MRS. THOMPSON REFUSED ADMISSION TO SEE PEACE UNDER SENTENCE.
The detectives worked upon her fears, and in this they were aided by Mr. Brion, who heard her drop words of a criminating character while she was under the influence of drink, so that partly by threats and promises of immunity if she would confess all and assist the officers of the law, the woman informed on Peace.
Mr. Brion received two other letters from Peace, but they merely referred to making subsequent visits, and arranging for the defence, and getting money for that object, and nearly all the facts narrated by this witness as regards Peace himself were published when he gave evidence before the magistrates.
He appears to have been most anxious to aid the police in their endeavours to recover the stolen property, and the long list of journeys which he undertook at that time with them testifies to the value of his services in this respect.
He was particularly successful in revealing the establishment in Petticoat-lane, where Peace had much of the proceeds of his robberies placed, and by representing himself to the receiver as an accomplice of Peace, and then revealing the results of his interview to the police, the latter were able to act with promptness and decision.
Among the many attributes of Peace, according to Mr. Brion, none were more remarkable than his wonderful ability to hide in the smallest limits.
He could place himself in a box with almost the same promptitude as Mr. Cook, of Egyptian Hall celebrity; in the bottom drawer of a chest, and in a cheffonier he was frequently hidden, while from long practice he was able to hide under an ordinary round table, clinging to the spiral stem in such a manner that even if the table had no cover he would escape the glance of a casual observer.
PEACE’S CYPHER CODE.
A Central News telegram states:—The convict evidently kept fully abreast of the age in all he did, for instead of making use of the ordinary thieves slang, when he had anything of a secret nature to communicate to his friends, he made known his message by means of numerals, each of which represented a word.
This cypher code of his, though somewhat crude and cumbersome, bore a general resemblance to those used by business firms and Government officers. Messages containing the secret cyphers of Peace were usually sent to certain receivers of stolen goods to whom he disposed of the proceeds of his burglaries, and to Mrs. Thompson.