An 1891 depiction of the crime scene by French illustrator and engraver Fortuné Méaulle
From Swallows’ In the Shadow of the Seven Stars
In the Shadow of the Seven Stars
Lamp smokes
Heart skips
Shoe falls
Locket slips
Cold eyes
Hard stare
Black night
Still air
About In the Shadow of the Seven Stars
DATE: Friday, February 13, 1891
LOCATION(S): Royal Mint Street and Swallow Gardens, Whitechapel, London
SCENE: A man standing outside of The Crown and Seven Stars public house witnesses a murder under a nearby railway arch, yet does not intervene when the victim, a young woman named Frances Coles, cries out for help. Instead, he watches, paralyzed with fear, as the killer flees the crime scene. Immediately after, he flees the crime scene himself without reporting what he has witnessed to anyone.
RELATED RESEARCH: Frances Coles’ Tragic Last Days, Origins of a Killer, Chief Detective Inspector Abberline Accuses Klosowski
Player on a deadly stage
Witness to a lustful rage
In the shadow of the seven stars
Last call of a nightingale
Sorrowful her plaintive wail
In the shadow of the seven stars
A body turns
A body stalls
A body lifts
A body falls
Seconds come
Seconds go
Sound fades
Movement slows
Player on a deadly stage
Witness to a lustful rage
In the shadow of the seven stars
Last call of a nightingale
Sorrowful her plaintive wail
In the shadow of the seven stars
Mortal fear
Shaking leaf
Cautious steps
Turn to flee
A quiet voice
A halting plea
Time to run
None must see
Player on a deadly stage
Witness to a lustful rage
In the shadow of the seven stars
Last call of a nightingale
Sorrowful her plaintive wail
In the shadow of the seven stars
Player on a deadly stage
Witness to a lustful rage
In the shadow of the seven stars
Last call of a nightingale
Sorrowful her plaintive wail
In the shadow of the seven stars
© 2013 Nordby, Crandall
Performers:
Chris Bates – Double Bass
Jeff Crandall – Vocals, Acoustic and Electric Guitars, Organ
Justin DeLeon – Toms, Cymbals
Mike Nordby – Percussion
Toni Tinetti – Vocals