Charles Peace, or The Adventures of a Notorious Burglar

by Anonymous

As to Mrs. Peace, or Hannah, none of these messages were sent to her, for, as she says herself, “I am nae schullar.” Peace had 144 words at least in his secret vocabulary, as the number ran from 1 to 144. The numbers 27, 13, 21, 39, 40, 98, 100, 101, 102, were respectively the words, “he, me, of, we, call, pet, coming, house, pounds, night, and right.” In fact, the code was well calculated to enable him to communicate secretly in respect to almost any matter.

Peace had also another peculiarity. He kept a careful and accurate account of the money he received and expended in his city house. In little pass-books, each alternate leaf of which was provided with blotting paper, he entered an account of his payments and expenditure.

Mrs. Thompson had an interview with Governor Keene at Armley Gaol after Peace’s conviction, and he read a long letter to her which he had just received from Peace’s hands. The letter was full of most endearing terms, even fulsomely so, the convict calling Mrs. Thompson his “pet” and “darling,” and professing undying love for her. Mrs. Thompson wept passionately on hearing it read, and appeared much crushed.

The Central News special reporter, wrote:—​As doubt has been expressed respecting the existence of Peace’s cypher code, the following is furnished as an accurate copy of it, the original having been for some time in the hands of the police authorities:—

1	one	2	I	3	is
4	oh	5	he	6	to
7	me	8	my	9	in
10	as	11	it	12	at
13	of	14	up	15	on
16	or	18	a	18	aye
19	am	20	so	21	we
22	us	23	but	24	you
25	nap	26	hope	27	they
28	thy	29	was	20	will
31	she	32	well	33	went
34	who	35	has	36	let
37	and	38	can	39	call
40	time	41	still	42	her
43	out	44	four	45	give
46	kiss	47	dear	48	pet
49	there	50	some	51	that
52	had	53	life	54	are
55	poor	56	course	57	come
58	coming	59	where	60	but
61	from	62	much	63	many
64	what	65	this	66	mean
67	when	68	must	69	may
70	read	71	uneasy	72	money
73	love	74	loving	75	every
76	then	77	old	78	how
79	never	80	name	81	Ben
82	sent	83	say	84	—
85	almost	86	friends	87	sum
88	pull	89	post	90	happy
91	wish	92	pain	93	until
94	bear	95	word	96	shall
97	used	98	house	99	back
100	pounds	101	night	102	right
103	write	104	mind	105	oblige
106	cannot	107	sold	108	things
109	said	110	know	111	just
112	railway	113	yes	114	believe
115	about	116	owes	117	told
118	fact	119	belong	120	word
121	since	122	away	123	early
124	such	125	finish	126	best
127	first	128	whose	129	early
130	Monday	131	Tuesday	132	Wednesday
135	Thursday	134	Friday	135	Saturday
136	Sunday	127	home	138	have
139	fancy	140	face	141	washed
142	ready	143	for	144	Johnny
Johnny being of course himself.

PEACE IN THE COMPANY OF MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT.

We cannot refrain from telling a story of Peace’s extraordinary coolness and impudence. He was, as the reader perhaps has heard, the inventor of a plan for raising sunken vessels, and he actually exhibited his patent at Bristol, where, too, he offered £50 for the salvage of a wrecked schooner, though as the money was not forthcoming, the bargain was never concluded.

This invention, however, brought him into the acquaintance of several M.P.’s interested in the subject of his patent, and a friend of ours remembers going with him to the lobby of the House of Commons to see these gentlemen.

Peace conducted himself throughout these negotiations as a quiet, respectable, steady, and apparently well-to-do man. He seemed to be acquainted with most of the prominent M.P.’s , and quizzed them upon their peculiarities; at one time, indeed, it was thought he was the author of some of the political quizzing in Truth.

It would, doubtless, surprise Mr. Plimsoll and the First Lord of the Admiralty to learn that they had been in the company of Peace in connection with his patent. But we are told there is no doubt of it. And it was after the Dyson murder.