Secrets of the Prison-House; Or, Gaol Studies and Sketches

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1894 Excerpt: ...been left just as it was, absolutely intact. Both pointed to the horrible character of the crime. The hands that struck the blow must have been backed up by immense, almost superhuman, strength. The murdered man's face had been so completely battered in as to be an almost unrecognizable, formless, featureless surface of pulpy flesh; blood had spurted profusely from the cruel wounds in great jets that had stained the furthest wall, or dripped slowly, leaving masses of clotted gore below the hammock which had contained the corpse. In the second struggle, that between the madman and Burcham, the second attendant, everything in the cell had been overturned. Chaos reigned everywhere: books and tins, furniture and utensils lay about in dreadful disorder, and all around the air hung thick and heavily laden with pungent, indescribable odours, which deepened the painful, blood-curdling sentiment of the scene. The principal, and only direct, witness at the inquest, which sat in a large room in the prison, was the surviving attendant, Burcham. He was a thick-set, stalwart man in the prime of life, physically most powerful, but at this moment, not strangely after the terrible experiences of the previous night, he seemed morally weak and unstrung. His nerves were quite shaken; he could hardly tell his horrible story, but answered the coroner's questions in an uncertain voice, and broken, hesitating manner. From time to time he looked with obvious terror at the accused, who, though deemed irresponsible, was legally bound to be present at the inquest. Jeapes, murderer or no murderer, was the most unconcerned person present. Except for the troubled and confused look that flitted sometimes across his poor vacant face, as though his clouded mind sought vainly to penetrate th...