Bidwell''''s Travels, from Wall Street to London Prison Fifteen Years in Solitude pot

CHAPTER I.
CHAPTER II.
CHAPTER III.
CHAPTER IV.
CHAPTER V.
CHAPTER VI.
CHAPTER VII.
CHAPTER VIII.
CHAPTER IX.
CHAPTER X.
CHAPTER XI.
CHAPTER XII.
CHAPTER XIII.
CHAPTER XIV.
CHAPTER XV.
CHAPTER XVI.
CHAPTER XVII.
CHAPTER XVIII.
CHAPTER XIX.
CHAPTER XX.
1
CHAPTER XXI.
CHAPTER XXII.
CHAPTER XXIII.
CHAPTER XXIV.
CHAPTER XXV.
CHAPTER XXVI.
CHAPTER XXVII.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
CHAPTER XXIX.
CHAPTER XXX.

CHAPTER XXXI.
CHAPTER XXXII.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
CHAPTER XXXV.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
CHAPTER XXXIX.
CHAPTER XL.
CHAPTER XLI.
CHAPTER XLII.
CHAPTER XLIII.
CHAPTER XLIV.
CHAPTER XLV.
CHAPTER XLVI.
CHAPTER XLVII.
CHAPTER XLVIII.
CHAPTER XLIX.
CHAPTER L.
CHAPTER I.
CHAPTER II.
CHAPTER III.
CHAPTER IV.
CHAPTER V.
CHAPTER VI.
CHAPTER VII.
CHAPTER VIII.
CHAPTER IX.
CHAPTER X.

CHAPTER XI.
CHAPTER XII.
CHAPTER XIII.
CHAPTER XIV.
CHAPTER XV.
CHAPTER XVI.
CHAPTER XVII.
CHAPTER XVIII.
CHAPTER XIX.
CHAPTER XX.
CHAPTER XXI.
CHAPTER XXII.
2
CHAPTER XXIII.
CHAPTER XXIV.
CHAPTER XXV.
CHAPTER XXVI.
CHAPTER XXVII.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
CHAPTER XXIX.
CHAPTER XXX.
CHAPTER XXXI.
CHAPTER XXXII.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
CHAPTER XXXV.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
CHAPTER XXXIX.

CHAPTER XL.
CHAPTER XLI.
CHAPTER XLII.
CHAPTER XLIII.
CHAPTER XLIV.
CHAPTER XLV.
CHAPTER XLVI.
CHAPTER XLVII.
CHAPTER XLVIII.
CHAPTER XLIX.
CHAPTER L.
Bidwell's Travels, from Wall Street to
by Austin Biron Bidwell
The Project Gutenberg EBook of Bidwell's Travels, from Wall Street to
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Title: Bidwell's Travels, from Wall Street to London Prison Fifteen Years in Solitude
Author: Austin Biron Bidwell
Release Date: March 2, 2008 [EBook #24739]
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Bidwell's Travels, from Wall Street to by Austin Biron Bidwell 3
Produced by Afra Ullah and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at . (This file was
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BIDWELL'S TRAVELS.
FROM
Wall Street
To London Prison

Fifteen Years in Solitude.
FREED A HUMAN WRECK, A WONDERFUL SURVIVAL AND A MORE WONDERFUL RISE IN THE
WORLD. TO-DAY HE HAS A NATIONAL REPUTATION AS A WRITER, SPEAKER AND IS
CONSIDERED AN AUTHORITY ON ALL SOCIAL PROBLEMS. HE WAS TRIED AT THE OLD
BAILEY AND SENTENCED FOR LIFE. CHARGED WITH THE £1,000,000 FORGERY ON THE BANK
OF ENGLAND.
THIS STORY SHOWS THAT THE EVENTS OF HIS LIFE SURPASS THE IMAGINATIONS OF OUR
FAMOUS NOVELISTS, ITS THRILLING SCENES, HAIR-BREADTH ESCAPES AND MARVELOUS
ADVENTURES ARE NOT A RECORD OF CRIME, BUT ARE PROOFS OF THAT
IN THE WORLD OF WRONGDOING SUCCESS IS FAILURE.
490 Pages. 80 Graphic Illustrations.
Copyrighted 1897 by BIDWELL PUBLISHING COMPANY, HARTFORD, CONN.
Editorial New York Herald.
Referring to a Whole Page.
"If an American dramatist or novelist had taken for the ground work of a play or work of fiction the story of
the Bidwell family to-day related on another page of the Herald, all European critics would have told him that
the story was too 'American,' too vast in its outlines, too high in its colors, too merely 'big' in fact.
"The story has its lesson. The play is not a mere spectacle. The lesson is that in the doing and undoing of
wrong the Bidwell family expended enough ability and energy to stock a good many reigning European
families for generations.
"Let the Comedie Humaine write itself and it will outwrite Balzac."
Hon. Lyman J. Gage.
Having read the Bidwell book I believe it will benefit every one to read this marvellous history of human
experience.
Aside from its dramatic interest there are great moral lessons involved of especial value to young men and
employees in positions of trust.
Therefore, I recommend this book as unique and a valuable acquisition for home and office.
Bidwell's Travels, from Wall Street to by Austin Biron Bidwell 4
From Chas. M. Stead, Union League Club, New York.
"Dear Sir I read your book with a good deal of interest, and would like to change it for a higher-priced

binding if you have one."
The Worcester Spy.
"Mr. Bidwell's book has been compared with Dumas' famous 'Monte Christo.' The extraordinary character of
its adventures, indeed, would render it dramatic and powerful as fiction; as human truth, it is simply
overwhelming. No one can read this book unmoved. From every conceivable standpoint, physiological,
sociological, and literary, it is a marvel."
Philip W. Moen.
Mr. Moen, of Washburn & Moen, Worcester, Mass., writes: "I have read Mr. George Bidwell's book with the
deepest interest. It is a book that deserves to be widely read, and I am very glad to recommend it."
A Niece of Oliver Wendell Holmes
writes: "Few books have so stirred my mind for years as the book by George Bidwell. Hearing of the book,
prejudice immediately seized me against it. The history given by himself, to be interesting at all must be
sensational, therefore disastrous to morals. So avowed prejudiced thought; and, determined to find fault, I
began this remarkable history. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND FAULT WITH THE BOOK, WHICH IS
VALUABLE AND WONDERFULLY ABSORBING."
From Ira D. Sankey, Esq.
"MR. GEORGE BIDWELL, Dear Sir I have read with great interest your book, and believe it will do much
good among young men wherever read. Your life is a proof and your book a burning record of the truth that
'Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap.' I believe in throwing light into all the dark places of this
life, that men, seeing the dangers, they may avoid them. I wish you success."
From Hon. Robert G. Ingersoll.
"GEORGE BIDWELL, ESQ.:
My Dear Sir Knowing as I do that you will tell a candid story of your career, I believe you will do good.
Crime springs mostly from a lack of intelligence and imagination. Only the foolish can think that the practice
of vice is the road to joy. As a matter of fact, the wrong does not pay. You have, in your remarkable book,
made this fact perfectly clear, and you will enforce this great truth on the platform. In the world of crime
success is failure. Good luck to you."
Rev. Dr. Edward Beecher
writes; "I recommend this book to the friends of morality."
Office of Street's Insurance Agency, Hartford, Conn.

"MR. GEORGE BIDWELL, Dear Sir A clergyman consulted with me regarding his son, who had fallen into
bad associations, taken part in many small thefts, and seemed hardened against shame or dread of exposure. I
believe the mean, dangerous boy has become a man by reading your book." Yours very truly,
Bidwell's Travels, from Wall Street to by Austin Biron Bidwell 5
F. F. STREET, Hartford, Conn.
Hartford Daily Times.
"This autobiography is a story of thrilling interest."
CONTENTS.
A NEW YORK HERALD EDITORIAL.
Bidwell's Travels, from Wall Street to by Austin Biron Bidwell 6
CHAPTER I.
Brooklyn Public Schools in the Sixties Old. No. 13 Parents Suited to the Golden Age A Curious
Preparation for the Battle of Life Knew that Brutus Slew Caesar George the Third Was a Bad Fellow Who
Got a Tea Kettle Thrown at His Head In Boston Harbor My Model Home Library An Innocent Leaves
Home. 19
CHAPTER I. 7
CHAPTER II.
In a Broker's Office A Nice Old Gentleman Situation in Wall Street An Up-to-Date Young Man Visions
of Wealth Speculations Wall Street in the Sixties The Hon. John Morrissey, ex-Pugilist His Famous
Gambling House I Try a Game of Faro Midnight Banquets I Have Entered the Primrose Way. 24
CHAPTER II. 8
CHAPTER III.
Pleasure Before Business Result of That Method On Financial Rocks James, Otherwise "Jimmy,"
Irving He Was a Model Chief of Detectives Police Headquarters, 300 Mulberry Street, in the Early
Seventies He Takes Me for a Drive out Harlem Lane A Trio of Detectives They Make a Startling
Proposition A $10,000 Temptation Mental Conflicts I Dare Not Be Poor C'est le Premier Pas Qui Coute.
28
CHAPTER III. 9
CHAPTER IV.
History of the Famous Lord Bond Steal "On the Office" Three Sneaks Stumble on a Fortune A $1,250,000

Tin Box Dazed Crooks What to Do with Their White Elephant Excitement at Police Headquarters Bullard
et al A Violin Virtuoso Superintendent of Police Kelso Presents a $500 Silver Punch Bowl to the Daughter
of Boss Tweed Paid for with Stolen Cash. 36
CHAPTER IV. 10
CHAPTER V.
Police Protectors New York Gangs Irving & Co. Give Me $80,000 Lord Bonds to Sell Abroad A Midnight
Farewell Alone on the Sea When Jim Fisk Owned Our Judges Chief Irving Plans a Famous Bank
Robbery His Three Burglar Confederates. 48
CHAPTER V. 11
CHAPTER VI.
The Bank Looted Irving Notified by Bank Officials His Feigned Surprise Hunts the Burglars, but Divides
the Plunder at His Own House Count Shinburne and His Palace on the Rhine Twenty Years Later. 58
CHAPTER VI. 12
CHAPTER VII.
I Arrive in Paris Field of Waterloo Meet the Antwerp Chief of Police He Is on Trail A Dutch Van Tromp
and the Countess Winzerode His Dream of Bliss and Tragic Death My Negotiations in
Frankfurt-on-the-Main. 65
CHAPTER VII. 13
CHAPTER VIII.
Marpurgo & Weisweller, Bankers Francoise Blanc, the Gambler King His Casinos at Monte Carlo,
Homburg and Wiesbaden I Meet Van Tromp's Countess Outlived Her Beauty Now a Hanger-on at the
Rouge et Noir Tables Takes My Advice Marries a Rich Burgher Becomes a Good Stepmother Her Pious
End and Epitaph. 73
CHAPTER VIII. 14
CHAPTER IX.
I Sell the $80,000 Bonds Reach London Safely Drifting Success in Crime a Failure A Desolate
Woman Beautiful Barmaid Show Westminster Abbey Good Resolutions Sail Home Irving at the
Wharf Meet at Taylor's Hotel The Total: "I Have Another Job for You" A Fool's Game. 84
CHAPTER IX. 15
CHAPTER X.

Edwin James, Q.C., and a Possible Lord Chancellor of England His Extravagance On the Border Land of
Crime He Oversteps Disbarred Comes to New York Richard O'Gorman's Great Heart The Brea Will
Case A Dark Plot $20,000 out of Wall Street Jay Cooke & Co. Narrowly Escape Loss of $240,000 Chief
Irving in the Plot Detective George Elder Not in Our Ring Accidentally He Appears and Thwarts Our Plans.
94
CHAPTER X. 16
CHAPTER XI.
Eastward Ho! The James and Brea Exit Ezra, the Shrewd Lawyer Three Unhappy Daughters He Marries
One Detects Forged Will Flight of Brea to Montana A Sunrise Surprise at Butte City James Returns to
London Fills a Pauper's Grave Instead of a Lord Chancellor's. 114
CHAPTER XI. 17
CHAPTER XII.
Bordeaux, Marseilles and Lyons "Donate" $50,000 A Bad Quarter of an Hour Eggs and Peasant
Women "Sweets to the Sweet" A Mysterious Stranger Disappears Among the Tombs. 123
CHAPTER XII. 18
CHAPTER XIII.
A Starry Talk Contrast Between Mac's Philosophy and His Errand A Financial Trip Through
Germany From Leipsic Fair to London Return Loaded with Thalers. 132
CHAPTER XIII. 19
CHAPTER XIV.
A Drive to Hampton Court Send $10,000 Police Tribute to New York Discussing the Bank of England in
the Throne Room at Windsor Castle Believe It to Be a Fossil Institution Greene, the Tailor Introduces Me
to Bank No References Required Joy That Ends in Sorrow. 142
CHAPTER XIV. 20
CHAPTER XV.
Voyage to Rio Janeiro The Lady of the Lucitania A Swedish Colonel's Party of English Engineers A
Bibulous Chaplain Modern Buccaneers Scenes at Bordeaux Crossing the Line Father Neptune's
Visit Fun at Sea Arrival in Rio Maua & Co Our Plans. 154
CHAPTER XV. 21
CHAPTER XVI.

Fifty Thousand Dollars on Bogus Letters of Credit Visit to a Coffee Plantation Slaves Dining Dangerous
Errors in Letters of Credit A Nervous Day An Eagle-Eyed Hebrew "Show Me Your Letter of Credit" Mac
in a Corner A Bold Coup Strategy Can We Get Out of Brazil? 160
CHAPTER XVI. 22
CHAPTER XVII.
Brazilian Law Visit Police Headquarters A Douceur to the Chief In a Tight Spot A "Doctored"
Passport A Detective on Trail. Who Ingratiates Himself into Mac's Confidence Manoeuvres The Detective
on a "Wild Goose Chase" Safely on Board A Distinguished Party in a Rowboat A Stern Chase Off at Last.
173
CHAPTER XVII. 23
CHAPTER XVIII.
Rio to Buenos Ayres Return and Meet Mac in Paris Determine to Abandon a Dangerous
Business Vienna Watching the Game Must Have More Money Good Resolutions Vanish Return to
London Determine to Assault the Bank of England Deposit $67,000. 186
CHAPTER XVIII. 24
CHAPTER XIX.
Bank of England Requires No References Letter from Paris A Gilded American Young Man Duped into
Marriage with a Parisienne Möndaine A Ghost at Monte Carlo In a Greenwood Mausoleum Earthly
Happiness and the World to Come. 193
CHAPTER XIX. 25