Time To Peruse The Druitt Letter?

[Johnr]

Greetings All,
I think it was Chris who kindly disinterred full details of the holdings of Druitt
documents and letters at the West Sussex Records Office (Chichester?).
I would like the letter written by Montague Druitt to his Uncle Robert Druitt,
from Oxford to be placed on these boards, so its contents may be examined and analysed. Perhaps it will provide some insights into the mysterious personnage so much the centre of our attention.
How does one obtain a full copy? And how does one download it onto this thread?
JOHN RUFFELS.

[Natalie Severn]

Hi John,
I will be interested in this if it can be posted.
When I first took an interest in the case I remember looking at the lettering of the famous copy of the graffiti-copied by the PC and which he showed the coroner and insisted was a "true copy" or words to that effect. The copied letter "T"s were identical,and I wondered...............
best
Natalie

[Chris Scott]

Hi guys
It would be interesting to see the contents.
The notes on the Druitt papers at the West Sussex Records Office have this to say:
A very interesting feature of the collection is that a nephew of Dr. Robert Druitt - one Montague John Druitt, is the chief 'Jack the Ripper' suspect today. (Jack the Ripper, by Daniel Farson.) 'Jack the Ripper' was the man (or woman - 'Jill the Ripper'), who in 1888 murdered at least six prostitutes in the East End of London. There is a letter written by Montague to his uncle Robert amongst these papers. This reveals nothing sensational, but is an example of his handwriting, which up to now (his signature excepted) has not been found.

Chris

[aspallek]

The Letter from Druitt to his uncle is reproduced in

Jack the Ripper: Letters From Hell
Stewart Evans & Keith Skinner
Sutton Publishing, 2001

I also have a larger scan given to me by Stewart Evans. I don't want to post it without his permission (legal copyrights aside, this is just a courtesy to him).

I'll e-mail Stewart and see what he says.

It is my hope to get to Chichester to see the letters from Jabez to the Christchurch Druitt family, dated 1888 and 1889. The first of these seems to be the announcement of the death of Jabez's wife, Sophia. He death was registered in the third quarter of 1888.


BTW -- I also have a picture of Eliot Place at about the turn of the century that shows no. 9, Valentine's school. It's in Neil Rhind's book on Blackheath history. Again, as a courtesy, I won't post it without his OK and he has asked me not to.

[aspallek]

Stewart has given his blessing, so first chance I get I'll post the scan here.

[Mitch Rowe]

Hi John,
I will be interested in this if it can be posted.
When I first took an interest in the case I remember looking at the lettering of the famous copy of the graffiti-copied by the PC and which he showed the coroner and insisted was a "true copy" or words to that effect. The copied letter "T"s were identical,and I wondered...............
best
Natalie

Thats what happened to me with George R Sims handwriting and the Dear Boss letter. Tha handwriting didnt look similar at all but the Ts looked exactly alike???? We lost alot when the Forums were lost. S.P. Evans posted alot of good stuff. I wont forget that. He has proved to me at least that he is a generous Man who deserves to be taken very seriously when it comes to the Whitechapel Murders.

[Mitch Rowe]

Stewart has given his blessing, so first chance I get I'll post the scan here.

WOW! SP Evans comes to the rescue again! Thanks Stewart! Those kinds of actions mean alot to me. His are the first books Ill be buying. I probably wont buy much more beyond that.

[Chris Scott]

Here is the text of the letter:

Dear Uncle Robert
In the two short bits of Vergil Kitty translated for me vii (105-118) and xii (342-356) there was no grammatical mistake of any sort except perhaps a very doubtful use of the dative - 'place near the food' - 'subjicient spulis.'
A dictionary was used, which I did not intend, so that the pieces which would otherwise have fairly tested a knowledge of words did not do so.
The construing in the second piece was plain sailibng, but the really hard passages vii:109-11 and 117-8, which would have been a great thing to have done rightly, Kitty greatly misunderstood.
Some curious English expressions were made use of, froma desire to be too literal I expect - such as 'to apply their bites' - 'ventue morsus': 'amazed with his wits(?) held on' - 'stupefactus numine pressit,' and speaking of Turnus, 'mores suntios(?)' - 'bad manners.' The definite article was used for the indefinite article; but of course Vergil is bery hard to make good English of.
It is evident that Kitty has a sound knowledge of grammar rules, but does not know that the idioms of the two languages are so different that change of form in translating Latin to English as as English to Latin is indispensable.
I was sorry to hear that you were not so well again and hope you will soon be better.
I am afraid Emily and Kitty had a very dull time of it at Wimborne; an attempt of ours to make it less so was met by the assurance of their hostess that she should take care of her own guests herself!
I hope you will be able at some time to see me for a day or two in Oxford; I hope very soon to earn something independently.
With love to Aunt, Robert and Ella
V. affect. nephew
M. J. Druitt.


Envelope

Dr. Druitt
8 Strathmore Gardens
Kensington Heath
London

Postmark:
Wimborne 16 Sp 76 (16 September 1876)

[Chris Scott]

I assumed that the Virgil that MJD was quoting was from the Aenied and this proves to be the case - one quote he gives "stupefactus numine pressit" occrs at the end of the first passage he mentions (Book 7, Lines 105-118) as follows:

Ausonias tulerat, cum Laomedontia pubes 105
gramineo ripae religauit ab aggere classem.

Aeneas primique duces et pulcher Iulus
corpora sub ramis deponunt arboris altae,
instituuntque dapes et adorea liba per herbam
subiciunt epulis (sic Iuppiter ipse monebat) 110
et Cereale solum pomis agrestibus augent.
consumptis hic forte aliis, ut uertere morsus
exiguam in Cererem penuria adegit edendi,
et uiolare manu malisque audacibus orbem
fatalis crusti patulis nec parcere quadris: 115
'heus, etiam mensas consumimus?' inquit Iulus,
nec plura, adludens. ea uox audita laborum
prima tulit finem, primamque loquentis ab ore
eripuit pater ac stupefactus numine pressit.

The second passage, Book 12 lines 342-356, runs as follows:

hunc congressus et hunc, illum eminus; eminus ambo
Imbrasidas, Glaucum atque Laden, quos Imbrasus ipse
nutrierat Lycia paribusque ornauerat armis
uel conferre manum uel equo praeuertere uentos. 345

Parte alia media Eumedes in proelia fertur,
antiqui proles bello praeclara Dolonis,
nomine auum referens, animo manibusque parentem,
qui quondam, castra ut Danaum speculator adiret,
ausus Pelidae pretium sibi poscere currus; 350
illum Tydides alio pro talibus ausis
adfecit pretio nec equis aspirat Achilli.
hunc procul ut campo Turnus prospexit aperto,
ante leui iaculo longum per inane secutus
sistit equos biiugis et curru desilit atque 355
semianimi lapsoque superuenit, et pede collo

[Chris Scott]

As Stewart is OK with it and I had a bit of time this evening here is the letter -
The envelope

[Chris Scott]

Page 1

[Chris Scott]

Page 2

[Chris Scott]

And Page 3

[Natalie Severn]

Many Thanks Chris-and to Stewart for agreeing for it to be posted.We now need some writing to compare it with.Might it be possible to post the copied handwriting of the chalked Goulston Street graffiti?
BTW thanks for that splendid list of Spitalfields householders!
Natalie

[Robert]

I see that Monty wasn't averse to ending sentences with prepositions - something up with which Winston Churchill would not put.