Free Mr Briggs' Hat: The True Story of a Victorian Railway Murder by Kate Colquhoun Page B

where you were last confined. And may God have mercy on your soul.
    Dry-eyed, Müller watched as the usually intransigent Judge Pollock unaccountably pressed a large handkerchief to his eyes to obscure his tears. Two warders standing behind Müller advanced to take him by the arms but, shrugging them off, he stepped forward with extraordinary self-possession. Then, the one man who had been barred from speaking throughout his own trial, with one hand almost covering his mouth said in a very low, trembling voice and in broken English: I should like to say something. I am satisfied with the sentence which your Lordship has passed. I know very well it is what the law of the country prescribes. But I have been convicted on false evidence not a true statement of facts, whatever my faults may be.
    Only those sitting nearest to the dock heard his words, hardly audible among the clamour of the room. The judges had already turned to go.
    Steadily, the spectators streamed out, turning their backs on the dock and their attention towards dinner. A thunder of cheers went up outside as news of the verdict rippled out onto the crowded streets around the Old Bailey, the roars thrumming into the unseasonably cold dusk. In the dim light of the court, Müller heard it. His stern self-command faltered and then snapped. All hope gone, he began to weep.

People
     
     
     
     
     
     
Adams, Charles
American Minister at the Court of St James’s, London
Ames, Benjamin
Train guard, North London Railway
Ballantine, Serjeant William
Prosecution Barrister
Battiscombe, Reverend
Prison visitor
Beard, Thomas
Solicitor to the German Legal Protection Society, London
Blankman, Edmond
Co-Counsel for the Defence in the American extradition hearing
Blyth, Ellen
Landlady, 16 Park Terrace, Old Ford, Bow
Blyth, George
Husband of Ellen Blyth, City messenger
Brereton, Dr Alfred
Bow Road doctor
Briggs, Thomas
Chief Bank Clerk, Robarts, Curtis & Co., of Clapton Square, Hackney
Briggs, Thomas James
Second son of the above
Buchan, Caroline
Thomas Briggs’ niece, of Peckham
Buchan, David
Husband of Caroline Buchan, warehouseman
Calcraft, William
London’s public executioner
Cappel, Dr Louis
Minister of the German Lutheran Church, Alie Street
Clarke, George
Police sergeant, Metropolitan Police, Scotland Yard
Collier, Sir Robert
Solicitor General
Davis, Reverend
Newgate prison Ordinary
Death, John
Jeweller, 55 Cheapside
Death, Robert
Brother of the above, and his assistant
Digance, Daniel
Briggs’ hatter, Royal Exchange
Dougan, Edward
Police constable, Metropolitan Police, K Division
Edwards, Pierrepont
Acting British consul, New York
Ekin, Alfred
Engine driver, North London Railway
Eldred, Mary Anne
Prostitute, Camberwell
Fishbourne, Thomas
Ticket collector, Fenchurch Street Station
Flowers, Mr
Magistrate, Bow Street Court
Foreman, Charles
Omnibus conductor
Giffard, Hardinge
Junior member of the prosecution team
Gifford, James
Shipping agent, London docks
Glass, John Henry
Journeyman tailor at Hodgkinson’s, City
Greenwood, George
Superintendent, Chalk Farm Station
Grey, Sir George
Home Secretary
Henry, Thomas
Chief magistrate, Bow Street Police Court
Hoffa, John
Journeyman tailor at Hodgkinson’s, City; friend of Müller
Howie, Daniel
Superintendent, Metropolitan Police, K Division
Humphreys, John
Coroner for East Middlesex
Jones, Elizabeth
Brothel keeper
Jones, Sydney
Bank clerk, Robarts, Curtis & Co., City
Judd, Charles
Suspect in the Briggs case
Kennedy, John
Chief of the New York Metropolitan Police
Kerressey, Walter
Detective Inspector, Metropolitan Police, K Division
Lambert, Lewis
Policeman K311, Metropolitan Police, K Division
Lee, Thomas
Acquaintance of Thomas Briggs; key witness at trial
Letheby, Dr Henry
Professor of Chemistry, London
Marbury, Francis
Counsel to the British Consulate, New York
Martin, Samuel
Trial judge
Matthews, Eliza
Wife of Jonathan Matthews
Matthews, Jonathan
London cab driver
Mayne, Sir Richard
Commissioner of the Metropolitan