THE HUMAN TRAGEDY

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 240, 3 October 1908, Page 3

THE HUMAN TRAGEDY

I'OKT, PLAYWRIGHT, AND ASSASSIN. By tieorge R. Sims. A fe'wi months ago a friend of mine in Ur.ighiUiii told me the story of what lie considered to be his providential escape from having his name passed on to posterity as the victim of a sensational crime. On the aliternoon of June 27th, 1881, he arrived at London Bridge, and took his seat on ail' empty compartment iu a train thafo was about to start for Brighton. | Presently a slim young man. ox peculiar appearance, with a receding chin, entered the compartment. My friend Was expecting an acquaintance who had promised to travel to Brighton with liini. As the acquaintance did not arrive, my friend got out of tin' train and walked away, making up hi.; mind to travel ilowni later in the d.i v. When lie arrived ait. Brighton lli.it evening, the lirst thing he heard was that a terrible all'air httd taken pi.; e on the line. the 'body of an elderly gentleman, a

Mired merchant, named (told, had been lound lying in the. I'.alcomiie Tunnel. A medical examination showed that he had been shot at close quarters befo.e being flung out of the train. lint before the body had been discovered, a slim young man, with receding chin, had been found in oirp of the compartments of the train, that Slopped at Preston Park for the collection of tickets.

Till'. STttttiULß IX TIME TRAIN. Thai, young man was in a state of great excitement, and his clothes showed that lie had been engaged in a desperate struggle. The compartment. also showtd signs of the struggle. The ; young man was detained and searched. I A number of s ham sovereigns and some pawn tickets were found upon him, and hanging out of one oi his boots was a gold chain. When the chain was drawn out, it was discovered that there was a gold watch at It-lve end of it. The slim young man at once proceeded to explain matters. He had been quietly reading in a 'comer of the compartment, the other occupants being a man and a woman. 'Suddenly .lie heard a pistol-shot, felt a violent blow on the head, became insensible, and, when he recovered his senses, ifound that he was alone. the police vlcre not quilic satisfied with his explanation, so they took the number of the gold watch' the slim young man was carrying in his Jjoot, and then, as he expressed a desire to get hack to his home, at Wellington, isear Croydon, a 'kindly detective offered to accompany hiaiiu

MAXV A 'SLIP. Arrived at Wellington, the slim young man took the detective to a young ladies' boarding-school, kept, by some relatives, and invited him to sit down in the dra'wing-rooin while Jie — the slim young man—who gave his name as Arthur Lefroy— wlent upstairs and changed 'his clothes. Ail'hur Lefroy went upstairs and changed his clothes, but he did not ivturu to the drawing-room. The detective at last .became Jidgeity, and, thinking he had I'ciuaiucd in the draw-ing-room by himself quite long enough, summoned some members of the household, ami inquired how long Jlr. Lefroy was likelv to be.

He was informed that Mr. Lefry ha 1 changed his damaged garments,' and "gone away." The detective hurried out, but Arthur Lefroy had disappeared. Before 'lie got back to Brighton, (the detective learnt of tlue discovery of Mr. Cold's body 01? the line, and he had the mortification of knowing that he had allowed the murderer ito slip through his hands. Percy Lefroy Mapleton, to give him his real name, was a young man of two-and-twenty, who had a certain amount of talent, an immense amount of vanity, and great ambitions. He had ■written articles in some of the newspapers; he was the author of a large number of short stories, und a complete novel—which 'lrad not been published: lie had written two plays, which had not. been accepted; and he was the author of the pantomime, which had been produced at the Theatre lioynl. Croydon, a( Christmas, 1880. As he was only twenty-one in the year 1880. his record of work done was by no mean-, a bad one.

All these .fuels tamo out during tlit public I'Ni-it rinciii ,;ihnt followed tho o\tiaonlinary liluu<icr of Iho Brighton police in 11.it keeping tlx- blood-stained young man. with Hie gold watch in 'lis hoof, iii ,af,. custody when onoe they had Inni in their care. 'Jliere was plenty of opportunity for public discussions, because it wiis on the evening l of .Tune "i/lli Hint Arthur Tjefror (lisappeared from Wellington; anil, although there was a rcwn.nl of ,t'2(in oll'trod for his apprehension, it was not uii'iitl t'he afternoon of Julv Bth that lie was found in a house in Smith Street, Stepney, where, in the name of Clar!:e, lio had taken a room', describing himself as an engraver. Hut the landlady had noticed that lie never went out, and that lie kept the blinds of liis room down in the daytime. (iraduallv her suspicions were aroused, and she eoinmunk'ated with ulie police, with the result that two olli.-ers from' Scotland Yard called at Sinilh street, Stepney, ami arrested Mr. Clarke as Arthur Lefro}-, Hie slim young man. wanted for the murder of .Mr. Gob! on tlu: Brighton railway. Tllli CAUSE OF THE COIUUDOR SYSTEM. 'Die relief il« the public mind was intense when the news of the capture ol lie railway assassian was announced. There 'had 'been a frenzied hue-and-cry tor the guilty man, 'who had so cunningly outwitted .the authorities; the papers wore tilled with alarming instances ot the perils ul U'iA\ rlioV;; CU'jpud lip witli strangers in compartment, especially in express train-; and the agitation had commenced which ended long afterwards in tlie establishment of the corridor sysU-iu on most of the leading lines. .1 took considerable interest in the case of Arthur Lei'roy, for three iv - soils. Tile lirst was that the story he pull, forward to account for his condition in the railway 'carriage, and his subsequent llight. and concealment under a. false name, was a remarkably well constructed one. 'Secondly, because he had written to me, andito my friend, the editor of the Era, slior 1 , Iv alter his arrival ill ithis country from Australia. And, thirdly, because, from his prison-cell, in- wrote sonic remarkable love-letters to a young and popular actress, wiiMi whom it was my privilege to be personally acquainted. They were pas-ionale love-letters, couched ill the language oi poetic romance. To be addressed in this fashion, by the young assassin caused the lady liot only annoyance, but considerable pain. But to tlie student of humanity, tile love-lcitters of a young poet and dramatist lying under a charge of murder were intensely interesting. Arthur Lofroy. who was lying in a murderer's grave before he was three-anil-twenty, was one of the most re- | markablo criminals of-modern limes.

ri» tho l>]'Hl!l;irily accepted Sl'll-l' of tin' word. lu' was -anebut rarely has a criminal lyiiiji under a cfipitiilbehaved so strangely. Ilu -inry. 11 poii his arrest in 'Smith struct. Stepney. was that lie liiul travlli'il In with tin. intention. .if seeing' tlii' luaiinncv <«l" :tlii- theatre there. ili- hoped tu sell liim a plav.and liy this means Id i'rlii'vr tin; finitik-ia 1 stress uiiilcr Which lie »•#« Pilfering.

moKss on snnoK lip had ii' lit l failed ;o sell !ii> play. <"t t <> p'l an :i<!vaiici' upon «i. U >ni»-'ule. \A'ivU tht- idea in hi* lifii(l. he had laken -his revolver out of pawn. and earned ir with him U lite railway oa # Opposite him in (hp eotnpa rf nient was an ohh-rly an. 'who. shorlly afier Hie train MarU-d. put a handkerchief over his head. and--it was a hoi •Inii'!' nfU'ni'Miii—apparently went t.) • sleep. Lo'iVoy. helievini!' hi> companion io ho , a,-deep. in..k nnl his revolver anil e\-' amined it. The ei'lerlv ijvonJlonian, who was evi- ' UUlpl' ,M|) AMIS \)>|UAU! A[)U,)p ■ Oie lianilkei'fh'ff, and, thinking his fel- * low-trnveller was goim.' l» murder him. . up nnd seized him 1»y i!io throat, t Lefrov .strngglod desperately to froe

'himself. In the struggle, the revolver] went offj and wounded Mr. Hold, wno staggered iback against the door. The door, which wa« not properly shut, Hew opien, and tlie wounded man fell out of the carriage, and, in his fall. fractured his skull. Jt was', as a matter «f fact, the fractured skull that was the cause of Mr. (iold's death. Mroy accounted for the possession of the watch by saying that lie -must hare dragged it out in .the lierce struggle, and had slipped.down into his 'hoot.

A JIASTBR 01' MOTION. This was a little dillicult to believe; bul., after all, when he tried to alignt at Preston Park, the gold chain wis hanging out ol his boot, and was so conspicuous, that it at once attracted the attention oE the ollieials. "Had I wished to conceal the watch,'' said iLefroy, "should 1 have put it. in my boot, anil left the chain hanging outV No; I should havie put the watih and chain ill my pocket, or into my waistcoat, making it appear that 1 was wearing my own property." So far, tJie story did* credit to the young man's gifts as a poet—he wrote some excellent verse—novelist, and <|n. matist.

Put he made two mistakes which militated against the success of U» | story when told in a court of justice. Iu the story he told when he was first called upon for explanations at Preston Park lie had placed a youn» woman ill the carriage, andjie had said that lie heard a pistol-shot, ami was .struck, and rendered nncoiisciouf. That did noi. 'lit in at all with the story of the slumbering Mr. (iold, and the laet that the only pistol found was one which Let'roy himself was proved to have had upon him when lie started for Prigton. The new version was the -better stol'v, but it deliberately contradicted his first ■ilnry. Innocent men do mot have to invent two stories, one differing totally from the other, in order to account for

circumstances of grave suspicion. It is possible that Lefroy started for Brighton with a pistol, intending to commit suicide if ''his last hope" i'ailc.l. Jt. is quite certain that lie did not take the pistol out of pawn with the idea of murdering s omcbody on the Brighton line, because it was impossible for him to calculate that, lie would be able to travel in «. compartment in which there was the only one other person. The probability is that', having the pistol in his possession, and finding himself alone in a compartment with <.n elderly gentleman, who wore a gokl watch and he had a sudden impulse to. murder and rob his fellowtraveller.

Hl® UNEXPECTED RESISTANCE. He did not anticipate the desperate resistance that Iris victim would make —a condition which made the assassin's condition to he so noticeable at Preston Park, and prevented him leaving the station and 'getting quietly away. The story Lefroy told was plausible enough to impose 011 the authorities to be permitted to travel .Hack to Croydon under icscort; Unit, told in a hurry, it did not fit in with the circumstan ,\>s that afterwards came to light-.

Between the period of his arrest and his trial at Maidstone Assizes, Arthur Lefroy passed some time in the infirmary of Lewies (.iuol. There does not seem to have hem very lunch the ■matter with him; but, as an infirmary patient, and an unconvicted man, he enjoyed a great many privileges, of wbicli he liberally availed himself. ile fared excellently, for he had delicacies of.every kind sent in, and it was rumoured at the time that the luxurious fare was provided bv a nobleman who was related to Lefroy iby marriage,

CRICKET AND CONCEPTS. That may have been Lefrov's own story to his chunk in the infirmary, for he was a ibraggart, and never v.ired of talking of his high-class connections, and his "conquests." While awaiting his trial in such comfortable eircuiin-slanecs, he amused not only himself but his companions. According to the testimony of owe of them, published after Lefroy had been sentenced, and, so far as i am a wan', never contradicted, iLeirov and his clnuus had not only concerts in the infirmary, but cricket matches, the ball being made of some soft material, which prevented it damaging the windows il driven too hard. A tall hat. belonging to one of the prisoners, was the wicket, and the bolsters were ushed for bats.

At the concert, the prisoners used their eonilb.s covered wilh paper as musical instruments', and .Lefroy. who did nob sing, would give recitations and imitations of popular actors. They hail " smoking" concerts, too. Tobacco was. of course, forbidden; but Lefroy used to roll up tea ill thin paper, and is slated to have been an adept in the art of making that kind of cigarette.

t'p to the day he left the infirmary lie was a persistent practical joker. The high hat belonging to one of his prison ehunis was his favourite abject of attack. On one occasion ho stuck it 011 a. chair, and made an Aunt SaV.y of it. On another lie poured a tin or condensed milk into it. and pretended that he was going to do the conjurer's trick of making a. plum pudding. 'During the whole of this time, he told bragging -stories of the gay life lie had led, and threw out hints of his high social position—never forgetting the liolbleman, his relative by marriage. He rarely alluded to the crime for which he was about to be tried. On the only occasion that he allowed the conversation to turn on it, lie said that lie should come through all right. But he gave a wonderfully dramatic account of the walk from Wellington to iSkepney. lfc had no money, and, during the journey, lie sat 011 a bridge for four hours, utterly weary and worn out. AX ASTONISHING LETTER. AYhen he got to London, he went to a friend ami borrowed a little money, which enabled him to take the room in Smith Street, Stepney, lie -said that, if he could have obtained a little ino.c money, he would have got clear away, and the police would tfcVer have found him.

When he left the infirmary, and wont to Maidstone' Gaol, to Ibe ready for his trial at Maidstone Assizes, lie wrote several kindly letters to his friends, wlio were still at Lewes. The last line of one of those lctt-rs is surely the most astonishing ever written by a guilty mill), about to be tried for the brutal murder he had committed for tho )>altrv motive of theft: " Dear —, —Take this friendly little warning, slightly altered for the occasion: 'ily boy, beware of vidders.'— Yours very truly, Percy L. M'apleton." It was as Percy L. Maplelon thit the young novelist and dramatist went about London when he first looked for theatrical and literary work. On one of hie cards, which I have, lie figures as "Mr. Percy L. -ilaplelon, the Opera House, Melbourne.'"' lie took the name of Arthur Lcfroy for stage purposes. I have the "hook of words'' of liis pantomime, which ran suwessiully at the Croydon Theatre. It is called "iioibiiisoin C'ruesoe; or. Harlequin Kinbad, tho iSailor" and on the title page lite name of the author is given as "Arthur Lofroy." It is well written, in rhymed linos, and is full of puns anil word twistings, and the Ivries are very creditable indeed.

A SKI/F-COXSIDEEHD (IKXirS. 'lie looked insane. Lite hail that peculiar formation of the ehin whieh is frequently found in wliat is called "the moral iniibeeile," anil most, of his eonduet after his arrest proved him to be "abnormal." But he resented Mm suggestion that he was insane. He looked upon, himself as nil exceedingly clever fellow, a genius. who lia<! never had a fair ehaiuv; nml it is iptile possible, mentally eon* •slituted as he was, that lie preferred to be condemned as a. man of clear int.Ncct than, to be sent ito Broadmoor as a person not of sound mind. llis brief career was crowded with in- | eidout. At Christinas. 181KI. aired oneI aniUwen.l v. he look his call as I lie author of a highly diverting and suc-

cessful pantomime. At Christ mas. ISSI. he was lying in his dishonored grave, a murderer. lifted twieiity-tivo.

ill' Wii-i a young man. with 110 sen-e of religion iiml no moral sense, intensely vain, and utterly nnsernpiilons. 'When the opyiortunitv lor swindling; oceurtvil, lie swindled. When tlte oppovlunity for mnnler oeeurved. lie murdered. : Tliiit «as Arthur T.efro.v. poet, piny, wrifilit. ami assassin.