea that the same hand penetrated the atrocities is correct, it would have been quite possible for the miscreant to have made his way from the Commercial-road East, to Mitre-square, Aldgate, in less than ten minutes.

His clothing, even if bloodstained, would probably have escaped notice, for his road would have led him through a neighbourhood habitually frequented by slaughterers.

The theory which the authorities entertain is that shortly after half-past one a.m. the individual who had been disturbed in Berner-street, with his deadly weapon concealed about him, had with a deliberate intention, and with the recklessness of a maniac, proceeded to carry out a second horrible crime without delay.

The plan differed in no way from that which was successfully practised first in Osborne-street, then in George-yard, next in Buck�s-row, again in Hanbury-street, and finally in Berner-street.

A woman of the lowest class was to be accosted, and she was either to be lured, or suffered to lead the way, into a dark spot; there she was to be cruelly done to death and mutilated. The whole of the hideous programme appears be have been carried out in an incredibly short space of time.

Where the man encountered his victim there is no testimony to show; but he would have had many opportunities in the vicinity of the Church of St. Botolph, Aldgate, which is close to the scene of the latest horror.

The police imagine it is, after all, all theory.

Because, notwithstanding their increased vigilance, they noticed no man and woman in company in the neighbourhood at this time�that the man, having made an appointment with the women, left her to find her own way to Mitre-square, and that he took the first opportunity of rejoining her unperceived.

Police-constable Watson, 881, is the man who made the discovery.

This officer says that at half-past one o�clock in the morning he went round the square and saw nothing unusual. The place is ill-lighted, for there is only one lamp post and a lantern lamp which projects from the corner of the buildings on one side of Church-passage.

In the City, where the police supervision is as perfect as could possibly be expected, the beats are short, and it is the testimony of the residents that the constables diligently perform their duty.

The constables are under supervision of a sergeant, who is constantly on the alert, and unexpected surveys of the beats are also made by the inspector and the superintendent.

There is no reason to doubt that Watkins went into the square at the hour mentioned, and further that a quarter of an hour later�that is, at 1 45 a.m.�he re-entered it, and then made the fearful discovery.

As he was walking near to the south-west corner, quite twenty-five yards removed from the nearest gaslight, he saw the body of a woman, with the clothes disarranged, and with dreadful injuries to the abdomen and to the face.

He at once blew his whistle, and several persons being attracted to the spot, he despatched messengers for medical and police aid.

Inspector Collard, who was in command at the time at Bishopsgate Police-station, but a short distance off, quickly arrived, followed a few moments after by Mr. G. W. Sequeira, surgeon, of 34 Jewry-street, and Dr. Gordon Brown, the divisional police doctor of Finsbury-circus.

The scene then disclosed was a most horrible one. The woman, who was about forty years of age, was lying on her back, quite dead, although the body was still warm. Her head was inclined to the left side, her left leg being extended, whilst the right was bent. Both arms were extended.

The throat was cut half way round, revealing a dreadful wound, from which blood had flowed in great quantity, staining the pavement for some distance round.

Across the right cheek to the nose was another gash, and a part of the right ear had been out off.

Following the plan in the Whitechapel murders, the miscreant was not merely content with killing his victim.

The poor woman had been completely disembowelled, and part of the intestines had been laid on her neck. When they removed the woman it was observed that her shape was outlined in blood on the pavement.

At the mortuary a more detailed examination took place.

The murdered woman was apparently about forty years of age, about five feet in height, and evidently belonged to that unfortunate class of which the women done to death in Whitechapel were members.

Indeed, one of the policemen who saw the body, expressed his confident opinion that he had seen the woman several times walking in the neighbourhood of Aldgate High-street. She was of dark complexion, with auburn hair and hazel eyes, and was dressed in shabby dark clothes.

She wore a black cloth jacket with imitation fur collar and three large metal buttons. Her dress was made of green chintz, the pattern consisting of Michaelmas daisies. In addition, she had on a thin white vest, light drab linsey skirt, a very old dark

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green alpaca petticoat, brown ribbed stockings (mended at the foot with white material), black straw bonnett trimmed with black beads and grey and black velvet, and a large white handkerchief round the neck.

A man was brought to the Leman-street Station the night after the murder, under circumstances which gave the police hopes at first that they had made an important capture. He was arrested, it seems, near Mitre-court, and could give no satisfactory account of himself. His appearance was anything but prepossessing. He is a short, thick-set man of about thirty, close-shaven. Upon him was found 1s. 4�d. in money and a razor, and round his throat was a woollen scarf of a violet colour, upon which were several long hairs, evidently those of a woman.

In reply to the inspector, he said that he had walked from Southampton, and belonged to the Royal Sussex Regiment (the very regiment, it will be remembered, whose cognisance was on the envelope found in the pocket of the Buck�s-row victim).

An examination of his boots, however, was not at all confirmatory of this statement, and he was taken to the cells for inquiries to be made about him.

No blood was found upon his clothes, so far its could be ascertained then, but a thorough examination was afterwards made by an expert. There was another arrest made during the night, the prisoner being taken to Commercial-road Police-station. Nothing, however, resulted from these arrests.

Early the same morning a police-constable was passing on his beat in the Whitechapel-road, when he came upon a black-handled knife, keen as razor, and pointed like a carving-knife.

The blade was ten inches long, about the length of weapon assumed by Dr. Phillips to have been used by the Hanbury-street murderer. It is looked upon by the police as possibly supplying a link.

Statements of various kinds have been made to the reporters. These have already received the prominence of publicity. Perhaps the most important of all these is that made by Dr. Blackwell, the doctor called to Berner-street. He said:�

At about ten minutes past one in the morning I was called to 40, Berner-street, by a policeman, where I found a woman who had been murdered. Her head had been almost severed from her body. She could not have been dead more than twenty minutes, the body being perfectly warm.

The woman did not appear to be a Jewess, but more like an Irish women. I roughly examined her, and found no other injuries; but this I cannot definitely state until I have made a further investigation of the body. She had on a black velvet jacket, and black dress of different material. In her hand she held a box of cachous, whilst pinned to her dress was a flower.

Altogether, judging from her appearance, I should say she belonged to the immoral class; at least her general get-up would lead me be suppose that. I have no doubt that the same man committed both these murders, and should say he is a maniac, but one at least who is accustomed to use a heavy knife.

I should say that as the woman had held sweets in her left hand that her head was dragged back by means of a silk handkerchief she wore round her neck, and her throat was then cut. One of her hands, too, was smeared with blood, so she may have used this in her rapid struggle.

I have no doubt that, the woman�s windpipe being completely cut through, she was unable to make any sound. I might say it does not follow that the murderer would be bespattered with blood, for as he is sufficiently cunning in other things he could contrive be avoid coming in contact with the blood by reaching well forward.

All the other statements concerning the Berner-street tragedy agree as to the entire absence of any cry or noise or evidence of struggle. The most interesting of these was that made by the steward of the club, Diemshitz, as before recorded, and to which he added:�

All I did was to run indoors and ask where my missis was, because she is of weak constitution and I did not want to frighten her.

I found that my wife was sitting downstairs, and I then told some of the members of the club that something had happened in the yard, but I did not say whether the woman was murdered or only drunk. One of the members, who is known as Isaacs, went out with me.

We struck a match and saw blood running from the gate all the way down to the side door of the club. We had the police sent for at once, but I believe it was several minutes before a constable could be found.

CHAPTER XX.

THE SUPPOSED MURDERER.

A SINGULAR discovery was made by a reporter, which is thus recorded in one of the papers:�

We are enabled to present our readers this morning with the most startling information that has yet been made public in relation be the Whitechapel murderer, and the first real clue that has been obtained to his identity.

The chain of evidence in our possession has been pieced together by two gentlemen connected with the business of private inquiries, who, starting on the track of the assassin without any pet "theory" to substantiate, and contenting themselves with ascertaining and connecting a series of the simplest facts, have succeeded in arriving at a result of the utmost importance.

There are no suppositions or probabilities in the story we have to tell; we put forward nothing but simple facts, each substantiated by the evidence of credible witnesses.

What they go to establish is that the perpetrator of the Berner-street crime was seen and spoken to whilst in the company of his victim, within forty minutes of the commission of the crime, and, only passed from the sight of a witness ten minutes before the murder, and within ten yards of the scene of the awful deed. We proceed to give hereunder the story of the two detectives, Messrs. Grand and J. H. Batchelor, of 283. Strand:�

When they began their quest, almost the first place at which they sought evidence was No. 44, Berner-street, the second house from the spot at which the body was found.

This is the residence of a man named Matthew Packer, who carries on a small business as a greengrocer and fruiterer.

His shop is an insignificant place, with a half-window in front, of the sort common in the facility, and most of his dealings are carried on through the lower part of the window case, in which his fruit is exposed for sale.

Matthew Packer had valuable information to give, and, after two or three interviews on the subject, made

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and signed a statement in writing, the substance of which is as follows:�

On the 29th inst.[?], about a quarter to twelve p.m., a man and woman came to his shop window, and asked for some fruit.

The man was middle-aged, perhaps thirty-five years; about five feet seven inches in height; was stout, square-built; wore a wideawake hat and dark clothes; had the appearance of a clerk; had a rough voice and a quick, sharp way of talking.

The woman was middle-aged, wore a dark dress and jacket, and had a white flower in her bosom.

It was a dark night, and the only light was afforded by an oil lamp which Packer had burning inside his window, but he obtained a sufficiently clear view of the faces of the two people as they stood talking close in front of the window, and his attention was particularly caught by the white flower which the woman wore, and which showed out distinctly against the dark material of her jacket. The importance attached to this flower will be seen afterwards.

The man asked his companion whether she would have black or white grapes. She replied "black."

"Well, what�s the price of the black grapes, old man?" he inquired.

"The black are sixpence and the white fourpence," replied Packer.

"Well, then, old man, give us half a pound of the black," said the man. Packer served him with the grapes, which he handed to the woman. They then crossed the road and stood on the pavement almost directly opposite to the shop for a long time�more than half an hour. It will be remembered that the night was very wet, and Packer naturally noticed the peculiarity of the couple�s standing so long in the rain. He observed to his wife, "What fools those people are to be standing in the rain like that!"

At last the couple moved from their position, and Packer saw them cross the road again and come over to the club, standing for a moment in front of it as though listening to the music inside. Then he lost sight of them.

It was then ten or fifteen minutes past twelve o�clock. Packer, who was about to close his shop, noting the time by the fact that the public-houses had been closed.

With a view of testing the accuracy and honesty of Packer�s testimony, the detectives obtained an order to view the body of the woman murdered in Mitre-square, and took Packer to see it, leaving him under the impression that they were taking him to see the Berner-street victim.

Os seeing the body he at once declared that it was not the woman for whom the grapes had been bought, and not a bit like her.

The next evidence gleaned by the detectives was that of a Mrs. Rosenfield and her sister, Miss Eva Harstein, both residing at 14, Berner-street.

Mrs. Rosenfield deposed that early on Sunday morning she passed the spot on which the body had lain, and observed on the ground close by a grape-stalk stained with blood.

Miss Eva Harstein gave corroborative evidence as to the finding of the grape-stalk close by where the body lay. She also stated that after the removal of the body of the murdered woman she saw a few small petals of a white natural flower lying quite close by the spot where the body had rested.

It will be remembered by those who have read the accounts of the murder and the proceedings of the police subsequent to it, that the passage in which the crime had been committed was washed down by police as soon as the body was removed.

The detectives, reasoning that the grape-stalk had probably been washed away with the blood and dirt removed by the police, next proceeded to search the sink down which the results of the police washing had been put, and, amidst a heap of heterogeneous filth, discovered a grape-stalk.

It is a matter of common knowledge that some grapes were found in one hand of the murdered woman, so that the finding of this fragment of grape-stalk, though important as binding the links of the evidence closer together, was scarcely necessary to establish the fact that the victim had been eating the fruit immediately before her death.

There is one seemingly discrepancy between the story of Packer and the facts as published; it has been reported that a red flower was found in the murdered woman�s bosom, and Packer states that she wore a white flower.

This is sufficiently easy of explanation, since Packer does not say that the woman wore only a white flower but that the attention was particularly drawn to the white flower from its standing out against the black of her dress, and the absence of the flower from her jacket when found by the police is unimportant in view of the evidence of Miss Harstein, who subsequently saw fragments of it in the passage.

The same writer says:�The night was far advanced when I walked into the greengrocer�s little shop where the murdered woman was "treated" to some grapes, late on Saturday night, by the inhuman monster who shortly afterwards shed her blood with that revolting brutality peculiar to those now notorious Whitechapel murders.

This shop is at No. 44, Berner-street, and is kept by a quiet, intelligent fruiterer named Parker, and his wife. They are both a little past the prime of life, and are known as respectable hard-working people.

Their unpretending premises are situated just two doors from the scene of the murder, and the presumption of any mind of ordinary intelligence would be that it was the very first place at which the detectives and the police would have made their inquiries. They did nothing of the sort, as the man�s simple, straightforward narrative will show.

"Now, Mr. Packer, I want you to tell me all that you know about the events of Saturday night last," I said, as I took the seat he offered me.

"Well, that�s soon told," was his answer.

"I had been out with my barrow most of the day, but hadn�t done much business; and as the night came on wet I went home and took the place of the �missus� in the shop here.

"Some time between half-past eleven and twelve a man and woman came up Berner-street from the direction of Ellen-street, and stopped outside my window looking at the fruit. The man was about thirty to thirty-five years of age, medium height, and with rather a dark complexion.

"He wore a black coat and a black, soft, felt hat. He looked to me like a clerk or something of that sort. I am certain he wasn�t what I should call a working man or anything like us folks that live around here."

"Did you notice the woman so that you would know her again?"

"Yes; I saw that she was dressed in dark clothes, looked a middle-aged woman, and carried a white flower in her hand."

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"I saw that as plain as anything could be, and I am sure I should know the woman again.

"I was taken to-day to see the dead body of a woman lying in Golden-lane mortuary, but I can swear that wasn�t the woman that stood at my shop-window on Saturday night.

"Well, they hadn�t stood there more than a minute when the man stepped a bit forward, and said, �I say, old man, how do you sell your grapes?�

"I answered, �Sixpence a pound the black �uns, sir, and fourpence a pound the white �uns.�

"Then he turned to the woman and said, �Which will you have, my dear, black or white? You shall have whichever you like best.�

"The woman said, �Oh, then I�ll have thee black �uns, �cos they look the nicest.�

" �Give us half a pound of the black ones, then,� said the man. I put the grapes in a paper bag and handed them to him."

"Did you observe anything peculiar about his voice or manner as he spoke to you?"

"He spoke like a eddicated man, but he had a loud, sharp sort of voice, and a quick, commanding way with him."

"But did he speak like an Englishman or more in this style?" I asked, imitating, as well as I could, the Yankee twang.

"Yes, now that you mention it there was a sound of that sort about it," was the instantaneous reply.

"And what became of them after that?"

"First of all, they stood near the gateway leading into the club for a minute or two, and then they crossed the road and stood right opposite."

"For how long?"

"More than half an hour, I should say; so long that I said to the missus, �Why, them people must be a couple o� fools to stand out there in the rain eating the grapes they bought here, when they might just as well have had shelter!� In fact, sir, me and my missus left �em standing there when we went to bed."

"And what time was that?"

"I couldn�t say exactly, but it must have been past midnight a little bit, for the public-houses was shut up."

"And that was positively the last you saw of them?"

"Yes. Standing opposite the yard where the murdered woman was found."

"Well, Mr. Packer, I suppose the police came at once to ask you and your wife what you knew about the affair, so soon as ever the body was discovered."

"The police? No. They haven�t asked me a word about it yet! A young man in plain clothes came in here on Monday and asked if he might look at the yard at the back of our house, so as to see if anybody had climbed over. My missus lent him some steps. But he didn�t put any questions to us about the man and woman."

"I am afraid you don�t quite understand my question, Mr. Packer. Do you actually mean to say that no detective or policeman came to inquire whether you had sold grapes to any one that night? Now, please be very careful in your answer, for this may prove a serious business for the London police."

"I�ve only got one answer," said the man, "because it�s the truth. Except a gentleman, who is a private detective, no detective or policeman has ever asked me a single question, nor come near my shop to find out if I knew anything about the grapes the murdered woman had been eating before her throat was cut!"

CHAPTER XXI.

THE INQUEST ON MRS. STRIDE.

IT came out at the inquest that the woman Stride was a Swede.

Mr. Sven Ollson, 32, Prince�s-square, St. George�s-in-the-East, said:�

I am clerk of the Swedish Church in Prince�s-square. I saw the body of the deceased last Tuesday, and I recognise her as a person I have known for seventeen years. She was a Swede, and her name was Elizabeth Stride, the wife of John Thomas Stride, a carpenter. Her maiden name was Gustafsdotter, and she was born at Dorslander, near Gottenburg, on the 27th November, 1843.

At the church we keep a register of all Swedes coming to this country who desire to be registered, and deceased was registered as an unmarried woman on the 10th July, 1866. She was not married at my church.

In the registry I find a memorandum, undated, written by the Rev. Mr. Palmayer, in Swedish stating that the deceased had been married to an Englishman, John Thomas Stride. I don�t know when this entry was made, but it must have been many years ago.

I know the hymn-book produced. It is an old one published in 1821. There is no name in it, but I gave it to the deceased last winter. I believe the deceased was married to Stride in 1869. She told me that he was drowned in the wreck of the Princess Alice. At the time of his death she was very poor, and I gave her assistance.

The Coroner: Do you know that there was a subscription made for the sufferers by the Princess Alice disaster? No.

The Coroner: I can tell you there was, and I can also tell you that there was no person of the name of Stride made application for relief. Don�t you think if her story had been true she would have applied? I cannot say.

Have you ever seen her husband? No; we gave her a little assistance before Stride died. Two years ago she gave me her address as Devonshire-street, Commercial-road, and said she was doing a little work in sewing. She spoke English fairly well. I believe she came to England a little before she was registered in 1866.

William Marshall, 64, Berner-street, deposed: I am a labourer in an Indigo warehouse. I have seen the body of the deceased at the mortuary. I saw deceased on Saturday evening in Berner-street, about three doors off from where I am living. She was on the pavement opposite about No. 58. She was between Boyd-street and Fairclough-street. It was then about a quarter to twelve o�clock at night. She was standing on the pavement talking with a man.

How did you know this was the same woman? I recognised the deceased was the same woman by her face and her dress. She was not wearing a flower in her breast. She and the man were talking quietly. There was no lamp near. The nearest lamp was some yards off. I did not see the face of the man distinctly.

Did you notice how he was dressed? Yes, he had a black small coat and dark trousers.

How old was he, do you think�young, or old, or middle-aged? He seemed to me to be a middle-aged

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man. He was not wearing a hat; he was wearing a round cap with a small peak to it, somewhat like what a sailor would wear.

What height was he? He was about 5ft 6in.

Was he thin or stout? Rather stoutish.

Did he look well dressed? Yes, sir, he looked decently dressed.

What class of man did he look? He looked as if he worked at some respectable business.

Everybody works at a respectable business. (Laughter.) He did not look like a dock labourer nor a sailor. He had more the appearance of a clerk than anything I can suggest. I do not think he had any whiskers. He was not wearing gloves. He had no stick or umbrella in his hand. He had a cutaway coat.

What attracted your attention to them? I was first attracted by their standing there for some time, and he was kissing and cuddling her.

Did you overhear anything they said? I heard the man say to the deceased, "You would say anything but your prayers."

Different people talk in a different tone, and in a different way. Did his voice give you the idea of a clerk? Yes, he was mild speaking. From the way he spoke I thought he was an educated man. I did not hear them say anything more. They went away after that. I did not hear the woman say anything, but after the man made the observation she laughed. When they went away they went towards Helen-street. They walked in the middle of the road. They would not pass No. 40 (the International Club) on their way. The woman was dressed in a black jacket and a black skirt. Neither of them appeared to me to be the worse for drink. I went indoors about midnight. I did not hear anything till I heard murder being called in the street just after one o�clock on the Sunday morning.

By a Juror: I was standing at my door from half-past eleven till twelve. During that time it did not rain.

By Detective-inspector Reid: They were standing between my house and the club. They were standing there about ten minutes. They passed me in the road.

A Juror: Did you see the man�s face as he passed you?

Witness: No; the woman was next me, and the man had his arms round her neck. His face was turned towards me, but I did not take any notice of it, and I did not expect to come here. There is a gas-lamp at No. 70, Berner-street.

Detective-inspector Reid: Were they hurrying along? No, sir.

Was in raining at the time? No, sir, not that I saw.

James Brown, 35, Fairclough-street, deposed to seeing the body in the mortuary, and recognising it as the woman he saw on Sunday morning at about a quarter to one.

The witness was going from his own house to procure some supper at a chandler�s shop at the corner of Berner-street and Fairclough-street.

He was in the shop three or four minutes, and while returning saw a man and woman standing by the Board School in Fairclough-street.

The witness passed them in the road, just by the kerb, and heard the woman say, "No, not to-night; some other night." The witness then turned round and looked at them.

He was almost certain that the deceased was the woman he saw. The man was leaning with his hand on the wall. So far as the witness could see the man had on a long dark coat, which reached nearly to his heels.

He saw nothing light in colour about either of them. The witness did not stop when he heard them talking, but passed on.

He had nearly finished his supper when he heard screams of "Murder!" and "Police!" That was about a quarter of an hour after he reached home.

The man looked about the same height as the witness, five feet seven inches, and was not stout. Neither of them appeared to be the worse for drink.

Police-constable William Smith, 452 H, stated that on the Saturday night he went on duty at ten o�clock, which extended along the Commercial-road, down Christian and Fairclough-streets, into Grove-street as far as Backchurch-lane, thence into Commercial-road again.

That walk included all the interior streets, including Berner-street, the whole beat occupying about thirty minutes. He was in Berner-street about five-and-twenty minutes to one, and subsequently arrived at No. 40 in his ordinary round about one o�clock, and then saw the crowd of people in the yard and two policemen.

He heard no cries of "Police!" and was not called to the spot. When the witness came through Berner-street at half-past twelve he saw a man and the deceased talking together. She was standing on the pavement, a few yards up the street, on the opposite side to where she was found.

The man who was talking to her had a parcel, covered with a newspaper, in his hand. He was about five feet seven inches in height, and wore a hard dark felt deerstalker hat, with dark clothes. He had on a kind of "cutaway" coat. The witness overheard no conversation.

Both appeared to be sober. He did not see much of the man�s face, but he had no whiskers. He looked about twenty-eight years of age. The man was of respectable appearance.

It was stated that on Saturday night, at five minutes to eleven o�clock, a man, corresponding with the description given by Packer of the individual who purchased the grapes in Berner-street, called at the shop, which is on the left of a covered yard, usually occupied by barrows which are let out on hire.

He was in a hurry, and he asked for a pennyworth of milk, with which he was served, and he drank it down at a gulp.

Asking permission to go into the yard or shed, he went there, but the dairyman caught a glimpse of something white, and, having suspicions, he rejoined the man in the shed, and was surprised to observe that he had covered up his trousers with a pair of white overalls, such as engineers wear.

The man had a staring look, and appeared greatly agitated. He made a movement forward, and his hard felt hat struck the dairyman, who is, therefore, sure of the kind that he was wearing.

In a hurried manner the stranger took out of a black, shiny bag, which was on the ground, a white jacket, and rapidly put it on, completely hiding his cutaway black coat, remarking meanwhile, "It�s a dreadful murder, isn�t it?" although the subject had not been previously mentioned.

Without making a pause, the suspicions person caught up his bag, which was still open, and rushed

47

into the street towards Shadwell, saying, "I think I�ve got a clue!"

The matter was reported to the police, and, although strict watch has been maintained for the reappearance of the man, he has not been seen in the street since.

Further details concerning the Mitre-square murder have confirmed the impressions first entertained.

The officer on duty in Mitre-square on Sunday morning was Constable Watkins, 145 City Police. At half-past one o�clock Watkins, having made the circuit of the square, paraded his beat, and returned at a quarter to two. On entering the square by Mitre-street he observed, by the flickering light of the street lamp, something lying in the south-west corner, close to a boarding, seven or eight feet high, running at the back of Messrs. Taylor and Co.�s, picture frame makers, 8 and 9, Mitre-street.

Getting closer to the object, he saw it was a woman, and at once shouted to the watchman to come over. The man immediately came, and, seeing how matters stood, without hesitation made his way to the main thoroughfare, freely blowing a constable�s whistle on the route.

In a few minutes a large number of police and others were on the spot, in addition to a constable named Pearce, not on duty, but caretaker at a building about twenty-five yards from the scene of the crime.

In the meantime, Dr. Sequeira, of 34, Jewry-street, Aldgate, and Dr. Gordon Brown, divisional surgeon, of North-buildings, Eldon-street, Finsbury-circus, were summoned, and made an examination of the body.

The sight was a most shocking one. The woman�s throat had been cut from the left side, the knife severing the main artery and other parts of the neck. Blood had flowed freely, both from the neck and body, on to the pavement.

Apparently, the weapon had been thrust into the upper park of the abdomen, and cut completely down, ripping open the body.

The intestines had been torn from the body, and some of them lodged in the wound on the right side of the neck. The woman was lying on her back, with her head to the south-west corner, and her feet towards the carriage-way, her clothes being thrown up on to her chest.

Both hands were outstretched by her side. Near where she was lying two or three buttons were picked up, and a small tin box containing two pawn-tickets.

It was stated that the woman murdered in Mitre-square was Catharine Eddowes, otherwise Conway or Kelly�her sister, Eliza Gold; Kelly, with whom she lived; and Frederick Wilkinson, the deputy of the lodging-house at which she had lived for nearly ten years, having seen and identified the body at the mortuary in Golden-lane.

The deceased was born at Wolverhampton over forty years ago, but soon afterwards her parents brought her to London, where she attended the Dowgate Charity School.

When she was about twenty years of age she became acquainted with a soldier named Thomas Conway�whose initials, "T. C." are tattooed on her arm�and went to live with him. Ten years ago Conway deserted the woman. Eddowes, or Mrs. Conway, as she was generally called, then went to live at a common lodging-house at 55, Flower and Dean-street, and there, seven years ago, she made the acquaintance of John Kelly, with whom she has since cohabited.

Eddowes leaves several children, and those the police are now endeavouring to find. One of them, a daughter, is married to a gunmaker named Phillips, and lives, it is believed, in Bermondsey, and a son is thought to reside in the same district.

The inquest on the body of Catherine Eddowes, alias Conway, alias Kelly, found murdered in Mitre-square, Aldgate, was opened before Mr. S. F. Langham, the City Coroner, at the City mortuary, Golden-lane.

Eliza Gold, residing at 5, Thrawl-street, Spitalfields, a widow, identified the deceased as her sister. Her name was Catharine Eddowes. She was a single woman, about forty-three years of age, and had been living for some years with John Kelly. She last saw the deceased alive four or five weeks ago. The deceased used to get her living by hawking, and was of sober habits. Before she lived with Kelly she had lived with a man named Conway, and had two children by him. Conway had been in the army, and was a pensioner. He used to go out hawking things.

The Coroner: Did they part on good or bad terms? The witness could not say. She could not say whether the deceased ever saw Conway since she parted with him. She had no doubt that the deceased was her sister. She had not seen Conway for seven or eight years. When she last saw the deceased and Kelly together they were living on happy terms in Flower and Dean-street.

John Kelly, a labourer, said that he earned a living by being about the markets. He identified the deceased. He knew her as Catherine Conway, and had lived with her seven years. The deceased used to hawk things about the street. She lived with him at Cooney�s lodging-house, 55, Flower and Dean-street. He was in her company at two o�clock on Saturday afternoon in Houndsditch.

They parted on very good terms, and she told him that she was going over to Bermondsey to see if she could find her daughter Annie, the daughter she had had by the man Conway. She promised him that she would return by four o�clock. She did not return. He did not know of anyone with whom she was at variance, or who was likely to injure her. He had never seen Conway, nor did he know whether the deceased saw him after they parted, or if Conway was living.

They came up to town on Thursday night, and slept at the Shoe-lane casual ward. They were together all Friday until the afternoon, when he earned sixpence. He wanted her to remain with him, but she insisted on his going to the lodging-house while she went to Mile End.

He was aware that some tea and coffee were found on her. She got them with part of the half-crown which he obtained through pawning a pair of his boots. They spent the rest of the money for drink and food. She was quite sober when she left him.

She had never brought money to him in the morning which she had earned at night.

Frederick William Wilkinson, the deputy of the lodging-house at which the deceased woman and Kelly had lived for the last seven or eight years, said:�They always seemed on very good terms; quarelled occasionally, but their quarrels were not of a serious character. The woman was not in the habit of walking the streets at night.

48

CHAPTER XXII.

CONCLUSION.

AND this, up to the present moment, is all we know about the foulest deed of modern times.

But it is well to add that should the murderer again attempt to give effect to his infamous designs in the Whitechapel district he will require, in the interests of his own personal security, not only to avoid the uniformed and plain-clothed members of the Metropolitan Police Force, but to reckon with a small enthusiastic body of amateur detectives.

Convinced that the regular force affords inadequate protection to life and property in this densely-populated neighbourhood, a number of local tradesmen decided a few weeks ago to appoint Vigilance Committees of a novel and interesting character.

The duties of the newly-formed band were twofold. In the first place, they were to publish far and wide their disagreement with the Home Secretary by offering a substantial reward to "anyone�citizen or otherwise," who should give such information as would bring the murderer or murderers to justice; and, in the second place, they were themselves to patrol the most secluded parts of the district in the dead of night with a view to running the criminal to earth.

So worthy a motive they felt confident would at once command the sympathy and support of "the tradesmen, ratepayers, and inhabitants generally."

Unfortunately, however, for the realisation of their hopes, experience has proved that those to whom they appealed were more ready to commend than to co-operate. Excluding one or two subscriptions of considerable amounts, they have been compelled to admit that funds have not "rolled" in.

Nor has the suggestion to hold a large public meeting in furtherance of the objects of the vigilante been responded to with alacrity.

Yet, undaunted by these disappointments, the committee have worked persistently on.

Night after night, at nine o�clock, meetings have been held in the upper room of a public-house in the Mile End-road, placed at the disposal of the committee by the landlord, who occupies the post of treasurer.

The leaders of the movement are drawn principally from the trading class, and include a builder, a cigar-manufacturer, a tailor, a picture-frame maker, a licensed victualler, and "an actor."

Inexperienced in practical police duty, the committee decided to call in professional assistance rather than rely solely upon their own resources.

For this purpose they engaged the services of two private detectives�men who, though unattached to either the Metropolitan or City police forces, hold themselves out as experts in the unravelling of mysteries. At the disposal of these executive officers are placed about a dozen stalwart men possessing an intimate acquaintance with the highways and byeways of Whitechapel.

We are informed that only those have been selected who are "physically and morally" equal to the task they might be called upon to perform.

As they were previously numbered among the unemployed, it became unnecessary to fix a high scale of remuneration.

Shortly before twelve o�clock these assassin-hunters are despatched upon their mission. Their footfall is silenced by the use of goloshes, and their own safety is assured by the carrying of whistles and stout sticks.

The area over which this additional protection is afforded is divided into beats, each man being assigned his respective round.

Half an hour after midnight the committee-rooms close by Act of Parliament, and thence emerge those members of the committee who happen to be on duty of the night.

Like sergeants of police, they make their tours of inspection, and, while seeing that their men are faithfully performing their onerous duties, themselves visit the most sequestered and ill-lighted spots.

The hour at which they "come off" has been variously describes as "at day-break," "when the cock crows," and "when the houses open."

Without questioning the synonymity of the phrases, it appears that usually the volunteer policemen leave their beats between four and five o�clock in the morning. It should be added that supervision in this way by the members of the committee is not forthcoming every night.

The fact that most of them are engaged from early in the morning until late at night in the transaction of their own businesses obviously renders such constant effort physically impossible.

If it were practicable there are several who would undoubtedly devote night after night with the utmost willingness to ferreting out the being who has caused terror to prevail in the hearts of thousands of residents in the back streets of the district.

By the regular police, it is satisfactory to add, they have not been thwarted in their endeavour to bring the criminal to justice.

Suspicions, surmises, and possible clues are notified to the nearest police-stations from time to time, and one member of the committee at least honestly believes that he is on the right track.

Whether his private opinion is justified by fact, time alone can reveal. Meanwhile, he and his colleagues are determined to leave no stone unturned and firmly continue to maintain that the dark places of Whitechapel demand a more thorough watchfulness on the part of the police than is at present devoted to them.

They further report that the number of women the of the class to which the victims have belonged has appreciably diminished in the district within the past month.

And this is all we know, up to the moment of writing, of the most awful and disgusting crime of modern times. A few hours before we pen our last few lines Whitechapel was less excited.

Saturday had passed without a crime.

This was in a great measure due to the energy of the police, supplemented by the devotion of the Vigilance Committee, who patrolled the neighbourhood in a way unexampled.

The watchers then returned to their stations.

Every slum was shadowed, and, strange to say, the unfortunates walked in couples.

The last freak of the lunatic, a scoundrel who signs himself "Jack the Ripper," is to threaten to begin shortly on Bryant and May�s girls, who have been too outspoken as to what they would do if they caught him.

It is to be heartily hoped that before this human ghoul can find another victim he will be caught, and receive the punishment he so richly deserves.

Society must be protected against such miserable wretches, even when the poorest and most unfortunate members of its great conglomeration are their victims.

THE END.