Originally posted by Herlock Sholmes
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If the real James had wanted to keep a private record of his not-so-innocent activities, from his brothel frequenting to his arsenic eating, and all the hours spent in the bed of his mistress, what kind of book might he have chosen for such thoughts? A brand new notebook, starting on page one with:
"I am Sir Jim and I'm partial to quim"?
Or might the real James - or a hoaxer using a little more imagination than their accusers - have seen some advantage in tucking away anything "not quite nice" in the later pages of an old business ledger or similar, which prying eyes were less likely to come across by chance?
I've said this before, but my late father - whose parents were born in the 1870s - would use any old bit of scrap paper around the house before even thinking of shelling out for a new notebook or diary. And I'm jolly glad he lived by the old adage that if you look after the pennies, the pounds will look after themselves. When the time came, he was able to afford his own care in a private nursing home, with the help of all the little savings he had made on non-essentials throughout his life. He was never 'reduced' to making do; it was a conscious choice.
If Maybrick did ever keep a secret diary, it would have been a conscious choice what he used to keep it secret, and nothing to do with affording the best. What good would the best have done him, if it had attracted unwanted attention?
Love,
Caz
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