Letter from R Smith - 28 September 1888

[Chris Scott]

I hadn't seen the odd letter below before.
The occasional eccentric spelling and the random capitalisations are as in the original article
Chris


Reynolds Newspaper
30 September 1888

The following letter reached a contemporary on Friday night. We cannot say that we entertain very high hopes that it will lead to the apprehension of the murderer:-
"September 28th, 1888.
Gentlemen,
I wish to give myself up as the White Chapel murderer. I am now in a desperate State of Mind and can console my feelings no longer. I was in a Hospital Corps, in India, for ten years. The Climate affected My brain so, that at times I was Completely Mad and unconscious At My Doings. I was paid for My Crimes and Eagerly to Grasp the Gold I Slaughtered the Innocent defenceless creatures. I am now looking for nothing but death & hope God will forgive me for my desperate Crimes.
I Come to Birmingham with the intention of throwing the Police off my Scent. I can rest neither Day nor Night without some Gastley figure appears before my eyes. I startle in my dreams and fancy I am in the prison cell fettered down with iron chains. I can restrain my conscience no longer, So I shall leave myself to the penelety of my Crime.
It shall be at the Police Station in Moorstreet On Saturday at Mid Day where I can make a full confession of my Crime.
Unfortunely,
R. SMITH."
We regret to say that the conscience stricken Mr Smith did not turn up at the station yesterday. The name of Smith will not afford much of clue to his identity.

[Natalie Severn]

Thanks for this Chris.I understand there were a large number of oddballs confessing to being Jack the Ripper in 1888.In fact they formed a queue each day outside Leman Police Station at the height of the Ripper scare.It apparently created a lot of extra paper work for the police to say nothing of them being obliged to listen to dozens of false confessions each day.But its definitely interesting to hear what one of these confessions amounted to!
Cheers
Norma

[timsta]

I hadn't seen the odd letter below before.
The occasional eccentric spelling and the random capitalisations are as in the original article
Chris


Reynolds Newspaper
30 September 1888

The following letter reached a contemporary on Friday night. We cannot say that we entertain very high hopes that it will lead to the apprehension of the murderer:-
"September 28th, 1888.
Gentlemen,
I wish to give myself up as the White Chapel murderer. I am now in a desperate State of Mind and can console my feelings no longer. I was in a Hospital Corps, in India, for ten years. The Climate affected My brain so, that at times I was Completely Mad and unconscious At My Doings. I was paid for My Crimes and Eagerly to Grasp the Gold I Slaughtered the Innocent defenceless creatures. I am now looking for nothing but death & hope God will forgive me for my desperate Crimes.
I Come to Birmingham with the intention of throwing the Police off my Scent. I can rest neither Day nor Night without some Gastley figure appears before my eyes. I startle in my dreams and fancy I am in the prison cell fettered down with iron chains. I can restrain my conscience no longer, So I shall leave myself to the penelety of my Crime.
It shall be at the Police Station in Moorstreet On Saturday at Mid Day where I can make a full confession of my Crime.
Unfortunely,
R. SMITH."
We regret to say that the conscience stricken Mr Smith did not turn up at the station yesterday. The name of Smith will not afford much of clue to his identity.

Surely not Robert Smith, of 'Diary' fame?

Timsta

[Robert]

It might explain the sunburnt man, in any event.

[perrymason]

I was sort of intrigued by the literacy issues as relates to other potentially real Ripper missives....like From Hell.

Can anyone who is familiar with discerning dialects see an Irish style phrasing in this? Just curious.

Cheers all.

[lynn cates]

dialect

Hello Mike. I am not really experienced in accents but the phrase:

"without some Gastley figure appears before my eyes"

strikes me as American. Notice that correct would be "unless," not "without." That grammatical mistake is, I think, distinctly American.

Another suggestion of this is in the misspelling of several words and unauthorized abundant use of capitals--Yankee propensities all.

The best.
LC

[perrymason]

Hello Mike. I am not really experienced in accents but the phrase:

"without some Gastley figure appears before my eyes"

strikes me as American. Notice that correct would be "unless," not "without." That grammatical mistake is, I think, distinctly American.

Another suggestion of this is in the misspelling of several words and unauthorized abundant use of capitals--Yankee propensities all.

The best.
LC

Interesting....thanks Lynn.

Cheers mate

[The Good Michael]

"without some Gastley figure appears before my eyes"

strikes me as American. Notice that correct would be "unless," not "without." That grammatical mistake is, I think, distinctly American.

Another suggestion of this is in the misspelling of several words and unauthorized abundant use of capitals--Yankee propensities all.

"Without" means "unless. How is that American? It is not an error in grammar by any means, and might have been used by many people wishing to wax poetical. Americans were not poorer English users. If anything, English spellings were somewhat simplified to reflect pronunciation in the United States, or clarified, as it were.

Cheers,

Mike