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INVESTIGATIONS AT WHITECHAPEL 279
culprits were caught red-handed and were
promptly landed in gaol. An old beldame,
it is alleged, enticed into her shop a pretty
young Jewess, a daughter of southern Europe :
she, poor child, was another daughter of the
poor. When, indeed, may we ask, do pro-
" "
curesses or pimps interfere with the
daughters of the rich or the powerful ?
Very seldom. It is the daughters of the poor
always
who are sacrificed on the altar of
sensuality ; it is the daughters of the poor
who are decoyed, waylaid, trapped, ruined,
and damned to satisfy the animal cravings of
animal man. But to proceed. This young girl,
not yet sixteen years old girls of southern
Europe develop quicker than the children of
the West was enticed by this old beldame,
who systematically set to work to poison the
girl's mind, by holding before her a dazzling
mirror reflecting beautiful finery and adornments
that might be obtained by the child
consenting to receive a "lover," a lover who
loved her for herself.
The next step of the beldam was to hand
the girl over to the " pimp " to prepare her
for the life she was to follow. He took the
child to his rooms and kept her almost a
strict prisoner for days. When he considered
her sufficiently tamed he sought out one of
his chums, to whom he imparted the information
of the "treasure" he had secured for a
good customer abroad. The "chum" was
taken by the " pimp " to inspect the child,
and after a few days all three seemed to be