PRISON ROMANCE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13325, 3 November 1906, Page 2 (Supplement)

PRISON ROMANCE.

• FELL IN -LOVE IN GAOL?" "25 YEARS IN 17 PRISONS." Thirty-four years of a criminal record with a prison love affair thrown 'in—were disclosed before the Recorder at the Old Bailey recently, when a refined-looking, elderly, man named John Young was charged with forgery and false pretences. : He received seven years' penal servitude in 1872; and as soon as his term, was completed he -was .in ".trouble again, and down to 1900 served \ terms of imprisonment of varying lengths in prisons all over England. Twenty-five years of his life were passed in 17 penal establishments—a remarkable record. •'-- - - -On quitting gaol in 1900 he wrote a book entitled "Twenty-five Years in Seventeen Prisons,' and from what . the police could gather supported himself honestly from that time down to March of this,year by the proceeds of the sale of the book. He then, began a series of frauds on landladies. Young received a sentence of 12 months' hard labour with 'apparent calm, and, without waiting for the customary tap on the shoulder from the warder, went below to add another year to his already long life of imprisonment. Young's prison romance can be vouched for by the officials yet in the service, and occurred while he was undergoing a sentence of 12 months' hard labour at Pentouville. He was placed in the printer's shop, which overlooked the old Market Square, and the story as he tells it himself runs as follows: — "In arranging my plant I selected the spot nearest the windows for my cases of type, etc., and, as it was summer-time, and the windows were kept open, I had a command of the houses opposite. '.-...: " Being a lover, of birds it was my custom to brine- out part of my breakfast bread daily to feed a colony of sparrows, which made the sill of my window a kind of rendezvous. ; . . r - ; *' Whilst thus engaged I one morning caught sight of a round, fresh : faced girl of about 19 summers peering at me intently from the top window of one of the opposite houses." ." • ~'-. "I was a bashful man, and, besides this, the consciousness of my humiliating position made me feel rather shy of female inspection. But, on the other hand, I was struck by the sympathetic expression I saw, or fancied I saw, on this young woman's face, and we both stood there for nearly a-quarter of an hour looking at each other. Presently I saw an elderly lady entering the room* and the young girl withdrew ; but in shutting her window she smiled rather pleasantly and waved her hand as if by way of 'An revoir.' This was too much for my susceptible heart, and I thereupon resolved to cultivate the acquaintance thus strangely made, should opportunity offer. i "Opportunity did offer itself at the same hour next morning, when we odd pair of lovers had another mute,inspection of each other. The young woman was evidently at business all day,-, as I did not see her for the first few days', except at the same hour each morning. "On the following Saturday afternoon, however, I was surprised to find my Juliet sitting at the opposite window, and every now and then casting furtive glances . in the direction of mine. The ice had been broken. When, after a couple of hours' contemplation of the imprisoned Romeo, the young lady rose, and, with a formal salutation, closed her window, I was emboldened to throw her a kiss, which was promptly: returned. " That settled; the matter. ; For nearly two months no day passed : without some kind of signal being flung across the street. A sort of wireless telegraphy was at first established, but did not ■ work well,, and was, besides, extremely risky, most of. the houses on the opposite side of Market-street being then, as now, occupied by prison officers.. ■ "Your genuine lover has a wonderful.fecundity of invention, and this particular Romeo hit upon a novel plan for establishing communication with Juliet. ' As lead type forms a good substitute for lead pencil, and I had any amount of paper at command, the material for a protracted correspondence lay to my hand. The only difficulty was "how to* transmit, a note' to my beloved. Here was where my'genius came in. Rolling a bit of paper into a hard ball I stuck on the sharp point of my bodkin (an awl-like tool used in correcting proofs, etc.). and by sheer dint of practice I acquired the knack of propelling this paper pellet to any distance by merely giving it a sharp fillip with the middle finger of the right- hand, after the manner of one playing at ' shove-pin.' ' 'exposure.'' " For a whole week I practised this novel mode of shooting in my eel!, and on the next Saturday I wrote a short note, clapped it on my bodkin, and attracted the attention of Juliet. I fired off the billet-doux from my window, and had the satisfaction of seeing it fly through the open casement across the street, where Juliet at once pounced upon it. This was a triumph of art, and led me to attempt a more ambitious flight on the following Saturday afternoon. The first note was a mere ballon d'essai, sent up to discover which way the wind blew in Juliet's mind. *" Encouraged by her manifest appreciation of the ingenuity displayed I made up my mind to send her a. long letter on that day, for which purpose I took the needful material to my cell on the Friday evening. " When the cells were all locked up for the night and the day officials had gone home, leaving only one patrol and a principal* warder on duty. I set to work on my love-letter. Alas! does the course of true love ever run smooth? I had only got half-way through my missive when my eelldoor was suddenly opened, and the two officials walked into my room. Of course the ' gaff was blown" at once. All the precious material was seized, and next morning I stood before the governor, charged with carrying on an illicit correspondence with some person outside the prison. "Who this person was became the burning question of the hour, and all sorts of inducements were held out to me with the view of eliciting the desired information. But, of course,"it was all to no purpose. I would say nothing more than this :' You have got me, and you can do what you like with me. I know nothing about anyone else.' The governor had some doubts as to the charge maue, and treated the matter as a minor breach of discipline only. I was punished by being put on bread-and-water rations for one day, and (unkindest cut of all) was informed "that I should be removed from the printer's shop. "It chanced that I was then within a fortnight of my release. When that happy day arrived I went home, dressed myself up in my best, and, like a true knight, at once sought my lady love. I did not know the lady's name, nor even the number of the house in which she lived. But, taking my bearings from the position of the prison workshop, as seen from Market-street, I went up to the door and asked to see a round, fresh-faced girl of about 19. I found that I was talking to the girl's mother, who recognised me at once as the man she had seen at the window opposite. The girl herself was at business, but, having armed myself with a letter intended for her, I asked the old lady to give it to her on her return. Having received an assurance that ', it would be duly delivered I went.' home and awaited developments. . "Within two months of that date the girl and I were married at St. Clement's Church, Barnsbury, in view of that very prison where this strange love affair originated. . " Such is my love story, as it stands in my diary, and, in view" of the sequel, I have again to deplore the necessity truth imposes upon me to give, a narrative so full of dramatic interest a very prosaic ending. But the truth must be "told. Romeo and Juliet, are al this moment living within arm's reach of each other, but there is a seemingly impassable gulf between them. And it may he that Romeo has himself been the principal factor in bringing about this painful alienation.."- ' '