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diff --git a/old/51391-0.txt b/old/51391-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 4035687..0000000 --- a/old/51391-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8278 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Famous Impostors, by Bram Stoker - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Famous Impostors - -Author: Bram Stoker - -Release Date: March 8, 2016 [EBook #51391] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FAMOUS IMPOSTORS *** - - - - -Produced by deaurider, Charlie Howard, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - -FAMOUS IMPOSTORS - -[Illustration: QUEEN ELIZABETH AS A YOUNG WOMAN] - - - - - FAMOUS IMPOSTORS - - - BY - - BRAM STOKER - - AUTHOR OF “DRACULA,” “PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF - HENRY IRVING,” ETC., ETC. - - - ILLUSTRATED - - - New York - STURGIS & WALTON - COMPANY - 1910 - _All rights reserved_ - - - - - Copyright 1910 - By BRAM STOKER - - Set up and electrotyped. Published November, 1910 - - - - -PREFACE - - -The subject of imposture is always an interesting one, and impostors -in one shape or another are likely to flourish as long as human nature -remains what it is, and society shows itself ready to be gulled. -The histories of famous cases of imposture in this book have been -grouped together to show that the art has been practised in many -forms--impersonators, pretenders, swindlers, and humbugs of all kinds; -those who have masqueraded in order to acquire wealth, position, or -fame, and those who have done so merely for the love of the art. -So numerous are instances, indeed, that the book cannot profess to -exhaust a theme which might easily fill a dozen volumes; its purpose is -simply to collect and record a number of the best known instances. The -author, nevertheless, whose largest experience has lain in the field of -fiction, has aimed at dealing with his material as with the material -for a novel, except that all the facts given are real and authentic. He -has made no attempt to treat the subject ethically; yet from a study of -these impostors, the objects they had in view, the means they adopted, -the risks they ran, and the punishments which attended exposure, any -reader can draw his own conclusions. - -Impostors of royalty are placed first on account of the fascinating -glamour of the throne which has allured so many to the attempt. Perkin -Warbeck began a life of royal imposture at the age of seventeen and -yet got an army round him and dared to make war on Harry Hotspur -before ending his short and stormy life on the gallows. With a crown -for stake, it is not surprising that men have been found willing to -run even such risks as those taken by the impostors of Sebastian -of Portugal and Louis XVII of France. That imposture, even if -unsuccessful, may be very difficult to detect, is shown in the cases of -Princess Olive and Cagliostro, and in those of Hannah Snell, Mary East, -and the many women who in military and naval, as well as in civil, life -assumed and maintained even in the din of battle the simulation of men. - -One of the most extraordinary and notorious impostures ever known was -that of Arthur Orton, the Tichborne Claimant, whose ultimate exposure -necessitated the employment, at great public expense of time and -money, of the best judicial and forensic wits in a legal process of -unprecedented length. - -The belief in witches, though not extinct in our country even to-day, -affords examples of the converse of imposture, for in the majority of -cases it was the superstitions of society which attributed powers of -evil to innocent persons whose subsequent mock-trials and butchery -made a public holiday for their so-called judges. - -The long-continued doubt as to the true sex of the Chevalier D’Eon -shows how a belief, no matter how groundless, may persist. Many cases -of recent years may also be called in witness as to the initial -credulity of the public, and to show how obstinacy maintains a belief -so begun. The Humbert case--too fresh in the public memory to demand -treatment here--the Lemoine case, and the long roll of other fraudulent -efforts to turn the credulity of others to private gain, show how -widespread is the criminal net, and how daring and persevering are its -manipulators. - -The portion of the book which deals with the tradition of the “Bisley -Boy” has had, as it demanded, more full and detailed treatment than -any other one subject in the volume. Needless to say, the author -was at first glance inclined to put the whole story aside as almost -unworthy of serious attention, or as one of those fanciful matters -which imagination has elaborated out of the records of the past. The -work which he had undertaken had, however, to be done, and almost from -the very start of earnest enquiry it became manifest that here was -a subject which could not be altogether put aside or made light of. -There were too many circumstances--matters of exact record, striking -in themselves and full of some strange mystery, all pointing to a -conclusion which one almost feared to grasp as a possibility--to allow -the question to be relegated to the region of accepted myth. A little -preliminary work amongst books and maps seemed to indicate that so far -from the matter, vague and inchoate as it was, being chimerical, it was -one for the most patient examination. It looked, indeed, as if those -concerned in making public the local tradition, which had been buried -or kept in hiding somewhere for three centuries, were on the verge of -a discovery of more than national importance. Accordingly, the author, -with the aid of some friends at Bisley and its neighbourhood, went over -the ground, and, using his eyes and ears, came to his own conclusions. -Further study being thus necessitated, the subject seemed to open -out in a natural way. One after another the initial difficulties -appeared to find their own solutions and to vanish; a more searching -investigation of the time and circumstances showed that there was -little if any difficulty in the way of the story being true in essence -if not in detail. Then, as point after point arising from others -already examined, assisted the story, probability began to take the -place of possibility; until the whole gradually took shape as a chain, -link resting in the strength of link and forming a cohesive whole. That -this story impugns the identity--and more than the identity--of Queen -Elizabeth, one of the most famous and glorious rulers whom the world -has seen, and hints at an explanation of circumstances in the life of -that monarch which have long puzzled historians, will entitle it to the -most serious consideration. In short, if it be true, its investigation -will tend to disclose the greatest imposture known to history; and to -this end no honest means should be neglected. - - B. S. - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER PAGE - I. PRETENDERS 1 - A. Perkin Warbeck 3 - B. The Hidden King 17 - C. Stephan Mali 31 - D. The False Dauphins 36 - E. Princess Olive 49 - - II. PRACTITIONERS OF MAGIC 69 - A. Paracelsus 71 - B. Cagliostro 80 - C. Mesmer 95 - - III. THE WANDERING JEW 107 - - IV. JOHN LAW 123 - - V. WITCHCRAFT AND CLAIRVOYANCE 145 - A. Witches 147 - B. Doctor Dee 155 - C. La Voisin 164 - D. Sir Edward Kelley 175 - E. Mother Damnable 182 - F. Matthew Hopkins 190 - - VI. ARTHUR ORTON (Tichborne claimant) 201 - - VII. WOMEN AS MEN 227 - A. The Motive for Disguise 227 - B. Hannah Snell 231 - C. La Maupin 235 - D. Mary East 241 - - VIII. HOAXES, ETC. 249 - A. Two London Hoaxes 249 - B. The Cat Hoax 255 - C. The Military Review 256 - D. The Toll-Gate 256 - E. The Marriage Hoax 257 - F. Buried Treasure 258 - G. Dean Swift’s Hoax 259 - H. Hoaxed Burglars 260 - I. Bogus Sausages 260 - J. The Moon Hoax 262 - - IX. CHEVALIER D’EON 269 - - X. THE BISLEY BOY 283 - - - - -ILLUSTRATIONS - - - Queen Elizabeth as a Young Woman _Frontispiece_ - FACING PAGE - Perkin Warbeck 4 - - Edward IV as a Young Man 12 - - Olivia Serres 50 - - Cagliostro 80 - - John Law 124 - - Arthur Orton 202 - - The Chevalier D’Eon 270 - - The Duke of Richmond 326 - - The Duchess of Richmond 334 - - - - -I. PRETENDERS - - - - -FAMOUS IMPOSTORS - - - - -A. PERKIN WARBECK - - -Richard III literally carved his way to the throne of England. It would -hardly be an exaggeration to say that he waded to it through blood. -Amongst those who suffered for his unscrupulous ambition were George -Duke of Clarence, his own elder brother, Edward Prince of Wales, who on -the death of Edward IV was the natural successor to the English throne, -and the brother of the latter, Richard Duke of York. The two last -mentioned were the princes murdered in the Tower by their malignant -uncle. These three murders placed Richard Duke of Gloucester on the -throne, but at a cost of blood as well as of lesser considerations -which it is hard to estimate. Richard III left behind him a legacy of -evil consequences which was far-reaching. Henry VII, who succeeded -him, had naturally no easy task in steering through the many family -complications resulting from the long-continued “Wars of the Roses”; -but Richard’s villany had created a new series of complications on -a more ignoble, if less criminal, base. When Ambition, which deals -in murder on a wholesale scale, is striving its best to reap the -results aimed at, it is at least annoying to have the road to success -littered with the débris of lesser and seemingly unnecessary crimes. -Fraud is socially a lesser evil than murder; and after all--humanly -speaking--much more easily got rid of. Thrones and even dynasties were -in the melting pot between the reigns of Edward III and Henry VII; so -there were quite sufficient doubts and perplexities to satisfy the -energies of any aspirant to royal honours--however militant he might -be. Henry VII’s time was so far unpropitious that he was the natural -butt of all the shafts of unscrupulous adventure. The first of these -came in the person of Lambert Simnel, the son of a baker, who in 1486 -set himself up as Edward Plantagenet, Earl of Warwick--then a prisoner -in the Tower--son of the murdered Duke of Clarence. It was manifestly -a Yorkist plot, as he was supported by Margaret Duchess Dowager of -Burgundy (sister of Edward IV) and others. With the assistance of the -Lord-Deputy (the Earl of Kildare) he was crowned in Dublin as King -Edward VI. The pretensions of Simnel were overthrown by the exhibition -of the real Duke of Warwick, taken from prison for the purpose. The -attempt would have been almost comic but that the effects were tragic. -Simnel’s span of notoriety was only a year, the close of which was -attended with heavy slaughter of his friends and mercenaries. He -himself faded into the obscurity of the minor life of the King’s -household to which he was contemptuously relegated. In fact the whole -significance of the plot was that it was the first of a series of -frauds consequent on the changes of political parties, and served as a -_balon d’essai_ for the more serious imposture of Perkin Warbeck some -five years afterwards. It must, however, be borne in mind that Simnel -was a pretender on his own account and not in any way a “pacemaker” for -the later criminal; he was in the nature of an unconscious forerunner, -but without any ostensible connection. Simnel went his way, leaving, -in the words of the kingly murderer his uncle, the world free for his -successor in fraud “to bustle in.” - -[Illustration: PERKIN WARBECK] - -The battle of Stoke, near Newark--the battle which saw the end of the -hopes of Simnel and his upholders--was fought on 16 June, 1487. Five -years afterwards Perkin Warbeck made his appearance in Cork as Richard -Plantagenet Duke of York. The following facts regarding him and his -life previous to 1492 may help to place the reader in a position to -understand other events and to find causes through the natural gateway -of effects. - -To Jehan Werbecque (or Osbeck as he was called in Perkin’s -“confession”), Controller of the town of Tournay in Picardy, and his -wife, _née_ Katherine de Faro, was born in 1474, a son christened -Pierrequin and later known as Perkin Warbeck. The Low Countries in the -fifteenth century were essentially manufacturing and commercial, and, -as all countries were at that period of necessity military, growing -youths were thus in touch at many points with commerce, industry and -war. Jehan Werbecque’s family was of the better middle class, as -witness his own position and employment; and so his son spent the -earlier years of his life amid scenes and conditions conducive to -ambitious dreams. He had an uncle John Stalyn of Ghent. A maternal aunt -was married to Peter Flamme, Receiver of Tournay and also Dean of the -Guild of Schelde Boatmen. A cousin, John Steinbeck, was an official of -Antwerp. - -In the fifteenth century Flanders was an important region in the -manufacturing and commercial worlds. It was the centre of the cloth -industry; and the coming and going of the material for the clothing of -the world made prosperous the shipmen not only of its own waters but -those of others. The ships of the pre-Tudor navy were small affairs -and of light draught suitable for river traffic, and be sure that the -Schelde with its facility of access to the then British port of Calais, -to Lille, to Brussels, to Bruges, to Tournai, Ghent, and Antwerp, was -often itself a highway to the scenes of Continental and British wars. - -About 1483 or 1484, on account of the Flemish War, Pierrequin left -Tournay, proceeding to Antwerp, and to Middleburg, where he took -service with a merchant, John Strewe, he being then a young boy of ten -or twelve. His next move was to Portugal, whither he went with the wife -of Sir Edward Brampton, an adherent of the House of York. A good deal -of his early life is told in his own confession made whilst he was a -prisoner in the Tower about 1497. - -In Portugal he was for a year in the service of a Knight named Peter -Vacz de Cogna, who, according to a statement in his confession, had -only one eye. In the Confession he also states in a general way that -with de Cogna he visited other countries. After this he was with a -Breton merchant, Pregent Meno, of whom he states incidentally: “he made -me learn English.” Pierrequin Werbecque must have been a precocious -boy--if all his statements are true--for when he went to Ireland in -1491 with Pregent Meno he was only seventeen years of age, and there -had been already crowded into his life a fair amount of the equipment -for enterprise in the shape of experience, travel, languages, and so -forth. - -It is likely that, to some extent at all events, the imposture of -Werbecque, or Warbeck, was forced on him in the first instance, and -was not a free act on his own part. His suitability to the part he -was about to play was not altogether his own doing. Nay, it is more -than possible that his very blood aided in the deception. Edward IV -is described as a handsome debonair young man, and Perkin Warbeck it -is alleged, bore a marked likeness to him. Horace Walpole indeed in -his _Historic Doubts_ builds a good deal on this in his acceptance of -his kingship. Edward was notoriously a man of evil life in the way of -affairs of passion, and at all times the way of ill-doing has been -made easy for a king. Any student of the period and of the race of -Plantagenet may easily accept it as fact that the trend of likelihood -if not of evidence is that Perkin Warbeck was a natural son of Edward -IV. Three hundred years later the infamous British Royal Marriage -Act made such difficulties or inconveniences as beset a king in the -position of Edward IV unnecessary: but in the fifteenth century the -usual way out of such messes was ultimately by the sword. Horace -Walpole, who was a clever and learned man, was satisfied that the -person who was known as Perkin Warbeck was in reality that Richard Duke -of York who was supposed to have been murdered in the Tower in 1483 -by Sir James Tyrrell, in furtherance of the ambitious schemes of his -uncle. At any rate the people in Cork in 1491 insisted on receiving -Perkin as of the House of York--at first as a son of the murdered -Duke of Clarence. Warbeck took oath to the contrary before the Mayor -of Cork; whereupon the populace averred that he was a natural son of -Richard III. This, too, having been denied by the newcomer, it was -stated that he was the son of the murdered Duke of York. - -It cannot be denied that the Irish people were in this matter as -unstable as they were swift in their judgments, so that their actions -are really not of much account. Five years before they had received -the adventurer Lambert Simnel as their king, and he had been crowned -at Dublin. In any case the allegations of Warbeck’s supporters did -not march with established facts of gynecology. The murdered Duke of -York was born in 1472, and, as not twenty years elapsed between this -period and Warbeck’s appearance in Ireland, there was not time in the -ordinary process of nature, for father and son to have arrived at -such a quality of manhood that the latter was able to appear as full -grown. Even allowing for an unusual swiftness of growth common sense -evidently rebelled at this, and in 1492 Perkin Warbeck was received in -his final semblance of the Duke of York, himself younger son of Edward -IV. Many things were possible at a period when the difficulties of -voyage and travel made even small distances insuperable. At the end of -the fifteenth century Ireland was still so far removed from England -that even Warbeck’s Irish successes, emphasised though they were by the -Earls of Desmond and Kildare and a numerous body of supporters, were -unknown in England till considerably later. This is not strange if one -will consider that not until centuries later was there a regular postal -system, and that nearly two centuries later the Lord Chief Justice -Sir Matthew Hale, who was a firm believer in witchcraft, would have -condemned such a thing as telegraphy as an invention of the Devil. - -In the course of a historical narrative like the present it must be -borne in mind (amongst other things) that in the fifteenth century, -men ripened more quickly than in the less strenuous and more luxurious -atmosphere of our own day. Especially in the Tudor epoch physical gifts -counted for far more than is now possible; and as early (and too often -sudden) death was the general lot of those in high places, the span of -working life was prolonged rather by beginning early than by finishing -late. Even up to the time of the Napoleonic Wars, promotion was often -won with a rapidity that would seem like an ambitious dream to young -soldiers of to-day. Perkin Warbeck, born in 1474, was nineteen years of -age in 1493, at which time the Earl of Kildare spoke of “this French -lad,” yet even then he was fighting King Henry VII, the Harry Richmond -who had overthrown at Bosworth the great and unscrupulous Richard III. -It must also be remembered for a proper understanding of his venture, -that Perkin Warbeck was strongly supported and advised with great -knowledge and subtlety by some very resolute and influential persons. -Amongst these, in addition to his Irish “Cousins” Kildare and Desmond, -was Margaret, Duchess of Burgundy, sister of Edward IV, who helped the -young adventurer in his plot by “coaching” him up in the part which -he was to play, to such an extent that, according to Lord Bacon, he -was familiar with the features of his alleged family and relatives and -even with the sort of questions likely to be asked in this connection. -In fact he was, in theatrical parlance, not only properly equipped -but “letter-perfect” in his part. Contemporary authority gives as -an additional cause for this personal knowledge, that the original -Jehan de Warbecque was a converted Jew, brought up in England, of -whom Edward IV was the godfather. In any case it may in this age be -accepted as a fact that there was between Edward IV and Perkin Warbeck -so strong a likeness as to suggest a _prima facie_ possibility, if -not a probability, of paternity. Other possibilities crowd in to the -support of such a guess till it is likely to achieve the dimensions of -a belief. Even without any accuracy of historical detail there is quite -sufficient presumption to justify guess-work on general lines. It were -a comparatively easy task to follow the lead of Walpole and create a -new “historic doubt” after his pattern, the argument of which would run -thus: - -After the battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury in 1471, Edward IV had -but little to contend against. His powerful foes were all either -dead or so utterly beaten as to be powerless for effective war. The -Lancastrian hopes had disappeared with the death of Henry VI in the -Tower. Margaret of Anjou (wife of Henry VI) defeated at Tewkesbury, -was in prison. Warwick had been slain at Barnet, and so far as fighting -was concerned, King Edward had a prolonged holiday. It was these years -of peace--when the coming and going of even a king was unrecorded with -that precision which marks historical accuracy--that made the period -antecedent to Perkin’s birth. Perkin bore an unmistakable likeness to -Edward IV. Not merely that resemblance which marks a family or a race -but an individual likeness. Moreover the young manhood of the two ran -on parallel lines. Edward was born in 1442, and in 1461, before he -was nineteen, won the battle of Mortimer’s Cross which, with Towton, -placed him on the throne. Perkin Warbeck at seventeen made his bid for -royalty. It is hardly necessary to consider what is a manifest error -in Perkin’s Confession--that he was only nine years old, not eleven, -at the time of the murder of Edward V. Nineteen was young enough in -all conscience to begin an intrigue for a crown; but if the Confession -is to be accepted as gospel this would make him only seventeen at the -time of his going to Ireland--a manifest impossibility. Any statement -regarding one’s own birth is manifestly not to be relied on. At best -such can only be an assertion _minus_ the possibility of testing whence -an error might come. Regarding his parentage, in case it may be alleged -that there is no record of the wife of Jehan Warbecque having been -in England, it may be allowed to recall a story which Alfred, Lord -Tennyson used to say was amongst the hundred best stories. It ran thus: - - A noble at the Court of Louis XIV was extremely like the King, - who on its being pointed out to him sent for his double and asked - him: - - “Was your mother ever at Court?” - - Bowing low, he replied: - - “No, sire; but my father was!” - -Of course Perkin Warbeck’s real adventures, in the sense of dangers, -began after his claim to be the brother of Edward V was put forward. -Henry VII was not slow in taking whatever steps might be necessary -to protect his crown; there had been but short shrift for Lambert -Simnel, and Perkin Warbeck was a much more dangerous aspirant. When -Charles VIII invited him to Paris, after the war with France had broken -out, Henry besieged Boulogne and made a treaty under which Perkin -Warbeck was dismissed from France. After making an attempt to capture -Waterford, the adventurer transferred the scene of his endeavours -from Ireland to Scotland which offered him greater possibilities for -intrigue on account of the struggles between James IV and Henry VII. -James, who finally found it necessary to hasten his departure, seemed -to believe really in his pretensions, for he gave him in marriage -a kinswoman of his own, Catherine Gordon, daughter of the Earl of -Huntly--who by the way was re-married no less than three times after -Perkin Warbeck’s death. Through the influence of Henry VII, direct -or indirect, Perkin had to leave Scotland as he had been previously -forced from Burgundy and the Low Countries. Country after country -having been closed to him, he made desperate efforts in Cornwall, where -he captured St. Michael’s Mount, and in Devon, where he laid siege -to Exeter. This however being raised by the Royal forces, he sought -sanctuary in Beaulieu in the New Forest where, on promise of his life, -he surrendered. He was sent to the Tower and well treated; but on -attempting to escape thence a year later, 1499, he was taken. He was -hanged at Tyburn in the same year. - -Pierrequin Warbecque’s enterprise was in any case a desperate one -and bound to end tragically--unless, of course, he could succeed -in establishing his (alleged) claim to the throne in law and then -in supporting it at great odds. The latter would necessitate his -vanquishing two desperate fighting men both of them devoid of fear or -scruples--Richard III and Henry VII. In any case he had the Houses of -Lancaster, Plantagenet and Tudor against him and he fought with the -rope round his neck. - -An Act of Parliament, 1 Richard III, Cap. 15, made at Westminster -on the 23 Jan., 1485, precluded all possibility--even if Warbeck -should have satisfied the nation of his identity--of a legal claim to -the throne, for it forbade any recognition of the offspring of Lady -Elizabeth Grey to whom Edward IV was secretly married, in May, 1464, -the issue of which marriage were Edward V and his brother, Richard. The -act is short and is worth reading, if only for its quaint phraseology. - - _Cap XV._ Item for certayn great causes and consideracions - touchynge the suretye of the kynges noble persone as of this - realme, by the advyce and assente of his lordes spirituall and - temporal, and the commons in this present parliament assembled, - and by the auctorite of the same. It is ordeined established - and enacted, that all letters patentes, states confrymacions - and actes of parlyament of anye castels seignowries, maners, - landes, tenementes, fermes, fee fermes, franchises, liberties, - or other hereditamentes made at any tyme to Elizabeth late wyfe - of syr John Gray Knight; and now late callinge her selfe queene - of England, by what so ever name or names she be called in the - same, shalbe from the fyrst day of May last past utterly voyd, - adnulled and of no strengthe nor effecte in the lawe. And that - no person or persons bee charged to our sayde soveraygne lord - the Kynge, nor to the sayde Elyzabeth, of or for any issues, - prifites, or revenues of any of the sayde seignowries, castelles, - maners, landes, tenementes, fermes or other hereditamentes nor - for any trespas or other intromittynge in the same, nor for anye - by suretye by persone or persones to her or to her use--made by - them before the sayde fyrst daie of May last passed, but shalbe - therof agaynste the sayd Kynge and the sayde Elizabeth clerly - discharged and acquyte forever.[1] - - [1] In the above memorandum no statement is made regarding Jane - Shore, though it may be that she had much to do with Perkin - Warbeck. - - - - -B. THE HIDDEN KING - - -The personality, nature and life of Sebastian, King of Portugal, -lent themselves to the strange structure of events which followed -his strenuous and somewhat eccentric and stormy life. He was born in -1554, and was the son of Prince John and his wife Juana, daughter of -the Emperor Charles V. He succeeded his grandfather, John III, at -the age of three. His long minority aided the special development -of his character. The preceptor appointed to rule his youth was a -Jesuit, Luiz-Goncalvoz de Camara. Not unnaturally his teacher used his -position to further the religious aims and intrigues of his strenuous -Order. Sebastian was the kind of youth who is beloved by his female -relatives--quite apart from his being a King; and naturally he was -treated by the women in a manner to further his waywardness. When he -was fourteen years old he was crowned. From thence on he insisted on -having his way in everything, and grew into a young manhood which was -of the type beloved of an adventurous people. He was thus described: - -“He was a headstrong violent nature, of reckless courage, of boundless -ambition founded on a deep religious feeling. At the time of his -coronation he was called ‘Another Alexander.’ He loved all kinds of -danger, and found a keen pleasure in going out in a tempest in a small -boat and in actually running under the guns of his own forts where his -commands were stringent that any vessel coming in shore should be fired -on. He was a notable horseman and could steer his charger efficiently -by the pressure of either knee--indeed he was of such muscular vigour -that he could, by the mere stringency of the pressure of his knees, -make a powerful horse tremble and sweat. He was a great swordsman, and -quite fearless. ‘What is fear?’ he used to say. Restless by nature he -hardly knew what it was to be tired.” - -And yet this young man--warrior as he was, had a feminine cast of -face; his features were symmetrically formed with just sufficient -droop in the lower lip to give the characteristic ‘note’ of Austrian -physiognomy. His complexion was as fine and transparent as a girl’s; -his eyes were clear and of blue; his hair of reddish gold. His height -was medium, his figure fine; he was vigorous and active. He had an -air of profound gravity and stern enthusiasm. Altogether he was, even -without his Royal state, just such a young man as might stand for the -idol of a young maid’s dream. - -And yet he did not seem much of a lover. When, in 1576, he entered -Spain to meet Philip II at Guadaloupe to ask the hand of the Infanta -Isabella in marriage, he was described as “cold as a wooer as he -was ardent as a warrior.” His eyes were so set on ambition that mere -woman’s beauty did not seem to attract him. Events--even that event, -the meeting--fostered his ambition. When he knelt to his host, the -elder king kissed him and addressed him as “Your Majesty” the first -time the great title had been used to a Portuguese king. The effect -must have come but little later for at that meeting he kissed the -hand of the old warrior, the Duke of Alva, and uncovered to him. His -underlying pride, however, was shewn at the close of that very meeting, -for he claimed equal rights in formality with the Spanish king; and -there was a danger that the visit of ceremony might end worse than it -began. Neither king would enter the carriage in which they were to -proceed together, until the host suggested that as there were two doors -they should enter at the same time. - -Sebastian’s religious fervour and military ambition became one when -he conceived the idea of renewing the Crusades; he would recover the -Holy Land from the dominion of the Paynim and become himself master of -Morocco in the doing of it. With the latter object in his immediate -view, he made in 1574, against the wise counsels of Queen Catherine, -a _sortie de reconnaissance_ of the African coast; but without any -result--except the fixing of his resolution to proceed. In 1578 his -scheme was complete. He would listen to no warning or counsel on the -subject even from the Pope, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, or the Duke of -Nassau. He seemed to foresee the realization of his dreams, and would -forego nothing. He gathered an army of some 18,000 men (of which less -than 2,000 were horsemen) and about a dozen cannon. The preparation was -made with great splendour--a sort of forerunner of the Great Armada. It -seemed to be, as in the case of the projected invasion of England ten -years later by Spain, a case of “counting the chickens before they were -hatched.” - -Some indication of the number of adventurers and camp followers -accompanying the army is given by the fact that the 800 craft ordained -for the invasion of Morocco carried in all some 24,000 persons, -inclusive of the fighting men. The paraphernalia and officials of -victory comprised amongst many other luxuries: lists for jousts, a -crown ready for the new King of Morocco to put on, and poets with -completed poems celebrating victory. - -At this time Morocco was entering on the throes of civil war. Muley -Abd-el-Mulek, the reigning Sultan, was opposed by his nephew, Mohammed, -and to aid the latter, who promised to bring in 400 horsemen, was the -immediate object of Sebastian. But the fiery young King of Portugal had -undertaken more than he was able to perform. Abd-el-Mulek opposed his -18,000 Portuguese with 55,000 Moors, (of whom 36,000 were horsemen) -and with three times his number of cannon. The young Crusader’s -generalship was distinctly defective; he was a fine fighting man, but -a poor commander. Instead of attacking at once on his arrival and so -putting the zeal of his own troops and the discouragement of the enemy -to the best advantage, he wasted nearly a week in hunting parties and -ineffectual manœuvring. When finally issue was joined, Abd-el-Mulek, -though he was actually dying, surrounded the Portuguese forces and cut -them to pieces. Sebastian, though he fought like a lion, and had three -horses killed under him, was hopelessly beaten. There was an attendant -piece of the grimmest comedy on record. The Sultan died during the -battle, but he was a stern old warrior, and as he fell back in his -litter he put his finger on his lip to order with his last movement -that his death should be kept secret for the time being. The officer -beside him closed the curtains and went on with the fight, pretending -to take orders from the dead man and to transmit them to the captains. - -The fate of Sebastian was sealed in that battle. Whether he lived or -died, he disappeared on 5 August, 1578. One story was that after the -battle of Alcaçer-el-Kebir, his body stripped and showing seven wounds -was found in a heap of the slain; that it was taken to Fez and there -buried; but was afterwards removed to Europe and found resting place -in the Convent of Belen. Another story was that after a brilliant -charge on his enemies he was taken in, but having been rescued by Lui -de Brito he escaped unpursued. Certainly no one seemed to have seen -the King killed, and it was strange that no part of his clothing or -accoutrements was ever found. These were of great splendour, beauty and -worth, and must have been easily traceable. There was a rumour that on -the night following the battle some fugitives, amongst whom was one of -commanding distinction, sought refuge at Arzilla. - -Alcaçer-el-Kebir was known as the “Battle of the three Kings.” All the -principals engaged in it perished. Sebastian was killed or disappeared. -Abd-el-Mulek died as we have seen, and Mohammed was drowned in trying -to cross the river. - -The dubiety of Sebastian’s death gave rise in after years to several -impostures. - -The first began six years after Sebastian’s successor--his uncle, -Cardinal Henry--was placed on the throne. The impostor was known as the -“King of Penamacor.” The son of a potter at Alcobaca, he established -himself at Albuquerque, within the Spanish borders, somewhat to the -north of Badajos, and there gave himself out as “a survivor of the -African Campaign.” As usual the public went a little further and said -openly that he was the missing Don Sebastian. At first he denied the -soft impeachment, but later on the temptation became too great for him -and he accepted it and set up in Penamacor, where he became known as -the “King of Penamacor.” He was arrested and paraded through Lisbon, -bareheaded, as if to let the public see that he in no way resembled the -personality of Sebastian. He was sent to the galleys for life. But he -must have escaped, for later on he appeared in Paris as Silvio Pellico, -Duke of Normandy, and was accepted as such in many of the salons in the -exclusive Faubourg St. Germain. - -The second personator of Sebastian was one Matheus Alvares, who having -failed to become a monk, a year later imitated the first impostor, and -in 1585 set up a hermitage at Ericeira. He bore some resemblance to the -late king in build, and in the strength of this he boldly gave himself -out as “King Sebastian” and set out for Lisbon. But he was arrested -by the way and entered as a prisoner. He was tried and executed with -frightful accessories to the execution. - -The third artist in this imposture appeared in 1594. He was a Spaniard -from Madrigal in Old Castile--a cook, sixty years old (Sebastian would -have been just forty if he had lived). When arrested he was given but -short shrift and shared the same ghastly fate as his predecessor. - -The fourth, and last, imposture was more serious. This time the -personator began in Venice in 1598, calling himself “Knight of the -Cross.” - -As twenty years had now elapsed since the disappearance of Sebastian, -he would have changed much in appearance, so in one respect the -personator had less to contend against. Moreover the scene of endeavour -was this time laid in Venice, a place even more widely removed in the -sixteenth century from Lisbon by circumstances than by geographical -position. Again witnesses who could give testimony to the individuality -of the missing King of twenty years ago were few and far between. But -on the other hand the new impostor had new difficulties to contend -against. Henry, the Cardinal, had only occupied the Portuguese throne -two years, for in 1580 Philip II of Spain had united the two crowns, -and had held the dual monarchy for eighteen years. He was a very -different antagonist from any one that might be of purely Portuguese -origin. - -In the eyes of many of the people--like all the Latin races naturally -superstitious--one circumstance powerfully upheld the impostor’s -claim. So long ago as 1587, Don John de Castro had made a seemingly -prophetic statement that Sebastian was alive and would manifest himself -in due time. His utterance was, like most such prophecies of the -kind, “conducive to its own fulfilment;” there were many--and some of -them powerful--who were willing at the start to back up any initiator -of such a claim. In his time Sebastian had been used, so far as it -was possible to use a man of his temperament and position, by the -intriguers of the Catholic Church, and the present occasion lent itself -to their still-existent aims. Rome was very powerful four centuries -ago, and its legions of adherents bound in many ties, were scattered -throughout the known world. Be sure these could and would aid in any -movement or intrigue which could be useful to the Church. - -“The Knight of the Cross”--who insinuated, though he did not state -so, that he was a Royal person was arrested on the showing of the -Spanish Ambassador. He was a born liar, with all the readiness which -the carrying out of such an adventure as he had planned requires. Not -only was he well posted in known facts, but he seemed to be actually -proof against cross-examination. The story he told was that after the -battle of Alcaçer-el-Kebir he with some others, had sought temporary -refuge in Arzilla and in trying to make his way from there to the East -Indies, he had got to “Prester John’s” land--the semi-fabled Ethiopia -of those days. From thence he had been turned back, and had, after -many adventures and much wandering--in the course of which he had been -bought and sold a dozen times or more, found his way, alone, to Venice. -Amongst other statements he alleged that Sebastian’s confessor had -already recognised and acknowledged him; but he was doubtless ignorant, -when he made the statement, that Padre Mauricio, Don Sebastian’s -confessor, fell with his king in 1578. Two things, one, a positive -inference and the other negative, told against him. He only knew of -such matters as had been made public in depositions, and _he did not -know Portuguese_. The result of his first trial was that he was sent to -prison for two years. - -But those two years of prison improved his case immensely. In that -time he learned the Portuguese language and many facts of history. -One of the first to believe--or to allege belief, in his story, Fray -Estevan de Sampayo, a Dominican monk, was in 1599, sent by the Venetian -authorities to Portugal to obtain an accredited description of the -personal marks of King Sebastian. He returned within a year with a -list of sixteen personal marks--attested by an Apostolic notary. -Strange to say the prisoner exhibited every one of them--a complete -agreement which in itself gave rise to the new suspicion that the list -had been made out by, or on behalf of, the prisoner. The proof however -was accepted--for the time; and he was released on the 28th of July, -1600--but with the imperative, humiliating proviso that he was to quit -Venice within four and twenty hours under penalty of being sent to -the galleys. A number of his supporters, who met him before he went, -found that he had in reality no sort of resemblance to Sebastian. Don -John de Castro, who was amongst them, said that a great change in -Sebastian seemed to have taken place. (He had prophesied and adhered -to his prophecy.) He now described him as a man of medium height and -powerful frame, with hair and beard of black or dark brown, and said -he had completely lost his beauty. “What has become of my fairness?” -the swarthy ex-prisoner used to say. He had eyes of uncertain colour, -not large but sparkling; high cheek bones; long nose; thin lips with -the “Hapsburg droop” in the lower one. He was short from the waist -up. (Sebastian’s doublet would fit no other person.) His right leg -and arm were longer than the left, the legs being slightly bowed like -Sebastian’s. He had small feet with extraordinarily high insteps; and -large hands. “In fine,” Don John summed up illogically, “he is the -self-same Sebastian--except for such differences as resulted from years -and labours.” Some other particulars he added which are in no way -helpful to a conclusion. - -The Impostor told his friends that he had in 1597, sent a messenger -from Constantinople to Portugal--one Marco Tullio Catizzone--who had -never returned. Thence he had travelled to Rome--where, when he was -just on the eve of being presented to the Holy Father, he was robbed of -all he had; thence to Verona and so on to Venice. After his expulsion -from Venice he seems to have found his way to Leghorn and Florence, and -thence on to Naples, where he was handed over to the jurisdiction of -the Spanish Viceroy, the Count of Lemos, who had visited him in prison, -and who well remembered King Sebastian whom he had seen when in a -diplomatic mission. The Viceroy came to the conclusion that he bore no -likeness at all to Sebastian, that he was ignorant of all save the well -known historical facts that had been published, and that his speech -was of “corrupt Portuguese mingled with tell-tale phrases of Calabrian -dialect.” Thereupon he took active steps against him. One witness who -was produced, recognized in him the real Marco Tullio Catizzone, and -Count de Lemos sent for his wife, mother-in-law and brother-in-law, -all of whom he had deceived and deserted. His wife, Donna Paula of -Messina, acknowledged him; and he confessed his crime. Condemned to the -galleys for life, Marco Tullio, out of consideration of a possibility -of an error of justice, was so far given indulgence by the authorities -that he did not have to wear prison dress or labour at the oar. Many -of his supporters, who still believed in him, tried to mitigate his -lot and treated him as a companion; so that the hulk at San Lucar, at -the mouth of the Guadalquiver became a minor centre of intrigue. But -still he was not content, and adventuring further, he tried to get -money from the wife of Medina-Sidonia then Governor of Andalusia. He -was again arrested with some of his associates. Incriminating documents -were found on him. He was racked and confessed all. And so in his real -name and parentage, Marco Tullio, son of Ippolit Catizzone of Taverna, -and of Petronia Cortes his wife, and husband of Paula Gallardetta -was executed. He had, though of liberal education, never worked at -any occupation or calling; but he had previously to his great fraud, -personated other men--amongst them Don Diego of Arragon. On 23rd of -September, 1603, he was dragged on a hurdle to the Square of San Lucar; -his right hand was cut off and he was hanged. Five of his companions, -including two priests, shared his fate. - -But in a way he and the previous impostors had a sort of posthumous -revenge, for Sebastian had now entered into the region of Romantic -Belief. He was, like King Arthur, the ideal and the heart of a great -myth. He became “The Hidden King” who would some day return to aid his -nation in the hour of peril--the destined Ruler of the Fifth Monarchy, -the founder of an universal Empire of Peace. - -A hundred years ago, the custom in British theatres was to finish -the evening’s performance with a farce. On this occasion the tragedy -had been finished two centuries before the “comic relief” came. The -occasion was in the French occupation of Portugal in 1807. The strange -belief in the Hidden King broke out afresh. A rigorous censorship -of Sebastianist literature was without avail--even though its -disseminators were condemned by the still-existing Inquisition. The old -prophecy was renewed, with a local and personal application--Napoleon -was to be destroyed in the Holy Week of 1808, by the waiting Sebastian, -whose approach from his mysterious retreat was to be veiled with a -thick fog. There were to be new portents; the sky was to be emblazoned -with a cross of the Order of Aviz, and on March 19th a full moon was -to occur during the last quarter. All these things were foretold in an -_egg_, afterwards sent by Junot to the National Museum. The general -attitude of the French people towards the subject was illustrated by -a remark in an ironical manner of one writer: “what can be looked for -from a people, one half of whom await the Messiah, the other half Don -Sebastian?” The authority on the subject of King Sebastian, M. d’Antas, -relates that as late as 1838, after the crushing of a Sebastianist -insurrection in Brazil certain still believing Sebastianists were to -be seen along the coast peering through the fog for the sails of the -mythical ship which was to bring to them the Hidden King who was then -to reveal himself. - - - - -C. “STEFAN MALI” - -THE FALSE CZAR - - -Stefan Mali (Stephen the Little) was an impostor who passed himself -off in Montenegro as the Czar Peter III of Russia, who was supposed -to have been murdered in 1762. He appeared in the Bocche di Cattaro -in 1767. No one seemed to know him or to doubt him; indeed after he -had put forth his story he did not escape identification. One witness -who had accompanied a state visit to Russia averred that he recognized -the features of the Czar whom he had seen in St. Petersburg. Like all -adventurers Stefan Mali had good personal resources. An adventurer, -and especially an adventurer who is also an impostor, must be an -opportunist; and an opportunist must be able to move in any direction -at any time; therefore he must be always ready for any emergency. The -time, the place, and the circumstances largely favoured the impostor -in this case. It is perhaps but fair to credit him with foreknowledge, -intention, and understanding of all that he did. In after years he -justified himself in this respect and showed distinctly that he was a -man of brains and capable of using them. He was no doubt not only able -to sustain at the start his alleged personality, but also to act under -new conditions and in new circumstances as they developed themselves, -as a man of Czar Peter’s character and acquired knowledge might have -done. Cesare Augusto Levi, who is the authority on this subject, says, -in his work “_Venezia e il Montenegro_”: “He was of fine presence and -well proportioned form and of noble ways. He was so eloquent that he -exercised with mere words a power not only on the multitude but also on -the higher classes.... He must certainly have been in St. Petersburg -before he scaled Montenegro; and have known the true Peter III, for -he imitated his voice and his gestures--to the illusionment of the -Montenegrins. There is no certainty of such a thing, but he must, -in the belief of the Vladika Sava have been a descendant of Stefano -Czernovich who reigned after Giorgio IV.” - -At that time Montenegro was ruled by Vladika Sava, who having spent -some twenty years in monastic life, was unfitted for the government of -a turbulent nation always harassed by the Turks and always engaged in -a struggle for bare existence. The people of such a nation naturally -wanted a strong ruler, and as they were discontented under the sway of -Sava the recognition of Stefan Mali was almost a foregone conclusion. -He told a wonderful story of his adventures since his reported death--a -story naturally interesting to such an adventurous people; and as he -stated his intention of never returning to Russia, they were glad to -add such a new ally to their fighting force for the maintenance of -their independence. As the will of the people was for the new-comer, -the Vladika readily consented to confine himself to his spiritual -functions and to allow Stefan to govern. The Vladika of Montenegro -held a strange office--one which combined the functions of priest and -generalissimo--so that the new division of the labour of ruling was -rather welcome than otherwise to the people of a nation where no man -ever goes without arms. Stephen--as he now was--governed well. He -devoted himself fearlessly to the punishment of ill-doing, and early -in his reign had men shot for theft. He established Courts of Justice -and tried to further means of communication throughout the little -kingdom, which, is, after all, little more than a bare rock. He even -so far impinged on Sava’s sacred office as to prohibit Sunday labour. -In fact his labours so much improved the outlook of the Montenegrins -that the result brought trouble on himself as well as on the nation in -general. Hitherto, whatever foreign nations may have believed as to the -authenticity of Stephen’s claim, they had deliberately closed their -eyes to his new existence, so long as under his rule the little nation -of Montenegro did not become a more dangerous enemy to all or any of -them. - -But the nations interested grew anxious at the forward movement in -Montenegro. Venice, then the possessor of Dalmatia, was alarmed, -and Turkey regarded the new ruler as an indirect agent of Russia. -Together they declared war. This was the moment when Fate declared -that the Pretender should show his latent weakness of character. The -Montenegrins are naturally so brave that cowardice is unknown amongst -them; but Stephen did not dare to face the Turkish army, which attacked -Montenegro on all the land sides. But the Montenegrins fought on till -a chance came to them after many months of waiting in the shape of a -fearful storm which desolated their enemies’ Camp. By a sudden swoop -on the camp they seized much ammunition of which they were sadly in -want and by the aid of which they gained delivery from their foes. -The Russian government seemed then to wake up to the importance of -the situation, and, after sending the Montenegrins much help in the -shape of war material, asked them to join again in the war against the -Turks. The Empress Catherine in addition to this request, sent another -letter denouncing Stephen as an impostor. He admitted the charge and -was put in prison. But in the impending war a strong man was wanted -at the head of affairs; and Sava, who now had the mundane side of -his dual office once more thrust again upon him, was a weak one. The -situation was saved by Prince George Dolgourouki, the representative -of the Empress Catherine, who, with statesmanlike acumen, saw that -such a desperate need required an exceptional remedy. He recognized the -false Czar as Regent. Stephen Mali, thus restored to power under such -powerful auspices, once more governed Montenegro until 1774, when he -was murdered by the Greek player Casamugna--by order, it is said, of -the Pasha of Scutari, Kara Mahmound. - -By the irony of Fate this was exactly the way in which the real Czar, -whose personality he had assumed, had died some dozen years before. - -This impostor was perhaps the only one who in the history of nations -prospered finally in his fraud. But as may be seen he was possessed of -higher gifts than most of his kind; he was equal to the emergencies -which presented themselves--and circumstances favoured him, rarely. - - - - -D. THE FALSE DAUPHINS - - -On 21 January, 1793, Louis XVI of France was beheaded in the Place de -la Revolution, formerly Place de Louis Quinze. From the moment his head -fell, his only son the Dauphin became by all constitutional usage, his -successor, Louis XVII. True the child-king was in the hands of his -enemies; but what mattered that to believers in the “Divine Right.” -What mattered it either that he was at that moment in the prison of -the Temple, where he had languished since August 13, 1792, already -consecrated to destruction, in one form or another. He was then under -eight years of age, and so an easy victim. His gaoler, one Simon, had -already been instructed to bring him up as a “sansculotte.” In the -furtherance of this dreadful ordinance he was taught to drink and swear -and to take a part in the unrighteous songs and ceremonies of the Reign -of Terror. Under such conditions no one can be sorry that death came to -his relief. This was in June, 1795--he being then in his eleventh year. -In the stress and turmoil of such an overwhelming cataclysm as the -Revolution, but little notice was taken of a death which, under other -circumstances, would undoubtedly have been of international interest -if not of importance. But by this time the death of any one, so long as -it was by violence, was too common a matter to cause concern to others. -The Terror had practically glutted the lust for blood. Under such -conditions but little weight was placed on the accuracy of records; and -to this day there survive practical inconveniences and difficulties -in daily life from the then disruption of ordered ways. The origin of -such frauds or means of fraud as are now before us is in uncertainty. -Shakespeare says: - - “How oft the sight of means to do ill deeds - Makes ill deeds done.” - -The true or natural criminal is essentially an opportunist. The -intention of crime, even if it be only a desire to follow the line -of least resistance, is a permanent factor in such lives, but the -direction, the mechanism, and the scope of the crime are largely the -result of the possibilities which open and develop themselves from a -fore-ordered condition of things. - -[Illustration: EDWARD IV AS A YOUNG MAN] - -Here then was the opening which presented itself at the end of the -eighteenth century. France was in a state of social chaos. The -fountains of the deep were stirred, and no human intelligence could -do more than guess at what might result from any individual effort of -self-advancement. The public conscience was debauched, and for all -practical purposes the end justified the means. It was an age of -desperate adventure, of reckless enterprise, of unscrupulous methods. -The Royalty of France was overthrown--in abeyance till at least such -a time as some Colossus of brains or energy, or good fortune, should -set it up again. The hopes of a great nation of return to a settled -order of things through constitutional and historical channels were -centred in the succession to the Crown. And through the violence of the -upheaval any issue was possible. The state of affairs just before the -death of Louis XVII gave a chance of success to any desperate fraud. -The old King was dead, the new King was a child and in the hands of his -bitterest enemies. Even if anyone had cared to vindicate his rights -there seemed at present no way of accomplishing this object. To any -reckless and unscrupulous adventurer here was an unique chance. Here -was a kingship going: a daring hand might grasp the crown which rested -in so perilous a manner on the head of a baby. Moreover the events of -the last fifteen years of the century had not only begotten daring -which depended on promptness, but had taught and fostered desperation. -It is a wonder to us who look back on that time through the -safety-giving mist of a century, not that there was any attempt to get -a crown, if only by theft, but that there were not a hundred attempts -made for each one that history has recorded. - -As a matter of fact, there were seven attempts made to personate the -dead Dauphin, son of Louis XVI, that “son of St. Louis,” who, in -obedience to Abbé Edgworth’s direction to “ascend to heaven,” went -somewhere where it is difficult--or perhaps inexpedient--to follow him. - -The first pretender appears to have been one Jean Marie Hervagault, son -of a tailor. His qualification for the pretence appears to have been -but a slender one, that of having been born in 1781, only about three -years before the Dauphin. This, taken by itself, would seem to be but -a poor equipment for such a crime; but in comparison with some of the -later claimants it was not without reason of approximate possibility as -far as date was concerned. It was not this criminal’s first attempt at -imposture, for he had already pretended to be a son of la Vaucelle of -Longueville and of the Duc d’Ursef. Having been arrested at Hottot as a -vagabond, he was taken to Cherburg, where he was claimed by his father. -When claiming to be, like the old man in Mark Twain’s inimitable -_Huckleberry Finn_, “the late Dauphin,” his story was that he had as -a child been carried from the prison of the Temple in a basket of -linen. In 1799 he was imprisoned at Chalons-sur-Marne for a month. He -was, however, so far successful in his imposture as Louis XVII, that -after some adventures he actually achieved a good following--chiefly -of the landed interest and clerics. He was condemned to two years’ -imprisonment at Vitry, and afterwards to a term of twice that duration, -during which he died, in 1812. - -The second and third aspirants to the honour of the vacant crown were -inconspicuous persons possessing neither personal qualification nor -apparent claim of any sort except that of a desire for acquisition. One -was Persat, an old soldier; the other, Fontolive, a bricklayer. The -pretence of either of these men would have been entirely ridiculous but -for its entirely tragic consequences. There is short shrift for the -unsuccessful impostor of royalty--even in an age of fluctuation between -rebellion and anarchy. - -The fourth pretender was at least a better workman at crime than his -predecessors. This was Mathurin Brunneau--ostensibly a shoemaker -but in reality a vagabond peasant from Vezins, in the department of -Maine-et-Loire. He was a born criminal as was shown by his early -record. When only eleven years of age he claimed to be the son of the -lord of the village, Baron de Vezins. He obtained the sympathy of the -Countess de Turpin de Crisse, who seemed to have compassion for the -boy. Even when the fraud of his parentage was found out she took him -back into her household--but amongst the servants. After this his life -became one of adventure. When he was fifteen he made a tour through -France. In 1803 he was put in the House of Correction at St. Denis. In -1805 he enlisted as a gunner. In 1815 he re-appeared with an American -passport bearing the name of Charles de Navarre. His more ambitious -attempt at personation in 1817, was not in the long run successful. -He claimed his rights, as “Dauphin” Bourbon under Louis XVIII, was -arrested at St. Malo, and confined at Bicêtre. He got round him a -gang of persons of evil life, as shown by their various records. One -was a false priest, another a prisoner for embezzlement, another an -ex-bailiff who was also a forger, another a deserter; with the usual -criminal concomitant of women, dishonoured clergy and such like. At -Rouen he was sentenced to pay a fine of three thousand francs in -addition to imprisonment for seven years. He died in prison. - -The imposture regarding the Dauphin was like a torch-race--so soon -as the lighted torch fell from the hand of one runner it was lifted -by him who followed. Brunneau, having disappeared into the prison at -Rouen, was succeeded by Henri Herbert who made a dramatic appearance in -Austria in 1818. At the Court in Mantone, the scene of his appearance, -he gave the name of Louis Charles de Bourbon, Duc de Normandie. -His account of himself, given in his book published in 1831, and -republished--with enlargements, by Chevalier del Corso in 1850, is -without any respect at all for the credulity of his readers. - -The story tells how an alleged doctor, one answering to the not common -name of Jenais-Ojardias, some time before the death of the Dauphin had -had made a toy horse of sufficient size to contain the baby king, the -opening to the interior of which was hidden by the saddle-cloth. The -wife of the gaoler Simon, helped in the plot, the carrying out of which -was attempted early in 1794. Another child about the Dauphin’s size, -dying or marked for death by fatal disease, was drugged and hidden -in the interior. When the toy horse was placed in the Dauphin’s cell -the children were exchanged, the little king having also been drugged -for the purpose. It would almost seem that the narrator here either -lost his head or was seized with a violent _cacoethes scribendi_, for -he most unnecessarily again lugs in the episode adapted from Trojan -history. The worthy doctor of the double name had another horse -manufactured, this time of life size. Into the alleged entrails of -this animal, which was harnessed with three real horses as one of a -team of four, the Dauphin, once more drugged, was concealed. He was -borne to refuge in Belgium, where he was placed under the protection -of the Prince de Condé. By this protector he was, according to his -story, sent to General Kléber who took him to Egypt as his nephew under -the name of Monsieur Louis. After the battle of Marengo in 1800, he -returned to France, where he confided his secret to Lucien Bonaparte -and to Fouché (the Minister of Police), who got him introduced to the -Empress Josephine, who recognised him by a scar over his right eye. In -1804 (still according to his story), he embarked for America and got -away to the banks of the Amazon, where amid the burning deserts (as -he put it) he had adventures capable of consuming lesser romancists -with envy. Some of these adventures were amongst a tribe called “the -Mamelucks”--which name was at least reminiscent of his alleged Egyptian -experiences. From the burning deserts on the banks of the Amazon he -found his way to Brazil, where a certain “Don Juan,” late of Portugal -and at that time Regent of Brazil, gave him asylum. - -Leaving the hospitable home of Don Juan, he returned to Paris in 1815. -Here Condé introduced him to the Duchesse d’Angoulême (his sister!) -and according to his own naïve statement “the Princess was greatly -surprised,” as indeed she might well have been--quite as much as the -witch of Endor was by the appearance of Samuel. Having been repulsed -by his (alleged) sister, the alleged king made a little excursion, -embracing in its erratic course Rhodes, England, Africa, Egypt, Asia -Minor, Greece, and Italy. When in Austria he met Silvio Pellico in -prison. Having spent some years himself in prison in the same country, -he went to Switzerland. Leaving Geneva in 1826, he entered France, -under the name of Herbert. He was in Paris the following year under -the name of “Colonel Gustave,” and forthwith revived his fraud of being -“the late Dauphin.” In 1828, he appealed to the Chamber of Peers. To -this appeal he appears to have received no direct reply; but apropos -of it, Baron Mounier made a proposition to the Chamber that in future -no such application should be received unless properly signed and -attested and presented by a member of the Chamber. He gathered round -him some dupes who believed in him. To these he told a number of -strange lies based on some form of perverted truth, but always taking -care that those of whom he spoke were already dead. Amongst them was -the wife of Simon, who had died in 1819. Desault, the surgeon, who -had medical care of Louis XVII, and who died in 1795, the ex-Empress -Josephine, who died in 1814, General Pichegru, who died in 1804, and -the Duc de Bourbon (Prince de Condé) who died in 1818. In the course -of his citation of the above names, he plays havoc with generally -accepted history--Desault according to him did not die naturally but -was poisoned. Josephine died simply because she knew the secret of -the young King’s escape. Pichegru died from a similar cause and not -by suicide. Fualdes was assassinated, but it was because he knew the -fatal secret. With regard to one of his dead witnesses whose name was -Thomas-Ignace-Martin de Gallardon, there is a rigmarole which would not -be accepted in the nursery of an idiot asylum. There is a mixture of -Pagan mythology and Christian hagiology which would have been condemned -by Ananias himself. In one passage he talks of seeing suddenly before -him--he could not tell (naturally enough) whence he came--a sort of -angel who had wings, a long coat and a _high hat_. This supernatural -person ordered the narrator to tell the King that he was in danger, -and the only way to avoid it was to have a good police and to keep the -Sabbath. Having given his message the visitant rose in the air and -disappeared. Later on the suggested angel told him to communicate with -the Duc Decazes. The Duke naturally, and wisely enough, handed the -credulous peasant over to the care of a doctor. Martin himself died, -presumably by assassination, in 1834. - -The Revolution of 1830 awoke the pretensions of Herbert, who now -appeared as the Baron de Richmont, and wrote to the Duchesse -d’Angoulême, his (supposed) sister, putting on her the blame of all -his troubles. But the consequences of this effort were disastrous to -him. He was arrested in August, 1833. After hearing many witnesses the -Court condemned him to imprisonment for twelve years. He was arraigned -under the name of “Ethelbert Louis-Hector-Alfred,” calling himself the -“Baron de Richmont.” He escaped from Clairvaux, whither he had been -transferred from Saint-Pélagie, in 1835. In 1843 and 1846 he published -his memoirs--enlarged but omitting some of his earlier assertions, -which had been disproved. He returned to France after the amnesty of -1840. In 1848 he appealed--unheeded--to the National Assembly. He died -in 1855 at Gleyze. - -The sixth “Late Dauphin” was a Polish Jew called Naundorf--an impudent -impostor not even seeming suitably prepared by time for the part -which he had thus voluntarily undertaken, having been born in 1775, -and thus having been as old at the birth of the Dauphin as the latter -was when he died. This individual had appeared in Berlin in 1810, -and was married in Spandau eight years later. He had been punished -for incendiarism in 1824, and later got three years’ imprisonment -at Brandenburg for coining. He may be considered as a fairly good -all-round--if unsuccessful--criminal. In England he was imprisoned for -debt. He died in Delft in 1845. - -The last attempt at impersonating Louis XVII, the seventh, afforded -what might in theatrical parlance be called the “comic relief” of the -whole series, both as regards means and results. This time the claimant -to the Kingship of France was none other than a half-bred Iroquois, one -called Eleazar, who appeared to be the ninth son of Thomas Williams, -otherwise Thorakwaneken, and an Indian woman, Mary Ann Konwatewentala. -This lady, who spoke only Iroquois, said at the opportune time she was -_not_ the mother of Lazar (Iroquois for Eleazar). She made her mark as -she could not write. Eleazar had been almost an idiot till the age -of thirteen; but, being struck on the head by a stone, recovered his -memory and intelligence. He said he remembered sitting on the knees of -a beautiful lady who wore a rich dress with a train. He also remembered -seeing in his childhood a terrible person; shewn the picture of Simon -he recognised him with terror. He learned English but imperfectly, -became a Protestant and a missionary and married. His profile was -something like that of the typical Bourbon. In 1841, the Prince de -Joinville, seeing him on his travels in the United States, told him -(according to Eleazar’s account) that he was the son of a king, and got -him to sign and seal a parchment, already prepared, the same being a -solemn abdication of the Crown of France in favour of Louis Philippe, -made by Charles Louis, son of Louis XVI, also styled Louis XVII King of -France and Navarre. The seal used was the seal of France, the one used -by the old Monarchy. The “poor Indian with untutored mind” made with -charming diffidence the saving clause regarding the seal,--“if I am not -mistaken.” Of course there was in the abdication a clause regarding -the payment of a sum of money “which would enable me to live in great -luxury in this country or in France as I might choose.” The Reverend -Eleazar, despite his natural disadvantages and difficulties, was -more fortunate than his fellow claimants inasmuch as the time of his -imposture was more propitious. Louis Philippe, who was always anxious -to lessen the danger to his tottering throne, made a settlement on him -from his Civil List, and the “subsequent proceedings interested him no -more.” - -Altogether the Louis XVII impostures extended over a period of some -sixty years, beginning with Hervagault’s pretence soon after the death -of the Dauphin, and closing at Gleyze with the death of Henri Herbert, -the alleged Baron de Richmont who appeared as the alleged Duc de -Normandie. - - - - -E. PRINCESS OLIVE - - -The story of Mrs. Olive Serres, as nature made it, was one thing; it -was quite another as she made it for herself. The result, before the -story was completely told, was a third; and, compared with the other, -one of transcendent importance. Altogether her efforts, whatsoever -they were and crowned never so effectively, showed a triumph in its -way of the thaumaturgic art of lying; but like all structures built -on sand it collapsed eventually. In the plain version--nature’s--the -facts were simply as follows. She, and a brother of no importance, were -the children of a house painter living in Warwick, one Robert Wilmot, -and of Anna Maria his wife. Having been born in 1772 she was under -age when in 1791 she was married, the ceremony therefore requiring -licence supported by bond and affidavit. Her husband was John Thomas -Serres who ten years later was appointed marine painter to King George -III. Mr. and Mrs. Serres were separated in 1804 after the birth of two -daughters, the elder of whom, born in 1797, became in 1822 the wife -of Antony Thomas Ryves a portrait painter--whom she divorced in 1847. -Mrs. A. T. Ryves twelve years later filed a petition praying that the -marriage of her mother, made in 1791, might be declared valid and she -herself the legitimate issue of that marriage. The case was heard in -1861, Mrs. Ryves conducting it in person. Having produced sufficient -evidence of the marriage and the birth, and there being no opposition, -the Court almost as a matter of course pronounced the decree asked for. -In this case no complications in the way of birth or marriage of Mrs. -Serres were touched on. - -Robert Wilmot, the house-painter, had an elder brother James who became -a Fellow of Trinity College, Oxford, and went into the Church, taking -his degree of Doctor of Divinity. Through his College he was presented -in 1781 to the living of Barton-on-the-heath, Warwickshire. The -Statutes of his College contained a prohibition against marriage whilst -a Fellow. James Wilmot D. D. died in 1807 leaving his property between -the two children of Robert, after life-use by his brother. James and -Robert Wilmot had a sister Olive, who was born in 1728 and married in -1754 to William Payne with issue one daughter, Olivia, born in 1759. -Robert Wilmot died in 1812. - -[Illustration: OLIVIA SERRES] - -Out of these rough materials Mrs. Olive Serres set herself in due -course to construct and carry out, as time and opportunity allowed, -and as occasions presented themselves and developed, a fraudulent -romance in real life and action. She was, however, a very clever -woman and in certain ways--as was afterwards proved by her literary and -artistic work--well dowered by nature for the task--crooked though it -was--which she set for herself. Her ability was shown not only by what -she could do and did at this time of her life, but by the manner in -which she developed her natural gifts as time went on. In the sum of -her working life, in which the perspective of days becomes merged in -that of years, she touched on many subjects, not always of an ordinary -kind, which shewed often that she was of conspicuous ability, having -become accomplished in several branches of art. She was a painter of -sufficient merit to have exhibited her work in the Royal Academy in -1794 and to be appointed landscape-painter to the Prince of Wales in -1806. She was a novelist, a press writer, an occasional poet and in -many ways of a ready pen. She was skilled in some forms of occultism, -and could cast horoscopes; she wrote, in addition to a pamphlet on -the same subject, a book on the writings of Junius, claiming to have -discovered the identity of the author--none other than James Wilmot -D. D. She wrote learnedly on disguised handwriting. In fact she touched -on the many phases of literary effort which come within the scope of -those who live by the work of their brains. Perhaps, indeed, it was -her facility as a writer that helped to lead her astray; for in her -practical draughtsmanship and in her brain teeming with romantic ideas -she found a means of availing herself of opportunities suggested by -her reckless ambition. Doubtless the cramped and unpoetic life of her -humble condition in the house-painter’s home in Warwick made her fret -and chafe under its natural restraint. But when she saw her way to -an effective scheme of enlarging her self-importance she acted with -extraordinary daring and resource. As is usual with such natures, -when moral restraints have been abandoned, the pendulum swung to -its opposite. As she had been lowly she determined to be proud; and -having fixed on her objective began to elaborate a consistent scheme, -utilising the facts of her own surroundings as the foundation of her -imposture. She probably realised early that there must be a base -somewhere, and so proceeded to manufacture or arrange for herself a new -identity into which the demonstrable facts of her actual life could be -wrought. At the same time she manifestly realised that in a similar -way fact and intention must be interwoven throughout the whole of -her contemplated creation. Accordingly she created for herself a new -_milieu_ which she supported by forged documents of so clever a conceit -and such excellent workmanship, that they misled all who investigated -them, until they came within the purview of the great lawyers of the -day whose knowledge, logical power, skill and determination were -arrayed against her. By a sort of intellectual metabolism she changed -the identities and conditions of her own relations whom I have -mentioned, always taking care that her story held together in essential -possibilities, and making use of the abnormalities of those whose -prototypes she introduced into fictional life. - -The changes made in her world of new conditions were mainly as follows: -Her uncle, the Reverend James, who as a man of learning and dignity -was accustomed to high-class society, and as a preacher of eminence -occasionally in touch with Crown and Court, became her father; and she -herself the child of a secret marriage with a great lady whose personal -rank and condition would reflect importance on her daughter. But proof, -or alleged proof, of some kind would be necessary and there were too -many persons at present living whose testimony would be available -for her undoing. So her uncle James shifted his place and became -her grandfather. To this the circumstances of his earlier life gave -credibility in two ways; firstly because they allowed of his having -made a secret marriage, since he was forbidden to marry by the statutes -of his college, and secondly because they gave a reasonable excuse for -concealing his marriage and the birth of a child, publicity regarding -which would have cost him his livelihood. - -At this point the story began to grow logically, and the whole scheme -to expand cohesively. Her genius as a writer of fiction was being -proved; and with the strengthening of the intellectual nature came -the atrophy of the moral. She began to look higher; and the seeds of -imagination took root in her vanity till the madness latent in her -nature turned wishes into beliefs and beliefs into facts. As she was -imagining on her own behoof, why not imagine beneficially? This all -took time, so that when she was well prepared for her venture things -had moved on in the nation and the world as well as in her fictitious -romance. Manifestly she could not make a start on her venture until -the possibility vanished of witnesses from the inner circle of her -own family being brought against her; so that she could not safely -begin machinations for some time. She determined however to be ready -when occasion should serve. In the meantime she had to lead two lives. -Outwardly she was Olive Serres, daughter of Robert Wilmot born in 1772 -and married in 1791, and mother of two daughters. Inwardly she was -the same woman with the same birth, marriage and motherhood, but of -different descent being (imaginatively) grand-daughter of her (real) -uncle the Rev. James Wilmot D. D. The gaps in the imaginary descent -having been thus filled up as made and provided in her own mind, she -felt more safe. Her uncle--so ran her fiction--had early in his college -life met and become friends with Count Stanislaus Poniatowski who later -became by election King of Poland. Count Poniatowski had a sister--whom -the ingenious Olive dubbed “Princess of Poland”--who became the wife -of her uncle (now her grandfather) James. To them was born, in 1750, -a daughter Olive, the marriage being kept secret for family reasons, -and the child for the same reason being passed off as the offspring of -Robert the housepainter. This child Olive, according to the fiction, -met His Royal Highness Henry Frederick, Duke of Cumberland, brother -of the King, George III. They fell in love with each other and were -privately married--by the Rev. James Wilmot D. D.--on 4 March 1767. -They had issue one daughter, Olive, born at Warwick 3 April 1772. After -living with her for four years the Duke of Cumberland deserted his -wife, who was then pregnant, and in 1771 married--bigamously, it was -alleged--Lady Anne Horton, sister of Colonel Luttrell, daughter of Lord -Irnham, and widow of Andrew Horton of Catton, Derbyshire. The (alleged) -Royal Duchess died in France in 1774, and the Duke in 1790. - -Thus fact and fiction were arrayed together in a very cunning way. -The birth of Olive Wilmot (afterwards Serres) in 1772 was proved by a -genuine registry. Likewise that of her daughter Mrs. Ryves. For all the -rest the certificates were forged. Moreover there was proof of another -Olive Wilmot whose existence, supported by genuine registration, might -avert suspicion; since it would be difficult to prove after a lapse of -time that the Olive Wilmot born at Warwick in 1772 daughter of Robert -(the house-painter), was not the granddaughter of James (the Doctor of -Divinity). In case of necessity the real date (1759) of the birth of -Olive Wilmot sister of the Rev. James could easily be altered to the -fictitious date of the birth of “Princess” Olive born 1750. - -It was only in 1817 that Mrs. Serres began to take active measures for -carrying her imposture into action; and in the process she made some -tentative efforts which afterwards made difficulty for her. At first -she sent out a story, through a memorial to George III, that she was -daughter of the Duke of Cumberland by Mrs. Payne, wife of Captain Payne -and sister of James Wilmot D. D. This she amended later in the same -year by alleging that she was a natural daughter of the Duke by the -sister of Doctor Wilmot, whom he had seduced under promise of marriage. -It was not till after the deaths of George III and the Duke of Kent in -1820, that the story took its third and final form. - -It should be noticed that care was taken not to clash with laws already -in existence or to run counter to generally received facts. In 1772 was -passed the Royal Marriage Act (12 George III Cap. 11) which nullified -any marriage contracted with anyone in the succession to the Crown to -which the Monarch had not given his sanction. Therefore Mrs. Serres -had fixed the (alleged) marriage of (the alleged) Olive Wilmot with -the Duke of Cumberland as in 1767--five years earlier--so that the -Act could not be brought forward as a bar to its validity. Up to 1772 -such marriages could take place legally. Indeed there was actually a -case in existence--the Duke of Gloucester (another brother of the King) -having married the dowager Countess of Waldegrave. It was of common -repute that this marriage was the motive of the King’s resolve to have -the Royal Marriage Act added to the Statute book. At the main trial it -was alleged by Counsel, in making the petitioner’s claim, that the King -(George III) was aware of the Duke of Cumberland’s marriage with Olive -Wilmot, although it was not known to the public, and that when he heard -of his marriage with Lady Anne Horton he was very angry and would not -allow them to come to Court. - -The various allegations of Mrs. Serres as to her mother’s marriage were -not treated seriously for a long time but they were so persisted in -that it became necessary to have some denial in evidence. Accordingly a -law-case was entered. One which became a _cause célèbre_. It began in -1866--just about a hundred years from the time of the alleged marriage. -With such a long gap the difficulties of disproving Mrs. Serres’ -allegations were much increased. But there was no help for it; reasons -of State forbade the acceptance or even the doubt of such a claim. The -really important point was that if by any chance the claimant should -win, the Succession would be endangered. - -The presiding judge was the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Cockburn. With -him sat Lord Chief Baron Pollock and the Judge Ordinary Sir James -Wilde. There was a special jury. The case took the form of one in the -English Probate Court made under the “Legitimacy Declaration Act.” In -this case, Mrs. Ryves, daughter of Mrs. Serres, was the petitioner. -Associated with her in the claim was her son, who, however, is of no -interest in the matter and need not be considered. The petition stated -that Mrs. Ryves was the legitimate daughter of one John Thomas Serres -and Olive his wife, the said Olive being, whilst living, a natural-born -subject and the legitimate daughter of Henry Frederick, Duke of -Cumberland and Olive Wilmot, his wife. That the said Olive Wilmot, born -in 1750, was lawfully married to His Royal Highness Henry Frederick, -Duke of Cumberland, fourth son of Frederick Prince of Wales (thus being -grandson of George II and brother of King George III), on 4 March 1767, -at the house of Thomas, Lord Archer, in Grosvenor Square, London, the -marriage being performed by the Rev. James Wilmot D. D., father of the -said Olive Wilmot. That a child, Olive, was born to them on 3 April -1772, who in 1791 was married to John Thomas Serres. And so on in -accordance with the (alleged) facts above given. - -The strange position was that even if the petitioner should win her -main case she would prove her own illegitimacy. For granting that the -alleged Olive Serres should have been legally married to the Duke of -Cumberland, the Royal Marriage Act, passed five years later, forbade -the union of the child of such a marriage, except with the sanction of -the reigning monarch. - -In the making of the claim of Mrs. Ryves a grave matter appeared--one -which rendered it absolutely necessary that the case should be heard -in the most formal and adequate way and settled once for all. The -matter was one affecting the legality of the marriage of George III, -and so touching the legitimacy of his son afterwards George IV, his son -afterwards William IV and his son the Duke of Kent, father of Queen -Victoria--and so debarring them and all their descendants from the -Crown of England. The points of contact were in documents insidiously -though not overtly produced and the preparation of which showed much -constructive skill in the world of fiction. Amongst the many documents -put in evidence by the Counsel for Mrs. Ryves were two certificates of -the (alleged) marriage between Olive Wilmot and the Duke of Cumberland. -On the back of each of these alleged certificates was written what -purported to be a certificate of the marriage of George III to Hannah -Lightfoot performed in 1759 by J. Wilmot. The wording of the documents -varied slightly. - -It was thus that the claim of Mrs. Ryves and her son became linked -up with the present and future destinies of England. These alleged -documents too, brought the Attorney General upon the scene. There -were two reasons for this. Firstly the action had to be taken against -the Crown in the matter of form; secondly in such a case with the -possibility of such vast issues it was absolutely necessary that every -position should be carefully guarded, every allegation jealously -examined. In each case the Attorney General was the proper official to -act. - -The Case of the Petitioners was prepared with extraordinary care. -There were amongst the documents produced, numbering over seventy, -some containing amongst them forty-three signatures of Dr. Wilmot, -sixteen of Lord Chatham, twelve of Mr. Dunning (afterwards the 1st -Baron Ashburton), twelve of George III, thirty-two of Lord Warwick and -eighteen of H.R.H., the Duke of Kent, the father of Queen Victoria. -Their counsel stated that although these documents had been repeatedly -brought to the notice of the successive Ministers of the Crown, it had -never been suggested until that day that they were forgeries. This -latter statement was traversed in Court by the Lord Chief Baron, who -called attention to a debate on the subject in the House of Commons in -which they were denounced as forgeries. - -In addition to those documents already quoted were the following -certificates: - - “The marriage of these parties was this day duly solemnized at - Kew Chapel, according to the rites and ceremonies of the Church - of England, by myself. - - “J. Wilmot.” - - “George P.” - “Hannah.” - - Witness to this marriage - - “W. Pitt.” - “Anne Taylor.” - - May 27, 1759. - - * * * * * - - April 17, 1759 - - “This is to Certify that the marriage of these parties (George, - Prince of Wales, to Hannah Lightfoot) was duly solemnized this - day, according to the rites and ceremonies of the Church of - England, at their residence at Peckham, by myself. - - “J. Wilmot.” - - “George Guelph.” - “Hannah Lightfoot.” - - Witness to the marriage of these parties,-- - - “William Pitt.” - “Anne Taylor.” - - * * * * * - - “I hereby Certify that George, Prince of Wales, married Hannah - Wheeler _alias_ Lightfoot, April 17, 1759, but from finding the - latter to be her right name I solemnized the union of the said - parties a second time May the 27th, 1759, as the Certificate - affixed to this paper will confirm. - - “J. Wilmot. - Witness (Torn)” - - * * * * * - -The case for the Crown was strongly supported. Not only did the -Attorney-General, Sir Roundell Palmer (afterwards Lord Chancellor -and First Earl of Selborne) appear himself, but he was supported by -the Solicitor-General, the Queen’s Advocate, Mr. Hannen and Mr. R. -Bourke. The Attorney-General made the defence himself. At the outset -it was difficult to know where to begin, for everywhere undoubted and -unchallenged facts were interwoven with the structure of the case; and -of all the weaknesses and foibles of the important persons mentioned, -full advantage was taken. The marriage of the Duke of Gloucester to -Lady Waldegrave had made him unpopular in every way, and he was at the -time a _persona ingrata_ at Court. There had been rumours of scandal -about the King (when Prince of Wales) and the “Fair Quaker,” Hannah -Lightfoot. The anonymity of the author of the celebrated “Letters of -Junius,” which attacked the King so unmercifully, lent plausibility to -any story which might account for it. The case of Mrs. Ryves, tried -in 1861, in which her own legitimacy had been proved and in which -indisputable documents had been used, was taken as a proof of her _bona -fides_. - -Mrs. Ryves herself was in the box for nearly the whole of three days, -during which she bore herself firmly, refusing even to sit down when -the presiding judge courteously extended that privilege to her. She -was then, by her own statement, over seventy years of age. In the -course of her evidence a Memorial to George IV was produced, written -by her mother, Mrs. Serres, in which the word offspring was spelled -“orfspring”; in commenting on which the Attorney-General produced a -congratulatory Ode to the Prince Regent on his birthday in 1812, by the -same author, in which occurred the line: - -“Hail valued heir orfspring of Heaven’s smile.” Similar eccentric -orthography was found in other autograph papers of Mrs. Serres. - -The Attorney-General, in opposing the claim, alleged that the whole -story of the Duke of Cumberland’s marriage to Olive Wilmot was a -concoction from beginning to end, and said that the mere statement of -the Petitioner’s case was sufficient to stamp its true character. That -its folly and absurdity were equal to its audacity; in every stage -it exposed itself to conviction by the simplest tests. He added that -the Petitioner might have dwelt so long upon documents produced and -fabricated by others, that, with her memory impaired by old age, the -principle of veracity might have been poisoned, and the offices of -imagination and memory confounded to such an extent that she really -believed that things had been done and said in her presence which were -in fact entirely imaginary. No part of her story was corroborated -by a single authentic document, or by a single extrinsic fact. The -forgery, falsehood and fraud of the case were proved in many ways. The -explanations were as false and feeble as the story itself. “I cannot -of course,” he said, “lay bare the whole history of the concoction -of these extraordinary documents, but there are circumstances which -indicate that they were concocted by Mrs. Serres herself.” - -Having commented on some other matters spoken of, but regarding which -no evidence was adduced, he proceeded to speak of the alleged wife of -Joseph Wilmot D. D., the Polish Princess, sister of Count Poniatowski, -afterwards elected King of Poland (1764), who was the mother of his -charming daughter, Olive. “The truth is,” said Sir Roundell, “that -both the Polish Princess and the charming daughter were pure myths; -no such persons ever existed--they were as entirely creatures of the -imagination as Shakespeare’s Ferdinand and Miranda.” - -As to the documents produced by the Petitioners he remarked: - - “What sort of documents were those which were produced? The - internal evidence proved that they were the most ridiculous, - absurd, preposterous series of forgeries that the perverted - ingenuity of man ever invented ... they were all written on - little scraps and slips of paper, such as no human being would - ever have used for the purpose of recording transactions of this - kind, and it would be proved that in every one of these pieces of - paper the watermark of date was wanting.” - -This was but a new variant of the remark made by the Lord Chief -Justice, just after the putting-in of the alleged marriage Certificate -of the Prince of Wales and Hannah Lightfoot: - - “The Court is, as I understand, asked solemnly to declare, on the - strength of two certificates, coming I know not whence, written - on two scraps of paper, that the marriage, the only marriage of - George III which the world believes to have taken place, between - His Majesty and Queen Charlotte, was an invalid marriage, and - consequently that all the Sovereigns who have sat on the throne - since his death, including Her present Majesty, were not entitled - to sit on the throne. That is the conclusion which the Court is - asked to come to upon these two rubbishy pieces of paper, one - signed ‘George P.,’ and the other ‘George Guelph.’ I believe them - to be gross and rank forgeries. The Court has no difficulty in - coming to the conclusion, even assuming that the signatures had - that character of genuineness which they have not, that what is - asserted in these documents has not the slightest foundation in - fact.” - -With this view the Lord Chief Baron and the Judge-Ordinary entirely -concurred, the former adding: - - “... the declarations of Hannah Lightfoot, if there ever was such - a person, cannot be received in evidence on the faith of these - documents ... the only issues for the jury are the issues in the - cause and this is not an issue in the cause, but an incidental - issue.... I think that these documents, which the Lord Chief - Justice has treated with all the respect which properly belongs - to them, are not genuine.” - -Before the Attorney General had finished the statement of his case, he -was interrupted by the foreman of the jury, who said that the jury were -unanimously of opinion that there was no necessity to hear any further -evidence as they were convinced that the signatures of the documents -were not genuine. On this the Lord Chief Justice said: - - “You share the opinion which my learned brothers and I have - entertained for a long time; that every one of the documents is - spurious.” - -As the Counsel for the Petitioners had “felt it his duty to make some -observations to the jury before they delivered their verdict,” and had -made them, the Lord Chief Justice summed up. Towards the conclusion of -his summing-up he said, in speaking of the various conflicting stories -put forth by Mrs. Serres: - - “In each of the claims which she made at different times, she - appealed to documents in her possession by which they were - supported. What was the irresistible inference? Why, that - documents were from time to time prepared to meet the form which - her claims from time to time assumed.” - -The jury, without hesitation, found that they were not satisfied “that -Olive Serres, the mother of Mrs. Ryves, was the legitimate daughter of -Henry Frederick Duke of Cumberland and Olive his wife; and they were -not satisfied that Henry Frederick, Duke of Cumberland, was lawfully -married to Olive Wilmot on the 4th of March 1767....” - -The case of Mrs. Serres is an instance of how a person, otherwise -comparatively harmless but afflicted with vanity and egotism, may be -led away into evil courses, from which, had she realised their full -iniquity, she might have shrunk. The only thing outside the case we -have been considering, was that she separated from her husband; which -indeed was an affliction rather than a crime. She had been married -for thirteen years and had borne two children, but so far as we know -no impropriety was ever alleged against her. One of her daughters -remained her constant companion till her twenty-second year and through -her long life held her and her memory in filial devotion and respect. -The forethought, labour and invention which she devoted to the fraud, -if properly and honestly used, might have won for her a noteworthy -place in the history of her time. But as it was, she frittered away in -criminal work her good opportunities and great talents, and ended her -life within the rules of the King’s Bench. - - - - -II. PRACTITIONERS OF MAGIC - - - - -PARACELSUS - - -I feel that I ought to begin this record with an apology to the _manes_ -of a great and fearless scholar, as earnest as he was honest, as -open-minded as he was great-hearted. I do so because I wish to do what -an unimportant man can after the lapse of centuries, to help a younger -generation to understand what such a man as I write of can do and did -under circumstances not possible in times of greater enlightenment. -The lesson which the story can tell to thinking youth cannot be told -in vain. The greatest asset which worth has in this world is the -irony of time. Contemporaneous opinion, though often correct, is -generally on the meagre side of appreciation--practically always so -with regard to anything new. Such must in any case be encountered in -matters of the sixteenth century which being on the further side of -an age of discovery and reform had hardened almost to the stage of -ossification the beliefs and methods of the outgoing order of things. -Prejudice--especially when it is based on science and religion--dies -hard: the very spirit whence originates a stage of progress or reform, -makes its inherited follower tenacious of _its_ traditions however -short they may be. This is why any who, in this later and more open -minded age, may investigate the intellectual discoveries of the past, -owe a special debt in the way of justice to the memories of those to -whom such fresh light is due. The name and story of the individual -known as Paracelsus--scholar, scientist, open minded thinker and -teacher, earnest investigator and searcher for elemental truths--is -a case in point. Anyone who contents himself with accepting the -judgment of four centuries passed upon the great Swiss thinker, who -had rendered famous in history his place of birth, his canton and his -nation, would inevitably come to the conclusion that he was merely a -charlatan a little more clever than others of his kind; an acceptor of -all manner of eccentric beliefs (including the efficacy of spirits and -demons in pathological cases), a drunkard, a wastrel, an evil liver, -a practiser of necromancy, an astrologer, a magician, an atheist, -an alchemist--indeed an “ist” of all defamatory kinds within the -terminology of the sixteenth century and of all disputatious churchmen -and scientists who have not agreed with his theories and conclusions -ever since. - -Let us begin with the facts of his life. His name was Theophrastus -Bombast von Hohenheim, and he was the son of a doctor living in -Einsiedeln in the canton of Schwyz, named Wilhelm Bombast von -Hohenheim, natural son of a Grand Master of the Teutonic Order. He -was born in 1490. It was not uncommon for a man of that age who was -striving to make a name for himself, to assume some _nom de plume_ -or _de guerre_; and with such a family record as his own, it was no -wonder that on the threshold of his life the young Theophrastus did so. -In the light of his later achievements, we can well imagine that he -had some definite purpose in mind, or at least some guiding principle -of suggestiveness, in choosing such a compound word from the Greek -as Paracelsus (which is derived from “para,” meaning before, in the -sense of superior to, and Celsus, the name of an Epicurean philosopher -of the second century.) Celsus appears to have had views of great -enlightenment according to the thought of his own time. Unhappily only -fragments of his work remain, but as he was a follower of Epicurus -after an interval of between four and five centuries, it is possible -to get some idea of his main propositions. Like Epicurus he stood for -nature. He did not believe in fatalism, but he did in a supreme power. -He was a Platonist and held that there was no truth which was against -nature. It is easy to see from his life and work that Theophrastus -Bombast von Hohenheim shared his views. His intellectual attitude -was that of a true scientist--denying nothing _prima facie_ but -investigating all. - - “There lives more faith in honest doubt, - Believe me, than in half the creeds.” - -His father moved in 1502 to Villach in Carinthia, where he practised -medicine till his death in 1534. Theophrastus was a precocious boy; -after youthful study with his father, he entered the University of -Basel when he was about sixteen, after which he prosecuted chemical -researches under the learned Trithemius Bishop of Sponheim who had -written on the subject of the Great elixir--the common subject -of the scientists of that day,--and at Wurzburg. From thence he -proceeded to the great mines in the Tyrol, then belonging to the -Fugger family. Here he studied geology and its kindred branches of -learning--especially those dealing with effects and so far as possible -with causes--metallurgy, mineral waters, and the diseases of and -accidents to mines and miners. The theory of knowledge which he deduced -from these studies was that we must learn nature from nature. - -In 1527, he returned to Basel, where he was appointed town physician. -It was a characteristic of his independence and of his mind, method -and design, that he lectured in the language of the place, German, -foregoing the Latin tongue, usual up to that time for such teaching. -He did not shrink from a bold criticism of the medical ideas and -methods then current. The effect of this independence and teaching was -that for a couple of years his reputation and his practice increased -wonderfully. But the time thus passed allowed his enemies not only -to see the danger for them that lay ahead, but to take such action -as they could to obviate it. Reactionary forces are generally--if -not always--self-protective, without regard to the right or wrong -of the matter, and Paracelsus began to find that the self-interest -and ignorance of the many were too strong for him, and that their -unscrupulous attacks began to injure his work seriously. He was called -conjurer, necromancer, and many such terms of obloquy. Then what we may -call his “professional” enemies felt themselves strong enough to join -in the attack. As he had kept a careful eye on the purity of medicines -in use, the apothecaries, who, in those days worked in a smaller field -than now, and who found their commerce more productive through guile -than excellence, became almost declared opponents. Eventually he had to -leave Basel. He went to Esslingen, from which however he had to retire -at no distant period from sheer want. - -Then began a period of wandering which really lasted for the last dozen -years of his life. This time was mainly one of learning in many ways -of many things. The ground he covered must have been immense, for he -visited Colmar, Nurnberg, Appengall, Zurich, Augsburg, Middelheim, -and travelled in Prussia, Austria, Hungary, Egypt, Turkey, Russia, -Tartary, Italy, the Low Countries and Denmark. In Germany and Hungary -he had a bad time, being driven to supply even the bare necessaries of -life by odd--any--means, even to availing himself of the credulity -of others--casting nativities, telling fortunes, prescribing remedies -for animals of the farm such as cows and pigs, and recovering stolen -property; such a life indeed as was the lot of a mediæval “tramp.” On -the other hand, as a contra he did worthy work as a military surgeon -in Italy, the Low Countries and Denmark. When he got tired of his -wandering life, he settled down in Salsburg, in 1541, under the care -and protection of the Archbishop Ernst. But he did not long survive -the prospect of rest; he died later in the same year. The cause of his -death is not known with any certainty, but we can guess that he had -clamorous enemies as well as strong upholding from the conflicting -causes given. Some said that he died from the effects of a protracted -debauch, others that he was murdered by physicians and apothecaries, or -their agents, who had thrown him over a cliff. In proof of this story -it was said that the surgeons had found a flaw or fracture in his skull -which must have been produced during life. - -He was buried in the churchyard of Saint Sebastian; but two centuries -later, 1752, his bones were moved to the porch of the church, and a -monument erected over them. - -His first book was printed in Augsburg in 1526. His real monument -was the collection of his complete writings so far as was possible, -the long work of Johann Huser made in 1589-91. This great work was -published in German, from printed copy supplemented by such manuscript -as could be discovered. Then and ever since there has been a perpetual -rain of statements against him and his beliefs. Most of them are too -silly for words; but it is a little disconcerting to find one writer of -some distinction repeating so late as 1856 all the malignant twaddle -of three centuries, saying amongst other things that he believed in -the transmutation of metals and the possibility of an _elixir vitæ_, -that he boasted of having spirits at his command, one of which he -kept imprisoned in the hilt of his sword and another in a jewel; that -he could make any one live forever; that he was proud to be called a -magician; and had boasted of having a regular correspondence with Galen -in Hell. We read in sensational journals and magazines of to-day about -certain living persons having--or saying that they have--communion in -the shape of “interviews” with the dead; but this is too busy an age -for unnecessary contradictions and so such assertions are allowed to -pass. The same indifference may now and again have been exhibited in -the case of men like Paracelsus. - -Some things said of him may be accepted as being partially true, for -his was an age of mysticism, occultism, astrology, and all manner of -strange and weird beliefs. For instance it is alleged that he held that -life is an emanation from the stars; that the sun governed the heart, -the moon the brain, Jupiter the liver, Saturn the gall, Mercury the -lungs, Mars the bile, Venus the loins; that in each stomach is a demon, -that the belly is the grand laboratory where all the ingredients are -apportioned and mixed; and that gold could cure ossification of the -heart. - -Is it any wonder that when in this age after centuries of progress such -absurd things are current Paracelsus is shewn in contemporary and later -portraits with a jewel in his hand transcribed Azoth--the name given to -his familiar dæmon. - -Those who repeat _ad nauseam_ the absurd stories of his alchemy -generally omit to mention his genuine discoveries and to tell of the -wide scope of his teaching. That he used mercury and opium for healing -purposes at a time when they were condemned; that he did all he could -to stop the practice of administering the vile electuaries of the -mediæval pharmacopœia; that he was one of the first to use laudanum; -that he perpetually held--to his own detriment--that medical science -should not be secret; that he blamed strongly the fashion of his time -of accounting for natural phenomena by the intervention of spirits or -occult forces; that he deprecated astrology; that he insisted on the -proper investigation of the properties of drugs and that they should be -used more simply and in smaller doses. To these benefits and reforms -his enemies answered that he had made a pact with the devil. For reward -of his labours, his genius, his fearless struggle for human good he -had--with the exception of a few spells of prosperity--only penury, -want, malicious ill-fame and ceaseless attacks by the professors of -religion and science. He was an original investigator of open mind, -of great ability and application, and absolutely fearless. He was -centuries ahead of his time. We can all feel grateful to that French -writer who said: - - “Tels sont les services eminents que Paracelse a rendu à - l’humanité souffrante, pour laquelle il montra toujours le - dévouement le plus désintéressé; s’il en fut mal recompensé - pendant sa vie que sa mémoire au moins soit honorée.” - - - - -CAGLIOSTRO - - -The individual known to history as Comte Cagliostro, or more familiarly -as Cagliostro, was of the family name of Balsamo and was received into -the Church under the saintly name of Joseph. The familiarity of history -is an appanage of greatness in some form. Greatness is in no sense a -quality of worth or morality. It simply points to publicity, and if -unsuccessful, to infamy. Joseph Balsamo was of poor parentage in the -town of Palermo, Sicily, and was born in 1743. In his youth he did -not exhibit any talent whatever, such volcanic forces as he had being -entirely used in wickedness--base, purposeless, sordid wickedness, -from which devolved no benefit to any one--even to the criminal -instigator. In order to achieve greatness, or publicity, in any form, -some remarkable quality is necessary; Joseph Balsamo’s claim was based -not on isolated qualities but on a union of many. In fact he appears to -have had every necessary ingredient for this kind of success--except -one, courage. In his case however, the lacking ingredient in the -preparation of his hell-broth was supplied by luck; though such luck -had to be paid for at the devil’s usual price--failure at the last. -His biographers put his leading characteristics in rather a negative -than a positive way--“indolent and unruly”; but as time went on the -evil became more marked--even _ferae naturae_, poisonous growths, -and miasmatic conditions have to manifest themselves or to cease to -prevail. In the interval between young boyhood and coming manhood, -Balsamo’s nature--such as it was--began to develop, unscrupulousness -working on an imaginative basis being always a leading characteristic. -The unruly boy shewed powers of becoming an unruly man, fear being the -only restraining force; and indolence giving way to wickedness. When -he was about fifteen he was sent to a monastery to learn chemistry and -pharmacy. The boy who had manifested a tendency to “grow downwards” -found the beginning of a kind of success in these studies in which, -to the surprise of all, he exhibited a form of aptitude. Chemistry -has certain charms to a mind like his, for in its working are many -strange surprises and lurid effects not unattended with entrancing -fears. These he used before long to his own pleasure in the concern -of others. When he was expelled from the religious house he led a -dissolute and criminal life in Palermo. Amongst other wickednesses he -robbed his uncle and forged his will. Here too, he committed a crime, -not devoid of a certain humorous aspect, but which had a reflex action -on his own life. Under promise of revealing a hidden treasure, he -persuaded a goldworker, one Morano, to give him custody of a quantity -of his wares. It was what, in criminal slang is called “a put-up job,” -and was worked by a gang of young thieves with Balsamo at their head. -Having filled the soft head of the foolish goldsmith with ideas to -suit his purpose, Joseph brought him on a treasure hunt into a cave -where he was shortly surrounded by the gang dressed as fiends, who, -in the victim’s paralysis of fear, robbed him at their ease of some -sixty ounces of gold. Morano, as might have been expected, was not -satisfied with the proceedings and vowed vengeance which he tried to -effect later. Balsamo’s pusillanimity worked hand in hand with Morano’s -vindictiveness, to the effect that the culprit incontinently absconded -from his native town. He conferred the benefit of his presence on -Messina where he was naturally attracted to a noted alchemist called -Althotas, to whom he became a sort of disciple. Althotas was a man -of great learning, according to the measure of that time and his own -occupation. He was skilled in Eastern tongues and an adept occultist. -It was said that he had actually visited Mecca and Medina in the -disguise of an Oriental prince. Having attached himself to Althotas, -Cagliostro went with him to Malta where he persuaded the Grand Master -of the Knights to supply them with a laboratory for the manufacture of -gold, and also with letters of introduction which he afterwards used -with much benefit to himself. - -[Illustration: CAGLIOSTRO] - -From Malta he went to Rome where he employed himself in forging -engravings. Like other criminals, great and small, Comte Alessandro -Cagliostro--as he had now become by his own creation of nobility--had -a faculty of working hard and intelligently so long as the end he -aimed at was to be accomplished by crooked means. Work in the ordinary -ways of honesty he loathed and shunned; but work as a help to his -nefarious schemes seemed to be a joy to him. Then he set himself up as -a wonder-worker, improving as he went on all the customs and tricks -of that calling. He sold an elixir which he said had all the potency -usually attributed to such compounds but with an added efficacy all its -own. He pretended to be able to transmute metals and to make himself -invisible; indeed to perform all the wonders of the alchemist, the -“cheap jack,” and the charlatan. At Rome he became acquainted with -and married a very beautiful woman, Lorenza de Feliciani, daughter of -a lacemaker, round whom later biographers weave romances. According -to contemporary accounts she seems to have been dowered with just -such qualities as were useful in such a life as she had entered on. -In addition to great and unusual beauty she was graceful, passionate, -seductive, clever, plausible, soothing, and attractive in all ways dear -and convincing to men. She must have had some winning charm which -has lasted beyond her time, for a hundred years afterwards we find -so level-headed a writer as Dr. Charles Mackay crediting her, quite -unwarrantably with, amongst other good qualities, being a faithful -wife. Her life certainly after her marriage was such that faithfulness -in any form was one of the last things to expect in her. Her husband -was nothing less than a swindler of a protean kind. He had had a great -number of aliases before he finally fixed on Comte de Cagliostro as -a _nomme de guerre_. He called himself successively Chevalier de -Fischio, Marquis de Melina (or Melissa), Marquis de Pellegrini, Comte -de Saint-German, Baron de Belmonte; together with such names as Fenix, -Anna, Harat. He wrote a work somewhat of the nature of a novel called -_Le Grand Cophte_--which he found useful later when he was pushing his -scheme of a sort of new Freemasonry. After his marriage he visited -several countries, Egypt, Arabia, Persia, Poland, Russia, Greece, -Germany; as well as such towns as Naples, Palermo, Rhodes, Strasbourg, -Paris, London, Lisbon, Vienna, Venice, Madrid, Brussels--in fact any -place where many fools were crowded into a small space. In many of -these he found use for the introductory letters of the Grand Master -of the Knights of Malta, as well as those of other dupes from whom it -was his habit to secure such letters before the inevitable crash came. -Wherever he travelled he was accustomed to learn all he could of the -manners, customs and facts of each place he was in, thus accumulating -a vast stock of a certain form of knowledge which he found most useful -in his chosen occupation--deceit. With regard to the last he utilised -every form of human credulity which came under his notice. The latter -half of the eighteenth century was the very chosen time of strange -beliefs. Occultism became a fashion, especially amongst the richer -classes, with the result that every form of swindle came to the fore. -At this time Cagliostro, then nearing his fortieth year, began to have -a widespread reputation for marvellous cures. As mysticism in all sorts -of forms had a vogue, he used all the tricks of the cult, gathering -them from various countries, especially France and Germany, where the -fashion was pronounced. For this trickery he used all his knowledge of -the East and all the picturesque aids to credulity which he had picked -up during his years of wandering; and for his “patter,” such medical -terminology as he had learned--he either became a doctor or invented -a title for himself. This he interlarded with scraps of various forms -of fraudulent occultism and all sorts of suggestive images of eastern -quasi-religious profligacy. He took much of the imagery which he used -in his rituals of fraud from records of ancient Egypt. This was a -pretty safe ground for his purpose, for in his time the Egypt of the -past was a sealed book. It was only in 1799 that the Rosetta stone -was discovered, and more than ten years from then before Dr. Young was -able to translate its three inscriptions--Hieroglyphic Demotic and -Greek--whence Hieroglyphic knowledge had its source. _Omne ignotum -pro magnifico_ might well serve as a motto for all occultism, true -or false. Cagliostro, whose business it was to deceive and mislead, -understood this and took care that in his cabalistic forms Egyptian -signs were largely mixed with the pentagon, the signs of the Zodiac, -and other mysterious symbols in common use. His object was primarily -to catch the eye and so arrest the intelligence of any whom he wished -to impress. For this purpose he went about gorgeously dressed and with -impressive appointments. In Germany for instance he always drove in -a carriage with four horses with courier and equerries in striking -liveries. Happily there is extant a pen picture of him by Comte de -Beugnot who met him in Paris at the house of the Comtesse de la Motte: - - “of medium height and fairly fat, of olive colour, with short - neck and round face, big protruberant eyes, a snub nose with open - nostrils.” - -This gives of him anything but an attractive picture; but yet M. de -Beugnot says: “he made an impression on women whenever he came into a -room.” Perhaps his clothing helped, for it was not of a commonplace -kind. De Beugnot who was manifestly a careful and intelligent observer -again comes to our aid with his pen: - - “He wore a coiffure new in France; his hair parted in several - little cadenottes (queues or tresses) uniting at the back of the - head in the form known as a ‘catogan’ (hair clubbed or bunched). - A dress, French fashion, of iron grey, laced with gold, scarlet - waistcoat broidered with bold _point de spain_, red breeches, a - basket-hilted sword and a hat with white plumes!” - -Aided by these adjuncts he was a great success in Paris whither he -returned in 1785. As an impostor he knew his business and played “the -game” well. When he was at work he brought to bear the influence of all -his “properties,” amongst them a tablecloth embroidered with cabalistic -signs in scarlet and the symbols of the Rosy Cross of high degree; the -same mysterious emblems marked the globe without which no wizard’s -atelier is complete. - -Here too were various little Egyptian figures--“ushabtui” he would -doubtless have called them had the word been in use in his day. From -these he kept his dupes at a distance, guarding carefully against -any discovery. He evidently did not fear to hurt the religious -susceptibilities of any of his votaries, for not only were the crucifix -and other emblems of the kind placed amongst the curios of his ritual, -but he made his invocation in the form of a religious ceremony, going -down on his knees and in all ways cultivating the emotions of those -round him. He was aided by a young woman whom he described as pure -as an angel and of great sensibility. The said young person kept -her blue eyes fixed on a globe full of water. Then he proceeded to -expound the Great Secret which he told his hearers had been the same -since the beginning of things and whose mystery had been guarded by -Templars of the Rosy Cross, by Magicians, by Egyptians and the like. -He had claimed, as the Comte Saint-German said, that he had already -existed for many centuries; that he was a contemporary of Christ; and -that he had predicted His crucifixion by the Jews. As statements of -this kind were made mainly for the purpose of selling the elixir which -he peddled, it may easily be imagined that he did not shrink from -lying or blasphemy when such seemed to suit his purpose. Daring and -recklessness in his statements seemed to further his business success, -so prophecy--or rather boastings of prophecy _after the event_--became -part of the great fraud. Amongst other things he said that he had -predicted the taking of the Bastille. Such things shed a little light -on the methods of such impostors, and help to lay bare the roots or -principles through which they flourish. - -After his Parisian success he made a prolonged tour in France. In la -Vendée he boasted of some fresh miracle--of his own doing--on each day; -and at Lyons the boasting was repeated. Of course he occasionally had -bad times, for now and again even the demons on whose acquaintance and -help he prided himself did not work. In London after 1772, things had -become so bad with him that he had to work as a house painter under -his own name. Whatever may have been his skill in his art this was -probably about the only honest work he ever did. He did not stick to -it for long however, for four years afterwards he lost three thousand -pounds by frauds of others by whom he was introduced to fictitious -lords and ladies. Here too he underwent a term of imprisonment for debt. - -Naturally such an impostor found in Freemasonry, which is a secret -cult, a way of furthering his ends. With the aid of his wife, who all -through their life together seems to have worked with him, he founded a -new branch of freemasonry in which a good many rules of that wonderful -organisation were set at defiance. As the purpose of the new cult was -to defraud, its net was enlarged by taking women into the body. The -name used for it was the _Grand Egyptian Lodge_--he being himself the -head of it under the title of the _Cophte_ and his wife the _Grand -Priestess_. In the ritual were some appalling ceremonies, and as these -made eventually for profitable publicity, the scheme was a great -success--and the elixir sold well. This elixir was the backbone of -his revenue; and indeed it would have been well worthy of success if -it had been all that he claimed for it. Dispensers of elixirs are not -usually backward in proclaiming the virtues of their wares; but in his -various settings forth Cagliostro went further than others. He claimed -not only to restore youth and health and to make them perpetual, -but to restore lost innocence and effect a whole moral regeneration. -No wonder that he achieved success and that money rolled in! And no -wonder that women, especially of the upper classes, followed him like -a flock of sheep! No wonder that a class rich, idle, pleasure-loving, -and fond of tasting and testing new sensations, found thrilling moments -in the great impostor’s mélange of mystery, religion, fear, and hope; -of spirit-rapping and a sort of “black mass” in which Christianity -and Paganism mingled freely, and where life and death, good and evil, -whirled together in a maddening dance. - -It was not, however, through his alleged sorcery that Cagliostro crept -into a place in history; but by the association of his name with a -sordid crime which involved the names of some of the great ones of the -earth. The story of the Queen’s Necklace, though he was acquitted at -the trial which concluded it, will be remembered when the vapourings -of the unscrupulous quack who had escaped a thousand penalties justly -earned, have been long forgotten. Such is the irony of history! The -story of the necklace involved Marie Antoinette, Cardinal Prince de -Rohan, Comte de la Motte--an officer of the private guard of “Monsieur” -(the Comte d’Artois), his wife Jeanne de Valois, descended from Henry -II through Saint-Remy, his natural son and Nicole de Savigny. Louis XV -had ordered from MM. Boemer et Bassange, jewellers to the Court of -France, a beautiful necklace of extraordinary value for his mistress -Madame du Barry, but died before it was completed. The du Barry was -exiled by his successor, so the necklace remained on the hands of its -makers. It was, however, of so great intrinsic value that they could -not easily find a purchaser. They offered it to Marie Antoinette for -one million eight hundred thousand livres; but the price was too -high even for a queen, and the necklace remained on hand. So Boemer -showed it to Madame de la Motte and offered to give a commission on -the sale to whoever should find a buyer. She induced her husband, -Comte de la Motte, to join with her in a plot to accomplish the sale. -De la Motte was a friend of Cagliostro, and he too was brought in as -he had influence with the Cardinal Prince de Rohan whom they looked -on as a likely person to be of service. He had his own ambitions to -acquire influence over the queen and use her for political purposes as -Mazarin had used Anne of Austria. De Rohan was then a man of fifty--not -considered much of an age in these days, but the Cardinal’s life had -not made for comparative longevity. He was in fact something of that -class of fool which has no peer in folly--an old fool; and Jeanne -de la Motte fooled him to the top of his bent. She pretended to him -that Marie Antoinette was especially friendly to her, and shewed him -letters from the queen to herself all of which had been forged for the -purpose. As at this time Madame de la Motte had borrowed or otherwise -obtained from the Cardinal a hundred and twenty thousand livres, she -felt assured he could be used for the contemplated fraud. She probably -had not ever even spoken to the queen but she was not scrupulous in -such a small matter as one more untruth. She finally persuaded him that -Marie Antoinette wished to purchase the necklace through his agency, he -acting for her and buying it in her name. To aid in the scheme she got -her pet forger, Retaux de Vilette, to prepare a receipt signed “Marie -Antoinette de France.” The Cardinal fell into the trap and obtained -the jewel, giving to Boemer four bills due successively at intervals -of six months. At Versailles de Rohan gave the casket containing the -necklace to Madame de la Motte, who in his presence handed it to a -valet of the royal household for conveyance to the queen. The valet -was none other than the forger Retaux de Vilette. Madame de la Motte -sent to the Cardinal a letter by the same forger asking him to meet her -(the queen) in the shrubbery at Versailles between eleven o’clock and -midnight. To complete the deception a girl was procured, one Olivia, -who in figure resembled the queen sufficiently to pass for her in the -dusk. The meeting between de Rohan and the alleged queen was held at -the Baths of Apollo--to the deception and temporary satisfaction of the -ambitious churchman. When the first instalment for the purchase of the -necklace was due, Boemer tried to find out if the queen really had -possession of the necklace--which had in the meanwhile been brought to -London, it was said, by Comte de la Motte. As Boemer could not manage -to get an audience with the queen he came to the conclusion that he -had been robbed, and made the matter public. This was reported to -M. de Breteuil, Master of the King’s household, and an enemy of de -Rohan. De Breteuil saw the queen secretly and they agreed to act in -concert in the matter. Louis XVI asked for details of the purchase -from Boemer, who told the truth so far as he knew it, producing as a -proof the alleged receipt of the queen. Louis pointed out to him that -he should have known that the queen did not sign after the manner of -the document. He then asked de Rohan, who was Grand Almoner of France, -for his written justification. This being supplied, he had him arrested -and sent to the Bastille. Madame de la Motte accused Cagliostro of the -crime, alleging that he had persuaded de Rohan to buy the necklace. She -was also arrested as were Retaux de Vilette, and, later on at Brussels, -Olivia, who threw some light on the fraud. The King brought the whole -matter before Parliament, which ordered a prosecution. As the result of -the trial which followed, Comte de la Motte and Retaux de Vilette were -banished for life; Jeanne de la Motte was condemned to make _amende -honourable_, to be whipped and branded with V on both shoulders, and -to be imprisoned for life. Olivia and Cagliostro were acquitted. The -Cardinal was cleared of all charges. Nothing seems to have been done -for the poor jewellers, who, after all, had received more substantial -injury than any of the others, having lost nearly two million livres. - -After the affair of the Necklace, Cagliostro spent a time in the -Bastille and when free, after some months, he and his wife travelled -again in Europe. In 1789 he was arrested at Rome by order of the -Inquisition and condemned to death as a Freemason. The punishment was -later commuted to perpetual imprisonment. He ended his days in the -Château de Saint-Leon near Rome. His wife was condemned to perpetual -seclusion and died in the Convent of Sainte-Appolive. - - - - -MESMER - - -Although Frederic-Antoine Mesmer made an astonishing discovery which, -having been tested and employed in therapeutics for a century, is -accepted as a contribution to science, he is included in the list of -impostors because, however sound his theory was, he used it in the -manner or surrounded with the atmosphere of imposture. Indeed the -implement which he used in his practice, and which made him famous in -fashionable and idle society, was set forth as having magic properties. -He belonged to the same period as Cagliostro, having been born but nine -years before him, in 1734, in Itzmang, Suabia; but the impostor pure -and simple easily picked up the difference by beginning his life-work -earlier and following it quicker with regard to results. Mesmer was not -in any sense a precocious person. He was thirty-two years of age when -he took his degree of Doctor of Medicine at Vienna in 1765. However -he had already chosen his subject, animal magnetism as allied with -medical therapeutics. His early script under the title _De planetarum -influxi_ is looked on as a legal reminiscence of judicial astronomy. He -left Vienna because, he said, of a cabal against him, and travelled -in Europe, particularly in Switzerland, before he went to Paris to -seek his fortune. This was in 1778, when he was some forty-four years -of age; his reputation, which had been growing all the time, preceded -him. He was then a man of fine appearance, tall and important-looking -and conveying a sense of calm power. He produced much sensation and was -at once credited--not without his own will or intention--with magic -power. He posed as a benefactor of humanity; a position which was at -once conceded to him, partly owing to the fact that an extraordinary -atmosphere of calm seemed to surround him, which with his natural -air of assurance founded on self-belief, was able to convey to his -patients a sense of hope which was of course very helpful in cases of -nervous failure and depression. He settled in the Hotel Bouret near the -Place Vendôme and so in the heart of Paris; and at once undertook the -treatment of patients hitherto deemed incurable. Fashion took up the -new medical “craze” or “sensation,” and he at once became the vogue. -It was at this time of his life that Mesmer came to the parting of -the ways between earnest science and charlatanism. So far as we know -he still remained earnest in his scientific belief--as indeed he was -till the end of his days. Inasmuch as fashion requires some concrete -expression of its fancies, Mesmer soon used the picturesque side of -his brain for the service of fashionable success. So he invented an -appliance which soon became the talk of the town. This was the famous -_baquet magique_ or magic tub, a sort of covered bath, round which his -patients were arranged in tiers. To the bath were attached a number -of tubes, each of which was held by a patient, who could touch with -the end of it any part of his or her body at will. After a while the -patients began to get excited, and many of them went into convulsions. -Amongst them walked Mesmer, clad in an imposing dress suggestive of -mystery and carrying a long wand of alleged magic power; often calming -those who had already reached the stage of being actually convulsed. -His usual method of producing something of the same effect at private -séances, was by holding the hand of the patient, touching the forehead -and making “passes” with the open hand with fingers spread out, and by -crossing and uncrossing his arms with great rapidity. - -A well-attended séance must have been a curious and not altogether -pleasant experience even to a wholesome spectator in full possession -of his natural faculties. The whole surroundings of the place -together with the previously cultured belief; the dusk and mystery; -the “mysterious sympathy of numbers”--as Dean Farrar called it; the -spasmodic snapping of the cords of tensity which took away all traces -of reserve or reticence from the men and women present; the vague -terror of the unknown, that mysterious apprehension which is so potent -with the nerves of weak or imaginative people; and, it may be, the -slipping of the dogs of conscience--all these combined to wreck the -moral and mental stability of those present, most of whom it must be -remembered were actually ill, or imagined themselves to be so, which -came practically to the same thing. The psychical emotion was all very -well in the world of pleasure; but these creatures became physically -sick through nervous strain. As described by the historian, they -expectorated freely a viscous fluid, and their sickness passed into -convulsions more or less violent; the women naturally succumbing more -readily and more quickly than the men. This absolute collapse--half -epileptic, half hysterical--lasted varying periods according to the -influence exercised by the presence of the calm, self-reliant operator. -We of a later age, when electric force has been satisfactorily -harnessed and when magnetism as a separate power is better understood, -may find it hard to understand that the most advanced and daring -scientists of the time--to whom Frederic-Antoine Mesmer was at least -allied--were satisfied that magnetism and electricity were variants -of the same mysterious force or power. It was on this theory that he -seems to have worked his main idea to practical effect. The base of his -system was animal magnetism, which could be superinduced or aided by -mechanical appliances. He did not deceive himself into believing that -he had invented the idea but was quite willing to make the utmost use -he could of the discoveries and inventions of others. So far as we can -gather his intentions from his acts, the main object in his scientific -work was to simplify the processes of turning emotion into effect. -Magnetism had already been largely studied, and means were being -constantly sought for increasing its efficacy. Father Hehl had brought -to a point of accepted perfection the manufacture of metal plates -used in magnetic development, and these Mesmer used, with the result -that a violent controversy took place between them. So far as we can -follow after the lapse of time, Mesmer was consistent in his theories -and their application. He held that the principle was one of planetary -influence on the nervous system, and its manifestation was by a process -of alternate intension and remission. It is possible that Mesmer--who -held that the heavenly bodies floated in a limitless magnetic fluid and -that he could make all substances, even such things as bread or dogs -magnetic--had in his mind the wisdom of following the same theory in -matters of lesser significance, though of more individual import, than -those of astronomy and its correlated sciences. If so he was wise in -his generation, for later electricians have found that the system of -alternating currents especially at high tension, is of vast practical -importance. That he was practical in his use of the ideas of others -is shown by the fact that he preferred the metallic plates of Father -Hehl to his own passes, even though the report of the Royal Commission -ruined him--at any rate checked his success, by stating that similar -effects to those attending his passes could be produced by other -means, and that such passes had no effect unless through the patient’s -knowledge; in fact that it was all the work of imagination. Mesmer had -been asked to appear before the Commission of the Faculty of Medicine -appointed in 1784 to investigate and report, but he kept away. It would -not have injured any man to have appeared before such a commission if -his cause had been a good one. There were two such commissions. The -first was of the leading physicians of Paris, and included such men -as Benjamin Franklin, Lavoisier, the great chemist, and Bailly, the -historian of astronomy. - -It was distinctly to his disadvantage that Mesmer always kept at a -distance the whole corps of savants such as the Faculty of Medicine -and the Academy of Sciences--for they would no doubt have accepted -his views, visionary though they were, if he could have shown any -scientific base for them. True medical science has always been -suspicious of, and cautious regarding, empiricism. More than once he -stood in his own light in this matter--whether through obstinacy or -doubt of his own theory does not matter. For instance, in Vienna, -when his very existence as a scientist was at stake in the matter of -the effects of his treatment of Mademoiselle Paradis, he introduced a -humiliating clause in his challenge to the Faculty which caused them -to refuse to accept it. Mademoiselle Paradis was blind and subject -to convulsions. After treating her by his own method Mesmer said she -was cured. An oculist said, after testing, that she was as blind as -ever, and her family said that she was still subject to convulsions. -But Mesmer persisted that she was cured, that there was a conspiracy -against him, and that Mademoiselle Paradis had feigned. He challenged -the Faculty of Medicine on the subject of his discovery. Twenty-four -patients were to be selected by the Faculty; of these twelve were to be -treated by Mesmerism and the other half by the means ordinarily in use. -The condition he imposed was that the witnesses were _not_ to be of the -Faculty. - -Again, when in answer to a request on his part that the French -Government for the good of the community should subsidise him, a -proposal was made to him, he did not receive it favourably. The request -he made to Marie Antoinette was that he should have an estate and -château and a handsome income, so that he might go on experimenting; he -put the broad figures at four hundred or five hundred thousand francs. -The Government suggestion was that he should have a pension of twenty -thousand francs and the Cross of Saint Michael (Knighthood) if he would -communicate for public use, to a board of physicians nominated by the -King, such discoveries as he might make. After his refusal of the -Government proposition Mesmer went to Spa, taking with him a number -of his patients, and there opened a magnetic establishment where he -renewed his Paris success. He asked Parliament to hold an impartial -examination into the theory and working of Animal Magnetism. Foiled in -his scheme of state purchase on his own terms, he sold his secret to a -group of societies, the members of which were to pay him a subscription -of a hundred louis _per capita_. By this means he realised some 340,000 -livres--representing to-day over a million. The associated body was -composed of twenty-four societies called “societés de l’harmonie”--a -sort of Freemasonry, under a Grand Master and Chiefs of the Order. A -member had to be at the time of admission twenty-five years of age, of -honest state and good name, not to smoke tobacco, and to pay an annual -subscription of at least sixty francs. There were three grades in the -Order: Initiated Associates, Corresponding Associates and Uninitiated. -Amongst those belonging to the Society were such men as Lafayette, -d’Espremisnil, and Berthollet the great chemist. Berthollet had, -however, peculiar privileges, amongst which was the right of criticism. -On one occasion he had a “row” with Mesmer about his charlatanism. - -At length the French public, wearied with his trickeries and angry with -his cupidity, openly expressed their dissatisfaction. Whereupon he left -France, taking with him a fortune of three hundred and forty thousand -francs. He went to England and thence to Germany. Finally he settled -down in Mersbourg in his native country, Suabia, where he died in 1815, -at the age of eighty-one. - - - - -III. THE WANDERING JEW - - -The legend of the Wandering Jew has its roots in a belief in the -possibility of human longevity beyond what is natural and normal. It -is connected with the story of the Crucifixion and the mysteries that -preceded and followed it. Our account may find its starting point -in a book of extraordinary interest which made a sensation in the -seventeenth century and is still delightful reading. The passage which -should arrest our attention is as follows: - - “The story of the Wandering Jew is very strange and will hardly - obtain belief; yet there is a small account thereof set down by - _Matthew Paris_ from the report of an Armenian Bishop; who came - into this Kingdom about four hundred years ago, and had often - entertained this wanderer at his Table. That he was then alive, - was first called _Cartaphilus_, was keeper of the Judgment Hall, - whence thrusting out our Saviour with expostulation of his stay, - was condemned to stay until His return; was after baptized by - _Ananias_, and by the name of Joseph; was thirty years old in - the dayes of our Saviour, remembered the Saints that arised - with Him, the making of the Apostles’ Creed, and their several - peregrinations. Surely were this true, he might be an happy - arbitrator in many Christian controversies; but must impardonably - condemn the obstinacy of the Jews, who can contemn the Rhetorick - of such miracles, and blindly behold so living and lasting - conversions.” - -The above is taken from the work entitled “Pseudoxia Epidemica” or -Enquiries into very many Received Tenets and Commonly Presumed Truths -by Sir Thomas Brown, Knight M.D. This was first published in 1640, -so that the “about four hundred years ago” mentioned would bring the -report of the Armenian Bishop to the first half of the thirteenth -century. - -Thus unless there be something of an authoritative character to upset -the theory, Matthew Paris must be taken as the first European narrator -of the story. As a matter of fact the legend began just about the time -thus arrived at. The great work in Latin, “_Historia Major_,” was begun -by Roger of Wendover and completed in 1259 by the monk Matthew Paris. -It was not however published--in our ordinary sense of the word--until -the beginning of the year 1571 when Archbishop Parker took it in hand. -In the meantime the art of printing had been established and the new -world of thought and the reproduction of its fruit, had been developed -for common use. The _Historia Major_ was again printed in Zurich in -1589 and 1606. The next English edition was in 1640. This was reprinted -in Paris in 1644. The English edition of forty years later, 1684, -was a really fine specimen of typographic art. The authorship and -date of its printing are given: Matthaei Paris, Monachi Albanensis -Angli London MDCLXXXIV. The script is in ecclesiastical Latin and -to any modern reader is of a fresh and almost child-like sincerity -which at once disarms doubt or hostile criticism. Indeed it affords -a good example of the mechanism of myth, showing how the littleness -of human nature--vanity with its desire to shine and credulity in its -primitive form, are not subject to the controlling influences of either -sacredness of subject or the rulings of common sense. It lends another -meaning to the quotation of Feste, the jester: _Cucullus non facit -Monachum_. The artless narrative recorded in the _Historia Major_ makes -the whole inception of the myth transparent. In the monastery of St. -Albans a conversation is held by the monks on one side and the Armenian -Archbishop--name not given, on the other. The interpreter in French -is one Henri Spigurnel a native of Antioch, servant of the bishop. -We can gather even how Sir Thomas Brown M. D., doctor of Norwich and -most open-minded of scientists, lent himself, unconsciously, to the -propagation of error. Brown reading, or hearing read, the work of -Matthew Paris took it for granted that the record was correct and -complete; and in his own book summarises or generalises the statements -made. For instance he says that the Armenian bishop had “often -entertained this wanderer at his table” &c. Now it was his servant -who told the monks that the wandering Jew whom he had seen and heard -speaking many times dined at the table of his lord the Archbishop. -This at once minimises the value of the statement, for it does away -at once with the respect due to the bishop’s high office and presumed -character, and with the sense of intellectual acumen and accuracy which -might be expected to emanate from one of his scholarship and quality. -Thus we get the story not from an accredited Bishop on a foreign -mission--rare at the period and entrusted only to men of note--but from -the gossip of an Armenian lacquey or valet, trying to show his own -importance to a credulous serving brother of the monastery. And so, -after all, coming from this source it is to be accepted with exceeding -care--not to say doubt, even when seconded by the learned monastic -scribe Matthew. So, also, for instance is his statement regarding the -manner in which the wanderer’s life is miraculously prolonged. It is -to this effect. Each hundredth year Joseph falls into a faint so that -he lies for a time unconscious. When he recovers he finds that his age -is restored to that which it was when the Lord suffered. Joseph, it -must be borne in mind, is the Wandering Jew, once Cartaphilus, who had -kept Pilate’s judgment-hall. Then Matthew himself takes up the story -and gives what professes to be the _ipsissima verba_ of the servant as -to the conversation between Christ and Cartaphilus which culminated in -the terrible doom pronounced on the janitor who, from the showing, did -not seem a whit worse than any of the crowd present on that momentous -day in Jerusalem. When Jesus, wearied already with carrying the great -cross, leaned for a moment against the wall of the house of Cartaphilus -just opposite the Judgment-hall the official said: - - “‘Vade Jesu citius, vade, quid moraris?’ et Jesus severo vultu et - oculo respiciens eum, dixit: ‘Ego vado. Expectabis donec veniam.’” - -Now this is the whole and sole foundation of the individual Wandering -Jew. I say “individual” because there were before long other variants, -and many old beliefs and fables were appropriated and used to back up -the marvellous story, invented by the Armenian servant and recorded -by the learned monk, Matthew. Amongst these beliefs were those -which taught that John the Baptist never died; that the aloe blooms -only once in a hundred years; and that the phœnix renews itself in -fire. It is the tendency of legendary beliefs to group or nucleate -themselves as though there were a conscious and intentional effort at -self-protection; and this, together with the natural human tendency to -enlarge and elaborate an accepted idea, is responsible for much. The -legend started in the thirteenth century, took root and flourished, and -in the very beginning of the seventeenth a variant blossomed. In this -Joseph, originally Cartaphilus, became Ahasuerus. In the long pause the -story, after the manner of all things of earth, had grown, details not -being lacking. The world was informed through the Bishop of Schleswig, -how in 1547, at Hamburg, a man was seen in the Cathedral who arrested -attention--why we are not told. He was about fifty years of age, of -reverend manner, and dressed in ragged clothes; he bowed low at the -name of Christ. Many of the nobility and gentry who saw him recognised -him as one whom they had already seen in various places--England, -France, Italy, Hungary, Persia, Spain, Poland, Moscow, Lieffland, -Sweden, Denmark, Scotland, &c. Inquiry being made of him, he told the -Bishop that he was Ahasuerus the shoe-maker of Jerusalem, who had been -present at the Crucifixion and had ever since been always wandering. -He was well posted in history, especially regarding the lives and -sufferings of the Apostles, and told how, when he had directed Christ -to move on, the latter had answered: “I will stand here and rest, but -thou shalt move on till the last day.” He had been first seen, we are -told, at Lubeck. - -It is strange that in an age of religious domination many of the -legends of Our Saviour seem to have been based on just such intolerant -anger at personal slight as might have ruled a short-tempered, -vain man. For instance look at one of the Christ legends which was -reproduced in poor Ophelia’s distracted mind apropos of the owl, “They -say, the owl was a baker’s daughter.” The Gloucestershire legend runs -that Christ having asked for bread at baking time the mistress of the -bakery took dough from the oven, but her daughter having remonstrated -as to the size of the benefaction was turned into an owl. The penalty -inflicted on the erring janitor of the Presidium is another instance. - -The “Wandering Jew” legend once started, was hard to suppress. The -thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth centuries were the ages -of Jew-baiting in the kingdoms of the West, and naturally the stories -took their colour from the prevailing idea. - -In 1644, Westphalus learned from various sources that the Wandering Jew -healed diseases, and that he had said he was at Rome when it was burned -by Nero; that he had seen the return of Saladin after his Eastern -Conquests; that he had been in Constantinople when Salimen had built -the royal mosque; that he knew Tamerlane the Scythian, and Scander -Beg, Prince of Epirus; that he had seen Bajazet carried in a cage by -Tamerlane’s order; that he remembered the Caliphs of Babylon and of -Egypt, the Empire of the Saracens, and the Crusades where he had known -Godfrey de Bouillon. Amongst other things he seems to have apologised -for not seeing the Sack of Jerusalem, because he was at that time in -Rome at the Court of Vespasian. - -The Ahasuerus version of the Wandering Jew legend seems to have been -the popular one amongst the commonalty in England. As an instance -might be quoted the broad-sheet ballad of 1670. It is not without even -historical significance as it marks the measure of the time in many -ways. It is headed: “The Wandering Jew, or the Shoemaker of Jerusalem -who lived when Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ was crucified -appointed by Him to live until Coming again. Tune, _The Lady’s Fall_ -&c. Licens’d and Enter’d according to order.” The imprint runs: -“Printed by and for W. O. and sold by the Booksellers of Pyecorner and -London-Bridge.” - -A century and a half later--1828--was published a much more pretentious -work on the same theme. This was a novel written by Rev. George Croly. -It was called: “Salathiel: a Story of the Past, the Present, the -Future.” It was published anonymously and had an immediate and lasting -success. It was founded on historical lines, the author manifestly -benefiting by the hints afforded by the work of that consummate liar -(in a historical sense) Westphalus--or his informant. Croly was -a strange man with a somewhat abnormal faculty of abstraction. I -used to hear of him from my father who was a friend of his about a -hundred years ago. Being of gentle nature he did not wish to cause -any pain or concern to his family or dependents; but at the same -time he, as a writer, had to guard himself against interruption and -consequent digression of his thoughts during the times he set apart -for imaginative work. So he devised a scheme which might often be -put in practice with advantage by others similarly employed. When -settling down to a spell of such work--which as every creative -writer knows involves periods of mental abstraction though of bodily -restlessness--he would stick an adhesive wafer on his forehead. The -rule of the house was that when he might be adorned in this wise no one -was to speak to him, or even notice him, except under special necessity. - -The great vogue of _Salathiel_ lasted some ten or more years, when -the torch of the Wandering Jew was lighted by Eugene Sue the French -novelist who had just completed in the _Débats_ his story “Les Mystères -de Paris.” As its successor he chose the theme adopted by Croly, and -the new novel _Le Juif-Errant_ ran with overwhelming success in the -_Constitutionnel_. - -Sue was what in modern slang is called “up to date.” He knew every -trick and dodge of the world of advertisement, and in conjunction -with his editor, Dr. Veron, he used them all. But he had good wares -to exploit. His novels are really excellent, though the changes in -social life and in religious, political and artistic matters, which -took place between 1844 and 1910, make some things in them seem out of -date. His great imagination, and his firm and rapid grasp of salient -facts susceptible of being advantageously used in narrative, pointed -out to him a fresh road. It was not sufficient to the hour and place -that Cartaphilus--or Joseph--or Ahasuerus, or Salathiel or whatever he -might be called--should purge his sin by his personal sufferings alone. -In the legend, up to then accepted, he had long ago repented; so to -increase the poignancy of his sufferings, Sue took from the experience -of his own time a means of embittering the very inmost soul of such an -one. He must be made to feel that his existence is a curse not only to -himself but to all the world. To this end he attached to the Wanderer -the obligation of carrying a fell disease. The quick brain of the great -_feuilletonist_ seized the dramatic moment for utilising the occasion. -A dozen years before, the frightful spread of the cholera, which had -once again wrought havoc, woke the whole world to new terror. Some one -of uneasy mind who found diversion in obscure comparisons, noted from -the records of the disease that its moving showed the same progress in -a given direction as a man’s walking. A hint was sufficient for the -public who eagerly seized the idea that the Wandering Jew had, from the -first recorded appearance of the cholera, been the fated carrier of -that dreaded pestilence. The idea seemed to be a dramatic inspiration -and had prehensile grasp. Great as had been the success of the -_Mysteries of Paris_, that of _The Wandering Jew_ surpassed it, and for -half a century the new novel kept vividly before its readers the old -tradition, and so brought it down to the present. - -We may now begin to ask ourselves who and where in this great deception -was the impostor. Who was the guilty one? And at first glance we -are inclined to say “There is none! Whatever the error, mistake, -deception, or false conclusion, there has been no direct guilt.” This -is to presuppose that guilt is of conscious premeditation; and neither -intention of evil nor consciousness of guilt is apparent. In legal -phrase the _mens rea_ is lacking. - -It is a purely metaphysical speculation whether guilt is a necessary -element of imposition. One is an intellectual experience, the other is -an ethical problem; and if we are content to deal with responsibility -for another’s misdoing, the question of the degree of blameworthiness -is sufficient. Let us try a process of exclusions. The complete list of -those who had a part in the misunderstanding regarding the myth of the -Wandering Jew, leaving out the ostensible fictionists, were: - -The Abbot of St. Albans, the Archbishop of Armenia, the interpreter, -the Archbishop’s servant, the monks or laybrothers who singly or in -general conversed with any of the above; and finally Matthew Paris who -recorded the story in its various phases. Of these we must except from -all blame both the Abbot of St. Albans and the Archbishop of Armenia, -both of whom were good grave men of high character and to each of whom -had been entrusted matters of the highest concern. The interpreter -seems to have only fulfilled his office with exactitude; if in any way -or part he used his opportunity to impose on the ignorance of the host -or the guest there is no record, no suggestion of it. Matthew Paris -was a man of such keenness of mind, of such observation and of such -critical insight, that even to-day, after a lapse of over five hundred -years, and the withstanding of all the tests of a new intellectual -world which included such inventions as printing and photography, he -is looked upon as one of the ablest of chroniclers. Moreover he put no -new matter nor comments of his own into the wonderful and startling -narratives which he was called on to record. He even hints at or infers -his own doubt as to the statements made. The monks, servants and others -mentioned generally, were merely credulous, simple people of the time, -with reverence for any story regarding the _Via Dolorosa_, and respect -or awe for those in high places. - -There remains but the servant of the foreign Archbishop. It is to -him that we must look for any outrage on our normal beliefs. He was -manifestly a person of individually small importance--even Matthew -Paris whose trained work it was to record with exactness, and whose -duty it therefore was to sustain or buttress main facts, did not think -it necessary or worth while to mention his name. He had in himself -none of the dignity, honour, weight, learning or position of the -noble of the Church who was the Abbot’s guest. He was after all but -a personal servant; probably one of readiness and expediency with a -quick imagination and a glib tongue. One who could wriggle through a -difficult position, defend himself with ready acquiescence, gain his -ends of securing his master’s ease, and find all necessary doors open -through the bonhommie of his fellow servitors. Such an one accustomed -to the exigencies of foreign travel, must have picked up many quaint -conceits, legends and japes, and was doubtless a _persona grata_ liked -and looked up to by persons of his own class, sanctified to some little -extent by the reflected glory of his master’s great position. It is -more than likely that he had been the recipient of many confidences -regarding legend and conjecture concerning sacred matters, and that any -such legend as he spoke of would have been imparted under conditions -favourable to his own comfort. After the manner of his kind his -stories doubtless lost nothing in the telling and gained considerably -in the re-telling. Even in the short record of Matthew Paris, there -is evidence of this in the way in which, after the striking story of -Cartaphilus has been told, he returns to the matter again, adding -picturesque and inconclusive details of the manner of the centennial -renewal of the wanderer’s youth. The simplest analysis here will show -the falsity of the story; what the great logician Archbishop Whately -always insisted on--“internal evidence”--is dead against the Armenian -valet, courier, or servitor. He gave circumstantial account of the -periodic illness, loss of memory, and recovery of youth on the part -of Cartaphilus; but there is no hint of how he came to know it, and -Cartaphilus could not have told him, nor anybody else. We may, I think, -take it for granted that no other mere mortal was present, for, had any -other human being been there, all the quacksalvers of a thousand miles -around would have moved heaven and earth to get information of what was -going on, since in mediæval days there was nearly as much competition -in the world of charlatanism as there is to-day in the world of sport. -The Armenian was much too handy a man at such a crisis to be found out, -so we may give him the benefit of the doubt and at once credit him -with invention. It is hard to understand--or even to believe without -understanding--that so mighty a legend and one so tenacious of life, -arose and grew from such a beginning. And yet it is in accord with -the irony of nature that one who has unintentionally and unwittingly -achieved a publicity which would dwarf the malign reputation of -Herostratus should have his name unrecorded. - - - - -IV. JOHN LAW - -THE MISSISSIPPI SCHEME AND ITS ANTECEDENTS - - -The great “Mississippi Scheme” which wrought havoc on the French in -1720 is the central and turning point in the history of John Law, late -of Lauriston, Controller-General of Finance in France. His father, -William Law (grand nephew of James Law, Archbishop of Glasgow) was a -goldsmith in that city. - -As in the seventeenth century the goldsmiths were also the bankers and -moneylenders of the community, a successful goldsmith might be looked -on as on the highroad to great fortune. To William Law in 1671 was -born his first son John, who had considerable natural talent in the -way of mathematics--and a nature which was such as to nullify their -use. As a youth he showed proficiency in arithmetic and algebra, but -as he was also in those early days riotous and dissipated, we may -fairly come to the conclusion that he did not use his natural powers -to their best advantage. He was already a gambler of a marked kind. -Before he was of age he was already in debt and was squandering his -patrimony. He sold the estate of Lauriston which his thrifty father -had acquired, and gave himself over to a life of so-called pleasure. -His mother, who had family ambitions, bought the estate so that it -might remain in the family of its new possessors. He removed himself -to London where within a couple of years he was sentenced to death for -murder--not a vulgar premeditated murder for gain, but the unhappy -result of a duel wherein he had killed his opponent, a boon companion, -one Austin who had acquired the soubriquet of “Beau” Austin. Through -social influence the death penalty was commuted for imprisonment, -and the crime only regarded as manslaughter. He had however to deal -with the relatives of the dead man who were naturally vindictive. One -of them entered an appeal against the commutation of the sentence. -Law, with the characteristic prudence of his time and nationality, -did not wait for the leisurely settlement of the legal process, but -escaped to the continent where he remained for some years sojourning -in various places. Being naturally clever and daring he seems to have -generally fallen on his feet. Whilst in Holland he became secretary -to an important official in the diplomatic world, from which service -he drifted into an employment with the Bank of Amsterdam. Here the -natural bent of his mind found expression. Banking in some of its -forms is gambling, and as he was both banker and gambler--one by -inherited tendency and the other by personal disposition--he began to -find his vogue, addressing himself seriously to the intricacies and -possibilities of the profession of banking. He was back in Scotland in -1701 (a risky venture on his part for his felony had not been “purged”) -and published a pamphlet, “_Proposals and Reasons for constituting a -Council of Trade in Scotland_.” This he followed up after some years, -with another pamphlet, “_Money and Trade considered, with a proposal -for supplying the Nation with Money_”; and in the same year (1709) he -propounded to the Scotch Parliament a scheme for a State Bank on the -security of land--a venture which on being tried speedily collapsed. -This, like other schemes of that period, was based on the issue and use -of paper money. - -[Illustration: JOHN LAW] - -In the meantime, and for five or six years afterwards, he was -travelling variously throughout Europe, occupying himself with -formulating successive schemes of finance, and in gambling--a process -in which he, being both skilled and lucky, amassed a sum of over a -hundred thousand pounds. He had varying fortunes, however, and was -expelled from several cities. He was not without believers in his -powers. Amongst them was the Earl of Stair, then Ambassador to France, -who allured by his specious methods of finance, suggested to the Earl -of Stanhope that he might be useful in devising a scheme for paying off -the British National Debt. After the death of Louis XIV, in 1715, he -suggested to the Duke of Orleans, the Regent for the young King (Louis -XV), the formation of a State Bank. The Regent favoured the idea, but -his advisers were against it; it was, however, agreed that Law might -found a bank with power to issue notes and accept deposits. This was -done by Letters Patent and the _Banque Générale_ came into existence in -1710, and was an immediate success. Its principle was to issue paper -money which was to be repayable by coin. Its paper rose to a premium -in 1716; in 1717 there was a decree that it was to be accepted in the -payment of taxes. This created a new form of cheap money, with the -result that there was a great and sudden extension of industry and -trade. From this rose the idea of a new enterprise--The Mississippi -Company--which was to outvie the success of the East India Company -incorporated by Charter in 1600 under the title of “The Governor and -Company of the Merchants of London trading to the East Indies,” which -after periods of doubtful fortune, and having become consolidated with -its rival “The General East India Company”--partially in 1702, and -completely in 1708, under the somewhat elephantine name of “The United -Company of Merchants of England trading to the East Indies”--was now -a vast organization of national importance. To the new French Company -for exploiting the Mississippi Valley was made over Louisiana (which -then included what were afterwards the States of Ohio and Missouri). -The Decree of Incorporation was issued in 1717. The Parliament at -Paris presently grew jealous of such a concession having been given -to a foreigner; and the next year a rumour went about that Parliament -was about to have him arrested, tried, and hanged. The Regent met -the parliamentary resistance by making (1718) the _Banque Générale_ -into the _Banque Royale_--the King guaranteeing the notes. Law was -made Director General; but he was unable to prevent the Regent from -increasing the issue of paper money, by which means he managed to -satisfy dishonestly his own extravagance. It was a fiscal principle -of the time that the State accountants did not go behind the King’s -receipt--the _acquit de comptant_ as it was called. - -The Western Company was enlarged in 1718 by a grant of a monopoly of -tobacco, and of the rights of trading ships and merchandise of the -Company of Senegal. In 1719, the _Banque Royale_ absorbed the rights of -the East India and China Companies, and then assumed the all-embracing -title of _Compagnie des Indes_. The next year it took in the African -Company; and so through that the whole of the non-European trade of -France. In 1719, the management of the Mint was handed over to Law’s -Company; and he was thus enabled to manipulate the coinage. In the -same year he had undertaken to pay off the French National Debt, and -so become the sole creditor of the Nation. He already exercised the -functions of Receiver General and had revenue-farming abolished in its -favour. He now controlled the collection and disposal of the whole of -the State taxation. At this stage of his adventure, Law seemed a good -fiscal administrator. He repealed or reduced pressing taxes on useful -commodities, and reduced the price of necessaries by forty per cent. -so that the peasants could increase the value of their holdings and -their crops without fear of coming later into the remorseless grip of -the tax-farmer under the infamous _metayer_ system. Free-trade was in -the Provinces practically established. This, so far as it went, was all -Law’s doing. Turgot, who later got credit for what had been done, only -carried out what the Scotch financier had planned. - -Law had promised high dividends to the speculators in his scheme, and -had so far paid them; so it was no wonder that “The System” raised its -head again. In 1719-20, all France seemed to flock to Paris to such a -degree and with such unanimity of purpose, that it was difficult to -obtain room to go on with the necessary work of the Mississippi Scheme. -In such matters, resting on human greed which throws all prudence to -the winds, the pressure is always towards the centre; and the narrow -street of Quin cam poix became a seething mass, day and night, of -speculators in a hurry to buy shares. The time for trying to sell them -had not yet arrived. - -Naturally such a locality rose in value, and as demand emphasises -paucity of space, extraordinary prices ruled. Even a small share in -the lucky street, where fortunes could be made in an hour, rose to -fabulous value. Houses formerly letting for forty pounds a year now -fetched eight hundred pounds per month. And no wonder, when shares of -the face value of five hundred livres sold for ten thousand! When there -is such an overwhelming desire to buy, then is the opportunity for -sellers to realise, and the time for such speculation on the one side, -and for such commerce on the other, is naturally short and the need -pressing. - -At the beginning of 1720 everything seemed to be increasing in a sort -of geometric ratio. After a dividend of forty per cent. had been -declared, shares of five hundred value rose to eighteen thousand. -Greed, and the opportunity for satisfying its craving, turned the -heads of ordinarily sensible people. The whole world seemed mad. It -appeared right enough that the financial wonder-worker who had created -such a state of things should be loaded with additional honours. It -was only scriptural that he who had already multiplied his talents -should be entrusted with more. There was universal rejoicing when -John Law--exiled foreigner and condemned murderer--was appointed, in -January, 1720, Controller-General of the whole finances of France. -Naturally enough, even the hard head of the canny Scot began to -manifest symptoms of giving way in the shape of becoming _exalté_. And -naturally enough his enemies--financial, political and racial--did not -lose the opportunities afforded them of taking advantage of it. Tongues -began to wag, and all sorts of rumours, some of them reconcilable with -common sense and easily credible, others outrageous, began to go about. -Lord Stair reported that Law had boasted that he would raise France on -the ruins of England and Holland, to a greater height than she had ever -reached; that he could crush the East India Company and even destroy -British trade and credit when he chose. Stair resented this, and he and -Law from being close friends became enemies. To appease the incensed -and at present all-powerful Law, the powers that were recalled Lord -Stair. - -On 23 February 1720, the _Compagnie des Indes_ and the _Banque Royale_ -were united, thus linking the ends of the financial chain. “The System” -was now complete. - -When Aladdin set the Genius, who had hitherto worked so willingly, the -final task of hanging a roc’s egg in the centre of the newly-created -palace, he brought the whole structure tumbling about his ears. So it -was with John Law and the egregious Mississippi Scheme. His idea was -complete and perfect. But the high sun when it reaches its meridianal -splendour begins from that instant its downward course. - -The reaction was not long in manifesting itself. Usually in such -matters there is a pause before the great driving-wheels reverse -their motion, and the backward motion, beginning slowly, gathers way -as it progresses. But in this case human intelligence and not soulless -machinery was the propulsive force of reaction. The speculators had -begun to work before the onward movement had come to an end or even -begun to slacken. They were loaded up with a vast amount of stocks -whose value, even if there had been money to redeem them, was severely -limited, whereas they had purchased at prices varying between the -first rise above nominal value and that reached by the last desperate -speculator. It is not wise to hold such inflated stock too long, and in -a crisis sailing-master Wisdom orders Quarter-master Caution to take -a trick at the helm. When the bare idea of unification of financial -interests was mooted, the wise holders of stock commenced to unload. -When this movement began its progress was rapid--so long as there was -anything to be moved. The first class to feel it were the bankers. The -specie ran out like the pent-up water from a burst reservoir, till in -an incredibly short time there was not sufficient remaining to afford -the money-change needed in daily life. The advisers and officials of -the State, seriously alarmed, began at once to take strong measures -supported by royal decrees. Then as ruin began to stare the whole -nation in the face more and more with every hour, desperate expedients -were resorted to. The value of the currency was made by every -stratagem, dishonest trick, and unscrupulous exercise of power, to -fluctuate so that such differences or margins as arose might be grasped -forthwith for national use. Payments in bullion, except for very small -amounts, were forbidden. The possession of anything over five hundred -livres in specie was deemed an offence punishable by confiscation, -partial or wholesale, and by fine. Domiciliary visits were paid to seek -evidence of offence and to enforce the new laws, and informers in this -connection were well paid. - -Then began a war, between public oppression and individual trickery, -to defend acquired rights and evade unjust demands. The holders of -paper money, unable to realise in specie, tried to protect themselves -by purchasing goods of intrinsic value. Precious metals, jewels, and -such like were bought in such quantities that the supplies diminished -and the prices grew, until to avoid immediate ruin, such purchases -were proclaimed illegal and prohibited. Then ordinary commodities of -lesser values were tried as means of barter, till their prices too -rose to such an extent that trade was paralysed. In order to meet the -growing danger a still more desperate expedient was resorted to. A -decree was issued the effect of which would be to reduce--gradually -it was hoped--the obligation of bank notes to one-half their nominal -value. This completed the panic, for here was a position which could -not be guarded against by any prudence or wisdom. No one could -henceforth by any possibility be financially safe. The speculators who -had already realised were alone safe. _Bona fide_ investors, if not -already overwhelmed by disaster, saw the tide of ruin rising rapidly -around them. Nothing within the power of the state could now be done -to check or even lessen the state of panic; not even the reversal of -the late decree in ten days after its issue. To make matters still -worse the Banque at this very time suspended payment. Probably in -a wild endeavour to do _something_ which would avert odium from -itself by saddling the responsibility on someone else, the Government -procured the dismissal of Law from the Controller-Generalship of -Finance. However--strange to say--he was very soon appointed by the -Regent as Intendant-General of Commerce and Director of the ruined -bank. The much-vaunted, idolised, and believed-in “System” had now -fallen hopelessly and was ruined forever. Law was everywhere attacked -and insulted with such unmitigated rancour that he had to leave the -country. He had invested the bulk of the great fortune which he had by -now acquired, in estates in France; and these together with everything -else that he had were now confiscated. - -At the end of the same year, 1720, whilst he was at Brussels he was -asked by the command of the Czar (Peter), to administer the finances of -Russia, but declined. After this episode, grateful to a broken man, he -spent a couple of years wandering about Italy and Germany and probably -gaming a fluctuating income through gambling. Next he was to be found -in Copenhagen where he had sought sanctuary from his creditors. Next -year there was an outward change in his status, when he went to -England, on a ship of war, at the invitation of the Government. There -he was presented to George I. Somewhat to his chagrin he was denounced -in the House of Lords as a Catholic--(he had abjured his old belief of -Protestantism before accepting the high office of Controller-General -of Finances in 1720)--and an adherent of the Pretender. He pleaded in -the King’s Bench the Royal pardon for the murder of Beau Austin which -had been sent to him in 1719. He spent the succeeding few years in -England whence he corresponded with the Duke of Orleans. He expected -to be recalled to France but his hope was never realised. He wished to -go to the Continent but was practically a prisoner in England, fearing -to leave it lest he should be arrested by his creditors, amongst whom -was the new French East India Company which had been reconstructed on -the ruins of the old. In 1725 Sir Robert Walpole, then Prime Minister, -asked Lord Townshend, the Secretary of State, to give Law a King’s -commission of some sort, so that such might serve for his protection. -In the same year he went to Italy. He died in Venice in 1729, in what, -compared with his former state, was poverty. To the last he was a -gambler, always ready to take long risks for a prospect, however -remote, of large gain. A story is told that in his last years he -wagered his last thousand pounds to a shilling (20,000 to 1) against -the throwing of double sixes six consecutive times. The law of chances -was with him and naturally he won. He renewed his wager but the -authorities would not allow the further gamble to take place. - -John Law married, quite early in life, the daughter of the Earl of -Banbury and widow of Mr. Seignior. His widow died in 1747. Some of -the members of his family were not undistinguished; his son died a -Colonel in the Austrian service; and one of his nephews became Comte de -Lauriston and rose to be a General in the French army and Aide-de-Camp -to the first Napoleon. He was made a Marshal of France by Louis XVIII. - -John Law was a handsome and distinguished-looking man, blonde, with -small dark grey eyes and fresh complexion. He made an agreeable -impression on strangers. Saint-Simon, the social historian, gave him a -good character: “innocent of greed and knavery, a mild good man whom -fortune had not spoilt.” Others of his time regarded him as a pioneer -of modern statesmanship. - -How is it then that such a man must be set down an impostor? In -historical perspective as an impostor he must be regarded, though not -as such in the narrowest view. The answer is that his very prominence -sits amongst his judges. Lesser men, and greater men of lesser -position, might well stand excused in matters wherein he is accorded -condemnation. - - “That in the Captain’s but a choleric word - Which in the soldier is flat blasphemy.” - -If, when a man plays a game wherein life and death and the fortunes -of many thousands are involved, it behoves him to be at least -careful, much greater is his responsibility where the prosperity -and happiness of nations are at stake. Had Law merely started new -theories of finance, and had they gone wrong, he might well claim, -and be accorded, excuse. But his were inventions of what, in modern -slang, is called “get-rich-quick” principles. Not only did Law not -enrich human life--with one exception, that of enlarging the currency -in use--or add to the sum total of human well-being and happiness; he -even neglected to show that forethought and consideration for others -which in all honour ought to be exercised by the deviser and controller -of great risks. He was a gambler, and a gambler only. He merely put -into the pockets of some persons that which he had taken out of the -pockets of others; and in doing so showed no consideration for the -poor, the thrifty, the needy--for any of those whose contentment and -happiness depend on such as are in high places and dowered in some -way with productive powers. The soulless uneducated churl who does an -honest day’s work does more for humanity than the genius who merely -shifts about the already garnered wealth of ages. John Law posed as -a benefactor and accepted all the benefits that accrued to him from -the praises of those who followed in his wake and gleaned the rich -wastage of his empire-moving theories and schemes. Financiers of Law’s -type no more benefit a country or enrich a people than do the hordes -of wasters and “tape”-betting men who prey on labour as locusts do on -the crops. If they wish not to do unnecessary harm--which is putting -their duty at the lowest possible estimate--they should at least try to -avoid repeating the errors which have wrecked others. A brief glance at -the wreckage which lay well within the Scotch gambler’s vision, will -show how he shut his eyes deliberately not only to facts, but to the -many correlations of cause and effect. Before his Mississippi Scheme -was formulated, there had been experience of banking enterprises, of -schemes for mercantile combination and for the exploitation of capital, -of adventurous dealings in the developments of countries new and more -or less savage, East and West and South. - -The following list will typify. Of all these John Law had knowledge -sufficient to judge of difficulties to be encountered in the early -stages, of dangers not only incidental to the things themselves, but -based deep in human nature. - - The East India Company founded in 1600 - The Bank of England founded in 1694 - The Africa Company founded in 1695 - The Darien Company founded in 1695 - -A glance at each of these, all of which were within the scope and -knowledge of Law, their aims, formation and development, up to the time -spoken of, can hardly fail to be illuminative. The sixteenth century -had been an age of adventure and discovery; the seventeenth of the -foundation of great commercial enterprise, of conception of ideas, of -the constructive beginnings of things. The time for development had -come with the eighteenth; and now care and forethought, prudence and -resource, were the preparations for success. - -The East India Company was in reality the pioneer of corporate -trading, and as for nearly a hundred years it was in a measure alone -in its scale of magnitude, its experiences could well serve as -exemplar, guide, and danger signal. It was based on that surest of all -undertakings, natural growth. It came into existence because it was -wanted, and from no other cause. Its very name, its modest capital, its -self-protective purpose make for understanding. - -In its Charter of Incorporation its purpose was indicated in the name: -“The Governor and Company of Merchants of London trading to the East -Indies.” Its capital was £70,000, which though a large sum for those -days, was, according to our modern lights, an almost ridiculously small -sum for the object then before it, and to which it ultimately attained. -The time was ripe for just such an undertaking. - -The Peace of Vervins (1598) which left both France and Spain free -to look after their domestic concerns, was immediately followed by -the Edict of Nantes (1599) which gave religious liberty to France, -and such a new freedom is always followed by national expansion. -By this time Spain--the explorer or conqueror--and Holland--the -patient organiser--held Eastern commerce in their hands. England -had been gradually making a commerce of her own in the Indies, and -all that was required was an official acknowledgment, so that the -thunder of her guns should, when required, follow the creaking of her -cordage. From the story of this great enterprise, through its first -twenty-five years, could be drawn the lesson of such schemes as Law -was now formulating. Though it had succeeded, in spite of Dutch and -Portuguese opposition, in establishing “factories” when the historic -massacre by the Dutch at Amboyna in the Molucca Islands, took place -in 1725, the Eastern Company seemed near its dissolution. It was not -till the establishment of the Hooghly factory in 1742 that things -began to look up. After that, fortune favoured the Company more -than she had appeared likely to do at the start. The marriage of -Charles II to Catherine of Braganza in 1661 brought progress in its -train. Catherine’s dower, which included Bombay and so put a part of -Portugal’s later possessions in British keeping, greatly stimulated the -East India Company which thenceforth was able to weather the storms -that threatened or assailed. The privilege of making war on its own -account, conceded by Charles II, gave the Company a national importance -which was destined to consolidate its interests with those of England -itself. So strong did it become that before the end of the eighteenth -century it was able to resist the attack on its charter made by a -powerful and progressive rival, the “New Company.” The rivals, after a -few years of _pourparlers_ and tentative efforts, were united in 1708; -and thenceforth the amalgamation, under the title “The United Company -of Merchants of England trading to the East Indies,” was practically -unassailable on its own account. It was additionally safe in that it -had the protection of the great Whig Party under Godolphin. The capital -of the Company, now enlarged to £3,200,000, was lent to the Government -at five per cent. interest and was finally merged in the National -Funds. The history of the Company, after 1717 does not belong here, as -it is only considered as showing that John Law had the experience of an -earlier Company similar to his own to guide him in its management if he -had chosen to avail himself of it. - -The Bank of England was, strangely enough, the project of a Scotchman, -William Paterson. The plan was submitted to Government in 1691 but -was not carried into existence for three years. It was purely a -business concern, brought into effective existence through the needs -of commerce, the opportunity afforded being the need of the State -and the concern of the statesman. It had a capital at first of over -£1,200,000, which was loaned to the nation on the security of the taxes -when the Charter was signed, there being certain safeguards against -the possibility of political misuse. The Controlling Board was to have -twenty-five members who were to be elected annually by the stockholders -with a substantial qualification. There were at this time in England -private banks; but this was an effort to formulate the banking -rights, duties, and powers of capital under the ægis of the State -itself. But even so sound a venture, enormously popular from the very -first and with the whole might of the nation behind it, had its own -difficulties to encounter. Its instantaneous success was an incentive -to other adventurers; and the co-operation with government which it -made manifest created jealousy with private persons and commercial -concerns. Within two years its very existence was threatened, first by -the individual hostility of those in the bullion trade, who already -acted as bankers, and then by a rival concern incorporated under strong -political support. This was the National Land Bank whose purpose was -to use the security of real estate as a guarantee for the paper money -which it issued for convenient usage. Strong as the Bank of England -was by its nature, its popularity, and its support, it was in actual -danger until the rival which had never “caught on”--to use an apposite -Americanism--actually and almost instantaneously collapsed. - -The safety thus temporarily obtained was purchased at the cost to the -Government of a further loan of two million sterling--with the value to -the contra of an alliance thus begun with the Whig ministry. - -A further danger came from the mad and maddening South Sea Scheme five -years later; but from which it was happily saved solely through the -greater cupidity and daring of the newer company. - -The Darien Company, which followed hard on the heels of The African -Company, was formed in 1695, by Paterson; on the base of An Act of the -Scottish Parliament for the purpose of making an opening for Scottish -capital after the manner of the East India Company by which English -enterprise had already so largely benefited. Its career was of such -short duration and its failure so complete that there was little -difficulty in understanding the causes of its collapse. It might -serve for a _pendant_ of Lamb’s criticism of the meat that was “ill -fed and ill killed, ill kept and ill cooked.” The Company was started -to utilise, in addition to exploiting new lands, the waste of time, -energy and capital, between West and East; and yet it was not till the -first trading fleet was sailing that its objective was made known to -the adventurers. Its ideas of trading were those of a burlesque, and -its materials of barter with tropical savages on the criminal side of -the ludicrous--bibles, heavy woollen stuffs and periwigs! Naturally -a couple of years finished its working existence and “The rest is -silence.” And yet at the inception of the scheme two great nations vied -with one another for its control. - -There are those who may say that John Law was not an impostor, but -a great financier who made a mistake. Financiers must not make -mistakes--or else they must be classed amongst the impostors; for they -deal with the goods and prospects of others as well as their own. -Law was simply a gambler on a great scale. He led a nation, through -its units, to believe that the following of his ideas would lead to -success. Financial schemes without good ideas and practical working to -carry them out are deceptive and destructive. The Mississippi Scheme -is a case in point. If the original intention had been carried out -in its entirety--which involved vast pioneering and executive action -of present and future generations, and an almost absolute foregoing -of immediate benefits--the result would have been of immense service -to the successors in title of the original ventures. The assessable -value of the real estate conveyed under the Mississippi Scheme to-day -equals more than a third of the present gigantic National Debt of -France, swollen though the latter is by the Napoleonic wars, the war -with Austria, the cost and indemnity of the war with Germany, and, in -addition, by the long wars with England and Russia. - -If human beings had been angels, content with the prospect of gains in -the distant future, Law’s schemes might have succeeded. As it was, he, -working for his own purposes with an imperfect humanity, can only be -judged by results. - - - - -V. WITCHCRAFT AND CLAIRVOYANCE - -A. THE PERIOD - - -For convenience, the masculine offender is in demonology classed under -the female designation. According to Michelet and other authorities -there were ten thousand alleged witches for each alleged wizard! and -anyhow there is little etiquette as to the precedence of ladies in -criminal matters. - -The first English Statute dealing directly with witches appears to be -the thirty-third of Henry VIII (1541) which brought into the list of -felonies persons “devising or practising conjurations, witchcraftes, -sorcerie or inchantments or the digging up of corpses,” and depriving -such of the benefit of clergy. It was however repealed by I Edward VI -Cap. 12, and again by I Mary (in its first section.). Queen Elizabeth, -however, passed another Act (5 Elizabeth Cap. 16) practically repeating -that of her father, which had been in abeyance for more than thirty -years. The Statute of Elizabeth is exceedingly interesting in that it -states the condition of the law at that time. The opening words leave -no misunderstanding: - - “Whereas at this day there is no ordinary nor condigne punishment - provided against the wicked offences of conjurations or - invocations of evil spirits, or of sorceries, inchantments, - charmes or witchcraftes, which be practised to the obstruction - of the persons and goods of the Queene’s subjects, or for other - lewd purposes. Be it enacted that if any person or persons - after the first day of June next coming, shall use practice, or - exercise any invocations, or conjurations, of evill or wicked - spirits, to or for any intent or purpose, or else if any person - or persons after the said first day of June shall use, practice - or exercise any witchcraft, enchantment, charme or sorcerie, - whereby any person shall happen to be killed or destroied, that - then as well every such offendour or offendours in invocations, - or conjurations, as is aforesayde, their aydours and counsellors, - as also everie such offendour or offendours in that Witchcrafte, - enchantment, charme or sorcerie whereby the death of any person - doth ensue, their ayders and counsellors, being of eyther of - the sayde offences lawfully convicted and attainted, shall - suffer paines of death, as a felon or felons, and shall lose the - privilege and benefit of Clergy and sanctuary,” &c. - -In this act lesser penalties are imposed for using any form of -witchcraft or sorcery, for inducing to any persons harm, or to “provoke -any person to unlawfull love or to hurt or destroy any person in his -or her bodye, member or goods,” or for the discovery or recovery of -treasure. From that time down to the first quarter of the eighteenth -century, when the law practically died out, witchcraft had its place in -the category of legal offences. The law was finally repealed by an Act -in the tenth year of George II. The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries -were the time of witch-fever, and in that period, especially in its -earlier days when the belief had become epidemic, it was ruthless and -destructive. It is said that in Genoa five hundred persons were burned -within three months in the year 1515, and a thousand in the diocese of -Como in a year. Round numbers in such matters are to be distrusted, -as we find they seldom bear investigation; but there is little doubt -that in France and Germany vast numbers suffered and perished. Even in -more prosaic and less emotional England there were many thousands of -judicial murders in this wise. It is asserted that within two centuries -they totalled thirty thousand. - -It is startling to find such a weird and impossible credulity actually -rooted in the Statute book of one’s own country, and that there are -records of judges charging juries to convict. Sir Matthew Hale, a great -lawyer, a judge of the Common Pleas in 1654, and Lord Chief Justice in -1671, was a firm believer in witchcraft. He was a grave and pious man, -and all his life was an ardent student of theology as well as of law. -And yet in 1664 he sentenced women to be burned as witches. In 1716 a -mother and daughter--the latter only nine years of age--were hanged in -Huntingdon. In Scotland the last case of a woman being condemned as a -witch occurred at Dornoch in 1722. - -It is no easy task in these days, which are rationalistic, iconoclastic -and enquiring, to understand how the commonalty not only believed -in witchcraft but acted on that belief. Probably the most tolerant -view we can take, is that both reason and enquiry are essential -and rudimentary principles of human nature. Every person of normal -faculties likes to know and understand the reasons of things; -and inquisitiveness is not posterior to the period of maternal -alimentation. If we seek for a cause we are bound to find one--even -if it be wrong. _Omne ignotum pro magnifico_ has a wide if not always -a generous meaning; and when fear is founded on, if not inspired by -ignorance, that unthinking ferocity which is one of our birthrights -from Adam is apt to carry us further than we ever meant to go. In an -age more clear-seeing than our own and less selfish we shall not think -so poorly of primitive emotions as we are at present apt to. On the -contrary we shall begin to understand that in times when primitivity -holds sway, we are most in touch with the loftiest things we are -capable of understanding, and our judgment, being complex, is most -exact. Indeed in this branch of the subject persons used to call to aid -a special exercise of our natural forces--the æsthetic. When witchcraft -was a belief, the common idea was that that noxious power was almost -entirely held by the old and ugly. The young, fresh, and beautiful, -were seldom accepted as witches save by the novelty-loving few or -those of sensual nature. This was perhaps fortunate--if the keeping -down of the population in this wise was necessary; it is easier as -well as safer to murder the uncomely than those of greater charm. In -any case there was no compunction about obliterating the former class. -The general feeling was much the same as that in our own time which in -sporting circles calls for the destruction of vermin. - -It will thus be seen that the profession of witchcraft, if occasionally -lucrative, was nevertheless always accompanied with danger and -execration. This was natural enough since the belief which made -witchcraft dangerous was based on fear. It is not too much to say that -in every case, professed witchcraft was an expression of fraudulent -intent. Such pity, therefore, as the subject allows of must be confined -to the guiltless victims who, despite blameless life, were tried by -passion, judged by frenzy, and executed by remorseless desperation. -There could be no such thing as quantitative analysis of guilt with -regard to the practice of witchcraft: any kind of playing with the -subject was a proof of _some_ kind of wrongful intent, and was to be -judged with Draconian severity. Doubtless it was a very simple way -of dealing with evils, much resembling the medical philosophy of the -Chinese. The whole logic of it can be reduced to a sorites. Any change -from the normal is the work of the devil--or _a_ devil as the case -may be. Find out the normal residence of that especial devil--which -is in some human being. Destroy the devil’s dwelling. You get rid of -the devil. It is pure savagery of the most primitive kind. And it -is capable of expansion, for logic is a fertile plant, and when its -premises are wrong it has the fecundity of a weed. Before even a savage -can have time to breathe, his logic is piling so fast on him that he -is smothered. If a human being is a devil then the club which destroys -him or her is an incarnation of good, and so a god to be worshipped in -some form--or at any rate to be regarded with esteem, like a sword, -or a legal wig, or a stethoscope, or a paint-brush, or a shovel, -or a compass, or a drinking-vessel, or a pen. If all the necessary -conditions of life and sanity and comfort were on so primitive a base, -what an easy world it would be to live in! - -One benefit there was in witchcraft, though it was not recognised -officially as such at the time. It created a new industry--a whole -crop of industries. It is of the nature of belief that it encourages -belief--not always of exactly the same kind--but of some form which -intelligence can turn into profit. We cannot find any good in the new -industry--grapes do not grow on thorns nor figs on thistles. The sum -of human happiness was in no sense augmented; but at least a good deal -of money or money’s worth changed hands; which, after all, is as much -as most of the great financiers can point to as the result of long and -strenuous success. In the organisation of this form of crime there were -many classes, of varying risks and of benefits in inverse ratio to -them. For the ordinary rule of finance holds even here: large interest -means bad security. First there were the adventurers themselves who -took the great risks of life and its collaterals--esteem, happiness, -&c. The money obtained by this class was usually secured by fraudulent -sales of worthless goods or by the simple old financial device of -blackmail. Then there were those who were in reality merely parasites -on the pleasing calling--those timorous souls who let “‘I dare not’ -wait upon ‘I would’ like the poor cat i’ the adage.” These were -altogether in a poorer way of trade than their bolder brothers and -sisters. They lacked courage, and sometimes even sufficient malice -for the proper doing of their work; with the result that success -seldom attended them at all, and never heartily. But at any rate they -could not complain of inadequate punishment; whenever religious zeal -flamed up they were generally prominent victims. They can in reality -only be regarded as specimens of parasitic growth. Then there came -the class known in French criminal circles as _agents provocateurs_, -whose business was not only to further ostensible crime but to work -up the opposition against it. Either branch of their art would -probably be inadequate; but by linking their services they managed to -eke out a livelihood. Lastly there was the lowest grade of all, the -Witch-finder--a loathly calling, comparable only to the class or guild -of “paraskistae” or “rippers” in the ritual of the Mummy industry of -ancient Egypt. - -Of these classes we may I think consider some choice specimens--so -far as we may fittingly investigate the _personnel_ of a by-gone -industry. Of the main body, that of Wizards and Witches or those -pretending to the cult, let us take Doctor Dee and Madame Voisin, and -Sir Edward Kelley and Mother Damnable--thus representing the method of -the procession of the unclean animals from the Ark. Of the class of -Witchfinders one example will probably be as much as we can stand, and -we will naturally take the one who obtained fame in his calling--namely -Matthew Hopkins, who stands forth like Satan, “by merit raised to that -bad eminence.” - - - - -B. DOCTOR DEE - - -Even a brief survey of the life of the celebrated “Doctor Dee,” the -so-called “Wizard” of the sixteenth century, will leave any honest -reader under the impression that in the perspective of history he was -a much maligned man. If it had not been that now and again he was led -into crooked bye-paths of alleged occultism, his record might have -stood out as that of one of the most accomplished and sincere of the -scientists of his time. He was in truth, whatever were his faults, -more sinned against than sinning. If the English language is not so -elastic as some others in the matter of meaning of phrases, the same -or a greater effect can be obtained by a careful use of the various -dialects of the British Empire. In the present case we may, if English -lacks, well call on some of the varieties of Scotch terminology. -The intellectual status of the prime wizard, as he is held to be in -general opinion, can be well indicated by any of the following words -or phrases “wanting,” “crank,” “a tile off,” “a wee bit saft,” “a bee -in his bonnet.” Each of these is indicative of some form of monomania, -generally harmless. If John Dee had not had some great qualities, such -negative weaknesses would have prevented his reputation ever achieving -a permanent place in history of any kind. As it is his place was won by -many accomplished facts. The following is a broad outline of his life, -which was a long one lasting for over eighty years. - -John Dee was born in 1527, and came of a Welsh race. A good many years -after his start in life he, after the harmless fashion of those (and -other) times, made out a family tree in which it was shewn that he was -descended from, among other royalties, Roderick the Great, Prince of -Wales. This little effort of vanity did not, however, change anything. -The world cared then about such things almost as little as it does -now; or, allowing for the weakness of human beings in the way of their -own self-importance, it might be better to say as it professes to do -now. John Dee was sent to the University of Cambridge when he was only -fifteen years old. The College chosen for him was St. John’s, and here -he showed extraordinary application in his chosen subject, mathematics. -He took his probationary degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1545, and was -made a Fellow in 1546. In his early years of College life his work was -regulated in a remarkable way. Out of the twenty-four hours, eighteen -were devoted to study, four to sleep, the remaining two being set -apart for meals and recreation. Lest this should seem incredible it -may be remembered that three hundred years later, the French Jesuits, -having made exhaustive experiments, arrived at the conclusion that for -mere purposes of health, without making any allowance for the joy or -happiness of life, and treating the body merely as a machine from which -the utmost amount of work mental and physical could be got without -injury, four hours of sleep per diem sufficed for health and sanity. -And it is only natural that a healthy and ambitious young man trying to -work his way to success would, or might have been, equally strenuous -and self-denying. His appointment as Fellow of St. John’s was one of -those made when the College was founded. That he was skilled in other -branches of learning was shown by the fact that in the University he -was appointed as Under Reader in Greek. He was daring in the practical -application of science, and during the representation of one of the -comedies of Aristophanes, created such a sensation by appearing to fly, -that he began to be credited by his companions with magical powers. -This was probably the beginning of the sinister reputation which seemed -to follow him all his life afterwards. When once an idea of the kind -has been started even the simplest facts of life and work seem to -gather round it and enlarge it indefinitely. So far as we can judge -after a lapse of over three hundred years, John Dee was an eager and -ardent seeker after knowledge; and all through his life he travelled -in the search wherever he was likely to gain his object. It is a main -difficulty of following such a record that we have only facts to -follow. We know little or nothing of motives except from results, and -as in the development of knowledge the measure of success can only -bear a small ratio to that of endeavour, it is manifest that we should -show a large and tolerant understanding of the motives which animate -the seeker for truth. In the course of his long life John Dee visited -many lands, sojourned in many centres of learning, had relations of -common interests as well as of friendship with many great scholars, -and made as thinker, mathematician, and astronomer, a reputation far -transcending any ephemeral and purely gaseous publicity arising from -the open-mouthed wonder of the silly folk who are not capable of even -trying to understand things beyond their immediate ken. Wherever he -went he seems to have been in touch with the learned and progressive -men of his time, and always a student. At various times he was in -the Low Countries, Louvain (from whose University he obtained the -degree of LL.D.), Paris, Wurtemberg, Antwerp, Presburg, Lorraine, -Frankfort-on-the-Oder, Bohemia, Cracow, Prague, and Hesse-Cassel. He -even went so far afield as St. Helena. He was engaged on some great -works of more than national importance. For instance, when in 1582, -Pope Gregory XIII instituted the reform of the Calendar which was -adopted by most of the great nations of the world, Dee approved and -worked out his own calculations to an almost similar conclusion, -though the then opposition to him cost England a delay of over one -hundred and seventy years. In 1572 he had proved his excellence as an -astronomer in his valuable work in relation to a newly discovered star -(Tycho Brahe’s) in Cassiopœia. In 1580 he made a complete geographical -and hydrographical map of the Queen’s possessions. He tried--but -unhappily in vain--to get Queen Mary to gather the vast collections -of manuscripts and old books which had been made in the Monasteries -(broken up by Henry VIII) of which the major part were then to be -obtained both easily and cheaply. He was a Doctor of Laws (which -by the way was his only claim to be called “Doctor” Dee, the title -generally accorded to him). He was made a rector in Worcestershire in -1553; and in 1556, Archbishop Parker gave him ten years’ use of the -livings of Upton and Long Leadenham. He was made Warden of Manchester -College in 1595, and was named by Queen Elizabeth as Chancellor of St. -Paul’s. In 1564, he was appointed Dean of Gloucester, though through -his own neglect of his own interest it was never carried out. The -Queen approved, the Archbishop sealed the deed; but Dee, unmindful, -overlooked the formality of acceptance and the gift eventually went -elsewhere. Queen Elizabeth, who consistently believed in and admired -him, wanted to make him a bishop, but he declined the responsibility. -For once the formality at consecration: “_Nolo Episcopari_” was spoken -with truthful lips. More than once he was despatched to foreign places -to make special report in the Queen’s service. That he did not--always, -at all events--put private interest before public duty is shown by his -refusal to accept two rectories offered to him by the Queen in 1576, -urging as an excuse that he was unable to find time for the necessary -duties, since he was too busily occupied in making calculations for -the reformation of the Calendar. He seems to have lived a most proper -life, and was twice married. After a long struggle with adversity in -which--last despair of a scholar--he had to sell his books, he died -very poor, just as he was preparing to migrate. At his death in 1608 -he left behind him no less than seventy-nine works--nearly one for -each year of his life. Just after the time of the Armada, following on -some correspondence with Queen Elizabeth, he had returned to England -after long and adventurous experiences in Poland and elsewhere, during -which he had known what it was to receive the honours and affronts of -communities. He took back with him the reputation of being a sorcerer, -one which he had never courted and which so rankled in him that many -years afterwards he petitioned James I to have him tried so that he -might clear his character. - -If there be any truth whatever in the theory that men have attendant -spirits, bad as well as good, Dr. Dee’s bad spirit took the shape of -one who pretended to occult knowledge, the so-called Sir Edward Kelley -of whom we shall have something to say later on. - -Dee was fifty-four years of age when he met Sir Edward Kelley who was -twenty-eight years his junior. The two men became friends, and then -the old visionary scholar at once became dominated by his younger and -less scrupulous companion, who very soon became his partner. From that -time Dee’s down-fall--or rather down-_slide_ began. All the longings -after occult belief which he had hitherto tried to hold in check began -not only to manifest themselves, but to find expression. His science -became merged in alchemy, his astronomical learning was forced into -the service of Astrology. His belief, which he as a cleric held before -him as a duty, was lost in spiritualism and other forms of occultism. -He began to make use for practical purposes of his crystal globe and -his magic mirror in which he probably had for long believed secretly. -Kelley practically ruined his reputation by using for his own purposes -the influence which he had over the old man. His opportunities were -increased by the arrival in England of Laski, about 1583. The two -scholars had many ideas in common, and Kelley did not fail, in the -furtherance of his own views, to take advantage of the circumstance. -He persuaded Dee to go with his new friend to Poland, in the hope of -benefiting further in his studies in the occult by wider experience -of foreign centres of learning. They journeyed to Laskoe near Cracow, -where the weakness of the English scholar became more evident and his -form of madness more developed. Dee had now a fixed belief in two -ideas which he had hitherto failed to materialise--the Philosopher’s -Stone and the Elixir of Life, both of them dreams held as possible of -realisation to the scientific dreamer in the period of the Renaissance. -Dee believed at one time that he had got hold of the Philosopher’s -Stone, and actually sent to Queen Elizabeth a piece of gold taken from -a transmuted warming-pan. As it is said in the life of Dee that he -and Kelley had found a quantity of the Elixir of Life in the ruins of -Glastonbury Abbey, we can easily imagine what part the latter had in -the transaction. It was he, too, who probably fixed on Glastonbury as -the place in which to search for Elixirs, as that holy spot had already -a reputation of its own in such matters. It has been held for ages that -the staff used by Joseph of Arimathea took root and blossomed there. -Somehow, whatever the Glastonbury Elixir did, the Philosopher’s Stone -did not seem to keep its alleged properties in the Dee family. John -Dee’s young son Arthur, aged eight, tried its efficacy; but without -success. Perhaps it was this failure which made Kelley more exacting, -for a couple of years later in 1589, he told his partner that angels -had told him it was the divine wish that they should have their wives -in common. The sage, who was fond of his wife--who was a comely woman, -whereas Kelley’s was ill favoured and devoid of charms--naturally -demurred at such an utterance even of occult spirits. Mrs. Dee also -objected, with the result that there were alarums and excursions and -the partnership was rudely dissolved--which is a proof that though the -aged philosopher’s mind had been vitiated by the evil promptings of his -wily companion he had not quite declined to idiocy. - - - - -C. LA VOISIN - - -In Paris a woman named Des Hayes Voisin, a widow who had taken up the -business of a midwife, towards the end of the seventeenth century -made herself notorious by the telling of fortunes. Such at least -was the manifest occupation of the worthy lady, and as she did not -flaunt herself unduly, her existence was rather a retired one. Few who -did not seek her services knew of her existence, fewer still of her -residence. The life of a professor of such mysteries as the doings of -Fate--so-called--is prolonged and sweetened by seclusion. But there -is always an “underground” way of obtaining information for such as -really desire it; and Madame Voisin, for all her evasive retirement, -was always to be found when wanted--which means when she herself wanted -to be found. She was certainly a marvellous prophet, within a certain -range of that occult art. Like all clever people she fixed limitations -for herself; which was wise of her, for to prophesy on behalf of every -one who may yearn for a raising of the curtain, be it of never so small -a corner, on all possible subjects, is to usurp the general functions -of the Almighty. Wisely therefore, Madame Voisin became a specialist. -Her subject was husbands; her chief theme their longevity. Naturally -such women as were unsatisfied with the personality, circumstances, -or fortunes of their partners, joined the mass of her _clientèle_, a -mass which taking it “bye and large” maintained a strange exactness -of dimensions. This did not much trouble the public, or even the body -of her clients, for no one except Madame herself knew their numbers. -It was certainly a strange thing how accurately Madame guessed, for -she had seemingly no data to go on--the longevity of the husbands were -never taken into the confidence of the prophet. She took care to keep -almost to herself the rare good fortune, in a sense, which attended her -divination; for ever since the misfortune which had attended the late -Marquise de Brinvilliers became public, the powers of the law had taken -a quite unnecessary interest in the proceedings of all of her cult. -Longevity is quite a one-sided arrangement of nature; we can only be -sure of its accuracy when it is too late to help in its accomplishment. -In such a game there is only one throw of the dice, so that it behoves -anyone who would wager successfully to be very sure that the chances -are in his--or her--favour. - -Madame Voisin’s clients were generally in a hurry, and so were willing -to take any little trouble or responsibility necessary to ensure -success. They had two qualities which endear customers to those of La -Voisin’s trade; they were grateful and they were silent. That they -were of cheery and hopeful spirit was shown by the fact that as a rule -they married again soon after the dark cloud of bereavement had fallen -on them. When the funeral baked meats have coldly furnished forth the -marriage tables, it is better to remain as inconspicuous as possible; -friends and onlookers will take notice, and, when they notice, they -will talk. Moreover the new partner is often suspicious and apt to be a -little jealous of his predecessor in title. Thus, Madame Voisin being -clever and discreet, and her clients being--or at any rate appearing -to be--happy in their new relations and silent to the world at large, -all went prosperously with the kindly-hearted prophet. No trouble rose -as to testamentary dispositions. Men who are the subjects of prophecy -have usually excellently-drawn wills. This is especially the case with -husbands who are no longer young. Young husbands are as a rule not made -the subjects of prophecy. - -Madame Voisin’s great accuracy of prediction did not excite at the -time so much public admiration as it might have done if she or her -clients had taken the public more into their confidence; but it was -noted afterwards that in most cases the male individual who retired -early from the scene was the senior partner in that _congeries_ of -three which has come to be known as “the eternal triangle.” In later -conversations, following in the wake of the completed prophecy, -confidences were exchanged as to the studies in certain matters -of science in which Madame Voisin seemed to have attained a rare -proficiency. - -The late Mr. Charles Peace, an adventurous if acquisitive spirit, who -gave up his life in the same manner as the deceased Mr. Haman, worked -alone during the long period of his professional existence, and with -misleading safety. The illustrious French lady-prophet unwisely did -not value this form of security, and so multiplied opportunities of -failure. She followed an entirely opposite policy, one which though it -doubtless stood by her on many occasions had a fatal weakness. In some -ways it may facilitate matters if one is one’s own Providence; such -a course avoids temporarily errors of miscalculation or deduction of -probable results. And just as the roulette table has certain chances -in favour of Zero, there is for the practical prophet a large hazard -in that the dead are unable to speak or to renew effort on a more -favourable basis. La Voisin, probably through some unfavourable or -threatening experiences, saw the wisdom of associating the forces of -prediction and accomplishment, and with the readiness of an active -personality effected the junction. For this she was already fairly -well equipped with experiences. Both as a wife and a lover of warm -and voluptuous nature she understood something of the passions of -humanity, on both the female and the male side; and being a woman she -knew perhaps better of the two the potency of feminine longing. This -did not act so strongly in the lesser and more directly commercial, -if less uncertain, phases of her art, such as finding lost property, -divining the result of hazards, effecting immunity from danger, or the -preserving indefinitely the more pleasing qualities of youth. But in -sterner matters, when the issue was of life or death, the masculine -tendency towards recklessness kicked the beam. As a nurse in active -touch with both medical and surgical wants, aims, and achievements, -she was at ease in the larger risks of daily life. And after all, her -own ambitions, aided by the compelling of her own natural demands -for physical luxury, were quite independent, only seeking through -exiguous means a way of achievement. In secret she studied the mystery -of a toxicologist; and, probably by cautious experiment, satisfied -herself of her proficiency in that little-known science. That she had -other aims, more or less dependent on this or the feelings which its -knowledge superinduced, can be satisfactorily guessed from some of her -attendant labours which declared themselves later. - -After a time La Voisin’s vogue as a sorceress brought her into -certain high society where freedom of action was unhampered by moral -restraints. The very rich, the leaders of society and fashion of the -time, the unscrupulous whose ambitious efforts had been crowned with -success of a kind, leaders of Court life, those in high military -command, mistresses of royalty and high aristocracy--all became -companions and clients in one or more of her mysterious arts. Amongst -them were the Duchesse de Bouillon, the Comtesse de Soissons, Madame -de Montespan, Olympe de Mancini, Marshal de Luxembourg, the Duc de -Vendôme, Prince de Clermont-Lodeve. It was not altogether fashionable -not to be in touch with Madame Voisin. Undeterred by the lessons of -history, La Voisin went on her way, forced as is usual in such cases by -the circumstances which grow around the criminal and prove infinitely -the stronger. She was at the height of her success when the public -suspicion, followed by action, revealed the terrible crimes of the -Marquise de Brinvilliers; and she was caught in the tail of the tempest -thus created. - -This case of Madame de Brinvilliers is a typical one of how a human -being, goaded by passion and lured by opportunity, may fall swiftly -from any estate. It is so closely in touch with that of Madame Voisin -that the two have almost to be considered together. They began with the -desire for dabbling in forbidden mysteries. Three men--two Italians -and one German, all men of some ability--were violent searchers for -the mythical “philosopher’s stone” which was to fulfil the dream of -the mediæval alchemist by turning at will all things into gold. In the -search they all gravitated to Paris. There the usual thing happened. -Money ran short and foolish hoping had to be supplemented by crime. -In the whirling world of the time there was always a ready sale for -means to an end, however nefarious either might be. The easy morality -of the time allowed opportunity for all means, with the result that -there was an almost open dealing in poisons. The soubriquet which stole -into existence--it dared not proclaim itself--is a self-explanatory -historical lesson. The _poudre de succession_ marks an epoch which, -for sheer, regardless, remorseless, profligate wickedness is almost -without peer in history, and this is said without forgetting the time -of the Borgias. Not even natural affection or family life or individual -relationship or friendliness was afforded any consideration. This phase -of crime, which was one almost confined to the upper and wealthier -classes, depended on wealth and laws of heredity and entail. Those who -benefited by it salved what remnants of conscience still remained to -them with the thought that they were but helping the natural process of -waste and recuperation. The old and feeble were removed, with as little -coil as might be necessary, in order that the young and lusty might -benefit. As the change was a form of plunder, which had to be paid -for in a degree in some way approximate to results, prices ran high. -Poisoning on a successful scale requires skilful and daring agents, -whose after secrecy as well as whose present aid has to be secured. -Exili and Glasser--one of the Italians and the German--did a thriving -trade. As usual in such illicit traffic, the possibility of purchase -under effective conditions made a market. There is every reason to -believe from after results that La Voisin was one such agent. The cause -of La Brinvilliers entering the market was the purely personal one of -an affair of sensual passion. Death is an informative circumstance. -Suspicion began to leak out that the polyglot firm of needy foreigners -had dark dealings. Two of them--the Italians--were arrested and sent to -the Bastille where one of them died. By unhappy chance the other was -given as cell-companion Captain Sainte-Croix, who was a lover of the -Marquise de Brinvilliers. Sainte-Croix as a Captain in the regiment -of the Marquis had become intimate in his house. Brinvilliers was a -fatuous person and of imperfect moral vision. The Captain was handsome, -and Madame la Marquise amorous. Behold then all the usual _personnel_ -of a tragedy of three. After a while the intrigue became a matter of -family concern. The lady’s father,--the Civil Lieutenant d’Aulroy, -procured a _lettre de cachet_, and had the erring lover immured in the -Bastille as the easiest and least public way out of the difficulty. -“Evil communications corrupt good manners,” says the proverb. The -proverbial philosopher understated the danger of such juxtaposition. -Evil manners added corruption even to their kind. In the Bastille the -exasperated lover listened to the wiles of Exili; and another stage -of misdoing began. The Marquise determined on revenge, and be sure -that in such a case in such a period even the massive walls of the -Bastille could not prevent the secret whisper of a means of effecting -it. D’Aulroy, his two sons, and another sister perished. Brinvilliers -himself was spared through some bizarre freak of his wife’s conscience. -Then the secret began to be whispered--first, it was said, through -the confessional; and the _Chambre Ardente_, analogous to the British -Star Chamber, instituted for such purposes, took the case in hand. The -result might have been doubtful, for great social forces were at work -to hush up such a scandal, but that, with a truly seventeenth century -candour, the prisoner had written an elaborate confession of her guilt, -which if it did not directly assure condemnation at least put justice -on the right track. - -The trial was a celebrated one, and involved incidentally many -illustrious persons as well as others of lesser note. In the end, in -1676, Madame la Marquise de Brinvilliers was burned--that is, what was -left of her was burned after her head had been cut off, a matter of -grace in consideration of her rank. It is soothing to the feelings of -many relatives and friends--not to mention those of the principal--in -such a case when “great command o’ersways the order” of purgation by -fire. - -Before the eddy of the Brinvilliers’ criminal scandal reached to the -lower level of Madame Voisin, a good many scandals were aired; though -again “great command” seems to have been operative, so far as human -power availed, in minimising both scandals and punishments. Amongst -those cited to the _Chambre Ardente_ were two nieces of Cardinal -Mazarin, the Duchesse de Bouillon, the Comtesse de Soissons, and -Marshal de Luxembourg. In some of these cases that which in theatrical -parlance is called “comic relief” was not wanting. It was a witty if -impertinent answer of the Duchesse de Bouillon to one of her judges, -La Reyne, an ill-favoured man, who asked, apropos of a statement made -at the trial that she had taken part in an alleged invocation of -Beelzebub, “and did you ever see the Devil?”-- - -“Yes, I am looking at him now. He is ugly, and is disguised as a -Councillor of State!” - -The King, Louis XIV, took much interest in the trial and even tried -now and again to smooth matters. He even went so far as to advise -the Comtesse de Soissons who was treated by the Court rather as a -foolish than a guilty woman, to keep out of the way if she were really -guilty. In answer she said with the haughtiness of her time that -though she was innocent she did not care to appear in a Law Court. She -withdrew to Brussels where she died some twenty years later. Marshal -de Luxembourg--François Henri de Montmorenci-Boutteville, duke, peer, -Marshal of France to give his full titles--was shown to have engaged in -an attempt to recover lost property by occult means. On which basis -and for having once asked Madame Voisin to produce his Satanic Majesty, -he was alleged to have sold himself to the Devil. But his occult -adventures did not stand in the way of his promotion as a soldier -though he had to stand a trial of over a year long; he was made Captain -of the Guard and finally given command of the Army. - -La Voisin with her accomplices--a woman named Vigoureux and Le Sage, -a priest--were with a couple of score of others arrested in 1679, and -were, after a spell of imprisonment in the Bastille, tried. As a result -Voisin, Vigoureux and her brother, and Le Sage were burned early in -1680. In Voisin’s case the mercy of previous decapitation, which had -been accorded to her guilty sister Brinvilliers, was not extended to -her. Perhaps this was partly because of the attitude which she had -taken up with regard to religious matters. Amongst other unforgivable -acts she had repelled the Crucifix--a terrible thing to do according to -the ideas of that superstitious age. - - - - -D. SIR EDWARD KELLEY - - -Carlyle in his _French Revolution_ makes a contrast between two works -of imagination which mark the extremes of the forces that made for -the disruption of France, _Paul et Virginie_ and _Le Chevalier de -Faublas_. The former he calls “the swan-song of old dying France”; of -the latter he says “if this wretched _Faublas_ is a death-speech, it -is one under the gallows, and by a felon that does not repent.” This -double analogy may well serve for a comparison of Dr. Dee and the man -who was at once his partner for a time, and his evil genius. The grave -earnest old scholar, with instincts for good, high endeavour, and a -vast intellectual strength, contrasts well with the mean-souled shifty -specious rogue who fastened himself on him and leech-like drained him -“dry as hay.” - -Such historians as mention the existence of the latter are even a -little doubtful how to spell his name. This, however, does not matter -much--nay, at all, for it is probably not that to which he was born. -Briefly the following is his record as far as can be discovered. He -was born in 1555 to parents living in Worcester, who having tried -to bring him up as an apothecary, sent him to Oxford when he was -seventeen years of age. There he was entered at Gloucester Hall, -under the name of Talbot. As however three men of that name were in -the Hall at the same time, it is doubtful what family can claim the -honour of his kinship. His college life was short--only lasting a -year--and inconspicuous. “He left,” we are told, “abruptly.” Then, as -if to complete the purely educational phase of his existence, he was -for a while an attorney, eking out the tenuity of his legal practice -by aid of forgery. Thus full-fledged for his work in life, he made -his first properly-recorded appearance in the pillory in 1580, for -an offence which is variously spoken of as forgery and coining. At -any rate his ears were cropped off, a loss which necessitated for -prudential reasons his wearing a skullcap for the remainder of his -days. This he wore with such conspicuous success that it is said that -even Doctor Dee, who was his partner for nearly seven years, did not -know of his mutilation. Kelley’s next recorded offence was one which -in a later age when subjects for dissection (necessary for purposes of -education in anatomy) were difficult to obtain, was popularly known -as “body-snatching.” The commission of this offence though a serious -breach of the law, came to be regarded as a necessary condition of -study; and even if punishment was meted out, it was not looked upon as -dishonour. But in Kelley’s case the offence was committed not for the -purpose of scientific education but for one of sorcery. It took place -in Walton-le-dale in Lancashire, where Kelley dug up a body buried -on the previous day, for purposes of necromancy, which, it will be -remembered, was, as the etymology of the word implies, divination by -means of the dead. - -From this time on, he seemed to see his way clear to the final choice -of a profession. He had tasted crime and punishment, and considered -himself well qualified to accept the risks as well as the benefits; -and so chose fraud as his life work. He was still under twenty-five -years of age when he began to look about him for his next means -or occasion of turning his special talents to profit. After some -deliberation he fixed on the existence and qualities of the famous (as -he had then become) Doctor Dee, and carefully commenced operations. -He called on the mathematician at his house at Mortlake and made his -acquaintance. Dee was naturally impressed by the conversation and -ostensible qualities of the young man, who had the plausibility of the -born rogue and laid himself out to captivate the old man, more than -double his companion’s age and worn by arduous study. He fostered all -Dee’s natural weaknesses, humoured his fads, was enthusiastic regarding -his beliefs which he appeared to share, and urged on his personal -ambitions. The belief in occultism which the philosopher cherished -in secret, though he had openly and formally repudiated it a dozen -years before in his preface to Sir Henry Billingsley’s translation -of Euclid, gave the parasitic rogue his cue for further ingratiating -himself, and before long he entered Dee’s service at an annual salary -of fifty pounds. His special function was that of “skryer,” which -was his own or Dee’s reading of “seer.” His contribution to the -general result was to see the figures which did--or did not--appear -in the so-called “magic” crystal, an office for which his useful -imagination, his unblushing assurance, and his utter unscrupulousness -eminently fitted him. In fact he was in his designs of fraud a perfect -complement of the simple-minded scientist. Of course as days went on -and opportunities offered themselves, through Dee’s growing madness -and Kelley’s social enlargements, the horizon of chicanery widened. -This was largely assisted by the opportune arrival in England of the -Palatine Albert Laski in 1583. Laski was just the man that Kelley was -waiting for. A rich man with a taste for occult science; sufficiently -learned to keep in touch with the theories of occultism of that time; -sufficiently vain to be used by an unscrupulous adventurer who tickled -his intellectual palate whilst he matured his frauds upon him. - -Kelley having worked on Dee’s feelings sufficiently to secure his -acquiescence, procured that Laski should be allowed to aid in such -operations and experiments as appealed to him. The result was that the -Palatine took the two men with him, promising a free field for them -both, each according to his bent. At Prague, in 1583, Laski presented -Dee and his companion to the Emperor Rudolph II. Encouraged by the -royal approval, Dee looked for a longer sojourn in eastern Europe, and -brought thither his wife and children from Poland, where he had left -them at Laskoe, the seat of the Palatine. Later on, in 1585,--again -through the influence of the credulous Laski--Dee with his companion -was presented to Stephen, King of Poland. Stephen was much interested, -and attended a _séance_ that he might see the spirits of which he -had heard so much. He saw too much, however, as far as Kelley was -concerned, for he penetrated the imposture. Thereupon Kelley, unequal -to carrying on the business single-handed, for he dared not let Dee’s -eyes be opened and he knew he could not induce him to be other than -a blind partner, contrived that a new confederate should be added to -the firm. This was one Francis Pucci, a Florentine, possessed of all -the address and subtlety of his race. But after the experience of a -year he was removed on suspicion of bad faith. Before that year was -out, the Bishop of Piacenza, Apostolic Nuncio at the Emperor’s Court, -had a decree issued that the two Englishmen should quit Prague within -six days. From Prague they went to Erfurt, in Thuringia; but despite -letters of recommendation from high quarters the Municipal Authorities -would not allow them to remain. So they moved on to Hesse-Cassel and -thence to Tribau in Bohemia, where the fraud of making spirits appear -was renewed. In 1586, it was intimated to Dee that the Emperor of -Russia wished to receive him in that country. He would receive a fee of -two thousand pounds per annum and would be treated with honour; but the -scholar did not see his way to accept the flattering offer. At Tribau, -Kelley experimented, but unsuccessfully, with some powder found at -Glastonbury, Dee’s young son being the medium. It was noticeable that -whenever Dee or his family failed in these experiments, Kelley always -succeeded. At this stage Kelley, who was a man of evil life, fell madly -in love with Dee’s wife. He was married himself, but that did not seem -to matter. His own wife was ugly and unattractive, whereas the second -Mrs. Dee was well-favoured and winning. In the madness of his lust -he tried to work on the husband’s credulity by telling him that it -had been conveyed to him through angels that it was the Divine wish -that the two men should hold their wives in common. Dee was naturally -sceptical and annoyed, and his wife was furious. Kelley, however, was -persistent, and stuck to his point so stedfastly that after a while -the woman’s resolution began to give way, and for a time some sort of -working arrangement came about. Kelley’s story, as elaborated to his -partner, was that at Tribau, in 1587, the crystal showed him a vision -of a naked woman who conveyed to him the divine message. To Dee’s -unhinged mind this seemed all natural and correct--probably even to -the suitable costume adopted by the angelic messenger: so the worthy -doctor gave way. After a time however the matron recovered her sanity, -and the vulture and the pigeon parted. Dee gave up to his late partner -all the “tools of trade” and “properties” of the fraud, and the two -never met again. - -Kelley went to Prague where he was thrown into prison in 1589. He -remained in durance for four years after which he was released. From -thence on till 1595, he became a vagabond as well as a rogue, and -wandered about Germany. He again fell into the hands of Rudolph, to be -again imprisoned by him. He was killed whilst making a desperate effort -to escape. - -There seems to be no record of Edward Kelley--or Talbot--having been -knighted, no authority save his own wish for the use of the title. It -may of course be possible that he was knighted by the Emperor in some -moment of absurd credulity; but there is no record of it. He had no -children. - - - - -E. MOTHER DAMNABLE - - -Owing to a want of accord among historians, the searcher after historic -truth in our own day can hardly be quite sure of the identity of the -worthy lady who passed under the above enchanting title. To later -generations the district of Camden Town--formerly a suburb of London -but now a fairly central part of it--is best known through a public -house, the _Mother Red-Cap_. But before controversy can cease we are -called on to decide if Mother Red-Cap and Mother Damnable were one -and the same person. A hundred years ago a writer who had made such -subjects his own, came to the conclusion that the soubriquet Mother -Damnable was synonymous with Mother Black-Cap whom he spoke of as of -local fame. But in the century that has elapsed historical research has -been more scientifically organised and the field from which conclusions -can be drawn has been enlarged as well as explored. The fact is that -a century ago the northern suburb had two well-known public houses, -_Mother Red-Cap_ and _Mother Black-Cap_. It is possible that both the -worthy vintners who offered “entertainment for man and beast” meant one -and the same person, though who that person was remains to be seen. -The distinctive colour line of the two hostelries was also possibly -due to considerations of business rather than of art. _Red-cap_ and -_Black-cap_ are, as names, drawn from these varying sign-boards; the -term _Mother_ held in common is simply a title given without any -pretence of doing honour to the alleged practices of the person whom it -is intended to designate. - -There were in fact two notorious witches, either of whom might have -been in the mind of either artistic designer. One was of Yorkshire -fame in the time of Henry VII. The other was of very much later date -and of purely local notoriety. The two publicans who exploited these -identities under pictorial garb were open and avowed trade rivals. -The earlier established of the two had evidently commissioned a -painter to create a striking sign-board on a given subject, and the -artist had fulfilled his task by an alleged portrait of sufficiently -fearsome import to fix the attention of the passer-by, at the same time -conveying to him some hint of the calling of the archetype on which -her fame was based. Prosperity in the venture begot rivalry; and the -owner of the new house of refreshment, wishing to outshine his rival -in trade whilst at the same time availing himself of the publicity and -local fame already achieved, commissioned another artist to commit -another pictorial atrocity under the name of art. So far as the purpose -of publicity went, the ideas were similar; the only differences -being in the colour scheme and the measure of attractiveness of the -alleged prototype. From the indications thus given one may form some -opinion--based solely on probability--as to which was the earlier and -which the later artistic creation, for it is by this means--and this -means only--that we may after the lapse of at least a century bring -tradition to our aid, and guess at the original of Mother Damnable. - -Of the two signs it seems probable that the black one is the older. -After all, the main purpose of a sign-board is to catch the eye, -and unless Titian and all who followed him are wrong, red has an -attractive value beyond all other hues. The dictum of the great Italian -is unassailable: “Red catches the eye; yellow holds it; blue gives -distance.” A free-souled artist with the choice of the whole palette -open to him might choose black since historical accuracy was a matter -to be valued; but in a question of competition a painter would wisely -choose red--especially when his rival had confined himself to black. -So far as attractiveness is concerned, it must be borne in mind that -the object of the painter and his patron was to bring customers to a -London suburban public house in the days of George III. To-day there is -a cult of horrors in Paris which has produced some choice specimens of -decorative art, such for instance as the café known as _Le Rat Mort_. - -Such places lure their customers by curiosity and sheer horror; but the -persons lured are from a class dominated by “Gallic effervescence” and -attracted by anything that is _bizarre_, and not of the class of the -stolid beer-drinking Briton. But even the most stolid of men is pleased -by the beauty of a woman; so the sign-painter--who knows his art well, -and has evolved from the ranks of his calling such a man as Franz -Hals--we may be sure, when he wished to please, took for his model some -gracious personality. - -Now the artist of the lady of dark headgear let his imagination run -free and produced a face typical of all the sins of the Decalogue. We -may therefore take it on the ground of form as well as that of colour -that priority of date is to be given to Mother Black-Cap. There is -good ground for belief that this deduction is correct. Naturally the -owner of the earliest public-house wished to make it as attractive as -possible; and as Camden Town was a suburb through which the northern -traffic passed on its way to and from London, it was wise to use -for publicity and entertainment names that were familiar to north -country ears. Before the railways were organised the great wheeled -and horse-traffic between London and the North--especially Yorkshire -which was one of the first Counties to take up manufacturing and had -already most of the wool trade--went through Camden Town. So it was -wise forethought to take as an inn sign a Yorkshire name. The name -of Mother Shipton had been in men’s mouths and ears for about two -hundred years, and as the times had so changed that the old stigma of -witchcraft was not then understood, the association of the name with -Knaresborough alone remained. And so Mother Shipton of Knaresborough -was intended as the prototype of the inn portrait with black headgear -at Camden Town. In the ordinary course of development and business one -of the two inns succeeded and lasted better than the other. And as -Mother Red-Cap has as a name supplanted Mother Damnable, we may with -some understanding discuss who that lady was. - -She was a well-known shrew of Kentish Town, daughter of one Jacob -Bingham, a local brickmaker, who had married the daughter of a Scotch -pedlar manifestly not of any high moral character as shown by her -later acts and the general mistrust which attended them. They had -one daughter, Jinny, who in wickedness outdid her parents. She was -naturally warm-blooded and had a child when she was sixteen by a man of -no account, George Coulter, known as Gipsy George. Whatever affection -may have existed between them was cut short by his arrest--and -subsequent execution at Tyburn--for sheepstealing. In her second -quasi-matrimonial venture Jinny lived a cat-and-dog life with a man -called Darby who spent his time in getting drunk and trying to get -over it. Number Two’s end was also tragic. After a violent quarrel -with his companion he disappeared. Then there was domestic calm for a -while, possibly due to the fact that Bingham and his wife were being -tried also on a charge of witchcraft, complicated with another capital -charge of procuring the death of a young woman. They were both hanged -and thereafter Jinny found time for another episode of love-making and -took up with a man called Pitcher. He too disappeared, but his body, -burned almost to a cinder, was discovered in a neighbouring oven. Jinny -was tried for murder, but escaped on the plea that the man often took -refuge in the oven when he wished to get beyond reach of the woman’s -venomous tongue, to which fact witness was borne by certain staunch -companions of Miss Bingham. - -Jinny’s third venture towards happy companionship, though it lasted -much longer, was attended with endless bitter quarrelling, and came -to an equally tragic end, had at the beginning a spice of romance. -This individual, whose name has seemingly not been recorded, being -pursued in Commonwealth times for some unknown offence, had sought her -aid in attempting to escape. This she had graciously accorded, with -the consequence that they lived together some years in the greatest -unhappiness. - -At length he died--of poison, but by whom administered did not -transpire at the inquest. For the rest of her life Miss Bingham, -who was now old, lived under the suspicion of being a witch. Her -ostensible occupation was as a teller of fortunes and a healer of -odd diseases--occupations which singly or together make neither for -personal esteem or general confidence. Her public appearances were -usually attended by hounding and baiting by the rabble; and whenever -anything went wrong in her neighbourhood the blame was, with overt -violence of demeanour, attributed to her. She did not even receive any -of the respect usually shown to a freeholder--which she was, having -by her father’s death become owner of a house which he had built for -himself with his own hands on waste ground. Her only protector was that -usual favourite of witches, a black cat, whose devotion to her and -whose savage nature, accompanied by the public fear shown for an animal -which was deemed her “familiar,” caused the mob to flee before its -appearance. - -The tragedy and mystery of her life were even exceeded by those of her -death. When, having been missed for some time, her house was entered -she, attended only by her cat and with her crutch by her side, was -found crouching beside the cold ashes of her extinct fire. In the -tea-pot beside her was some liquid, seemingly brewed from herbs. -Willing hands administered some of this to the black cat, whose hair, -within a very short time, fell off. The cat forthwith died. Then the -clamour began. Very many people suddenly remembered having seen, -after her last appearance in public, the Devil entering her house. No -one, however, had seen him come out again. What a pity it was that no -veracious scribe or draughtsman was present in the crowd which had -noticed the Devil’s entry to the house. In such case we might have got -a real likeness of His Satanic Majesty--a thing which has long been -wanted--and the opportunities of obtaining which are few. - -One peculiar fact is recorded of Madame Damnable’s burial; her body was -so stiff from the _rigor mortis_--or from some other cause--that the -undertakers had to break her limbs before they could put her body in -the coffin. - - - - -F. MATTHEW HOPKINS - - -There is one thing more evil than oppression in the shape of -wrong-doing, and that is oppression in the guise of good. Tennyson, -in one of his poems, speaks of the dishonest pharmacist who “pestles -a poison’d poison.” This is a refinement of iniquity; a poisoned -poison is not even an enlargement of evil but a structural change -eliminating the intention of good and replacing it with evil intent. -Witches were quite bad enough; or rather they would have been, had that -which was alleged of them been true. But a man who got his living by -creating suspicion regarding them and following it out to the practical -consummation of a hideous death, was a thousand times worse. To-day -such a functionary as a witch-finder exists, it is true; but only -amongst the very lowest and most debased savages. And it is only by the -recorded types made known to us that it is possible even to guess at -the iniquity of their measures, the vileness of their actions. In the -full tally of the two centuries during which the witch mania existed -in England, it is impossible to parallel the baseness of the one man -who distinguished himself in this loathsome occupation. The facts of -his history speak for themselves. Matthew Hopkins was born in Suffolk -early in the seventeenth century. He was the son of a minister, James -Hopkins of Wenham. He was brought up for the law, and when enrolled -as an attorney, practised in Ipswich; but after a while he moved to -Manningtree where, after he had given up the law, he took to the -calling of witch-finder, being the first person in England to follow -that honourable trade. - -If he had had no suitable opportunities of earning an honest livelihood -and been graced with no education, some excuse might have been offered -for his despicable calling. But when we remember that he passed his -youth in a household practising religion, and was a member of a learned -profession, it is difficult to find words sufficiently comprehensive -for the fit expression of our natural indignation against him. If -picturesque profanity were allowable, it might be well applied to -this despicable wretch and his nefarious labours. In no imaginable -circumstances could there possibly be anything to be said in mitigation -of his infamy. When we think that the whole ritual of oppression was -in his own hands--that he began with lying and perjury, and ended with -murder; that he showed, throughout, ruthless callousness for the mental -and physical torture of great numbers of the most helpless class of -the community, the poor, the weak, the suffering, the helpless and -hopeless; that when once his foul imagination had consecrated any poor -wretch to destruction, or his baleful glance had unhappily lighted -on some unsuspecting victim there was for such only the refuge of -death, and that by some means of prolonged torture, we cannot find -any hope or prospect even in evil dreams of the nether world, of any -adequate punishment for his dreadful sins. When we remember that this -one man--if man he can be called--was in himself responsible for what -amounted to the murder of some two hundred women whom he pursued to the -death, the magnitude of his guilt can be guessed but not realised. - -He occupied three whole years in his fell work; and in those years, -1644, 1645 and 1646, he caused a regular reign of terror throughout -the counties of Huntingdon, Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex. He had a gang -of his own to help him in his gruesome work of “discovering” witches; -amongst whom was a wretch called John Stern and--to her shame--a woman, -whose name is unrecorded. These three had a sort of mock assize of -their own. They made regular tours of discovery, at a charge of twenty -shillings for expenses at each place they visited. There appears to -have been a fee paid or exacted for each witch “bagged”; and such was -his greed that after a while he actually lowered the price. In 1645, -which was perhaps his “best” year, the price declined to a shilling -a head. Hopkins and his gang took comfort, however, from the fact -that the industry was a growing one. The trade had only been initiated -in 1644, and already in a year’s time he had in one day procured -the execution of eighteen alleged witches; and at the end of that -assize, after the gaol delivery had been effected, one hundred and -twenty suspects still awaited trial. In the skilful hands of Matthew -Hopkins, trial was only a step on the road to certain execution by one -of the forms in use. Here came in, not only the witchfinder’s legal -knowledge, but also his gift of invention--the latter being used in the -formulation of so-called “tests” which were bound to be effective. Of -these the simplest was the water test. The subject’s thumbs were tied -together and she was then thrown into water of sufficient depth. If she -did not drown, it was taken as a proof of guilt; and she was hanged -by form of law. In some cases, as an alternative, she was burned. If -she did not stand the test her friends had the pleasure of knowing -that she was pronounced to have died innocent. In any case there was -no further trouble with her. Such was the accuracy as well as the -simplicity of similar “tests” that, in the twenty years previous to the -Restoration, between three and four thousand alleged witches perished -in England from one cause or another. Hopkins professed to be both -just and merciful. He seemed generally willing to afford a “test” to -the accused; though, truth to tell, the result was always the same. -In such cases the test was eminently calculated to evoke confession, -and such confession, no matter how ridiculous or extravagant it -might be, was simply a curved road to the rope or the torch instead -of a straight one. One of these pleasing “tests” was to place the -old woman--they were all women and all old--sitting cross-legged on -a stool or table where she could be well watched. She was generally -kept in that position under inspection, without food or water, for -twenty-four hours. At the end of that time such resolution as had -remained disappeared, and in the vain blind hope of some change for the -better, some alleviation however slight of the grinding misery, of the -agony of body and mind and soul, they confessed. And such confessions! -The very consideration of such of them as now remain in the cold -third-person method of a mere recorder, almost makes one weep; there -is hardly a word that is not almost a certificate of character. With -every desire to confess--for such was the last hope of pleasing their -torturers--their utter ignorance of confessional matter is almost a -proof of innocence. - -Just imagine the scene--a village or hamlet, or the poorer quarter -of a small country town with squalid surroundings, marking a poverty -which in this age has no equal; a poor, old, lonely woman whose long -life of sordid misery, of hunger and the diseases that huddle closely -around want, hopeless, despairing, recognising her fate through the -prolonged physical torture with which age and infirmity rendered her -unable even to attempt to cope. Round her gathered, in a sickly ring, -a crowd of creatures debased by the exercise of greed and cruelty to a -lower level than the beasts. Their object is not to inquire, to test, -to judge; but only to condemn, to wreck, to break, to shatter. Some -of them, she realises even in her agony, are spurred on by the same -zeal which animated the cruelty of followers of Ignatius in the grim -torture-chambers of the Inquisition. - -The poor dazed, suffering old creature, racked with pains prolonged -beyond endurance, tries to rally such glimmerings of invention as -are possible to her untaught, unfed mind; but finds herself at every -failure fluttering helplessly against a wall of spiritual granite which -gives back not even an echo to her despairing cry. At last she comes -to that stage where even fright and fear have no standing room, and -where the blank misery of suffering ceases to be effective. Then the -last flicker of desire for truth or rectitude of purpose dies away, and -she receives in feeble acquiescence such suggestions as are shouted -or whispered to her, in the hope that by accepting them she may win a -moment’s ease of body or mind, even if it be her last on earth. Driven -beyond mortal limits her untutored mind gives way; and with the last -remnants of her strength she yields her very soul to her persecutors. -The end does not matter to her now. Life has no more to offer her--even -of pain, which is the last conscious tie to existence. And through -it all, ghoul-like, watching and waiting for the collapse, whilst -outwardly he goes through the mechanical ritual of prayer, we see in -the background the sinister figure of the attorney, preparing in his -mind such evidence as he may procure or invent for his work of the next -day. - -It needs the imagination of a Dante to consider what should be the -place of such an one in history, and any eternity of punishment that -that imagination could suggest must be inadequate. Even pity itself -which rests on sympathy and is kin to the eternal spirit of justice, -would have imagined with satisfaction the wretched soul going through a -baleful eternity clinging in perpetual agony of fear to the very King -of Terrors. - -In judging Matthew Hopkins one must not, in justice to others, accord -him any of the consideration which is the due of good intent. Not a -score of years after his shameful death, a man was born in a newer land -far beyond the separating sea, who through his influence, his teaching, -the expression of his honest conviction, was the cause of perhaps more -deaths than the English anti-witch. We refer to Cotton Mather, who -believed he wrought for the Lord--in his own way--in New England. But -guilt does not attach to him. He was an earnest, though mistaken man, -and the results of his mistaken teaching were at variance with the -trend of his kindly, godly life. - -It must be pleasing to the spirit of the Old Adam which is in us -all in some form, to think of the manner of the death of Matthew -Hopkins. Three years had exhausted not only the material available -for his chosen work, but, what was worse for him, the patience of the -community. Moreover, he had given cause for scandal in even his own -degraded trade and in himself, the filthiest thing in connection with -it. Not content with dealing with the poor, helpless folk, whom he -had come to regard as his natural prey, he went on fancy flights of -oppression. At last he went too far. He ventured to denounce an aged -clergyman of blameless life. The witch-fever was too strong for justice -in any form, and neither age, high character, nor sacred office could -protect this gentleman of eighty years of age. He too was tortured, -till in a moment of unhinged mind, he confessed as he was ordered, -and was duly hanged. This was in 1645. The old man’s death was not in -vain, for it was made the occasion of much necessary plain speaking. -Presently the public conscience was wakened; chiefly by another cleric, -the Rev. John Caule, vicar of Great Staughton, Huntingdonshire--all -honour to him!--who, though strange to say he believed in witchcraft, -realised the greater evil wrought by men like Hopkins. He published -a pamphlet in which he denounced Hopkins as a common nuisance. The -result, if slow, was sure. The witch-finder never recovered from the -shock of Caule’s vigorous attack. In 1647, on information based on -Hopkins’ own rules, he was arrested and subjected to the test which -he had devised: he was tied by the thumbs and thrown into the water. -Unfortunately for himself he withstood the test--drowning, except for a -short period of pangs, is an easy death--and so was by process of Law -duly hanged. - -One can imagine how the whole atmosphere of the country--surcharged -with suspicion, fear, oppression, torture, perjury or crime--was -cleared by the execration which followed the removal of this vile -wretch. - - - - -VI. ARTHUR ORTON - -(The Tichborne Claimant.) - - -In the annals of crime, Arthur Orton, the notorious claimant to the -rich estates and title of Tichborne, takes a foremost place; not only -as the originator of one of the most colossal attempts at fraud on -record, but also from his remarkable success in duping the public. It -would be difficult indeed to furnish a more striking example of the -height to which the blind credulity of people will occasionally attain. -Of pretenders, who by pertinacious and unscrupulous lying have sought -to bolster up fictitious claims, there have been many before Orton; -but he certainly surpassed all his predecessors in working out the -lie circumstantial in such a way as to divide the country for years -into two great parties--those who believed in the Claimant, and those -who did not. Over one hundred persons, drawn from every class, and -for the most part honest in their belief, swore to the identity of -this illiterate butcher’s son--this stockman, mail-rider and probably -bushranger and thief--as the long-lost son and heir of the ancient -house of Tichborne of Titchborne. To gain his own selfish ends this -individual was ready to rob a gentlewoman of her fair fame, to destroy -the peace of a great family who, to free themselves from a persecution, -as cruel as it was vicious, had to be pilloried before a ruthless and -unsympathising mob, to have the privacy of their home invaded, and -to hear their women’s names banded from one coarse mouth to another. -Thus, and through no fault of their own, they were compelled to endure -a mental torture far worse than any physical suffering, besides having -to expend vast sums of money, as well as time and labour, in order to -protect themselves from the would-be depredations of an unscrupulous -adventurer. It has been estimated that the resistance of this -fictitious claim cost the Tichborne estate not far short of one hundred -thousand pounds. - -[Illustration: - - _Photo. by Maull & Fox. Copyright._ - -ARTHUR ORTON] - -The baronetcy of Tichborne, now Doughty-Tichborne, is one of the -oldest. It has been claimed that the family held possession of the -Manor of Tichborne for two hundred years before the Conquest. Be -this as it may--and, in the light of J. H. Round’s revelations, some -scepticism as to these pre-Norman pedigrees is permissible--their -ancestors may be traced back to one Walter de Tichborne who held the -manor, from which he took his name, as early as 1135. Their names too, -are interwoven with the history of the country. Sir Benjamin, the first -baronet--for the earlier de Tichbornes were knights,--as Sheriff of -Southhampton, on the death of Queen Elizabeth, repaired instantly -to Winchester and on his own initiative proclaimed the accession of -James VI of Scotland as King of England, for which service he was made -a baronet, and his four sons received the honour of knighthood. His -successor, Sir Richard, was a zealous supporter of the Royal cause -during the civil wars. Sir Henry, the third baronet, hazarded his life -in the defence of Charles I and had his estates sequestered by the -Parliamentarians though he was recompensed at the Restoration. - -Believers in occultism might see in the trials and tribulations -brought down upon the unfortunate heads of the Tichborne family by the -machinations of the Claimant, the realisation of the doom pronounced by -a certain Dame Ticheborne away back in the days of Henry II. - -Sir Roger de Ticheborne of those days married Mabell, the daughter and -heiress of Ralph de Lamerston, of Lamerston, in the Isle of Wight, by -whom he acquired that estate. This good wife played the part of lady -bountiful of the neighbourhood. After a life spent in acts of charity -and goodness, as her end drew nigh and she lay on her death bed, her -thoughts went out to her beloved poor. She begged her husband, that in -order to have her memory kept green the countryside round, he would -grant a bequest sufficient to ensure, once a year, a dole of bread to -all comers to the gates of Tichborne. To gratify her whim Sir Roger -promised her as much land as she could encompass while a brand plucked -from the fire should continue to burn. As the poor lady had been -bedridden for years her husband may have had no idea that she could, -even if she would, take his promise seriously. However, the venerable -dame, after being carried out upon the ground, seemed to regain her -strength in a miraculous fashion, and, to the surprise of all, managed -to crawl round several rich and goodly acres which to this day are -known as “the Crawls.” - -Carried to her bed again after making this last supreme effort and -summoning her family to her bedside, Lady Ticheborne predicted with her -dying breath, that, as long as this annual dole was continued, so long -should the house of Tichborne prosper; but, should it be neglected, -their fortunes would fail and the family name become extinct from want -of male issue. As a sure sign by which these disasters might be looked -for, she foretold that a generation of seven sons would be immediately -followed by one of seven daughters. - -The benevolent custom thus established was faithfully observed for -centuries. On every Lady Day crowds of humble folk came from near -and far to partake of the famous dole which consisted of hundreds of -small loaves. But ultimately the occasion degenerated into a noisy -merry-making, a sort of fair, until it was finally discontinued in -1796, owing to the complaints of the magistrates and local gentry that -the practice encouraged vagabonds, gipsies and idlers of all sorts to -swarm into the neighbourhood under pretence of receiving the dole. - -Strangely enough Sir Henry Tichborne, the baronet of that day (the -original name of de Ticheborne had by this time been reduced to -Tichborne), had seven sons, while his eldest son who succeeded him in -1821, had seven daughters. The extinction of the family name, too, -came to pass, for in the absence of male issue, Sir Henry, the eighth -baronet, was succeeded by his brother, who had taken the surname of -Doughty on coming into the estates bequeathed to him on these terms, by -a distant relative, Miss Doughty; though, in after years, his brother, -who in turn succeeded him, obtained the royal licence to couple the -old family name with that of Doughty. Following this repeated lapse of -direct male heirs came other troubles; but it is to be hoped that the -successful defeat of the fraudulent claim of Arthur Orton set a period -to the doom pronounced long years ago by the Lady Mabell. - -Most families, great and small, have their secret troubles and -unpleasantness, and the Tichbornes seem to have had their share of -them. To this may be traced the actual, if remote, cause of the -Claimant’s imposture. James Tichborne, afterwards the tenth baronet, -the father of the missing Roger, who was drowned in the mysterious -loss of the _Bella_, off the coast of South America, in the spring of -1854, lived abroad for many years; but, while his wife was French in -every sentiment, he himself from time to time exhibited a keen desire -to return to his native land. When Roger was born there was small -likelihood of his ever succeeding to either title or estates, and so -his education was almost entirely a foreign one. - -Sir Henry Tichborne, who had succeeded in 1821, though blessed with -seven beautiful daughters, had no son. Still there was their uncle -Edward, who had taken the name of Doughty, and he, after Sir Henry, -was the next heir. Edward, too, had a son and daughter. But, one day, -news came to James and his wife, in France, that their little nephew -was dead; and with the possibilities which this change opened up, it -brought home to the father the error he had committed in permitting -Roger to grow up ignorant of the English tongue and habits. It was -manifest that Mr. James F. Tichborne was not unlikely to become the -next baronet, and he felt it his bounden duty to make good his previous -neglect, by providing his son with an English education, such as would -fit him for his probable position as head of the house of Tichborne. -In this praiseworthy intention he met with strong opposition from his -wife whose great aim it was to see her son grow up a Frenchman. To her, -France was the only land worth living in. She cared nought for family -traditions; her dream was that her darling boy should marry into some -distinguished family in France or Italy. If he was to enter the army, -then it should be in some foreign service. But to England he should -not go if she could prevent it. - -James Tichborne, like many weak men with self-willed wives, put off -the inevitable day as long as he could; and in the end only achieved -his purpose by strategy. Roger was sixteen years of age when news -arrived of the death of Sir Henry. Naturally James arranged to be -present at his brother’s funeral and it was only reasonable that he -should be accompanied by his son Roger, whom everyone now regarded as -the heir. Accordingly the boy took leave of his mother, but under the -solemn injunction to return quickly. However, his father had determined -otherwise. After attending the funeral of his uncle, at the old chapel -at Tichborne, Roger was, by the advice of relatives and friends, and -with the consent of the boy himself, taken down to the Jesuit College -at Stonyhurst. When Mrs. Tichborne learned of this step, her fury knew -no bounds. She upbraided her husband violently; and there was a renewal -of the old scenes in the Tichborne establishment. Roger wrote his -mother filial, if ill-spelt, letters in French; but, for a year, the -son, though ardently looking for a letter, got no token of affection -from the incensed and indignant lady. - -During his three years’ stay at Stonyhurst, Roger seems to have applied -himself diligently to the study of English; but, though he made fair -progress, he was never able to speak it with as much purity and -command of words as when conversing in French. In Latin, mathematics, -and chemistry, too, he contrived to make fair headway; while his -letters evidenced an inclination for the study of polite literature. -If not highly accomplished, he was of a refined and sensitive nature. -During this period he made many friends, spending his vacation with his -English relatives in turn. His great delight was to stay at Tichborne, -then in possession of his father’s brother, Sir Edward Doughty. Withal, -the shy, pale-faced boy steadily gained in favour, for he had a nature -which disarmed ill-feeling. As time wore on it became necessary to -determine on some profession for the lad; and needless to say his -father’s choice of the army added fuel to the fire of his wife’s anger. -After some delay a commission was obtained and Mr. Roger Charles -Tichborne was gazetted a coronet in the Sixth Dragoons, better known as -the Carbineers. - -Defeated in her purpose of making a Frenchman of her boy, Roger’s -mother yet continued to harp upon her old desire to marry him to one -of the Italian princesses of whom he had heard so much. But Roger -had other ideas, for he had fallen passionately in love with his -cousin--Miss Katharine Doughty afterwards Lady Radcliffe. However, the -course of love was not to run smooth. The Tichbornes had always been -Roman Catholic, and the marriage of first cousins was discountenanced -by that church. Consequently when some little token incidentally -revealed to the father the secret and yet unspoken love of the young -people, their dream was rudely shattered. - -That the girl warmly reciprocated her cousin’s affection was beyond -question, and Lady Doughty was certainly sympathetic though she took -exception to certain of her nephew’s habits. He was an inveterate -smoker besides drinking too freely. These and other little failings -seem to have aroused some fear in her anxious mother’s heart, though -she quite recognised the boy’s kind disposition, and the fact that he -was truthful, honourable and scrupulous in points of duty. Still she -would not oppose the wishes of the young lovers--except to the extent -of pleading and encouraging Roger to master his weaknesses. It was -Christmas time in 1851 when the _dénoument_ came and the eyes of Sir -Edward were opened to what was going on. He was both vexed and angry, -and was resolved that the engagement should be broken off before it -grew more serious. One last interview was permitted to the cousins -and, this over, the young man was to leave the house forever. The -great hope of his life extinguished, there was nothing left for Roger -but to rejoin his regiment, then expecting orders for India, and to -endeavour to forget the past. Still even in those dark days neither -Roger nor Kate quite gave up hope of some change. Lady Doughty, despite -her dread of her nephew’s habits, had a warm regard for him, and could -be relied upon to plead his cause; and in a short time circumstances -unexpectedly favoured him. Sir Edward was ill and, fearing that death -was approaching, he sent for his nephew and revived the subject. He -explained that if it were not for the close relationship he should -have no objection to the marriage and begged Roger to wait for three -years. If then the affection, one for the other, remained unaltered, -and providing that Roger obtained his own father’s consent and that -of the Church, he would accept things as the will of God and agree to -the union. As might be expected, Roger gratefully promised loyally to -observe the sick man’s wishes. - -However, Sir Edward, instead of dying, slowly mended, and Roger -returned to his regiment. Occasionally he would spend his leave with -his aunt and uncle, when the young people loved to walk together in the -beautiful gardens of Tichborne exchanging sweet confidences and weaving -plans for the future. On what proved to be his last visit to his -ancestral home, in the midsummer of 1852, Roger, to comfort his cousin, -confided a secret to her--a copy of a vow, which he had written out and -signed, solemnly pledging himself, in the event of their being married -before three years had passed, to build a church or chapel at Tichborne -as a thanks offering to the Holy Virgin for the protection shown by her -in praying God that their wishes might be fulfilled. - -His leave up, Roger went back to his regiment more than ever a prey -to his habitual melancholy. To his great regret the orders for the -Carbineers to go to India were countermanded. He accordingly determined -to throw up his commission and travel abroad until his period of -probation had passed. South America had long been the subject of his -dreams, and so thither he would make his way; and in travelling through -that vast continent he hoped to find occupation for his mind and so get -through the trying period of waiting. His plan was to spend a year in -Chili, Guayaquil and Peru, and thence to visit Mexico, and so, by way -of the United States, to return home. Having come to this resolution -he lost no time in putting it into execution. Being of business-like -habits he made his will, in which he purposely omitted any mention -of the “church or chapel.” This secret had already been committed to -paper, and with other precious souvenirs of his love for his cousin, -had been confided to his most trusted friend--Mr. Gosford, the steward -of the family estate. After paying a round of farewell visits to his -parents and old friends in Paris, Roger finally set sail from Havre, on -March 21, 1853, in a French vessel named _La Pauline_, for Valparaiso, -at which port she arrived on the 19th of the following June, when Roger -set out on his wanderings. During his travels Roger continued to write -home regularly; but the first news he received was bad. Sir Edward -Doughty had died almost before the _Pauline_ had lost sight of the -English shores; and Roger’s father and mother were now Sir James and -Lady Tichborne. - -Presently the wanderer began to retrace his steps, making his way to -Rio de Janeiro. Here, he found a vessel called the _Bella_ hailing from -Liverpool, about to sail for Kingston, Jamaica, and as he had directed -his letters and remittances to be forwarded there, he prevailed upon -the captain to give him a passage. On the 20th of April, 1854, the -_Bella_ passed from the port of Rio into the ocean. From that day no -one ever set eyes upon her. Six days after she left harbour, a ship -traversing her path found, amongst other ominous tokens of a wreck, a -capsized long-boat bearing the name “_Bella_, Liverpool.” - -These were taken into Rio and forthwith the authorities caused the -neighbouring seas to be scoured in quest of survivors; but none were -ever found. That the _Bella_ had foundered there was little room to -doubt. It was supposed that she had been caught in a sudden squall, -that her cargo had shifted, and that, unable to right herself, the -vessel had gone down in deep water, giving but little warning to those -on board. In a few months the sad news reached Tichborne, where the -absence of letters from the previously diligent correspondent had -already raised grave fears. The sorrow-stricken father caused enquiries -to be made in America and elsewhere. For a time, there was a faint hope -that some one aboard the _Bella_ might have been picked up by some -passing vessel; but, as months wore on, even these small hopes dwindled -away. The letters which poor Roger had so anxiously asked might be -directed to him at the post office, Kingston, Jamaica, remained there -till the ink grew faded; the banker’s bill which lay at the agents’ -remained unclaimed. At last the unfortunate vessel was finally written -off at Lloyd’s as lost, the insurance money paid, and gradually the -_Bella_ faded from the memories of all but those who had lost friends -or relatives in her. Lady Tichborne alone, refused to abandon hope. - -Her obstinate disregard of such conclusive evidence of the fate of her -unfortunate son preyed upon her mind to such an extent as to make her -an easy victim for any scheming rascal pretending to have news of her -lost son; and “sailors,” who told all sorts of wild stories of how -some of the survivors of the _Bella_ had been rescued and landed in a -foreign port, became constant visitors at Tichborne Park and profited -handsomely from the weak-minded lady’s credulity. Sir James, himself, -made short work of these tramping “sailors,” but after his death, -in 1862, the lady became even more ready to be victimised by their -specious lies. - -Firm in her belief that Roger was still alive, Lady Tichborne now -caused advertisements to be inserted in numerous papers; and in -November, 1865, she learnt through an agency in Sydney that a man -answering the description of her son had been found in Wagga Wagga, -New South Wales. A long correspondence ensued, the tone and character -of which ought to have put her on her guard; but, over-anxious to -believe that she had indeed found her long-lost son, any wavering -doubts she may have had, were swept from her mind by the evidence of -an aged negro servant named Boyle, an old pensioner of the Tichborne -family. Boyle, who lived in New South Wales, professed to recognise the -Claimant as his dear young master, and he certainly remained one of his -most devoted adherents to the end. Undoubtedly this man’s simplicity -proved a very valuable asset to Orton. His intimate knowledge of the -arrangements of Tichborne Park was pumped dry by his new master, who, -aided by a most tenacious memory, was afterwards able to use the -information thus obtained with startling effect. - -As to the identity of the Claimant with Arthur Orton there can be -absolutely no doubt. As a result of the enquiries made by the trustees -of the Tichborne estate nearly the whole of his history was unmasked. -He was born, in 1834, at Wapping where his father kept a butcher’s -shop. In 1848 he took passage to Valparaiso, whence he made his way up -country to Melipilla. Here he stayed some eighteen months receiving -much kindness from a family named Castro, and it was their name he -went under at Wagga Wagga. In 1851 he returned home and entering his -father’s business became an expert slaughterman. The following year -he emigrated to Australia; but after the spring of 1854 he ceased to -correspond with his family. He had evidently led a life of hardship -and adventure--probably not unattended with crime, and certainly with -poverty. At Wagga Wagga he carried on a small butcher’s business, and -it was from here that he got into communication with Lady Tichborne -just after his marriage to an illiterate servant girl. - -According to his subsequent confession, until his attention was drawn -to the advertisement for the missing Roger, he had never even heard of -the name of Tichborne, and it was only his success when, by way of a -joke upon a chum, he claimed to be the missing baronet, that led him -to pursue the matter in sober earnest. Indeed he seemed at first very -reluctant to leave Australia, and probably he was only driven to accede -to Lady Tichborne’s request, to return “home” at once, by the fact that -he had raised large sums of money on his expectations. His original -intention was probably to obtain some sort of recognition, and then to -return to Australia with whatever money he had succeeded in collecting. - -After wasting much time he left Australia and arrived in England, by -a very circuitous route, on Christmas Day, 1866. His first step on -landing, it was subsequently discovered, was to make a mysterious -visit to Wapping. His parents were dead, but his enquiries showed -a knowledge, both of the Orton family and the locality, which was -afterwards used against him with very damaging effect. His next -proceeding was to make a flying and surreptitious excursion to -Tichborne House, where, as far as possible, he acquainted himself with -the bearings of the place. In this he was greatly assisted by one Rous, -a former clerk to the old Tichborne attorney, who was then keeping a -public house in the place. From this man, who became his staunch ally, -he had no doubt acquired much useful information; and it is significant -that he sedulously kept clear of Mr. Gosford, the agent to whom the -real Roger had confided his sealed packet before leaving England. - -Lady Tichborne was living in Paris at this time and it was here, in his -hotel bedroom, on a dark January afternoon, that their first interview -took place for, curiously enough, the gentleman was too ill to leave -his bed! The deluded woman professed to recognise him at once. As -she sat beside his bed, “Roger” keeping his face turned to the wall, -the conversation took a wide range, the sick man showing himself -strangely astray. He talked to her of his grandfather, whom the real -Roger had never seen; he said he had served in the ranks; referred to -Stonyhurst as Winchester; spoke of his suffering as a lad from St. -Vitus’s dance--a complaint which first led to young Arthur Orton being -sent on a sea voyage; but did not speak of the rheumatism from which -Roger had suffered. But it was all one to the infatuated woman--“He -confuses everything as if in a dream,” she wrote in exculpating him; -but unsatisfactory as this identification was, she never departed from -her belief. She lived under the same roof with him for weeks, accepted -his wife and children, and allowed him £1,000 a year. It did not weigh -with her that the rest of the family unanimously declared him to be an -impostor, or that he failed to recognise them or to recall any incident -in Roger’s life. - -Nearly four years elapsed before the Claimant commenced his suit of -ejectment against the trustees of the infant Sir Alfred Tichborne--the -posthumous son of Roger’s younger brother; but he utilised the time -to good purpose. He had taken into his service a couple of old -Carbineers who had been Roger’s servants and before long so completely -mastered small details of regimental life that some thirty of Roger’s -old brother-officers and men were convinced of his identity. He -went everywhere, called upon all Roger’s old friends, visited the -Carbineers’ mess and generally left no stone unturned to get together -evidence in support of his identity. As a result of his strenuous -activity and plausibility he produced at the first trial over one -hundred witnesses who, on oath, identified him as Roger Tichborne; -and these witnesses included Lady Tichborne, the family solicitor, -magistrates, officers and men from Roger’s old regiment besides various -Tichborne tenants and friends of the family. On the other hand, there -were only seventeen witnesses arraigned against him; and, in his own -opinion, it was his own evidence that lost him the case. He would have -won, he said, “if only he could have kept his mouth shut.” - -The trial of this action lasted 102 days. Sergeant Ballantine led for -the Claimant; and Sir John Coleridge (afterwards Lord Chief-justice), -and Mr. Hawkins, Q. C. (afterwards Lord Brampton), for the trustees -of the estates of Tichborne. The cross-examination of the Claimant at -the hands of Sir John Coleridge lasted twenty-two days, during which -the colossal ignorance he displayed was only equalled by his boldness, -dexterity and the bull-dog tenacity with which he faced the ordeal. -To quote Sir John’s own words: “The first sixteen years of his life -he has absolutely forgotten; the few facts he had told the jury were -already proved, or would hereafter be shown, to be absolutely false and -fabricated. Of his college life he could recollect nothing. About his -amusements, his books, his music, his games, he could tell nothing. -Not a word of his family, of the people with whom he lived, their -habits, their persons, their very names. He had forgotten his mother’s -maiden name; he was ignorant of all particulars of the family estate; -he remembered nothing of Stonyhurst; and in military matters he was -equally deficient. Roger, born and educated in France, spoke and wrote -French like a native and his favourite reading was French literature; -but the Claimant knew nothing of French. Of the ‘sealed’ packet he -knew nothing and, when pressed, his interpretation of its contents -contained the foulest and blackest calumny of the cousin whom Roger had -so fondly loved. This was proved by Mr. Gosford, to whom the packet had -been originally entrusted, and by the production of the duplicate which -Roger had given to Miss Doughty herself. The physical discrepancy, too, -was no less remarkable; for, while Roger, who took after his mother was -slight and delicate, with narrow sloping shoulders, a long narrow face -and thin straight dark hair, the Claimant was of enormous bulk, scaling -over twenty-four stone, big-framed and burly, with a large round face -and an abundance of fair and rather wavy hair. And yet, curiously -enough, the Claimant undoubtedly possessed a strong likeness to several -male members of the Tichborne family.” - -When questioned as to the impressive episode of Roger’s love for his -cousin, the Claimant showed himself hopelessly at sea. His answers -were confused and irreconcilable. Not only could he give no precise -dates, but even the broad outline of the story was beyond him. Yet, -for good reasons, the Solicitor-General persisted in pressing him as -to the contents of the sealed packet and compelled him to repeat the -slanderous version of the incident which he had long ago given when -interrogated on the point. Mrs. Radcliffe (she was not then Lady) sat -in court beside her husband, and thus had the satisfaction of seeing -the infamous charges brought against the fair fame of her girlhood -recoil on the head of the wretch who had resorted to such villainous -devices. Unfortunately, some years after Roger’s disappearance, Mr. -Gosford, feeling that he was neither justified in keeping the precious -packet, nor in handing it to any other person, had burnt it; but, -fortunately his testimony as to its contents was proved in the most -complete manner by the production of the duplicate which poor Roger had -given to his cousin on his last visit to Tichborne. - -Where the case broke down most completely was in the matter of tattoo -marks. Roger had been freely tattooed. Among other marks he bore, on -his left arm, a cross, an anchor, and a heart which was testified to -by the persons who had pricked them in. Orton, too, it was found out, -had also been tattooed on his left arm with his initials, “A. O.,” -and, though neither remained, there was a mark which was sworn to be -the obliteration of those letters. Small wonder then that, on the top -of this damning piece of evidence, the jury declared they required to -hear nothing further, upon which the Claimant’s counsel, to avoid the -inevitable verdict for their opponents, elected to be nonsuited. But -these tactics did not save their client, for he was at once arrested, -on the judge’s warrant, on the charge of wilful and corrupt perjury, -and committed to Newgate where he remained until bail for £10,000 was -forthcoming. - -A year later, on April 23, 1873, the Claimant was arraigned before -a special jury in the Court of Queen’s Bench. The proceedings were -of a most prolix and unusual character. Practically the same ground -was covered as in the civil trial, only the process was reversed: -the Claimant having now to defend instead of to attack. Many of -the better-class witnesses, including the majority of Roger’s -brother-officers, now forsook the Claimant. There was a deal of -cross-swearing. The climax of the long trial was the production by the -defence of a witness to support the Claimant’s account of his wreck -and rescue. This was a man who called himself Jean Luie and claimed -to be a Danish seaman. With a wealth of picturesque detail he told -how he was one of the crew of the _Osprey_ which had picked up a boat -of the shipwrecked _Bella_, in which was the claimant and some of the -crew, and how when the _Osprey_ arrived at Melbourne, in the height -of the gold fever, every man of the crew from the captain downwards -had deserted the ship and gone up country. According to his story from -that time forth he had seen nothing of any of the castaways; but having -come to England in search of his wife he had heard of the trial. When -Luie was first brought into the presence of the Claimant that astute -person immediately claimed him with the greeting in Spanish “_Como -esta, Luie?_”--“How are you, Luie?” The sailor with equal readiness -recognised Orton as the man he had helped to rescue years before. All -this sounded very convincing; but it would not stand investigation. -From the beginning to end the thing was an invention; an examination -of shipping records failed to find the _Osprey_ so that she must have -escaped the notice of the authorities in every port she had entered -from the day she was launched! Of “Sailor” Luie, however, a very -complete record was established. Not only were the police able to prove -that, at the time he swore he was a seaman on board the _Osprey_, -he was actually employed by a firm at Hull; that he had never been -a seaman at all; but that he was a well-known habitual criminal and -convict only recently released on a ticket-of-leave. This made things -very awkward for the defence who made every effort to shake free from -the taint of such perjured evidence. Dr. Kenealy, seeing his dilemma, -contended that it had been concocted by Luie himself. But the damning -and unanswerable fact remained--that, by his recognition of the man, -the Claimant had acknowledged a previous acquaintance with him which he -could only have had by being privy to the fraud. - -On February 28, 1874, the one hundred and eighty-eighth day of the -trial, the jury after half-an-hour’s deliberation returned their -verdict. They found that the defendant was not Roger Charles -Tichborne; that he was Arthur Orton; and finally that the charges made -against Miss Catherine Doughty were not supported by the slightest -evidence. Orton was sentenced to fourteen years’ penal servitude which, -assuredly, was none too heavy for offences so enormous. The trial -was remarkable, not only for its inordinate length, but also for the -extraordinary scenes by which it was characterised and for which Dr. -Kenealy, leading counsel for the defence, was primarily responsible. -His conduct was sternly denounced by the Lord Chief Justice in his -summing up as: “the torrent of undisguised and unlimited abuse in which -the learned counsel for the defence has thought fit to indulge,” and -he declared that “there never was in the history of jurisprudence a -case in which such an amount of imputation and invective had been used -before.” After the trial was over, Dr. Kenealy tried to turn the case -into a national question through the medium of a virulent paper he -started with the title of the _Englishman_; and undeterred by being -disbarred for his flagrant breaches of professional etiquette, he went -about the country delivering the most extravagant speeches concerning -the trial. He was elected Member of Parliament for Stoke, and, on April -23, 1875, moved for a royal commission of inquiry into the conduct of -the Tichborne Case; but his motion was defeated by 433 votes to 1. - -The verdict and sentence created enormous excitement throughout the -country, for all classes, more or less, had subscribed to the defence -fund. But, by the time Orton was released, in 1884, practically -all interest had died away, and his effort to resuscitate it was a -miserable failure. In the sworn confession which he published in the -_People_, in 1895, he told the whole story of the fraud from its -inception to its final denouement. Orton survived his release from -prison for fourteen years, but gradually sinking into poverty, he died -in obscure lodgings in Shouldham Street, Marylebone, on April 1, 1898. -To the end he was a fraud and impostor for, before his death, he is -said to have recanted his sworn confession, which nevertheless bore the -stamp of truth and was in perfect accord with the information obtained -by the prosecution, while his coffin bore the lying inscription: “Sir -Roger Charles Doughty Tichborne; born 5th January, 1829; died 1st -April, 1898.” - - - - -VII. WOMEN AS MEN - - -A. THE MOTIVE FOR DISGUISE - -One of the commonest forms of imposture--so common that it seems rooted -in a phase of human nature--is that of women who disguise themselves -as men. It is not to be wondered at that such attempts are made; or -that they were made more often formerly when social advancement had not -enlarged the scope of work available for women. The legal and economic -disabilities of the gentler sex stood then so fixedly in the way of -working opportunity that women desirous of making an honest livelihood -took desperate chances to achieve their object. We have read of very -many cases in the past; and even now the hum-drum of life is broken by -the fact or the echo of some startling revelation of the kind. Only -very lately the death of a person who had for many years occupied a -worthy though humble position in London caused a post-mortem sensation -by the discovery that the deceased individual, though looked on for -about a quarter of a century as a man, a widower, and the father of -a grown-up daughter, was in reality a woman. She was actually buried -under the name of the man she had professed to be, Harry Lloyd. - -It is not to be wondered at that in more strenuous times, when the -spirit of adventure was less curbed, and initial difficulties were -less deadened by convention, cases of concealment of sex were far more -numerous and more easily prolonged. In an age of foreign wars, many -existing barriers against success in this respect were removed by -general laxity of social conditions. Perhaps I may be allowed to say at -the outset that, for my own part, my mind refuses absolutely to accept -that which is generally alleged in each case, that the male comrades -of women concealing their proper sex were, all through, ignorant of -the true facts. Human nature is opposed to such a supposition, and -experience bears out the shrewdness of nature. On occasions, or even -for a time, it is possible to make such successful concealments. But -when we are told that a woman has gone through a whole campaign or a -prolonged voyage in all the overcrowded intimacy of tent and bivouac -or of cabin and forecastle, without such a secret being suspected or -discovered, the narrator makes an overlarge draft on human credulity. -That such comrades, and many of them, forbore to give away the -secret, no matter how it had come into their possession, we may well -believe. Comradeship is a strong factor in such matters, and it has -its own loyalty, which is never stronger than when the various persons -interested are held together by the knowledge of a common danger. -But even to this there is a contra; the whole spirit of romance, even -when it binds man to woman and woman to man, stands side by side with -love, affection, passion--call it what you will--which opportunity can -fan into flame. Never more so than in the strenuous days of fighting, -when day and night are full of varying fears--when the mad turmoil of -working hours and loneliness of the night forge new fetters for the -binding together of the sexes. - -In real life, when a man or a woman tries to escape from capture or -the fear of it in the guise of the opposite sex, it is a never-ending -struggle to sustain the rôle successfully. If this is so, when the -whole of the energies of mind and body are devoted in singleness -of purpose to the task, how then can the imposture be successfully -prolonged when the mind is eternally occupied with the pressing -things of the passing moments? There must infallibly be moments of -self-betrayal; and there is sufficient curiosity in the average person -to insure that the opportunities of such moments are not lost. Be this -as it may, we must in the first instance stick to matters of fact; the -record is our sheet-anchor. After all, when we learn of a case where -an imposture of the kind has been successfully carried out, it is time -enough to argue with convincing perspicacity that it should not have -been possible. - -As to record, there are quite sufficient cases to convince any reader -as to the fact that, allowing for all possible error and wastage, -there have been a sufficient number undetected at the time of their -happening, and only made known by after-confession and by the force of -ulterior circumstances. Whatever opinion we may form of the women who -carried out the venture, there is neither occasion nor need to doubt -the fact they were so carried out. The consideration of a few cases -culled from the records of this class of successful imposture will -make this plain. It would be useless, if not impossible, to make full -lists of the names of women who have passed themselves off as men in -the fighting world--soldiers and sailors, with side interests such as -piracy, duelling, highway robbery, etc. Amongst the female soldiers -are the names of Christian Davis (known as Mother Ross), Hannah Snell, -Phœbe Hessel. Amongst the sailors those of Mary Talbot, Ann Mills, -Hannah Whitney, Charles Waddell. In the ranks of the pirates are Mary -Reid and Ann Bonney. In many of these cases are underlying romances, as -of women making search for lost or absconding husbands, or of lovers -making endeavours to regain the lost paradise of life together. - -If there were nothing else in these little histories, their perusal in -detail would well repay attention as affording proof of the boundless -devotion of woman’s love. No matter how badly the man may have treated -the woman, no matter how heartlessly or badly he may have behaved -towards her, her affection was proof against all. Indeed it makes -one believe that there is some subtle self-sustaining, self-ennobling -quality in womanhood which her initial self-surrender makes a constant -force towards good. Even a nature which took new strength from the -turmoil of battle, from the harrowing suspense of perpetual vigil, from -the strain of physical weakness bravely borne, from pain and want and -hunger, instead of hardening into obstinate indifference, seems to have -softened as to sentiment, and been made gentle as to memory, as though -the sense of wrong had been purged by the forces of affliction. All -this, though the stress of campaigning may have blunted some of the -conventional susceptibility of womanhood. For the after life of some of -these warlike heroines showed that they had lost none of the love of -admiration which marks their sex, none of their satisfaction in posing -as characters other than their own. Several of them found pleasure in a -new excitement different from that of battle, in the art of the stage. -Whenever any of them made any effort to settle down in life after their -excitement in the life of the camp or the sea, such did so at some -place, and in some way congenial to herself and consistent with the -life which she was leaving. - - -B. HANNAH SNELL - -Hannah Snell is a good instance of how the life of a woman who was not -by nature averse from adventure was moulded by chance in the direction -which suited her individuality. Of course, liking for a militant life, -whether in conventional or exceptional form, presupposes a natural -boldness of spirit, resolution, and physical hardihood--all of which -this woman possessed in an eminent degree. - -She was born at Worcester in 1723, one of the family of a hosier who -had three sons and six daughters. In 1740, when her father and mother -were dead, she went to live at Wapping with a sister who had married a -ship carpenter named Gray. There she married a Dutch sailor, who before -her baby was born, had squandered such little property as her father -had left her, and then deserted her. She went back to her sister, in -whose house the baby died. In 1743, she made up her mind to search for -her husband. To this end she put on man’s clothes and a man’s name -(that of her brother-in-law) and enlisted in General Guise’s regiment. -At Carlisle, whither the regiment was sent she learned something of -a soldier’s duties. In doing so she was selected by her sergeant, a -man called Davis, to help him in carrying out a criminal love affair. -In order to be able to warn the girl she pretended acquiescence. In -revenge the sergeant reported her for an alleged neglect of some -duty for which according to the barbarous system of the time she was -sentenced to 600 lashes; of these she had actually received 500 when -on the intervention of some of the officers the remaining hundred -were foregone. After this, fearing further aggression on the part of -the revengeful petty officer she deserted. She walked all the way to -Portsmouth--a journey which occupied a whole month--where she again -enlisted as a marine in Fraser’s regiment, which was shortly ordered -on foreign service to the East Indies. There was a storm on the way -out, during which she worked manfully at the pumps. When the ship had -passed Gibraltar there was another bad storm in which she was wrecked. -Hannah Snell found her way to Madeira and thence to the Cape of Good -Hope. Her ship joined in the taking of Arcacopong on the Coromandel -Coast; in which action Hannah fought so bravely that she was praised -by her officers. Later on she assisted in the siege of Pondicherry -which lasted nearly three months before it had to be abandoned. In the -final attempt she served on picket duty and had to ford, under fire, -a river breast high. During the struggle she received six bullets -in the right leg, five in the left leg, and one in the abdomen. Her -fear was not of death but discovery of her sex through the last-named -wound. By the friendly aid of a black woman, however, she avoided this -danger. She managed to extract the bullet herself, with her finger and -thumb, and the wound made a good cure. This wound caused her a delay -of some weeks during which her ship had to leave for Bombay and was -delayed five weeks by a leak. Poor Hannah was again unfortunate in her -officers; one of them to whom she had refused to sing had her put in -irons and given a dozen lashes. In 1749 she went to Lisbon, where she -learned by chance that her husband had met at Genoa the death penalty -by drowning, for a murder which he had committed. Discovery of her sex -and her identity would have been doubly dangerous now; but happily she -was able to conceal her alarm and so escaped detection. She got back to -London through Spithead and once more found shelter in the house of her -sister who at once recognised her in spite of her disguise. Her fine -singing voice, which had already caused her to be flogged, now stood -her in good stead. She applied for and obtained an engagement at the -Royalty theatre, Wellclose square; and appeared with success as _Bill -Bobstay_ a sailor and _Firelock_ a soldier. She remained on the stage -for some months, always wearing male dress. The government of the day -gave her, on account of the hardships she had endured, a pension of £20 -per annum. Later on she took a public-house at Wapping. The sign of her -hostelry became noted. On one side of it was painted in effigy _The -British Tar_ and on the other _The Valiant Marine_, and underneath _The -Widow in masquerade_, or the _Female Warrior_. - -As Hannah appeared during her adventurous career as both soldier and -sailor she affords, in herself, an illustrious example of female -courage as well as female duplicity in both of the services. - - -C. LA MAUPIN - -The majority of the readers of the English-speaking race who enjoy -Théophile Gautier’s fascinating romance _Mademoiselle de Maupin_ are -not aware that the heroine was a real person. The novelist has of -course made such alterations as are required to translate crude fact -into more elegant fiction, and to obliterate so far as can be done the -criminal or partly-criminal aspect of the lady’s venturous career. But -such is one of the chief duties of an artist in fiction. Though he -may be an historian, in a sense, he is not limited to the occasional -bareness of truth. His object is not that his work shall be true but -rather what the French call _vraisemblable_. In narrative, as in most -arts, crudeness is rather a fault than a virtue, so that the writer -who looks for excellence in his work has without losing force, to fill -up the blanks left by the necessary excision of fact by subtleties of -thought and graces of description, so that the fulness or rotundity -of the natural curves shall always be maintained. In truth the story -of _La Maupin_ is so laden with passages of excitement and interest -that any writer on the subject has only to make an agreeable choice -of episodes sufficiently dramatic, and consistent with each other, -to form a cohesive narrative. Such a work has in it possibilities of -great success--if only the author has the genius of a Théophile Gautier -to set it forth. The real difficulty which such an one would have -to contend against would be to remove the sordidness, the reckless -passion, the unscrupulousness, the criminal intent which lies behind -such a character. - -The Mademoiselle de Maupin of real life was a singer at the Opera in -Paris at the end of the seventeenth century. She was the daughter -of a man of somewhat humble extraction engaged in secretarial work -with the Count d’Armagnac; and whilst only a girl married a man named -Maupin employed in the province. With him she had lived only a few -months when she ran away with a maitre d’armes (_anglicè_, a fencing -master) named Serane. If this individual had no other good quality in -matters human or divine, he was at least a good teacher of the sword. -His professional arts were used in the service of his inamorata, who -became herself an excellent swordsman even in an age when swordsmanship -had an important place in social life. It may have been the sexual -equality implied by the name which gave the young woman the idea, but -thenceforth she became a man in appearance;--in reality, in so far as -such a metamorphosis can be accomplished by courage, recklessness, -hardihood, unscrupulousness, and a willing obedience to all the ideas -which passion and sensuality can originate and a greed of notoriety -carry into execution. - -In a professional tour from Paris to Marseilles, in which she as an -actress took the part of a man, she gained the affections of the -flighty daughter of a rich merchant of Marseilles; and, as a man, ran -away with her. Being pursued, they sought refuge in a convent--a place -which at that age it was manifestly easier to get into than to get -out of. Here the two remained for a few days, during which, by the -aid of histrionic and other arts, the actress obviated the necessary -suspicions of her foolish companion and kept danger away. All the while -La Maupin was conscious that an irate and rich father was in hot search -for his missing daughter, and she knew that any talk about the venture -would infallibly lose her the girl’s fortune, besides getting herself -within the grip of the law. So she decided on a bold scheme of escape -from the convent, whereby she might obliterate her tracks. A nun of -the convent had died and her body was awaiting burial. In the night La -Maupin exchanged the body of the dead nun for the living one of her own -victim. Having thus got her companion out of the convent, she set the -building on fire to cover up everything, and escaped in secret to a -neighbouring village, taking with her by force the girl, who naturally -enough was disillusioned and began to have scruples as to the wisdom -of her conduct. In the village they remained hidden for a few weeks, -during which time the repentance of the poor girl became a fixed -quantity. An attempt, well supported, was made to arrest the ostensible -man; but this was foiled by the female swordsman who killed one of the -would-be captors and dangerously wounded two others. The girl, however, -made good her escape; secretly she fled from her deceiver and reached -her parents in safety. But the hue and cry was out after La Maupin, -whose identity was now known. She was pursued, captured, and placed -in gaol to await trial. The law was strong and inexorable; the erring -woman who had thus outraged so many conventions was condemned to be -burned alive. - -But abstract law and the executive are quite different things--at least -they were in France at the close of the seventeenth century: as indeed -they are occasionally in other countries and at varying times. La -Maupin, being a woman and a clever one, procured sufficient influence -to have the execution postponed, and so had the full punishment -delayed, if not entirely avoided. More than this, she managed to get -back to Paris and so to begin her noxious career all over again. Of -course she had strong help from her popularity. She was a favourite at -the opera, and the class which patronises and supports this kind of -artistic effort is a rich and powerful one, which governments do not -care to displease by the refusal of such a small favour as making the -law hold its hand with regard to an erring favourite. - -But La Maupin’s truculent tendencies were not to be restrained. In -Paris in 1695 whilst she was one of the audience at a theatre she took -umbrage at some act or speech of one of the comedians playing in the -piece, and leaving her seat went round to the stage and caned him in -the presence of the audience. The actor, M. Dumenil, an accomplished -and favourite performer but a man of peaceful disposition, submitted -to the affront and took no action in the matter. La Maupin, however, -suffered, through herself, the penalty of her conduct. She had -entered on a course of violence which became a habit. For some years -she flourished and exercised all the tyrannies of her own sex and -in addition those habitual to men which came from expert use of the -sword. Thus she went attired as a man to a ball given by a Prince of -the blood. In that garb she treated a fellow-guest, a woman, with -indecency; and she was challenged by three different men--each of -whom, when the consequent fight came on, she ran through the body, -after which she returned to the ball. Shortly afterwards she fought -and wounded a man, M. de Servan, who had affronted a woman. For these -escapades she was again pardoned. She then went to Brussels where she -lived under the protection of Count Albert of Bavaria, the Elector. -With him she remained until the quarrel, inevitable in such a life, -came. After much bickering he agreed to her demand of a settlement, -but in order to show his anger by affronting her he sent the large -amount of his involuntary bequest by the servile hand of the husband -of his mistress, Countess d’Arcos, who had supplanted her, with a -curt message that she must leave Brussels at once. The bearer of such -a message to such a woman as La Maupin had probably reckoned on an -unfriendly reception; but he evidently underestimated her anger. Not -contented with flinging at his head the large _douceur_ of which he was -the bearer, she expressed in her direct way her unfavourable opinion, -of him, of his master, and of the message which he had carried for -the latter. She ended her tirade by kicking him downstairs, with the -justification for her form of physical violence that she would not -sully her sword with his blood. - -From Brussels she went to Spain as _femme de chambre_ to the Countess -Marino but returned to Paris in 1704. Once more she took up her work as -an opera singer; or rather she tried to take it up, but she had lost -her vogue, and the public would have none of her. As a matter of fact, -she was only just above thirty years of age, which should under normal -circumstances be the beginning of a woman’s prime. But the life she -had been leading since her early girlhood was not one which made for -true happiness or for physical health; she was prematurely old, and her -artistic powers were worn out. - -Still, her pluck, and the obstinacy on which it was grafted, remained. -For a whole year she maintained a never-failing struggle for her old -supremacy, but without avail. Seeing that all was lost, she left the -stage and returned to her husband who, realising that she was rich, -managed to reconcile whatever shreds of honour he had to her infamous -record. The Church, too, accepted her--and her riches--within its -sheltering portals. By the aid of a tolerant priest she got absolution, -and two years after her retirement from the opera she died in a convent -in all the odour of sanctity. - - -D. MARY EAST - -The story of Mary East is a pitiful one, and gives a picture of -the civil life of the eighteenth century which cannot be lightly -forgotten. The condition of things has so changed that already we -almost need a new terminology in order that we may understand as our -great-grandfathers did. Take for instance the following sentence and -try individually how many points in it there are, the full meaning of -which we are unable to understand: - -“A young fellow courted one Mary East, and for him she conceived the -greatest liking; but he going upon the highway, was tried for a robbery -and cast, but was afterwards transported.” - -The above was written by an accomplished scholar, a Doctor of Divinity, -rector of an English parish. At the time of its writing, 1825, every -word of it was entirely comprehensible. If a reader of that time could -see it translated into modern phraseology he would be almost as much -surprised as we are when we look back upon an age holding possibilities -no longer imaginable. - -“Going upon the highway” was in Mary East’s time and a hundred years -later a euphemism for becoming a highway robber; “cast” meant condemned -to death; “transported” meant exiled to a far distant place where one -was guarded, and escape from which was punishable with death. Moreover -robbery was at this time a capital offence. - -In 1736, when Mary East was sixteen, life was especially hard on women. -Few honest occupations were open to them, and they were subject to all -the hardships consequent on a system in which physical weakness was -handicapped to a frightful extent. When this poor girl was bereft of -her natural hope of a settlement in life she determined, as the least -unattractive form of living open to her, to remain single. About the -same time a friend of hers arrived at the same resolution but by a -different road, her course being guided thereto by having “met with -many crosses in love.” The two girls determined to join forces; and -on consulting as to ways and means decided that the likeliest way to -avoid suspicion was to live together under the guise of man and wife. -The toss of a coin decided their respective rôles, the “breeches part” -as it is called in the argot of the theatre, falling to East. The -combined resources of the girls totalled some thirty pounds sterling, -so after buying masculine garb for Mary they set out to find a place -where they were unknown and so might settle down in peace. They found -the sort of place they sought in the neighbourhood of Epping Forest -where, there being a little public-house vacant, Mary--now under the -name of James How--became the tenant. For some time they lived in peace -at Epping, with the exception of a quarrel forced by a young gentleman -on the alleged James How in which the latter was wounded in the hand. -It must have been a very one-sided affair, for when the injured “man” -took action he was awarded £500 damages--a large sum in those days -and for such a cause. With this increase to their capital the two -women moved to Limehouse on the east side of London where they took at -Limehouse-hole a more important public-house. This they managed in so -excellent a manner that they won the respect of their neighbours and -throve exceedingly. - -After a time they moved from Limehouse to Poplar where they bought -another house and added to their little estate by the purchase of other -houses. - -Peace, hard work, and prosperity marked their life thence-forward, till -fourteen years had passed since the beginning of their joint venture. - -Peace and prosperity are, however, but feeble guardians to weakness. -Nay, rather are they incentive to evil doing. For all these years -the two young women had conducted themselves with such rectitude, -and observed so much discretion, that even envy could not assail -them through the web of good repute which they had woven round their -masquerade. Alone they lived, keeping neither female servant nor male -assistant. They were scrupulously honest in their many commercial -dealings and, absolutely punctual in their agreements and obligations. -James How took a part in the public life of his locality, filling in -turn every parish office except those of Constable and Churchwarden. -From the former he was excused on account of the injury to his hand -from which he had never completely recovered. Regarding the other his -time had not yet come, but he was named for Churchwarden in the year -following to that in which a bolt fell from the blue, 1730. It came -in this wise: A woman whose name of coverture was Bently, and who was -now resident in Poplar, had known the alleged James How in the days -when they were both young. Her own present circumstances were poor -and she looked on the prosperity of her old acquaintance as a means -to her own betterment. It was but another instance of the old crime -of “blackmail.” She sent to the former Mary East for a loan of £10, -intimating that if the latter did not send it she would make known the -secret of her sex. The poor panic-stricken woman foolishly complied -with the demand, thus forcing herself deeper into the mire of the other -woman’s unscrupulousness. The forced loan, together with Bently’s -fears for her own misdeed procured immunity for some fifteen years from -further aggression. At the end of that time, however, under the renewed -pressure of need Bently repeated her demand. “James How” had not the -sum by her, but she sent £5--another link in the chain of her thraldom. - -From that time on there was no more peace for poor Mary East. Her -companion of nearly thirty-five years died and she, having a secret -to guard and no assistance being possible, was more helpless than -ever and more than ever under the merciless yoke of the blackmailer. -Mrs. Bently had a fair idea of how to play her own despicable game. -As her victim’s fear was her own stock-in-trade she supplemented the -sense of fear which she knew to exist by a conspiracy strengthened by -all sorts of schemes to support its seeming _bona fides_. She took -in two male accomplices and, thus enforced, began operations. Her -confederates called on James How, one armed with a constable’s staff, -the other appearing as one of the “thief-takers” of the gang of the -notorious magistrate, Fielding--an evil product of an evil time. Having -confronted How they told him that they had come by order of Mr. Justice -Fielding to arrest him for the commission of a robbery over forty years -before, alleging that they were aware of his being a woman. Mary East, -though quite innocent of any such offence but acutely conscious of her -imposture of manhood, in her dismay sought the aid of a friend called -Williams who understood and helped her. He went to the magistrates -of the district and then to Sir John Fielding to make inquiries and -claim protection. During his absence the two villains took Mary East -from her house and by threats secured from her a draft on Williams -for £100. With this in hand they released their victim who was even -more anxious than themselves not to let the matter have greater -publicity than it had already obtained. However, Justice demanded a -further investigation, and one of the men being captured--the other -had escaped--was tried, and being found guilty, was sentenced to -imprisonment for four years together with four appearances in the -pillory. - -Altogether Mary East and her companion had lived together as husband -and wife for nearly thirty-five years, during which time they had -honestly earned, and by self-denial saved, over four thousand pounds -sterling and won the good opinion of all with whom they had come in -contact. They were never known to cook a joint of meat for their own -use, to employ any help, or to entertain private friends in their -house. They were cautious, careful, and discreet in every way and -seemed to live their lives in exceeding blamelessness. - - - - -VIII. HOAXES, ETC. - - -There is a class of imposture which must be kept apart from others -of its kind, or at least ear-marked in such wise that there can be -no confusion of ideas regarding it. This includes all sorts of acts -which, though often attended with something of the same result as other -efforts to mislead, are yet distinguished from them by intention. They -have--whatever may be their results--a jocular and humorous intention. -Such performances are called hoaxes. These, though amusing to their -perpetrators and to certain sportive persons, and though generally -causing a due amount of pain and loss to those on whom they are -inflicted, usually escape the condign and swift punishment which they -deserve. It is generally held that humour, like charity, covereth a -multitude of sins. So be it. We are all grateful for a laugh no matter -who may suffer. - - -A. TWO LONDON HOAXES - -Not many years ago, in one of the popular dairy-refreshment shops in -Holborn, the prim manageress and her white-capped waitresses were just -commencing their day’s work when a couple of sturdy green-aproned men -swooped down on the place from a large pantechnicon van, and to the -amazement of the young ladies commenced to clear the shop. - -“There you are Bill. Hand up them chairs, and look slippy.” - -“Right o’, mate.” - -“Good gracious me, what are you men doing?” shrieked the alarmed -manageress. - -“Doing, miss, doing? Why moving the furniture. This is the lot ain’t -it?” - -“No, no, no; there must be some mistake. You must have come to the -wrong place.” - -“Mistake, wrong place? No miss. ’Ere, look where’s that letter?” And -Jack placed a begrimed document before the lady. - -The letter seemed right enough. It read beautifully, a plain direction -to clear the shop and remove the stuff elsewhere; it only lacked the -official heading of the company. But the joint inspection was rudely -broken in upon by the arrival of a couple of the knights of the brush -who had come “to do the chimbley, maam”; and ere they could be disposed -of vans of coals began to draw up, more pantechnicons, more sweeps, -loads of furniture, butchers with prime joints, plump birds from the -poulterers, fish of every conceivable kind, noisy green-grocer boys, -staggering under huge loads of vegetables; florists “to decorate,” -gasfitters, carpenters “to take down the counter, miss”; others “to put -it up.” - - * * * * * - -Pandemonium is quiet compared with that shop. The poor manageress was -in tears, deafened with the exasperated, swearing representatives -of, apparently, all the tradesmen for miles around. The thing had -been well done. No sooner had the provision merchants worked clear -and the streams of vans, waggons and carts been backed away to the -accompaniment of much lurid language, than ladies began to arrive with -boxes of mysterious long garments which, they assured the indignant -lady in charge, they were instructed were urgently needed for an event -they referred to as “interesting.” There was no monotony, for fast and -furious--very furious sometimes--came other maidens laden with more -boxes and still more boxes, filled with costumes, bonnets, and other -creations dear to the feminine mind. Then came servants “in answer to -your advertisement, madam.” They flocked in from all directions, north, -south, east and west. Never was seen such a concourse of servants: -dignified housekeepers, housemaids, parlourmaids, and every other -sort of maid, seemed to be making for that unfortunate manageress. -Sleek-looking butlers popped in, as uniformed nurses popped out. -Window-cleaners had to be torn from the windows they insisted they -had got orders to clean; carpet beaters sought carpets which did not -exist. Never had mortal--aye and immortal--requirements been thought -out with more thoughtful care. From the needs of the unborn baby, to -the “poor departed one,” whom melancholy gentlemen in seedy black came -to measure, all were remembered, and the man for whose especial benefit -presumably were intended beautiful wreaths, crosses, harps, etc., which -kept constantly arriving. Throughout that live-long day to the “dewy -eve” beloved of the poet the game went merrily on. - -As a hoax the thing was worked for all it was worth. Not only had -shoals of letters evidently been sent out, but advertisements, too, had -been freely distributed among the press. Needless to say that, despite -the closest investigations, its author or authors, discreetly silent, -remained unknown. - -The joke was not new by any means. Well nigh a century before -mischief-loving Theodore Hook had stirred all London by a similar -prank--the famous Berners Street Hoax. In those days Berners Street was -a quiet thoroughfare inhabited by fairly well-to-do families. Indeed -it was this very sedate quietness which drew upon it Hook’s unwelcome -attention. Fixing on one of the houses, which happened to be adorned -with a brass plate, he made a wager with a brother wag that he would -cause that particular house to become the talk of the town: and he -certainly did--for not only the town, but all England shrieked with -laughter when the result of his little manœuvre became known. - -One morning, soon after breakfast, waggons laden with coals began -to draw up before the house with the brass plate, No. 54. These -were quickly succeeded with tradespeople by the dozen with various -commodities. These in turn were followed by van loads of furniture; -followed by a hearse with a coffin and a number of mourning coaches. -Soon the street became choked: for, what with the goods dumped down -as near as possible to the house--pianos, organs, and cart loads of -furniture of all descriptions, the anxious tradesmen, and the laughing -mob of people quickly attracted to the scene, confusion reigned -supreme. About this time the Lord Mayor and other notabilities began -to arrive in their carriages. His Lordship’s stay was short. He was -driven to Marlborough Street police office where he informed the -magistrate that he had received a note purporting to come from Mrs. -T., the victimised widow resident at No. 54, saying she was confined -to her room and begging his lordship to do her the favour of calling -on her on important business. Meanwhile, the trouble in Berners -Street was growing serious, and officers belonging to the Marlborough -Street office were at once sent to keep order. For a time even they -were helpless. Never was such a strange meeting: barbers with wigs; -mantlemakers with band-boxes; opticians with their various articles of -trade. Presently there arrived a couple of fashionable physicians, an -accoucheur, and a dentist. There were clockmakers, carpet manufacturers -and wine merchants, all loaded with specimens of their trade; brewers -with barrels of ale, curiosity dealers with sundry knickknacks; -cartloads of potatoes; books, prints, jewellery, feathers and furbelows -of all kinds; ices and jellies; conjuring tricks; never was such a -conglomeration. Then, about five o’clock servants of all kinds began -to troop in to apply for situations. For a time the police officers -were powerless. Vehicles were jammed and interlocked; the exasperated -drivers were swearing, and the disappointed tradesmen were maddened -by the malicious fun of the crowd who were enjoying the joke. Some -of the vans were overturned and many of the tradesmens’ goods came -to grief; while some of the casks of ale became the prey of the -delighted spectators. All through the day and late into the night this -extraordinary state of things continued, to the dismay and terror of -the poor lady and the other inmates of the house with the brass plate. - -Theodore Hook had taken precautions to secure a good seat for the -performance, having taken furnished-apartments just opposite the house -of his victim, where he posted himself with one or two companions to -enjoy the scene. Hook’s connection with the mad joke was, fortunately -for him, not known until long afterwards; it seems he had devoted three -or four whole days to writing the letters, all couched in ladylike -style. In the end the novelist seems to have been rather frightened at -the result of his little joke, for he made a speedy departure to the -country; and there is no doubt that, had he been publicly known as its -author, he would have fared badly. - - -B. THE CAT HOAX - -One very amusing variation of the countless imitations, which the -success of this trick gave rise to, was the “cat hoax” at Chester, -in August, 1815. It was at the time when it had been determined to -send Napoleon to St. Helena. One morning, a number of hand bills were -distributed in and around Chester, stating that, owing to the island of -St. Helena being invested with rats, the government required a number -of cats for deportation. Sixteen shillings were offered for “every -athletic full-grown tom cat, ten shillings for every adult female -puss, and a half-crown for every thriving kitten that could swill -milk, pursue a ball of thread, or fasten its young fangs in a dying -mouse.” An address was given at which the cats were to be delivered; -but it proved to be an empty house. The advertisement resulted in the -victimisation of hundreds of people. Men, women, and children streamed -into the city from miles around laden with cats of every description. -Some hundreds were brought in, and the scene before the door of the -empty house is said to have baffled description. When the hoax was -discovered many of the cats were liberated; the following morning no -less than five hundred dead cats were counted floating down the river -Dee. - - -C. THE MILITARY REVIEW - -Practical jokes of this nature have more than once led to serious -results. In the summer of 1812 a report was extensively circulated that -a grand military review was to be held on the 19th of June. Booths were -erected and as many as twenty thousand people assembled, despite the -efforts of the authorities who, when they learned what was happening, -posted men in the several roads leading to the heath to warn the people -that they had been hoaxed. But their efforts were useless. The rumour -was believed and the contradiction ignored; vehicles, horsemen and -pedestrians pushed on to their destination. When, however, the day wore -on without any appearance of the promised military pageant, the crowd -grew angry and then broke out in acts of violence. The heath was set on -fire. Messengers were sent off express to London, and a detachment of -the guards had to be marched down to quell the mob. In the disorder one -poor woman was thrown out of a chaise and picked up in an unconscious -condition. - - -D. THE TOLL-GATE - -Many distinguished actors have been very fond of playing practical -jokes and perpetrating hoaxes. Young, the tragedian, was one day -driving in a gig with a friend on the outskirts of London. Pulling -up at a turn-pike gate he noticed the name of the toll-collector -written up over the door. Calling to him the woman, the wife of that -functionary, who appeared to be in charge of the gate, he politely -told her that he particularly wished to see Mr. ----, naming the -toll-collector, on a matter of importance. Impressed by Young’s manner, -she promptly sent for her husband, who was working in a neighbouring -field. Hastily washing himself and putting on a clean coat he presented -himself. The actor gravely said: “I paid for a ticket at the last gate, -and was told that it would free me through this one. As I wish to be -scrupulously exact, will you kindly tell me whether such is the case?” -“Why of course it is?” “Can I then pass through without paying?” The -toll-collector’s reply and his vituperation as the travellers passed on -had better, perhaps, be left to the imagination. - - -E. THE MARRIAGE HOAX - -Hoaxes are sometimes malicious, and often cruel, as the following -instance will show: A young couple were about to be married in -Birmingham when those officiating--it was a Jewish wedding--were -startled by the delivery of a telegram from London with the message: -“Stop marriage at once. His wife and children have arrived in London -and will come on to Birmingham.” The bride fainted and the bridegroom -was frantically perturbed at thus summarily being provided with a -wife and family. But it was useless; the unhappy man had to make the -best of his way through an exasperated crowd full of sympathy for the -wronged girl. Inquiry, however, showed her friends that the whole thing -was a hoax--possibly worked by some revengeful rival of the man whose -happiness had been so unexpectedly deferred. - - -F. BURIED TREASURE - -Most people have heard of the “Spanish Treasure swindle” and, though -less elaborate than the original, a variation of it practised on a -French merchant was rather “cute.” One morning he received an anonymous -communication advising him that a box of treasure was buried in his -garden the exact position of which would be pointed out to him, if -he agreed to divide the spoil. He rose at once to the bait, met his -generous informant, and before long the pair were merrily at work -with pickaxe and shovel. Sure enough before long their exertions -were awarded by the unearthing of a box full of silver coins. The -hoard proved to consist of sixteen hundred five-franc pieces; and -the delighted merchant, after carefully counting them out into two -piles, offered one lot to his partner as his share. That worthy, after -contemplating the heap for a minute or two, observed that it would -be rather a heavy load to carry to the railway station, and said he -would prefer, if it could be managed, to have the amount in gold or -notes. “Certainly, certainly!” was the reply. The two men walked up to -the house and the business was settled to their mutual satisfaction. -Twenty-four hours later, the merchant took a very different view of -the transaction; for examination discovered there was not one genuine -five-franc piece among the whole lot. - - -G. DEAN SWIFT’S HOAX - -One of the most beautiful hoaxes ever perpetrated was one for which -Swift was responsible. He caused a broad-sheet to be printed and -circulated which purported to be the “last dying speech” of one -Elliston, a street robber, in which the condemned thief was made to -say: “Now as I am a dying man, I have done something which may be of -use to the public. I have left with an honest man--the only honest man -I was ever acquainted with--the names of all my wicked brethren, the -places of their abode, with a short account of the chief crimes they -have committed, in many of which I have been their accomplice, and -heard the rest from their own mouths. I have likewise set down names of -those we call our setters, of the wicked houses we frequent, and all -of those who receive and buy our stolen goods. I have solemnly charged -this honest man, and have received his promise upon oath, that whenever -he hears of any rogue to be tried for robbery or housebreaking, he -will look into his list, and if he finds the name there of the thief -concerned, to send the whole paper to the Government. Of this I here -give my companions fair and public warning, and hope they will take -it.” So successful, we are told, was the Dean’s ruse that, for many -years afterwards, street robberies were almost unknown. - - -H. HOAXED BURGLARS - -The above ingenious device recalls another occasion when some gentlemen -who made burglary their profession, and who had been paying a midnight -visit to the house of a Hull tradesman were sadly “sold.” They found -the cash-box lying handy, and, to their delight, weighty; so heavy -indeed that they did not stay to help themselves to anything further. -Next morning the cash-box was found not far from the shop and its -contents in an ash-pit close by. After all the trouble they had taken, -to say nothing of the risks they had run, the burglars found their -prize consisted only of a lump of lead, and that their intended victim -had been too artful for them. - - -I. BOGUS SAUSAGES - -As an example of how a dishonest penny may be turned the following -incident would be hard to beat. - -Two weary porters at the King’s Cross terminus of the Great Northern -Railway were thinking about going home, when a breathless, -simple-looking countryman rushed up to them with anxious enquiries for -a certain train. It had gone. He was crushed. “Whatever was he to do? -He had been sent up from Cambridge with a big hamper of those sausages -for which the University town is celebrated--a very special order. Was -there no other train?” “No.” The poor fellow seemed overwhelmed. “As -it is too late to find another market,” he complained, “the whole lot -will be lost.” Then a happy thought seemed to strike him as more of -the railway men gathered round, and he inquired ingratiatingly, “Would -you care to buy the sausages; if you would, you could have them for -fourpence a pound? If I keep them, they will probably go bad before -I can dispose of them.” The idea took--“Real Cambridge Sausages” at -fourpence a pound was not to be sneezed at. The dainties, neatly packed -in pounds, went like the proverbial hot cakes. Shouldering the empty -basket, and bidding his customers a kindly goodnight, the yokel set -off to find a humble lodging for the night. Grateful smiles greeted -the purchasers when they got home. Frying pans were got out and the -sausages were popped in, and never was such a sizzling heard in the -railway houses--or rather never should such a sizzling have been heard. -But somehow they didn’t sizzle. “They are uncommon dry; seem to have -no fat in ’em,” said the puzzled cook. They were dry, very dry, for -closer investigation showed that the “prime Cambridge” were nothing -but skins stuffed with dry bread! The railway staff of King’s Cross -were long anxious to meet that simple countryman from Cambridge. - - -J. THE MOON HOAX - -One of the most stupendous hoaxes, and one foisted on the credulity of -the public with the most complete success, was the famous Moon Hoax -which was published in the pages of the New York _Sun_ in 1835. It -purported to be an account of the great astronomical discoveries of -Sir John Herschel at the Cape of Good Hope, through the medium of a -mighty telescope, a single lens of which weighed nearly seven tons. -It was stated to be reproduced from the Supplement to the Edinburgh -_Journal of Science_, though as a matter of fact, the _Journal_ had -then been defunct some years. In graphic language, and with a wealth -of picturesque detail, the wonders of the Moon as revealed to the -great astronomer and his assistants were set forth. A great inland -sea was observed, and “fairer shores never angel coasted on a tour -of pleasure.” The beach was “of brilliant white sand, girt with wild -castellated rocks apparently of green marble, varied at chasms, -occurring every two hundred feet, with grotesque blocks of chalk or -gypsum, and feathered and festooned at the summit with the clustering -foliage of unknown trees.” There were hills of amethysts “of a diluted -claret colour”; mountains fringed with virgin gold; herds of brown -quadrupeds resembling diminutive bison fitted with a sort of “hairy -veil” to protect their eyes from the extremes of light and darkness; -strange monsters--a combination of unicorn and goat; pelicans, cranes, -strange amphibious creatures, and a remarkable biped beaver. The last -was said to resemble the beaver of the earth excepting that it had -no tail and walked only upon its two feet. It carried its young in -its arms like a human-being, and its huts were constructed better and -higher than those of many savage tribes; and, from the smoke, there was -no doubt it was acquainted with the use of fire. Another remarkable -animal observed, was described as having an amazingly long neck, a head -like a sheep, bearing two spiral horns, a body like a deer, but with -its fore-legs disproportionately long as also its tail which was very -bushy and of a snowy whiteness, curling high over its rump and hanging -two or three feet by its side. - -But even these marvels fade into insignificance compared with the -discovery of the lunarian men “four feet in height, covered, except -on the face, with short and glossy copper-coloured hair, with wings -composed of a thin membrane.” “In general symmetry they were infinitely -superior to the orang-outang”--which statement could hardly have -been regarded as complimentary; and, though described as “doubtless -innocent and happy creatures,” the praise was rather discounted by -the mention that some of their amusements would “but ill comport with -our terrestrial notions of decorum.” In the “Vale of the Triads,” -with beautiful temples built of polished sapphire, a superior race of -the punariant were found, “eminently happy and even polite,” eating -gourds and red cucumbers; and further afield yet another race of the -vespertilio-homo, or man-bat, were seen through the wonderful telescope -of “infinitely greater personal beauty ... scarcely less lovely than -the general representation of angels.” - -Such were a few of the marvels told of in the Moon story; and, though -one may laugh at them as they stand, shorn of their clever verbiage and -quasi-scientific detail, at the time of publication they were seriously -accepted, for the popular mind, even among the educated classes, was -then imbued with the fanciful anticipators of vast lunar discoveries -heralded in the astronomical writings of Thomas Dick, LL.D., of the -Union College of New York. Scarcely anything could have been brought -forward too extravagant for the general credulity on the subject then -prevailing; and this well-timed satire, “out-heroding Herod” in its -imaginative creations, supplied to satiety the morbid appetite for -scientific wonders then raging. By its plausible display of scientific -erudition it successfully duped, with few exceptions, the whole -civilised world. - -At the time, the hoax was very generally attributed to a French -astronomer, M. Nicollet, a legitimist who fled to America in 1830. He -was said to have written it with the twofold object of raising the -wind, and of “taking in” Arago, a rival astronomer. But its real author -was subsequently found to be Richard Adams Locke, who declared that -his original intention was to satirise the extravagances of Dick’s -writings, and to make certain suggestions which he had some diffidence -in putting forward seriously. Whatever may have been his object, the -work, as a hit, was unrivalled. For months the press of America and -Europe teemed with the subject; the account was printed and published -in many languages and superbly illustrated. But, finally, Sir John -Herschel’s signed denial gave the mad story its quietus. - - - - -IX. THE CHEVALIER D’EON - - -In all the range of doubtful personalities there is hardly any one whom -convention has treated worse than it has the individual known in his -time--and after--as The Chevalier d’Eon. For about a hundred and fifty -years he has been written of--and spoken of for the first half century -of that time--simply as a man who masqueraded in woman’s clothes. There -seems to be just sufficient truth in this to save certain writers -on the subject from the charge of deliberate lying--a record which, -even if it is to be posthumous, no man of integrity aims at; but it -is abundantly evident that the rumour, which in time became a charge, -was originally set on foot deliberately by his political enemies, who -treated him and his memory without either consideration or even the -elements of honourable truth. To begin with, here are the facts of his -long life. - -Charles-Genevieve--Louis-Auguste-Andre--Timothée d’Eon de Beaumont was -born in 1728 in Tonnerre in Yonne, a department of France in the old -province of Burgundy. His father, Louis d’Eon, was a parliamentary -barrister. As a youth he was so apt in his studies at the Collège -Mazarin that he received by special privilege his degree of Doctor in -Canon and Civil Law before the age appointed for the conferring of such -honour, and was then enrolled in the list of parliamentary barristers -in Paris. At first he had been uncertain which department of life he -should undertake. He swayed on one side towards the church, on the -other towards the world of letters and _beaux-arts_. He was by habit -an athlete, and was so good a swordsman that later on he had no rival -in fencing except the Chevalier de Saint-George. In his twenty-fifth -year he published two remarkable books. One was on the political -administration of ancient and modern people, and the other on Phases -of Finance in France at different times. (The latter was afterwards -published in German at Berlin in 1774, and so impressed the then King -of Prussia that he gave orders that its ideas were to be carried into -practical effect.) - -[Illustration: THE CHEVALIER D’EON] - -In 1755 the Prince de Conti, to whose notice the Chevalier had been -brought by the above books, asked the king (Louis XV) to send him to -Russia on a secret mission with the Chevalier Douglas; and from that -time till the king’s death in 1774 he was his trusted, loyal agent -and correspondent. D’Eon’s special mission was to bring the courts -of France and Russia closer than had been their wont, and also to -obtain for the Prince de Conti, who was seeking the Dukedom of Finland -and the Kingship of Poland, the favour of the Empress Elizabeth--a -difficult task, which had already cost M. de Valcroissant a spell -of imprisonment. In order to accomplish his mission, d’Eon disguised -himself as a woman, and in this guise he was able to creep into the -good graces of the Empress. He became her “reader” and was thus enabled -to prepare her for the reception of the secret purposes of his king. -In the following year he returned to France whence he was immediately -sent again to St. Petersburg with the title of Secretary of Embassy. -But this time he went in his man’s clothes and as the brother of the -pretended female reader. By this time he had been made a lieutenant of -dragoons. He came in spite of the Russian Chancellor Bestuchéf, who -saw in the young soldier-diplomat “_un subject dangereux et capable de -boulverser l’empire_.” This time his real mission was to destroy in -the mind of the Empress faith in Bestuchéf, who was trying to hold the -Russian army inactive and so deprive France of the advantages of the -Treaty of Versailles. This he did so well that he was in a position to -prove to the Empress that her chancellor had betrayed her interests. -Bestuchéf was arrested and his post conferred on Count Woronzow, -whose attitude was altogether favourable to France. The gratitude of -King Louis was shewn by his making d’Eon a captain of dragoons and -conferring on him a pension of 2400 livres; he was also made censor of -history and literature. D’Eon threw himself with his accustomed zeal -into the service of the army and distinguished himself by his courage -in the battles of Hoecht; of Ultrop, where he was wounded; of Eimbech -where he put the Scotch to flight; and of Osterkirk, where at the head -of 80 dragoons and 20 hussars he overthrew a battalion of the enemy. - -No better conventional proof of the accepted idea of d’Eon’s military -worthiness can be given than the frequency and importance of the -occasions on which he was honoured by the carrying of despatches. He -brought news of his successful negotiations for the peace of Versailles -from Vienna in 1757. He was also sent with the Ratification of the -Treaty. He carried the despatches of the great victory of the troops of -Maria Theresa, forestalling the Austrian courier by a day and a half, -although he had a broken leg. - -When next sent to Russia, d’Eon was sent as minister plenipotentiary, -an office which he held up to 1762 when to the regret of the Empress -he was recalled. When he was leaving, Woronzow, the successor of -Bestuchéf, said to him, “I am sorry you are going, although your first -journey with Chevalier Douglas cost my sovereign 250,000 men and more -than 5,000,000 roubles.” D’Eon answered: “Your excellency ought to -be happy that your sovereign and his minister have gained more glory -and reputation than any others in the world.” On his return d’Eon -was appointed to the regiment d’Autchamp and gazetted as adjutant to -Marshal de Broglie. Then he was sent to Russia for the fourth time -as minister plenipotentiary in place of Baron de Breuteuil. But Peter -III was dethroned, so the out-going Ambassador remained in Russia, -and d’Eon went to England as secretary to the Embassy of the Duke de -Nivernais in 1762. - -After the Peace of 1763 d’Eon was chosen by the King of England to -carry the despatches. He received for this office the Star of St. Louis -from the breast of the king, who on giving it said it was for the -bravery which he had displayed as a soldier, and for the intelligence -which he had shown in the negotiations between London and St. -Petersburg. - -At this time all went well with him. But his good fortune was changed -by the bitter intrigues of his enemies. He was devoted to the king, -but had, almost as a direct consequence, the enmity of the courtesans -who surrounded him and wished for the opportunity of plucking him -at their leisure. He had an astonishing knowledge on all matters of -finance, and apprised the king privately of secret matters which his -ministers tried to hide from him. The Court had wind of that direct -correspondence with his majesty and therewith things were so managed -that the diplomatist got into trouble. Madame de Pompadour surprised -the direct correspondence between the king and d’Eon, with the result -that the latter was persecuted by the jealous courtiers who intrigued, -until in 1765 he was replaced at the Embassy of London by the Count de -Guerchy and he himself became the mark for all sorts of vexations and -persecutions. His deadly enemy, the Count de Guerchy, tried to have -him poisoned, but the attempt failed. D’Eon took legal steps to punish -the attempt; but every form of pressure was used to keep the case out -of Court. An attempt was made to get the Attorney General to enter a -_nolle prosequi_; but he refused to lend himself to the scheme, and -sent the matter to the Court of King’s Bench. There, despite all the -difficulties of furthering such a charge against any one so protected -as an ambassador, it was declared on trial that the accused was guilty -of the crime charged against him. De Guerchy accordingly had to return -to France; but d’Eon remained in England, though without employment. To -console him King Louis gave him in 1766 a pension of 12,000 livres, and -assured him that though he was ostensibly exiled this was done to cover -up the protection extended to him. D’Eon, according to the report of -the time, was offered a bribe of 1,200,000 livres, to give up certain -state papers then in his custody; but to his honour he refused. Be the -story as it may, d’Eon up to the time of the death of Louis (1774) -continued to be in London the real representative of France, though -without any formal appointment. - -During this time one of the means employed with success by his enemies -to injure the reputation of d’Eon, was to point out that he had passed -himself as a woman; the disguise he wore on his first visit to Russia. -His clean shaven face, his personal niceties, the correctness of his -life, all came to the aid of that supposition. In England bets were -made and sporting companies formed for the purpose of verifying his -sex. Designs were framed for the purpose of carrying him off in order -to settle the vexed question by a personal examination. Some of the -efforts he had to repel by violence. In 1770 and in 1772 his friends -tried to arrange that he should be allowed to return to France; but he -refused all offers as the Ministers insisted on making it a condition -of his return that he should wear feminine apparel. After the accession -of Louis XVI he obtained leave to return, free from the embarrassing -restraint hitherto demanded. As he was overwhelmed with debts he placed -as a guarantee in the hands of Lord Ferrers an iron casket containing -important French state papers. The minister sent Beaumarcheus to redeem -them, and in 1771 the Chevalier returned to France. He presented -himself at Versailles in his full uniform of a captain of dragoons. The -Queen (Marie Antoinette) however, wished to see him presented in female -dress; so the Minister implored him to meet her wishes. He consented; -and thenceforward not only wore women’s clothes but called himself “La -Chevalière d’Eon.” In a letter addressed by him to Madame de Staël -during the French revolution he spoke of himself as “citizeness of the -New Republic of France, and of the old Republic of Literature.” On 2nd -September, 1777 he wrote to the Count de Maurepas, “Although I detest -changes of costume, yet they are hard at work at Mademoiselle Bertin’s -on my future and doleful dress, which however I shall cut in pieces at -the first sound of the cannon shots.” As a matter of fact when war with -England became imminent he demanded to be allowed to take in the army -the position which he had won by bravery and as the price of honourable -wounds. The only reply he got was his immurement for two months in the -Castle of Dijon. In 1784 he returned to England, which he never again -left. In vain he appealed to the Convention and then to the First -Consul to be allowed to place his sword at the service of his country; -but his prayer was not listened to. Used to the practice of the sword, -his circumstances being desperate, he then found in it a source of -income. He gave in public, assaults-at-arms with the Chevalier de -Saint-George, one of the most notable fencers of his time. At length he -was given a small pension, £40, by George III, on which he subsisted -during the remainder of his life. He died 23rd May, 1810. - -In very fact Chevalier d’Eon is historically a much injured man. His -vocation was that of a secret-service agent of a nation surrounded with -enemies, and to her advantage he used his rare powers of mind and body. -He was a very gallant soldier, who won distinction in the field and -was wounded several times; and in his endurance and his indifference -to pain whilst carrying despatches of overwhelming importance he set -an example that any soldier might follow with renown. As a statesman -and diplomatist, and by the use of his faculties of inductive -ratiocination, he averted great dangers from his country. If there were -nothing else to his credit he might well stand forth as a diplomatist -who had by his own exertions overthrown a dishonest Russian Chancellor -and an unscrupulous French Ambassador. Of course, as he was an agent of -secret service, he had cognisance of much political and international -scheming which he had at times to frustrate at the risk of all which he -held dear. But, considering the time he lived in, and the dangers which -he was always in the thick of, in a survey of his life the only thing -a reader can find fault with is his yielding to the base idea of the -flighty-minded Marie Antoinette. What, to this irresponsible butterfly -of fashion, was the honour of a brave soldier or the reputation of an -acute diplomatist who had deserved well of his country. Of course to -her any such foolery as that to which she condemned d’Eon was but the -fancy of an idle moment. But then the fancies of queens at idle moments -may be altogether destructive to someone. That they may be destructive -to themselves is shown in the record of the terrible atrocities of the -Revolution which followed hard on the luxurious masquerades of Trianon -and Versailles. Even to the Queen of France, the Chevalier d’Eon -should have been something of a guarded, if not an honoured, person. He -was altogether a “king’s man.” He had been for many years the trusted -and loyal servant of more than one king; and from the king’s immediate -circle the proper consideration should have been shown. - -There is something pitiful in the spectacle of this old gentleman of -nearly eighty years of age, who had in his time done so much, being -compelled to earn a bare livelihood by the exploitation of the most -sordid page in his history--a page turned more than half a century -before, and then only turned at all in response to the call of public -duty. - -In his retirement d’Eon showed more of his real nature than had been -possible to him in the strenuous days when he had to be always vigilant -and ready at an instant’s notice to conceal his intentions--his very -thoughts. Here he showed a sensitiveness with which even his friends -did not credit him. He had been so long silent as to matters of his -own concern that they had begun to think he had lost the faculty not -only of making the thought known, but even of the thought itself. The -following paragraph from the London _Public Advertiser_ of Wednesday, -16th November, 1774, shows more of the real man than may be found in -any of his business letters or diplomatic reports:-- - -“The Chevalier d’Eon with justice complains of our public prints; they -are eternally sending him to France while he is in body and soul fixed -in this country; they have lately confined him in the Bastille, when he -fled to England as a country of liberty; and they lately made a Woman -of him, when not one of his enemies dared to put his manhood to the -proof. He makes no complaints of the English Ladies.” - -In an issue of the same paper 9th November, of the same year, it is -mentioned that the Rt. Hon. Lord Ferrars, Sir John Fielding, Messrs. -Addington, Wright and other worthy magistrates and gentlemen and -their ladies did the Chevalier d’Eon the honour to dine with him in -Brewer St., Golden Square (common proof that the Chevalier d’Eon is -not confined in the Bastille). D’Eon was much too wily and too much -accustomed to attack to allow diplomatic insinuations to pass unheeded. -He was now beginning to apply his garnered experience to his own -protection. - -From the above extract of 16th November one can note how the allegation -as to his sex was beginning to rankle in the soldier’s mind, and how -an open threat of punishment is conveyed in diplomatic form. Indeed -he had reason to take umbrage at the insinuation. More than once had -attempts been made to carry him off for the purpose of settling bets -by a humiliating personal scrutiny. From something of the same cause -his friends on his death caused an autopsy to be made before several -witnesses of position and repute. Amongst these were several surgeons -including Père Elisée, First Surgeon to Louis XVIII. The medical -certificate ran as follows: - -“Je certifie, par le présent, avoir inspecté le corps du chevalier -d’Eon, en présénce de M. Adair, M. Wilson et du Père Elysée, et avoir -trouvé les organs masculins parfaitement formés.” - - - - -X. THE BISLEY BOY - - -A. PROLEGOMENON - -Queen Elizabeth, the last of the House of Tudor, died unmarried. Since -her death in 1603, there have been revolutions in England due to -varying causes, but all more or less disruptive of family memories. -The son of James I had his head cut off, and after the Commonwealth -which followed, Charles I’s son James II, had to quit on the coming of -William III, by invitation. After William’s death without issue, Anne, -daughter of James II, reigned for a dozen years, and was succeeded -by George I, descended through the female line from James I. His -descendants still sit on the throne of England. - - -NO DESCENDANTS - -The above facts are given not merely in the way of historical -enlightenment but rather as a sort of apologetic prolegomenon to the -ethical consideration of the matter immediately before us. Had Queen -Elizabeth had any descendants, they need not have feared any discussion -of her claims of descent. The issue of the legality of her mother’s -marriage had been tried exhaustively both before and after her own -birth, and she held the sceptre both by the will of her dead father -and the consent of her dead half-sister who left no issue. But Queen -Elizabeth, whatever her origin, would have been a sufficient ancestor -for any King or any Dynasty. Still, had she left issue there might -have been lesser people, descendants, whose feelings in the matter of -personal and family pride would have required consideration; and no -person entering on an analysis of historical fact would have felt quite -free-handed in such an investigation. - - -B. THE QUEEN’S SECRET - -There are quite sufficient indications throughout the early life of -Queen Elizabeth that there was _some_ secret which she kept religiously -guarded. Various historians of the time have referred to it, and now -and again in a way which is enlightening. - -In a letter to the Protector Somerset in 1549, when the Princess -Elizabeth was 15, Sir Robert Tyrwhitt says: - - “I do verily believe that there hath been some secret promise - between my Lady, Mistress Ashley, and the Cofferer” [Sir Thomas - Parry] “never to confess to death, and if it be so, it will never - be gotten of her, unless by the King’s Majesty or else by your - Grace.” - -In his _Girlhood of Queen Elizabeth_ Mr. Frank A. Mumby writes of -this:-- - - “Elizabeth was as loyal to Parry as to Mrs. Ashley; she - reinstated him after a year’s interval, in his office as - Cofferer, and on her accession to the throne she appointed - him Controller of the royal household. She continued to confer - preferment upon both Parry and his daughter to the end of their - lives--“conduct,” remarks Miss Strickland, “which naturally - induces a suspicion that secrets of great moment had been - confided to him--secrets that probably would have touched not - only the maiden name of his royal Mistress, but placed her life - in jeopardy, and that he had preserved these inviolate. The same - may be supposed with respect to Mrs. Ashley, to whom Elizabeth - clung with unshaken tenacity through every storm.” - -Major Martin Hume in his _Courtships of Queen Elizabeth_ says of the -favourable treatment of the Governess and the Cofferer:-- - - “The confessions of Ashley and Parry are bad enough; but they - probably kept back more than they told, for on Elizabeth’s - accession and for the rest of their lives, they were treated - with marked favour. Parry was knighted and made Treasurer of the - Household, and on Mrs. Ashley’s death in July 1565 the Queen - visited her in person and mourned her with great grief.” - -The same writer says elsewhere in the book: - - “Lady Harrington and Mrs. Ashley were, in fact, the only ladies - about the Queen who were absolutely in her confidence.” - -In a letter to the Doge of Venice in 1556 Giovanni Michiel wrote: - - “She” [Elizabeth] “I understand, having plainly said that she - will not marry, even were they to give her the King’s” [Philip of - Spain] “son” [Don Carlos, Philip’s son by his first wife] “or - find any other great prince, I again respectfully remind your - serenity to enjoin secrecy about this.” - -Count de Feria wrote in April, 1559: - - “If my spies do not lie, which I believe they do not, for a - certain reason which they have recently given me, I understand - that she [Elizabeth] will not bear children.” - -At this time Elizabeth was only 26 years of age. - -The following extract is taken from Mr. Mumby’s _Girlhood of Queen -Elizabeth_ in which is given the translation taken from Leti’s _La Vie -d’Elizabeth_. The letter is from Princess Elizabeth to Lord Admiral -Seymour, 1548 (_apropos_ of his intentions regarding her):-- - - “It has also been said that I have only refused you because I - was thinking of some one else. I therefore entreat you, my lord, - to set your mind at rest on this subject, and to be persuaded by - this declaration that up to this time I have not the slightest - intention of being married, and, that if ever I should think of - it (_which I do not believe is possible_) you would be the first - to whom I should make known my resolution.” - - -C. BISLEY - -The place known to the great public as Bisley is quite other than that -under present consideration. Bisley, the ground for rifle competitions, -is in Surrey, thoughtfully placed in juxtaposition to an eminent -cemetery. It bears every indication of newness-so far as any locality -of old earth can be new. - -But the other is the original place of the name, possessing a -recorded history which goes back many hundreds of years. It is in -Gloucestershire high up on the eastern side of the Cotswold Hills at -their southern end where they rise above the Little Avon which runs -into the embouchure of the Severn to the Bristol Channel. The trace of -Roman occupation is all over that part of England. When the pioneers -of that strenuous nation made their essay on Britain they came with -the intention of staying; and to-day their splendid roads remain -unsurpassed--almost unsurpassable. In this part of the West Country -there are several of them, of which the chief are Irmin (or Ermine) -Street, running from Southampton through Cirencester and Gloucester -to Caerleon, and Ikenild Street running from Cirencester, entering -Gloucestershire at Eastleach. I am particular about these roads as we -may require to notice them carefully. There is really but one Bisley in -this part of the country, but the name is spelled so variously that the -simple phonetic spelling might well serve for a nucleating principle. -In all sorts of papers, from Acts of Parliament and Royal Charters -down to local deeds of tenancy, it is thus varied--Bisleigh, Bistlegh, -Byselegh, Bussely. In this part of the Cotswolds “Over” is a common -part of a name which was formerly used as a prefix. Such is not always -at once apparent for the modern cartographer seems to prefer the modern -word “upper” as the prefix. Attention is merely called to it here as -later on we shall have to consider it more carefully. - -The most interesting spot in the whole district is the house -“Overcourt,” which was once the manor-house of Bisley. It stands close -to Bisley church from the grave-yard of which it is only separated by a -wicket-gate. The title-deeds of this house, which is now in possession -of the Gordon family show that it was a part of the dower of Queen -Elizabeth. But the world went by it, and little by little the estate -of which it was a portion changed hands; so that now the house remains -almost as an entity. Naturally enough, the young Princess Elizabeth -lived there for a time; and one can still see the room she occupied. A -medium-sized room with mullioned windows, having small diamond-shaped -panes set in lead after the pattern of the Tudor period. A great beam -of oak, not exactly “trued” with the adze but following the natural -trend of the wood, crosses the ceiling. The window looks out on a -little walled-in garden, one of the flower beds of which is set in an -antique stone receptacle of oblong shape which presents something of -the appearance of a stone coffin of the earlier ages. Of this more anon. - -Whether at the time of the birth of Elizabeth the mansion of Overcourt -was itself in the King’s possession is a little difficult to fathom, -for, in the Confession of Thomas Parry written in 1549 concerning -a period a little earlier, it is said: “And I told her” [Princess -Elizabeth] “further how he” [Lord Admiral Thomas Seymour] “would have -had her to have lands in Gloucestershire called Bisley as in parcel of -exchange, and in Wales.” - -In addition to its natural desirability in the way of hygiene and -altitude there seems to have been a wish on the part of family advisers -of those having estates in the vicinity of this place, to enlarge -their possessions. This was wise enough, for in the disturbed state of -affairs which ushered in the Tudor Dynasty, and the effects of which -still continued, it was of distinct benefit to have communities here -and there large enough for self protection. This idea held with many -of the families as well as individuals whose names are associated -with Bisley. Henry VIII himself, as over-lord with ownership derived -from the Norman Conquest, had feudal claims on the de Bohuns who -represented all the local possessions of the Dukedom of Gloucester and -the Earldoms of Essex Hereford and Northampton. Also the greedy eyes of -certain strong men and families who had hopes that time and influence -already existing, might later on bring them benefit, were fixed on this -desirable spot. Thomas Seymour, the unscrupulous brother of the future -Lord Protector, was high in influence in the early days of the Princess -Elizabeth, and even then must have had ambitious designs of marrying -her. On the death of Henry VIII he had, when Lord Sudeley, married the -king’s widow within a few months of her widowhood, and received a -grant of the royal possession at Bisley which, on his attainder, passed -on to Sir Anthony Kingston, who doubtless had already marked it down as -an objective of his cupidity. - -The “Hundred of Bisley” was one of the seven of Cirencester which of -old were farmed by the Abbey of Tewksbury. Its position was so full -of possibilities of future development as to justify the acquisitive -spirit of those who desired it. In its bounds were what is now the -town of Stroud, as well as a whole line of mills which had in early -days great effect as they were workable by both wind and water power, -both of which were to be had in profusion. This little remote hamlet -had a progressive industry of its own in the shape of a manufacture of -woollen cloths. It also represented dyeing in scarlet and was the place -of origin of Giles Gobelin, a famous dyer who gave his name to the -Gobelin tapestry. - -One other thing must be distinctly borne in mind regarding Bisley in -the first half of the sixteenth century; it was comparatively easy of -access from London for those who wished to go there. A line drawn on -the map will show that on the way as _points d’appui_, were Oxford -and Cirencester, both of which were surrounded with good roads as -became their importance as centres. This line seems very short for its -importance. To-day the journey is that of a morning; and even in the -time of Henry VIII when horse traction was the only kind available, -the points were not very distant as to time of traverse. To Henry, who -commanded everything and had a myriad agents eager to display their -energy in his service, all was simple; and when he went a-hunting -in the forests which made a network far around Berkeley Castle his -objective could be easily won between breakfast and supper. There was -not any difficulty therefore, and not too much personal strain, when he -chose to visit his little daughter even though at the start one should -be at Nether Lypiat and the other at Greenwich or Hatfield or Eltham. - - -D. THE TRADITION - -_The Tradition_ is that the little Princess Elizabeth, during her -childhood, was sent away with her governess for change of air to Bisley -where the strong sweet air of the Cotswold Hills would brace her up. -The healthy qualities of the place were known to her father and many -others of those around her. Whilst she was at Overcourt, word was sent -to her governess that the King was coming to see his little daughter; -but shortly before the time fixed, and whilst his arrival was expected -at any hour, a frightful catastrophe happened. The child, who had been -ailing in a new way, developed acute fever, and before steps could be -taken even to arrange for her proper attendance and nursing, she died. -The governess feared to tell her father--Henry VIII had the sort of -temper which did not make for the happiness of those around him. In her -despair she, having hidden the body, rushed off to the village to try -to find some other child whose body could be substituted for that of -the dead princess so that the evil moment of disclosure of the sad fact -might be delayed till after His Majesty’s departure. But the population -was small and no girl child of any kind was available. The distracted -woman then tried to find a living girl child who could be passed off -for the princess, whose body could be hidden away for the time. - -Throughout the little village and its surroundings was to be found no -girl child of an age reasonably suitable for the purpose required. More -than ever distracted, for time was flying by, she determined to take -the greater risk of a boy substitute--if a boy could be found. Happily -for the poor woman’s safety, for her very life now hung in the balance, -this venture was easy enough to begin. There _was_ a boy available, -and just such a boy as would suit the special purpose for which he was -required--a boy well known to the governess, for the little Princess -had taken a fancy to him and had lately been accustomed to play with -him. Moreover, he was a pretty boy as might have been expected from -the circumstance of the little Lady Elizabeth having chosen him as her -playmate. He was close at hand and available. So he was clothed in the -dress of the dead child, they being of about equal stature; and when -the King’s fore-rider appeared the poor overwrought governess was able -to breathe freely. - -The visit passed off successfully. Henry suspected nothing; as the -whole thing had happened so swiftly, there had been no antecedent -anxiety. Elizabeth had been brought up in such dread of her father that -he had not, at the rare intervals of his seeing her, been accustomed to -any affectionate effusiveness on her part; and in his hurried visit he -had no time for baseless conjecture. - -Then came the natural nemesis of such a deception. As the dead could -not be brought back to life, and as the imperious monarch, who bore -no thwarting of his wishes, was under the impression that he could -count on his younger daughter as a pawn in the great game of political -chess which he had entered on so deeply, those who by now must have -been in the secret did not and could not dare to make disclosure. -Moreover the difficulties and dangers to one and all involved would -of necessity grow with each day that passed. Willy nilly they must go -on. Fortunately for the safety of their heads circumstances favoured -them. The secret was, up to now, hidden in a remote village high up -on the side of the Cotswold hills. Steep declivities guarded it from -casual intrusion, and there was no trade beyond that occasional traffic -necessary for a small agricultural community. The whole country as far -as the eye could see was either royal domain or individual property -owned or held by persons attached to the dynasty by blood or interest. - -Facilities of intercommunication were few and slow; and above all -uncertain and therefore not to be relied on. - -This then was the beginning of the tradition which has existed locally -ever since. In such districts change is slow, and what has been may -well be taken, unless there be something to the contrary, for what -is. The isolation of the hamlet in the Cotswolds where the little -princess lived for a time--and is supposed to have died--is almost best -exemplified by the fact that though the momentous secret has existed -for between three and four centuries, no whisper of it has reached the -great world without its confines. Not though the original subject of it -was the very centre of the wildest and longest battle which has ever -taken place since the world began--polemical, dynastic, educational, -international, commercial. Anyone living in any town in our own age, -where advance and expansiveness are matters of degree, not of fact, may -find it hard to believe that any such story, nebulous though it may be, -could exist unknown and unrecorded outside a place so tiny that its -most important details will not be found even on the ordnance map of an -inch to the mile. But a visit to Bisley will set aside any such doubts. -The place itself has hardly changed, in any measure to be apparent as -a change, in the three centuries and more. The same buildings stand as -of yore; the same estate wall, though more picturesque with lichen, and -with individual stones corrugated by weather and dislocated by arboreal -growths, speak of an epoch ending with the Tudor age. The doors of -the great tithe-barns which remain as souvenirs of extinct feudalism, -still yawn wide on their festered hinges. Nay, even the very trees show -amongst their ranks an extraordinary percentage of giants which have -withstood unimpaired all the changes that have been. - -Leaving busy and thriving Stroud, one climbs the long hill past Lipiat -and emerges in the village, where time has suddenly ceased, and we -find ourselves in the age and the surroundings which saw the House of -York fade into the Tudor dynasty. Such a journey is almost a necessity -for a proper understanding of the story of the Bisley Boy, which has -by the effluxion of time attained to almost the grace and strength -of a legend. It is quite possible that though the place has stood -still, the tradition has not, for it is in the nature of intellectual -growth to advance. One must not look on the Gloucestershire people -as sleepy--sleepiness is no characteristic of that breezy upland; -but dreaming, whether its results be true or false, does not depend -on sleep. In cases like the present, sleep is not to be looked on as -a blood relation of death but rather as a preservative against the -ravages of time--like the mysterious slumber of King Arthur and others -who are destined for renewal. - -It may be taken for granted that in course of time and under the -process of purely oral communication, the story told in whispers lost -nothing in the way of romance or credibility; that flaws or lacunæ -were made good by inquiry; and that recollections of overlooked or -forgotten facts were recalled or even supplemented by facile invention. -But it may also be taken for granted that no statement devoid of a -solid foundation could become permanently accepted. There were too -many critics around, with memories unimpaired by overwork, to allow -incorrect statements to pass unchallenged. There is always this in -tradition, that the collective mind which rules in small communities is -a child’s mind, which must ever hold grimly on to fact. And that behind -the child’s mind is the child’s nature which most delights in the -recountal of what it knows, and is jealous of any addition to the story -which is a part of its being. - -Major Martin Hume writes in his _Courtships of Queen Elizabeth_: - - “Elizabeth was only three when her mother’s fall removed her from - the line of the succession.... In 1542, however, the death of - James V of Scotland and the simultaneous birth of his daughter - Mary seemed to bring nearer Henry’s idea of a union between the - two crowns. He proposed to marry the baby Queen of Scots to his - infant son and at the same time he offered the hand of Elizabeth - (then nine) to a son of Arran--head of House of Hamilton, next - heir to the Scottish crown.... Mary and Elizabeth were restored - to their places in the line of succession.... In January 1547 - Henry VIII died, leaving the succession to his two daughters - in tail after Edward VI and his heirs. Queen Catherine (Parr) - immediately married Sir Thomas Seymour, brother of Protector - Somerset and uncle of the little king (Edward VI). To them was - confided Princess Elizabeth then a girl of 14.” - -Elizabeth was three in 1536. The story of the Bisley Boy dates probably -to 1543-4. So that if the story have any foundation at all in fact, -signs of a complete change of identity in the person of Princess -Elizabeth must be looked for in the period of some seven or eight years -which intervened. - - -E. THE DIFFICULTY OF PROOF - -In such a case as that before us the difficulty of proof is almost -insuperable. But fortunately we are dealing with a point not of law -but of history. Proof is not in the first instance required, but only -surmise, to be followed by an argument of probability. Such records as -still exist are all the proofs that can be adduced; and all we can do -is to search for such records as still exist, without which we lack -the enlightenment that waits on discovery. In the meanwhile we can -deduce a just conclusion from such materials as we do possess. Failing -certitude, which is under the circumstances almost impossible, we only -arrive at probability; and with that until discovery of more reliable -material we must be content. - -Let us therefore sum up: first the difficulties of the task before us; -then the enlightenments. “Facts,” says one of the characters of Charles -Dickens, “bein’ stubborn and not easy drove,” are at least, so far as -they go, available. We are free to come to conclusions and to make -critical comments. Our risk is that if we err--on whichever side does -not matter--we reverse our position and become ourselves the objects of -attack. - -Our main difficulties are two. First, that all from whom knowledge -might have been obtained are dead and their lips are closed; second, -that records are incomplete. This latter is the result of one of two -causes--natural decay or purposed obliteration. The tradition of the -Bisley Boy has several addenda due to time and thought. One of these is -that some of those concerned in the story disappeared from the scene. - -The story runs that on Elizabeth’s accession or under circumstances -antecedent to it all who were in the secret and still remained were -“got rid of.” The phrase is a convenient one and not unknown in -history. Fortunately those who _must_ have been in such a secret--if -there was one--were but few. If such a thing occurred in reality, four -persons were necessarily involved in addition to Elizabeth herself: -(1) Mrs. Ashley, (2) Thomas Parry, (3) the parent of the living child -who replaced the dead one; the fourth, being an unknown quantity, -represents an idea rather than a person--a nucleated identity typical -of family life with attendant difficulties of concealment. Of these -four--three real persons and an idea--three are accounted for, so far -as the “got rid of” theory is concerned. Elizabeth never told; Thomas -Parry and Mrs. Ashley remained silent, in the full confidence of the -(supposed) Princess who later was Queen. With regard to the last, the -nucleated personality which includes the unknown parent possibly but -not of certainty, contemporary record is silent; and we can only regard -him or her as a mysterious entity available for conjecture in such -cases of difficulty as may present themselves. - -We must perforce, therefore, fall back on pure unadulterated -probability, based on such rags of fact as can be produced at our -inquest. Our comfort--content being an impossibility--must lie in the -generally-accepted aphorism; “Truth will prevail.” In real life it is -not always so; but it is a comforting belief and may remain _faut de -mieux_. - -A grave cause of misleading is inexact translation--whether the fault -be in ignorance or intentional additions to or substractions from -text referred to. A case in point is afforded by the letter already -referred to from Leti’s _La Vie d’Elizabeth_. In the portion quoted -Elizabeth mentioned her intention of not marrying: “I have not the -slightest intention of being married, and ... if ever I should think -of it (_which I do not believe is possible_).” Now in Mr. Mumby’s book -the quotation is made from Leti’s _La Vie d’Elizabeth_ which is the -translation into French from the original Italian, the passage marked -above in italics is simply: “ce que je ne crois pas.” The addition of -the words “is possible” gives what is under the circumstances quite -a different meaning to the earliest record we have concerning the -very point we are investigating. When I began this investigation, I -looked on the passage--neither Mumby, remember, nor even Leti, but -what professed to be the _ipsissima verba_ of Elizabeth herself--and -I was entirely misled until I had made comparison for myself--_Quis -custodiet ipsos custodes?_ The addition of the two words, which seems -at first glance merely to emphasise an expression of opinion, changes -the meaning of the writer to a belief so strong that the recital of it -gives it the weight of intention. Under ordinary circumstances this -would not matter much; but as we have to consider it in the light of -a man defending his head against danger, and in a case where absolute -circumspection is a necessary condition of safety so that intention -becomes a paramount force, exactness of expression is all-important. - -The only way to arrive at probability is to begin with fact. Such is -a base for even credulity or its opposite, and if it is our wish or -intention to be just there need be no straining on either one side or -the other. In the case of the Bisley Boy the points to be considered -are: - -1. The time at which the change was or could be affected. - -2. The risk of discovery, (a) at first, (b) afterwards. - -It will be necessary to consider these separately for manifest reasons. -The first belongs to the region of Danger; the second to the region -of Difficulty, with the headsman’s axe glittering ominously in the -background. - - -F. THE TIME AND THE OPPORTUNITY - -(_a_) _The time at which the change was or could have been effected._ - -For several valid reasons I have come to the conclusion that the -crucial period by which the Bisley story must be tested is the year -ending with July 1544. No other time either earlier or later would, so -far as we know, have fulfilled the necessary conditions. - -First of all the question of sex has to be considered; and it is herein -that, lacking suitable and full opportunity, discovery of such an -imposture must have been at once detected--certainly had it commenced -at an early age. In babyhood the whole of the discipline of child-life -begins. The ordinary cleanliness of life has to be taught, and to this -end there is no portion of the infantile body which is not subject to -at least occasional inspection. This disciplinary inspection lasts -by force of habit until another stage on the journey towards puberty -has been reached. Commercial use in America fixes stages of incipient -womanhood--by dry goods’ advertisement--as “children’s, misses’ and -girls’ clothing,” and the illustration will sufficiently serve. It -seems at first glance an almost unnecessary intrusion into purely -domestic life; but the present is just one of those cases where the -experience of women is not only useful but necessary. In a question -of identity of sex the nursemaid and the washerwoman play useful -parts in the witness box. Regarding Elizabeth’s childhood no question -need ever or can ever arise. For at least the first ten years of her -life, a woman’s sex _need_ not be known outside the nursery and the -sick room; but then this is the very time when her attendants have -direct and ample knowledge. Moreover in the case of the child of Queen -Anne (Boleyn) there was every reason why the sex should have been -unreservedly known. Henry VIII divorced Katherine of Aragon and married -Anne in the hope of having legitimate male issue to sit on the throne -of England. Later, when both Katherine and Anne had failed to satisfy -him as to male issue, he divorced Anne and married Jane Seymour for -the same purpose. In the interval either his views had enlarged or -his patience had extended; for, when Jane’s life hung in the balance, -owing to an operation which the surgeons considered necessary, and the -husband was consulted as to which life they should, in case of needful -choice, try to save, his reply was peculiar--though, taken in the light -of historical perspective, not at variance with his dominating idea. -Gregorio Leti thus describes the incident (the quotation is made from -the translation of the Italian into French and published in Amsterdam -in 1694):-- - - “Quand les médécins demandèrent au Roi qui l’on sauverait de - la mère ou de l’enfant, il répondit, qu’il auroit extremement - souhait de pouvoir sauver la mère et l’enfant, mais que cel - n’étant possible, il vouloit que l’on sauvat l’enfant plutôt que - la mère parce qu’il trouveroit assez d’autres femmes.” - -It had become a monomania with Henry that he should be father of a -lawful son; and when the child of his second union was expected, he -so took the consummation of his wishes for granted that those in -attendance on his wife were actually afraid to tell him the truth. It -would have been fortune and social honour to whosoever should bear -him the glad tidings. We may be sure then that news so welcome would -never have been perverted by those who had so much to gain. As it was, -the “lady-mistress”--as she called herself--of the little Princess, -Mrs. (afterwards Lady) Bryan, wrote in her letter to Lord Cromwell in -1536--Elizabeth being then in her third year:-- - - “She is as toward a child and as gentle of conditions, as ever I - knew any in my life.” - -The writer could have had no ignorance as to the sex of the child, for -in the same letter she gives Cromwell a list of her wants in the way -of clothing; which list is of the most intimate kind, including gown, -kirtle, petticoat, “no manner of linen nor smocks,” kerchiefs, rails, -body stitchets, handkerchiefs, sleeves, mufflers, biggens. As in the -same letter it is mentioned that the women attending the child were -under the rule of Lady Bryan--an accomplished nurse who had brought up -Princess Mary and had been “governess to the children his Grace have -had ever since”--it can be easily understood she was well acquainted -with even the smallest detail of the royal nursery. Had the trouble of -the lady-mistress been with regard to superabundance of underclothing, -one might have understood ignorance on the part of the responsible -controller; but in the plentiful lack of almost every garment necessary -for the child’s wear by day or by night there could be no question as -to her ostensible sex at this age. - -Thence on, there were experienced and devoted persons round the little -Princess, whose value in her father’s eyes was largely enhanced since -he had secured, for the time, her legitimacy by an Act of Parliament. - -After Elizabeth had been legitimised, she became one of the pieces in -the gigantic game of chess on which Henry had embarked. Despite the -fact that the son for whom he had craved was now a boy of six, it was -only wise to consider and be prepared for whatever might happen in case -Prince Edward should not live, and if, in such a case, Mary should die -without issue. The case was one of amazing complexity, and as the time -wore on the religious question became structurally involved. England -had declared in no uncertain voice in favour of Protestantism, and the -whole forces of Rome were arrayed against her. Mary was altogether in -favour of the religion of her injured mother, and behind her stood the -power of Catholicism which, even in that unscrupulous age, was well -ahead in the race of unscrupulousness. And as Elizabeth stood next -to the young Prince Edward in the forces of Reformation, on her was -focussed much of the suspicion of polemic intrigue. The papacy was all -powerful in matters of secret inquiry. Indeed in such an inquest its -powers were unique, for unscrupulous spies were everywhere--even, it -was alleged, in the confessional. How then could such a secret as the -sex of a little girl of not a dozen years of age, who was constantly -surrounded by women necessarily conversant with every detail of her -life, be kept from all who wished to solve it. In such a state of -affairs suspicion was equivalent to discovery. And discovery meant ruin -to all concerned, death to abettors of the fraud, woe and destruction -to England and a general upheaval of the fundamental ideas of -Christendom. It may, I presume, be taken for granted without flaw or -mitigation of any kind that up to July, 1543, the “Princess Elizabeth” -was what she appeared to be--a girl. - -At the time of her first letter to the new Queen, Catherine (Parr), she -was just a trifle under ten years of age and a well-grown child, quick, -clever, rather precocious, and well grounded in the learning of her -time. The exact date of this letter is not given by Leti--of which more -anon--but it must have been somewhere between July 12 and 31, 1543. -Henry VIII married Catherine Parr on 12 July, and in her letter of 1543 -Elizabeth calls Catherine “your Majesty.” In her letter of 31 July, -1544 she writes to the same correspondent: - - “... has deprived me for a whole year of your most illustrious - presence.” - -The whereabouts of Elizabeth during this last year appears to be the -centre of the mystery; and if any letter or proof is ever found of -Elizabeth’s being anywhere but in her own house of Overcourt in Bisley -Parish, it will go far to settle the vexed question now brought before -the world for the first time. - - -(_b_) _The opportunity_ - -The year 1542 was a busy time for Henry VIII. He had on hand, either -pending or going on, two momentous wars, one with Scotland the other -with France. The causes of either of these were too complicated for -mention here; suffice it to say that they were chiefly dynastic and -polemic. In addition he was busy with matrimonial matters, chiefly -killing off his fifth wife Catherine Howard, and casting eyes on the -newmade widow of Lord Latimer. In 1543 he married the lady, as his -sixth wife. She herself can hardly be said to have lacked matrimonial -experience, as this was her third union. Her first venture was with -the elderly Lord Borough, who, like Lord Latimer, left her wealthy. -Henry had by now got what might be called in the slang of the time “the -marriage habit,” and honeymoon dalliance had hardly the same charm -for him as it usually is supposed to have with those blessed with a -lesser succession of spouses. The consequence was that he was able to -give more attention to the necessary clearing up of the Scottish war, -which finished at Solway Moss on December 14th, with the consequent -death from chagrin of the Scottish King James V. The cause of the war, -however, continued in the shape of a war with France which went on till -1546 when peace was declared to the pecuniary benefit of the English -King. For the last two years of this time Henry carried on the war -singlehanded, as the Emperor Charles V, who had begun it as his ally, -withdrew. - -There is a paragraph in Grafton’s _Chronicle_ published in 1569 which -throws a flood of light on Elizabeth’s absence at this time, 1543: -“This yeare was in London a great death of the pestilence, and -therefore Mighelmas terme was adjourned to Saint Albones, and there it -was kept to the ende.” - -In his _Girlhood of Queen Elizabeth_, Mr. Mumby says: “For some obscure -reason Elizabeth seems to have fallen out of her father’s favour again -very soon after Catherine Parr had obtained his consent to her return -to Court” (1543). No such cause for the removal of the Princess from -London was necessary. It was probably to the presence of the pestilence -in London that her removal to a remote and healthy place was due. -Failing Prince Edward, then only five years of age and a weakly child, -the crown must--unless some constitutional revolution be effected in -the meantime or some future son be born to him--devolve on his female -heirs, a matter pregnant with strife of unknown dimensions. Mary was -now twenty-seven years old and of a type that did not promise much for -maternity. At the same time, Mary, though his eldest living daughter, -was the hope of the Catholic party, to which he was in violent -opposition; whereas in Elizabeth lay the hope of the whole of the party -of the Reformation. Her life was to her father far beyond the calls of -parental affection or dynastic ambition, and she had to be saved at all -costs from risk of health. Henry’s own experience of child-life was a -bitter one. Of his five children by Catherine of Aragon only one, Mary, -survived childhood. Elizabeth was the only survivor of Anne Boleyn; -Edward, of Jane Seymour. Anne of Cleves had no children, and if report -spoke truly no chance of having any. Catherine Howard was executed -childless. And he had only just married Catherine Parr, who had already -had two husbands. - -On July 12, 1543, Henry married Catherine and in due course devoted -himself to the war. On the 14 July, 1544, he crossed from Dover to -Calais to look after the conduct of affairs for himself, and on the -26th began the siege of Boulogne. This lasted for two months when -having reduced the city he returned home. On the 8 September he wrote -to his wife to that effect. During his absence Queen Catherine was -vicegerent and had manifestly as much public work on hand as she -could cope with. Bisley was a long way from London, and there were no -organised posts in the sixteenth century. Moreover, ever since his -last marriage, Henry had been an invalid. He was now fifty-two years -of age, of unhealthy body, and so heavy that he had to be lifted -by machinery. Catherine was a devoted wife; and as Henry was both -violent and irritable she had little time at command to give to the -affairs of other people. There was small opportunity for any one then -who was sufficiently in the focus of affairs to be cognisant of such -an imposture as the tradition points out. Doubtless hereafter, when -a story so fascinating and at first glance so incredible begins to -be examined and its details thoroughly threshed out, more items of -evidence or surmise than are at present available will be found for -the settlement of the question, one way or the other. In the meantime, -be it remembered, that we are only examining offhand a tradition made -known for the first time after three centuries. Our present business is -to consider _possibilities_. Later on the time may come--as it surely -will; if the story can in the least be accepted--for the consideration -of _probabilities_. Both of these tentative examinations will lead to -the final examination of possibility, of probability, and of proof -_pro_ or _contra_. - -At this stage we must admit that neither time nor opportunity present -any difficulty in itself insuperable. - - -G. THE IDENTITY OF ELIZABETH - -(_a_) _Documents_ - -The next matter with which we have to deal is regarding the identity of -Elizabeth. This needs (if necessary) a consideration of the facts of -her life, and so far as we can realise them, from external appearance, -mental and moral attitudes, and intentions. On account of space we -must confine this branch of the subject to the smallest portion of -time necessary to form any sort of just conclusion and accepting the -available records up to 1543, take the next period from that time -to anywhere within the first few years of her reign--by which time -her character was finally fixed and the policy on which her place in -history is to be judged had been formulated and tested. - -This implies in the first instance a brief (very brief) study of her -physique with a corollary in the shape of a few remarks on her heredity: - -_Grafton’s Chronicle_ states, under the date of 7 September 1533, -“the Queene was delivered of a fayre Lady” which was his Courtly way -of announcing the birth of a female princess, blond in colour. In all -chronicles “fayre” means of light colour. In Wintown the reputed father -of Macbeth--the Devil--is spoken of as a “fayre” man; evil qualities -were in that age attributed to blondes. - -In a letter dated from Greenwich Palace, 18 April, 1534, Sir -William Kingston said to Lord Lisle: “To-day, the King and Queen -were at Eltham” (where the royal nursery then was) “and saw my Lady -Princess--as goodly a child as hath been seen. Her Grace is much in the -King’s favour as a goodly child should be--God save her!” - -In 1536, when Elizabeth was but three years old, Lady Bryan, the -“Lady-mistress” of both Mary and her half-sister, wrote from Hunsdon -to Lord Cromwell regarding the baby princess. “For she is as toward -a child and as gentle of conditions, as ever I knew any in my life. -Jesus preserve her Grace!” In the same letter she says “Mr. Shelton -would have my Lady Elizabeth to dine and sup every day at the board -of estate. Alas! my Lord it is not meet for a child of her age to keep -such rule yet. I promise you, my lord, I dare not take it upon me to -keep her Grace in health an’ she keep that rule. For there she shall -see divers meats, and fruits, and wines, which it would be hard for -me to restrain her Grace from. Ye know, my lord, there is no place of -correction there; and she is yet too young to correct greatly.” - -Testimony is borne according to Leti to the good qualities of the -Princess Elizabeth in these early years, by the affectionate regard in -which she was held by two of Henry’s queens, the wronged and unhappy -Anne of Cleves and the happy-natured Catherine Parr. Anne, he says, -though she had only seen her twice loved her much; she thought her -beautiful and full of spirit (“pleine d’esprit.”) Catherine, according -to the same writer who had seen her often before her marriage to Henry, -admired her “esprit et ses manières.” - -If Leti could only have spoken at first hand, his record of her would -be very valuable. But unhappily he was only born nearly thirty years -after her death. His history was manifestly written from records and as -Elizabeth’s fame was already made before he began to treat of her his -work is largely a panegyric of hearsay. There is, regarding the youth -of the Princess, such an overdone flood of adulation that it is out of -place in a serious history of a human life. In his account of the time -which we are considering, we find the child compared in both matters -of body and mind to an angel. She is credited at the age of ten with an -amount of knowledge in all branches of learning sufficient to equip the -illustrious men of a century. The fact is the Italian has accepted the -queen’s great position, and then reconstructed her youth to accord with -it, in such a way as to show that whatever remarkable abilities she -possessed were the direct outcome of her own natural qualities.[2] - - [2] Amongst other branches of knowledge he credits her with - knowing well “Geography, Cosmography, Mathematics, - Architecture, Painting, Arithmetic, History, Mechanics.” She - had a special facility in learning languages; spoke and wrote - French, Italian, Spanish, Flemish. She loved poetry and wrote - it, but regarded it as a useless amusement and, as it was - distasteful to her, turned to history and politics. Finally - he adds: “She was naturally ambitious and always knew how to - hide her defects.” - -The details above given are not merely meagre but are only explicable -by the fact that during the earlier years of her life the child -was not considered of any importance. The circumstances of Anne’s -marriage--which in any case was delayed till it became a necessary -preliminary to the legitimacy on which any future claim to the throne -must rest--did not make for a belief in the public mind for its -permanency. Things were fluctuating in the religious world and few -were inclined to the belief that the Pope (with whom lay the last -word and whose political leanings in favour of Catherine of Aragon -and the validity of her marriage to Henry were well known) would be -overthrown by the English King. And in any case, were Henry to be the -final judge of appeal in his own case no great continuity of purpose -could be expected from him. The first important event which we have -to consider with reference to the question before us is Elizabeth’s -first letter to Queen Catherine (Parr) in 1543. In this the girl then -ten years old writes to her new step-mother, at whose marriage she -together with her half-sister Mary had been present. It is in form a -dutiful letter, not entirely without an apparent compulsion or at least -intelligent supervision. As it stands, it is impossible to believe -that it emanated from a child of ten quite free to follow out its -inclinations. The dutifulness is altogether, or largely, due to the -training and self-suppression of the royal child of an arbitrary father -with absolute power. But it remains for each reader to consider it -impartially. The points which we should do well to note here are its -plain form of expression, and its entire absence of personal affection. -The latter is all the more marked in that it was a letter of thanks for -a kindness conferred. Elizabeth was very anxious to come to her father, -and Catherine had furthered her wish and secured its fulfilment. After -the marriage, the child, as is shown (or rather inferred), had been -sent away for more than a year, which absence had been prolonged for at -least six months--as already shown. - -There is little evidence of Elizabeth’s inner nature in these early -days; but we have every right to think that she was of a peaceable, -kindly and affectionate nature. Lady Bryan her first nurse or governess -(after Lady Boleyn, Anne’s mother) thought highly of her. Catherine -Ashley, who had charge of her next, loved her and was her devoted -servant, friend and confidant till her death. - -Thomas Parry her life-long friend was devoted to her, and when the -circumstances of their respective lives and the happenings of the time -kept them apart, she restored him at the first opportunity and made his -fortune her special care. - -There is little base here on which to build an inverted pyramid; our -only safety is in taking things as they seem to be and using common -sense. - - -(_b_) _Changes_ - -Let us now take the years beginning with 1544. From this time on, more -is known of the personality of Elizabeth; in fact there is little -unknown, that is, of matters of fact, and to this only we must devote -ourselves. Whatever may have been Elizabeth’s motives we can only infer -them. She was a secretive person and took few into her confidence, -unless it was of vital necessity--and then only in matters required by -the circumstance. The earliest knowledge we have of this second period -of her history is in her letter to Queen Catherine (Parr) written from -St. James’ Palace on 31 July, 1544. - -In the year which had elapsed since her last recorded letter -Elizabeth’s literary style had entirely changed. The meagre grudging -style has become elegant and even florid with the ornate grace and -imagery afforded by the study of the Latin and French tongues. -Altogether there is not merely a more accomplished diction but there -is behind it a truer feeling and larger sympathy. It is more in accord -with the letter accompanying the gift to the Queen, of her translation -of the _Mirror of the Sinful Soul_ which she had dedicated to her. - -Historians have given various rescripts of certain earlier letters of -the Princess Elizabeth, but none of them seem in harmony of thought -with this, whereas it is quite in accord with her later writings. -Metabolism is an accepted doctrine of physiology; but its scope is -not--as yet at all events--extended to the intellect, and we must take -things as we find them within the limits of human knowledge. - -It will perhaps be as well to reserve the consideration of any other -point, except the change in actual identity, till the complete analogy -of all natural processes is an established fact. - - -(_c_) _Her personality_ - -We have no letters of Princess Elizabeth before 1543 which are not open -to grave doubt as to date, but there is one letter to which allusion -must almost of necessity be made. It is a letter from Roger Ascham, -tutor to the Princess Elizabeth, to Mrs. Ashley. No date is given -by Mr. Mumby, but he states in his text that it was written “during -Grindal’s term of office” as tutor to the Princess. Mumby quotes from -the _Elizabeth_ of Miss Strickland, who in turn quotes from Whittaker’s -_Richmondshire_. Now Grindal’s term of office lasted from 1546 -(probably the end of that year) till it was cut short by his death from -the Plague in 1548, so that he could not have known his royal pupil -_before_ 1544. The text of the letter leads a careful reader to infer -that it was written _after_ that date. The important part of the letter -is as follows: - - “... the thanks you have deserved from that noble imp by your - labour and wisdom now flourishing in all goodly godliness.... I - wish her Grace (Elizabeth) to come to that end in perfectness - and likelihood of her wit and painlessness in her study, true - trade of her teaching, which your diligent overseeing doth most - constantly promise.... I wish all increase of virtue and honour - to that my good lady, whose wit, good Mrs. Ashley, I beeseech - you somewhat favour. Blunt edges be dull and dure much pain to - little profit; the free edge is soon turned if it be not handled - thereafter. If you pour much drink at once into a goblet, the - most part will dash out and run over; if ye pour it softly you - may fill it even to the top, and so her Grace, I doubt not, by - little and little may be increased in learning, that at length - greater cannot be required.” - -If this letter means anything at all--which in the case of such a man -as Roger Ascham is not to be doubted--it means that Mrs. Ashley, then -her governess, was cautioned not to press the little girl overmuch -in her lessons. It is an acknowledgment of the teacher’s zeal as well -as affection, and in the flowery and involved style of the period and -the man, illustrates the theory by pointing out the error of trying to -fill a small vessel from a larger one by pouring too fast. She is not -a backward child, he says in effect, but go slowly with her education, -you cannot give full learning all at once. - -Compare this letter with that of the same writer to John Sturmius, -Rector of the Protestant University of Strasbourg, on the same subject -in 1550: - - “The Lady Elizabeth has accomplished her sixteenth year; and so - much of solidity of understanding, such courtesy united with - dignity, have never been observed at so early an age. She has - the most ardent love of true religion and of the best kind of - literature. The constitution of her mind is exempt from female - weakness, and she is endued with a masculine power of application. - - “No apprehension can be quicker than hers, no memory more - retentive. French and Italian she speaks like English; Latin with - fluency, propriety and judgment; she also spoke Greek with me, - frequently, willingly, and understanding well. Nothing can be - more elegant than her handwriting, whether in the Greek or Roman - character. In music she is very skilful but does not greatly - delight. With respect to personal decoration, she greatly prefers - a simple elegance to show and splendour, so despising the outward - adorning of plaiting the hair and of wearing of gold, that in - the whole manner of her life she rather resembles Hippolyta than - Phædra.” - -That such a scholar as Roger Ascham makes the simile is marked. -Hippolyta was a Queen of the Amazons and Phædra was an almost -preternaturally womanly woman, one with a tragic intensity of passion. - -The Elizabeth whom we know from 1544 to 1603 certainly had brains -enough to protect her neck. In 1549 Sir Robert Tyrwhitt wrote to the -Protector Somerset, apropos of the strenuous effort being made to gain -from her some admission damaging to herself concerning Thomas Seymour’s -attempts to win her hand: - -“She hath a very pretty wit and nothing is gotten out of her but by -great policy.” - -In a letter from Simon Renard Ambassador to the Emperor Charles V dated -London September 23, 1553, there is incidentally a statement regarding -Elizabeth’s character which it is wise to hold in mind when discussing -this particular period of her history. Writing of Elizabeth’s first -attendance at Mass he said: “she, Mary, ... entreated Madame Elizabeth -to speak freely of all that was on her conscience, to which the -Princess replied that she was resolved to declare publicly that in -going to Mass as in all else that she had done, she had only obeyed the -voice of her conscience; and that she had acted freely, without fear, -deceit, or pretence. We have since been told, however, that the said -Lady Elizabeth is very timid, and that while she was speaking with the -Queen she trembled very much.” - -Compare with this the letter of 16th March, 1554 to the Queen (Mary) -written just as she was told to go to the Tower. In this letter which -is beautifully written and with not a trace of agitation she protests -her innocence of any plot. Her mental attitude was thoroughly borne -out by a calm dignity of demeanour which is more in accord with male -than female nature. In very fact Elizabeth appears all her life since -1544 to have been playing with great thoughtfulness and yet dexterity a -diplomatic game--acting with histrionic subtlety a part which she had -chosen advisedly. - -A good idea of the personality of Elizabeth during the period beginning -with 1544 may be had from a brief consideration of the risks which a -person taking up such an imposture would run, first at the time of -beginning the venture and then of sustaining the undertaken rôle. -At the outset a boy of ten or eleven would not think of taking it -seriously. At first he would look on it as a “lark” and carry out the -idea with a serious energy only known in play-time. Later thought -would give it a new charm in the shape of danger. This, while adding -to his great zest, would sober him; thence on it would be a game--just -such a game as a boy loves, perpetual struggle to get the best of -someone else. To some natures wit against wit is a better strife than -strength against strength, and if one were well equipped for such a -fray the game would satisfy the ambition of his years. In any case when -once such a game was entered on, the stake would be his own head--a -consideration which must undoubtedly make for strenuous effort--even in -boyhood. - -The task which would have followed--which did follow if the Bisley -story is true--would have been vastly greater. If the imposture -escaped immediate detection--which is easily conceivable--a new kind -of endeavour would have been necessary; one demanding the utmost care -and perpetual vigilance in addition to the personal qualities necessary -for the carrying out of the scheme. Little help could be given to the -young boy on whom rested the weight of what must have appeared to all -concerned in it a stupendous undertaking. From the nature of the task, -which was one which even the faintest breath of suspicion would have -ruined, the little band, originally involved, could gain no assistance. -Safety was only possible by the maintenance of the most rigid secrecy. -All around them were enemies served by a host of zealous spies. If then -the story be true, those who carried such an enterprising situation -to lasting success, must have been no common persons. Let us suppose -for a moment that the story was true. In such case the Boy of Bisley -who acted the part of the Princess Elizabeth could have had only two -assistants--assistants even if they were only passive. _Whatever_ may -have happened we know from history that both Mrs. Ashley and Thomas -Parry were ingrainedly loyal to Elizabeth, as she was to them. For -convenience we shall speak of the substitute of the Princess as -though he were the Princess herself whom he appeared to be, and for -whom he was accepted thenceforth. That the imposture--if there was -one--succeeded is a self-evident fact; for almost sixty years there was -no question raised by any person of either sex and of any political -opinion. The statecraft of England, France, the Papacy, and the German -Empire were either unsuspicious or in error--or both. It is reasonable -to imagine that a person of strong character and active intelligence -might have steered deftly between these variously opposing forces. It -is conceivable that in the case of a few individuals there might have -been stray fragmentary clouds of suspicion; though if there were any -they must have come to those who were held to a consequent inactivity -by other dominating causes. We shall have occasion presently to touch -on this subject but in the meantime we must accept it that there was no -opinion expressed by any one in such a way as necessarily to provoke -action. Of course after a time even suspicion became an impossibility. -Here was a young girl growing into womanhood whom all around her had -known all her life--or what was equivalent--believed they had. It is -only now after three centuries that we can consider who it was that -formed the tally of those who knew the personality of Elizabeth during -both periods of her youth, that up to 1543-4 and that which followed. -Henry VIII manifestly not only had no doubt on the subject but no -thought. If he had had he was just the man to have settled it at once. -Anne Boleyn was dead, so was her predecessor in title. Anne of Cleves -had accepted the annulment of her marriage--and a pension. Jane Seymour -and Catherine Howard were both dead. Nearly all those who as nurses, -governesses, or teachers, Lady Bryan, Richard Croke, William Grindal, -Roger Ascham, who knew the first period were dead or had retired into -other spheres. Those who remained knowing well the individuality of the -Princess and representing both periods were Mrs. Ashley, Thomas Parry -and the Queen (later dowager) Catherine Parr. - -We know already of the faithfulness of the two former, the man who -was a clever as well as a faithful servant, and the woman, who having -no children of her own, took to her heart the little child entrusted -to her care and treated her with such affectionate staunchness--a -staunchness which has caused more than one historian to suspect that -there was some grave secret between them which linked their fortunes -together. - -As to Catherine Parr we are able to judge from her letters that she was -fond of her step-daughter and was consistently kind to her. Those who -choose to study the matter further can form an opinion of their own -from certain recorded episodes which, given without any elucidating -possibilities leave the historians in further doubt. Leti puts in -his _Life_, under the date of 1543, “before her marriage to Henry, -Catherine Parr had seen often Elizabeth and admired her.” The Italian -historian _may_ have had some authority for the statement; but also -it may have been taken from some statement made by Elizabeth in later -years or by some person in her interest, to create a misleading belief. -In any case let us accept the statement as a matter of fact. If so -it may throw a light on another branch of this eternal and diverse -mystery. Martin Hume and F. A. Mumby approaching the subject from -different points confess themselves puzzled by Elizabeth’s attitude to -men. The former writes in his _Courtships of Queen Elizabeth_: - - “No one can look at the best portraits of Elizabeth without - recognising at a glance that she was not a sensual woman. The - lean, austere face, the tight thin lips, the pointed delicate - chin, the cold dull eyes, tell of a character the very opposite - of lascivious.” - -Mr. Mumby writing about Mrs. Ashley’s “Confession” and of the -horse-play between Elizabeth and Lord Seymour (whom Queen Catherine had -married immediately after the King’s death) makes this remark: - - “The most surprising thing about this behaviour is that the Queen - should have encouraged it.” - -There is plenty of room for wonder, considering that Admiral Seymour -had earlier wanted to marry Elizabeth. But Catherine was a clever -woman, who had already had three husbands--Seymour was her fourth--and -children. If any one would see through a boy’s disguise as a girl -she was the one. It is hard to imagine that Seymour’s wife had not -good cause for some form revenge on him of whom Hallam speaks of as a -“dangerous and unprincipled man” and of whom Latimer said “he was a man -farthest from the fear of God that ever I knew or heard of in England” -as it was believed at the time of her death that he had poisoned his -wife, the Queen dowager, to make way for a marriage with Elizabeth, -with whom according to common belief he was still in love, it would -be only natural that a woman of her disposition and with her sense -of humour, should revenge herself in a truly wifely way by using for -the purpose, without betraying the secret, her private knowledge or -belief of the quasi-princess’s real sex. Such would afford an infinite -gratification to an ill-used wife jealous of so vain a husband. - -[Illustration: THE DUKE OF RICHMOND] - -We now come to the crux of the whole story--the touchstone of this -strange eventful history. Could there have been such a boy as is told -of; one answering to the many conditions above shown to be vitally -necessary for the carrying out of such a scheme of imposture. The -answer to this question is distinctly in the affirmative; there _could_ -have been such a boy; had the Duke of Richmond been born fourteen or -fifteen years earlier than he was, the difficulties of appearance, -intellect, education, and other qualifications need not have presented -themselves. - -If the question to be asked is: “Was there such a boy?” the -answer cannot be so readily given. In the meantime there are some -considerations from the study of which--or through which--an answer -may, later, be derived. - - -H. THE SOLUTION - -_The Duke of Richmond_ - -The points which must be settled before we can solve the mystery of the -_Bisley Boy_ are: - -(1) Was there such an episode regarding the early life of the Princess -Elizabeth? - -(2) Was there such a boy as was spoken of? - -(3) How could such an imposture have been carried out, implying as it -did-- - -(a) A likeness to the Princess so extraordinary as not to have created -suspicion in the mind of anyone not already in the plot. - -(b) An acquaintance with the circumstances of the life of the Princess -sufficiently accurate to ward off incipient suspicion caused by any -overlooking or neglect of necessary conditions. - -(c) An amount of education and knowledge equal to that held by a child -of ten to twelve years of age who had been taught by some of the most -learned persons of the time. - -(d) A skill in classics and foreign tongues only known amongst high -scholars and diplomatists. - -(e) An ease of body and a courtliness of manner and bearing utterly -foreign to any not bred in the higher circles of social life. - -If there could be found a boy answering such conditions--one whose -assistance could be had with facility and safety--then the solution is -possible, even if not susceptible of the fullest proof. Following the -lines of argument hitherto used in this book, let us first consider -reasons why such an argument is tenable. I may then perhaps be allowed -to launch the theory which has come to me during this investigation. - - -(_a_) _His Birth and Appearance_ - -A part--and no small part--of the bitterness of Henry VIII in not -having a son to succeed him was that, though he had a son, such could -not by the existing law succeed him on the throne. - -Nearly ten years after his marriage to Catherine of Aragon and after -a son and other children had been born to them, all of whom had died -shortly after birth, Henry had in the manner of mediæval kings--and -others--entered on a love affair, the object of his illicit affection -being one of the ladies-in-waiting to Queen Catherine, Elizabeth, -daughter of John Blount of Knevet, Shropshire. - -The story of this love affair is thus given in quaint old English in -_Grafton’s Chronicle_ first published in 1569 which covers the period -from 1189 to 1558: - - “You shall understande, the King in his freshe youth was in the - cheynes of love with a faire damosell called Elizabeth Blunt, - daughter of Syr John Blunt Knight, which damosell in synging, - daunsing, and in all goodly pastimes, excelled all other, by the - which goodly pastimes, she wanne the king’s hart: and she againe - shewed him such favour that by him she bare a goodly man childe, - of beautie like to the father and mother. This child was well - brought up lyke a Princes childe.” - - -(_b_) _His Upbringing and Marriage_ - -This son of an unlawful union--born in 1519 it is said--was called -Henry Fitzroy after the custom applicable in such cases to the natural -children of kings. Naturally enough his royal father took the greatest -interest in this child and did, whilst the latter lived, all in his -power to further his interests. A mere list of the honours conferred on -him during his short life will afford some clue to the King’s intention -of his further advancement, should occasion serve. The shower of -favours began in 1525 when the child, as is said, was only six years of -age. On the 18th of June of this year he was created Earl of Nottingham -and Duke of Richmond and Somerset, with precedence over all dukes -except those of the King’s lawful issue. He was also made a Knight of -the Garter--of which exalted Order he was raised to the Lieutenancy -eight years later. He was also nominated to other high offices: the -King’s Lieutenant General for districts north of the Trent; and Keeper -of the city and fortress of Carlisle. To these posts were added those -of Lord High Admiral of England, Wales, Ireland, Normandy, Gascony and -Aquitaine; Warden General of the Marches of Scotland, and Receiver -of Middleham and of Sheriff Hutton, Yorkshire. He was also given an -income of four thousand pounds sterling per annum. In 1529, being then -only ten years of age, he was also made Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, -Constable of Dover Castle and Warden of the Cinque Ports--three of the -most important offices of the Nation. A few months before his death -in 1536 there was a general understanding that Henry VIII intended to -make him King of Ireland and possibly to nominate him as his successor -on the throne of England. That some such intention was in Henry’s mind -was shown by the Succession Act passed just before the close of the -Parliament which was dissolved in 1536. In this Act it is fixed that -the Crown is to devolve on the King’s death to the son of Jane Seymour -and in default of issue by him, on Mary and Elizabeth in succession -in case of lack of issue by the former. In the event of their both -dying before the King and without issue he is to appoint by will his -successor on the throne. - -The various important posts conferred on the young Duke of Richmond -were evidently preparations for the highest post of all, which in -default of legitimate issue of his own legitimate children he intended -to confer on him. - -The education which was given to the little Duke is of especial -interest and ought in the present connection to be carefully studied. -It was under the care of Richard Croke, celebrated for his scholarship; -who in the modern branch was assisted by John Palsgrave the author of -the earliest English grammar of the French language “_Lesclarcissement -de la langue Francoyse_.” In spite of the opposition of his household -the Duke of Richmond devoted his young life to study rather than to -arms. Whilst still a young boy he had already read a part of _Cæsar_, -_Virgil_ and _Terence_, knew a little Greek, and was fairly skilful -in music--singing and playing on the virginals. There was much talk -in Court circles as to whom he should marry and many ladies of high -degree were named. One was a niece of Pope Clement VII; another was a -Danish princess; still another a princess of France; also a daughter of -Eleanor, dowager Queen of Portugal, a sister of Charles V. This lady -was afterwards Queen of France. - -Early in 1532 the Duke resided for a while at Hatfield. Then he went to -Paris with his friend the Earl of Surrey, son of the Duke of Norfolk. -There he remained till September, 1533. On his return to England he -married by special dispensation, on 25 November, 1533, Mary Howard, -daughter of the Duke of Norfolk by his second marriage and sister of -Surrey. Incidentally he is said to have been present at the beheading -of Queen Anne (Boleyn), May 19, 1536. He did not long survive the -last-named exhibition, for some two months later--22 July, 1536, he -died. There was at the time a suspicion that he had been poisoned by -Lord Rochford, brother of Queen Anne (Boleyn). - -Henry Duke of Richmond and Somerset had no legal issue. As a matter -of fact though he was married in 1533, nearly three years before his -death, he never lived with his wife. It was said that he was not only -young for matrimony, being only seventeen; but was in very bad health. -It was intended that after his marriage he should go to Ireland; but on -account of the state of his health that journey was postponed--as it -turned out, for ever. - -A light on this ill-starred marriage is thrown in the quaint words of -another chronicler of the time, Charles Wriothesley, who wrote of the -time between 1485 and 1559. - - “But the said younge duke had never layne by his wife, and so she - is maide, wife, and now a widowe; I praie God send her now good - fortune.” - -In this summarised history certain points are to be noticed: - -(1) The Duke of Richmond was like his father (Henry VIII) and his -mother who was “fayre.” - -(2) A Dispensation was obtained for his marriage to Lady Mary Howard -which took place in 1533 but with whom he never cohabited. - -There is a side-light here of the hereditary aspect of the case. Both -the Duke and Duchess of Richmond were “fayre,” and in the language of -the old chroniclers “fayre” means blonde. Wintown for instance speaking -of Macbeth’s supposed descent from the Devil says: - - “Gottyne he was on ferly wys - “Hys Modyr to woddis mad oft repayre - “For the delyte of halesum ayre. - “Swa, scho past a-pon a day - “Tyl a Wod, hyr for to play: - “Scho met at cas with a fayr man.” - -And Grafton thus speaks under date 7 September 1533 of Elizabeth’s -birth: “The Queen was delivered of a fayre Lady.” - -Now Anne Boleyn is described as small and lively, a brunette with black -hair and beautiful eyes, and yet her daughter is given as red-haired by -all the painters. - -It is somewhat difficult to make out the true colours of persons. For -instance Giovanni Michiel writing to the Venetian Senate in 1557 puts -in his description of Elizabeth “She is tall and well formed, with a -good skin, although swarthy” but in the same page he says “she prides -herself on her father and glories in him; everybody is saying that -she also resembles him more than the Queen [Mary] does.” As to the -introduction of the word “swarthy” as above; it may have been one of -the tricks of Elizabeth to keep the Venetian ambassador from knowing -too much or getting any ground for guessing. If so it looks rather like -Elizabeth concealing her real identity--which would be an argument in -favour of an imposture; if she was the real princess there would be no -need for concealment. - -It is only common sense to expect, if the paternal element was so -strong in Henry as to reproduce in offspring his own colour, that had -the Duke of Richmond had any issue especially by a fair wife it too -would have inherited something of the family colour. Holbein’s picture -of the “Lady of Richmond,” as the Duke’s wife was called, shows her as -a fair woman. - -These are two points to be here borne in mind; that Henry VIII was -probably bald, for in none of his pictures is any hair visible. It -would hardly be polite to infer that Elizabeth wore a wig for the same -reason. But it is recorded that she always travelled with a stock of -them--no less than eighty of various colours. - -But there are other indications of such concealment. Why for instance -did she object to see doctors? So long as she was free and could -control them she did not mind; but whilst she was under duress they -were a source of danger. Perhaps it is this which accounts for her -taking the Sacrament on 26 August, 1554 when she was practically a -prisoner at Woodstock in the keeping of Sir Henry Bedingfield. About -the third week in June the Princess asked Sir Henry to be allowed to -have a doctor sent to her. He in turn applied to the Council who made -answer on the 25th that the Queen’s Oxford physician was ill and Mr. -Wendy was absent and the remaining one, Mr. Owen, could not be spared. -The latter however recommended two Oxford doctors, Barnes and Walbec, -in case she should care to see either of them. On July 4th Sir Henry -reported to the Council that Elizabeth in politely declining said: “I -am not minded to make any stranger privy to the state of my body, but -commit it to God.” Then, when through her submission to the Queen’s -religious convictions she had obtained her liberty, she took no more -concern in the matter. - - -_The Duchess of Richmond_ - -Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, married twice. His second wife was the -lady Elizabeth Stafford, eldest daughter of the Duke of Buckingham, and -he had issue by both marriages. In 1533 the only surviving daughter of -the second marriage was Mary, who was thus the Lady Mary Howard, sister -of the Earl of Surrey. It was this lady with whom the uncompleted -marriage of the Duke of Richmond took place. Doubtless they were early -friends. In her youth she used to spend the summer at Tendring Hall, -Suffolk, and the winter at Hunsdon, Hertfordshire, where was one of -Henry’s palaces; in addition Henry was one of the closest companions of -her brother, the Earl of Surrey. Lady Richmond’s part in the historical -episode before us is hardly direct. It only comes in through two -circumstances not unattended with mystery. It is not necessary that -the two were correlated; but no student can get away from the idea -that there was some connection between them, especially when there is -another inference bearing on the subject with reference to the second -marriage of the Duchess. This took place after an interval of some -years to Gilbert, son of Sir George Talboys of Goloths, Lincolnshire. -The name of the second husband is variously spelled in the chronicles -as Tailboise or Talebuse. She died in the year before Elizabeth came -to the throne. The two things to examine closely with regard to -this marriage to the Duke of Richmond were the Dispensation for the -marriage (together with the date of it), and its non-fulfilment. The -Dispensation was dated 28 November, 1533, but the marriage took place -three days earlier. Whether this discrepancy had anything to do with -her later marriage to Talboys we can only guess--unless of course more -exhaustive search can produce some document, unknown as yet, which may -throw light on the subject. It is a matter of no light mystery why a -Dispensation was obtained at such a time and by whom it was effected. -At this time Henry VIII was engaged in the bitterest struggle of his -life, that regarding the supremacy of the Pope, so that it was a direct -violation of his policy to have asked for, or even to recognise such a -Dispensation in the case of his own son whom he intended to succeed him -as King. Before a year had passed he had actually thrown over the Papal -authority altogether, and had taken into his own hands the headship -of the National Church. What then was behind such a maladroit action? -If it had been done as a piece of statecraft--the ostensible showing -that there was as yet no direct rupture between the British Nation and -the Papacy--it would have lost its efficacy if it might be cited as -a Court favour rather than a national right. Moreover, as it was to -sanction by then existing canonical law a marriage of Henry’s son with -a daughter of the head of the most powerful Catholic House in England, -it could not be expected that Rome would not use this in its strife for -the continuation of its supremacy. If Henry was directly concerned in -the matter, it was bad policy and unlike him to conciliate Catholicism -by a yielding on the part of one who would be in the future the Head -of the Reformed Church. Altogether it leaves one under the impression -that there must have been a more personal cause than any yet spoken of. -Something to be covered up, or from which suspicion should be averted. -There was already quite enough material for a controversy in case Henry -Fitzroy should come to the throne and it might be well to minimise -any further risk. But in such case what was there to be covered up or -from which suspicion should be averted? Already Richmond held under -his father all the threads of government in his own hand. If he ever -should need to tighten them it would be done by himself as ruler. There -must still be some reason which must be kept secret and of which Henry -himself did not and must not know. Beyond this again was the question -of the personal ambition of “Bluff King Hal.” It was not sufficient -for him that a barren heir should succeed him--even if that heir was -his own son. He wanted to found a dynasty, and if he suspected for -an instant that after all his plotting and striving--all his titanic -efforts to overcome such obstacles as nations and religions--his hopes -might fail through lack of issue on his son’s part he would cease to -waste his time and efforts on his behalf. It is almost impossible to -imagine that the Duke of Richmond had not had _some_ love affairs--if -indeed he was only seventeen (of which there is a doubt)--it must be -borne in mind that both the Lancastrians and the Yorkists who united -in the Tudor stock matured early. On both his father’s and mother’s -side Henry Fitzroy was of a pleasure-loving, voluptuous nature, and -as the masculine element predominated in his make-up there is not any -great stretch of imagination required to be satisfied that there was -some young likeness of him toddling or running about. But in a case -like his masculine mis-doing does not count; it is only where a woman’s -credit is at stake that secrecy is a vital necessity. We must therefore -look to the female side to find a cause for any mystery which there -may be. So far as a boy of the right age is concerned with a decided -likeness to Henry VIII it would not have required much searching about -to lay hands on a suitable one. - -[Illustration: - - The Lady of Richmond. - -THE DUCHESS OF RICHMOND] - -But here a new trouble would begin. It would be beyond nature to expect -that any mother would consent, especially at a moment’s notice, to -her child running such a risk as the substitute of the dead Princess -Elizabeth was taking, without some kind of assurance or guarantee of -his safety. Moreover, if there were other relatives, they would be sure -to know, and some of them to make trouble unless their mouths were -closed. Practically the only chance of carrying such an enterprise -through would be if the substitute were an orphan or in a worse -position--one whose very life was an embarrassment to those to whom it -should be most dear. - -Here opens a field for romantic speculation. Such need not clash with -history which is a record of fact. Call it romance if we will; indeed -until we have more perfect records we must. If invention is to be -called in to the aid of deduction no one can complain if these two -methods of exercise of intellect are kept apart and the boundaries -between them are duly charted. Any speculation beyond this can be only -regarded as belonging to the region of pure fiction. - -In one way there is a duty which the reader must not shirk, if -only on his own account: not to refuse to accept facts without due -consideration. Wildly improbable as the Bisley story is, it is not -impossible. Whoever says, offhand, that such a story is untrue on the -face of it ought to study the account of a death reported at Colchester -in Essex just a hundred years ago. A servant died who had been in -the same situation as housemaid and nurse for thirty years. But only -after death was the true sex of the apparent woman discovered. It was -masculine! - - * * * * * - -Here I must remind such readers as honour my work with their attention -that I am venturing merely to tell a tradition sanctioned by long time, -and that I only give as comments historical facts which may be tested -by any student. I have invented and shall invent nothing; and only -claim the same right which I have in common with every one else--that -of forming my own opinion. - -Here it is that we may consider certain additions to the original -Bisley tradition. How these are connected with the main story is -impossible to say after the lapse of centuries; but in all probability -there is a basis of ancient belief in all that has been added. The -following items cover the additional ground. - -When the governess wished to hide the secret hurriedly, she hid the -body, intending it to be only temporarily, in the stone coffin which -lay in the garden at Overcourt outside the Princess’s window. - -Some tens of years ago the bones of a young girl lying amidst rags of -fine clothing were found in the stone coffin. - -The finder was a churchman--a man of the highest character and a member -of a celebrated ecclesiastical family. - -The said finder firmly believed in the story of the Bisley Boy. - -Before Elizabeth came to the throne all those who knew the secret of -the substitution were in some way got rid of or their silence assured. - -The name of the substituted youth was Neville; or such was the name of -the family with whom he was living at the time. - -There are several persons in the neighbourhood of Bisley who accept the -general truth of the story even if some of the minor details appear at -first glance to be inharmonious. These persons are not of the ordinary -class of gossipers, but men and women of light and leading who have -fixed places in the great world and in the social life of their own -neighbourhood. With some of them the truth of the story is an old -belief which makes a tie with any new investigator. - - -_The Unfulfilled Marriage_ - -The remaining point to touch on is the unfulfilled marriage of the Duke -of Richmond. This certainly needs some explanation, or else the mystery -remains dark as ever. - -Here we have two young persons of more than fair presence, and graced -with all the endearing qualities that the mind as well as the eye can -grasp. We have the assurance of Chronicles regarding Henry Fitzroy; -and from Holbein’s picture we can judge for ourselves of the lady’s -merits. They are both well-to-do. The lady, one of title, daughter of -one of the most prominent Dukes in England, the man then holding many -of the most important posts in the State, and with every expectation of -wearing in due course the purple of royalty. They both come of families -of which other members have been notorious for amatory episodes; -voluptuousness is in their blood. They have been old friends--and yet -when they marry they at once separate, she going to her own folk and -he to Windsor. Seemingly they do not meet again in the two and a half -years that elapse before his death. The story about his youth and -health preventing cohabitation is all moonshine. The affair points to -the likelihood of some ante-matrimonial liaison of which, as yet, we -know nothing. Applying the experiences of ordinary life in such cases, -we can easily believe that Mary Howard, egged on by her unscrupulous -and ambitiously-intriguing brother, was for ulterior purposes either -forced or helped into an intrigue with the young Duke. There is no -doubt that Surrey was unscrupulous enough for it. A similar design on -his part--only infinitely more base--cost him his head. He had tried -to induce his sister, Duchess of Richmond, to become mistress of Henry -VIII--her own father-in-law!--so that she might have power over him; -and it does not seem that there was any wonderful indignation on the -part of the lady at the shameful proposal. - -We are told that when Sir John Gates and Sir Richard Southwell, the -royal Commissioners for examining witnesses in the case of the charge -of treason against the Duke of Norfolk and the Earl of Surrey, arrived -at Kenninghall in the early morning and made known their general -purposes in coming, the Duchess of Richmond “almost fainted.” But all -the same when she knew more exactly what they wanted she promised -without any forcing to tell all she knew. As a matter of fact her -evidence (with that of Elizabeth Holland, the mistress of the Duke of -Norfolk), whilst it helped to get Norfolk off, aided in condemning -Surrey. There must have been some other cause for her consternation. -She had been bred up in the midst of intrigues, polemical and dynastic -as well as of personal ambition, and was well inured to keeping her -countenance as well as her head in moments of stress. The cause of her -“almost fainting” must have been something which concerned her even -more nearly than either father or brother. It could only have been fear -for her child or herself--or for both. It is possible that she dreaded -discovery of some sort. _Omne ignotum pro magnifico._ Suspicion has -long flexible tentacula, with eyes and ears at the end of them, which -can penetrate everywhere and see and hear everything. She knew how to -dread suspicion and to fear the consequences which must result from -inquiry or investigation of any sort. If she had had a child it must -have been kept hidden, and if possible far away--as the unknown Boy -was at Bisley. Indeed the Howards had immense family ramifications and -several of them had collateral relationships in and about Bisley. There -were Nevilles there, and doubtless some of them were poor relations -relegated to the far away place where living was cheap and where they -might augment their tenuous incomes by taking in even poorer relations -than themselves whose rich relatives wished to hide them away. It is -only a surmise; but if there had been a case of a child unaccounted -for, which any member of so great a family as the Howards wished to -keep dark, it would be hard to find a more favourable locality than -the little almost inaccessible hamlet in the Cotswolds. If there were -such a child, how easy it would all have been. When the Duke was -married he was fourteen or perhaps sixteen at most--an age which -though over-young for fatherhood in the case of ordinary men seemed to -offer to the Plantagenet-York-Lancaster blood no absolute difficulty -of taking up such responsibility. As Elizabeth was only born some two -months before the Duke’s marriage there was not any time to spare--a -fact which would doubtless have been used to his advantage if Henry’s -natural son had lived. In all probability Richmond’s marriage was a -part of the plot for aggrandisement of the Howards which began with the -unscrupulous securing by Surrey of the son of Henry VIII at the cost of -his sister’s honour; and ended with the death of Surrey as a traitor--a -doom which his father only escaped by the King dying whilst the Act -of Attainder was lying ready for his signature. If this reasoning be -correct--though the data on which it is founded be meagre and without -actual proof--as yet--the risk of Duchess Mary’s child born before -her marriage must have been a terrible hazard. On one side perhaps -the most powerful sceptre in the world as guerdon; on the other death -and ruin of the child on which such hopes were built. No wonder then -that Duchess Mary “almost fainted” when in the early dawn the King’s -Commissioners conveyed to her the broad object of their coming. No -wonder that freed by larger knowledge from the worst apprehension which -could be for her, she announced her willingness to conceal nothing -that she knew. That promise could not and would not have been made -had the whole range of possibilities, which as yet no one suspected, -been opened to their investigation. For even beyond the concern which -she felt from the arbitrary power of the King and at the remorseless -grip of the law, she had reason to doubt her own kin--the nearest of -them--in such a struggle as was going on around them when the whole of -the Empire, the Kingdom of England, France and Spain, and the Papacy -were close to the melting-pot. It would have been but a poor look-out -for a youth of a little more than a dozen years of age had fate made -him the shuttlecock of such strenuous players who did not hold “fair -play” as a primary rule of the game in which they were engaged. - -In his _Life of Elizabeth_, Gregario Leti concludes a panegyric on the -Queen’s beauty with the following: “This was accompanied by such inward -qualities that those who knew her were accustomed to say that heaven -had given her such rare qualities that she was doubtless reserved for -some great work in the world.” The Italian historian perhaps “builded -better than he knew,” for whether the phrase applies to the one who is -supposed to have occupied the throne or one who did so occupy it, it -is equally true. The world at that crisis wanted just such an one as -Elizabeth. All honour to her whosoever she may have been, boy or girl -matters not. - - - - -INDEX - - - Ahasuerus, 111-114. - - Alcaçer-el-Kebir, battle of, 20-22, 25. - - Alvares, Matheus, 23. - - Althotas, 82. - - Ascham, Roger, letters of concerning Elizabeth, 316-318. - - Ashley, Mrs. Catherine, 284, 285, 298, 315, 321, 323, 324. - - Austin, “Beau,” murder of by John Law, 124, 134. - - - Balsamo, Joseph, early life of, 80-82. - - Bank of England, early history of, 140-142. - - Banque Générale, founding of by John Law, 126. - - Banque Royale, control of by John Law, 127, 130. - - Berners Street Hoax, 252-254. - - Beugnot, Comte de, description of Cagliostro by, 86, 87. - - Bingham, Jinny, Mother Red-Cap, 186-189. - - Bisley, 286-291, 294. - - Bisley Boy, The, 283-345. - - Bisley Tradition, The, 291-294, 339-340. - - Bogus Sausages, 260-262. - - Brinvilliers, Marquise de, 169-172. - - Brunneau, Mathurin, 40-41. - - Buried Treasure Hoax, The, 258-259. - - - Cagliostro, career of, 80-94. - - Castro, Don John de, prophecy of concerning Sebastian, 24, - visit of to impostor, 26-27. - - Cat Hoax, The, 255. - - Catizzone, Marco Tullio, 27, 28, 29. - - Catherine, Empress, 34. - - Caule, Rev. John, denunciation of Matthew Hopkins by, 197-198. - - Chevalier d’Eon, career of, 269-280. - - Compagnie des Indes, controlled by John Law, 127, 130. - - Cork, Simnel and Warbeck favored by, 8-9. - - Cumberland, Duke of, 55, 56, 57, 58. - - Croly, Rev. George, author of “Salathiel,” 114-115. - - Czar, The False, 31-35. - - - Dauphins, The False, 36-48. - - Darien Company, The, 142-143. - - Dean Swift’s Hoax, 259-260. - - Dee, Dr. John, career of, 155-163. - - - East India Company, history of useful to John Law, 138-140. - - East, Mary, career of as a man, 241-246. - - Edward IV, resemblance of to Perkin Warbeck, 7, 11-12. - - Elizabeth, Queen, changes in youthful character of, 315-316, - early life of as concerned with Bisley tradition, 301-306, - identity of, 310-315, 326, - interest of in Dr. Dee, 159, 160, - personality of, 316-326, - secret of, 284-286. - - - Feliciana, Lorenza de, wife of Cagliostro, 83-84, 89, 94. - - Flanders, importance of in 15th century, 6. - - Fontolive, personator of Dauphin, 40. - - - Gordon, Catherine, marriage of to Perkin Warbeck, 14. - - - Hehl, Father, controversy of with Mesmer, 99. - - Henry VII, difficulties of, 3-4, - measures of against Perkin Warbeck, 13-14. - - Henry VIII, activities of, 304-307, 309, - desire of for son, 302-303, - father of Duke of Richmond, 327-329, - mystery of attitude of toward Papacy, 336, - visit of to Bisley, 291-293. - - Herbert, Henri, story of as personator of the Dauphin, 41-46. - - Hervagault, Jean Marie, attempt of to personate the Dauphin, 39-40. - - Hoaxes, 249-265. - - Hoaxed Burglars, 260. - - Hohenheim, Theophrastus Bombast von, real name of Paracelsus, early - life of, 72-75. - - Hook, Theodore, 252, 254. - - Hopkins, Matthew, career of as witch-finder, 190-198. - - - James IV, belief of in Perkin Warbeck, 13. - - Joinville, Prince de, settlement of Eleazar Williams’ claim by, 47. - - - Kelley, Sir Edward, career of, 175-181, - friendship of with Dr. Dee, 161-163. - - Kenealy, Dr., course of as counsel for Tichborne Claimant, 222-223. - - “King of Penemacor,” 22-23. - - “Knight of the Cross,” 23-29. - - - Laski, Palatine Albert, interest of in Dr. Dee and Sir Edward Kelley, - 161, 178-179. - - Law, John, career and character of, 123-144. - - Louis XV, friendliness of for Chevalier d’Eon, 270, 271, 273, 274. - - Louis XVII, 36. - - Locke, Richard Adams, author of Moon Hoax, 265. - - Luie, Jean, testimony of for Tichborne Claimant, 221-222. - - - Margaret, Duchess of Burgundy, interest of in Perkin Warbeck, 10-11. - - Marie Antoinette, 90-93. - - Marriage Hoax, The, 257. - - Maupin, Mlle. de, career of, 235-241. - - Mesmer, Frederic-Antoine, career of, 95-103. - - Military Review, The, 256. - - Mississippi Scheme, The, formation of by John Law, 126, - growth and collapse of, 127-133. - - Mother Damnable, story of, 182-189. - - Mother Black-Cap, 182, 183, 185. - - Mother Red-Cap, 182, 183, 186. - - Moon Hoax, The, 262-265. - - Morocco, invasion of by Sebastian, 19-21. - - Motte, Madame de la, plot of concerning Queen’s Necklace, 91-93. - - Mueley Abd-el-Mulek, 20-21. - - - Naundorf, attempt of to personate the Dauphin, 46. - - - Orton, Arthur, career of as Tichborne Claimant, 201, 214-224. - - - Paracelsus, career of, 71-79. - - Paradis, Mlle., controversy over as patient of Mesmer, 100-101. - - Paris, Matthew, credibility of, 108-111, 117-118, - narrative of concerning Wandering Jew, 107-108. - - Parr, Queen Catherine, 306, 308, 309, 312, 315, 323, 324, 325. - - Parry, Thomas, 284, 285, 298, 315, 321, 323. - - Persat, attempt of to personate the Dauphin, 40. - - Pucci, Francis, combination of with Sir Edward Kelley, 179. - - - Richard III, consequences of lawless acts of, 3-4. - - Richmond, Duke of, life of as a natural son of Henry VIII, 326-332, - 341. - - Richmond, Duchess of, 334-335, 341-345. - - Rohan, Cardinal Prince de, 91-94. - - Ryves, Mrs. A. T., 49, - law-suit of attacking succession to English throne, 58-67. - - - Stephen, King of Poland, interest of in Dr. Dee, 179. - - Snell, Hannah, career of as soldier and sailor, 231-234. - - - Tichborne Claimant, The, 201-224. - - Tichborne Case, trial of, 218-223. - - Tichborne, Baronetcy of, 252. - - Tichborne, Lady Mabell, doom foretold by, 203-204. - - Tichborne, Lady, belief of in son’s existence, 213-214. - - Tichborne, Roger, 206-212. - - Toll-Gate Hoax, The, 256-257. - - - Voison, Madame, career of, 164-174. - - - Walpole, Horace, theory of concerning Perkin Warbeck, 8. - - Wandering Jew, The, 107-120. - - Warbeck, Perkin, career of, 5-15. - - Werbecque, Jehan, 5-6. - - Westphalus, statements of concerning Wandering Jew, 113, 114. - - Williams, Eleazar, story of as personator of the Dauphin, 46-48. - - Wilmot, James, 50, 51, 53, 54. - - Wilmot, Olive, 50, 55. - - Witchcraft, 147-198, - English statutes concerning, 147-148. - - Women, attempts of to disguise themselves as men, 227-231. - - - - -Transcriber’s Notes - - -Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made consistent when a -predominant preference was found in this book; otherwise they were not -changed. - -Simple typographical errors were corrected; occasional unbalanced -quotation marks retained. - -Index not checked for proper alphabetization or correct page references. - -Page 3: “villany” was printed that way. - -Page 43: “romancists” was printed that way; may be a misprint for -“romanticists”. - -Page 78: “are current Paracelsus” was printed that way; perhaps a -question mark should have been used after “current”. - -Page 284: Paragraph beginning “Elizabeth was as loyal to Parry” -contains unbalanced quotation marks. - -Page 325: “some form revenge on” was printed that way; seems to be -missing an “of”. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Famous Impostors, by Bram Stoker - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FAMOUS IMPOSTORS *** - -***** This file should be named 51391-0.txt or 51391-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/3/9/51391/ - -Produced by deaurider, Charlie Howard, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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- margin-left: 2%; - margin-right: 2%; - margin-top: 1em; - margin-bottom: 1em; - padding: .5em; - } -} - </style> - </head> - -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Famous Impostors, by Bram Stoker - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Famous Impostors - -Author: Bram Stoker - -Release Date: March 8, 2016 [EBook #51391] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FAMOUS IMPOSTORS *** - - - - -Produced by deaurider, Charlie Howard, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<h1>FAMOUS IMPOSTORS</h1> - -<div id="i_frontis" class="newpage figcenter" style="width: 368px;"> - <img src="images/i_001.jpg" width="368" height="600" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">QUEEN ELIZABETH AS A YOUNG WOMAN</div></div> - - -<p class="newpage p4 center large"> -<span class="large">FAMOUS IMPOSTORS</span></p> - -<p class="p2 center">BY<br /> -<br /> -<span class="large">BRAM STOKER</span><br /> -<span class="small">AUTHOR OF “DRACULA,” “PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF<br /> -HENRY IRVING,” ETC., ETC.</span></p> - -<p class="p2 center">ILLUSTRATED</p> - -<p class="p2 center larger vspace">New York<br /> -STURGIS & WALTON<br /> -COMPANY<br /> -1910<br /> -<i class="smaller">All rights reserved</i> -</p> - - -<hr /> - -<p class="newpage p4 center smaller"> -Copyright 1910<br /> -By BRAM STOKER<br /> -<br /> -Set up and electrotyped. Published November, 1910 -</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_v">v</a></span></p> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2><a id="PREFACE"></a>PREFACE</h2> -</div> - - -<p>The subject of imposture is always an interesting -one, and impostors in one shape or another are -likely to flourish as long as human nature remains -what it is, and society shows itself ready to be -gulled. The histories of famous cases of imposture -in this book have been grouped together to -show that the art has been practised in many forms—impersonators, -pretenders, swindlers, and humbugs -of all kinds; those who have masqueraded in -order to acquire wealth, position, or fame, and -those who have done so merely for the love of the -art. So numerous are instances, indeed, that the -book cannot profess to exhaust a theme which -might easily fill a dozen volumes; its purpose is -simply to collect and record a number of the best -known instances. The author, nevertheless, whose -largest experience has lain in the field of fiction, -has aimed at dealing with his material as with the -material for a novel, except that all the facts given -are real and authentic. He has made no attempt -to treat the subject ethically; yet from a study of -these impostors, the objects they had in view, the -means they adopted, the risks they ran, and the -punishments which attended exposure, any reader -can draw his own conclusions.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_vi">vi</a></span></p> - -<p>Impostors of royalty are placed first on account -of the fascinating glamour of the throne which has -allured so many to the attempt. Perkin Warbeck -began a life of royal imposture at the age of seventeen -and yet got an army round him and dared to -make war on Harry Hotspur before ending his -short and stormy life on the gallows. With a -crown for stake, it is not surprising that men have -been found willing to run even such risks as those -taken by the impostors of Sebastian of Portugal -and Louis XVII of France. That imposture, -even if unsuccessful, may be very difficult to detect, -is shown in the cases of Princess Olive and Cagliostro, -and in those of Hannah Snell, Mary -East, and the many women who in military and -naval, as well as in civil, life assumed and maintained -even in the din of battle the simulation of -men.</p> - -<p>One of the most extraordinary and notorious impostures -ever known was that of Arthur Orton, the -Tichborne Claimant, whose ultimate exposure necessitated -the employment, at great public expense -of time and money, of the best judicial and forensic -wits in a legal process of unprecedented length.</p> - -<p>The belief in witches, though not extinct in our -country even to-day, affords examples of the converse -of imposture, for in the majority of cases it -was the superstitions of society which attributed -powers of evil to innocent persons whose subsequent<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_vii">vii</a></span> -mock-trials and butchery made a public holiday -for their so-called judges.</p> - -<p>The long-continued doubt as to the true sex of -the Chevalier D’Eon shows how a belief, no matter -how groundless, may persist. Many cases of -recent years may also be called in witness as to the -initial credulity of the public, and to show how obstinacy -maintains a belief so begun. The Humbert -case—too fresh in the public memory to demand -treatment here—the Lemoine case, and the -long roll of other fraudulent efforts to turn the -credulity of others to private gain, show how widespread -is the criminal net, and how daring and persevering -are its manipulators.</p> - -<p>The portion of the book which deals with the -tradition of the “Bisley Boy” has had, as it demanded, -more full and detailed treatment than any -other one subject in the volume. Needless to say, -the author was at first glance inclined to put the -whole story aside as almost unworthy of serious attention, -or as one of those fanciful matters which -imagination has elaborated out of the records of the -past. The work which he had undertaken had, -however, to be done, and almost from the very start -of earnest enquiry it became manifest that here was -a subject which could not be altogether put aside -or made light of. There were too many circumstances—matters -of exact record, striking in themselves -and full of some strange mystery, all pointing<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_viii">viii</a></span> -to a conclusion which one almost feared to -grasp as a possibility—to allow the question to be -relegated to the region of accepted myth. A little -preliminary work amongst books and maps seemed -to indicate that so far from the matter, vague and -inchoate as it was, being chimerical, it was one for -the most patient examination. It looked, indeed, -as if those concerned in making public the local -tradition, which had been buried or kept in hiding -somewhere for three centuries, were on the verge -of a discovery of more than national importance. -Accordingly, the author, with the aid of some -friends at Bisley and its neighbourhood, went over -the ground, and, using his eyes and ears, came to -his own conclusions. Further study being thus necessitated, -the subject seemed to open out in a natural -way. One after another the initial difficulties -appeared to find their own solutions and to vanish; -a more searching investigation of the time and circumstances -showed that there was little if any difficulty -in the way of the story being true in essence -if not in detail. Then, as point after point arising -from others already examined, assisted the story, -probability began to take the place of possibility; -until the whole gradually took shape as a chain, -link resting in the strength of link and forming a -cohesive whole. That this story impugns the -identity—and more than the identity—of Queen -Elizabeth, one of the most famous and glorious -rulers whom the world has seen, and hints at an explanation<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_ix">ix</a></span> -of circumstances in the life of that monarch -which have long puzzled historians, will entitle -it to the most serious consideration. In short, if it -be true, its investigation will tend to disclose the -greatest imposture known to history; and to this -end no honest means should be neglected.</p> - -<p class="sigright"> -B. S. -</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_xi">xi</a></span></p> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2><a id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS</h2> -</div> - - - -<table border="0" id="toc" summary="Contents"> - <tr class="small"> - <td class="tdl" colspan="2">CHAPTER</td> - <td> </td> - <td class="tdr">PAGE</td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">I.</td> - <td class="tdl" colspan="2"><span class="smcap">Pretenders</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#I_PRETENDERS">1</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td> </td> - <td class="tdl sub">A.</td> - <td class="tdl">Perkin Warbeck</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#A_PERKIN_WARBECK">3</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td> </td> - <td class="tdl sub">B.</td> - <td class="tdl">The Hidden King</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#B_THE_HIDDEN_KING">17</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td> </td> - <td class="tdl sub">C.</td> - <td class="tdl">Stephan Mali</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#C_STEFAN_MALI">31</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td> </td> - <td class="tdl sub">D.</td> - <td class="tdl">The False Dauphins</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#D_THE_FALSE_DAUPHINS">36</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td> </td> - <td class="tdl sub">E.</td> - <td class="tdl">Princess Olive</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#E_PRINCESS_OLIVE">49</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">II.</td> - <td class="tdl" colspan="2"><span class="smcap">Practitioners of Magic</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#II_PRACTITIONERS_OF_MAGIC">69</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td> </td> - <td class="tdl sub">A.</td> - <td class="tdl">Paracelsus</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#PARACELSUS">71</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td> </td> - <td class="tdl sub">B.</td> - <td class="tdl">Cagliostro</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#CAGLIOSTRO">80</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td> </td> - <td class="tdl sub">C.</td> - <td class="tdl">Mesmer</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#MESMER">95</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">III.</td> - <td class="tdl" colspan="2"><span class="smcap">The Wandering Jew</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#THE_WANDERING_JEW">107</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">IV.</td> - <td class="tdl" colspan="2"><span class="smcap">John Law</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#JOHN_LAW">123</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">V.</td> - <td class="tdl" colspan="2"><span class="smcap">Witchcraft and Clairvoyance</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#WITCHCRAFT_AND_CLAIRVOYANCE">145</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td> </td> - <td class="tdl sub">A.</td> - <td class="tdl">Witches</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#WITCHES">147</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td> </td> - <td class="tdl sub">B.</td> - <td class="tdl">Doctor Dee</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#B_DOCTOR_DEE">155</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td> </td> - <td class="tdl sub">C.</td> - <td class="tdl">La Voisin</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#C_LA_VOISIN">164</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td> </td> - <td class="tdl sub">D.</td> - <td class="tdl">Sir Edward Kelley</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#D_SIR_EDWARD_KELLEY">175</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td> </td> - <td class="tdl sub">E.</td> - <td class="tdl">Mother Damnable</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#E_MOTHER_DAMNABLE">182</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td> </td> - <td class="tdl sub">F.</td> - <td class="tdl">Matthew Hopkins</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#F_MATTHEW_HOPKINS">190</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">VI.</td> - <td class="tdl" colspan="2"><span class="smcap">Arthur Orton</span> (Tichborne claimant)</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#VI_ARTHUR_ORTON">201</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">VII.</td> - <td class="tdl" colspan="2"><span class="smcap">Women as Men</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#VII_WOMEN_AS_MEN">227</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td> </td> - <td class="tdl sub">A.</td> - <td class="tdl">The Motive for Disguise</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#A_THE_MOTIVE_FOR_DISGUISE">227</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td> </td> - <td class="tdl sub">B.</td> - <td class="tdl">Hannah Snell</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#B_HANNAH_SNELL">231</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td> </td> - <td class="tdl sub">C.</td> - <td class="tdl">La Maupin</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#C_LA_MAUPIN">235</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td> </td> - <td class="tdl sub">D.</td> - <td class="tdl">Mary East</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#D_MARY_EAST">241</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">VIII.</td> - <td class="tdl" colspan="2"><span class="smcap">Hoaxes, etc.</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#VIII_HOAXES_ETC">249</a><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_xii">xii</a></span></td></tr> - <tr> - <td> </td> - <td class="tdl sub">A.</td> - <td class="tdl">Two London Hoaxes</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#A_TWO_LONDON_HOAXES">249</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td> </td> - <td class="tdl sub">B.</td> - <td class="tdl">The Cat Hoax</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#B_THE_CAT_HOAX">255</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td> </td> - <td class="tdl sub">C.</td> - <td class="tdl">The Military Review</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#C_THE_MILITARY_REVIEW">256</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td> </td> - <td class="tdl sub">D.</td> - <td class="tdl">The Toll-Gate</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#D_THE_TOLL-GATE">256</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td> </td> - <td class="tdl sub">E.</td> - <td class="tdl">The Marriage Hoax</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#E_THE_MARRIAGE_HOAX">257</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td> </td> - <td class="tdl sub">F.</td> - <td class="tdl">Buried Treasure</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#F_BURIED_TREASURE">258</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td> </td> - <td class="tdl sub">G.</td> - <td class="tdl">Dean Swift’s Hoax</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#G_DEAN_SWIFTS_HOAX">259</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td> </td> - <td class="tdl sub">H.</td> - <td class="tdl">Hoaxed Burglars</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#H_HOAXED_BURGLARS">260</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td> </td> - <td class="tdl sub">I.</td> - <td class="tdl">Bogus Sausages</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#I_BOGUS_SAUSAGES">260</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td> </td> - <td class="tdl sub">J.</td> - <td class="tdl">The Moon Hoax</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#J_THE_MOON_HOAX">262</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">IX.</td> - <td class="tdl" colspan="2"><span class="smcap">Chevalier d’Eon</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#IX_THE_CHEVALIER_DEON">269</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">X.</td> - <td class="tdl" colspan="2"><span class="smcap">The Bisley Boy</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#X_THE_BISLEY_BOY">283</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<hr /> - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_xiii">xiii</a></span></p> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2><a id="ILLUSTRATIONS"></a>ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> -</div> - - - -<table id="loi" class="vspace" summary="Illustrations"> - <tr> - <td class="tdl">Queen Elizabeth as a Young Woman</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_frontis"><i>Frontispiece</i></a></td></tr> - <tr class="small"> - <td> </td> - <td class="tdr">FACING PAGE</td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl">Perkin Warbeck</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_5">4</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl">Edward IV as a Young Man</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_37">12</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl">Olivia Serres</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_50">50</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl">Cagliostro</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_83">80</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl">John Law</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_125">124</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl">Arthur Orton</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_202">202</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl">The Chevalier D’Eon</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_270">270</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl">The Duke of Richmond</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_325">326</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl">The Duchess of Richmond</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_338">334</a></td></tr> -</table> - - - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_3">3</a></span></p> -<div class="chapter"> -<h2><a id="I_PRETENDERS"></a>I. PRETENDERS</h2> -</div> - - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2><a id="FAMOUS_IMPOSTORS"></a><span class="larger">FAMOUS IMPOSTORS</span></h2> -</div> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<h3><a id="A_PERKIN_WARBECK"></a>A. PERKIN WARBECK</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-cap b"><span class="smcap1">Richard</span> III literally carved his way to -the throne of England. It would hardly -be an exaggeration to say that he waded -to it through blood. Amongst those who suffered -for his unscrupulous ambition were George Duke -of Clarence, his own elder brother, Edward Prince -of Wales, who on the death of Edward IV was -the natural successor to the English throne, and -the brother of the latter, Richard Duke of York. -The two last mentioned were the princes murdered -in the Tower by their malignant uncle. These three -murders placed Richard Duke of Gloucester on -the throne, but at a cost of blood as well as of lesser -considerations which it is hard to estimate. Richard -III left behind him a legacy of evil consequences -which was far-reaching. Henry VII, who -succeeded him, had naturally no easy task in steering -through the many family complications resulting -from the long-continued “Wars of the Roses”; -but Richard’s villany had created a new series of -complications on a more ignoble, if less criminal,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_4">4</a></span> -base. When Ambition, which deals in murder on -a wholesale scale, is striving its best to reap the -results aimed at, it is at least annoying to have the -road to success littered with the débris of lesser and -seemingly unnecessary crimes. Fraud is socially -a lesser evil than murder; and after all—humanly -speaking—much more easily got rid of. Thrones -and even dynasties were in the melting pot between -the reigns of Edward III and Henry VII; -so there were quite sufficient doubts and perplexities -to satisfy the energies of any aspirant to royal -honours—however militant he might be. Henry -VII’s time was so far unpropitious that he was the -natural butt of all the shafts of unscrupulous adventure. -The first of these came in the person -of Lambert Simnel, the son of a baker, who in -1486 set himself up as Edward Plantagenet, Earl -of Warwick—then a prisoner in the Tower—son -of the murdered Duke of Clarence. It was manifestly -a Yorkist plot, as he was supported by -Margaret Duchess Dowager of Burgundy (sister -of Edward IV) and others. With the assistance -of the Lord-Deputy (the Earl of Kildare) he was -crowned in Dublin as King Edward VI. The -pretensions of Simnel were overthrown by the exhibition -of the real Duke of Warwick, taken from -prison for the purpose. The attempt would have -been almost comic but that the effects were tragic. -Simnel’s span of notoriety was only a year, the -close of which was attended with heavy slaughter<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_5">5</a></span> -of his friends and mercenaries. He himself faded -into the obscurity of the minor life of the King’s -household to which he was contemptuously relegated. -In fact the whole significance of the plot -was that it was the first of a series of frauds consequent -on the changes of political parties, and -served as a <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">balon d’essai</i> for the more serious imposture -of Perkin Warbeck some five years afterwards. -It must, however, be borne in mind that -Simnel was a pretender on his own account and not -in any way a “pacemaker” for the later criminal; -he was in the nature of an unconscious forerunner, -but without any ostensible connection. Simnel -went his way, leaving, in the words of the kingly -murderer his uncle, the world free for his successor -in fraud “to bustle in.”</p> - -<div id="ip_5" class="figcenter" style="width: 477px;"> - <img src="images/i_004.jpg" width="477" height="600" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">PERKIN WARBECK</div></div> - -<p>The battle of Stoke, near Newark—the battle -which saw the end of the hopes of Simnel and his -upholders—was fought on 16 June, 1487. Five -years afterwards Perkin Warbeck made his appearance -in Cork as Richard Plantagenet Duke of -York. The following facts regarding him and his -life previous to 1492 may help to place the reader -in a position to understand other events and to find -causes through the natural gateway of effects.</p> - -<p>To Jehan Werbecque (or Osbeck as he was -called in Perkin’s “confession”), Controller of the -town of Tournay in Picardy, and his wife, <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">née</i> -Katherine de Faro, was born in 1474, a son christened -Pierrequin and later known as Perkin Warbeck.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_6">6</a></span> -The Low Countries in the fifteenth century -were essentially manufacturing and commercial, -and, as all countries were at that period of necessity -military, growing youths were thus in touch at many -points with commerce, industry and war. Jehan -Werbecque’s family was of the better middle class, -as witness his own position and employment; and -so his son spent the earlier years of his life amid -scenes and conditions conducive to ambitious -dreams. He had an uncle John Stalyn of Ghent. -A maternal aunt was married to Peter Flamme, -Receiver of Tournay and also Dean of the Guild -of Schelde Boatmen. A cousin, John Steinbeck, -was an official of Antwerp.</p> - -<p>In the fifteenth century Flanders was an -important region in the manufacturing and commercial -worlds. It was the centre of the cloth industry; -and the coming and going of the material -for the clothing of the world made prosperous the -shipmen not only of its own waters but those of -others. The ships of the pre-Tudor navy were -small affairs and of light draught suitable for river -traffic, and be sure that the Schelde with its facility -of access to the then British port of Calais, to Lille, -to Brussels, to Bruges, to Tournai, Ghent, and -Antwerp, was often itself a highway to the scenes -of Continental and British wars.</p> - -<p>About 1483 or 1484, on account of the Flemish -War, Pierrequin left Tournay, proceeding to Antwerp, -and to Middleburg, where he took service<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_7">7</a></span> -with a merchant, John Strewe, he being then a -young boy of ten or twelve. His next move was -to Portugal, whither he went with the wife of Sir -Edward Brampton, an adherent of the House of -York. A good deal of his early life is told in his -own confession made whilst he was a prisoner in -the Tower about 1497.</p> - -<p>In Portugal he was for a year in the service of a -Knight named Peter Vacz de Cogna, who, according -to a statement in his confession, had only one -eye. In the Confession he also states in a general -way that with de Cogna he visited other countries. -After this he was with a Breton merchant, Pregent -Meno, of whom he states incidentally: “he made me -learn English.” Pierrequin Werbecque must have -been a precocious boy—if all his statements are -true—for when he went to Ireland in 1491 with -Pregent Meno he was only seventeen years of age, -and there had been already crowded into his life a -fair amount of the equipment for enterprise in the -shape of experience, travel, languages, and so -forth.</p> - -<p>It is likely that, to some extent at all events, the -imposture of Werbecque, or Warbeck, was forced -on him in the first instance, and was not a free act -on his own part. His suitability to the part he was -about to play was not altogether his own doing. -Nay, it is more than possible that his very blood -aided in the deception. Edward IV is described -as a handsome debonair young man, and Perkin<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_8">8</a></span> -Warbeck it is alleged, bore a marked likeness to -him. Horace Walpole indeed in his <cite>Historic -Doubts</cite> builds a good deal on this in his acceptance -of his kingship. Edward was notoriously a man of -evil life in the way of affairs of passion, and at all -times the way of ill-doing has been made easy for -a king. Any student of the period and of the race -of Plantagenet may easily accept it as fact that the -trend of likelihood if not of evidence is that Perkin -Warbeck was a natural son of Edward IV. -Three hundred years later the infamous British -Royal Marriage Act made such difficulties or inconveniences -as beset a king in the position of -Edward IV unnecessary: but in the fifteenth century -the usual way out of such messes was ultimately -by the sword. Horace Walpole, who was a -clever and learned man, was satisfied that the person -who was known as Perkin Warbeck was in -reality that Richard Duke of York who was supposed -to have been murdered in the Tower in 1483 -by Sir James Tyrrell, in furtherance of the ambitious -schemes of his uncle. At any rate the people -in Cork in 1491 insisted on receiving Perkin -as of the House of York—at first as a son of the -murdered Duke of Clarence. Warbeck took oath -to the contrary before the Mayor of Cork; whereupon -the populace averred that he was a natural son -of Richard III. This, too, having been denied by -the newcomer, it was stated that he was the son of -the murdered Duke of York.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_9">9</a></span> -It cannot be denied that the Irish people were in -this matter as unstable as they were swift in their -judgments, so that their actions are really not of -much account. Five years before they had received -the adventurer Lambert Simnel as their -king, and he had been crowned at Dublin. In any -case the allegations of Warbeck’s supporters did -not march with established facts of gynecology. -The murdered Duke of York was born in 1472, -and, as not twenty years elapsed between this -period and Warbeck’s appearance in Ireland, there -was not time in the ordinary process of nature, for -father and son to have arrived at such a quality of -manhood that the latter was able to appear as full -grown. Even allowing for an unusual swiftness -of growth common sense evidently rebelled at this, -and in 1492 Perkin Warbeck was received in his -final semblance of the Duke of York, himself -younger son of Edward IV. Many things were -possible at a period when the difficulties of voyage -and travel made even small distances insuperable. -At the end of the fifteenth century Ireland was still -so far removed from England that even Warbeck’s -Irish successes, emphasised though they were by -the Earls of Desmond and Kildare and a numerous -body of supporters, were unknown in England -till considerably later. This is not strange if one -will consider that not until centuries later was there -a regular postal system, and that nearly two centuries -later the Lord Chief Justice Sir Matthew<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_10">10</a></span> -Hale, who was a firm believer in witchcraft, would -have condemned such a thing as telegraphy as an -invention of the Devil.</p> - -<p>In the course of a historical narrative like the -present it must be borne in mind (amongst other -things) that in the fifteenth century, men ripened -more quickly than in the less strenuous and more -luxurious atmosphere of our own day. Especially -in the Tudor epoch physical gifts counted for far -more than is now possible; and as early (and too -often sudden) death was the general lot of those -in high places, the span of working life was prolonged -rather by beginning early than by finishing -late. Even up to the time of the Napoleonic -Wars, promotion was often won with a rapidity -that would seem like an ambitious dream to young -soldiers of to-day. Perkin Warbeck, born in 1474, -was nineteen years of age in 1493, at which time the -Earl of Kildare spoke of “this French lad,” yet -even then he was fighting King Henry VII, the -Harry Richmond who had overthrown at Bosworth -the great and unscrupulous Richard III. It must -also be remembered for a proper understanding of -his venture, that Perkin Warbeck was strongly supported -and advised with great knowledge and subtlety -by some very resolute and influential persons. -Amongst these, in addition to his Irish “Cousins” -Kildare and Desmond, was Margaret, Duchess of -Burgundy, sister of Edward IV, who helped the -young adventurer in his plot by “coaching” him up<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_11">11</a></span> -in the part which he was to play, to such an extent -that, according to Lord Bacon, he was familiar -with the features of his alleged family and relatives -and even with the sort of questions likely to -be asked in this connection. In fact he was, in theatrical -parlance, not only properly equipped but -“letter-perfect” in his part. Contemporary authority -gives as an additional cause for this personal -knowledge, that the original Jehan de -Warbecque was a converted Jew, brought up in -England, of whom Edward IV was the godfather. -In any case it may in this age be accepted as a fact -that there was between Edward IV and Perkin -Warbeck so strong a likeness as to suggest a <i xml:lang="la" lang="la">prima -facie</i> possibility, if not a probability, of paternity. -Other possibilities crowd in to the support of such -a guess till it is likely to achieve the dimensions of -a belief. Even without any accuracy of historical -detail there is quite sufficient presumption to justify -guess-work on general lines. It were a comparatively -easy task to follow the lead of Walpole and -create a new “historic doubt” after his pattern, the -argument of which would run thus:</p> - -<p>After the battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury in -1471, Edward IV had but little to contend against. -His powerful foes were all either dead or so utterly -beaten as to be powerless for effective war. -The Lancastrian hopes had disappeared with the -death of Henry VI in the Tower. Margaret of -Anjou (wife of Henry VI) defeated at Tewkesbury,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_12">12</a></span> -was in prison. Warwick had been slain at -Barnet, and so far as fighting was concerned, King -Edward had a prolonged holiday. It was these -years of peace—when the coming and going of -even a king was unrecorded with that precision -which marks historical accuracy—that made the -period antecedent to Perkin’s birth. Perkin bore -an unmistakable likeness to Edward IV. Not -merely that resemblance which marks a family or -a race but an individual likeness. Moreover the -young manhood of the two ran on parallel lines. -Edward was born in 1442, and in 1461, before he -was nineteen, won the battle of Mortimer’s Cross -which, with Towton, placed him on the throne. -Perkin Warbeck at seventeen made his bid for -royalty. It is hardly necessary to consider what -is a manifest error in Perkin’s Confession—that -he was only nine years old, not eleven, at the time -of the murder of Edward V. Nineteen was young -enough in all conscience to begin an intrigue for -a crown; but if the Confession is to be accepted as -gospel this would make him only seventeen at the -time of his going to Ireland—a manifest impossibility. -Any statement regarding one’s own -birth is manifestly not to be relied on. At best -such can only be an assertion <em>minus</em> the possibility -of testing whence an error might come. Regarding -his parentage, in case it may be alleged that -there is no record of the wife of Jehan Warbecque -having been in England, it may be allowed to recall<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_13">13</a></span> -a story which Alfred, Lord Tennyson used to -say was amongst the hundred best stories. It ran -thus:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>A noble at the Court of Louis XIV was -extremely like the King, who on its being -pointed out to him sent for his double and -asked him:</p> - -<p>“Was your mother ever at Court?”</p> - -<p>Bowing low, he replied:</p> - -<p>“No, sire; but my father was!”</p></blockquote> - -<p>Of course Perkin Warbeck’s real adventures, in -the sense of dangers, began after his claim to be -the brother of Edward V was put forward. -Henry VII was not slow in taking whatever steps -might be necessary to protect his crown; there had -been but short shrift for Lambert Simnel, and -Perkin Warbeck was a much more dangerous aspirant. -When Charles VIII invited him to Paris, -after the war with France had broken out, Henry -besieged Boulogne and made a treaty under which -Perkin Warbeck was dismissed from France. -After making an attempt to capture Waterford, -the adventurer transferred the scene of his endeavours -from Ireland to Scotland which offered him -greater possibilities for intrigue on account of the -struggles between James IV and Henry VII. -James, who finally found it necessary to hasten his -departure, seemed to believe really in his pretensions,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_14">14</a></span> -for he gave him in marriage a kinswoman of -his own, Catherine Gordon, daughter of the Earl -of Huntly—who by the way was re-married no -less than three times after Perkin Warbeck’s death. -Through the influence of Henry VII, direct or -indirect, Perkin had to leave Scotland as he had -been previously forced from Burgundy and the -Low Countries. Country after country having -been closed to him, he made desperate efforts in -Cornwall, where he captured St. Michael’s Mount, -and in Devon, where he laid siege to Exeter. This -however being raised by the Royal forces, he sought -sanctuary in Beaulieu in the New Forest where, -on promise of his life, he surrendered. He was -sent to the Tower and well treated; but on attempting -to escape thence a year later, 1499, he was -taken. He was hanged at Tyburn in the same -year.</p> - -<p>Pierrequin Warbecque’s enterprise was in any -case a desperate one and bound to end tragically—unless, -of course, he could succeed in establishing -his (alleged) claim to the throne in law and then -in supporting it at great odds. The latter would -necessitate his vanquishing two desperate fighting -men both of them devoid of fear or scruples—Richard -III and Henry VII. In any case he -had the Houses of Lancaster, Plantagenet and -Tudor against him and he fought with the rope -round his neck.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_15">15</a></span> -An Act of Parliament, 1 Richard III, Cap. 15, -made at Westminster on the 23 Jan., 1485, precluded -all possibility—even if Warbeck should have -satisfied the nation of his identity—of a legal claim -to the throne, for it forbade any recognition of the -offspring of Lady Elizabeth Grey to whom Edward -IV was secretly married, in May, 1464, the -issue of which marriage were Edward V and his -brother, Richard. The act is short and is worth -reading, if only for its quaint phraseology.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p class="hang"><i>Cap XV.</i> Item for certayn great causes and consideracions -touchynge the suretye of the kynges noble persone as -of this realme, by the advyce and assente of his lordes -spirituall and temporal, and the commons in this present -parliament assembled, and by the auctorite of the -same. It is ordeined established and enacted, that all -letters patentes, states confrymacions and actes of parlyament -of anye castels seignowries, maners, landes, -tenementes, fermes, fee fermes, franchises, liberties, or -other hereditamentes made at any tyme to Elizabeth -late wyfe of syr John Gray Knight; and now late callinge -her selfe queene of England, by what so ever name -or names she be called in the same, shalbe from the fyrst -day of May last past utterly voyd, adnulled and of no -strengthe nor effecte in the lawe. And that no person -or persons bee charged to our sayde soveraygne lord the -Kynge, nor to the sayde Elyzabeth, of or for any issues, -prifites, or revenues of any of the sayde seignowries, -castelles, maners, landes, tenementes, fermes or other -hereditamentes nor for any trespas or other intromittynge -in the same, nor for anye by suretye by persone or<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_16">16</a></span> persones -to her or to her use—made by them before the -sayde fyrst daie of May last passed, but shalbe therof -agaynste the sayd Kynge and the sayde Elizabeth clerly -discharged and acquyte forever.<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">1</a></p></blockquote> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="fnanchor">1</a> In the above memorandum no statement is made regarding Jane -Shore, though it may be that she had much to do with Perkin -Warbeck.</p> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_17">17</a></span></p> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<h3><a id="B_THE_HIDDEN_KING"></a>B. THE HIDDEN KING</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">The</span> personality, nature and life of Sebastian, -King of Portugal, lent themselves to -the strange structure of events which -followed his strenuous and somewhat eccentric -and stormy life. He was born in 1554, and was the -son of Prince John and his wife Juana, daughter -of the Emperor Charles V. He succeeded his -grandfather, John III, at the age of three. His -long minority aided the special development of his -character. The preceptor appointed to rule his -youth was a Jesuit, Luiz-Goncalvoz de Camara. -Not unnaturally his teacher used his position to -further the religious aims and intrigues of his -strenuous Order. Sebastian was the kind of youth -who is beloved by his female relatives—quite apart -from his being a King; and naturally he was -treated by the women in a manner to further his -waywardness. When he was fourteen years old he -was crowned. From thence on he insisted on -having his way in everything, and grew into -a young manhood which was of the type beloved -of an adventurous people. He was thus described:</p> - -<p>“He was a headstrong violent nature, of reckless -courage, of boundless ambition founded on a deep<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_18">18</a></span> -religious feeling. At the time of his coronation -he was called ‘Another Alexander.’ He loved -all kinds of danger, and found a keen pleasure in -going out in a tempest in a small boat and in -actually running under the guns of his own forts -where his commands were stringent that any vessel -coming in shore should be fired on. He was a notable -horseman and could steer his charger efficiently -by the pressure of either knee—indeed he was of -such muscular vigour that he could, by the mere -stringency of the pressure of his knees, make a -powerful horse tremble and sweat. He was a -great swordsman, and quite fearless. ‘What is -fear?’ he used to say. Restless by nature he -hardly knew what it was to be tired.”</p> - -<p>And yet this young man—warrior as he was, had -a feminine cast of face; his features were symmetrically -formed with just sufficient droop in the -lower lip to give the characteristic ‘note’ of Austrian -physiognomy. His complexion was as fine -and transparent as a girl’s; his eyes were clear and -of blue; his hair of reddish gold. His height was -medium, his figure fine; he was vigorous and -active. He had an air of profound gravity and -stern enthusiasm. Altogether he was, even without -his Royal state, just such a young man as might -stand for the idol of a young maid’s dream.</p> - -<p>And yet he did not seem much of a lover. When, -in 1576, he entered Spain to meet Philip II at -Guadaloupe to ask the hand of the Infanta Isabella<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_19">19</a></span> -in marriage, he was described as “cold as a wooer -as he was ardent as a warrior.” His eyes were so -set on ambition that mere woman’s beauty did not -seem to attract him. Events—even that event, -the meeting—fostered his ambition. When he -knelt to his host, the elder king kissed him and -addressed him as “Your Majesty” the first time -the great title had been used to a Portuguese king. -The effect must have come but little later for at -that meeting he kissed the hand of the old warrior, -the Duke of Alva, and uncovered to him. His -underlying pride, however, was shewn at the close -of that very meeting, for he claimed equal rights -in formality with the Spanish king; and there was -a danger that the visit of ceremony might end -worse than it began. Neither king would enter -the carriage in which they were to proceed together, -until the host suggested that as there were two -doors they should enter at the same time.</p> - -<p>Sebastian’s religious fervour and military ambition -became one when he conceived the idea of -renewing the Crusades; he would recover the Holy -Land from the dominion of the Paynim and become -himself master of Morocco in the doing of it. -With the latter object in his immediate view, he -made in 1574, against the wise counsels of Queen -Catherine, a <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">sortie de reconnaissance</i> of the African -coast; but without any result—except the -fixing of his resolution to proceed. In 1578 his -scheme was complete. He would listen to no<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_20">20</a></span> -warning or counsel on the subject even from the -Pope, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, or the Duke -of Nassau. He seemed to foresee the realization -of his dreams, and would forego nothing. He -gathered an army of some 18,000 men (of which -less than 2,000 were horsemen) and about a dozen -cannon. The preparation was made with great -splendour—a sort of forerunner of the Great -Armada. It seemed to be, as in the case of the -projected invasion of England ten years later by -Spain, a case of “counting the chickens before they -were hatched.”</p> - -<p>Some indication of the number of adventurers -and camp followers accompanying the army is -given by the fact that the 800 craft ordained for -the invasion of Morocco carried in all some 24,000 -persons, inclusive of the fighting men. The paraphernalia -and officials of victory comprised amongst -many other luxuries: lists for jousts, a crown ready -for the new King of Morocco to put on, and poets -with completed poems celebrating victory.</p> - -<p>At this time Morocco was entering on the throes -of civil war. Muley Abd-el-Mulek, the reigning -Sultan, was opposed by his nephew, Mohammed, -and to aid the latter, who promised to bring in -400 horsemen, was the immediate object of Sebastian. -But the fiery young King of Portugal had -undertaken more than he was able to perform. -Abd-el-Mulek opposed his 18,000 Portuguese with -55,000 Moors, (of whom 36,000 were horsemen)<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_21">21</a></span> -and with three times his number of cannon. The -young Crusader’s generalship was distinctly defective; -he was a fine fighting man, but a poor -commander. Instead of attacking at once on his -arrival and so putting the zeal of his own troops -and the discouragement of the enemy to the best -advantage, he wasted nearly a week in hunting parties -and ineffectual manœuvring. When finally -issue was joined, Abd-el-Mulek, though he was -actually dying, surrounded the Portuguese forces -and cut them to pieces. Sebastian, though he -fought like a lion, and had three horses killed under -him, was hopelessly beaten. There was an attendant -piece of the grimmest comedy on record. -The Sultan died during the battle, but he was a -stern old warrior, and as he fell back in his litter -he put his finger on his lip to order with his last -movement that his death should be kept secret for -the time being. The officer beside him closed the -curtains and went on with the fight, pretending to -take orders from the dead man and to transmit -them to the captains.</p> - -<p>The fate of Sebastian was sealed in that battle. -Whether he lived or died, he disappeared on 5 -August, 1578. One story was that after the -battle of Alcaçer-el-Kebir, his body stripped and -showing seven wounds was found in a heap of the -slain; that it was taken to Fez and there buried; -but was afterwards removed to Europe and found -resting place in the Convent of Belen. Another<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_22">22</a></span> -story was that after a brilliant charge on his enemies -he was taken in, but having been rescued by -Lui de Brito he escaped unpursued. Certainly -no one seemed to have seen the King killed, and it -was strange that no part of his clothing or accoutrements -was ever found. These were of great splendour, -beauty and worth, and must have been easily -traceable. There was a rumour that on the night -following the battle some fugitives, amongst whom -was one of commanding distinction, sought refuge -at Arzilla.</p> - -<p>Alcaçer-el-Kebir was known as the “Battle of -the three Kings.” All the principals engaged in -it perished. Sebastian was killed or disappeared. -Abd-el-Mulek died as we have seen, and Mohammed -was drowned in trying to cross the river.</p> - -<p>The dubiety of Sebastian’s death gave rise in -after years to several impostures.</p> - -<p>The first began six years after Sebastian’s successor—his -uncle, Cardinal Henry—was placed on -the throne. The impostor was known as the “King -of Penamacor.” The son of a potter at Alcobaca, -he established himself at Albuquerque, within the -Spanish borders, somewhat to the north of Badajos, -and there gave himself out as “a survivor of the -African Campaign.” As usual the public went a -little further and said openly that he was the missing -Don Sebastian. At first he denied the soft impeachment, -but later on the temptation became too -great for him and he accepted it and set up in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_23">23</a></span> -Penamacor, where he became known as the “King -of Penamacor.” He was arrested and paraded -through Lisbon, bareheaded, as if to let the public -see that he in no way resembled the personality of -Sebastian. He was sent to the galleys for life. -But he must have escaped, for later on he appeared -in Paris as Silvio Pellico, Duke of Normandy, and -was accepted as such in many of the salons in the -exclusive Faubourg St. Germain.</p> - -<p>The second personator of Sebastian was one -Matheus Alvares, who having failed to become a -monk, a year later imitated the first impostor, and -in 1585 set up a hermitage at Ericeira. He bore -some resemblance to the late king in build, and in -the strength of this he boldly gave himself out as -“King Sebastian” and set out for Lisbon. But he -was arrested by the way and entered as a prisoner. -He was tried and executed with frightful accessories -to the execution.</p> - -<p>The third artist in this imposture appeared in -1594. He was a Spaniard from Madrigal in Old -Castile—a cook, sixty years old (Sebastian would -have been just forty if he had lived). When arrested -he was given but short shrift and shared the -same ghastly fate as his predecessor.</p> - -<p>The fourth, and last, imposture was more -serious. This time the personator began in Venice -in 1598, calling himself “Knight of the Cross.”</p> - -<p>As twenty years had now elapsed since the disappearance -of Sebastian, he would have changed<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_24">24</a></span> -much in appearance, so in one respect the personator -had less to contend against. Moreover the -scene of endeavour was this time laid in Venice, -a place even more widely removed in the sixteenth -century from Lisbon by circumstances than by -geographical position. Again witnesses who could -give testimony to the individuality of the missing -King of twenty years ago were few and far between. -But on the other hand the new impostor -had new difficulties to contend against. Henry, -the Cardinal, had only occupied the Portuguese -throne two years, for in 1580 Philip II of Spain -had united the two crowns, and had held the dual -monarchy for eighteen years. He was a very different -antagonist from any one that might be of -purely Portuguese origin.</p> - -<p>In the eyes of many of the people—like all the -Latin races naturally superstitious—one circumstance -powerfully upheld the impostor’s claim. So -long ago as 1587, Don John de Castro had made a -seemingly prophetic statement that Sebastian was -alive and would manifest himself in due time. His -utterance was, like most such prophecies of the kind, -“conducive to its own fulfilment;” there were many—and -some of them powerful—who were willing at -the start to back up any initiator of such a claim. -In his time Sebastian had been used, so far as it -was possible to use a man of his temperament and -position, by the intriguers of the Catholic Church, -and the present occasion lent itself to their still-existent<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_25">25</a></span> -aims. Rome was very powerful four centuries -ago, and its legions of adherents bound in -many ties, were scattered throughout the known -world. Be sure these could and would aid in any -movement or intrigue which could be useful to the -Church.</p> - -<p>“The Knight of the Cross”—who insinuated, -though he did not state so, that he was a Royal person -was arrested on the showing of the Spanish -Ambassador. He was a born liar, with all the -readiness which the carrying out of such an adventure -as he had planned requires. Not only was he -well posted in known facts, but he seemed to be -actually proof against cross-examination. The -story he told was that after the battle of Alcaçer-el-Kebir -he with some others, had sought temporary -refuge in Arzilla and in trying to make his way -from there to the East Indies, he had got to “Prester -John’s” land—the semi-fabled Ethiopia of those -days. From thence he had been turned back, and -had, after many adventures and much wandering—in -the course of which he had been bought and sold -a dozen times or more, found his way, alone, to -Venice. Amongst other statements he alleged that -Sebastian’s confessor had already recognised and -acknowledged him; but he was doubtless ignorant, -when he made the statement, that Padre Mauricio, -Don Sebastian’s confessor, fell with his king in -1578. Two things, one, a positive inference and -the other negative, told against him. He only<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_26">26</a></span> -knew of such matters as had been made public in -depositions, and <em>he did not know Portuguese</em>. The -result of his first trial was that he was sent to prison -for two years.</p> - -<p>But those two years of prison improved his case -immensely. In that time he learned the Portuguese -language and many facts of history. One -of the first to believe—or to allege belief, in his -story, Fray Estevan de Sampayo, a Dominican -monk, was in 1599, sent by the Venetian authorities -to Portugal to obtain an accredited description -of the personal marks of King Sebastian. He returned -within a year with a list of sixteen personal -marks—attested by an Apostolic notary. Strange -to say the prisoner exhibited every one of them—a -complete agreement which in itself gave rise to the -new suspicion that the list had been made out by, -or on behalf of, the prisoner. The proof however -was accepted—for the time; and he was released -on the 28th of July, 1600—but with the imperative, -humiliating proviso that he was to quit Venice -within four and twenty hours under penalty of being -sent to the galleys. A number of his supporters, -who met him before he went, found that he -had in reality no sort of resemblance to Sebastian. -Don John de Castro, who was amongst them, said -that a great change in Sebastian seemed to have -taken place. (He had prophesied and adhered -to his prophecy.) He now described him as a man -of medium height and powerful frame, with hair<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_27">27</a></span> -and beard of black or dark brown, and said he had -completely lost his beauty. “What has become of -my fairness?” the swarthy ex-prisoner used to -say. He had eyes of uncertain colour, not large but -sparkling; high cheek bones; long nose; thin lips -with the “Hapsburg droop” in the lower one. He -was short from the waist up. (Sebastian’s doublet -would fit no other person.) His right leg and arm -were longer than the left, the legs being slightly -bowed like Sebastian’s. He had small feet with -extraordinarily high insteps; and large hands. “In -fine,” Don John summed up illogically, “he is the -self-same Sebastian—except for such differences -as resulted from years and labours.” Some other -particulars he added which are in no way helpful to -a conclusion.</p> - -<p>The Impostor told his friends that he had in -1597, sent a messenger from Constantinople to -Portugal—one Marco Tullio Catizzone—who had -never returned. Thence he had travelled to Rome—where, -when he was just on the eve of being presented -to the Holy Father, he was robbed of all he -had; thence to Verona and so on to Venice. After -his expulsion from Venice he seems to have found -his way to Leghorn and Florence, and thence on to -Naples, where he was handed over to the jurisdiction -of the Spanish Viceroy, the Count of Lemos, -who had visited him in prison, and who well remembered -King Sebastian whom he had seen when in -a diplomatic mission. The Viceroy came to the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_28">28</a></span> -conclusion that he bore no likeness at all to Sebastian, -that he was ignorant of all save the well known -historical facts that had been published, and that his -speech was of “corrupt Portuguese mingled with -tell-tale phrases of Calabrian dialect.” Thereupon -he took active steps against him. One witness who -was produced, recognized in him the real Marco -Tullio Catizzone, and Count de Lemos sent for -his wife, mother-in-law and brother-in-law, all of -whom he had deceived and deserted. His wife, -Donna Paula of Messina, acknowledged him; and -he confessed his crime. Condemned to the galleys -for life, Marco Tullio, out of consideration of a -possibility of an error of justice, was so far given -indulgence by the authorities that he did not have to -wear prison dress or labour at the oar. Many of -his supporters, who still believed in him, tried to -mitigate his lot and treated him as a companion; so -that the hulk at San Lucar, at the mouth of the -Guadalquiver became a minor centre of intrigue. -But still he was not content, and adventuring -further, he tried to get money from the wife of -Medina-Sidonia then Governor of Andalusia. He -was again arrested with some of his associates. Incriminating -documents were found on him. He -was racked and confessed all. And so in his real -name and parentage, Marco Tullio, son of Ippolit -Catizzone of Taverna, and of Petronia Cortes his -wife, and husband of Paula Gallardetta was executed. -He had, though of liberal education, never<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_29">29</a></span> -worked at any occupation or calling; but he had -previously to his great fraud, personated other men—amongst -them Don Diego of Arragon. On 23rd -of September, 1603, he was dragged on a hurdle to -the Square of San Lucar; his right hand was cut -off and he was hanged. Five of his companions, -including two priests, shared his fate.</p> - -<p>But in a way he and the previous impostors had -a sort of posthumous revenge, for Sebastian had -now entered into the region of Romantic Belief. -He was, like King Arthur, the ideal and the heart -of a great myth. He became “The Hidden King” -who would some day return to aid his nation in the -hour of peril—the destined Ruler of the Fifth -Monarchy, the founder of an universal Empire of -Peace.</p> - -<p>A hundred years ago, the custom in British theatres -was to finish the evening’s performance with -a farce. On this occasion the tragedy had been -finished two centuries before the “comic relief” -came. The occasion was in the French occupation -of Portugal in 1807. The strange belief in the -Hidden King broke out afresh. A rigorous censorship -of Sebastianist literature was without avail—even -though its disseminators were condemned -by the still-existing Inquisition. The old prophecy -was renewed, with a local and personal application—Napoleon -was to be destroyed in the Holy Week -of 1808, by the waiting Sebastian, whose approach -from his mysterious retreat was to be veiled with a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_30">30</a></span> -thick fog. There were to be new portents; the sky -was to be emblazoned with a cross of the Order of -Aviz, and on March 19th a full moon was to occur -during the last quarter. All these things were -foretold in an <em>egg</em>, afterwards sent by Junot to the -National Museum. The general attitude of the -French people towards the subject was illustrated -by a remark in an ironical manner of one writer: -“what can be looked for from a people, one half of -whom await the Messiah, the other half Don Sebastian?” -The authority on the subject of King Sebastian, -M. d’Antas, relates that as late as 1838, -after the crushing of a Sebastianist insurrection in -Brazil certain still believing Sebastianists were to -be seen along the coast peering through the fog for -the sails of the mythical ship which was to bring to -them the Hidden King who was then to reveal himself.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_31">31</a></span></p> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<h3><a id="C_STEFAN_MALI"></a>C. “STEFAN MALI”<br /> - -<span class="subhead">THE FALSE CZAR</span></h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-cap b"><span class="smcap1">Stefan</span> Mali (Stephen the Little) was -an impostor who passed himself off in -Montenegro as the Czar Peter III of Russia, -who was supposed to have been murdered in -1762. He appeared in the Bocche di Cattaro in -1767. No one seemed to know him or to doubt -him; indeed after he had put forth his story he -did not escape identification. One witness who had -accompanied a state visit to Russia averred that -he recognized the features of the Czar whom he had -seen in St. Petersburg. Like all adventurers -Stefan Mali had good personal resources. An -adventurer, and especially an adventurer who is -also an impostor, must be an opportunist; and an -opportunist must be able to move in any direction at -any time; therefore he must be always ready for -any emergency. The time, the place, and the circumstances -largely favoured the impostor in this -case. It is perhaps but fair to credit him with -foreknowledge, intention, and understanding of -all that he did. In after years he justified himself -in this respect and showed distinctly that he was -a man of brains and capable of using them. He<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_32">32</a></span> -was no doubt not only able to sustain at the start -his alleged personality, but also to act under new -conditions and in new circumstances as they developed -themselves, as a man of Czar Peter’s character -and acquired knowledge might have done. -Cesare Augusto Levi, who is the authority on this -subject, says, in his work “<i xml:lang="it" lang="it">Venezia e il Montenegro</i>”: -“He was of fine presence and well proportioned -form and of noble ways. He was so eloquent -that he exercised with mere words a power -not only on the multitude but also on the higher -classes.... He must certainly have been -in St. Petersburg before he scaled Montenegro; -and have known the true Peter III, for he -imitated his voice and his gestures—to the illusionment -of the Montenegrins. There is no certainty -of such a thing, but he must, in the belief of the -Vladika Sava have been a descendant of Stefano -Czernovich who reigned after Giorgio IV.”</p> - -<p>At that time Montenegro was ruled by Vladika -Sava, who having spent some twenty years in monastic -life, was unfitted for the government of a -turbulent nation always harassed by the Turks and -always engaged in a struggle for bare existence. -The people of such a nation naturally wanted a -strong ruler, and as they were discontented under -the sway of Sava the recognition of Stefan Mali -was almost a foregone conclusion. He told a wonderful -story of his adventures since his reported -death—a story naturally interesting to such an adventurous<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_33">33</a></span> -people; and as he stated his intention of -never returning to Russia, they were glad to add -such a new ally to their fighting force for the maintenance -of their independence. As the will of the -people was for the new-comer, the Vladika readily -consented to confine himself to his spiritual functions -and to allow Stefan to govern. The Vladika -of Montenegro held a strange office—one which -combined the functions of priest and generalissimo—so -that the new division of the labour of ruling -was rather welcome than otherwise to the people -of a nation where no man ever goes without arms. -Stephen—as he now was—governed well. He devoted -himself fearlessly to the punishment of ill-doing, -and early in his reign had men shot for theft. -He established Courts of Justice and tried to -further means of communication throughout the -little kingdom, which, is, after all, little more than -a bare rock. He even so far impinged on Sava’s -sacred office as to prohibit Sunday labour. In -fact his labours so much improved the outlook of -the Montenegrins that the result brought trouble -on himself as well as on the nation in general. -Hitherto, whatever foreign nations may have believed -as to the authenticity of Stephen’s claim, -they had deliberately closed their eyes to his new -existence, so long as under his rule the little nation -of Montenegro did not become a more dangerous -enemy to all or any of them.</p> - -<p>But the nations interested grew anxious at the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_34">34</a></span> -forward movement in Montenegro. Venice, then -the possessor of Dalmatia, was alarmed, and -Turkey regarded the new ruler as an indirect agent -of Russia. Together they declared war. This -was the moment when Fate declared that the Pretender -should show his latent weakness of character. -The Montenegrins are naturally so brave -that cowardice is unknown amongst them; but -Stephen did not dare to face the Turkish army, -which attacked Montenegro on all the land sides. -But the Montenegrins fought on till a chance came -to them after many months of waiting in the shape -of a fearful storm which desolated their enemies’ -Camp. By a sudden swoop on the camp they -seized much ammunition of which they were sadly -in want and by the aid of which they gained delivery -from their foes. The Russian government -seemed then to wake up to the importance of the -situation, and, after sending the Montenegrins -much help in the shape of war material, asked them -to join again in the war against the Turks. The -Empress Catherine in addition to this request, -sent another letter denouncing Stephen as an impostor. -He admitted the charge and was put in -prison. But in the impending war a strong man -was wanted at the head of affairs; and Sava, who -now had the mundane side of his dual office once -more thrust again upon him, was a weak one. -The situation was saved by Prince George Dolgourouki, -the representative of the Empress Catherine,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_35">35</a></span> -who, with statesmanlike acumen, saw that -such a desperate need required an exceptional -remedy. He recognized the false Czar as Regent. -Stephen Mali, thus restored to power under such -powerful auspices, once more governed Montenegro -until 1774, when he was murdered by the -Greek player Casamugna—by order, it is said, of -the Pasha of Scutari, Kara Mahmound.</p> - -<p>By the irony of Fate this was exactly the way in -which the real Czar, whose personality he had -assumed, had died some dozen years before.</p> - -<p>This impostor was perhaps the only one who in -the history of nations prospered finally in his -fraud. But as may be seen he was possessed of -higher gifts than most of his kind; he was equal to -the emergencies which presented themselves—and -circumstances favoured him, rarely.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_36">36</a></span></p> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<h3><a id="D_THE_FALSE_DAUPHINS"></a>D. THE FALSE DAUPHINS</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">On</span> 21 January, 1793, Louis XVI of France -was beheaded in the Place de la Revolution, -formerly Place de Louis Quinze. -From the moment his head fell, his only son the -Dauphin became by all constitutional usage, his -successor, Louis XVII. True the child-king was -in the hands of his enemies; but what mattered -that to believers in the “Divine Right.” What -mattered it either that he was at that moment in -the prison of the Temple, where he had languished -since August 13, 1792, already consecrated to destruction, -in one form or another. He was then -under eight years of age, and so an easy victim. -His gaoler, one Simon, had already been instructed -to bring him up as a “sansculotte.” In the -furtherance of this dreadful ordinance he was -taught to drink and swear and to take a part in -the unrighteous songs and ceremonies of the Reign -of Terror. Under such conditions no one can be -sorry that death came to his relief. This was in -June, 1795—he being then in his eleventh year. -In the stress and turmoil of such an overwhelming -cataclysm as the Revolution, but little notice was -taken of a death which, under other circumstances,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_37">37</a></span> -would undoubtedly have been of international interest -if not of importance. But by this time the -death of any one, so long as it was by violence, -was too common a matter to cause concern to others. -The Terror had practically glutted the lust for -blood. Under such conditions but little weight -was placed on the accuracy of records; and to this -day there survive practical inconveniences and difficulties -in daily life from the then disruption of -ordered ways. The origin of such frauds or means -of fraud as are now before us is in uncertainty. -Shakespeare says:</p> - -<div class="poem-container"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="iq">“How oft the sight of means to do ill deeds<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Makes ill deeds done.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>The true or natural criminal is essentially an opportunist. -The intention of crime, even if it be -only a desire to follow the line of least resistance, -is a permanent factor in such lives, but the direction, -the mechanism, and the scope of the crime are -largely the result of the possibilities which open and -develop themselves from a fore-ordered condition -of things.</p> - -<div id="ip_37" class="figcenter" style="width: 461px;"> - <img src="images/i_012.jpg" width="461" height="600" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">EDWARD IV AS A YOUNG MAN</div></div> - -<p>Here then was the opening which presented itself -at the end of the eighteenth century. France -was in a state of social chaos. The fountains of -the deep were stirred, and no human intelligence -could do more than guess at what might result from -any individual effort of self-advancement. The -public conscience was debauched, and for all practical<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_38">38</a></span> -purposes the end justified the means. It was -an age of desperate adventure, of reckless enterprise, -of unscrupulous methods. The Royalty of -France was overthrown—in abeyance till at least -such a time as some Colossus of brains or energy, or -good fortune, should set it up again. The hopes -of a great nation of return to a settled order of -things through constitutional and historical channels -were centred in the succession to the Crown. -And through the violence of the upheaval any issue -was possible. The state of affairs just before -the death of Louis XVII gave a chance of success -to any desperate fraud. The old King was dead, -the new King was a child and in the hands of his -bitterest enemies. Even if anyone had cared to -vindicate his rights there seemed at present no way -of accomplishing this object. To any reckless and -unscrupulous adventurer here was an unique -chance. Here was a kingship going: a daring -hand might grasp the crown which rested in so -perilous a manner on the head of a baby. Moreover -the events of the last fifteen years of the -century had not only begotten daring which depended -on promptness, but had taught and fostered -desperation. It is a wonder to us who look back on -that time through the safety-giving mist of a century, -not that there was any attempt to get a crown, -if only by theft, but that there were not a hundred -attempts made for each one that history has recorded.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_39">39</a></span> -As a matter of fact, there were seven attempts -made to personate the dead Dauphin, son of Louis -XVI, that “son of St. Louis,” who, in obedience -to Abbé Edgworth’s direction to “ascend to -heaven,” went somewhere where it is difficult—or -perhaps inexpedient—to follow him.</p> - -<p>The first pretender appears to have been one -Jean Marie Hervagault, son of a tailor. His -qualification for the pretence appears to -have been but a slender one, that of having been -born in 1781, only about three years before the -Dauphin. This, taken by itself, would seem to be -but a poor equipment for such a crime; but in comparison -with some of the later claimants it was not -without reason of approximate possibility as far -as date was concerned. It was not this criminal’s -first attempt at imposture, for he had -already pretended to be a son of la Vaucelle of -Longueville and of the Duc d’Ursef. Having -been arrested at Hottot as a vagabond, he was taken -to Cherburg, where he was claimed by his father. -When claiming to be, like the old man in Mark -Twain’s inimitable <cite>Huckleberry Finn</cite>, “the late -Dauphin,” his story was that he had as a child been -carried from the prison of the Temple in a basket -of linen. In 1799 he was imprisoned at Chalons-sur-Marne -for a month. He was, however, so far -successful in his imposture as Louis XVII, that -after some adventures he actually achieved a good -following—chiefly of the landed interest and clerics.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_40">40</a></span> -He was condemned to two years’ imprisonment at -Vitry, and afterwards to a term of twice that duration, -during which he died, in 1812.</p> - -<p>The second and third aspirants to the honour of -the vacant crown were inconspicuous persons possessing -neither personal qualification nor apparent -claim of any sort except that of a desire for acquisition. -One was Persat, an old soldier; the other, -Fontolive, a bricklayer. The pretence of either of -these men would have been entirely ridiculous but -for its entirely tragic consequences. There is -short shrift for the unsuccessful impostor of royalty—even -in an age of fluctuation between rebellion -and anarchy.</p> - -<p>The fourth pretender was at least a better workman -at crime than his predecessors. This was -Mathurin Brunneau—ostensibly a shoemaker but -in reality a vagabond peasant from Vezins, in the -department of Maine-et-Loire. He was a born -criminal as was shown by his early record. When -only eleven years of age he claimed to be the son of -the lord of the village, Baron de Vezins. He obtained -the sympathy of the Countess de Turpin de -Crisse, who seemed to have compassion for the boy. -Even when the fraud of his parentage was found -out she took him back into her household—but -amongst the servants. After this his life became -one of adventure. When he was fifteen he made a -tour through France. In 1803 he was put in the -House of Correction at St. Denis. In 1805 he<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_41">41</a></span> -enlisted as a gunner. In 1815 he re-appeared with -an American passport bearing the name of Charles -de Navarre. His more ambitious attempt at personation -in 1817, was not in the long run successful. -He claimed his rights, as “Dauphin” Bourbon -under Louis XVIII, was arrested at St. Malo, -and confined at Bicêtre. He got round him a -gang of persons of evil life, as shown by their various -records. One was a false priest, another a -prisoner for embezzlement, another an ex-bailiff -who was also a forger, another a deserter; with the -usual criminal concomitant of women, dishonoured -clergy and such like. At Rouen he was sentenced -to pay a fine of three thousand francs in addition -to imprisonment for seven years. He died in -prison.</p> - -<p>The imposture regarding the Dauphin was like -a torch-race—so soon as the lighted torch fell from -the hand of one runner it was lifted by him who -followed. Brunneau, having disappeared into the -prison at Rouen, was succeeded by Henri Herbert -who made a dramatic appearance in Austria in -1818. At the Court in Mantone, the scene of his -appearance, he gave the name of Louis Charles de -Bourbon, Duc de Normandie. His account of -himself, given in his book published in 1831, and -republished—with enlargements, by Chevalier del -Corso in 1850, is without any respect at all for the -credulity of his readers.</p> - -<p>The story tells how an alleged doctor, one answering<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_42">42</a></span> -to the not common name of Jenais-Ojardias, -some time before the death of the Dauphin -had had made a toy horse of sufficient size to contain -the baby king, the opening to the interior of -which was hidden by the saddle-cloth. The wife -of the gaoler Simon, helped in the plot, the carrying -out of which was attempted early in 1794. Another -child about the Dauphin’s size, dying or -marked for death by fatal disease, was drugged -and hidden in the interior. When the toy horse -was placed in the Dauphin’s cell the children were -exchanged, the little king having also been -drugged for the purpose. It would almost seem -that the narrator here either lost his head or was -seized with a violent <i xml:lang="la" lang="la">cacoethes scribendi</i>, for he most -unnecessarily again lugs in the episode adapted -from Trojan history. The worthy doctor of the -double name had another horse manufactured, this -time of life size. Into the alleged entrails of this -animal, which was harnessed with three real horses -as one of a team of four, the Dauphin, once -more drugged, was concealed. He was borne to -refuge in Belgium, where he was placed under -the protection of the Prince de Condé. By this -protector he was, according to his story, sent to -General Kléber who took him to Egypt as his -nephew under the name of Monsieur Louis. After -the battle of Marengo in 1800, he returned -to France, where he confided his secret to Lucien -Bonaparte and to Fouché (the Minister of Police),<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_43">43</a></span> -who got him introduced to the Empress Josephine, -who recognised him by a scar over his right eye. -In 1804 (still according to his story), he embarked -for America and got away to the banks of the -Amazon, where amid the burning deserts (as he -put it) he had adventures capable of consuming -lesser romancists with envy. Some of these adventures -were amongst a tribe called “the Mamelucks”—which -name was at least reminiscent of his -alleged Egyptian experiences. From the burning -deserts on the banks of the Amazon he found his -way to Brazil, where a certain “Don Juan,” late of -Portugal and at that time Regent of Brazil, gave -him asylum.</p> - -<p>Leaving the hospitable home of Don Juan, he -returned to Paris in 1815. Here Condé introduced -him to the Duchesse d’Angoulême (his sister!) -and according to his own naïve statement “the -Princess was greatly surprised,” as indeed she -might well have been—quite as much as the witch of -Endor was by the appearance of Samuel. Having -been repulsed by his (alleged) sister, the alleged -king made a little excursion, embracing in its -erratic course Rhodes, England, Africa, Egypt, -Asia Minor, Greece, and Italy. When in Austria -he met Silvio Pellico in prison. Having spent -some years himself in prison in the same country, -he went to Switzerland. Leaving Geneva in -1826, he entered France, under the name of Herbert. -He was in Paris the following year under<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_44">44</a></span> -the name of “Colonel Gustave,” and forthwith revived -his fraud of being “the late Dauphin.” In -1828, he appealed to the Chamber of Peers. To -this appeal he appears to have received no direct -reply; but apropos of it, Baron Mounier made a -proposition to the Chamber that in future no such -application should be received unless properly -signed and attested and presented by a member of -the Chamber. He gathered round him some dupes -who believed in him. To these he told a number of -strange lies based on some form of perverted truth, -but always taking care that those of whom he spoke -were already dead. Amongst them was the wife -of Simon, who had died in 1819. Desault, the -surgeon, who had medical care of Louis XVII, -and who died in 1795, the ex-Empress Josephine, -who died in 1814, General Pichegru, who died in -1804, and the Duc de Bourbon (Prince de -Condé) who died in 1818. In the course of his -citation of the above names, he plays havoc with -generally accepted history—Desault according to -him did not die naturally but was poisoned. Josephine -died simply because she knew the secret of -the young King’s escape. Pichegru died from a -similar cause and not by suicide. Fualdes was assassinated, -but it was because he knew the fatal -secret. With regard to one of his dead witnesses -whose name was Thomas-Ignace-Martin de Gallardon, -there is a rigmarole which would not be -accepted in the nursery of an idiot asylum. There<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_45">45</a></span> -is a mixture of Pagan mythology and Christian -hagiology which would have been condemned by -Ananias himself. In one passage he talks of seeing -suddenly before him—he could not tell (naturally -enough) whence he came—a sort of angel who -had wings, a long coat and a <em>high hat</em>. This supernatural -person ordered the narrator to tell the King -that he was in danger, and the only way to avoid -it was to have a good police and to keep the Sabbath. -Having given his message the visitant rose -in the air and disappeared. Later on the suggested -angel told him to communicate with the Duc -Decazes. The Duke naturally, and wisely enough, -handed the credulous peasant over to the care of a -doctor. Martin himself died, presumably by assassination, -in 1834.</p> - -<p>The Revolution of 1830 awoke the pretensions of -Herbert, who now appeared as the Baron de Richmont, -and wrote to the Duchesse d’Angoulême, -his (supposed) sister, putting on her the blame of -all his troubles. But the consequences of this effort -were disastrous to him. He was arrested in -August, 1833. After hearing many witnesses the -Court condemned him to imprisonment for twelve -years. He was arraigned under the name of -“Ethelbert Louis-Hector-Alfred,” calling himself -the “Baron de Richmont.” He escaped from -Clairvaux, whither he had been transferred from -Saint-Pélagie, in 1835. In 1843 and 1846 he published -his memoirs—enlarged but omitting some<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_46">46</a></span> -of his earlier assertions, which had been disproved. -He returned to France after the amnesty of 1840. -In 1848 he appealed—unheeded—to the National -Assembly. He died in 1855 at Gleyze.</p> - -<p>The sixth “Late Dauphin” was a Polish Jew -called Naundorf—an impudent impostor not even -seeming suitably prepared by time for the part -which he had thus voluntarily undertaken, having -been born in 1775, and thus having been as old at -the birth of the Dauphin as the latter was when he -died. This individual had appeared in Berlin in -1810, and was married in Spandau eight years -later. He had been punished for incendiarism in -1824, and later got three years’ imprisonment at -Brandenburg for coining. He may be considered -as a fairly good all-round—if unsuccessful—criminal. -In England he was imprisoned for debt. -He died in Delft in 1845.</p> - -<p>The last attempt at impersonating Louis XVII, -the seventh, afforded what might in theatrical parlance -be called the “comic relief” of the whole series, -both as regards means and results. This time the -claimant to the Kingship of France was none other -than a half-bred Iroquois, one called Eleazar, who -appeared to be the ninth son of Thomas Williams, -otherwise Thorakwaneken, and an Indian woman, -Mary Ann Konwatewentala. This lady, who -spoke only Iroquois, said at the opportune time she -was <em>not</em> the mother of Lazar (Iroquois for Eleazar). -She made her mark as she could not write.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_47">47</a></span> -Eleazar had been almost an idiot till the age of -thirteen; but, being struck on the head by a stone, -recovered his memory and intelligence. He said -he remembered sitting on the knees of a beautiful -lady who wore a rich dress with a train. He also -remembered seeing in his childhood a terrible person; -shewn the picture of Simon he recognised him -with terror. He learned English but imperfectly, -became a Protestant and a missionary and married. -His profile was something like that of the typical -Bourbon. In 1841, the Prince de Joinville, seeing -him on his travels in the United States, told -him (according to Eleazar’s account) that he was -the son of a king, and got him to sign and seal a -parchment, already prepared, the same being a -solemn abdication of the Crown of France in favour -of Louis Philippe, made by Charles Louis, son of -Louis XVI, also styled Louis XVII King of -France and Navarre. The seal used was -the seal of France, the one used by the old Monarchy. -The “poor Indian with untutored -mind” made with charming diffidence the saving -clause regarding the seal,—“if I am not mistaken.” -Of course there was in the abdication a -clause regarding the payment of a sum of money -“which would enable me to live in great luxury in -this country or in France as I might choose.” The -Reverend Eleazar, despite his natural disadvantages -and difficulties, was more fortunate than his -fellow claimants inasmuch as the time of his imposture<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_48">48</a></span> -was more propitious. Louis Philippe, -who was always anxious to lessen the danger to his -tottering throne, made a settlement on him from -his Civil List, and the “subsequent proceedings interested -him no more.”</p> - -<p>Altogether the Louis XVII impostures extended -over a period of some sixty years, beginning with -Hervagault’s pretence soon after the death of the -Dauphin, and closing at Gleyze with the death of -Henri Herbert, the alleged Baron de Richmont -who appeared as the alleged Duc de Normandie.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_49">49</a></span></p> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<h3><a id="E_PRINCESS_OLIVE"></a>E. PRINCESS OLIVE</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">The</span> story of Mrs. Olive Serres, as nature -made it, was one thing; it was quite another -as she made it for herself. The result, -before the story was completely told, was a -third; and, compared with the other, one of transcendent -importance. Altogether her efforts, -whatsoever they were and crowned never so effectively, -showed a triumph in its way of the -thaumaturgic art of lying; but like all structures -built on sand it collapsed eventually. In the plain -version—nature’s—the facts were simply as follows. -She, and a brother of no importance, were -the children of a house painter living in Warwick, -one Robert Wilmot, and of Anna Maria his wife. -Having been born in 1772 she was under age -when in 1791 she was married, the ceremony therefore -requiring licence supported by bond and affidavit. -Her husband was John Thomas Serres -who ten years later was appointed marine painter -to King George III. Mr. and Mrs. Serres were -separated in 1804 after the birth of two daughters, -the elder of whom, born in 1797, became in 1822 -the wife of Antony Thomas Ryves a portrait -painter—whom she divorced in 1847. Mrs. <span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_50">50</a></span>A. T. -Ryves twelve years later filed a petition praying -that the marriage of her mother, made in 1791, -might be declared valid and she herself the legitimate -issue of that marriage. The case was heard -in 1861, Mrs. Ryves conducting it in person. -Having produced sufficient evidence of the marriage -and the birth, and there being no opposition, -the Court almost as a matter of course pronounced -the decree asked for. In this case no complications -in the way of birth or marriage of Mrs. Serres -were touched on.</p> - -<p>Robert Wilmot, the house-painter, had an elder -brother James who became a Fellow of Trinity -College, Oxford, and went into the Church, taking -his degree of Doctor of Divinity. Through his -College he was presented in 1781 to the living of -Barton-on-the-heath, Warwickshire. The Statutes -of his College contained a prohibition against -marriage whilst a Fellow. James Wilmot D. D. -died in 1807 leaving his property between the two -children of Robert, after life-use by his brother. -James and Robert Wilmot had a sister Olive, who -was born in 1728 and married in 1754 to William -Payne with issue one daughter, Olivia, born in -1759. Robert Wilmot died in 1812.</p> - -<div id="ip_50" class="figcenter" style="width: 505px;"> - <img src="images/i_050.jpg" width="505" height="600" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">OLIVIA SERRES</div></div> - -<p>Out of these rough materials Mrs. Olive Serres -set herself in due course to construct and carry out, -as time and opportunity allowed, and as occasions -presented themselves and developed, a fraudulent -romance in real life and action. She was, however,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_51">51</a></span> -a very clever woman and in certain ways—as was -afterwards proved by her literary and artistic work—well -dowered by nature for the task—crooked -though it was—which she set for herself. Her -ability was shown not only by what she could do -and did at this time of her life, but by the manner -in which she developed her natural gifts as time -went on. In the sum of her working life, in which -the perspective of days becomes merged in that of -years, she touched on many subjects, not always of -an ordinary kind, which shewed often that she was -of conspicuous ability, having become accomplished -in several branches of art. She was a painter of -sufficient merit to have exhibited her work in the -Royal Academy in 1794 and to be appointed landscape-painter -to the Prince of Wales in 1806. She -was a novelist, a press writer, an occasional poet -and in many ways of a ready pen. She was skilled -in some forms of occultism, and could cast horoscopes; -she wrote, in addition to a pamphlet on the -same subject, a book on the writings of Junius, -claiming to have discovered the identity of the -author—none other than James Wilmot D. D. -She wrote learnedly on disguised handwriting. In -fact she touched on the many phases of literary -effort which come within the scope of those who -live by the work of their brains. Perhaps, indeed, -it was her facility as a writer that helped to lead -her astray; for in her practical draughtsmanship -and in her brain teeming with romantic ideas she<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_52">52</a></span> -found a means of availing herself of opportunities -suggested by her reckless ambition. Doubtless the -cramped and unpoetic life of her humble condition -in the house-painter’s home in Warwick made her -fret and chafe under its natural restraint. But -when she saw her way to an effective scheme of enlarging -her self-importance she acted with extraordinary -daring and resource. As is usual with such -natures, when moral restraints have been abandoned, -the pendulum swung to its opposite. As -she had been lowly she determined to be proud; and -having fixed on her objective began to elaborate a -consistent scheme, utilising the facts of her own -surroundings as the foundation of her imposture. -She probably realised early that there must be a -base somewhere, and so proceeded to manufacture -or arrange for herself a new identity into which -the demonstrable facts of her actual life could be -wrought. At the same time she manifestly realised -that in a similar way fact and intention must -be interwoven throughout the whole of her contemplated -creation. Accordingly she created for -herself a new <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">milieu</i> which she supported by forged -documents of so clever a conceit and such excellent -workmanship, that they misled all who investigated -them, until they came within the purview of the -great lawyers of the day whose knowledge, logical -power, skill and determination were arrayed -against her. By a sort of intellectual metabolism -she changed the identities and conditions of her<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_53">53</a></span> -own relations whom I have mentioned, always taking -care that her story held together in essential -possibilities, and making use of the abnormalities -of those whose prototypes she introduced into fictional -life.</p> - -<p>The changes made in her world of new conditions -were mainly as follows: Her uncle, the -Reverend James, who as a man of learning and -dignity was accustomed to high-class society, and -as a preacher of eminence occasionally in touch with -Crown and Court, became her father; and she herself -the child of a secret marriage with a great lady -whose personal rank and condition would reflect -importance on her daughter. But proof, or alleged -proof, of some kind would be necessary and there -were too many persons at present living whose -testimony would be available for her undoing. So -her uncle James shifted his place and became her -grandfather. To this the circumstances of his -earlier life gave credibility in two ways; firstly because -they allowed of his having made a secret -marriage, since he was forbidden to marry by the -statutes of his college, and secondly because they -gave a reasonable excuse for concealing his marriage -and the birth of a child, publicity regarding -which would have cost him his livelihood.</p> - -<p>At this point the story began to grow logically, -and the whole scheme to expand cohesively. Her -genius as a writer of fiction was being proved; and -with the strengthening of the intellectual nature<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_54">54</a></span> -came the atrophy of the moral. She began to look -higher; and the seeds of imagination took root in -her vanity till the madness latent in her nature -turned wishes into beliefs and beliefs into facts. -As she was imagining on her own behoof, why not -imagine beneficially? This all took time, so that -when she was well prepared for her venture things -had moved on in the nation and the world as well -as in her fictitious romance. Manifestly she could -not make a start on her venture until the possibility -vanished of witnesses from the inner circle of her -own family being brought against her; so that she -could not safely begin machinations for some time. -She determined however to be ready when occasion -should serve. In the meantime she had to lead two -lives. Outwardly she was Olive Serres, daughter -of Robert Wilmot born in 1772 and married in -1791, and mother of two daughters. Inwardly -she was the same woman with the same birth, marriage -and motherhood, but of different descent being -(imaginatively) grand-daughter of her (real) -uncle the Rev. James Wilmot D. D. The gaps in -the imaginary descent having been thus filled up as -made and provided in her own mind, she felt more -safe. Her uncle—so ran her fiction—had early -in his college life met and become friends with -Count Stanislaus Poniatowski who later became by -election King of Poland. Count Poniatowski had -a sister—whom the ingenious Olive dubbed “Princess -of Poland”—who became the wife of her uncle<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_55">55</a></span> -(now her grandfather) James. To them was born, -in 1750, a daughter Olive, the marriage being kept -secret for family reasons, and the child for the -same reason being passed off as the offspring of -Robert the housepainter. This child Olive, according -to the fiction, met His Royal Highness Henry -Frederick, Duke of Cumberland, brother of the -King, George III. They fell in love with each -other and were privately married—by the Rev. -James Wilmot D. D.—on 4 March 1767. They -had issue one daughter, Olive, born at Warwick 3 -April 1772. After living with her for four years -the Duke of Cumberland deserted his wife, who -was then pregnant, and in 1771 married—bigamously, -it was alleged—Lady Anne Horton, sister -of Colonel Luttrell, daughter of Lord Irnham, and -widow of Andrew Horton of Catton, Derbyshire. -The (alleged) Royal Duchess died in France in -1774, and the Duke in 1790.</p> - -<p>Thus fact and fiction were arrayed together in a -very cunning way. The birth of Olive Wilmot -(afterwards Serres) in 1772 was proved by a genuine -registry. Likewise that of her daughter Mrs. -Ryves. For all the rest the certificates were -forged. Moreover there was proof of another -Olive Wilmot whose existence, supported by genuine -registration, might avert suspicion; since it -would be difficult to prove after a lapse of time that -the Olive Wilmot born at Warwick in 1772 daughter -of Robert (the house-painter), was not the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_56">56</a></span> -granddaughter of James (the Doctor of Divinity). -In case of necessity the real date (1759) of the -birth of Olive Wilmot sister of the Rev. James -could easily be altered to the fictitious date of the -birth of “Princess” Olive born 1750.</p> - -<p>It was only in 1817 that Mrs. Serres began to -take active measures for carrying her imposture -into action; and in the process she made some tentative -efforts which afterwards made difficulty for -her. At first she sent out a story, through a -memorial to George III, that she was daughter of -the Duke of Cumberland by Mrs. Payne, wife of -Captain Payne and sister of James Wilmot D. D. -This she amended later in the same year by alleging -that she was a natural daughter of the Duke -by the sister of Doctor Wilmot, whom he had seduced -under promise of marriage. It was not till -after the deaths of George III and the Duke of -Kent in 1820, that the story took its third and final -form.</p> - -<p>It should be noticed that care was taken not to -clash with laws already in existence or to run -counter to generally received facts. In 1772 was -passed the Royal Marriage Act (12 George III -Cap. 11) which nullified any marriage contracted -with anyone in the succession to the Crown to which -the Monarch had not given his sanction. Therefore -Mrs. Serres had fixed the (alleged) marriage -of (the alleged) Olive Wilmot with the Duke of -Cumberland as in 1767—five years earlier—so that<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_57">57</a></span> -the Act could not be brought forward as a bar to -its validity. Up to 1772 such marriages could take -place legally. Indeed there was actually a case in -existence—the Duke of Gloucester (another -brother of the King) having married the dowager -Countess of Waldegrave. It was of common repute -that this marriage was the motive of the -King’s resolve to have the Royal Marriage Act -added to the Statute book. At the main trial it -was alleged by Counsel, in making the petitioner’s -claim, that the King (George III) was aware of -the Duke of Cumberland’s marriage with Olive -Wilmot, although it was not known to the public, -and that when he heard of his marriage with Lady -Anne Horton he was very angry and would not allow -them to come to Court.</p> - -<p>The various allegations of Mrs. Serres as to her -mother’s marriage were not treated seriously for a -long time but they were so persisted in that it became -necessary to have some denial in evidence. -Accordingly a law-case was entered. One which -became a <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">cause célèbre</i>. It began in 1866—just -about a hundred years from the time of the alleged -marriage. With such a long gap the difficulties -of disproving Mrs. Serres’ allegations were much -increased. But there was no help for it; reasons -of State forbade the acceptance or even the doubt -of such a claim. The really important point was -that if by any chance the claimant should win, the -Succession would be endangered.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_58">58</a></span> -The presiding judge was the Lord Chief Justice, -Lord Cockburn. With him sat Lord Chief Baron -Pollock and the Judge Ordinary Sir James Wilde. -There was a special jury. The case took the form -of one in the English Probate Court made under -the “Legitimacy Declaration Act.” In this case, -Mrs. Ryves, daughter of Mrs. Serres, was the petitioner. -Associated with her in the claim was her -son, who, however, is of no interest in the matter -and need not be considered. The petition stated -that Mrs. Ryves was the legitimate daughter of one -John Thomas Serres and Olive his wife, the said -Olive being, whilst living, a natural-born subject -and the legitimate daughter of Henry Frederick, -Duke of Cumberland and Olive Wilmot, his wife. -That the said Olive Wilmot, born in 1750, was lawfully -married to His Royal Highness Henry Frederick, -Duke of Cumberland, fourth son of Frederick -Prince of Wales (thus being grandson of -George II and brother of King George III), on -4 March 1767, at the house of Thomas, Lord -Archer, in Grosvenor Square, London, the marriage -being performed by the Rev. James Wilmot -D. D., father of the said Olive Wilmot. That a -child, Olive, was born to them on 3 April 1772, who -in 1791 was married to John Thomas Serres. And -so on in accordance with the (alleged) facts above -given.</p> - -<p>The strange position was that even if the petitioner<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_59">59</a></span> -should win her main case she would prove -her own illegitimacy. For granting that the alleged -Olive Serres should have been legally married -to the Duke of Cumberland, the Royal Marriage -Act, passed five years later, forbade the -union of the child of such a marriage, except with -the sanction of the reigning monarch.</p> - -<p>In the making of the claim of Mrs. Ryves a -grave matter appeared—one which rendered it absolutely -necessary that the case should be heard in -the most formal and adequate way and settled once -for all. The matter was one affecting the legality -of the marriage of George III, and so touching -the legitimacy of his son afterwards George IV, his -son afterwards William IV and his son the Duke -of Kent, father of Queen Victoria—and so debarring -them and all their descendants from the Crown -of England. The points of contact were in documents -insidiously though not overtly produced and -the preparation of which showed much constructive -skill in the world of fiction. Amongst the many -documents put in evidence by the Counsel for Mrs. -Ryves were two certificates of the (alleged) marriage -between Olive Wilmot and the Duke of Cumberland. -On the back of each of these alleged certificates -was written what purported to be a certificate -of the marriage of George III to Hannah -Lightfoot performed in 1759 by J. Wilmot. The -wording of the documents varied slightly.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_60">60</a></span> -It was thus that the claim of Mrs. Ryves and her -son became linked up with the present and future -destinies of England. These alleged documents -too, brought the Attorney General upon the scene. -There were two reasons for this. Firstly the action -had to be taken against the Crown in the matter -of form; secondly in such a case with the possibility -of such vast issues it was absolutely necessary that -every position should be carefully guarded, every -allegation jealously examined. In each case the -Attorney General was the proper official to act.</p> - -<p>The Case of the Petitioners was prepared with -extraordinary care. There were amongst the documents -produced, numbering over seventy, some -containing amongst them forty-three signatures of -Dr. Wilmot, sixteen of Lord Chatham, twelve of -Mr. Dunning (afterwards the 1st Baron Ashburton), -twelve of George III, thirty-two of Lord -Warwick and eighteen of H.R.H., the Duke of -Kent, the father of Queen Victoria. Their counsel -stated that although these documents had been -repeatedly brought to the notice of the successive -Ministers of the Crown, it had never been suggested -until that day that they were forgeries. -This latter statement was traversed in Court by the -Lord Chief Baron, who called attention to a debate -on the subject in the House of Commons in which -they were denounced as forgeries.</p> - -<p>In addition to those documents already quoted -were the following certificates:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_61">61</a></span></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>“The marriage of these parties was this -day duly solemnized at Kew Chapel, according -to the rites and ceremonies of the -Church of England, by myself.</p> - -<p class="sigright">“J. Wilmot.”</p> - -<p class="sigmiddle">“George P.”<br /> -“Hannah.” -</p> - -<p class="in0">Witness to this marriage</p> - -<p class="sigmiddle"> -“W. Pitt.”<br /> -“Anne Taylor.”</p> - -<p class="sigright">May 27, 1759.</p> - -<div class="tb">* <span class="in2">* </span><span class="in2">* </span><span class="in2">* </span><span class="in2">*</span></div> - -<p class="sigright">April 17, 1759</p> - -<p>“This is to Certify that the marriage of -these parties (George, Prince of Wales, -to Hannah Lightfoot) was duly solemnized -this day, according to the rites and -ceremonies of the Church of England, at -their residence at Peckham, by myself.</p> - -<p class="sigright"> -“J. Wilmot.”</p> - -<p class="sigmiddle"> -“George Guelph.”<br /> -“Hannah Lightfoot.” -</p> - -<p>Witness to the marriage of these <span class="locked">parties,—</span></p> - -<p class="sigmiddle"> -“William Pitt.”<br /> -“Anne Taylor.” -</p> - -<div class="tb">* <span class="in2">* </span><span class="in2">* </span><span class="in2">* </span><span class="in2">*</span></div> - -<p>“I hereby Certify that George, Prince -of Wales, married Hannah Wheeler <em>alias</em> -Lightfoot, April 17, 1759, but from finding<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_62">62</a></span> -the latter to be her right name I -solemnized the union of the said parties a -second time May the 27th, 1759, as the -Certificate affixed to this paper will confirm.</p> - -<p class="sigmiddle"> -“J. Wilmot.<br /> -Witness (Torn)” -</p></blockquote> - -<div class="tb">* <span class="in2">* </span><span class="in2">* </span><span class="in2">* </span><span class="in2">*</span></div> - -<p>The case for the Crown was strongly supported. -Not only did the Attorney-General, Sir Roundell -Palmer (afterwards Lord Chancellor and First -Earl of Selborne) appear himself, but he was supported -by the Solicitor-General, the Queen’s Advocate, -Mr. Hannen and Mr. R. Bourke. The Attorney-General -made the defence himself. At the -outset it was difficult to know where to begin, for -everywhere undoubted and unchallenged facts were -interwoven with the structure of the case; and of all -the weaknesses and foibles of the important persons -mentioned, full advantage was taken. The marriage -of the Duke of Gloucester to Lady Waldegrave -had made him unpopular in every way, and -he was at the time a <i xml:lang="la" lang="la">persona ingrata</i> at Court. -There had been rumours of scandal about the King -(when Prince of Wales) and the “Fair Quaker,” -Hannah Lightfoot. The anonymity of the author -of the celebrated “Letters of Junius,” which attacked -the King so unmercifully, lent plausibility -to any story which might account for it. The case -of Mrs. Ryves, tried in 1861, in which her own<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_63">63</a></span> -legitimacy had been proved and in which indisputable -documents had been used, was taken as a -proof of her <i xml:lang="la" lang="la">bona fides</i>.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Ryves herself was in the box for nearly the -whole of three days, during which she bore herself -firmly, refusing even to sit down when the presiding -judge courteously extended that privilege to -her. She was then, by her own statement, over -seventy years of age. In the course of her evidence -a Memorial to George IV was produced, -written by her mother, Mrs. Serres, in which the -word offspring was spelled “orfspring”; in commenting -on which the Attorney-General produced -a congratulatory Ode to the Prince Regent on his -birthday in 1812, by the same author, in which occurred -the line:</p> - -<p>“Hail valued heir orfspring of Heaven’s smile.” -Similar eccentric orthography was found in other -autograph papers of Mrs. Serres.</p> - -<p>The Attorney-General, in opposing the claim, -alleged that the whole story of the Duke of Cumberland’s -marriage to Olive Wilmot was a concoction -from beginning to end, and said that the mere -statement of the Petitioner’s case was sufficient to -stamp its true character. That its folly and absurdity -were equal to its audacity; in every stage -it exposed itself to conviction by the simplest tests. -He added that the Petitioner might have dwelt so -long upon documents produced and fabricated by -others, that, with her memory impaired by old age,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_64">64</a></span> -the principle of veracity might have been poisoned, -and the offices of imagination and memory confounded -to such an extent that she really believed -that things had been done and said in her presence -which were in fact entirely imaginary. No part -of her story was corroborated by a single authentic -document, or by a single extrinsic fact. The -forgery, falsehood and fraud of the case were -proved in many ways. The explanations were as -false and feeble as the story itself. “I cannot of -course,” he said, “lay bare the whole history of the -concoction of these extraordinary documents, but -there are circumstances which indicate that they -were concocted by Mrs. Serres herself.”</p> - -<p>Having commented on some other matters -spoken of, but regarding which no evidence was adduced, -he proceeded to speak of the alleged wife -of Joseph Wilmot D. D., the Polish Princess, sister -of Count Poniatowski, afterwards elected King -of Poland (1764), who was the mother of his -charming daughter, Olive. “The truth is,” said -Sir Roundell, “that both the Polish Princess and -the charming daughter were pure myths; no such -persons ever existed—they were as entirely creatures -of the imagination as Shakespeare’s Ferdinand -and Miranda.”</p> - -<p>As to the documents produced by the Petitioners -he remarked:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>“What sort of documents were those which were produced? -The internal evidence proved that they were the most<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_65">65</a></span> ridiculous, -absurd, preposterous series of forgeries that the perverted -ingenuity of man ever invented ... they were all -written on little scraps and slips of paper, such as no human -being would ever have used for the purpose of recording -transactions of this kind, and it would be proved that in every -one of these pieces of paper the watermark of date was wanting.”</p></blockquote> - -<p>This was but a new variant of the remark -made by the Lord Chief Justice, just after the putting-in -of the alleged marriage Certificate of the -Prince of Wales and Hannah Lightfoot:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>“The Court is, as I understand, asked solemnly to declare, -on the strength of two certificates, coming I know not whence, -written on two scraps of paper, that the marriage, the only -marriage of George III which the world believes to have -taken place, between His Majesty and Queen Charlotte, was -an invalid marriage, and consequently that all the Sovereigns -who have sat on the throne since his death, including Her -present Majesty, were not entitled to sit on the throne. That -is the conclusion which the Court is asked to come to upon -these two rubbishy pieces of paper, one signed ‘George P.,’ -and the other ‘George Guelph.’ I believe them to be gross -and rank forgeries. The Court has no difficulty in coming to -the conclusion, even assuming that the signatures had that -character of genuineness which they have not, that what is -asserted in these documents has not the slightest foundation -in fact.”</p></blockquote> - -<p>With this view the Lord Chief Baron and the -Judge-Ordinary entirely concurred, the former adding:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>“... the declarations of Hannah Lightfoot, if there -ever was such a person, cannot be received in evidence on the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_66">66</a></span> -faith of these documents ... the only issues for the -jury are the issues in the cause and this is not an issue in -the cause, but an incidental issue.... I think that these -documents, which the Lord Chief Justice has treated with all -the respect which properly belongs to them, are not genuine.”</p></blockquote> - -<p>Before the Attorney General had finished the -statement of his case, he was interrupted by the -foreman of the jury, who said that the jury were -unanimously of opinion that there was no necessity -to hear any further evidence as they were convinced -that the signatures of the documents were not genuine. -On this the Lord Chief Justice said:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>“You share the opinion which my learned brothers and I -have entertained for a long time; that every one of the documents -is spurious.”</p></blockquote> - -<p>As the Counsel for the Petitioners had “felt it his -duty to make some observations to the jury before -they delivered their verdict,” and had made them, -the Lord Chief Justice summed up. Towards the -conclusion of his summing-up he said, in speaking -of the various conflicting stories put forth by Mrs. -Serres:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>“In each of the claims which she made at different times, -she appealed to documents in her possession by which they -were supported. What was the irresistible inference? Why, -that documents were from time to time prepared to meet the -form which her claims from time to time assumed.”</p></blockquote> - -<p>The jury, without hesitation, found that they -were not satisfied “that Olive Serres, the mother of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_67">67</a></span> -Mrs. Ryves, was the legitimate daughter of Henry -Frederick Duke of Cumberland and Olive his wife; -and they were not satisfied that Henry Frederick, -Duke of Cumberland, was lawfully married to -Olive Wilmot on the 4th of March 1767....”</p> - -<p>The case of Mrs. Serres is an instance of how a -person, otherwise comparatively harmless but afflicted -with vanity and egotism, may be led away -into evil courses, from which, had she realised their -full iniquity, she might have shrunk. The only -thing outside the case we have been considering, -was that she separated from her husband; which indeed -was an affliction rather than a crime. She had -been married for thirteen years and had borne two -children, but so far as we know no impropriety was -ever alleged against her. One of her daughters remained -her constant companion till her twenty-second -year and through her long life held her and -her memory in filial devotion and respect. The -forethought, labour and invention which she devoted -to the fraud, if properly and honestly used, -might have won for her a noteworthy place in the -history of her time. But as it was, she frittered -away in criminal work her good opportunities and -great talents, and ended her life within the rules -of the King’s Bench.</p> - - - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_71">71</a></span></p> -<div class="chapter"> -<h2><a id="II_PRACTITIONERS_OF_MAGIC"></a>II. PRACTITIONERS OF MAGIC</h2> -</div> - -<hr /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<h3><a id="PARACELSUS"></a>PARACELSUS</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-cap i"><span class="smcap1">I feel</span> that I ought to begin this record with -an apology to the <em>manes</em> of a great and fearless -scholar, as earnest as he was honest, as -open-minded as he was great-hearted. I do so -because I wish to do what an unimportant man can -after the lapse of centuries, to help a younger generation -to understand what such a man as I write -of can do and did under circumstances not possible -in times of greater enlightenment. The lesson -which the story can tell to thinking youth cannot -be told in vain. The greatest asset which worth -has in this world is the irony of time. Contemporaneous -opinion, though often correct, is generally -on the meagre side of appreciation—practically -always so with regard to anything new. -Such must in any case be encountered in matters of -the sixteenth century which being on the further -side of an age of discovery and reform had hardened -almost to the stage of ossification the beliefs -and methods of the outgoing order of things. -Prejudice—especially when it is based on science -and religion—dies hard: the very spirit whence -originates a stage of progress or reform, makes its -inherited follower tenacious of <em>its</em> traditions however<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_72">72</a></span> -short they may be. This is why any who, in -this later and more open minded age, may investigate -the intellectual discoveries of the past, owe -a special debt in the way of justice to the memories -of those to whom such fresh light is due. The -name and story of the individual known as Paracelsus—scholar, -scientist, open minded thinker and -teacher, earnest investigator and searcher for elemental -truths—is a case in point. Anyone who -contents himself with accepting the judgment of -four centuries passed upon the great Swiss thinker, -who had rendered famous in history his place of -birth, his canton and his nation, would inevitably -come to the conclusion that he was merely a charlatan -a little more clever than others of his kind; -an acceptor of all manner of eccentric beliefs (including -the efficacy of spirits and demons in pathological -cases), a drunkard, a wastrel, an evil liver, -a practiser of necromancy, an astrologer, a magician, -an atheist, an alchemist—indeed an “ist” of -all defamatory kinds within the terminology of the -sixteenth century and of all disputatious churchmen -and scientists who have not agreed with his -theories and conclusions ever since.</p> - -<p>Let us begin with the facts of his life. His -name was Theophrastus Bombast von Hohenheim, -and he was the son of a doctor living in Einsiedeln -in the canton of Schwyz, named Wilhelm Bombast -von Hohenheim, natural son of a Grand Master -of the Teutonic Order. He was born in 1490.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_73">73</a></span> -It was not uncommon for a man of that age who -was striving to make a name for himself, to assume -some <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">nom de plume</i> or <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">de guerre</i>; and with such a -family record as his own, it was no wonder that -on the threshold of his life the young Theophrastus -did so. In the light of his later achievements, -we can well imagine that he had some definite purpose -in mind, or at least some guiding principle of -suggestiveness, in choosing such a compound word -from the Greek as Paracelsus (which is derived -from “para,” meaning before, in the sense of superior -to, and Celsus, the name of an Epicurean -philosopher of the second century.) Celsus appears -to have had views of great enlightenment according -to the thought of his own time. Unhappily -only fragments of his work remain, but as he -was a follower of Epicurus after an interval of between -four and five centuries, it is possible to get -some idea of his main propositions. Like Epicurus -he stood for nature. He did not believe in -fatalism, but he did in a supreme power. He was -a Platonist and held that there was no truth which -was against nature. It is easy to see from his life -and work that Theophrastus Bombast von Hohenheim -shared his views. His intellectual attitude -was that of a true scientist—denying nothing <i xml:lang="la" lang="la">prima -facie</i> but investigating all.</p> - -<div class="poem-container"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“There lives more faith in honest doubt,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Believe me, than in half the creeds.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_74">74</a></span> -His father moved in 1502 to Villach in Carinthia, -where he practised medicine till his death in -1534. Theophrastus was a precocious boy; after -youthful study with his father, he entered the -University of Basel when he was about sixteen, -after which he prosecuted chemical researches under -the learned Trithemius Bishop of Sponheim -who had written on the subject of the Great elixir—the -common subject of the scientists of that day,—and -at Wurzburg. From thence he proceeded -to the great mines in the Tyrol, then belonging to -the Fugger family. Here he studied geology and -its kindred branches of learning—especially those -dealing with effects and so far as possible with -causes—metallurgy, mineral waters, and the diseases -of and accidents to mines and miners. The -theory of knowledge which he deduced from these -studies was that we must learn nature from nature.</p> - -<p>In 1527, he returned to Basel, where he was appointed -town physician. It was a characteristic -of his independence and of his mind, method and -design, that he lectured in the language of the place, -German, foregoing the Latin tongue, usual up to -that time for such teaching. He did not shrink -from a bold criticism of the medical ideas and -methods then current. The effect of this independence -and teaching was that for a couple of -years his reputation and his practice increased -wonderfully. But the time thus passed allowed -his enemies not only to see the danger for them that<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_75">75</a></span> -lay ahead, but to take such action as they could to -obviate it. Reactionary forces are generally—if -not always—self-protective, without regard to the -right or wrong of the matter, and Paracelsus began -to find that the self-interest and ignorance of -the many were too strong for him, and that their -unscrupulous attacks began to injure his work -seriously. He was called conjurer, necromancer, -and many such terms of obloquy. Then what we -may call his “professional” enemies felt themselves -strong enough to join in the attack. As he had -kept a careful eye on the purity of medicines in use, -the apothecaries, who, in those days worked in a -smaller field than now, and who found their -commerce more productive through guile than -excellence, became almost declared opponents. -Eventually he had to leave Basel. He went to -Esslingen, from which however he had to retire at -no distant period from sheer want.</p> - -<p>Then began a period of wandering which really -lasted for the last dozen years of his life. This -time was mainly one of learning in many ways of -many things. The ground he covered must have -been immense, for he visited Colmar, Nurnberg, -Appengall, Zurich, Augsburg, Middelheim, and -travelled in Prussia, Austria, Hungary, Egypt, -Turkey, Russia, Tartary, Italy, the Low Countries -and Denmark. In Germany and Hungary he had -a bad time, being driven to supply even the bare -necessaries of life by odd—any—means, even to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_76">76</a></span> -availing himself of the credulity of others—casting -nativities, telling fortunes, prescribing remedies -for animals of the farm such as cows and pigs, and -recovering stolen property; such a life indeed as -was the lot of a mediæval “tramp.” On the other -hand, as a contra he did worthy work as a military -surgeon in Italy, the Low Countries and Denmark. -When he got tired of his wandering life, he settled -down in Salsburg, in 1541, under the care and protection -of the Archbishop Ernst. But he did not -long survive the prospect of rest; he died later in -the same year. The cause of his death is not -known with any certainty, but we can guess that -he had clamorous enemies as well as strong upholding -from the conflicting causes given. Some said -that he died from the effects of a protracted debauch, -others that he was murdered by physicians -and apothecaries, or their agents, who had thrown -him over a cliff. In proof of this story it was said -that the surgeons had found a flaw or fracture in -his skull which must have been produced during -life.</p> - -<p>He was buried in the churchyard of Saint Sebastian; -but two centuries later, 1752, his bones -were moved to the porch of the church, and a monument -erected over them.</p> - -<p>His first book was printed in Augsburg in 1526. -His real monument was the collection of his complete -writings so far as was possible, the long -work of Johann Huser made in 1589–91. This<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_77">77</a></span> -great work was published in German, from printed -copy supplemented by such manuscript as could be -discovered. Then and ever since there has been a -perpetual rain of statements against him and his -beliefs. Most of them are too silly for words; but -it is a little disconcerting to find one writer of some -distinction repeating so late as 1856 all the malignant -twaddle of three centuries, saying amongst -other things that he believed in the transmutation -of metals and the possibility of an <i xml:lang="la" lang="la">elixir vitæ</i>, that -he boasted of having spirits at his command, one -of which he kept imprisoned in the hilt of his sword -and another in a jewel; that he could make any one -live forever; that he was proud to be called a -magician; and had boasted of having a regular correspondence -with Galen in Hell. We read in -sensational journals and magazines of to-day about -certain living persons having—or saying that they -have—communion in the shape of “interviews” -with the dead; but this is too busy an age for unnecessary -contradictions and so such assertions are -allowed to pass. The same indifference may now -and again have been exhibited in the case of men -like Paracelsus.</p> - -<p>Some things said of him may be accepted as being -partially true, for his was an age of mysticism, -occultism, astrology, and all manner of strange and -weird beliefs. For instance it is alleged that he -held that life is an emanation from the stars; that -the sun governed the heart, the moon the brain,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_78">78</a></span> -Jupiter the liver, Saturn the gall, Mercury the -lungs, Mars the bile, Venus the loins; that in each -stomach is a demon, that the belly is the grand -laboratory where all the ingredients are apportioned -and mixed; and that gold could cure ossification -of the heart.</p> - -<p>Is it any wonder that when in this age after centuries -of progress such absurd things are current -Paracelsus is shewn in contemporary and later portraits -with a jewel in his hand transcribed Azoth—the -name given to his familiar dæmon.</p> - -<p>Those who repeat <i xml:lang="la" lang="la">ad nauseam</i> the absurd stories -of his alchemy generally omit to mention his genuine -discoveries and to tell of the wide scope of his -teaching. That he used mercury and opium for -healing purposes at a time when they were condemned; -that he did all he could to stop the practice -of administering the vile electuaries of the mediæval -pharmacopœia; that he was one of the first -to use laudanum; that he perpetually held—to his -own detriment—that medical science should not be -secret; that he blamed strongly the fashion of his -time of accounting for natural phenomena by the -intervention of spirits or occult forces; that he deprecated -astrology; that he insisted on the proper investigation -of the properties of drugs and that they -should be used more simply and in smaller doses. -To these benefits and reforms his enemies answered -that he had made a pact with the devil. For reward -of his labours, his genius, his fearless struggle<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_79">79</a></span> -for human good he had—with the exception of -a few spells of prosperity—only penury, want, malicious -ill-fame and ceaseless attacks by the professors -of religion and science. He was an original -investigator of open mind, of great ability and application, -and absolutely fearless. He was centuries -ahead of his time. We can all feel grateful -to that French writer who said:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">“Tels sont les services eminents que Paracelse a rendu à -l’humanité souffrante, pour laquelle il montra toujours le -dévouement le plus désintéressé; s’il en fut mal recompensé -pendant sa vie que sa mémoire au moins soit honorée.”</p></blockquote> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_80">80</a></span></p> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<h3><a id="CAGLIOSTRO"></a>CAGLIOSTRO</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">The</span> individual known to history as Comte -Cagliostro, or more familiarly as Cagliostro, -was of the family name of Balsamo and -was received into the Church under the saintly -name of Joseph. The familiarity of history is an -appanage of greatness in some form. Greatness -is in no sense a quality of worth or morality. It -simply points to publicity, and if unsuccessful, to -infamy. Joseph Balsamo was of poor parentage -in the town of Palermo, Sicily, and was born in -1743. In his youth he did not exhibit any talent -whatever, such volcanic forces as he had being entirely -used in wickedness—base, purposeless, sordid -wickedness, from which devolved no benefit -to any one—even to the criminal instigator. In -order to achieve greatness, or publicity, in any -form, some remarkable quality is necessary; Joseph -Balsamo’s claim was based not on isolated qualities -but on a union of many. In fact he appears to -have had every necessary ingredient for this kind -of success—except one, courage. In his case however, -the lacking ingredient in the preparation of -his hell-broth was supplied by luck; though such -luck had to be paid for at the devil’s usual price—<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_81">81</a></span>failure -at the last. His biographers put his leading -characteristics in rather a negative than a positive -way—“indolent and unruly”; but as time went -on the evil became more marked—even <i xml:lang="la" lang="la">ferae -naturae</i>, poisonous growths, and miasmatic conditions -have to manifest themselves or to cease to -prevail. In the interval between young boyhood -and coming manhood, Balsamo’s nature—such as it -was—began to develop, unscrupulousness working -on an imaginative basis being always a leading -characteristic. The unruly boy shewed powers of -becoming an unruly man, fear being the only restraining -force; and indolence giving way to wickedness. -When he was about fifteen he was sent to -a monastery to learn chemistry and pharmacy. -The boy who had manifested a tendency to “grow -downwards” found the beginning of a kind of success -in these studies in which, to the surprise of all, -he exhibited a form of aptitude. Chemistry has -certain charms to a mind like his, for in its working -are many strange surprises and lurid effects -not unattended with entrancing fears. These he -used before long to his own pleasure in the concern -of others. When he was expelled from the religious -house he led a dissolute and criminal life in -Palermo. Amongst other wickednesses he robbed -his uncle and forged his will. Here too, he committed -a crime, not devoid of a certain humorous -aspect, but which had a reflex action on his own -life. Under promise of revealing a hidden treasure,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_82">82</a></span> -he persuaded a goldworker, one Morano, to -give him custody of a quantity of his wares. It -was what, in criminal slang is called “a put-up job,” -and was worked by a gang of young thieves with -Balsamo at their head. Having filled the soft -head of the foolish goldsmith with ideas to suit his -purpose, Joseph brought him on a treasure hunt -into a cave where he was shortly surrounded by the -gang dressed as fiends, who, in the victim’s paralysis -of fear, robbed him at their ease of some sixty -ounces of gold. Morano, as might have been expected, -was not satisfied with the proceedings and -vowed vengeance which he tried to effect later. -Balsamo’s pusillanimity worked hand in hand with -Morano’s vindictiveness, to the effect that the culprit -incontinently absconded from his native town. -He conferred the benefit of his presence on Messina -where he was naturally attracted to a noted -alchemist called Althotas, to whom he became a -sort of disciple. Althotas was a man of great -learning, according to the measure of that time and -his own occupation. He was skilled in Eastern -tongues and an adept occultist. It was said that -he had actually visited Mecca and Medina in the -disguise of an Oriental prince. Having attached -himself to Althotas, Cagliostro went with him to -Malta where he persuaded the Grand Master of -the Knights to supply them with a laboratory for -the manufacture of gold, and also with letters of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_83">83</a></span> -introduction which he afterwards used with much -benefit to himself.</p> - -<div id="ip_83" class="figcenter" style="width: 482px;"> - <img src="images/i_080.jpg" width="482" height="600" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">CAGLIOSTRO</div></div> - -<p>From Malta he went to Rome where he employed -himself in forging engravings. Like other criminals, -great and small, Comte Alessandro Cagliostro—as -he had now become by his own creation of -nobility—had a faculty of working hard and intelligently -so long as the end he aimed at was to be -accomplished by crooked means. Work in the ordinary -ways of honesty he loathed and shunned; but -work as a help to his nefarious schemes seemed to -be a joy to him. Then he set himself up as a wonder-worker, -improving as he went on all the customs -and tricks of that calling. He sold an elixir -which he said had all the potency usually attributed -to such compounds but with an added efficacy -all its own. He pretended to be able to transmute -metals and to make himself invisible; indeed to perform -all the wonders of the alchemist, the “cheap -jack,” and the charlatan. At Rome he became -acquainted with and married a very beautiful -woman, Lorenza de Feliciani, daughter of a lacemaker, -round whom later biographers weave romances. -According to contemporary accounts she -seems to have been dowered with just such qualities -as were useful in such a life as she had entered -on. In addition to great and unusual beauty she -was graceful, passionate, seductive, clever, plausible, -soothing, and attractive in all ways dear and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_84">84</a></span> -convincing to men. She must have had some winning -charm which has lasted beyond her time, for -a hundred years afterwards we find so level-headed -a writer as Dr. Charles Mackay crediting her, quite -unwarrantably with, amongst other good qualities, -being a faithful wife. Her life certainly after her -marriage was such that faithfulness in any form -was one of the last things to expect in her. Her -husband was nothing less than a swindler of a protean -kind. He had had a great number of aliases -before he finally fixed on Comte de Cagliostro as -a <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">nomme de guerre</i>. He called himself successively -Chevalier de Fischio, Marquis de Melina (or -Melissa), Marquis de Pellegrini, Comte de Saint-German, -Baron de Belmonte; together with such -names as Fenix, Anna, Harat. He wrote a work -somewhat of the nature of a novel called <cite>Le Grand -Cophte</cite>—which he found useful later when he was -pushing his scheme of a sort of new Freemasonry. -After his marriage he visited several countries, -Egypt, Arabia, Persia, Poland, Russia, Greece, -Germany; as well as such towns as Naples, Palermo, -Rhodes, Strasbourg, Paris, London, Lisbon, -Vienna, Venice, Madrid, Brussels—in fact any -place where many fools were crowded into a small -space. In many of these he found use for the -introductory letters of the Grand Master of the -Knights of Malta, as well as those of other dupes -from whom it was his habit to secure such letters -before the inevitable crash came. Wherever he<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_85">85</a></span> -travelled he was accustomed to learn all he could -of the manners, customs and facts of each place -he was in, thus accumulating a vast stock of a certain -form of knowledge which he found most useful -in his chosen occupation—deceit. With regard to -the last he utilised every form of human credulity -which came under his notice. The latter half of -the eighteenth century was the very chosen time of -strange beliefs. Occultism became a fashion, especially -amongst the richer classes, with the result that -every form of swindle came to the fore. At this -time Cagliostro, then nearing his fortieth year, began -to have a widespread reputation for marvellous -cures. As mysticism in all sorts of forms had a -vogue, he used all the tricks of the cult, gathering -them from various countries, especially France and -Germany, where the fashion was pronounced. For -this trickery he used all his knowledge of the East -and all the picturesque aids to credulity which he -had picked up during his years of wandering; and -for his “patter,” such medical terminology as he -had learned—he either became a doctor or invented -a title for himself. This he interlarded with -scraps of various forms of fraudulent occultism and -all sorts of suggestive images of eastern quasi-religious -profligacy. He took much of the imagery -which he used in his rituals of fraud from records -of ancient Egypt. This was a pretty safe ground -for his purpose, for in his time the Egypt of the -past was a sealed book. It was only in 1799 that<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_86">86</a></span> -the Rosetta stone was discovered, and more than -ten years from then before Dr. Young was able -to translate its three inscriptions—Hieroglyphic -Demotic and Greek—whence Hieroglyphic knowledge -had its source. <i xml:lang="la" lang="la">Omne ignotum pro magnifico</i> -might well serve as a motto for all occultism, true or -false. Cagliostro, whose business it was to deceive -and mislead, understood this and took care that in -his cabalistic forms Egyptian signs were largely -mixed with the pentagon, the signs of the Zodiac, -and other mysterious symbols in common use. His -object was primarily to catch the eye and so arrest -the intelligence of any whom he wished to impress. -For this purpose he went about gorgeously dressed -and with impressive appointments. In Germany -for instance he always drove in a carriage with four -horses with courier and equerries in striking liveries. -Happily there is extant a pen picture of him by -Comte de Beugnot who met him in Paris at the -house of the Comtesse de la Motte:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p class="in0">“of medium height and fairly fat, of olive colour, with short -neck and round face, big protruberant eyes, a snub nose with -open nostrils.”</p></blockquote> - -<p>This gives of him anything but an attractive picture; -but yet M. de Beugnot says: “he made an -impression on women whenever he came into a -room.” Perhaps his clothing helped, for it was not -of a commonplace kind. De Beugnot who was -manifestly a careful and intelligent observer again -comes to our aid with his pen:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_87">87</a></span></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>“He wore a coiffure new in France; his hair parted in several -little cadenottes (queues or tresses) uniting at the back -of the head in the form known as a ‘catogan’ (hair clubbed -or bunched). A dress, French fashion, of iron grey, laced -with gold, scarlet waistcoat broidered with bold <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">point de spain</i>, -red breeches, a basket-hilted sword and a hat with white -plumes!”</p></blockquote> - -<p>Aided by these adjuncts he was a great success -in Paris whither he returned in 1785. As an impostor -he knew his business and played “the game” -well. When he was at work he brought to bear -the influence of all his “properties,” amongst them a -tablecloth embroidered with cabalistic signs in -scarlet and the symbols of the Rosy Cross of high -degree; the same mysterious emblems marked the -globe without which no wizard’s atelier is complete.</p> - -<p>Here too were various little Egyptian figures—“ushabtui” -he would doubtless have called them had -the word been in use in his day. From these he -kept his dupes at a distance, guarding carefully -against any discovery. He evidently did not fear -to hurt the religious susceptibilities of any of his -votaries, for not only were the crucifix and other -emblems of the kind placed amongst the curios -of his ritual, but he made his invocation in the form -of a religious ceremony, going down on his knees -and in all ways cultivating the emotions of those -round him. He was aided by a young woman -whom he described as pure as an angel and of great -sensibility. The said young person kept her blue<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_88">88</a></span> -eyes fixed on a globe full of water. Then he proceeded -to expound the Great Secret which he told -his hearers had been the same since the beginning of -things and whose mystery had been guarded by Templars -of the Rosy Cross, by Magicians, by Egyptians -and the like. He had claimed, as the Comte -Saint-German said, that he had already existed for -many centuries; that he was a contemporary of -Christ; and that he had predicted His crucifixion -by the Jews. As statements of this kind were made -mainly for the purpose of selling the elixir which -he peddled, it may easily be imagined that he did -not shrink from lying or blasphemy when such -seemed to suit his purpose. Daring and recklessness -in his statements seemed to further his business -success, so prophecy—or rather boastings of prophecy -<em>after the event</em>—became part of the great fraud. -Amongst other things he said that he had predicted -the taking of the Bastille. Such things shed a little -light on the methods of such impostors, and help -to lay bare the roots or principles through which -they flourish.</p> - -<p>After his Parisian success he made a prolonged -tour in France. In la Vendée he boasted of some -fresh miracle—of his own doing—on each day; and -at Lyons the boasting was repeated. Of course he -occasionally had bad times, for now and again even -the demons on whose acquaintance and help he -prided himself did not work. In London after -1772, things had become so bad with him that he had<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_89">89</a></span> -to work as a house painter under his own name. -Whatever may have been his skill in his art this -was probably about the only honest work he ever -did. He did not stick to it for long however, for -four years afterwards he lost three thousand pounds -by frauds of others by whom he was introduced to -fictitious lords and ladies. Here too he underwent -a term of imprisonment for debt.</p> - -<p>Naturally such an impostor found in Freemasonry, -which is a secret cult, a way of furthering -his ends. With the aid of his wife, who all -through their life together seems to have worked -with him, he founded a new branch of freemasonry -in which a good many rules of that wonderful -organisation were set at defiance. As the purpose -of the new cult was to defraud, its net was enlarged -by taking women into the body. The name used -for it was the <em>Grand Egyptian Lodge</em>—he being -himself the head of it under the title of the <em>Cophte</em> -and his wife the <em>Grand Priestess</em>. In the ritual -were some appalling ceremonies, and as these made -eventually for profitable publicity, the scheme was -a great success—and the elixir sold well. This -elixir was the backbone of his revenue; and indeed -it would have been well worthy of success if it had -been all that he claimed for it. Dispensers of -elixirs are not usually backward in proclaiming the -virtues of their wares; but in his various settings -forth Cagliostro went further than others. He -claimed not only to restore youth and health and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_90">90</a></span> -to make them perpetual, but to restore lost innocence -and effect a whole moral regeneration. No -wonder that he achieved success and that money -rolled in! And no wonder that women, especially -of the upper classes, followed him like a flock of -sheep! No wonder that a class rich, idle, pleasure-loving, -and fond of tasting and testing new sensations, -found thrilling moments in the great impostor’s -mélange of mystery, religion, fear, and hope; -of spirit-rapping and a sort of “black mass” in -which Christianity and Paganism mingled freely, -and where life and death, good and evil, whirled -together in a maddening dance.</p> - -<p>It was not, however, through his alleged sorcery -that Cagliostro crept into a place in history; but -by the association of his name with a sordid crime -which involved the names of some of the great -ones of the earth. The story of the Queen’s Necklace, -though he was acquitted at the trial which -concluded it, will be remembered when the vapourings -of the unscrupulous quack who had escaped a -thousand penalties justly earned, have been long -forgotten. Such is the irony of history! The -story of the necklace involved Marie Antoinette, -Cardinal Prince de Rohan, Comte de la Motte—an -officer of the private guard of “Monsieur” (the -Comte d’Artois), his wife Jeanne de Valois, descended -from Henry II through Saint-Remy, his -natural son and Nicole de Savigny. Louis XV -had ordered from MM. Boemer et Bassange, jewellers<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_91">91</a></span> -to the Court of France, a beautiful necklace -of extraordinary value for his mistress Madame du -Barry, but died before it was completed. The du -Barry was exiled by his successor, so the necklace -remained on the hands of its makers. It was, however, -of so great intrinsic value that they could not -easily find a purchaser. They offered it to Marie -Antoinette for one million eight hundred thousand -livres; but the price was too high even for a queen, -and the necklace remained on hand. So Boemer -showed it to Madame de la Motte and offered to -give a commission on the sale to whoever should -find a buyer. She induced her husband, Comte de -la Motte, to join with her in a plot to accomplish -the sale. De la Motte was a friend of Cagliostro, -and he too was brought in as he had influence with -the Cardinal Prince de Rohan whom they looked on -as a likely person to be of service. He had his own -ambitions to acquire influence over the queen and -use her for political purposes as Mazarin had used -Anne of Austria. De Rohan was then a man of -fifty—not considered much of an age in these days, -but the Cardinal’s life had not made for comparative -longevity. He was in fact something of that -class of fool which has no peer in folly—an old -fool; and Jeanne de la Motte fooled him to the top -of his bent. She pretended to him that Marie Antoinette -was especially friendly to her, and shewed -him letters from the queen to herself all of which -had been forged for the purpose. As at this time<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_92">92</a></span> -Madame de la Motte had borrowed or otherwise -obtained from the Cardinal a hundred and twenty -thousand livres, she felt assured he could be used -for the contemplated fraud. She probably had not -ever even spoken to the queen but she was not -scrupulous in such a small matter as one more untruth. -She finally persuaded him that Marie Antoinette -wished to purchase the necklace through -his agency, he acting for her and buying it in her -name. To aid in the scheme she got her pet forger, -Retaux de Vilette, to prepare a receipt signed -“Marie Antoinette de France.” The Cardinal fell -into the trap and obtained the jewel, giving to -Boemer four bills due successively at intervals of -six months. At Versailles de Rohan gave the -casket containing the necklace to Madame de la -Motte, who in his presence handed it to a valet of -the royal household for conveyance to the queen. -The valet was none other than the forger Retaux de -Vilette. Madame de la Motte sent to the Cardinal -a letter by the same forger asking him to meet her -(the queen) in the shrubbery at Versailles between -eleven o’clock and midnight. To complete the deception -a girl was procured, one Olivia, who in -figure resembled the queen sufficiently to pass for -her in the dusk. The meeting between de Rohan -and the alleged queen was held at the Baths of -Apollo—to the deception and temporary satisfaction -of the ambitious churchman. When the first -instalment for the purchase of the necklace was due,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_93">93</a></span> -Boemer tried to find out if the queen really had -possession of the necklace—which had in the meanwhile -been brought to London, it was said, by -Comte de la Motte. As Boemer could not manage -to get an audience with the queen he came to -the conclusion that he had been robbed, and made -the matter public. This was reported to M. de -Breteuil, Master of the King’s household, and an -enemy of de Rohan. De Breteuil saw the queen -secretly and they agreed to act in concert in the -matter. Louis XVI asked for details of the purchase -from Boemer, who told the truth so far as -he knew it, producing as a proof the alleged receipt -of the queen. Louis pointed out to him that he -should have known that the queen did not sign -after the manner of the document. He then asked -de Rohan, who was Grand Almoner of France, for -his written justification. This being supplied, he -had him arrested and sent to the Bastille. Madame -de la Motte accused Cagliostro of the crime, alleging -that he had persuaded de Rohan to buy the -necklace. She was also arrested as were Retaux de -Vilette, and, later on at Brussels, Olivia, who threw -some light on the fraud. The King brought the -whole matter before Parliament, which ordered a -prosecution. As the result of the trial which followed, -Comte de la Motte and Retaux de Vilette -were banished for life; Jeanne de la Motte was condemned -to make <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">amende honourable</i>, to be whipped -and branded with V on both shoulders, and to be<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_94">94</a></span> -imprisoned for life. Olivia and Cagliostro were -acquitted. The Cardinal was cleared of all charges. -Nothing seems to have been done for the poor jewellers, -who, after all, had received more substantial -injury than any of the others, having lost nearly -two million livres.</p> - -<p>After the affair of the Necklace, Cagliostro spent -a time in the Bastille and when free, after some -months, he and his wife travelled again in Europe. -In 1789 he was arrested at Rome by order of the -Inquisition and condemned to death as a Freemason. -The punishment was later commuted to -perpetual imprisonment. He ended his days in the -Château de Saint-Leon near Rome. His wife was -condemned to perpetual seclusion and died in the -Convent of Sainte-Appolive.</p> - -<hr /> - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_95">95</a></span></p> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<h3><a id="MESMER"></a>MESMER</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-cap al"><span class="smcap1">Although</span> Frederic-Antoine Mesmer -made an astonishing discovery which, having -been tested and employed in therapeutics -for a century, is accepted as a contribution -to science, he is included in the list of impostors -because, however sound his theory was, he used it -in the manner or surrounded with the atmosphere -of imposture. Indeed the implement which he used -in his practice, and which made him famous in -fashionable and idle society, was set forth as having -magic properties. He belonged to the same period -as Cagliostro, having been born but nine years -before him, in 1734, in Itzmang, Suabia; but the -impostor pure and simple easily picked up the difference -by beginning his life-work earlier and following -it quicker with regard to results. Mesmer -was not in any sense a precocious person. He was -thirty-two years of age when he took his degree of -Doctor of Medicine at Vienna in 1765. However -he had already chosen his subject, animal magnetism -as allied with medical therapeutics. His early -script under the title <i xml:lang="la" lang="la">De planetarum influxi</i> is -looked on as a legal reminiscence of judicial astronomy. -He left Vienna because, he said, of a cabal<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_96">96</a></span> -against him, and travelled in Europe, particularly -in Switzerland, before he went to Paris to seek his -fortune. This was in 1778, when he was some -forty-four years of age; his reputation, which had -been growing all the time, preceded him. He was -then a man of fine appearance, tall and important-looking -and conveying a sense of calm power. He -produced much sensation and was at once credited—not -without his own will or intention—with magic -power. He posed as a benefactor of humanity; a -position which was at once conceded to him, partly -owing to the fact that an extraordinary atmosphere -of calm seemed to surround him, which with his -natural air of assurance founded on self-belief, was -able to convey to his patients a sense of hope which -was of course very helpful in cases of nervous failure -and depression. He settled in the Hotel Bouret -near the Place Vendôme and so in the heart of -Paris; and at once undertook the treatment of -patients hitherto deemed incurable. Fashion took -up the new medical “craze” or “sensation,” and he -at once became the vogue. It was at this time of -his life that Mesmer came to the parting of the -ways between earnest science and charlatanism. -So far as we know he still remained earnest in his -scientific belief—as indeed he was till the end of -his days. Inasmuch as fashion requires some concrete -expression of its fancies, Mesmer soon used -the picturesque side of his brain for the service of -fashionable success. So he invented an appliance<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_97">97</a></span> -which soon became the talk of the town. This was -the famous <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">baquet magique</i> or magic tub, a sort of -covered bath, round which his patients were -arranged in tiers. To the bath were attached a -number of tubes, each of which was held by a -patient, who could touch with the end of it any -part of his or her body at will. After a while the -patients began to get excited, and many of them -went into convulsions. Amongst them walked -Mesmer, clad in an imposing dress suggestive of -mystery and carrying a long wand of alleged magic -power; often calming those who had already -reached the stage of being actually convulsed. His -usual method of producing something of the same -effect at private séances, was by holding the hand -of the patient, touching the forehead and making -“passes” with the open hand with fingers spread -out, and by crossing and uncrossing his arms with -great rapidity.</p> - -<p>A well-attended séance must have been a curious -and not altogether pleasant experience even to a -wholesome spectator in full possession of his natural -faculties. The whole surroundings of the place -together with the previously cultured belief; the -dusk and mystery; the “mysterious sympathy of -numbers”—as Dean Farrar called it; the spasmodic -snapping of the cords of tensity which took away -all traces of reserve or reticence from the men and -women present; the vague terror of the unknown, -that mysterious apprehension which is so potent<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_98">98</a></span> -with the nerves of weak or imaginative people; and, -it may be, the slipping of the dogs of conscience—all -these combined to wreck the moral and mental -stability of those present, most of whom it must be -remembered were actually ill, or imagined themselves -to be so, which came practically to the same -thing. The psychical emotion was all very well -in the world of pleasure; but these creatures became -physically sick through nervous strain. As described -by the historian, they expectorated freely a -viscous fluid, and their sickness passed into convulsions -more or less violent; the women naturally succumbing -more readily and more quickly than the -men. This absolute collapse—half epileptic, half -hysterical—lasted varying periods according to the -influence exercised by the presence of the calm, self-reliant -operator. We of a later age, when electric -force has been satisfactorily harnessed and when -magnetism as a separate power is better understood, -may find it hard to understand that the most advanced -and daring scientists of the time—to whom -Frederic-Antoine Mesmer was at least allied—were -satisfied that magnetism and electricity were -variants of the same mysterious force or power. It -was on this theory that he seems to have worked his -main idea to practical effect. The base of his system -was animal magnetism, which could be superinduced -or aided by mechanical appliances. He -did not deceive himself into believing that he had -invented the idea but was quite willing to make the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_99">99</a></span> -utmost use he could of the discoveries and inventions -of others. So far as we can gather his intentions -from his acts, the main object in his scientific -work was to simplify the processes of turning emotion -into effect. Magnetism had already been -largely studied, and means were being constantly -sought for increasing its efficacy. Father Hehl -had brought to a point of accepted perfection the -manufacture of metal plates used in magnetic development, -and these Mesmer used, with the result -that a violent controversy took place between them. -So far as we can follow after the lapse of time, -Mesmer was consistent in his theories and their application. -He held that the principle was one of -planetary influence on the nervous system, and its -manifestation was by a process of alternate intension -and remission. It is possible that Mesmer—who -held that the heavenly bodies floated in a limitless -magnetic fluid and that he could make all substances, -even such things as bread or dogs magnetic—had -in his mind the wisdom of following the same -theory in matters of lesser significance, though of -more individual import, than those of astronomy -and its correlated sciences. If so he was wise in his -generation, for later electricians have found that -the system of alternating currents especially at high -tension, is of vast practical importance. That he -was practical in his use of the ideas of others is -shown by the fact that he preferred the metallic -plates of Father Hehl to his own passes, even<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_100">100</a></span> -though the report of the Royal Commission ruined -him—at any rate checked his success, by stating -that similar effects to those attending his passes -could be produced by other means, and that such -passes had no effect unless through the patient’s -knowledge; in fact that it was all the work of imagination. -Mesmer had been asked to appear before -the Commission of the Faculty of Medicine appointed -in 1784 to investigate and report, but he -kept away. It would not have injured any man -to have appeared before such a commission if his -cause had been a good one. There were two such -commissions. The first was of the leading physicians -of Paris, and included such men as Benjamin -Franklin, Lavoisier, the great chemist, and -Bailly, the historian of astronomy.</p> - -<p>It was distinctly to his disadvantage that Mesmer -always kept at a distance the whole corps of -savants such as the Faculty of Medicine and the -Academy of Sciences—for they would no doubt -have accepted his views, visionary though they were, -if he could have shown any scientific base for them. -True medical science has always been suspicious of, -and cautious regarding, empiricism. More than -once he stood in his own light in this matter—whether -through obstinacy or doubt of his own theory -does not matter. For instance, in Vienna, when -his very existence as a scientist was at stake in the -matter of the effects of his treatment of Mademoiselle -Paradis, he introduced a humiliating<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_101">101</a></span> -clause in his challenge to the Faculty which caused -them to refuse to accept it. Mademoiselle Paradis -was blind and subject to convulsions. After treating -her by his own method Mesmer said she was -cured. An oculist said, after testing, that she was as -blind as ever, and her family said that she was -still subject to convulsions. But Mesmer persisted -that she was cured, that there was a conspiracy -against him, and that Mademoiselle Paradis had -feigned. He challenged the Faculty of Medicine -on the subject of his discovery. Twenty-four patients -were to be selected by the Faculty; of these -twelve were to be treated by Mesmerism and the -other half by the means ordinarily in use. The -condition he imposed was that the witnesses were -<em>not</em> to be of the Faculty.</p> - -<p>Again, when in answer to a request on his part -that the French Government for the good of the -community should subsidise him, a proposal was -made to him, he did not receive it favourably. The -request he made to Marie Antoinette was that he -should have an estate and château and a handsome -income, so that he might go on experimenting; he -put the broad figures at four hundred or five hundred -thousand francs. The Government suggestion -was that he should have a pension of twenty -thousand francs and the Cross of Saint Michael -(Knighthood) if he would communicate for public -use, to a board of physicians nominated by the King, -such discoveries as he might make. After his refusal<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_102">102</a></span> -of the Government proposition Mesmer went -to Spa, taking with him a number of his patients, -and there opened a magnetic establishment where -he renewed his Paris success. He asked Parliament -to hold an impartial examination into the -theory and working of Animal Magnetism. Foiled -in his scheme of state purchase on his own terms, -he sold his secret to a group of societies, the members -of which were to pay him a subscription of a -hundred louis <i xml:lang="la" lang="la">per capita</i>. By this means he realised -some 340,000 livres—representing to-day over -a million. The associated body was composed of -twenty-four societies called “societés de l’harmonie”—a -sort of Freemasonry, under a Grand Master -and Chiefs of the Order. A member had to be -at the time of admission twenty-five years of age, -of honest state and good name, not to smoke -tobacco, and to pay an annual subscription of at -least sixty francs. There were three grades in the -Order: Initiated Associates, Corresponding Associates -and Uninitiated. Amongst those belonging -to the Society were such men as Lafayette, d’Espremisnil, -and Berthollet the great chemist. Berthollet -had, however, peculiar privileges, amongst -which was the right of criticism. On one occasion -he had a “row” with Mesmer about his charlatanism.</p> - -<p>At length the French public, wearied with his -trickeries and angry with his cupidity, openly expressed -their dissatisfaction. Whereupon he left -France, taking with him a fortune of three hundred<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_103">103</a></span> -and forty thousand francs. He went to England -and thence to Germany. Finally he settled -down in Mersbourg in his native country, Suabia, -where he died in 1815, at the age of eighty-one.</p> - - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_107">107</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 title="III. THE_WANDERING_JEW"><a id="THE_WANDERING_JEW"></a>III. THE WANDERING JEW</h2> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">The</span> legend of the Wandering Jew has its -roots in a belief in the possibility of human -longevity beyond what is natural and -normal. It is connected with the story of the Crucifixion -and the mysteries that preceded and followed -it. Our account may find its starting point -in a book of extraordinary interest which made a -sensation in the seventeenth century and is still -delightful reading. The passage which should -arrest our attention is as follows:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>“The story of the Wandering Jew is very strange and will -hardly obtain belief; yet there is a small account thereof set -down by <em>Matthew Paris</em> from the report of an Armenian -Bishop; who came into this Kingdom about four hundred -years ago, and had often entertained this wanderer at his -Table. That he was then alive, was first called <em>Cartaphilus</em>, -was keeper of the Judgment Hall, whence thrusting out our -Saviour with expostulation of his stay, was condemned to stay -until His return; was after baptized by <em>Ananias</em>, and by the -name of Joseph; was thirty years old in the dayes of our -Saviour, remembered the Saints that arised with Him, the -making of the Apostles’ Creed, and their several peregrinations. -Surely were this true, he might be an happy arbitrator -in many Christian controversies; but must impardonably condemn -the obstinacy of the Jews, who can contemn the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_108">108</a></span> Rhetorick -of such miracles, and blindly behold so living and lasting -conversions.”</p></blockquote> - -<p>The above is taken from the work entitled “Pseudoxia -Epidemica” or Enquiries into very many Received -Tenets and Commonly Presumed Truths -by Sir Thomas Brown, Knight M.D. This was -first published in 1640, so that the “about four -hundred years ago” mentioned would bring the -report of the Armenian Bishop to the first half of -the thirteenth century.</p> - -<p>Thus unless there be something of an authoritative -character to upset the theory, Matthew Paris -must be taken as the first European narrator of the -story. As a matter of fact the legend began just -about the time thus arrived at. The great work in -Latin, “<cite>Historia Major</cite>,” was begun by Roger of -Wendover and completed in 1259 by the monk Matthew -Paris. It was not however published—in our -ordinary sense of the word—until the beginning -of the year 1571 when Archbishop Parker took it -in hand. In the meantime the art of printing had -been established and the new world of thought and -the reproduction of its fruit, had been developed -for common use. The <cite>Historia Major</cite> was again -printed in Zurich in 1589 and 1606. The next -English edition was in 1640. This was reprinted -in Paris in 1644. The English edition of forty -years later, 1684, was a really fine specimen of typographic -art. The authorship and date of its printing -are given: Matthaei Paris, Monachi Albanensis<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_109">109</a></span> -Angli London MDCLXXXIV. The script is -in ecclesiastical Latin and to any modern reader -is of a fresh and almost child-like sincerity which -at once disarms doubt or hostile criticism. Indeed -it affords a good example of the mechanism of -myth, showing how the littleness of human nature—vanity -with its desire to shine and credulity in its -primitive form, are not subject to the controlling -influences of either sacredness of subject or the -rulings of common sense. It lends another meaning -to the quotation of Feste, the jester: <i xml:lang="la" lang="la">Cucullus -non facit Monachum</i>. The artless narrative -recorded in the <cite>Historia Major</cite> makes the whole -inception of the myth transparent. In the monastery -of St. Albans a conversation is held by the -monks on one side and the Armenian Archbishop—name -not given, on the other. The interpreter -in French is one Henri Spigurnel a native of -Antioch, servant of the bishop. We can gather -even how Sir Thomas Brown M. D., doctor of -Norwich and most open-minded of scientists, lent -himself, unconsciously, to the propagation of error. -Brown reading, or hearing read, the work of Matthew -Paris took it for granted that the record was -correct and complete; and in his own book summarises -or generalises the statements made. For -instance he says that the Armenian bishop had -“often entertained this wanderer at his table” &c. -Now it was his servant who told the monks that -the wandering Jew whom he had seen and heard<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_110">110</a></span> -speaking many times dined at the table of his lord -the Archbishop. This at once minimises the value -of the statement, for it does away at once with the -respect due to the bishop’s high office and presumed -character, and with the sense of intellectual acumen -and accuracy which might be expected to emanate -from one of his scholarship and quality. Thus we -get the story not from an accredited Bishop on a -foreign mission—rare at the period and entrusted -only to men of note—but from the gossip of an -Armenian lacquey or valet, trying to show his own -importance to a credulous serving brother of the -monastery. And so, after all, coming from this -source it is to be accepted with exceeding care—not -to say doubt, even when seconded by the learned -monastic scribe Matthew. So, also, for instance -is his statement regarding the manner in which the -wanderer’s life is miraculously prolonged. It is -to this effect. Each hundredth year Joseph falls -into a faint so that he lies for a time unconscious. -When he recovers he finds that his age is restored -to that which it was when the Lord suffered. -Joseph, it must be borne in mind, is the Wandering -Jew, once Cartaphilus, who had kept Pilate’s -judgment-hall. Then Matthew himself takes up -the story and gives what professes to be the <i xml:lang="la" lang="la">ipsissima -verba</i> of the servant as to the conversation -between Christ and Cartaphilus which culminated -in the terrible doom pronounced on the janitor who, -from the showing, did not seem a whit worse than<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_111">111</a></span> -any of the crowd present on that momentous day -in Jerusalem. When Jesus, wearied already with -carrying the great cross, leaned for a moment -against the wall of the house of Cartaphilus just -opposite the Judgment-hall the official said:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p xml:lang="la" lang="la">“‘Vade Jesu citius, vade, quid moraris?’ et Jesus severo -vultu et oculo respiciens eum, dixit: ‘Ego vado. Expectabis -donec veniam.’”</p></blockquote> - -<p>Now this is the whole and sole foundation of the -individual Wandering Jew. I say “individual” -because there were before long other variants, and -many old beliefs and fables were appropriated and -used to back up the marvellous story, invented by -the Armenian servant and recorded by the learned -monk, Matthew. Amongst these beliefs were -those which taught that John the Baptist never -died; that the aloe blooms only once in a hundred -years; and that the phœnix renews itself in fire. -It is the tendency of legendary beliefs to group or -nucleate themselves as though there were a conscious -and intentional effort at self-protection; and -this, together with the natural human tendency to -enlarge and elaborate an accepted idea, is responsible -for much. The legend started in the thirteenth -century, took root and flourished, and in -the very beginning of the seventeenth a variant -blossomed. In this Joseph, originally Cartaphilus, -became Ahasuerus. In the long pause the story, -after the manner of all things of earth, had grown,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_112">112</a></span> -details not being lacking. The world was informed -through the Bishop of Schleswig, how in -1547, at Hamburg, a man was seen in the Cathedral -who arrested attention—why we are not told. -He was about fifty years of age, of reverend manner, -and dressed in ragged clothes; he bowed low -at the name of Christ. Many of the nobility and -gentry who saw him recognised him as one whom -they had already seen in various places—England, -France, Italy, Hungary, Persia, Spain, Poland, -Moscow, Lieffland, Sweden, Denmark, Scotland, -&c. Inquiry being made of him, he told the Bishop -that he was Ahasuerus the shoe-maker of Jerusalem, -who had been present at the Crucifixion and -had ever since been always wandering. He was -well posted in history, especially regarding the -lives and sufferings of the Apostles, and told how, -when he had directed Christ to move on, the latter -had answered: “I will stand here and rest, but -thou shalt move on till the last day.” He had been -first seen, we are told, at Lubeck.</p> - -<p>It is strange that in an age of religious domination -many of the legends of Our Saviour seem to -have been based on just such intolerant anger at -personal slight as might have ruled a short-tempered, -vain man. For instance look at one of the -Christ legends which was reproduced in poor -Ophelia’s distracted mind apropos of the owl, -“They say, the owl was a baker’s daughter.” The -Gloucestershire legend runs that Christ having<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_113">113</a></span> -asked for bread at baking time the mistress of the -bakery took dough from the oven, but her daughter -having remonstrated as to the size of the benefaction -was turned into an owl. The penalty inflicted -on the erring janitor of the Presidium is -another instance.</p> - -<p>The “Wandering Jew” legend once started, was -hard to suppress. The thirteenth, fourteenth, -fifteenth and sixteenth centuries were the ages of -Jew-baiting in the kingdoms of the West, and -naturally the stories took their colour from the prevailing -idea.</p> - -<p>In 1644, Westphalus learned from various -sources that the Wandering Jew healed diseases, -and that he had said he was at Rome when it was -burned by Nero; that he had seen the return of -Saladin after his Eastern Conquests; that he had -been in Constantinople when Salimen had built the -royal mosque; that he knew Tamerlane the Scythian, -and Scander Beg, Prince of Epirus; that he -had seen Bajazet carried in a cage by Tamerlane’s -order; that he remembered the Caliphs of Babylon -and of Egypt, the Empire of the Saracens, -and the Crusades where he had known Godfrey de -Bouillon. Amongst other things he seems to have -apologised for not seeing the Sack of Jerusalem, -because he was at that time in Rome at the Court -of Vespasian.</p> - -<p>The Ahasuerus version of the Wandering Jew -legend seems to have been the popular one<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_114">114</a></span> -amongst the commonalty in England. As an instance -might be quoted the broad-sheet ballad of -1670. It is not without even historical significance -as it marks the measure of the time in many ways. -It is headed: “The Wandering Jew, or the Shoemaker -of Jerusalem who lived when Our Lord and -Saviour Jesus Christ was crucified appointed by -Him to live until Coming again. Tune, <cite>The -Lady’s Fall</cite> &c. Licens’d and Enter’d according -to order.” The imprint runs: “Printed by and -for W. O. and sold by the Booksellers of Pyecorner -and London-Bridge.”</p> - -<p>A century and a half later—1828—was published -a much more pretentious work on the same -theme. This was a novel written by Rev. George -Croly. It was called: “Salathiel: a Story of the -Past, the Present, the Future.” It was published -anonymously and had an immediate and lasting -success. It was founded on historical lines, the -author manifestly benefiting by the hints afforded -by the work of that consummate liar (in a historical -sense) Westphalus—or his informant. Croly was -a strange man with a somewhat abnormal faculty -of abstraction. I used to hear of him from my -father who was a friend of his about a hundred -years ago. Being of gentle nature he did not -wish to cause any pain or concern to his family or -dependents; but at the same time he, as a writer, -had to guard himself against interruption and consequent -digression of his thoughts during the times<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_115">115</a></span> -he set apart for imaginative work. So he devised -a scheme which might often be put in practice with -advantage by others similarly employed. When -settling down to a spell of such work—which as -every creative writer knows involves periods of -mental abstraction though of bodily restlessness—he -would stick an adhesive wafer on his forehead. -The rule of the house was that when he might be -adorned in this wise no one was to speak to him, -or even notice him, except under special necessity.</p> - -<p>The great vogue of <em>Salathiel</em> lasted some ten or -more years, when the torch of the Wandering Jew -was lighted by Eugene Sue the French novelist -who had just completed in the <cite>Débats</cite> his story -“Les Mystères de Paris.” As its successor he -chose the theme adopted by Croly, and the new -novel <cite>Le Juif-Errant</cite> ran with overwhelming success -in the <cite>Constitutionnel</cite>.</p> - -<p>Sue was what in modern slang is called “up to -date.” He knew every trick and dodge of the -world of advertisement, and in conjunction with -his editor, Dr. Veron, he used them all. But he -had good wares to exploit. His novels are really -excellent, though the changes in social life and in -religious, political and artistic matters, which took -place between 1844 and 1910, make some things in -them seem out of date. His great imagination, and -his firm and rapid grasp of salient facts susceptible -of being advantageously used in narrative, pointed -out to him a fresh road. It was not sufficient to the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_116">116</a></span> -hour and place that Cartaphilus—or Joseph—or -Ahasuerus, or Salathiel or whatever he might be -called—should purge his sin by his personal sufferings -alone. In the legend, up to then accepted, he -had long ago repented; so to increase the poignancy -of his sufferings, Sue took from the experience -of his own time a means of embittering the -very inmost soul of such an one. He must be -made to feel that his existence is a curse not only -to himself but to all the world. To this end he attached -to the Wanderer the obligation of carrying -a fell disease. The quick brain of the great <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">feuilletonist</i> -seized the dramatic moment for utilising -the occasion. A dozen years before, the frightful -spread of the cholera, which had once again -wrought havoc, woke the whole world to new terror. -Some one of uneasy mind who found diversion -in obscure comparisons, noted from the records -of the disease that its moving showed the same -progress in a given direction as a man’s walking. -A hint was sufficient for the public who eagerly -seized the idea that the Wandering Jew had, from -the first recorded appearance of the cholera, been -the fated carrier of that dreaded pestilence. The -idea seemed to be a dramatic inspiration and had -prehensile grasp. Great as had been the success -of the <cite>Mysteries of Paris</cite>, that of <cite>The Wandering -Jew</cite> surpassed it, and for half a century the new -novel kept vividly before its readers the old tradition, -and so brought it down to the present.</p> - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_117">117</a></span> -We may now begin to ask ourselves who and -where in this great deception was the impostor. -Who was the guilty one? And at first glance we -are inclined to say “There is none! Whatever the -error, mistake, deception, or false conclusion, there -has been no direct guilt.” This is to presuppose -that guilt is of conscious premeditation; and neither -intention of evil nor consciousness of guilt is apparent. -In legal phrase the <i xml:lang="la" lang="la">mens rea</i> is lacking.</p> - -<p>It is a purely metaphysical speculation whether -guilt is a necessary element of imposition. One is -an intellectual experience, the other is an ethical -problem; and if we are content to deal with responsibility -for another’s misdoing, the question of the -degree of blameworthiness is sufficient. Let us try -a process of exclusions. The complete list of those -who had a part in the misunderstanding regarding -the myth of the Wandering Jew, leaving out the -ostensible fictionists, were:</p> - -<p>The Abbot of St. Albans, the Archbishop of -Armenia, the interpreter, the Archbishop’s servant, -the monks or laybrothers who singly or in general -conversed with any of the above; and finally Matthew -Paris who recorded the story in its various -phases. Of these we must except from all blame -both the Abbot of St. Albans and the Archbishop -of Armenia, both of whom were good grave men -of high character and to each of whom had been entrusted -matters of the highest concern. The interpreter -seems to have only fulfilled his office with<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_118">118</a></span> -exactitude; if in any way or part he used his opportunity -to impose on the ignorance of the host -or the guest there is no record, no suggestion of it. -Matthew Paris was a man of such keenness of -mind, of such observation and of such critical insight, -that even to-day, after a lapse of over five -hundred years, and the withstanding of all the tests -of a new intellectual world which included such inventions -as printing and photography, he is looked -upon as one of the ablest of chroniclers. Moreover -he put no new matter nor comments of his -own into the wonderful and startling narratives -which he was called on to record. He even hints at -or infers his own doubt as to the statements made. -The monks, servants and others mentioned generally, -were merely credulous, simple people of the -time, with reverence for any story regarding the -<cite>Via Dolorosa</cite>, and respect or awe for those in high -places.</p> - -<p>There remains but the servant of the foreign -Archbishop. It is to him that we must look for -any outrage on our normal beliefs. He was manifestly -a person of individually small importance—even -Matthew Paris whose trained work it was to -record with exactness, and whose duty it therefore -was to sustain or buttress main facts, did not think -it necessary or worth while to mention his name. -He had in himself none of the dignity, honour, -weight, learning or position of the noble of the -Church who was the Abbot’s guest. He was after<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_119">119</a></span> -all but a personal servant; probably one of readiness -and expediency with a quick imagination and -a glib tongue. One who could wriggle through a -difficult position, defend himself with ready acquiescence, -gain his ends of securing his master’s -ease, and find all necessary doors open through the -bonhommie of his fellow servitors. Such an one -accustomed to the exigencies of foreign travel, must -have picked up many quaint conceits, legends and -japes, and was doubtless a <i xml:lang="la" lang="la">persona grata</i> liked and -looked up to by persons of his own class, sanctified -to some little extent by the reflected glory of his -master’s great position. It is more than likely that -he had been the recipient of many confidences regarding -legend and conjecture concerning sacred -matters, and that any such legend as he spoke of -would have been imparted under conditions favourable -to his own comfort. After the manner of his -kind his stories doubtless lost nothing in the telling -and gained considerably in the re-telling. Even -in the short record of Matthew Paris, there is evidence -of this in the way in which, after the striking -story of Cartaphilus has been told, he returns -to the matter again, adding picturesque and inconclusive -details of the manner of the centennial renewal -of the wanderer’s youth. The simplest -analysis here will show the falsity of the story; -what the great logician Archbishop Whately always -insisted on—“internal evidence”—is dead -against the Armenian valet, courier, or servitor.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_120">120</a></span> -He gave circumstantial account of the periodic -illness, loss of memory, and recovery of youth on -the part of Cartaphilus; but there is no hint of -how he came to know it, and Cartaphilus could not -have told him, nor anybody else. We may, I think, -take it for granted that no other mere mortal was -present, for, had any other human being been there, -all the quacksalvers of a thousand miles around -would have moved heaven and earth to get information -of what was going on, since in mediæval -days there was nearly as much competition in the -world of charlatanism as there is to-day in the -world of sport. The Armenian was much too -handy a man at such a crisis to be found out, so we -may give him the benefit of the doubt and at once -credit him with invention. It is hard to understand—or -even to believe without understanding—that -so mighty a legend and one so tenacious of life, -arose and grew from such a beginning. And yet -it is in accord with the irony of nature that one -who has unintentionally and unwittingly achieved -a publicity which would dwarf the malign reputation -of Herostratus should have his name unrecorded.</p> - - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_123">123</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 title="IV. JOHN LAW"><a id="JOHN_LAW"></a>IV. JOHN LAW<br /> - -<span class="subhead">THE MISSISSIPPI SCHEME AND ITS ANTECEDENTS</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">The</span> great “Mississippi Scheme” which -wrought havoc on the French in 1720 is -the central and turning point in the history -of John Law, late of Lauriston, Controller-General -of Finance in France. His father, William -Law (grand nephew of James Law, Archbishop -of Glasgow) was a goldsmith in that city.</p> - -<p>As in the seventeenth century the goldsmiths -were also the bankers and moneylenders of the -community, a successful goldsmith might be looked -on as on the highroad to great fortune. To William -Law in 1671 was born his first son John, who -had considerable natural talent in the way of mathematics—and -a nature which was such as to nullify -their use. As a youth he showed proficiency in -arithmetic and algebra, but as he was also in those -early days riotous and dissipated, we may fairly -come to the conclusion that he did not use his natural -powers to their best advantage. He was already -a gambler of a marked kind. Before he -was of age he was already in debt and was squandering -his patrimony. He sold the estate of -Lauriston which his thrifty father had acquired,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_124">124</a></span> -and gave himself over to a life of so-called pleasure. -His mother, who had family ambitions, bought the -estate so that it might remain in the family of its -new possessors. He removed himself to London -where within a couple of years he was sentenced to -death for murder—not a vulgar premeditated murder -for gain, but the unhappy result of a duel -wherein he had killed his opponent, a boon companion, -one Austin who had acquired the soubriquet -of “Beau” Austin. Through social influence the -death penalty was commuted for imprisonment, -and the crime only regarded as manslaughter. He -had however to deal with the relatives of the dead -man who were naturally vindictive. One of them -entered an appeal against the commutation of the -sentence. Law, with the characteristic prudence -of his time and nationality, did not wait for the -leisurely settlement of the legal process, but escaped -to the continent where he remained for some -years sojourning in various places. Being naturally -clever and daring he seems to have generally -fallen on his feet. Whilst in Holland he became -secretary to an important official in the diplomatic -world, from which service he drifted into an employment -with the Bank of Amsterdam. Here the -natural bent of his mind found expression. Banking -in some of its forms is gambling, and as he was -both banker and gambler—one by inherited tendency -and the other by personal disposition—he began -to find his vogue, addressing himself seriously<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_125">125</a></span> -to the intricacies and possibilities of the profession -of banking. He was back in Scotland in 1701 (a -risky venture on his part for his felony had not been -“purged”) and published a pamphlet, “<cite>Proposals -and Reasons for constituting a Council of Trade in -Scotland</cite>.” This he followed up after some years, -with another pamphlet, “<cite>Money and Trade considered, -with a proposal for supplying the Nation -with Money</cite>”; and in the same year (1709) he propounded -to the Scotch Parliament a scheme for a -State Bank on the security of land—a venture -which on being tried speedily collapsed. This, -like other schemes of that period, was based on the -issue and use of paper money.</p> - -<div id="ip_125" class="figcenter" style="width: 516px;"> - <img src="images/i_124.jpg" width="516" height="600" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">JOHN LAW</div></div> - -<p>In the meantime, and for five or six years afterwards, -he was travelling variously throughout -Europe, occupying himself with formulating successive -schemes of finance, and in gambling—a -process in which he, being both skilled and lucky, -amassed a sum of over a hundred thousand pounds. -He had varying fortunes, however, and was expelled -from several cities. He was not without believers -in his powers. Amongst them was the Earl -of Stair, then Ambassador to France, who allured -by his specious methods of finance, suggested to -the Earl of Stanhope that he might be useful in -devising a scheme for paying off the British National -Debt. After the death of Louis XIV, in -1715, he suggested to the Duke of Orleans, the -Regent for the young King (Louis XV), the formation<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_126">126</a></span> -of a State Bank. The Regent favoured -the idea, but his advisers were against it; it was, -however, agreed that Law might found a bank -with power to issue notes and accept deposits. -This was done by Letters Patent and the <em>Banque -Générale</em> came into existence in 1710, and was an -immediate success. Its principle was to issue -paper money which was to be repayable by coin. -Its paper rose to a premium in 1716; in 1717 there -was a decree that it was to be accepted in the payment -of taxes. This created a new form of cheap -money, with the result that there was a great and -sudden extension of industry and trade. From -this rose the idea of a new enterprise—The Mississippi -Company—which was to outvie the success -of the East India Company incorporated by Charter -in 1600 under the title of “The Governor -and Company of the Merchants of London trading -to the East Indies,” which after periods of doubtful -fortune, and having become consolidated with -its rival “The General East India Company”—partially -in 1702, and completely in 1708, under the -somewhat elephantine name of “The United Company -of Merchants of England trading to the East -Indies”—was now a vast organization of national -importance. To the new French Company for exploiting -the Mississippi Valley was made over -Louisiana (which then included what were afterwards -the States of Ohio and Missouri). The Decree -of Incorporation was issued in 1717. The<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_127">127</a></span> -Parliament at Paris presently grew jealous of such -a concession having been given to a foreigner; and -the next year a rumour went about that Parliament -was about to have him arrested, tried, and hanged. -The Regent met the parliamentary resistance by -making (1718) the <em>Banque Générale</em> into the -<em>Banque Royale</em>—the King guaranteeing the notes. -Law was made Director General; but he was unable -to prevent the Regent from increasing the -issue of paper money, by which means he managed -to satisfy dishonestly his own extravagance. It -was a fiscal principle of the time that the State accountants -did not go behind the King’s receipt—the -<i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">acquit de comptant</i> as it was called.</p> - -<p>The Western Company was enlarged in 1718 by -a grant of a monopoly of tobacco, and of the -rights of trading ships and merchandise of the -Company of Senegal. In 1719, the <em>Banque -Royale</em> absorbed the rights of the East India and -China Companies, and then assumed the all-embracing -title of <cite>Compagnie des Indes</cite>. The next -year it took in the African Company; and so -through that the whole of the non-European trade -of France. In 1719, the management of the Mint -was handed over to Law’s Company; and he was -thus enabled to manipulate the coinage. In the -same year he had undertaken to pay off the French -National Debt, and so become the sole creditor of -the Nation. He already exercised the functions of -Receiver General and had revenue-farming abolished<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_128">128</a></span> -in its favour. He now controlled the collection -and disposal of the whole of the State taxation. -At this stage of his adventure, Law seemed -a good fiscal administrator. He repealed or reduced -pressing taxes on useful commodities, and -reduced the price of necessaries by forty per cent. -so that the peasants could increase the value of their -holdings and their crops without fear of coming -later into the remorseless grip of the tax-farmer -under the infamous <em>metayer</em> system. Free-trade -was in the Provinces practically established. This, -so far as it went, was all Law’s doing. Turgot, -who later got credit for what had been done, only -carried out what the Scotch financier had planned.</p> - -<p>Law had promised high dividends to the speculators -in his scheme, and had so far paid them; so -it was no wonder that “The System” raised its -head again. In 1719–20, all France seemed to -flock to Paris to such a degree and with such unanimity -of purpose, that it was difficult to obtain room -to go on with the necessary work of the Mississippi -Scheme. In such matters, resting on human greed -which throws all prudence to the winds, the pressure -is always towards the centre; and the narrow street -of Quin cam poix became a seething mass, day and -night, of speculators in a hurry to buy shares. -The time for trying to sell them had not yet arrived.</p> - -<p>Naturally such a locality rose in value, and as -demand emphasises paucity of space, extraordinary<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_129">129</a></span> -prices ruled. Even a small share in the lucky -street, where fortunes could be made in an hour, -rose to fabulous value. Houses formerly letting -for forty pounds a year now fetched eight hundred -pounds per month. And no wonder, when shares -of the face value of five hundred livres sold for ten -thousand! When there is such an overwhelming -desire to buy, then is the opportunity for sellers to -realise, and the time for such speculation on the one -side, and for such commerce on the other, is naturally -short and the need pressing.</p> - -<p>At the beginning of 1720 everything seemed to -be increasing in a sort of geometric ratio. After a -dividend of forty per cent. had been declared, -shares of five hundred value rose to eighteen thousand. -Greed, and the opportunity for satisfying -its craving, turned the heads of ordinarily sensible -people. The whole world seemed mad. It appeared -right enough that the financial wonder-worker -who had created such a state of things -should be loaded with additional honours. It was -only scriptural that he who had already multiplied -his talents should be entrusted with more. There -was universal rejoicing when John Law—exiled -foreigner and condemned murderer—was appointed, -in January, 1720, Controller-General of -the whole finances of France. Naturally enough, -even the hard head of the canny Scot began to -manifest symptoms of giving way in the shape of -becoming <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">exalté</i>. And naturally enough his enemies—financial,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_130">130</a></span> -political and racial—did not -lose the opportunities afforded them of taking advantage -of it. Tongues began to wag, and all -sorts of rumours, some of them reconcilable with -common sense and easily credible, others outrageous, -began to go about. Lord Stair reported -that Law had boasted that he would raise France -on the ruins of England and Holland, to a -greater height than she had ever reached; that he -could crush the East India Company and even destroy -British trade and credit when he chose. -Stair resented this, and he and Law from being -close friends became enemies. To appease the incensed -and at present all-powerful Law, the powers -that were recalled Lord Stair.</p> - -<p>On 23 February 1720, the <em>Compagnie des Indes</em> -and the <em>Banque Royale</em> were united, thus linking -the ends of the financial chain. “The System” -was now complete.</p> - -<p>When Aladdin set the Genius, who had hitherto -worked so willingly, the final task of hanging a -roc’s egg in the centre of the newly-created palace, -he brought the whole structure tumbling about his -ears. So it was with John Law and the egregious -Mississippi Scheme. His idea was complete and -perfect. But the high sun when it reaches its -meridianal splendour begins from that instant its -downward course.</p> - -<p>The reaction was not long in manifesting itself. -Usually in such matters there is a pause before the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_131">131</a></span> -great driving-wheels reverse their motion, and the -backward motion, beginning slowly, gathers way -as it progresses. But in this case human intelligence -and not soulless machinery was the propulsive -force of reaction. The speculators had begun -to work before the onward movement had come to -an end or even begun to slacken. They were -loaded up with a vast amount of stocks whose -value, even if there had been money to redeem -them, was severely limited, whereas they had purchased -at prices varying between the first rise above -nominal value and that reached by the last desperate -speculator. It is not wise to hold such inflated -stock too long, and in a crisis sailing-master Wisdom -orders Quarter-master Caution to take a trick -at the helm. When the bare idea of unification of -financial interests was mooted, the wise holders of -stock commenced to unload. When this movement -began its progress was rapid—so long as -there was anything to be moved. The first class -to feel it were the bankers. The specie ran out like -the pent-up water from a burst reservoir, till in an -incredibly short time there was not sufficient remaining -to afford the money-change needed in -daily life. The advisers and officials of the State, -seriously alarmed, began at once to take strong -measures supported by royal decrees. Then as -ruin began to stare the whole nation in the face -more and more with every hour, desperate expedients -were resorted to. The value of the currency<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_132">132</a></span> -was made by every stratagem, dishonest trick, and -unscrupulous exercise of power, to fluctuate so that -such differences or margins as arose might be -grasped forthwith for national use. Payments in -bullion, except for very small amounts, were forbidden. -The possession of anything over five hundred -livres in specie was deemed an offence punishable -by confiscation, partial or wholesale, and by -fine. Domiciliary visits were paid to seek evidence -of offence and to enforce the new laws, and informers -in this connection were well paid.</p> - -<p>Then began a war, between public oppression -and individual trickery, to defend acquired rights -and evade unjust demands. The holders of paper -money, unable to realise in specie, tried to protect -themselves by purchasing goods of intrinsic value. -Precious metals, jewels, and such like were bought -in such quantities that the supplies diminished and -the prices grew, until to avoid immediate ruin, such -purchases were proclaimed illegal and prohibited. -Then ordinary commodities of lesser values were -tried as means of barter, till their prices too rose to -such an extent that trade was paralysed. In order -to meet the growing danger a still more desperate -expedient was resorted to. A decree was issued -the effect of which would be to reduce—gradually -it was hoped—the obligation of bank notes -to one-half their nominal value. This completed -the panic, for here was a position which could not -be guarded against by any prudence or wisdom.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_133">133</a></span> -No one could henceforth by any possibility be -financially safe. The speculators who had already -realised were alone safe. <i xml:lang="la" lang="la">Bona fide</i> investors, if -not already overwhelmed by disaster, saw the tide -of ruin rising rapidly around them. Nothing -within the power of the state could now be done to -check or even lessen the state of panic; not even -the reversal of the late decree in ten days after its -issue. To make matters still worse the Banque -at this very time suspended payment. Probably -in a wild endeavour to do <em>something</em> which would -avert odium from itself by saddling the responsibility -on someone else, the Government procured -the dismissal of Law from the Controller-Generalship -of Finance. However—strange to say—he -was very soon appointed by the Regent as Intendant-General -of Commerce and Director of the -ruined bank. The much-vaunted, idolised, and believed-in -“System” had now fallen hopelessly and -was ruined forever. Law was everywhere attacked -and insulted with such unmitigated rancour -that he had to leave the country. He had invested -the bulk of the great fortune which he had by now -acquired, in estates in France; and these together -with everything else that he had were now confiscated.</p> - -<p>At the end of the same year, 1720, whilst he was -at Brussels he was asked by the command of the -Czar (Peter), to administer the finances of Russia, -but declined. After this episode, grateful to a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_134">134</a></span> -broken man, he spent a couple of years wandering -about Italy and Germany and probably gaming a -fluctuating income through gambling. Next he -was to be found in Copenhagen where he had -sought sanctuary from his creditors. Next year -there was an outward change in his status, when he -went to England, on a ship of war, at the invitation -of the Government. There he was presented -to George I. Somewhat to his chagrin he was denounced -in the House of Lords as a Catholic—(he -had abjured his old belief of Protestantism before -accepting the high office of Controller-General of -Finances in 1720)—and an adherent of the Pretender. -He pleaded in the King’s Bench the -Royal pardon for the murder of Beau Austin which -had been sent to him in 1719. He spent the succeeding -few years in England whence he corresponded -with the Duke of Orleans. He expected -to be recalled to France but his hope was never -realised. He wished to go to the Continent but -was practically a prisoner in England, fearing to -leave it lest he should be arrested by his creditors, -amongst whom was the new French East India -Company which had been reconstructed on the ruins -of the old. In 1725 Sir Robert Walpole, then -Prime Minister, asked Lord Townshend, the Secretary -of State, to give Law a King’s commission -of some sort, so that such might serve for his protection. -In the same year he went to Italy. He -died in Venice in 1729, in what, compared with his<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_135">135</a></span> -former state, was poverty. To the last he was a -gambler, always ready to take long risks for a prospect, -however remote, of large gain. A story is -told that in his last years he wagered his last thousand -pounds to a shilling (20,000 to 1) against the -throwing of double sixes six consecutive times. -The law of chances was with him and naturally he -won. He renewed his wager but the authorities -would not allow the further gamble to take place.</p> - -<p>John Law married, quite early in life, the -daughter of the Earl of Banbury and widow of -Mr. Seignior. His widow died in 1747. Some of -the members of his family were not undistinguished; -his son died a Colonel in the Austrian -service; and one of his nephews became Comte de -Lauriston and rose to be a General in the French -army and Aide-de-Camp to the first Napoleon. -He was made a Marshal of France by Louis -XVIII.</p> - -<p>John Law was a handsome and distinguished-looking -man, blonde, with small dark grey eyes -and fresh complexion. He made an agreeable impression -on strangers. Saint-Simon, the social -historian, gave him a good character: “innocent of -greed and knavery, a mild good man whom fortune -had not spoilt.” Others of his time regarded -him as a pioneer of modern statesmanship.</p> - -<p>How is it then that such a man must be set down -an impostor? In historical perspective as an impostor -he must be regarded, though not as such in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_136">136</a></span> -the narrowest view. The answer is that his very -prominence sits amongst his judges. Lesser men, -and greater men of lesser position, might well stand -excused in matters wherein he is accorded condemnation.</p> - -<div class="poem-container"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="iq">“That in the Captain’s but a choleric word<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Which in the soldier is flat blasphemy.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>If, when a man plays a game wherein life and -death and the fortunes of many thousands are involved, -it behoves him to be at least careful, much -greater is his responsibility where the prosperity -and happiness of nations are at stake. Had Law -merely started new theories of finance, and had -they gone wrong, he might well claim, and be accorded, -excuse. But his were inventions of what, -in modern slang, is called “get-rich-quick” principles. -Not only did Law not enrich human life—with -one exception, that of enlarging the currency -in use—or add to the sum total of human well-being -and happiness; he even neglected to show that -forethought and consideration for others which in -all honour ought to be exercised by the deviser and -controller of great risks. He was a gambler, and -a gambler only. He merely put into the pockets -of some persons that which he had taken out of the -pockets of others; and in doing so showed no consideration -for the poor, the thrifty, the needy—for -any of those whose contentment and happiness -depend on such as are in high places and dowered<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_137">137</a></span> -in some way with productive powers. The soulless -uneducated churl who does an honest day’s work -does more for humanity than the genius who merely -shifts about the already garnered wealth of ages. -John Law posed as a benefactor and accepted all -the benefits that accrued to him from the praises of -those who followed in his wake and gleaned the -rich wastage of his empire-moving theories and -schemes. Financiers of Law’s type no more benefit -a country or enrich a people than do the hordes -of wasters and “tape”-betting men who prey on -labour as locusts do on the crops. If they wish not -to do unnecessary harm—which is putting their -duty at the lowest possible estimate—they should at -least try to avoid repeating the errors which have -wrecked others. A brief glance at the wreckage -which lay well within the Scotch gambler’s vision, -will show how he shut his eyes deliberately not only -to facts, but to the many correlations of cause and -effect. Before his Mississippi Scheme was formulated, -there had been experience of banking enterprises, -of schemes for mercantile combination -and for the exploitation of capital, of adventurous -dealings in the developments of countries new and -more or less savage, East and West and South.</p> - -<p>The following list will typify. Of all these John -Law had knowledge sufficient to judge of difficulties -to be encountered in the early stages, of -dangers not only incidental to the things themselves, -but based deep in human nature.</p> - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_138">138</a></span></p> - -<p class="in0 in4"> -The East India Company founded in 1600<br /> -The Bank of England founded in 1694<br /> -The Africa Company founded in 1695<br /> -The Darien Company founded in 1695 -</p> - -<p>A glance at each of these, all of which were within -the scope and knowledge of Law, their aims, formation -and development, up to the time spoken of, -can hardly fail to be illuminative. The sixteenth -century had been an age of adventure -and discovery; the seventeenth of the foundation of -great commercial enterprise, of conception of ideas, -of the constructive beginnings of things. The time -for development had come with the eighteenth; and -now care and forethought, prudence and resource, -were the preparations for success.</p> - -<p>The East India Company was in reality the -pioneer of corporate trading, and as for nearly a -hundred years it was in a measure alone in its scale -of magnitude, its experiences could well serve as -exemplar, guide, and danger signal. It was based -on that surest of all undertakings, natural growth. -It came into existence because it was wanted, and -from no other cause. Its very name, its modest -capital, its self-protective purpose make for understanding.</p> - -<p>In its Charter of Incorporation its purpose was -indicated in the name: “The Governor and Company -of Merchants of London trading to the East -Indies.” Its capital was £70,000, which though<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_139">139</a></span> -a large sum for those days, was, according to our -modern lights, an almost ridiculously small sum for -the object then before it, and to which it ultimately -attained. The time was ripe for just such an undertaking.</p> - -<p>The Peace of Vervins (1598) which left both -France and Spain free to look after their domestic -concerns, was immediately followed by the Edict of -Nantes (1599) which gave religious liberty to -France, and such a new freedom is always followed -by national expansion. By this time Spain—the -explorer or conqueror—and Holland—the patient -organiser—held Eastern commerce in their hands. -England had been gradually making a commerce -of her own in the Indies, and all that was required -was an official acknowledgment, so that the thunder -of her guns should, when required, follow the -creaking of her cordage. From the story of this -great enterprise, through its first twenty-five years, -could be drawn the lesson of such schemes as Law -was now formulating. Though it had succeeded, -in spite of Dutch and Portuguese opposition, in -establishing “factories” when the historic massacre -by the Dutch at Amboyna in the Molucca Islands, -took place in 1725, the Eastern Company seemed -near its dissolution. It was not till the establishment -of the Hooghly factory in 1742 that things -began to look up. After that, fortune favoured -the Company more than she had appeared likely -to do at the start. The marriage of Charles II to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_140">140</a></span> -Catherine of Braganza in 1661 brought progress -in its train. Catherine’s dower, which included -Bombay and so put a part of Portugal’s later possessions -in British keeping, greatly stimulated the -East India Company which thenceforth was able -to weather the storms that threatened or assailed. -The privilege of making war on its own account, -conceded by Charles II, gave the Company a national -importance which was destined to consolidate -its interests with those of England itself. So -strong did it become that before the end of the -eighteenth century it was able to resist the attack on -its charter made by a powerful and progressive -rival, the “New Company.” The rivals, after a few -years of <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">pourparlers</i> and tentative efforts, were -united in 1708; and thenceforth the amalgamation, -under the title “The United Company of Merchants -of England trading to the East Indies,” was -practically unassailable on its own account. It was -additionally safe in that it had the protection of the -great Whig Party under Godolphin. The capital -of the Company, now enlarged to £3,200,000, was -lent to the Government at five per cent. interest and -was finally merged in the National Funds. The -history of the Company, after 1717 does not belong -here, as it is only considered as showing that John -Law had the experience of an earlier Company -similar to his own to guide him in its management -if he had chosen to avail himself of it.</p> - -<p>The Bank of England was, strangely enough,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_141">141</a></span> -the project of a Scotchman, William Paterson. -The plan was submitted to Government in 1691 -but was not carried into existence for three years. -It was purely a business concern, brought into -effective existence through the needs of commerce, -the opportunity afforded being the need of the -State and the concern of the statesman. It had a -capital at first of over £1,200,000, which was -loaned to the nation on the security of the taxes -when the Charter was signed, there being certain -safeguards against the possibility of political misuse. -The Controlling Board was to have twenty-five -members who were to be elected annually by -the stockholders with a substantial qualification. -There were at this time in England private banks; -but this was an effort to formulate the banking -rights, duties, and powers of capital under the ægis -of the State itself. But even so sound a venture, -enormously popular from the very first and with -the whole might of the nation behind it, had its -own difficulties to encounter. Its instantaneous -success was an incentive to other adventurers; and -the co-operation with government which it made -manifest created jealousy with private persons and -commercial concerns. Within two years its very -existence was threatened, first by the individual -hostility of those in the bullion trade, who already -acted as bankers, and then by a rival concern incorporated -under strong political support. This -was the National Land Bank whose purpose was to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_142">142</a></span> -use the security of real estate as a guarantee for -the paper money which it issued for convenient -usage. Strong as the Bank of England was by -its nature, its popularity, and its support, it was -in actual danger until the rival which had never -“caught on”—to use an apposite Americanism—actually -and almost instantaneously collapsed.</p> - -<p>The safety thus temporarily obtained was purchased -at the cost to the Government of a further -loan of two million sterling—with the value to the -contra of an alliance thus begun with the Whig -ministry.</p> - -<p>A further danger came from the mad and maddening -South Sea Scheme five years later; but -from which it was happily saved solely through the -greater cupidity and daring of the newer company.</p> - -<p>The Darien Company, which followed hard on -the heels of The African Company, was formed in -1695, by Paterson; on the base of An Act of the -Scottish Parliament for the purpose of making an -opening for Scottish capital after the manner of -the East India Company by which English enterprise -had already so largely benefited. Its career -was of such short duration and its failure so complete -that there was little difficulty in understanding -the causes of its collapse. It might serve for a -<em>pendant</em> of Lamb’s criticism of the meat that was -“ill fed and ill killed, ill kept and ill cooked.” The -Company was started to utilise, in addition to exploiting -new lands, the waste of time, energy and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_143">143</a></span> -capital, between West and East; and yet it was not -till the first trading fleet was sailing that its objective -was made known to the adventurers. Its -ideas of trading were those of a burlesque, and its -materials of barter with tropical savages on the -criminal side of the ludicrous—bibles, heavy -woollen stuffs and periwigs! Naturally a couple -of years finished its working existence and “The -rest is silence.” And yet at the inception of the -scheme two great nations vied with one another for -its control.</p> - -<p>There are those who may say that John Law was -not an impostor, but a great financier who made a -mistake. Financiers must not make mistakes—or -else they must be classed amongst the impostors; -for they deal with the goods and prospects of -others as well as their own. Law was simply a -gambler on a great scale. He led a nation, -through its units, to believe that the following of -his ideas would lead to success. Financial schemes -without good ideas and practical working to carry -them out are deceptive and destructive. The Mississippi -Scheme is a case in point. If the original -intention had been carried out in its entirety—which -involved vast pioneering and executive action of -present and future generations, and an almost absolute -foregoing of immediate benefits—the result -would have been of immense service to the successors -in title of the original ventures. The assessable -value of the real estate conveyed under the Mississippi<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_144">144</a></span> -Scheme to-day equals more than a third of -the present gigantic National Debt of France, -swollen though the latter is by the Napoleonic wars, -the war with Austria, the cost and indemnity of the -war with Germany, and, in addition, by the long -wars with England and Russia.</p> - -<p>If human beings had been angels, content with -the prospect of gains in the distant future, Law’s -schemes might have succeeded. As it was, he, -working for his own purposes with an imperfect -humanity, can only be judged by results.</p> - - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_147">147</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 title="V. WITCHCRAFT_AND_CLAIRVOYANCE"><a id="WITCHCRAFT_AND_CLAIRVOYANCE"></a>V. WITCHCRAFT AND CLAIRVOYANCE</h2> -</div> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h3 id="WITCHES">A. THE PERIOD</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">For</span> convenience, the masculine offender is -in demonology classed under the female -designation. According to Michelet and -other authorities there were ten thousand alleged -witches for each alleged wizard! and anyhow there -is little etiquette as to the precedence of ladies in -criminal matters.</p> - -<p>The first English Statute dealing directly with -witches appears to be the thirty-third of Henry -VIII (1541) which brought into the list of felonies -persons “devising or practising conjurations, -witchcraftes, sorcerie or inchantments or the digging -up of corpses,” and depriving such of the -benefit of clergy. It was however repealed by -I Edward VI Cap. 12, and again by I Mary (in -its first section.). Queen Elizabeth, however, -passed another Act (5 Elizabeth Cap. 16) practically -repeating that of her father, which had been -in abeyance for more than thirty years. The Statute -of Elizabeth is exceedingly interesting in that -it states the condition of the law at that time. The -opening words leave no misunderstanding:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>“Whereas at this day there is no ordinary nor condigne punishment -provided against the wicked offences of conjurations<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_148">148</a></span> -or invocations of evil spirits, or of sorceries, inchantments, -charmes or witchcraftes, which be practised to the obstruction -of the persons and goods of the Queene’s subjects, or for -other lewd purposes. Be it enacted that if any person or -persons after the first day of June next coming, shall use practice, -or exercise any invocations, or conjurations, of evill or -wicked spirits, to or for any intent or purpose, or else if any -person or persons after the said first day of June shall use, -practice or exercise any witchcraft, enchantment, charme or -sorcerie, whereby any person shall happen to be killed or destroied, -that then as well every such offendour or offendours -in invocations, or conjurations, as is aforesayde, their aydours -and counsellors, as also everie such offendour or offendours in -that Witchcrafte, enchantment, charme or sorcerie whereby the -death of any person doth ensue, their ayders and counsellors, -being of eyther of the sayde offences lawfully convicted and -attainted, shall suffer paines of death, as a felon or felons, -and shall lose the privilege and benefit of Clergy and sanctuary,” -&c.</p></blockquote> - -<p>In this act lesser penalties are imposed for using -any form of witchcraft or sorcery, for inducing to -any persons harm, or to “provoke any person to -unlawfull love or to hurt or destroy any person in -his or her bodye, member or goods,” or for the discovery -or recovery of treasure. From that time -down to the first quarter of the eighteenth century, -when the law practically died out, witchcraft had -its place in the category of legal offences. The -law was finally repealed by an Act in the tenth year -of George II. The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries -were the time of witch-fever, and in that -period, especially in its earlier days when the belief<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_149">149</a></span> -had become epidemic, it was ruthless and destructive. -It is said that in Genoa five hundred persons -were burned within three months in the year 1515, -and a thousand in the diocese of Como in a year. -Round numbers in such matters are to be distrusted, -as we find they seldom bear investigation; but there -is little doubt that in France and Germany vast -numbers suffered and perished. Even in more prosaic -and less emotional England there were many -thousands of judicial murders in this wise. It is -asserted that within two centuries they totalled -thirty thousand.</p> - -<p>It is startling to find such a weird and impossible -credulity actually rooted in the Statute book of -one’s own country, and that there are records of -judges charging juries to convict. Sir Matthew -Hale, a great lawyer, a judge of the Common Pleas -in 1654, and Lord Chief Justice in 1671, was a firm -believer in witchcraft. He was a grave and pious -man, and all his life was an ardent student of theology -as well as of law. And yet in 1664 he sentenced -women to be burned as witches. In 1716 -a mother and daughter—the latter only nine years -of age—were hanged in Huntingdon. In Scotland -the last case of a woman being condemned as -a witch occurred at Dornoch in 1722.</p> - -<p>It is no easy task in these days, which are rationalistic, -iconoclastic and enquiring, to understand -how the commonalty not only believed in witchcraft -but acted on that belief. Probably the most tolerant<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_150">150</a></span> -view we can take, is that both reason and -enquiry are essential and rudimentary principles of -human nature. Every person of normal faculties -likes to know and understand the reasons of things; -and inquisitiveness is not posterior to the period of -maternal alimentation. If we seek for a cause we -are bound to find one—even if it be wrong. <i xml:lang="la" lang="la">Omne -ignotum pro magnifico</i> has a wide if not always a -generous meaning; and when fear is founded on, -if not inspired by ignorance, that unthinking ferocity -which is one of our birthrights from Adam is -apt to carry us further than we ever meant to go. -In an age more clear-seeing than our own and less -selfish we shall not think so poorly of primitive -emotions as we are at present apt to. On the contrary -we shall begin to understand that in times -when primitivity holds sway, we are most in touch -with the loftiest things we are capable of understanding, -and our judgment, being complex, is -most exact. Indeed in this branch of the subject -persons used to call to aid a special exercise of our -natural forces—the æsthetic. When witchcraft was -a belief, the common idea was that that noxious -power was almost entirely held by the old and ugly. -The young, fresh, and beautiful, were seldom accepted -as witches save by the novelty-loving few -or those of sensual nature. This was perhaps fortunate—if -the keeping down of the population in -this wise was necessary; it is easier as well as safer -to murder the uncomely than those of greater<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_151">151</a></span> -charm. In any case there was no compunction -about obliterating the former class. The general -feeling was much the same as that in our own time -which in sporting circles calls for the destruction -of vermin.</p> - -<p>It will thus be seen that the profession of witchcraft, -if occasionally lucrative, was nevertheless -always accompanied with danger and execration. -This was natural enough since the belief which made -witchcraft dangerous was based on fear. It is not -too much to say that in every case, professed witchcraft -was an expression of fraudulent intent. -Such pity, therefore, as the subject allows of must -be confined to the guiltless victims who, despite -blameless life, were tried by passion, judged by -frenzy, and executed by remorseless desperation. -There could be no such thing as quantitative analysis -of guilt with regard to the practice of witchcraft: -any kind of playing with the subject was -a proof of <em>some</em> kind of wrongful intent, and was -to be judged with Draconian severity. Doubtless -it was a very simple way of dealing with evils, much -resembling the medical philosophy of the Chinese. -The whole logic of it can be reduced to a sorites. -Any change from the normal is the work of -the devil—or <em>a</em> devil as the case may be. Find -out the normal residence of that especial devil—which -is in some human being. Destroy the -devil’s dwelling. You get rid of the devil. It -is pure savagery of the most primitive kind. And<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_152">152</a></span> -it is capable of expansion, for logic is a fertile plant, -and when its premises are wrong it has the fecundity -of a weed. Before even a savage can have -time to breathe, his logic is piling so fast on him -that he is smothered. If a human being is a devil -then the club which destroys him or her is an incarnation -of good, and so a god to be worshipped in -some form—or at any rate to be regarded with -esteem, like a sword, or a legal wig, or a stethoscope, -or a paint-brush, or a shovel, or a compass, -or a drinking-vessel, or a pen. If all the necessary -conditions of life and sanity and comfort were -on so primitive a base, what an easy world it would -be to live in!</p> - -<p>One benefit there was in witchcraft, though it -was not recognised officially as such at the time. -It created a new industry—a whole crop of industries. -It is of the nature of belief that it encourages -belief—not always of exactly the same kind—but -of some form which intelligence can turn into -profit. We cannot find any good in the new industry—grapes -do not grow on thorns nor figs on -thistles. The sum of human happiness was in no -sense augmented; but at least a good deal of money -or money’s worth changed hands; which, after all, -is as much as most of the great financiers can point -to as the result of long and strenuous success. In -the organisation of this form of crime there were -many classes, of varying risks and of benefits in -inverse ratio to them. For the ordinary rule of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_153">153</a></span> -finance holds even here: large interest means bad -security. First there were the adventurers themselves -who took the great risks of life and its -collaterals—esteem, happiness, &c. The money obtained -by this class was usually secured by fraudulent -sales of worthless goods or by the simple old -financial device of blackmail. Then there were -those who were in reality merely parasites on the -pleasing calling—those timorous souls who let “‘I -dare not’ wait upon ‘I would’ like the poor cat i’ -the adage.” These were altogether in a poorer way -of trade than their bolder brothers and sisters. -They lacked courage, and sometimes even sufficient -malice for the proper doing of their work; with the -result that success seldom attended them at all, and -never heartily. But at any rate they could not -complain of inadequate punishment; whenever religious -zeal flamed up they were generally prominent -victims. They can in reality only be regarded -as specimens of parasitic growth. Then there -came the class known in French criminal circles as -<i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">agents provocateurs</i>, whose business was not only -to further ostensible crime but to work up the opposition -against it. Either branch of their art would -probably be inadequate; but by linking their services -they managed to eke out a livelihood. Lastly -there was the lowest grade of all, the Witch-finder—a -loathly calling, comparable only to the class or -guild of “paraskistae” or “rippers” in the ritual -of the Mummy industry of ancient Egypt.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_154">154</a></span> -Of these classes we may I think consider some -choice specimens—so far as we may fittingly investigate -the <em>personnel</em> of a by-gone industry. Of -the main body, that of Wizards and Witches or -those pretending to the cult, let us take Doctor -Dee and Madame Voisin, and Sir Edward Kelley -and Mother Damnable—thus representing the -method of the procession of the unclean animals -from the Ark. Of the class of Witchfinders one -example will probably be as much as we can stand, -and we will naturally take the one who obtained -fame in his calling—namely Matthew Hopkins, -who stands forth like Satan, “by merit raised to that -bad eminence.”</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_155">155</a></span></p> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<h3><a id="B_DOCTOR_DEE"></a>B. DOCTOR DEE</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">Even</span> a brief survey of the life of the celebrated -“Doctor Dee,” the so-called “Wizard” -of the sixteenth century, will leave -any honest reader under the impression that in -the perspective of history he was a much maligned -man. If it had not been that now and again he -was led into crooked bye-paths of alleged occultism, -his record might have stood out as that of one -of the most accomplished and sincere of the scientists -of his time. He was in truth, whatever were -his faults, more sinned against than sinning. If -the English language is not so elastic as some others -in the matter of meaning of phrases, the same -or a greater effect can be obtained by a careful use -of the various dialects of the British Empire. In -the present case we may, if English lacks, well call -on some of the varieties of Scotch terminology. -The intellectual status of the prime wizard, as he -is held to be in general opinion, can be well indicated -by any of the following words or phrases -“wanting,” “crank,” “a tile off,” “a wee bit saft,” -“a bee in his bonnet.” Each of these is indicative -of some form of monomania, generally harmless. -If John Dee had not had some great qualities, such<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_156">156</a></span> -negative weaknesses would have prevented his reputation -ever achieving a permanent place in history -of any kind. As it is his place was won by many -accomplished facts. The following is a broad outline -of his life, which was a long one lasting for -over eighty years.</p> - -<p>John Dee was born in 1527, and came of a Welsh -race. A good many years after his start in life -he, after the harmless fashion of those (and other) -times, made out a family tree in which it was shewn -that he was descended from, among other royalties, -Roderick the Great, Prince of Wales. This little -effort of vanity did not, however, change anything. -The world cared then about such things almost as -little as it does now; or, allowing for the weakness -of human beings in the way of their own self-importance, -it might be better to say as it professes -to do now. John Dee was sent to the University -of Cambridge when he was only fifteen years old. -The College chosen for him was St. John’s, and -here he showed extraordinary application in his -chosen subject, mathematics. He took his probationary -degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1545, and -was made a Fellow in 1546. In his early years of -College life his work was regulated in a remarkable -way. Out of the twenty-four hours, eighteen -were devoted to study, four to sleep, the remaining -two being set apart for meals and recreation. Lest -this should seem incredible it may be remembered -that three hundred years later, the French Jesuits,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_157">157</a></span> -having made exhaustive experiments, arrived at -the conclusion that for mere purposes of health, -without making any allowance for the joy or happiness -of life, and treating the body merely as a -machine from which the utmost amount of work -mental and physical could be got without injury, -four hours of sleep per diem sufficed for health and -sanity. And it is only natural that a healthy and -ambitious young man trying to work his way to -success would, or might have been, equally strenuous -and self-denying. His appointment as Fellow -of St. John’s was one of those made when the -College was founded. That he was skilled in other -branches of learning was shown by the fact that -in the University he was appointed as Under -Reader in Greek. He was daring in the practical -application of science, and during the representation -of one of the comedies of Aristophanes, created -such a sensation by appearing to fly, that he -began to be credited by his companions with magical -powers. This was probably the beginning of -the sinister reputation which seemed to follow him -all his life afterwards. When once an idea of the -kind has been started even the simplest facts of life -and work seem to gather round it and enlarge it -indefinitely. So far as we can judge after a lapse -of over three hundred years, John Dee was an eager -and ardent seeker after knowledge; and all through -his life he travelled in the search wherever he was -likely to gain his object. It is a main difficulty of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_158">158</a></span> -following such a record that we have only facts to -follow. We know little or nothing of motives except -from results, and as in the development of -knowledge the measure of success can only bear -a small ratio to that of endeavour, it is manifest -that we should show a large and tolerant understanding -of the motives which animate the seeker -for truth. In the course of his long life John Dee -visited many lands, sojourned in many centres of -learning, had relations of common interests as well -as of friendship with many great scholars, and -made as thinker, mathematician, and astronomer, -a reputation far transcending any ephemeral and -purely gaseous publicity arising from the open-mouthed -wonder of the silly folk who are not capable -of even trying to understand things beyond -their immediate ken. Wherever he went he seems -to have been in touch with the learned and progressive -men of his time, and always a student. -At various times he was in the Low Countries, -Louvain (from whose University he obtained the -degree of LL.D.), Paris, Wurtemberg, Antwerp, -Presburg, Lorraine, Frankfort-on-the-Oder, Bohemia, -Cracow, Prague, and Hesse-Cassel. He -even went so far afield as St. Helena. He was -engaged on some great works of more than national -importance. For instance, when in 1582, Pope -Gregory XIII instituted the reform of the Calendar -which was adopted by most of the great nations -of the world, Dee approved and worked out<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_159">159</a></span> -his own calculations to an almost similar conclusion, -though the then opposition to him cost England -a delay of over one hundred and seventy years. In -1572 he had proved his excellence as an astronomer -in his valuable work in relation to a newly discovered -star (Tycho Brahe’s) in Cassiopœia. In -1580 he made a complete geographical and hydrographical -map of the Queen’s possessions. He -tried—but unhappily in vain—to get Queen Mary -to gather the vast collections of manuscripts and old -books which had been made in the Monasteries -(broken up by Henry VIII) of which the major -part were then to be obtained both easily and -cheaply. He was a Doctor of Laws (which by the -way was his only claim to be called “Doctor” Dee, -the title generally accorded to him). He was made -a rector in Worcestershire in 1553; and in 1556, -Archbishop Parker gave him ten years’ use of the -livings of Upton and Long Leadenham. He was -made Warden of Manchester College in 1595, and -was named by Queen Elizabeth as Chancellor of -St. Paul’s. In 1564, he was appointed Dean of -Gloucester, though through his own neglect of his -own interest it was never carried out. The Queen -approved, the Archbishop sealed the deed; but Dee, -unmindful, overlooked the formality of acceptance -and the gift eventually went elsewhere. Queen -Elizabeth, who consistently believed in and admired -him, wanted to make him a bishop, but he declined -the responsibility. For once the formality at consecration:<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_160">160</a></span> -“<cite>Nolo Episcopari</cite>” was spoken with -truthful lips. More than once he was despatched -to foreign places to make special report in the -Queen’s service. That he did not—always, at all -events—put private interest before public duty is -shown by his refusal to accept two rectories offered -to him by the Queen in 1576, urging as an excuse -that he was unable to find time for the necessary -duties, since he was too busily occupied in making -calculations for the reformation of the Calendar. -He seems to have lived a most proper life, and -was twice married. After a long struggle with -adversity in which—last despair of a scholar—he -had to sell his books, he died very poor, just as he -was preparing to migrate. At his death in 1608 -he left behind him no less than seventy-nine works—nearly -one for each year of his life. Just after -the time of the Armada, following on some correspondence -with Queen Elizabeth, he had returned -to England after long and adventurous experiences -in Poland and elsewhere, during which he had -known what it was to receive the honours and -affronts of communities. He took back with him -the reputation of being a sorcerer, one which he -had never courted and which so rankled in him that -many years afterwards he petitioned James I to -have him tried so that he might clear his character.</p> - -<p>If there be any truth whatever in the theory that -men have attendant spirits, bad as well as good, -Dr. Dee’s bad spirit took the shape of one who<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_161">161</a></span> -pretended to occult knowledge, the so-called Sir -Edward Kelley of whom we shall have something to -say later on.</p> - -<p>Dee was fifty-four years of age when he met -Sir Edward Kelley who was twenty-eight years -his junior. The two men became friends, and then -the old visionary scholar at once became dominated -by his younger and less scrupulous companion, who -very soon became his partner. From that time -Dee’s down-fall—or rather down-<em>slide</em> began. All -the longings after occult belief which he had -hitherto tried to hold in check began not only to -manifest themselves, but to find expression. His -science became merged in alchemy, his astronomical -learning was forced into the service of Astrology. -His belief, which he as a cleric held before him as -a duty, was lost in spiritualism and other forms of -occultism. He began to make use for practical -purposes of his crystal globe and his magic mirror -in which he probably had for long believed secretly. -Kelley practically ruined his reputation by using -for his own purposes the influence which he had -over the old man. His opportunities were increased -by the arrival in England of Laski, about -1583. The two scholars had many ideas in common, -and Kelley did not fail, in the furtherance of -his own views, to take advantage of the circumstance. -He persuaded Dee to go with his new -friend to Poland, in the hope of benefiting -further in his studies in the occult by wider<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_162">162</a></span> -experience of foreign centres of learning. They -journeyed to Laskoe near Cracow, where the -weakness of the English scholar became more -evident and his form of madness more developed. -Dee had now a fixed belief in two -ideas which he had hitherto failed to materialise—the -Philosopher’s Stone and the Elixir of Life, -both of them dreams held as possible of realisation -to the scientific dreamer in the period of the Renaissance. -Dee believed at one time that he had got -hold of the Philosopher’s Stone, and actually sent -to Queen Elizabeth a piece of gold taken from a -transmuted warming-pan. As it is said in the life -of Dee that he and Kelley had found a quantity -of the Elixir of Life in the ruins of Glastonbury -Abbey, we can easily imagine what part the latter -had in the transaction. It was he, too, who probably -fixed on Glastonbury as the place in which to -search for Elixirs, as that holy spot had already -a reputation of its own in such matters. It has -been held for ages that the staff used by Joseph -of Arimathea took root and blossomed there. -Somehow, whatever the Glastonbury Elixir did, the -Philosopher’s Stone did not seem to keep its alleged -properties in the Dee family. John Dee’s young -son Arthur, aged eight, tried its efficacy; but without -success. Perhaps it was this failure which made -Kelley more exacting, for a couple of years later -in 1589, he told his partner that angels had told -him it was the divine wish that they should have<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_163">163</a></span> -their wives in common. The sage, who was fond -of his wife—who was a comely woman, whereas -Kelley’s was ill favoured and devoid of charms—naturally -demurred at such an utterance even of -occult spirits. Mrs. Dee also objected, with the -result that there were alarums and excursions and -the partnership was rudely dissolved—which is a -proof that though the aged philosopher’s mind had -been vitiated by the evil promptings of his wily -companion he had not quite declined to idiocy.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_164">164</a></span></p> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<h3><a id="C_LA_VOISIN"></a>C. LA VOISIN</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">In</span> Paris a woman named Des Hayes Voisin, -a widow who had taken up the business of a -midwife, towards the end of the seventeenth -century made herself notorious by the telling of -fortunes. Such at least was the manifest occupation -of the worthy lady, and as she did not flaunt -herself unduly, her existence was rather a retired -one. Few who did not seek her services knew of -her existence, fewer still of her residence. The -life of a professor of such mysteries as the doings -of Fate—so-called—is prolonged and sweetened by -seclusion. But there is always an “underground” -way of obtaining information for such as really -desire it; and Madame Voisin, for all her evasive -retirement, was always to be found when wanted—which -means when she herself wanted to be found. -She was certainly a marvellous prophet, within a -certain range of that occult art. Like all clever -people she fixed limitations for herself; which was -wise of her, for to prophesy on behalf of every one -who may yearn for a raising of the curtain, be it -of never so small a corner, on all possible subjects, -is to usurp the general functions of the Almighty. -Wisely therefore, Madame Voisin became a specialist.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_165">165</a></span> -Her subject was husbands; her chief theme -their longevity. Naturally such women as were -unsatisfied with the personality, circumstances, or -fortunes of their partners, joined the mass of her -<i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">clientèle</i>, a mass which taking it “bye and large” -maintained a strange exactness of dimensions. -This did not much trouble the public, or even the -body of her clients, for no one except Madame -herself knew their numbers. It was certainly a -strange thing how accurately Madame guessed, for -she had seemingly no data to go on—the longevity -of the husbands were never taken into the confidence -of the prophet. She took care to keep almost to -herself the rare good fortune, in a sense, which attended -her divination; for ever since the misfortune -which had attended the late Marquise de Brinvilliers -became public, the powers of the law had taken -a quite unnecessary interest in the proceedings of -all of her cult. Longevity is quite a one-sided arrangement -of nature; we can only be sure of its accuracy -when it is too late to help in its accomplishment. -In such a game there is only one throw of -the dice, so that it behoves anyone who would wager -successfully to be very sure that the chances are in -his—or her—favour.</p> - -<p>Madame Voisin’s clients were generally in a -hurry, and so were willing to take any little trouble -or responsibility necessary to ensure success. They -had two qualities which endear customers to those -of La Voisin’s trade; they were grateful and they<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_166">166</a></span> -were silent. That they were of cheery and hopeful -spirit was shown by the fact that as a rule they -married again soon after the dark cloud of bereavement -had fallen on them. When the funeral baked -meats have coldly furnished forth the marriage -tables, it is better to remain as inconspicuous as possible; -friends and onlookers will take notice, and, -when they notice, they will talk. Moreover the -new partner is often suspicious and apt to be -a little jealous of his predecessor in title. Thus, -Madame Voisin being clever and discreet, and -her clients being—or at any rate appearing to -be—happy in their new relations and silent to -the world at large, all went prosperously with -the kindly-hearted prophet. No trouble rose as -to testamentary dispositions. Men who are the -subjects of prophecy have usually excellently-drawn -wills. This is especially the case with -husbands who are no longer young. Young -husbands are as a rule not made the subjects -of prophecy.</p> - -<p>Madame Voisin’s great accuracy of prediction -did not excite at the time so much public admiration -as it might have done if she or her clients had taken -the public more into their confidence; but it was -noted afterwards that in most cases the male individual -who retired early from the scene was the -senior partner in that <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">congeries</i> of three which has -come to be known as “the eternal triangle.” In -later conversations, following in the wake of the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_167">167</a></span> -completed prophecy, confidences were exchanged -as to the studies in certain matters of science in -which Madame Voisin seemed to have attained a -rare proficiency.</p> - -<p>The late Mr. Charles Peace, an adventurous if -acquisitive spirit, who gave up his life in the same -manner as the deceased Mr. Haman, worked alone -during the long period of his professional existence, -and with misleading safety. The illustrious French -lady-prophet unwisely did not value this form of -security, and so multiplied opportunities of failure. -She followed an entirely opposite policy, one which -though it doubtless stood by her on many occasions -had a fatal weakness. In some ways it may facilitate -matters if one is one’s own Providence; such a -course avoids temporarily errors of miscalculation -or deduction of probable results. And just as the -roulette table has certain chances in favour of Zero, -there is for the practical prophet a large hazard -in that the dead are unable to speak or to renew -effort on a more favourable basis. La Voisin, probably -through some unfavourable or threatening experiences, -saw the wisdom of associating the forces -of prediction and accomplishment, and with the -readiness of an active personality effected the junction. -For this she was already fairly well equipped -with experiences. Both as a wife and a lover of -warm and voluptuous nature she understood something -of the passions of humanity, on both the -female and the male side; and being a woman she<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_168">168</a></span> -knew perhaps better of the two the potency of feminine -longing. This did not act so strongly in the -lesser and more directly commercial, if less uncertain, -phases of her art, such as finding lost property, -divining the result of hazards, effecting -immunity from danger, or the preserving indefinitely -the more pleasing qualities of youth. But -in sterner matters, when the issue was of life or -death, the masculine tendency towards recklessness -kicked the beam. As a nurse in active touch with -both medical and surgical wants, aims, and achievements, -she was at ease in the larger risks of daily -life. And after all, her own ambitions, aided by -the compelling of her own natural demands for -physical luxury, were quite independent, only seeking -through exiguous means a way of achievement. -In secret she studied the mystery of a toxicologist; -and, probably by cautious experiment, satisfied herself -of her proficiency in that little-known science. -That she had other aims, more or less dependent -on this or the feelings which its knowledge superinduced, -can be satisfactorily guessed from some -of her attendant labours which declared themselves -later.</p> - -<p>After a time La Voisin’s vogue as a sorceress -brought her into certain high society where freedom -of action was unhampered by moral restraints. -The very rich, the leaders of society and fashion -of the time, the unscrupulous whose ambitious -efforts had been crowned with success of a kind,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_169">169</a></span> -leaders of Court life, those in high military command, -mistresses of royalty and high aristocracy—all -became companions and clients in one or more -of her mysterious arts. Amongst them were the -Duchesse de Bouillon, the Comtesse de Soissons, -Madame de Montespan, Olympe de Mancini, Marshal -de Luxembourg, the Duc de Vendôme, Prince -de Clermont-Lodeve. It was not altogether fashionable -not to be in touch with Madame Voisin. -Undeterred by the lessons of history, La Voisin -went on her way, forced as is usual in such cases -by the circumstances which grow around the criminal -and prove infinitely the stronger. She was at -the height of her success when the public suspicion, -followed by action, revealed the terrible crimes of -the Marquise de Brinvilliers; and she was caught -in the tail of the tempest thus created.</p> - -<p>This case of Madame de Brinvilliers is a typical -one of how a human being, goaded by passion and -lured by opportunity, may fall swiftly from any -estate. It is so closely in touch with that of -Madame Voisin that the two have almost to be considered -together. They began with the desire for -dabbling in forbidden mysteries. Three men—two -Italians and one German, all men of some ability—were -violent searchers for the mythical “philosopher’s -stone” which was to fulfil the dream of -the mediæval alchemist by turning at will all things -into gold. In the search they all gravitated to -Paris. There the usual thing happened. Money<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_170">170</a></span> -ran short and foolish hoping had to be supplemented -by crime. In the whirling world of the -time there was always a ready sale for means to -an end, however nefarious either might be. The -easy morality of the time allowed opportunity for -all means, with the result that there was an almost -open dealing in poisons. The soubriquet which stole -into existence—it dared not proclaim itself—is a -self-explanatory historical lesson. The <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">poudre de -succession</i> marks an epoch which, for sheer, regardless, -remorseless, profligate wickedness is almost -without peer in history, and this is said without -forgetting the time of the Borgias. Not even natural -affection or family life or individual relationship -or friendliness was afforded any consideration. -This phase of crime, which was one almost confined -to the upper and wealthier classes, depended -on wealth and laws of heredity and entail. Those -who benefited by it salved what remnants of conscience -still remained to them with the thought -that they were but helping the natural process of -waste and recuperation. The old and feeble were -removed, with as little coil as might be necessary, -in order that the young and lusty might benefit. -As the change was a form of plunder, which had -to be paid for in a degree in some way approximate -to results, prices ran high. Poisoning on a successful -scale requires skilful and daring agents, whose -after secrecy as well as whose present aid has to -be secured. Exili and Glasser—one of the Italians<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_171">171</a></span> -and the German—did a thriving trade. As usual -in such illicit traffic, the possibility of purchase under -effective conditions made a market. There is -every reason to believe from after results that La -Voisin was one such agent. The cause of La Brinvilliers -entering the market was the purely personal -one of an affair of sensual passion. Death is an informative -circumstance. Suspicion began to leak -out that the polyglot firm of needy foreigners had -dark dealings. Two of them—the Italians—were -arrested and sent to the Bastille where one of them -died. By unhappy chance the other was given as -cell-companion Captain Sainte-Croix, who was a -lover of the Marquise de Brinvilliers. Sainte-Croix -as a Captain in the regiment of the Marquis -had become intimate in his house. Brinvilliers was -a fatuous person and of imperfect moral vision. -The Captain was handsome, and Madame la Marquise -amorous. Behold then all the usual <em>personnel</em> -of a tragedy of three. After a while the intrigue -became a matter of family concern. The lady’s -father,—the Civil Lieutenant d’Aulroy, procured -a <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">lettre de cachet</i>, and had the erring lover immured -in the Bastille as the easiest and least public way -out of the difficulty. “Evil communications corrupt -good manners,” says the proverb. The proverbial -philosopher understated the danger of such -juxtaposition. Evil manners added corruption -even to their kind. In the Bastille the exasperated -lover listened to the wiles of Exili; and another<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_172">172</a></span> -stage of misdoing began. The Marquise determined -on revenge, and be sure that in such a case -in such a period even the massive walls of the -Bastille could not prevent the secret whisper of -a means of effecting it. D’Aulroy, his two sons, -and another sister perished. Brinvilliers himself -was spared through some bizarre freak of his wife’s -conscience. Then the secret began to be whispered—first, -it was said, through the confessional; and -the <em>Chambre Ardente</em>, analogous to the British Star -Chamber, instituted for such purposes, took the case -in hand. The result might have been doubtful, for -great social forces were at work to hush up such -a scandal, but that, with a truly seventeenth century -candour, the prisoner had written an elaborate confession -of her guilt, which if it did not directly -assure condemnation at least put justice on the right -track.</p> - -<p>The trial was a celebrated one, and involved incidentally -many illustrious persons as well as others -of lesser note. In the end, in 1676, Madame la -Marquise de Brinvilliers was burned—that is, what -was left of her was burned after her head had been -cut off, a matter of grace in consideration of her -rank. It is soothing to the feelings of many relatives -and friends—not to mention those of the principal—in -such a case when “great command o’ersways -the order” of purgation by fire.</p> - -<p>Before the eddy of the Brinvilliers’ criminal -scandal reached to the lower level of Madame<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_173">173</a></span> -Voisin, a good many scandals were aired; though -again “great command” seems to have been operative, -so far as human power availed, in minimising -both scandals and punishments. Amongst those -cited to the <em>Chambre Ardente</em> were two nieces of -Cardinal Mazarin, the Duchesse de Bouillon, the -Comtesse de Soissons, and Marshal de Luxembourg. -In some of these cases that which in theatrical -parlance is called “comic relief” was not -wanting. It was a witty if impertinent answer of -the Duchesse de Bouillon to one of her judges, -La Reyne, an ill-favoured man, who asked, apropos -of a statement made at the trial that she had taken -part in an alleged invocation of Beelzebub, “and -did you ever see the Devil?”—</p> - -<p>“Yes, I am looking at him now. He is ugly, -and is disguised as a Councillor of State!”</p> - -<p>The King, Louis XIV, took much interest in -the trial and even tried now and again to smooth -matters. He even went so far as to advise the -Comtesse de Soissons who was treated by the Court -rather as a foolish than a guilty woman, to keep -out of the way if she were really guilty. In answer -she said with the haughtiness of her time that -though she was innocent she did not care to appear -in a Law Court. She withdrew to Brussels where -she died some twenty years later. Marshal de -Luxembourg—François Henri de Montmorenci-Boutteville, -duke, peer, Marshal of France to give -his full titles—was shown to have engaged in an<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_174">174</a></span> -attempt to recover lost property by occult means. -On which basis and for having once asked Madame -Voisin to produce his Satanic Majesty, he was -alleged to have sold himself to the Devil. But his -occult adventures did not stand in the way of his -promotion as a soldier though he had to stand a -trial of over a year long; he was made Captain -of the Guard and finally given command of the -Army.</p> - -<p>La Voisin with her accomplices—a woman named -Vigoureux and Le Sage, a priest—were with a -couple of score of others arrested in 1679, and were, -after a spell of imprisonment in the Bastille, tried. -As a result Voisin, Vigoureux and her brother, and -Le Sage were burned early in 1680. In Voisin’s -case the mercy of previous decapitation, which had -been accorded to her guilty sister Brinvilliers, was -not extended to her. Perhaps this was partly because -of the attitude which she had taken up with -regard to religious matters. Amongst other unforgivable -acts she had repelled the Crucifix—a terrible -thing to do according to the ideas of that -superstitious age.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_175">175</a></span></p> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<h3><a id="D_SIR_EDWARD_KELLEY"></a>D. SIR EDWARD KELLEY</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">Carlyle</span> in his <cite>French Revolution</cite> makes -a contrast between two works of imagination -which mark the extremes of the forces -that made for the disruption of France, <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">Paul et -Virginie</i> and <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">Le Chevalier de Faublas</i>. The former -he calls “the swan-song of old dying France”; -of the latter he says “if this wretched <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">Faublas</i> is -a death-speech, it is one under the gallows, and by -a felon that does not repent.” This double analogy -may well serve for a comparison of Dr. Dee -and the man who was at once his partner for a -time, and his evil genius. The grave earnest old -scholar, with instincts for good, high endeavour, -and a vast intellectual strength, contrasts well with -the mean-souled shifty specious rogue who fastened -himself on him and leech-like drained him -“dry as hay.”</p> - -<p>Such historians as mention the existence of the -latter are even a little doubtful how to spell his -name. This, however, does not matter much—nay, -at all, for it is probably not that to which he was -born. Briefly the following is his record as far as -can be discovered. He was born in 1555 to parents -living in Worcester, who having tried to bring him<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_176">176</a></span> -up as an apothecary, sent him to Oxford when he -was seventeen years of age. There he was entered -at Gloucester Hall, under the name of Talbot. As -however three men of that name were in the Hall -at the same time, it is doubtful what family can -claim the honour of his kinship. His college life -was short—only lasting a year—and inconspicuous. -“He left,” we are told, “abruptly.” Then, as if to -complete the purely educational phase of his existence, -he was for a while an attorney, eking out the -tenuity of his legal practice by aid of forgery. -Thus full-fledged for his work in life, he made his -first properly-recorded appearance in the pillory in -1580, for an offence which is variously spoken of -as forgery and coining. At any rate his ears were -cropped off, a loss which necessitated for prudential -reasons his wearing a skullcap for the remainder -of his days. This he wore with such conspicuous -success that it is said that even Doctor Dee, who -was his partner for nearly seven years, did not -know of his mutilation. Kelley’s next recorded -offence was one which in a later age when subjects -for dissection (necessary for purposes of education -in anatomy) were difficult to obtain, was popularly -known as “body-snatching.” The commission of -this offence though a serious breach of the law, came -to be regarded as a necessary condition of study; -and even if punishment was meted out, it was not -looked upon as dishonour. But in Kelley’s case -the offence was committed not for the purpose of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_177">177</a></span> -scientific education but for one of sorcery. It took -place in Walton-le-dale in Lancashire, where Kelley -dug up a body buried on the previous day, for -purposes of necromancy, which, it will be remembered, -was, as the etymology of the word implies, -divination by means of the dead.</p> - -<p>From this time on, he seemed to see his way clear -to the final choice of a profession. He had tasted -crime and punishment, and considered himself well -qualified to accept the risks as well as the benefits; -and so chose fraud as his life work. He was still -under twenty-five years of age when he began to -look about him for his next means or occasion of -turning his special talents to profit. After some -deliberation he fixed on the existence and qualities -of the famous (as he had then become) Doctor -Dee, and carefully commenced operations. He -called on the mathematician at his house at Mortlake -and made his acquaintance. Dee was naturally -impressed by the conversation and ostensible qualities -of the young man, who had the plausibility -of the born rogue and laid himself out to captivate -the old man, more than double his companion’s age -and worn by arduous study. He fostered all -Dee’s natural weaknesses, humoured his fads, was -enthusiastic regarding his beliefs which he appeared -to share, and urged on his personal ambitions. The -belief in occultism which the philosopher cherished -in secret, though he had openly and formally repudiated -it a dozen years before in his preface to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_178">178</a></span> -Sir Henry Billingsley’s translation of Euclid, gave -the parasitic rogue his cue for further ingratiating -himself, and before long he entered Dee’s service -at an annual salary of fifty pounds. His special -function was that of “skryer,” which was his own or -Dee’s reading of “seer.” His contribution to the -general result was to see the figures which did—or -did not—appear in the so-called “magic” crystal, -an office for which his useful imagination, his unblushing -assurance, and his utter unscrupulousness -eminently fitted him. In fact he was in his designs -of fraud a perfect complement of the simple-minded -scientist. Of course as days went on and -opportunities offered themselves, through Dee’s -growing madness and Kelley’s social enlargements, -the horizon of chicanery widened. This was largely -assisted by the opportune arrival in England of -the Palatine Albert Laski in 1583. Laski was just -the man that Kelley was waiting for. A rich man -with a taste for occult science; sufficiently learned -to keep in touch with the theories of occultism of -that time; sufficiently vain to be used by an unscrupulous -adventurer who tickled his intellectual palate -whilst he matured his frauds upon him.</p> - -<p>Kelley having worked on Dee’s feelings sufficiently -to secure his acquiescence, procured that -Laski should be allowed to aid in such operations -and experiments as appealed to him. The result -was that the Palatine took the two men with him, -promising a free field for them both, each according<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_179">179</a></span> -to his bent. At Prague, in 1583, Laski presented -Dee and his companion to the Emperor -Rudolph II. Encouraged by the royal approval, -Dee looked for a longer sojourn in eastern Europe, -and brought thither his wife and children from -Poland, where he had left them at Laskoe, the -seat of the Palatine. Later on, in 1585,—again -through the influence of the credulous Laski—Dee -with his companion was presented to Stephen, King -of Poland. Stephen was much interested, and -attended a <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">séance</i> that he might see the spirits of -which he had heard so much. He saw too much, -however, as far as Kelley was concerned, for he -penetrated the imposture. Thereupon Kelley, unequal -to carrying on the business single-handed, for -he dared not let Dee’s eyes be opened and he knew -he could not induce him to be other than a blind -partner, contrived that a new confederate should -be added to the firm. This was one Francis Pucci, -a Florentine, possessed of all the address and subtlety -of his race. But after the experience of a -year he was removed on suspicion of bad faith. -Before that year was out, the Bishop of Piacenza, -Apostolic Nuncio at the Emperor’s Court, had a -decree issued that the two Englishmen should quit -Prague within six days. From Prague they went -to Erfurt, in Thuringia; but despite letters of recommendation -from high quarters the Municipal -Authorities would not allow them to remain. So -they moved on to Hesse-Cassel and thence to Tribau<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_180">180</a></span> -in Bohemia, where the fraud of making spirits -appear was renewed. In 1586, it was intimated to -Dee that the Emperor of Russia wished to receive -him in that country. He would receive a fee of -two thousand pounds per annum and would be -treated with honour; but the scholar did not see -his way to accept the flattering offer. At -Tribau, Kelley experimented, but unsuccessfully, -with some powder found at Glastonbury, Dee’s -young son being the medium. It was noticeable -that whenever Dee or his family failed in these -experiments, Kelley always succeeded. At this -stage Kelley, who was a man of evil life, fell madly -in love with Dee’s wife. He was married himself, -but that did not seem to matter. His own wife was -ugly and unattractive, whereas the second Mrs. Dee -was well-favoured and winning. In the madness -of his lust he tried to work on the husband’s credulity -by telling him that it had been conveyed to -him through angels that it was the Divine wish -that the two men should hold their wives in common. -Dee was naturally sceptical and annoyed, -and his wife was furious. Kelley, however, was -persistent, and stuck to his point so stedfastly that -after a while the woman’s resolution began to give -way, and for a time some sort of working arrangement -came about. Kelley’s story, as elaborated to -his partner, was that at Tribau, in 1587, the crystal -showed him a vision of a naked woman who conveyed -to him the divine message. To Dee’s unhinged<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_181">181</a></span> -mind this seemed all natural and correct—probably -even to the suitable costume adopted by -the angelic messenger: so the worthy doctor gave -way. After a time however the matron recovered -her sanity, and the vulture and the pigeon parted. -Dee gave up to his late partner all the “tools of -trade” and “properties” of the fraud, and the two -never met again.</p> - -<p>Kelley went to Prague where he was thrown into -prison in 1589. He remained in durance for four -years after which he was released. From thence -on till 1595, he became a vagabond as well as a -rogue, and wandered about Germany. He again -fell into the hands of Rudolph, to be again imprisoned -by him. He was killed whilst making a desperate -effort to escape.</p> - -<p>There seems to be no record of Edward Kelley—or -Talbot—having been knighted, no authority -save his own wish for the use of the title. It may -of course be possible that he was knighted by the -Emperor in some moment of absurd credulity; but -there is no record of it. He had no children.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_182">182</a></span></p> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<h3><a id="E_MOTHER_DAMNABLE"></a>E. MOTHER DAMNABLE</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">Owing</span> to a want of accord among historians, -the searcher after historic truth in -our own day can hardly be quite sure -of the identity of the worthy lady who passed under -the above enchanting title. To later generations -the district of Camden Town—formerly a suburb -of London but now a fairly central part of it—is -best known through a public house, the <em>Mother -Red-Cap</em>. But before controversy can cease we -are called on to decide if Mother Red-Cap and -Mother Damnable were one and the same person. -A hundred years ago a writer who had made such -subjects his own, came to the conclusion that the -soubriquet Mother Damnable was synonymous with -Mother Black-Cap whom he spoke of as of local -fame. But in the century that has elapsed historical -research has been more scientifically organised -and the field from which conclusions can be -drawn has been enlarged as well as explored. The -fact is that a century ago the northern suburb had -two well-known public houses, <em>Mother Red-Cap</em> -and <em>Mother Black-Cap</em>. It is possible that both -the worthy vintners who offered “entertainment for -man and beast” meant one and the same person,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_183">183</a></span> -though who that person was remains to be seen. -The distinctive colour line of the two hostelries was -also possibly due to considerations of business -rather than of art. <em>Red-cap</em> and <em>Black-cap</em> are, as -names, drawn from these varying sign-boards; the -term <em>Mother</em> held in common is simply a title given -without any pretence of doing honour to the alleged -practices of the person whom it is intended to designate.</p> - -<p>There were in fact two notorious witches, either -of whom might have been in the mind of either -artistic designer. One was of Yorkshire fame in -the time of Henry VII. The other was of very -much later date and of purely local notoriety. The -two publicans who exploited these identities under -pictorial garb were open and avowed trade rivals. -The earlier established of the two had evidently -commissioned a painter to create a striking sign-board -on a given subject, and the artist had fulfilled -his task by an alleged portrait of sufficiently -fearsome import to fix the attention of the -passer-by, at the same time conveying to him some -hint of the calling of the archetype on which her -fame was based. Prosperity in the venture begot -rivalry; and the owner of the new house of refreshment, -wishing to outshine his rival in trade whilst at -the same time availing himself of the publicity and -local fame already achieved, commissioned another -artist to commit another pictorial atrocity under -the name of art. So far as the purpose of publicity<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_184">184</a></span> -went, the ideas were similar; the only differences -being in the colour scheme and the measure of -attractiveness of the alleged prototype. From the -indications thus given one may form some opinion—based -solely on probability—as to which was the -earlier and which the later artistic creation, for it -is by this means—and this means only—that we -may after the lapse of at least a century bring tradition -to our aid, and guess at the original of -Mother Damnable.</p> - -<p>Of the two signs it seems probable that the black -one is the older. After all, the main purpose of a -sign-board is to catch the eye, and unless Titian -and all who followed him are wrong, red has an -attractive value beyond all other hues. The dictum -of the great Italian is unassailable: “Red catches -the eye; yellow holds it; blue gives distance.” A -free-souled artist with the choice of the whole palette -open to him might choose black since historical -accuracy was a matter to be valued; but in a question -of competition a painter would wisely choose -red—especially when his rival had confined himself -to black. So far as attractiveness is concerned, -it must be borne in mind that the object of the -painter and his patron was to bring customers to -a London suburban public house in the days of -George III. To-day there is a cult of horrors in -Paris which has produced some choice specimens -of decorative art, such for instance as the café -known as <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">Le Rat Mort</i>.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_185">185</a></span> -Such places lure their customers by curiosity and -sheer horror; but the persons lured are from a class -dominated by “Gallic effervescence” and attracted -by anything that is <em>bizarre</em>, and not of the class -of the stolid beer-drinking Briton. But even the -most stolid of men is pleased by the beauty of a -woman; so the sign-painter—who knows his art -well, and has evolved from the ranks of his calling -such a man as Franz Hals—we may be sure, when -he wished to please, took for his model some -gracious personality.</p> - -<p>Now the artist of the lady of dark headgear let -his imagination run free and produced a face typical -of all the sins of the Decalogue. We may -therefore take it on the ground of form as well -as that of colour that priority of date is to be given -to Mother Black-Cap. There is good ground -for belief that this deduction is correct. Naturally -the owner of the earliest public-house wished to -make it as attractive as possible; and as Camden -Town was a suburb through which the northern -traffic passed on its way to and from London, it -was wise to use for publicity and entertainment -names that were familiar to north country ears. -Before the railways were organised the great -wheeled and horse-traffic between London and the -North—especially Yorkshire which was one of the -first Counties to take up manufacturing and had -already most of the wool trade—went through -Camden Town. So it was wise forethought to take<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_186">186</a></span> -as an inn sign a Yorkshire name. The name of -Mother Shipton had been in men’s mouths and ears -for about two hundred years, and as the times had -so changed that the old stigma of witchcraft was -not then understood, the association of the name -with Knaresborough alone remained. And so -Mother Shipton of Knaresborough was intended -as the prototype of the inn portrait with black headgear -at Camden Town. In the ordinary course of -development and business one of the two inns succeeded -and lasted better than the other. And as -Mother Red-Cap has as a name supplanted Mother -Damnable, we may with some understanding discuss -who that lady was.</p> - -<p>She was a well-known shrew of Kentish Town, -daughter of one Jacob Bingham, a local brickmaker, -who had married the daughter of a Scotch -pedlar manifestly not of any high moral character -as shown by her later acts and the general mistrust -which attended them. They had one daughter, -Jinny, who in wickedness outdid her parents. She -was naturally warm-blooded and had a child when -she was sixteen by a man of no account, George -Coulter, known as Gipsy George. Whatever affection -may have existed between them was cut short -by his arrest—and subsequent execution at Tyburn—for -sheepstealing. In her second quasi-matrimonial -venture Jinny lived a cat-and-dog life with -a man called Darby who spent his time in getting -drunk and trying to get over it. Number Two’s<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_187">187</a></span> -end was also tragic. After a violent quarrel with -his companion he disappeared. Then there was -domestic calm for a while, possibly due to the fact -that Bingham and his wife were being tried also -on a charge of witchcraft, complicated with another -capital charge of procuring the death of a young -woman. They were both hanged and thereafter -Jinny found time for another episode of love-making -and took up with a man called Pitcher. He -too disappeared, but his body, burned almost to a -cinder, was discovered in a neighbouring oven. -Jinny was tried for murder, but escaped on the -plea that the man often took refuge in the oven -when he wished to get beyond reach of the woman’s -venomous tongue, to which fact witness was borne -by certain staunch companions of Miss Bingham.</p> - -<p>Jinny’s third venture towards happy companionship, -though it lasted much longer, was attended -with endless bitter quarrelling, and came to an -equally tragic end, had at the beginning a spice of -romance. This individual, whose name has seemingly -not been recorded, being pursued in Commonwealth -times for some unknown offence, -had sought her aid in attempting to escape. -This she had graciously accorded, with the consequence -that they lived together some years -in the greatest unhappiness.</p> - -<p>At length he died—of poison, but by whom administered -did not transpire at the inquest. For -the rest of her life Miss Bingham, who was now<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_188">188</a></span> -old, lived under the suspicion of being a witch. -Her ostensible occupation was as a teller of fortunes -and a healer of odd diseases—occupations -which singly or together make neither for personal -esteem or general confidence. Her public appearances -were usually attended by hounding and baiting -by the rabble; and whenever anything went -wrong in her neighbourhood the blame was, with -overt violence of demeanour, attributed to her. -She did not even receive any of the respect usually -shown to a freeholder—which she was, having by -her father’s death become owner of a house which -he had built for himself with his own hands on -waste ground. Her only protector was that usual -favourite of witches, a black cat, whose devotion -to her and whose savage nature, accompanied by -the public fear shown for an animal which was -deemed her “familiar,” caused the mob to flee before -its appearance.</p> - -<p>The tragedy and mystery of her life were even -exceeded by those of her death. When, having -been missed for some time, her house was entered -she, attended only by her cat and with her crutch -by her side, was found crouching beside the cold -ashes of her extinct fire. In the tea-pot beside her -was some liquid, seemingly brewed from herbs. -Willing hands administered some of this to the -black cat, whose hair, within a very short time, fell -off. The cat forthwith died. Then the clamour -began. Very many people suddenly remembered<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_189">189</a></span> -having seen, after her last appearance in public, the -Devil entering her house. No one, however, had -seen him come out again. What a pity it was that -no veracious scribe or draughtsman was present in -the crowd which had noticed the Devil’s entry to -the house. In such case we might have got a real -likeness of His Satanic Majesty—a thing which -has long been wanted—and the opportunities of -obtaining which are few.</p> - -<p>One peculiar fact is recorded of Madame Damnable’s -burial; her body was so stiff from the <i xml:lang="la" lang="la">rigor -mortis</i>—or from some other cause—that the undertakers -had to break her limbs before they could -put her body in the coffin.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_190">190</a></span></p> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<h3><a id="F_MATTHEW_HOPKINS"></a>F. MATTHEW HOPKINS</h3> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">There</span> is one thing more evil than oppression -in the shape of wrong-doing, and that -is oppression in the guise of good. Tennyson, -in one of his poems, speaks of the dishonest -pharmacist who “pestles a poison’d poison.” This -is a refinement of iniquity; a poisoned poison is not -even an enlargement of evil but a structural -change eliminating the intention of good and replacing -it with evil intent. Witches were quite -bad enough; or rather they would have been, -had that which was alleged of them been true. -But a man who got his living by creating suspicion -regarding them and following it out to -the practical consummation of a hideous death, -was a thousand times worse. To-day such a -functionary as a witch-finder exists, it is true; -but only amongst the very lowest and most -debased savages. And it is only by the recorded -types made known to us that it is possible even to -guess at the iniquity of their measures, the vileness -of their actions. In the full tally of the two centuries -during which the witch mania existed in -England, it is impossible to parallel the baseness -of the one man who distinguished himself in this<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_191">191</a></span> -loathsome occupation. The facts of his history -speak for themselves. Matthew Hopkins was -born in Suffolk early in the seventeenth century. -He was the son of a minister, James Hopkins of -Wenham. He was brought up for the law, and -when enrolled as an attorney, practised in Ipswich; -but after a while he moved to Manningtree where, -after he had given up the law, he took to the calling -of witch-finder, being the first person in England -to follow that honourable trade.</p> - -<p>If he had had no suitable opportunities of -earning an honest livelihood and been graced -with no education, some excuse might have been -offered for his despicable calling. But when -we remember that he passed his youth in a -household practising religion, and was a member -of a learned profession, it is difficult to find -words sufficiently comprehensive for the fit expression -of our natural indignation against him. -If picturesque profanity were allowable, it might -be well applied to this despicable wretch and his -nefarious labours. In no imaginable circumstances -could there possibly be anything to be said in mitigation -of his infamy. When we think that the -whole ritual of oppression was in his own hands—that -he began with lying and perjury, and ended -with murder; that he showed, throughout, ruthless -callousness for the mental and physical torture of -great numbers of the most helpless class of the -community, the poor, the weak, the suffering, the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_192">192</a></span> -helpless and hopeless; that when once his foul imagination -had consecrated any poor wretch to destruction, -or his baleful glance had unhappily -lighted on some unsuspecting victim there was for -such only the refuge of death, and that by some -means of prolonged torture, we cannot find any -hope or prospect even in evil dreams of the nether -world, of any adequate punishment for his dreadful -sins. When we remember that this one man—if -man he can be called—was in himself responsible -for what amounted to the murder of some two hundred -women whom he pursued to the death, the -magnitude of his guilt can be guessed but not -realised.</p> - -<p>He occupied three whole years in his fell -work; and in those years, 1644, 1645 and 1646, he -caused a regular reign of terror throughout the -counties of Huntingdon, Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex. -He had a gang of his own to help him in his -gruesome work of “discovering” witches; amongst -whom was a wretch called John Stern and—to -her shame—a woman, whose name is unrecorded. -These three had a sort of mock assize of their own. -They made regular tours of discovery, at a charge -of twenty shillings for expenses at each place they -visited. There appears to have been a fee paid or -exacted for each witch “bagged”; and such was his -greed that after a while he actually lowered the -price. In 1645, which was perhaps his “best” year, -the price declined to a shilling a head. Hopkins<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_193">193</a></span> -and his gang took comfort, however, from the fact -that the industry was a growing one. The trade -had only been initiated in 1644, and already in a -year’s time he had in one day procured the execution -of eighteen alleged witches; and at the end of -that assize, after the gaol delivery had been -effected, one hundred and twenty suspects still -awaited trial. In the skilful hands of Matthew -Hopkins, trial was only a step on the road to certain -execution by one of the forms in use. Here -came in, not only the witchfinder’s legal knowledge, -but also his gift of invention—the latter being -used in the formulation of so-called “tests” which -were bound to be effective. Of these the simplest -was the water test. The subject’s thumbs were tied -together and she was then thrown into water of -sufficient depth. If she did not drown, it was taken -as a proof of guilt; and she was hanged by form -of law. In some cases, as an alternative, she was -burned. If she did not stand the test her friends -had the pleasure of knowing that she was pronounced -to have died innocent. In any case there -was no further trouble with her. Such was the -accuracy as well as the simplicity of similar “tests” -that, in the twenty years previous to the Restoration, -between three and four thousand alleged -witches perished in England from one cause or another. -Hopkins professed to be both just and -merciful. He seemed generally willing to afford -a “test” to the accused; though, truth to tell, the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_194">194</a></span> -result was always the same. In such cases the test -was eminently calculated to evoke confession, and -such confession, no matter how ridiculous or extravagant -it might be, was simply a curved road to -the rope or the torch instead of a straight one. -One of these pleasing “tests” was to place the old -woman—they were all women and all old—sitting -cross-legged on a stool or table where she could be -well watched. She was generally kept in that position -under inspection, without food or water, for -twenty-four hours. At the end of that time such -resolution as had remained disappeared, and in the -vain blind hope of some change for the better, some -alleviation however slight of the grinding misery, -of the agony of body and mind and soul, they confessed. -And such confessions! The very consideration -of such of them as now remain in the cold -third-person method of a mere recorder, almost -makes one weep; there is hardly a word that is not -almost a certificate of character. With every desire -to confess—for such was the last hope of -pleasing their torturers—their utter ignorance -of confessional matter is almost a proof of innocence.</p> - -<p>Just imagine the scene—a village or hamlet, or -the poorer quarter of a small country town with -squalid surroundings, marking a poverty which in -this age has no equal; a poor, old, lonely woman -whose long life of sordid misery, of hunger and the -diseases that huddle closely around want, hopeless,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_195">195</a></span> -despairing, recognising her fate through the prolonged -physical torture with which age and infirmity -rendered her unable even to attempt to cope. -Round her gathered, in a sickly ring, a crowd of -creatures debased by the exercise of greed and -cruelty to a lower level than the beasts. Their object -is not to inquire, to test, to judge; but only to -condemn, to wreck, to break, to shatter. Some of -them, she realises even in her agony, are spurred on -by the same zeal which animated the cruelty of followers -of Ignatius in the grim torture-chambers of -the Inquisition.</p> - -<p>The poor dazed, suffering old creature, racked -with pains prolonged beyond endurance, tries to -rally such glimmerings of invention as are possible -to her untaught, unfed mind; but finds herself at -every failure fluttering helplessly against a wall of -spiritual granite which gives back not even an echo -to her despairing cry. At last she comes to that -stage where even fright and fear have no standing -room, and where the blank misery of suffering -ceases to be effective. Then the last flicker of desire -for truth or rectitude of purpose dies away, -and she receives in feeble acquiescence such suggestions -as are shouted or whispered to her, in the -hope that by accepting them she may win a moment’s -ease of body or mind, even if it be her last -on earth. Driven beyond mortal limits her untutored -mind gives way; and with the last remnants -of her strength she yields her very soul to her persecutors.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_196">196</a></span> -The end does not matter to her now. -Life has no more to offer her—even of pain, which -is the last conscious tie to existence. And through -it all, ghoul-like, watching and waiting for the collapse, -whilst outwardly he goes through the -mechanical ritual of prayer, we see in the background -the sinister figure of the attorney, preparing -in his mind such evidence as he may procure or -invent for his work of the next day.</p> - -<p>It needs the imagination of a Dante to consider -what should be the place of such an one in history, -and any eternity of punishment that that imagination -could suggest must be inadequate. Even -pity itself which rests on sympathy and is kin to -the eternal spirit of justice, would have imagined -with satisfaction the wretched soul going through a -baleful eternity clinging in perpetual agony of fear -to the very King of Terrors.</p> - -<p>In judging Matthew Hopkins one must not, in -justice to others, accord him any of the consideration -which is the due of good intent. Not a score of -years after his shameful death, a man was born in -a newer land far beyond the separating sea, who -through his influence, his teaching, the expression -of his honest conviction, was the cause of perhaps -more deaths than the English anti-witch. We refer -to Cotton Mather, who believed he wrought for -the Lord—in his own way—in New England. But -guilt does not attach to him. He was an earnest, -though mistaken man, and the results of his mistaken<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_197">197</a></span> -teaching were at variance with the trend of -his kindly, godly life.</p> - -<p>It must be pleasing to the spirit of the Old Adam -which is in us all in some form, to think of the -manner of the death of Matthew Hopkins. Three -years had exhausted not only the material available -for his chosen work, but, what was worse for him, -the patience of the community. Moreover, he had -given cause for scandal in even his own degraded -trade and in himself, the filthiest thing in connection -with it. Not content with dealing with the -poor, helpless folk, whom he had come to regard -as his natural prey, he went on fancy flights of -oppression. At last he went too far. He ventured -to denounce an aged clergyman of blameless -life. The witch-fever was too strong for justice -in any form, and neither age, high character, -nor sacred office could protect this gentleman of -eighty years of age. He too was tortured, till in a -moment of unhinged mind, he confessed as he was -ordered, and was duly hanged. This was in 1645. -The old man’s death was not in vain, for it was -made the occasion of much necessary plain speaking. -Presently the public conscience was wakened; -chiefly by another cleric, the Rev. John Caule, -vicar of Great Staughton, Huntingdonshire—all -honour to him!—who, though strange to say he believed -in witchcraft, realised the greater evil -wrought by men like Hopkins. He published a -pamphlet in which he denounced Hopkins as a common<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_198">198</a></span> -nuisance. The result, if slow, was sure. The -witch-finder never recovered from the shock of -Caule’s vigorous attack. In 1647, on information -based on Hopkins’ own rules, he was arrested and -subjected to the test which he had devised: he was -tied by the thumbs and thrown into the water. Unfortunately -for himself he withstood the test—drowning, -except for a short period of pangs, is an -easy death—and so was by process of Law duly -hanged.</p> - -<p>One can imagine how the whole atmosphere of -the country—surcharged with suspicion, fear, oppression, -torture, perjury or crime—was cleared by -the execration which followed the removal of this -vile wretch.</p> - - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_201">201</a></span></p> -<div class="chapter"> -<h2><a id="VI_ARTHUR_ORTON"></a>VI. ARTHUR ORTON<br /> - -<span class="subhead">(The Tichborne Claimant.)</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">In</span> the annals of crime, Arthur Orton, the notorious -claimant to the rich estates and title of -Tichborne, takes a foremost place; not only as -the originator of one of the most colossal attempts -at fraud on record, but also from his remarkable -success in duping the public. It would be difficult -indeed to furnish a more striking example of -the height to which the blind credulity of people -will occasionally attain. Of pretenders, -who by pertinacious and unscrupulous lying -have sought to bolster up fictitious claims, there -have been many before Orton; but he certainly -surpassed all his predecessors in working out -the lie circumstantial in such a way as to divide -the country for years into two great parties—those -who believed in the Claimant, and those who did -not. Over one hundred persons, drawn from every -class, and for the most part honest in their belief, -swore to the identity of this illiterate butcher’s son—this -stockman, mail-rider and probably bushranger -and thief—as the long-lost son and heir of -the ancient house of Tichborne of Titchborne. To -gain his own selfish ends this individual was ready<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_202">202</a></span> -to rob a gentlewoman of her fair fame, to destroy -the peace of a great family who, to free themselves -from a persecution, as cruel as it was vicious, had to -be pilloried before a ruthless and unsympathising -mob, to have the privacy of their home invaded, and -to hear their women’s names banded from one -coarse mouth to another. Thus, and through no -fault of their own, they were compelled to endure a -mental torture far worse than any physical suffering, -besides having to expend vast sums of money, -as well as time and labour, in order to protect themselves -from the would-be depredations of an unscrupulous -adventurer. It has been estimated that -the resistance of this fictitious claim cost the Tichborne -estate not far short of one hundred thousand -pounds.</p> - -<div id="ip_202" class="figcenter" style="width: 382px;"> - <img src="images/i_202.jpg" width="382" height="600" alt="" /><div class="captionl"> - <p class="p0 in0"><cite>Photo. by Maull & Fox. Copyright.</cite></p></div> - <div class="caption"><p>ARTHUR ORTON</p></div></div> - -<p>The baronetcy of Tichborne, now Doughty-Tichborne, -is one of the oldest. It has been claimed -that the family held possession of the Manor of -Tichborne for two hundred years before the Conquest. -Be this as it may—and, in the light of -J. H. Round’s revelations, some scepticism as to -these pre-Norman pedigrees is permissible—their -ancestors may be traced back to one Walter de -Tichborne who held the manor, from which he took -his name, as early as 1135. Their names too, -are interwoven with the history of the country. -Sir Benjamin, the first baronet—for the earlier -de Tichbornes were knights,—as Sheriff of Southhampton, -on the death of Queen Elizabeth, repaired<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_203">203</a></span> -instantly to Winchester and on his own initiative -proclaimed the accession of James VI of -Scotland as King of England, for which service he -was made a baronet, and his four sons received the -honour of knighthood. His successor, Sir Richard, -was a zealous supporter of the Royal cause -during the civil wars. Sir Henry, the third baronet, -hazarded his life in the defence of Charles I -and had his estates sequestered by the Parliamentarians -though he was recompensed at the Restoration.</p> - -<p>Believers in occultism might see in the trials and -tribulations brought down upon the unfortunate -heads of the Tichborne family by the machinations -of the Claimant, the realisation of the doom pronounced -by a certain Dame Ticheborne away back -in the days of Henry II.</p> - -<p>Sir Roger de Ticheborne of those days married -Mabell, the daughter and heiress of Ralph de Lamerston, -of Lamerston, in the Isle of Wight, by -whom he acquired that estate. This good wife -played the part of lady bountiful of the neighbourhood. -After a life spent in acts of charity and -goodness, as her end drew nigh and she lay on her -death bed, her thoughts went out to her beloved -poor. She begged her husband, that in order to -have her memory kept green the countryside round, -he would grant a bequest sufficient to ensure, once a -year, a dole of bread to all comers to the gates of -Tichborne. To gratify her whim Sir Roger promised<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_204">204</a></span> -her as much land as she could encompass while -a brand plucked from the fire should continue to -burn. As the poor lady had been bedridden for -years her husband may have had no idea that she -could, even if she would, take his promise seriously. -However, the venerable dame, after being carried -out upon the ground, seemed to regain her strength -in a miraculous fashion, and, to the surprise of all, -managed to crawl round several rich and goodly -acres which to this day are known as “the Crawls.”</p> - -<p>Carried to her bed again after making this last -supreme effort and summoning her family to her -bedside, Lady Ticheborne predicted with her dying -breath, that, as long as this annual dole was continued, -so long should the house of Tichborne prosper; -but, should it be neglected, their fortunes -would fail and the family name become extinct -from want of male issue. As a sure sign by which -these disasters might be looked for, she foretold -that a generation of seven sons would be immediately -followed by one of seven daughters.</p> - -<p>The benevolent custom thus established was faithfully -observed for centuries. On every Lady Day -crowds of humble folk came from near and far to -partake of the famous dole which consisted of hundreds -of small loaves. But ultimately the occasion -degenerated into a noisy merry-making, a sort of -fair, until it was finally discontinued in 1796, owing -to the complaints of the magistrates and local -gentry that the practice encouraged vagabonds,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_205">205</a></span> -gipsies and idlers of all sorts to swarm into the -neighbourhood under pretence of receiving the dole.</p> - -<p>Strangely enough Sir Henry Tichborne, the -baronet of that day (the original name of de Ticheborne -had by this time been reduced to Tichborne), -had seven sons, while his eldest son who succeeded -him in 1821, had seven daughters. The extinction -of the family name, too, came to pass, for in the -absence of male issue, Sir Henry, the eighth baronet, -was succeeded by his brother, who had taken -the surname of Doughty on coming into the estates -bequeathed to him on these terms, by a distant relative, -Miss Doughty; though, in after years, his -brother, who in turn succeeded him, obtained the -royal licence to couple the old family name with -that of Doughty. Following this repeated lapse -of direct male heirs came other troubles; but it is -to be hoped that the successful defeat of the fraudulent -claim of Arthur Orton set a period to the doom -pronounced long years ago by the Lady Mabell.</p> - -<p>Most families, great and small, have their secret -troubles and unpleasantness, and the Tichbornes -seem to have had their share of them. To this may -be traced the actual, if remote, cause of the Claimant’s -imposture. James Tichborne, afterwards the -tenth baronet, the father of the missing Roger, who -was drowned in the mysterious loss of the <i>Bella</i>, off -the coast of South America, in the spring of 1854, -lived abroad for many years; but, while his wife -was French in every sentiment, he himself from<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_206">206</a></span> -time to time exhibited a keen desire to return to his -native land. When Roger was born there was -small likelihood of his ever succeeding to either -title or estates, and so his education was almost entirely -a foreign one.</p> - -<p>Sir Henry Tichborne, who had succeeded in 1821, -though blessed with seven beautiful daughters, had -no son. Still there was their uncle Edward, who -had taken the name of Doughty, and he, after Sir -Henry, was the next heir. Edward, too, had a son -and daughter. But, one day, news came to James -and his wife, in France, that their little nephew -was dead; and with the possibilities which this -change opened up, it brought home to the father -the error he had committed in permitting Roger to -grow up ignorant of the English tongue and habits. -It was manifest that Mr. James F. Tichborne was -not unlikely to become the next baronet, and he -felt it his bounden duty to make good his previous -neglect, by providing his son with an English education, -such as would fit him for his probable position -as head of the house of Tichborne. In this -praiseworthy intention he met with strong opposition -from his wife whose great aim it was to see -her son grow up a Frenchman. To her, France -was the only land worth living in. She cared -nought for family traditions; her dream was that -her darling boy should marry into some distinguished -family in France or Italy. If he was to -enter the army, then it should be in some foreign<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_207">207</a></span> -service. But to England he should not go if she -could prevent it.</p> - -<p>James Tichborne, like many weak men with self-willed -wives, put off the inevitable day as long as -he could; and in the end only achieved his purpose -by strategy. Roger was sixteen years of age when -news arrived of the death of Sir Henry. Naturally -James arranged to be present at his brother’s -funeral and it was only reasonable that he should -be accompanied by his son Roger, whom everyone -now regarded as the heir. Accordingly the boy -took leave of his mother, but under the solemn injunction -to return quickly. However, his father -had determined otherwise. After attending the -funeral of his uncle, at the old chapel at Tichborne, -Roger was, by the advice of relatives and friends, -and with the consent of the boy himself, taken down -to the Jesuit College at Stonyhurst. When Mrs. -Tichborne learned of this step, her fury knew no -bounds. She upbraided her husband violently; and -there was a renewal of the old scenes in the Tichborne -establishment. Roger wrote his mother -filial, if ill-spelt, letters in French; but, for a year, -the son, though ardently looking for a letter, got -no token of affection from the incensed and indignant -lady.</p> - -<p>During his three years’ stay at Stonyhurst, -Roger seems to have applied himself diligently to -the study of English; but, though he made fair -progress, he was never able to speak it with as much<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_208">208</a></span> -purity and command of words as when conversing -in French. In Latin, mathematics, and chemistry, -too, he contrived to make fair headway; while his -letters evidenced an inclination for the study of -polite literature. If not highly accomplished, he -was of a refined and sensitive nature. During this -period he made many friends, spending his vacation -with his English relatives in turn. His great -delight was to stay at Tichborne, then in possession -of his father’s brother, Sir Edward Doughty. -Withal, the shy, pale-faced boy steadily gained in -favour, for he had a nature which disarmed ill-feeling. -As time wore on it became necessary to determine -on some profession for the lad; and needless -to say his father’s choice of the army added -fuel to the fire of his wife’s anger. After some -delay a commission was obtained and Mr. Roger -Charles Tichborne was gazetted a coronet in the -Sixth Dragoons, better known as the Carbineers.</p> - -<p>Defeated in her purpose of making a Frenchman -of her boy, Roger’s mother yet continued to harp -upon her old desire to marry him to one of the -Italian princesses of whom he had heard so much. -But Roger had other ideas, for he had fallen passionately -in love with his cousin—Miss Katharine -Doughty afterwards Lady Radcliffe. However, -the course of love was not to run smooth. The -Tichbornes had always been Roman Catholic, and -the marriage of first cousins was discountenanced -by that church. Consequently when some little<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_209">209</a></span> -token incidentally revealed to the father the secret -and yet unspoken love of the young people, their -dream was rudely shattered.</p> - -<p>That the girl warmly reciprocated her cousin’s -affection was beyond question, and Lady Doughty -was certainly sympathetic though she took exception -to certain of her nephew’s habits. He was an -inveterate smoker besides drinking too freely. -These and other little failings seem to have aroused -some fear in her anxious mother’s heart, though she -quite recognised the boy’s kind disposition, and the -fact that he was truthful, honourable and scrupulous -in points of duty. Still she would not oppose -the wishes of the young lovers—except to the extent -of pleading and encouraging Roger to master -his weaknesses. It was Christmas time in 1851 -when the <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">dénoument</i> came and the eyes of Sir Edward -were opened to what was going on. He was -both vexed and angry, and was resolved that the engagement -should be broken off before it grew more -serious. One last interview was permitted to the -cousins and, this over, the young man was to leave -the house forever. The great hope of his life extinguished, -there was nothing left for Roger but -to rejoin his regiment, then expecting orders for -India, and to endeavour to forget the past. Still -even in those dark days neither Roger nor Kate -quite gave up hope of some change. Lady -Doughty, despite her dread of her nephew’s habits, -had a warm regard for him, and could be relied<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_210">210</a></span> -upon to plead his cause; and in a short time circumstances -unexpectedly favoured him. Sir Edward -was ill and, fearing that death was approaching, -he sent for his nephew and revived the subject. -He explained that if it were not for the close relationship -he should have no objection to the marriage -and begged Roger to wait for three years. If then -the affection, one for the other, remained unaltered, -and providing that Roger obtained his own father’s -consent and that of the Church, he would accept -things as the will of God and agree to the union. -As might be expected, Roger gratefully promised -loyally to observe the sick man’s wishes.</p> - -<p>However, Sir Edward, instead of dying, slowly -mended, and Roger returned to his regiment. Occasionally -he would spend his leave with his aunt -and uncle, when the young people loved to walk -together in the beautiful gardens of Tichborne exchanging -sweet confidences and weaving plans for -the future. On what proved to be his last visit to -his ancestral home, in the midsummer of 1852, -Roger, to comfort his cousin, confided a secret to -her—a copy of a vow, which he had written out -and signed, solemnly pledging himself, in the event -of their being married before three years had -passed, to build a church or chapel at Tichborne as -a thanks offering to the Holy Virgin for the protection -shown by her in praying God that their -wishes might be fulfilled.</p> - -<p>His leave up, Roger went back to his regiment<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_211">211</a></span> -more than ever a prey to his habitual melancholy. -To his great regret the orders for the Carbineers -to go to India were countermanded. He accordingly -determined to throw up his commission and -travel abroad until his period of probation had -passed. South America had long been the subject -of his dreams, and so thither he would make his -way; and in travelling through that vast continent -he hoped to find occupation for his mind and so get -through the trying period of waiting. His plan -was to spend a year in Chili, Guayaquil and Peru, -and thence to visit Mexico, and so, by way of the -United States, to return home. Having come to -this resolution he lost no time in putting it into execution. -Being of business-like habits he made his -will, in which he purposely omitted any mention of -the “church or chapel.” This secret had already -been committed to paper, and with other precious -souvenirs of his love for his cousin, had been confided -to his most trusted friend—Mr. Gosford, the -steward of the family estate. After paying a -round of farewell visits to his parents and old -friends in Paris, Roger finally set sail from Havre, -on March 21, 1853, in a French vessel named <i>La -Pauline</i>, for Valparaiso, at which port she arrived -on the 19th of the following June, when Roger set -out on his wanderings. During his travels Roger -continued to write home regularly; but the first -news he received was bad. Sir Edward Doughty -had died almost before the <i>Pauline</i> had lost sight<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_212">212</a></span> -of the English shores; and Roger’s father and -mother were now Sir James and Lady Tichborne.</p> - -<p>Presently the wanderer began to retrace his steps, -making his way to Rio de Janeiro. Here, he found -a vessel called the <i>Bella</i> hailing from Liverpool, -about to sail for Kingston, Jamaica, and as he had -directed his letters and remittances to be forwarded -there, he prevailed upon the captain to give him a -passage. On the 20th of April, 1854, the <i>Bella</i> -passed from the port of Rio into the ocean. From -that day no one ever set eyes upon her. Six -days after she left harbour, a ship traversing -her path found, amongst other ominous tokens -of a wreck, a capsized long-boat bearing the name -“<i>Bella</i>, Liverpool.”</p> - -<p>These were taken into Rio and forthwith the -authorities caused the neighbouring seas to be -scoured in quest of survivors; but none were ever -found. That the <i>Bella</i> had foundered there was -little room to doubt. It was supposed that she had -been caught in a sudden squall, that her cargo had -shifted, and that, unable to right herself, the vessel -had gone down in deep water, giving but little -warning to those on board. In a few months the -sad news reached Tichborne, where the absence of -letters from the previously diligent correspondent -had already raised grave fears. The sorrow-stricken -father caused enquiries to be made in -America and elsewhere. For a time, there was a -faint hope that some one aboard the <i>Bella</i> might<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_213">213</a></span> -have been picked up by some passing vessel; but, as -months wore on, even these small hopes dwindled -away. The letters which poor Roger had so anxiously -asked might be directed to him at the post -office, Kingston, Jamaica, remained there till the -ink grew faded; the banker’s bill which lay at the -agents’ remained unclaimed. At last the unfortunate -vessel was finally written off at Lloyd’s as -lost, the insurance money paid, and gradually the -<i>Bella</i> faded from the memories of all but those who -had lost friends or relatives in her. Lady Tichborne -alone, refused to abandon hope.</p> - -<p>Her obstinate disregard of such conclusive evidence -of the fate of her unfortunate son preyed -upon her mind to such an extent as to make her an -easy victim for any scheming rascal pretending to -have news of her lost son; and “sailors,” who told -all sorts of wild stories of how some of the survivors -of the <i>Bella</i> had been rescued and landed in a foreign -port, became constant visitors at Tichborne -Park and profited handsomely from the weak-minded -lady’s credulity. Sir James, himself, made -short work of these tramping “sailors,” but after -his death, in 1862, the lady became even more ready -to be victimised by their specious lies.</p> - -<p>Firm in her belief that Roger was still alive, -Lady Tichborne now caused advertisements to be -inserted in numerous papers; and in November, -1865, she learnt through an agency in Sydney that -a man answering the description of her son had been<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_214">214</a></span> -found in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales. A -long correspondence ensued, the tone and character -of which ought to have put her on her guard; but, -over-anxious to believe that she had indeed found -her long-lost son, any wavering doubts she may -have had, were swept from her mind by the evidence -of an aged negro servant named Boyle, an old pensioner -of the Tichborne family. Boyle, who lived -in New South Wales, professed to recognise the -Claimant as his dear young master, and he certainly -remained one of his most devoted adherents to the -end. Undoubtedly this man’s simplicity proved a -very valuable asset to Orton. His intimate knowledge -of the arrangements of Tichborne Park was -pumped dry by his new master, who, aided by a -most tenacious memory, was afterwards able to use -the information thus obtained with startling effect.</p> - -<p>As to the identity of the Claimant with Arthur -Orton there can be absolutely no doubt. As a result -of the enquiries made by the trustees of the -Tichborne estate nearly the whole of his history was -unmasked. He was born, in 1834, at Wapping -where his father kept a butcher’s shop. In 1848 he -took passage to Valparaiso, whence he made his -way up country to Melipilla. Here he stayed some -eighteen months receiving much kindness from a -family named Castro, and it was their name he went -under at Wagga Wagga. In 1851 he returned -home and entering his father’s business became an -expert slaughterman. The following year he emigrated<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_215">215</a></span> -to Australia; but after the spring of 1854 he -ceased to correspond with his family. He had evidently -led a life of hardship and adventure—probably -not unattended with crime, and certainly with -poverty. At Wagga Wagga he carried on a small -butcher’s business, and it was from here that he got -into communication with Lady Tichborne just -after his marriage to an illiterate servant girl.</p> - -<p>According to his subsequent confession, until his -attention was drawn to the advertisement for the -missing Roger, he had never even heard of the name -of Tichborne, and it was only his success when, -by way of a joke upon a chum, he claimed to be the -missing baronet, that led him to pursue the matter -in sober earnest. Indeed he seemed at first very -reluctant to leave Australia, and probably he was -only driven to accede to Lady Tichborne’s request, -to return “home” at once, by the fact that he had -raised large sums of money on his expectations. -His original intention was probably to obtain some -sort of recognition, and then to return to Australia -with whatever money he had succeeded in collecting.</p> - -<p>After wasting much time he left Australia and -arrived in England, by a very circuitous route, on -Christmas Day, 1866. His first step on landing, it -was subsequently discovered, was to make a mysterious -visit to Wapping. His parents were dead, -but his enquiries showed a knowledge, both of the -Orton family and the locality, which was afterwards<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_216">216</a></span> -used against him with very damaging effect. -His next proceeding was to make a flying -and surreptitious excursion to Tichborne House, -where, as far as possible, he acquainted himself with -the bearings of the place. In this he was greatly -assisted by one Rous, a former clerk to the old -Tichborne attorney, who was then keeping a public -house in the place. From this man, who became -his staunch ally, he had no doubt acquired much -useful information; and it is significant that he -sedulously kept clear of Mr. Gosford, the agent to -whom the real Roger had confided his sealed packet -before leaving England.</p> - -<p>Lady Tichborne was living in Paris at this time -and it was here, in his hotel bedroom, on a dark -January afternoon, that their first interview took -place for, curiously enough, the gentleman was too -ill to leave his bed! The deluded woman professed -to recognise him at once. As she sat beside his bed, -“Roger” keeping his face turned to the wall, the -conversation took a wide range, the sick man showing -himself strangely astray. He talked to her of -his grandfather, whom the real Roger had never -seen; he said he had served in the ranks; referred -to Stonyhurst as Winchester; spoke of his suffering -as a lad from St. Vitus’s dance—a complaint which -first led to young Arthur Orton being sent on a -sea voyage; but did not speak of the rheumatism -from which Roger had suffered. But it was all -one to the infatuated woman—“He confuses everything<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_217">217</a></span> -as if in a dream,” she wrote in exculpating -him; but unsatisfactory as this identification was, -she never departed from her belief. She lived -under the same roof with him for weeks, accepted -his wife and children, and allowed him £1,000 a -year. It did not weigh with her that the rest of -the family unanimously declared him to be an impostor, -or that he failed to recognise them or to -recall any incident in Roger’s life.</p> - -<p>Nearly four years elapsed before the Claimant -commenced his suit of ejectment against the trustees -of the infant Sir Alfred Tichborne—the posthumous -son of Roger’s younger brother; but he -utilised the time to good purpose. He had taken -into his service a couple of old Carbineers who had -been Roger’s servants and before long so completely -mastered small details of regimental life that -some thirty of Roger’s old brother-officers and men -were convinced of his identity. He went everywhere, -called upon all Roger’s old friends, visited -the Carbineers’ mess and generally left no stone unturned -to get together evidence in support of his -identity. As a result of his strenuous activity and -plausibility he produced at the first trial over one -hundred witnesses who, on oath, identified him as -Roger Tichborne; and these witnesses included -Lady Tichborne, the family solicitor, magistrates, -officers and men from Roger’s old regiment besides -various Tichborne tenants and friends of the -family. On the other hand, there were only seventeen<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_218">218</a></span> -witnesses arraigned against him; and, in his -own opinion, it was his own evidence that lost him -the case. He would have won, he said, “if only -he could have kept his mouth shut.”</p> - -<p>The trial of this action lasted 102 days. Sergeant -Ballantine led for the Claimant; and Sir -John Coleridge (afterwards Lord Chief-justice), -and Mr. Hawkins, Q. C. (afterwards Lord Brampton), -for the trustees of the estates of Tichborne. -The cross-examination of the Claimant at the hands -of Sir John Coleridge lasted twenty-two days, -during which the colossal ignorance he displayed -was only equalled by his boldness, dexterity and the -bull-dog tenacity with which he faced the ordeal. -To quote Sir John’s own words: “The first sixteen -years of his life he has absolutely forgotten; the few -facts he had told the jury were already proved, or -would hereafter be shown, to be absolutely false and -fabricated. Of his college life he could recollect -nothing. About his amusements, his books, his -music, his games, he could tell nothing. Not a -word of his family, of the people with whom he -lived, their habits, their persons, their very names. -He had forgotten his mother’s maiden name; he -was ignorant of all particulars of the family estate; -he remembered nothing of Stonyhurst; and in military -matters he was equally deficient. Roger, born -and educated in France, spoke and wrote French -like a native and his favourite reading was French -literature; but the Claimant knew nothing of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_219">219</a></span> -French. Of the ‘sealed’ packet he knew nothing -and, when pressed, his interpretation of its contents -contained the foulest and blackest calumny of the -cousin whom Roger had so fondly loved. This was -proved by Mr. Gosford, to whom the packet had -been originally entrusted, and by the production -of the duplicate which Roger had given to Miss -Doughty herself. The physical discrepancy, too, -was no less remarkable; for, while Roger, who took -after his mother was slight and delicate, with narrow -sloping shoulders, a long narrow face and thin -straight dark hair, the Claimant was of enormous -bulk, scaling over twenty-four stone, big-framed -and burly, with a large round face and an abundance -of fair and rather wavy hair. And yet, curiously -enough, the Claimant undoubtedly possessed -a strong likeness to several male members of the -Tichborne family.”</p> - -<p>When questioned as to the impressive episode of -Roger’s love for his cousin, the Claimant showed -himself hopelessly at sea. His answers were confused -and irreconcilable. Not only could he give -no precise dates, but even the broad outline of the -story was beyond him. Yet, for good reasons, the -Solicitor-General persisted in pressing him as to the -contents of the sealed packet and compelled him to -repeat the slanderous version of the incident which -he had long ago given when interrogated on the -point. Mrs. Radcliffe (she was not then Lady) -sat in court beside her husband, and thus had the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_220">220</a></span> -satisfaction of seeing the infamous charges brought -against the fair fame of her girlhood recoil on the -head of the wretch who had resorted to such villainous -devices. Unfortunately, some years after -Roger’s disappearance, Mr. Gosford, feeling that -he was neither justified in keeping the precious -packet, nor in handing it to any other person, had -burnt it; but, fortunately his testimony as to its -contents was proved in the most complete manner -by the production of the duplicate which poor -Roger had given to his cousin on his last visit to -Tichborne.</p> - -<p>Where the case broke down most completely was -in the matter of tattoo marks. Roger had been -freely tattooed. Among other marks he bore, on -his left arm, a cross, an anchor, and a heart which -was testified to by the persons who had pricked them -in. Orton, too, it was found out, had also been -tattooed on his left arm with his initials, “A. O.,” -and, though neither remained, there was a mark -which was sworn to be the obliteration of those letters. -Small wonder then that, on the top of this -damning piece of evidence, the jury declared they -required to hear nothing further, upon which the -Claimant’s counsel, to avoid the inevitable verdict -for their opponents, elected to be nonsuited. But -these tactics did not save their client, for he was at -once arrested, on the judge’s warrant, on the charge -of wilful and corrupt perjury, and committed to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_221">221</a></span> -Newgate where he remained until bail for £10,000 -was forthcoming.</p> - -<p>A year later, on April 23, 1873, the Claimant -was arraigned before a special jury in the Court -of Queen’s Bench. The proceedings were of a -most prolix and unusual character. Practically -the same ground was covered as in the civil trial, -only the process was reversed: the Claimant having -now to defend instead of to attack. Many of the -better-class witnesses, including the majority of -Roger’s brother-officers, now forsook the Claimant. -There was a deal of cross-swearing. The climax -of the long trial was the production by the defence -of a witness to support the Claimant’s account of -his wreck and rescue. This was a man who called -himself Jean Luie and claimed to be a Danish seaman. -With a wealth of picturesque detail he told -how he was one of the crew of the <i>Osprey</i> which -had picked up a boat of the shipwrecked <i>Bella</i>, in -which was the claimant and some of the crew, and -how when the <i>Osprey</i> arrived at Melbourne, in the -height of the gold fever, every man of the crew -from the captain downwards had deserted the ship -and gone up country. According to his story from -that time forth he had seen nothing of any of the -castaways; but having come to England in search -of his wife he had heard of the trial. When Luie -was first brought into the presence of the Claimant -that astute person immediately claimed him with<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_222">222</a></span> -the greeting in Spanish “<i xml:lang="es" lang="es">Como esta, Luie?</i>”—“How -are you, Luie?” The sailor with equal -readiness recognised Orton as the man he had -helped to rescue years before. All this sounded -very convincing; but it would not stand investigation. -From the beginning to end the thing was an -invention; an examination of shipping records -failed to find the <i>Osprey</i> so that she must have escaped -the notice of the authorities in every port she -had entered from the day she was launched! Of -“Sailor” Luie, however, a very complete record was -established. Not only were the police able to prove -that, at the time he swore he was a seaman on board -the <i>Osprey</i>, he was actually employed by a firm at -Hull; that he had never been a seaman at all; but -that he was a well-known habitual criminal and convict -only recently released on a ticket-of-leave. -This made things very awkward for the defence -who made every effort to shake free from the taint -of such perjured evidence. Dr. Kenealy, seeing -his dilemma, contended that it had been concocted -by Luie himself. But the damning and unanswerable -fact remained—that, by his recognition of the -man, the Claimant had acknowledged a previous acquaintance -with him which he could only have had -by being privy to the fraud.</p> - -<p>On February 28, 1874, the one hundred and -eighty-eighth day of the trial, the jury after half-an-hour’s -deliberation returned their verdict. -They found that the defendant was not Roger<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_223">223</a></span> -Charles Tichborne; that he was Arthur Orton; and -finally that the charges made against Miss -Catherine Doughty were not supported by the -slightest evidence. Orton was sentenced to fourteen -years’ penal servitude which, assuredly, was -none too heavy for offences so enormous. The -trial was remarkable, not only for its inordinate -length, but also for the extraordinary scenes by -which it was characterised and for which Dr. -Kenealy, leading counsel for the defence, was primarily -responsible. His conduct was sternly denounced -by the Lord Chief Justice in his summing -up as: “the torrent of undisguised and unlimited -abuse in which the learned counsel for the defence -has thought fit to indulge,” and he declared that -“there never was in the history of jurisprudence a -case in which such an amount of imputation and invective -had been used before.” After the trial was -over, Dr. Kenealy tried to turn the case into a national -question through the medium of a virulent -paper he started with the title of the <cite>Englishman</cite>; -and undeterred by being disbarred for his flagrant -breaches of professional etiquette, he went about the -country delivering the most extravagant speeches -concerning the trial. He was elected Member of -Parliament for Stoke, and, on April 23, 1875, -moved for a royal commission of inquiry into the -conduct of the Tichborne Case; but his motion was -defeated by 433 votes to 1.</p> - -<p>The verdict and sentence created enormous excitement<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_224">224</a></span> -throughout the country, for all classes, -more or less, had subscribed to the defence fund. -But, by the time Orton was released, in 1884, practically -all interest had died away, and his effort to -resuscitate it was a miserable failure. In the -sworn confession which he published in the <cite>People</cite>, -in 1895, he told the whole story of the fraud from -its inception to its final denouement. Orton survived -his release from prison for fourteen years, -but gradually sinking into poverty, he died in obscure -lodgings in Shouldham Street, Marylebone, -on April 1, 1898. To the end he was a fraud and -impostor for, before his death, he is said to have -recanted his sworn confession, which nevertheless -bore the stamp of truth and was in perfect accord -with the information obtained by the prosecution, -while his coffin bore the lying inscription: “Sir -Roger Charles Doughty Tichborne; born 5th -January, 1829; died 1st April, 1898.”</p> - - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_227">227</a></span></p> -<div class="chapter"> -<h2><a id="VII_WOMEN_AS_MEN"></a>VII. WOMEN AS MEN</h2> -</div> - - -<h3 id="A_THE_MOTIVE_FOR_DISGUISE">A. THE MOTIVE FOR DISGUISE</h3> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">One</span> of the commonest forms of imposture—so -common that it seems rooted in a -phase of human nature—is that of women -who disguise themselves as men. It is not to be -wondered at that such attempts are made; or -that they were made more often formerly when -social advancement had not enlarged the scope -of work available for women. The legal and -economic disabilities of the gentler sex stood -then so fixedly in the way of working opportunity -that women desirous of making an honest -livelihood took desperate chances to achieve -their object. We have read of very many cases in -the past; and even now the hum-drum of life is -broken by the fact or the echo of some startling revelation -of the kind. Only very lately the death of -a person who had for many years occupied a -worthy though humble position in London caused -a post-mortem sensation by the discovery that the -deceased individual, though looked on for about a -quarter of a century as a man, a widower, and the -father of a grown-up daughter, was in reality a -woman. She was actually buried under the name<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_228">228</a></span> -of the man she had professed to be, Harry Lloyd.</p> - -<p>It is not to be wondered at that in more strenuous -times, when the spirit of adventure was less -curbed, and initial difficulties were less deadened -by convention, cases of concealment of sex were far -more numerous and more easily prolonged. In -an age of foreign wars, many existing barriers -against success in this respect were removed by -general laxity of social conditions. Perhaps I may -be allowed to say at the outset that, for my own -part, my mind refuses absolutely to accept that -which is generally alleged in each case, that the -male comrades of women concealing their proper -sex were, all through, ignorant of the true facts. -Human nature is opposed to such a supposition, -and experience bears out the shrewdness of nature. -On occasions, or even for a time, it is possible to -make such successful concealments. But when we -are told that a woman has gone through a whole -campaign or a prolonged voyage in all the overcrowded -intimacy of tent and bivouac or of cabin -and forecastle, without such a secret being suspected -or discovered, the narrator makes an overlarge -draft on human credulity. That such comrades, -and many of them, forbore to give away the -secret, no matter how it had come into their possession, -we may well believe. Comradeship is a strong -factor in such matters, and it has its own loyalty, -which is never stronger than when the various persons -interested are held together by the knowledge<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_229">229</a></span> -of a common danger. But even to this there is a -contra; the whole spirit of romance, even when it -binds man to woman and woman to man, stands -side by side with love, affection, passion—call it -what you will—which opportunity can fan into -flame. Never more so than in the strenuous days -of fighting, when day and night are full of varying -fears—when the mad turmoil of working hours and -loneliness of the night forge new fetters for the -binding together of the sexes.</p> - -<p>In real life, when a man or a woman tries to escape -from capture or the fear of it in the guise of -the opposite sex, it is a never-ending struggle to -sustain the rôle successfully. If this is so, when the -whole of the energies of mind and body are devoted -in singleness of purpose to the task, how then -can the imposture be successfully prolonged when -the mind is eternally occupied with the pressing -things of the passing moments? There must infallibly -be moments of self-betrayal; and there is -sufficient curiosity in the average person to insure -that the opportunities of such moments are not lost. -Be this as it may, we must in the first instance stick -to matters of fact; the record is our sheet-anchor. -After all, when we learn of a case where an imposture -of the kind has been successfully carried -out, it is time enough to argue with convincing perspicacity -that it should not have been possible.</p> - -<p>As to record, there are quite sufficient cases to -convince any reader as to the fact that, allowing for<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_230">230</a></span> -all possible error and wastage, there have been a -sufficient number undetected at the time of their -happening, and only made known by after-confession -and by the force of ulterior circumstances. -Whatever opinion we may form of the women who -carried out the venture, there is neither occasion nor -need to doubt the fact they were so carried out. -The consideration of a few cases culled from the -records of this class of successful imposture will -make this plain. It would be useless, if not impossible, -to make full lists of the names of women who -have passed themselves off as men in the fighting -world—soldiers and sailors, with side interests -such as piracy, duelling, highway robbery, etc. -Amongst the female soldiers are the names of -Christian Davis (known as Mother Ross), Hannah -Snell, Phœbe Hessel. Amongst the sailors those -of Mary Talbot, Ann Mills, Hannah Whitney, -Charles Waddell. In the ranks of the pirates are -Mary Reid and Ann Bonney. In many of these -cases are underlying romances, as of women making -search for lost or absconding husbands, or of -lovers making endeavours to regain the lost paradise -of life together.</p> - -<p>If there were nothing else in these little histories, -their perusal in detail would well repay attention -as affording proof of the boundless devotion of -woman’s love. No matter how badly the man may -have treated the woman, no matter how heartlessly -or badly he may have behaved towards her, her affection<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_231">231</a></span> -was proof against all. Indeed it makes one -believe that there is some subtle self-sustaining, -self-ennobling quality in womanhood which her -initial self-surrender makes a constant force towards -good. Even a nature which took new -strength from the turmoil of battle, from the harrowing -suspense of perpetual vigil, from the strain -of physical weakness bravely borne, from pain and -want and hunger, instead of hardening into obstinate -indifference, seems to have softened as to -sentiment, and been made gentle as to memory, as -though the sense of wrong had been purged by the -forces of affliction. All this, though the stress of -campaigning may have blunted some of the conventional -susceptibility of womanhood. For the after -life of some of these warlike heroines showed that -they had lost none of the love of admiration which -marks their sex, none of their satisfaction in posing -as characters other than their own. Several of -them found pleasure in a new excitement different -from that of battle, in the art of the stage. -Whenever any of them made any effort to settle -down in life after their excitement in the life of the -camp or the sea, such did so at some place, and -in some way congenial to herself and consistent -with the life which she was leaving.</p> - - - -<h3><a id="B_HANNAH_SNELL"></a>B. HANNAH SNELL</h3> - - -<p>Hannah Snell is a good instance of how the life -of a woman who was not by nature averse from adventure<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_232">232</a></span> -was moulded by chance in the direction -which suited her individuality. Of course, liking -for a militant life, whether in conventional or exceptional -form, presupposes a natural boldness of -spirit, resolution, and physical hardihood—all of -which this woman possessed in an eminent degree.</p> - -<p>She was born at Worcester in 1723, one of the -family of a hosier who had three sons and six -daughters. In 1740, when her father and mother -were dead, she went to live at Wapping with a sister -who had married a ship carpenter named Gray. -There she married a Dutch sailor, who before her -baby was born, had squandered such little property -as her father had left her, and then deserted her. -She went back to her sister, in whose house the baby -died. In 1743, she made up her mind to search -for her husband. To this end she put on man’s -clothes and a man’s name (that of her brother-in-law) -and enlisted in General Guise’s regiment. At -Carlisle, whither the regiment was sent she learned -something of a soldier’s duties. In doing so she -was selected by her sergeant, a man called Davis, -to help him in carrying out a criminal love affair. -In order to be able to warn the girl she pretended -acquiescence. In revenge the sergeant reported -her for an alleged neglect of some duty for which -according to the barbarous system of the time she -was sentenced to 600 lashes; of these she had actually -received 500 when on the intervention of some -of the officers the remaining hundred were foregone.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_233">233</a></span> -After this, fearing further aggression on -the part of the revengeful petty officer she deserted. -She walked all the way to Portsmouth—a -journey which occupied a whole month—where -she again enlisted as a marine in Fraser’s regiment, -which was shortly ordered on foreign service to the -East Indies. There was a storm on the way out, -during which she worked manfully at the pumps. -When the ship had passed Gibraltar there was another -bad storm in which she was wrecked. Hannah -Snell found her way to Madeira and thence to -the Cape of Good Hope. Her ship joined in the -taking of Arcacopong on the Coromandel Coast; -in which action Hannah fought so bravely that she -was praised by her officers. Later on she assisted -in the siege of Pondicherry which lasted nearly -three months before it had to be abandoned. In the -final attempt she served on picket duty and had to -ford, under fire, a river breast high. During the -struggle she received six bullets in the right leg, -five in the left leg, and one in the abdomen. Her -fear was not of death but discovery of her sex -through the last-named wound. By the friendly -aid of a black woman, however, she avoided this -danger. She managed to extract the bullet herself, -with her finger and thumb, and the wound -made a good cure. This wound caused her a delay -of some weeks during which her ship had to leave -for Bombay and was delayed five weeks by a leak. -Poor Hannah was again unfortunate in her officers;<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_234">234</a></span> -one of them to whom she had refused to sing had -her put in irons and given a dozen lashes. In 1749 -she went to Lisbon, where she learned by chance -that her husband had met at Genoa the death -penalty by drowning, for a murder which he had -committed. Discovery of her sex and her identity -would have been doubly dangerous now; but happily -she was able to conceal her alarm and so escaped -detection. She got back to London through -Spithead and once more found shelter in the house -of her sister who at once recognised her in spite of -her disguise. Her fine singing voice, which had -already caused her to be flogged, now stood her in -good stead. She applied for and obtained an engagement -at the Royalty theatre, Wellclose square; -and appeared with success as <em>Bill Bobstay</em> a sailor -and <em>Firelock</em> a soldier. She remained on the stage -for some months, always wearing male dress. The -government of the day gave her, on account of the -hardships she had endured, a pension of £20 per -annum. Later on she took a public-house at Wapping. -The sign of her hostelry became noted. -On one side of it was painted in effigy <em>The British -Tar</em> and on the other <em>The Valiant Marine</em>, and underneath -<em>The Widow in masquerade</em>, or the <em>Female -Warrior</em>.</p> - -<p>As Hannah appeared during her adventurous -career as both soldier and sailor she affords, in herself, -an illustrious example of female courage as -well as female duplicity in both of the services.</p> - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_235">235</a></span></p> - - -<h3><a id="C_LA_MAUPIN"></a>C. LA MAUPIN</h3> - - -<p>The majority of the readers of the English-speaking -race who enjoy Théophile Gautier’s -fascinating romance <cite>Mademoiselle de Maupin</cite> -are not aware that the heroine was a real person. -The novelist has of course made such -alterations as are required to translate crude -fact into more elegant fiction, and to obliterate so -far as can be done the criminal or partly-criminal -aspect of the lady’s venturous career. But such is -one of the chief duties of an artist in fiction. -Though he may be an historian, in a sense, he is not -limited to the occasional bareness of truth. His -object is not that his work shall be true but rather -what the French call <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">vraisemblable</i>. In narrative, -as in most arts, crudeness is rather a fault than a -virtue, so that the writer who looks for excellence -in his work has without losing force, to fill up the -blanks left by the necessary excision of fact by subtleties -of thought and graces of description, so that -the fulness or rotundity of the natural curves shall -always be maintained. In truth the story of <em>La -Maupin</em> is so laden with passages of excitement -and interest that any writer on the subject has only -to make an agreeable choice of episodes sufficiently -dramatic, and consistent with each other, to form a -cohesive narrative. Such a work has in it possibilities -of great success—if only the author has the -genius of a Théophile Gautier to set it forth. The<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_236">236</a></span> -real difficulty which such an one would have to contend -against would be to remove the sordidness, the -reckless passion, the unscrupulousness, the criminal -intent which lies behind such a character.</p> - -<p>The Mademoiselle de Maupin of real life was a -singer at the Opera in Paris at the end of the -seventeenth century. She was the daughter of a -man of somewhat humble extraction engaged in -secretarial work with the Count d’Armagnac; and -whilst only a girl married a man named Maupin -employed in the province. With him she had lived -only a few months when she ran away with a -maitre d’armes (<i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">anglicè</i>, a fencing master) named -Serane. If this individual had no other good quality -in matters human or divine, he was at least a -good teacher of the sword. His professional arts -were used in the service of his inamorata, who became -herself an excellent swordsman even in an age -when swordsmanship had an important place in -social life. It may have been the sexual equality -implied by the name which gave the young woman -the idea, but thenceforth she became a man in appearance;—in -reality, in so far as such a metamorphosis -can be accomplished by courage, recklessness, -hardihood, unscrupulousness, and a willing -obedience to all the ideas which passion and sensuality -can originate and a greed of notoriety carry into -execution.</p> - -<p>In a professional tour from Paris to Marseilles, -in which she as an actress took the part of a man,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_237">237</a></span> -she gained the affections of the flighty daughter of -a rich merchant of Marseilles; and, as a man, ran -away with her. Being pursued, they sought refuge -in a convent—a place which at that age it was -manifestly easier to get into than to get out of. -Here the two remained for a few days, during -which, by the aid of histrionic and other arts, the -actress obviated the necessary suspicions of her -foolish companion and kept danger away. All the -while La Maupin was conscious that an irate and -rich father was in hot search for his missing daughter, -and she knew that any talk about the venture -would infallibly lose her the girl’s fortune, besides -getting herself within the grip of the law. So she -decided on a bold scheme of escape from the convent, -whereby she might obliterate her tracks. A -nun of the convent had died and her body was -awaiting burial. In the night La Maupin exchanged -the body of the dead nun for the living one -of her own victim. Having thus got her companion -out of the convent, she set the building on fire -to cover up everything, and escaped in secret to a -neighbouring village, taking with her by force the -girl, who naturally enough was disillusioned and -began to have scruples as to the wisdom of her conduct. -In the village they remained hidden for a -few weeks, during which time the repentance of the -poor girl became a fixed quantity. An attempt, -well supported, was made to arrest the ostensible -man; but this was foiled by the female swordsman<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_238">238</a></span> -who killed one of the would-be captors and dangerously -wounded two others. The girl, however, -made good her escape; secretly she fled from her deceiver -and reached her parents in safety. But the -hue and cry was out after La Maupin, whose -identity was now known. She was pursued, captured, -and placed in gaol to await trial. The law -was strong and inexorable; the erring woman who -had thus outraged so many conventions was condemned -to be burned alive.</p> - -<p>But abstract law and the executive are quite different -things—at least they were in France at the -close of the seventeenth century: as indeed they are -occasionally in other countries and at varying times. -La Maupin, being a woman and a clever one, procured -sufficient influence to have the execution postponed, -and so had the full punishment delayed, if -not entirely avoided. More than this, she managed -to get back to Paris and so to begin her noxious -career all over again. Of course she had -strong help from her popularity. She was a favourite -at the opera, and the class which patronises -and supports this kind of artistic effort is a rich -and powerful one, which governments do not care -to displease by the refusal of such a small favour -as making the law hold its hand with regard to an -erring favourite.</p> - -<p>But La Maupin’s truculent tendencies were not -to be restrained. In Paris in 1695 whilst she was -one of the audience at a theatre she took umbrage<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_239">239</a></span> -at some act or speech of one of the comedians playing -in the piece, and leaving her seat went round -to the stage and caned him in the presence of the -audience. The actor, M. Dumenil, an accomplished -and favourite performer but a man of -peaceful disposition, submitted to the affront and -took no action in the matter. La Maupin, however, -suffered, through herself, the penalty of her -conduct. She had entered on a course of violence -which became a habit. For some years she flourished -and exercised all the tyrannies of her own sex -and in addition those habitual to men which came -from expert use of the sword. Thus she went attired -as a man to a ball given by a Prince of the -blood. In that garb she treated a fellow-guest, a -woman, with indecency; and she was challenged by -three different men—each of whom, when the consequent -fight came on, she ran through the body, -after which she returned to the ball. Shortly afterwards -she fought and wounded a man, M. de -Servan, who had affronted a woman. For these -escapades she was again pardoned. She then went -to Brussels where she lived under the protection of -Count Albert of Bavaria, the Elector. With him -she remained until the quarrel, inevitable in such a -life, came. After much bickering he agreed to her -demand of a settlement, but in order to show his -anger by affronting her he sent the large amount -of his involuntary bequest by the servile hand of -the husband of his mistress, Countess d’Arcos, who<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_240">240</a></span> -had supplanted her, with a curt message that she -must leave Brussels at once. The bearer of such a -message to such a woman as La Maupin had probably -reckoned on an unfriendly reception; but he -evidently underestimated her anger. Not contented -with flinging at his head the large <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">douceur</i> -of which he was the bearer, she expressed in her -direct way her unfavourable opinion, of him, of his -master, and of the message which he had carried -for the latter. She ended her tirade by kicking -him downstairs, with the justification for her form -of physical violence that she would not sully her -sword with his blood.</p> - -<p>From Brussels she went to Spain as <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">femme de -chambre</i> to the Countess Marino but returned to -Paris in 1704. Once more she took up her work -as an opera singer; or rather she tried to take it up, -but she had lost her vogue, and the public would -have none of her. As a matter of fact, she was -only just above thirty years of age, which should -under normal circumstances be the beginning of a -woman’s prime. But the life she had been leading -since her early girlhood was not one which made for -true happiness or for physical health; she was prematurely -old, and her artistic powers were worn out.</p> - -<p>Still, her pluck, and the obstinacy on which it -was grafted, remained. For a whole year she -maintained a never-failing struggle for her old supremacy, -but without avail. Seeing that all was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_241">241</a></span> -lost, she left the stage and returned to her husband -who, realising that she was rich, managed to reconcile -whatever shreds of honour he had to her infamous -record. The Church, too, accepted her—and -her riches—within its sheltering portals. By -the aid of a tolerant priest she got absolution, and -two years after her retirement from the opera she -died in a convent in all the odour of sanctity.</p> - - - -<h3><a id="D_MARY_EAST"></a>D. MARY EAST</h3> - - -<p>The story of Mary East is a pitiful one, -and gives a picture of the civil life of the -eighteenth century which cannot be lightly forgotten. -The condition of things has so changed -that already we almost need a new terminology in -order that we may understand as our great-grandfathers -did. Take for instance the following sentence -and try individually how many points in it -there are, the full meaning of which we are unable -to understand:</p> - -<p>“A young fellow courted one Mary East, and for -him she conceived the greatest liking; but he going -upon the highway, was tried for a robbery and cast, -but was afterwards transported.”</p> - -<p>The above was written by an accomplished -scholar, a Doctor of Divinity, rector of an English -parish. At the time of its writing, 1825, every -word of it was entirely comprehensible. If a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_242">242</a></span> -reader of that time could see it translated into modern -phraseology he would be almost as much surprised -as we are when we look back upon an age -holding possibilities no longer imaginable.</p> - -<p>“Going upon the highway” was in Mary East’s -time and a hundred years later a euphemism for -becoming a highway robber; “cast” meant condemned -to death; “transported” meant exiled to a -far distant place where one was guarded, and escape -from which was punishable with death. -Moreover robbery was at this time a capital offence.</p> - -<p>In 1736, when Mary East was sixteen, life was -especially hard on women. Few honest occupations -were open to them, and they were subject to -all the hardships consequent on a system in which -physical weakness was handicapped to a frightful -extent. When this poor girl was bereft of her natural -hope of a settlement in life she determined, as -the least unattractive form of living open to her, to -remain single. About the same time a friend of -hers arrived at the same resolution but by a different -road, her course being guided thereto by having -“met with many crosses in love.” The two -girls determined to join forces; and on consulting -as to ways and means decided that the likeliest way -to avoid suspicion was to live together under the -guise of man and wife. The toss of a coin decided -their respective rôles, the “breeches part” as it is -called in the argot of the theatre, falling to East.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_243">243</a></span> -The combined resources of the girls totalled some -thirty pounds sterling, so after buying masculine -garb for Mary they set out to find a place where -they were unknown and so might settle down in -peace. They found the sort of place they sought -in the neighbourhood of Epping Forest where, -there being a little public-house vacant, Mary—now -under the name of James How—became the -tenant. For some time they lived in peace at Epping, -with the exception of a quarrel forced by a -young gentleman on the alleged James How in -which the latter was wounded in the hand. It must -have been a very one-sided affair, for when the injured -“man” took action he was awarded £500 -damages—a large sum in those days and for such -a cause. With this increase to their capital the two -women moved to Limehouse on the east side of London -where they took at Limehouse-hole a more important -public-house. This they managed in so excellent -a manner that they won the respect of their -neighbours and throve exceedingly.</p> - -<p>After a time they moved from Limehouse to -Poplar where they bought another house and added -to their little estate by the purchase of other houses.</p> - -<p>Peace, hard work, and prosperity marked their -life thence-forward, till fourteen years had passed -since the beginning of their joint venture.</p> - -<p>Peace and prosperity are, however, but feeble -guardians to weakness. Nay, rather are they incentive -to evil doing. For all these years the two<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_244">244</a></span> -young women had conducted themselves with such -rectitude, and observed so much discretion, that -even envy could not assail them through the web of -good repute which they had woven round their masquerade. -Alone they lived, keeping neither -female servant nor male assistant. They were -scrupulously honest in their many commercial dealings -and, absolutely punctual in their agreements -and obligations. James How took a part in the -public life of his locality, filling in turn every parish -office except those of Constable and Churchwarden. -From the former he was excused on account of the -injury to his hand from which he had never completely -recovered. Regarding the other his time -had not yet come, but he was named for Churchwarden -in the year following to that in which a -bolt fell from the blue, 1730. It came in this wise: -A woman whose name of coverture was Bently, -and who was now resident in Poplar, had known the -alleged James How in the days when they were -both young. Her own present circumstances were -poor and she looked on the prosperity of her old acquaintance -as a means to her own betterment. It -was but another instance of the old crime of “blackmail.” -She sent to the former Mary East for a loan -of £10, intimating that if the latter did not send it -she would make known the secret of her sex. The -poor panic-stricken woman foolishly complied with -the demand, thus forcing herself deeper into the -mire of the other woman’s unscrupulousness. The<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_245">245</a></span> -forced loan, together with Bently’s fears for her -own misdeed procured immunity for some fifteen -years from further aggression. At the end of that -time, however, under the renewed pressure of need -Bently repeated her demand. “James How” had -not the sum by her, but she sent £5—another link -in the chain of her thraldom.</p> - -<p>From that time on there was no more peace for -poor Mary East. Her companion of nearly thirty-five -years died and she, having a secret to guard -and no assistance being possible, was more helpless -than ever and more than ever under the merciless -yoke of the blackmailer. Mrs. Bently had a fair -idea of how to play her own despicable game. As -her victim’s fear was her own stock-in-trade she -supplemented the sense of fear which she knew to -exist by a conspiracy strengthened by all sorts of -schemes to support its seeming <i xml:lang="la" lang="la">bona fides</i>. She -took in two male accomplices and, thus enforced, -began operations. Her confederates called on -James How, one armed with a constable’s staff, the -other appearing as one of the “thief-takers” of the -gang of the notorious magistrate, Fielding—an -evil product of an evil time. Having confronted -How they told him that they had come by order of -Mr. Justice Fielding to arrest him for the commission -of a robbery over forty years before, alleging -that they were aware of his being a woman. -Mary East, though quite innocent of any such offence -but acutely conscious of her imposture of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_246">246</a></span> -manhood, in her dismay sought the aid of a friend -called Williams who understood and helped her. -He went to the magistrates of the district and then -to Sir John Fielding to make inquiries and claim -protection. During his absence the two villains -took Mary East from her house and by threats secured -from her a draft on Williams for £100. -With this in hand they released their victim who -was even more anxious than themselves not to let -the matter have greater publicity than it had already -obtained. However, Justice demanded a -further investigation, and one of the men being -captured—the other had escaped—was tried, and -being found guilty, was sentenced to imprisonment -for four years together with four appearances in -the pillory.</p> - -<p>Altogether Mary East and her companion had -lived together as husband and wife for nearly -thirty-five years, during which time they had honestly -earned, and by self-denial saved, over four -thousand pounds sterling and won the good opinion -of all with whom they had come in contact. They -were never known to cook a joint of meat for their -own use, to employ any help, or to entertain private -friends in their house. They were cautious, careful, -and discreet in every way and seemed to live -their lives in exceeding blamelessness.</p> - - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_249">249</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2><a id="VIII_HOAXES_ETC"></a>VIII. HOAXES, ETC.</h2> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">There</span> is a class of imposture which must -be kept apart from others of its kind, or at -least ear-marked in such wise that there -can be no confusion of ideas regarding it. This includes -all sorts of acts which, though often attended -with something of the same result as other efforts -to mislead, are yet distinguished from them by intention. -They have—whatever may be their results—a -jocular and humorous intention. Such -performances are called hoaxes. These, though -amusing to their perpetrators and to certain sportive -persons, and though generally causing a due -amount of pain and loss to those on whom they are -inflicted, usually escape the condign and swift punishment -which they deserve. It is generally held -that humour, like charity, covereth a multitude of -sins. So be it. We are all grateful for a laugh -no matter who may suffer.</p> - - - -<h3><a id="A_TWO_LONDON_HOAXES"></a>A. TWO LONDON HOAXES</h3> - - -<p>Not many years ago, in one of the popular -dairy-refreshment shops in Holborn, the prim -manageress and her white-capped waitresses -were just commencing their day’s work when -a couple of sturdy green-aproned men swooped<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_250">250</a></span> -down on the place from a large pantechnicon -van, and to the amazement of the young ladies -commenced to clear the shop.</p> - -<p>“There you are Bill. Hand up them chairs, and -look slippy.”</p> - -<p>“Right o’, mate.”</p> - -<p>“Good gracious me, what are you men doing?” -shrieked the alarmed manageress.</p> - -<p>“Doing, miss, doing? Why moving the furniture. -This is the lot ain’t it?”</p> - -<p>“No, no, no; there must be some mistake. You -must have come to the wrong place.”</p> - -<p>“Mistake, wrong place? No miss. ’Ere, look -where’s that letter?” And Jack placed a begrimed -document before the lady.</p> - -<p>The letter seemed right enough. It read beautifully, -a plain direction to clear the shop and remove -the stuff elsewhere; it only lacked the official heading -of the company. But the joint inspection was -rudely broken in upon by the arrival of a couple of -the knights of the brush who had come “to do the -chimbley, maam”; and ere they could be disposed of -vans of coals began to draw up, more pantechnicons, -more sweeps, loads of furniture, butchers with -prime joints, plump birds from the poulterers, fish -of every conceivable kind, noisy green-grocer boys, -staggering under huge loads of vegetables; florists -“to decorate,” gasfitters, carpenters “to take down -the counter, miss”; others “to put it up.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_251">251</a></span></p> - -<div class="tb">* <span class="in2">* </span><span class="in2">* </span><span class="in2">* </span><span class="in2">*</span></div> - -<p>Pandemonium is quiet compared with that shop. -The poor manageress was in tears, deafened with -the exasperated, swearing representatives of, apparently, -all the tradesmen for miles around. The -thing had been well done. No sooner had the provision -merchants worked clear and the streams of -vans, waggons and carts been backed away to the -accompaniment of much lurid language, than ladies -began to arrive with boxes of mysterious long -garments which, they assured the indignant lady -in charge, they were instructed were urgently -needed for an event they referred to as “interesting.” -There was no monotony, for fast and furious—very -furious sometimes—came other maidens -laden with more boxes and still more boxes, filled -with costumes, bonnets, and other creations dear to -the feminine mind. Then came servants “in answer -to your advertisement, madam.” They -flocked in from all directions, north, south, east and -west. Never was seen such a concourse of servants: -dignified housekeepers, housemaids, parlourmaids, -and every other sort of maid, seemed to be -making for that unfortunate manageress. Sleek-looking -butlers popped in, as uniformed nurses -popped out. Window-cleaners had to be torn from -the windows they insisted they had got orders to -clean; carpet beaters sought carpets which did not -exist. Never had mortal—aye and immortal—requirements -been thought out with more thoughtful -care. From the needs of the unborn baby, to the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_252">252</a></span> -“poor departed one,” whom melancholy gentlemen -in seedy black came to measure, all were remembered, -and the man for whose especial benefit presumably -were intended beautiful wreaths, crosses, -harps, etc., which kept constantly arriving. -Throughout that live-long day to the “dewy eve” -beloved of the poet the game went merrily on.</p> - -<p>As a hoax the thing was worked for all it was -worth. Not only had shoals of letters evidently -been sent out, but advertisements, too, had been -freely distributed among the press. Needless to -say that, despite the closest investigations, its -author or authors, discreetly silent, remained unknown.</p> - -<p>The joke was not new by any means. Well -nigh a century before mischief-loving Theodore -Hook had stirred all London by a similar prank—the -famous Berners Street Hoax. In those days -Berners Street was a quiet thoroughfare inhabited -by fairly well-to-do families. Indeed it was this -very sedate quietness which drew upon it Hook’s -unwelcome attention. Fixing on one of the houses, -which happened to be adorned with a brass plate, he -made a wager with a brother wag that he would -cause that particular house to become the talk of the -town: and he certainly did—for not only the town, -but all England shrieked with laughter when the result -of his little manœuvre became known.</p> - -<p>One morning, soon after breakfast, waggons -laden with coals began to draw up before the house<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_253">253</a></span> -with the brass plate, No. 54. These were quickly -succeeded with tradespeople by the dozen with various -commodities. These in turn were followed by -van loads of furniture; followed by a hearse with a -coffin and a number of mourning coaches. Soon -the street became choked: for, what with the goods -dumped down as near as possible to the house—pianos, -organs, and cart loads of furniture of all -descriptions, the anxious tradesmen, and the laughing -mob of people quickly attracted to the scene, -confusion reigned supreme. About this time the -Lord Mayor and other notabilities began to arrive -in their carriages. His Lordship’s stay was short. -He was driven to Marlborough Street police office -where he informed the magistrate that he had -received a note purporting to come from Mrs. T., -the victimised widow resident at No. 54, saying she -was confined to her room and begging his lordship -to do her the favour of calling on her on important -business. Meanwhile, the trouble in Berners -Street was growing serious, and officers belonging -to the Marlborough Street office were at once sent -to keep order. For a time even they were helpless. -Never was such a strange meeting: barbers with -wigs; mantlemakers with band-boxes; opticians -with their various articles of trade. Presently -there arrived a couple of fashionable physicians, an -accoucheur, and a dentist. There were clockmakers, -carpet manufacturers and wine merchants, all -loaded with specimens of their trade; brewers with<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_254">254</a></span> -barrels of ale, curiosity dealers with sundry knickknacks; -cartloads of potatoes; books, prints, jewellery, -feathers and furbelows of all kinds; ices and -jellies; conjuring tricks; never was such a conglomeration. -Then, about five o’clock servants of all -kinds began to troop in to apply for situations. -For a time the police officers were powerless. -Vehicles were jammed and interlocked; the exasperated -drivers were swearing, and the disappointed -tradesmen were maddened by the malicious -fun of the crowd who were enjoying the joke. -Some of the vans were overturned and many of the -tradesmens’ goods came to grief; while some of the -casks of ale became the prey of the delighted spectators. -All through the day and late into the night -this extraordinary state of things continued, to the -dismay and terror of the poor lady and the other inmates -of the house with the brass plate.</p> - -<p>Theodore Hook had taken precautions to secure -a good seat for the performance, having taken furnished-apartments -just opposite the house of his -victim, where he posted himself with one or two -companions to enjoy the scene. Hook’s connection -with the mad joke was, fortunately for him, not -known until long afterwards; it seems he had devoted -three or four whole days to writing the letters, -all couched in ladylike style. In the end the -novelist seems to have been rather frightened at -the result of his little joke, for he made a speedy -departure to the country; and there is no doubt<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_255">255</a></span> -that, had he been publicly known as its author, he -would have fared badly.</p> - - - -<h3><a id="B_THE_CAT_HOAX"></a>B. THE CAT HOAX</h3> - - -<p>One very amusing variation of the countless -imitations, which the success of this trick gave -rise to, was the “cat hoax” at Chester, in August, -1815. It was at the time when it had been -determined to send Napoleon to St. Helena. -One morning, a number of hand bills were distributed -in and around Chester, stating that, owing -to the island of St. Helena being invested with rats, -the government required a number of cats for deportation. -Sixteen shillings were offered for -“every athletic full-grown tom cat, ten shillings for -every adult female puss, and a half-crown for -every thriving kitten that could swill milk, pursue -a ball of thread, or fasten its young fangs in a -dying mouse.” An address was given at which -the cats were to be delivered; but it proved to be -an empty house. The advertisement resulted in -the victimisation of hundreds of people. Men, -women, and children streamed into the city from -miles around laden with cats of every description. -Some hundreds were brought in, and the scene before -the door of the empty house is said to have -baffled description. When the hoax was discovered -many of the cats were liberated; the following -morning no less than five hundred dead cats were -counted floating down the river Dee.</p> - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_256">256</a></span></p> - - -<h3><a id="C_THE_MILITARY_REVIEW"></a>C. THE MILITARY REVIEW</h3> - - -<p>Practical jokes of this nature have more than -once led to serious results. In the summer of -1812 a report was extensively circulated that -a grand military review was to be held on the -19th of June. Booths were erected and as many -as twenty thousand people assembled, despite -the efforts of the authorities who, when they -learned what was happening, posted men in the -several roads leading to the heath to warn the people -that they had been hoaxed. But their efforts -were useless. The rumour was believed and the -contradiction ignored; vehicles, horsemen and -pedestrians pushed on to their destination. When, -however, the day wore on without any appearance -of the promised military pageant, the crowd grew -angry and then broke out in acts of violence. The -heath was set on fire. Messengers were sent off -express to London, and a detachment of the guards -had to be marched down to quell the mob. In the -disorder one poor woman was thrown out of a chaise -and picked up in an unconscious condition.</p> - - - -<h3><a id="D_THE_TOLL-GATE"></a>D. THE TOLL-GATE</h3> - - -<p>Many distinguished actors have been very -fond of playing practical jokes and perpetrating -hoaxes. Young, the tragedian, was one -day driving in a gig with a friend on the outskirts -of London. Pulling up at a turn-pike<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_257">257</a></span> -gate he noticed the name of the toll-collector -written up over the door. Calling to him the -woman, the wife of that functionary, who appeared -to be in charge of the gate, he politely told her that -he particularly wished to see Mr. ——, naming the -toll-collector, on a matter of importance. Impressed -by Young’s manner, she promptly sent for -her husband, who was working in a neighbouring -field. Hastily washing himself and putting on a -clean coat he presented himself. The actor gravely -said: “I paid for a ticket at the last gate, and was -told that it would free me through this one. As I -wish to be scrupulously exact, will you kindly tell -me whether such is the case?” “Why of course it -is?” “Can I then pass through without paying?” -The toll-collector’s reply and his vituperation as -the travellers passed on had better, perhaps, be left -to the imagination.</p> - - - -<h3><a id="E_THE_MARRIAGE_HOAX"></a>E. THE MARRIAGE HOAX</h3> - - -<p>Hoaxes are sometimes malicious, and often -cruel, as the following instance will show: A -young couple were about to be married in -Birmingham when those officiating—it was a -Jewish wedding—were startled by the delivery -of a telegram from London with the message: -“Stop marriage at once. His wife and children -have arrived in London and will come on to Birmingham.” -The bride fainted and the bridegroom -was frantically perturbed at thus summarily being<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_258">258</a></span> -provided with a wife and family. But it was useless; -the unhappy man had to make the best of his -way through an exasperated crowd full of sympathy -for the wronged girl. Inquiry, however, -showed her friends that the whole thing was a hoax—possibly -worked by some revengeful rival of the -man whose happiness had been so unexpectedly -deferred.</p> - - - -<h3><a id="F_BURIED_TREASURE"></a>F. BURIED TREASURE</h3> - - -<p>Most people have heard of the “Spanish Treasure -swindle” and, though less elaborate than the -original, a variation of it practised on a French -merchant was rather “cute.” One morning he -received an anonymous communication advising -him that a box of treasure was buried in his -garden the exact position of which would be -pointed out to him, if he agreed to divide the -spoil. He rose at once to the bait, met his -generous informant, and before long the pair were -merrily at work with pickaxe and shovel. Sure -enough before long their exertions were awarded -by the unearthing of a box full of silver coins. -The hoard proved to consist of sixteen hundred -five-franc pieces; and the delighted merchant, after -carefully counting them out into two piles, offered -one lot to his partner as his share. That worthy, -after contemplating the heap for a minute or two, -observed that it would be rather a heavy load to -carry to the railway station, and said he would prefer,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_259">259</a></span> -if it could be managed, to have the amount in -gold or notes. “Certainly, certainly!” was the -reply. The two men walked up to the house and -the business was settled to their mutual satisfaction. -Twenty-four hours later, the merchant took -a very different view of the transaction; for examination -discovered there was not one genuine five-franc -piece among the whole lot.</p> - - - -<h3><a id="G_DEAN_SWIFTS_HOAX"></a>G. DEAN SWIFT’S HOAX</h3> - - -<p>One of the most beautiful hoaxes ever perpetrated -was one for which Swift was responsible. -He caused a broad-sheet to be printed and circulated -which purported to be the “last dying -speech” of one Elliston, a street robber, in -which the condemned thief was made to say: -“Now as I am a dying man, I have done something -which may be of use to the public. I have -left with an honest man—the only honest man I -was ever acquainted with—the names of all my -wicked brethren, the places of their abode, with a -short account of the chief crimes they have committed, -in many of which I have been their accomplice, -and heard the rest from their own mouths. I have -likewise set down names of those we call our setters, -of the wicked houses we frequent, and all of those -who receive and buy our stolen goods. I have -solemnly charged this honest man, and have received -his promise upon oath, that whenever he hears of -any rogue to be tried for robbery or housebreaking,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_260">260</a></span> -he will look into his list, and if he finds the name -there of the thief concerned, to send the whole paper -to the Government. Of this I here give my companions -fair and public warning, and hope they will -take it.” So successful, we are told, was the Dean’s -ruse that, for many years afterwards, street robberies -were almost unknown.</p> - - - -<h3><a id="H_HOAXED_BURGLARS"></a>H. HOAXED BURGLARS</h3> - - -<p>The above ingenious device recalls another -occasion when some gentlemen who made burglary -their profession, and who had been paying -a midnight visit to the house of a Hull -tradesman were sadly “sold.” They found the -cash-box lying handy, and, to their delight, weighty; -so heavy indeed that they did not stay to help themselves -to anything further. Next morning the -cash-box was found not far from the shop and its -contents in an ash-pit close by. After all the -trouble they had taken, to say nothing of the risks -they had run, the burglars found their prize consisted -only of a lump of lead, and that their intended -victim had been too artful for them.</p> - - - -<h3><a id="I_BOGUS_SAUSAGES"></a>I. BOGUS SAUSAGES</h3> - - -<p>As an example of how a dishonest penny may -be turned the following incident would be hard to -beat.</p> - -<p>Two weary porters at the King’s Cross terminus -of the Great Northern Railway were thinking<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_261">261</a></span> -about going home, when a breathless, simple-looking -countryman rushed up to them with anxious -enquiries for a certain train. It had gone. He -was crushed. “Whatever was he to do? He had -been sent up from Cambridge with a big hamper -of those sausages for which the University town is -celebrated—a very special order. Was there no -other train?” “No.” The poor fellow seemed -overwhelmed. “As it is too late to find another -market,” he complained, “the whole lot will be lost.” -Then a happy thought seemed to strike him as more -of the railway men gathered round, and he inquired -ingratiatingly, “Would you care to buy the sausages; -if you would, you could have them for fourpence -a pound? If I keep them, they will probably -go bad before I can dispose of them.” The -idea took—“Real Cambridge Sausages” at fourpence -a pound was not to be sneezed at. The -dainties, neatly packed in pounds, went like the -proverbial hot cakes. Shouldering the empty -basket, and bidding his customers a kindly goodnight, -the yokel set off to find a humble lodging -for the night. Grateful smiles greeted the purchasers -when they got home. Frying pans were -got out and the sausages were popped in, and never -was such a sizzling heard in the railway houses—or -rather never should such a sizzling have been heard. -But somehow they didn’t sizzle. “They are uncommon -dry; seem to have no fat in ’em,” said the puzzled -cook. They were dry, very dry, for closer<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_262">262</a></span> -investigation showed that the “prime Cambridge” -were nothing but skins stuffed with dry bread! -The railway staff of King’s Cross were long anxious -to meet that simple countryman from Cambridge.</p> - - - -<h3><a id="J_THE_MOON_HOAX"></a>J. THE MOON HOAX</h3> - - -<p>One of the most stupendous hoaxes, and one -foisted on the credulity of the public with the -most complete success, was the famous Moon -Hoax which was published in the pages of -the New York <cite>Sun</cite> in 1835. It purported to be -an account of the great astronomical discoveries of -Sir John Herschel at the Cape of Good Hope, -through the medium of a mighty telescope, a single -lens of which weighed nearly seven tons. It was -stated to be reproduced from the Supplement to -the Edinburgh <cite>Journal of Science</cite>, though as a -matter of fact, the <cite>Journal</cite> had then been defunct -some years. In graphic language, and with a -wealth of picturesque detail, the wonders of the -Moon as revealed to the great astronomer and his -assistants were set forth. A great inland sea was -observed, and “fairer shores never angel coasted on -a tour of pleasure.” The beach was “of brilliant -white sand, girt with wild castellated rocks apparently -of green marble, varied at chasms, occurring -every two hundred feet, with grotesque blocks of -chalk or gypsum, and feathered and festooned at -the summit with the clustering foliage of unknown<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_263">263</a></span> -trees.” There were hills of amethysts “of a diluted -claret colour”; mountains fringed with virgin gold; -herds of brown quadrupeds resembling diminutive -bison fitted with a sort of “hairy veil” to protect -their eyes from the extremes of light and darkness; -strange monsters—a combination of unicorn and -goat; pelicans, cranes, strange amphibious creatures, -and a remarkable biped beaver. The last -was said to resemble the beaver of the earth excepting -that it had no tail and walked only upon -its two feet. It carried its young in its arms like -a human-being, and its huts were constructed better -and higher than those of many savage tribes; and, -from the smoke, there was no doubt it was -acquainted with the use of fire. Another remarkable -animal observed, was described as having an -amazingly long neck, a head like a sheep, bearing -two spiral horns, a body like a deer, but with its -fore-legs disproportionately long as also its tail -which was very bushy and of a snowy whiteness, -curling high over its rump and hanging two or -three feet by its side.</p> - -<p>But even these marvels fade into insignificance -compared with the discovery of the lunarian men -“four feet in height, covered, except on the face, -with short and glossy copper-coloured hair, with -wings composed of a thin membrane.” “In general -symmetry they were infinitely superior to the -orang-outang”—which statement could hardly have -been regarded as complimentary; and, though described<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_264">264</a></span> -as “doubtless innocent and happy creatures,” -the praise was rather discounted by the mention -that some of their amusements would “but ill comport -with our terrestrial notions of decorum.” In -the “Vale of the Triads,” with beautiful temples -built of polished sapphire, a superior race of the -punariant were found, “eminently happy and even -polite,” eating gourds and red cucumbers; and further -afield yet another race of the vespertilio-homo, -or man-bat, were seen through the wonderful telescope -of “infinitely greater personal beauty ... -scarcely less lovely than the general representation -of angels.”</p> - -<p>Such were a few of the marvels told of in the -Moon story; and, though one may laugh at them -as they stand, shorn of their clever verbiage and -quasi-scientific detail, at the time of publication they -were seriously accepted, for the popular mind, even -among the educated classes, was then imbued with -the fanciful anticipators of vast lunar discoveries -heralded in the astronomical writings of Thomas -Dick, LL.D., of the Union College of New York. -Scarcely anything could have been brought forward -too extravagant for the general credulity on the -subject then prevailing; and this well-timed satire, -“out-heroding Herod” in its imaginative creations, -supplied to satiety the morbid appetite for scientific -wonders then raging. By its plausible display -of scientific erudition it successfully duped, with -few exceptions, the whole civilised world.</p> - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_265">265</a></span> -At the time, the hoax was very generally attributed -to a French astronomer, M. Nicollet, a legitimist -who fled to America in 1830. He was said to -have written it with the twofold object of raising -the wind, and of “taking in” Arago, a rival astronomer. -But its real author was subsequently found -to be Richard Adams Locke, who declared that his -original intention was to satirise the extravagances -of Dick’s writings, and to make certain suggestions -which he had some diffidence in putting forward -seriously. Whatever may have been his -object, the work, as a hit, was unrivalled. For -months the press of America and Europe teemed -with the subject; the account was printed and published -in many languages and superbly illustrated. -But, finally, Sir John Herschel’s signed denial gave -the mad story its quietus.</p> - - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_269">269</a></span></p> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2><a id="IX_THE_CHEVALIER_DEON"></a>IX. THE CHEVALIER D’EON</h2> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">In</span> all the range of doubtful personalities there -is hardly any one whom convention has treated -worse than it has the individual known in his -time—and after—as The Chevalier d’Eon. For -about a hundred and fifty years he has been written -of—and spoken of for the first half century of -that time—simply as a man who masqueraded in -woman’s clothes. There seems to be just sufficient -truth in this to save certain writers on the subject -from the charge of deliberate lying—a record which, -even if it is to be posthumous, no man of integrity -aims at; but it is abundantly evident that the -rumour, which in time became a charge, was originally -set on foot deliberately by his political enemies, -who treated him and his memory without either -consideration or even the elements of honourable -truth. To begin with, here are the facts of his -long life.</p> - -<p>Charles-Genevieve—Louis-Auguste-Andre—Timothée -d’Eon de Beaumont was born in 1728 -in Tonnerre in Yonne, a department of France in -the old province of Burgundy. His father, Louis -d’Eon, was a parliamentary barrister. As a youth -he was so apt in his studies at the Collège Mazarin -that he received by special privilege his degree of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_270">270</a></span> -Doctor in Canon and Civil Law before the age -appointed for the conferring of such honour, and -was then enrolled in the list of parliamentary barristers -in Paris. At first he had been uncertain -which department of life he should undertake. He -swayed on one side towards the church, on the other -towards the world of letters and <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">beaux-arts</i>. He -was by habit an athlete, and was so good a swordsman -that later on he had no rival in fencing except -the Chevalier de Saint-George. In his twenty-fifth -year he published two remarkable books. One -was on the political administration of ancient and -modern people, and the other on Phases of Finance -in France at different times. (The latter was afterwards -published in German at Berlin in 1774, and -so impressed the then King of Prussia that he gave -orders that its ideas were to be carried into practical -effect.)</p> - -<div id="ip_270" class="figcenter" style="width: 479px;"> - <img src="images/i_270.jpg" width="479" height="600" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">THE CHEVALIER D’EON</div></div> - -<p>In 1755 the Prince de Conti, to whose notice the -Chevalier had been brought by the above books, -asked the king (Louis XV) to send him to Russia -on a secret mission with the Chevalier Douglas; -and from that time till the king’s death in 1774 he -was his trusted, loyal agent and correspondent. -D’Eon’s special mission was to bring the courts -of France and Russia closer than had been their -wont, and also to obtain for the Prince de Conti, -who was seeking the Dukedom of Finland and the -Kingship of Poland, the favour of the Empress -Elizabeth—a difficult task, which had already cost<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_271">271</a></span> -M. de Valcroissant a spell of imprisonment. In -order to accomplish his mission, d’Eon disguised -himself as a woman, and in this guise he was able -to creep into the good graces of the Empress. He -became her “reader” and was thus enabled to prepare -her for the reception of the secret purposes of -his king. In the following year he returned to -France whence he was immediately sent again to -St. Petersburg with the title of Secretary of Embassy. -But this time he went in his man’s clothes -and as the brother of the pretended female reader. -By this time he had been made a lieutenant of -dragoons. He came in spite of the Russian Chancellor -Bestuchéf, who saw in the young soldier-diplomat -“<i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">un subject dangereux et capable de -boulverser l’empire</i>.” This time his real mission -was to destroy in the mind of the Empress faith -in Bestuchéf, who was trying to hold the Russian -army inactive and so deprive France of the advantages -of the Treaty of Versailles. This he did so -well that he was in a position to prove to the Empress -that her chancellor had betrayed her interests. -Bestuchéf was arrested and his post conferred on -Count Woronzow, whose attitude was altogether -favourable to France. The gratitude of King -Louis was shewn by his making d’Eon a captain -of dragoons and conferring on him a pension of -2400 livres; he was also made censor of history and -literature. D’Eon threw himself with his accustomed -zeal into the service of the army and distinguished<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_272">272</a></span> -himself by his courage in the battles of -Hoecht; of Ultrop, where he was wounded; of Eimbech -where he put the Scotch to flight; and of Osterkirk, -where at the head of 80 dragoons and 20 -hussars he overthrew a battalion of the enemy.</p> - -<p>No better conventional proof of the accepted idea -of d’Eon’s military worthiness can be given than -the frequency and importance of the occasions on -which he was honoured by the carrying of despatches. -He brought news of his successful negotiations -for the peace of Versailles from Vienna in -1757. He was also sent with the Ratification of -the Treaty. He carried the despatches of the great -victory of the troops of Maria Theresa, forestalling -the Austrian courier by a day and a half, although -he had a broken leg.</p> - -<p>When next sent to Russia, d’Eon was sent as -minister plenipotentiary, an office which he held up -to 1762 when to the regret of the Empress he was -recalled. When he was leaving, Woronzow, the -successor of Bestuchéf, said to him, “I am sorry -you are going, although your first journey with -Chevalier Douglas cost my sovereign 250,000 men -and more than 5,000,000 roubles.” D’Eon answered: -“Your excellency ought to be happy that -your sovereign and his minister have gained more -glory and reputation than any others in the world.” -On his return d’Eon was appointed to the regiment -d’Autchamp and gazetted as adjutant to -Marshal de Broglie. Then he was sent to Russia<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_273">273</a></span> -for the fourth time as minister plenipotentiary in -place of Baron de Breuteuil. But Peter III was -dethroned, so the out-going Ambassador remained -in Russia, and d’Eon went to England as secretary -to the Embassy of the Duke de Nivernais in 1762.</p> - -<p>After the Peace of 1763 d’Eon was chosen by the -King of England to carry the despatches. He received -for this office the Star of St. Louis from -the breast of the king, who on giving it said it was -for the bravery which he had displayed as a soldier, -and for the intelligence which he had shown in the -negotiations between London and St. Petersburg.</p> - -<p>At this time all went well with him. But his -good fortune was changed by the bitter intrigues of -his enemies. He was devoted to the king, but had, -almost as a direct consequence, the enmity of the -courtesans who surrounded him and wished for the -opportunity of plucking him at their leisure. He -had an astonishing knowledge on all matters of -finance, and apprised the king privately of secret -matters which his ministers tried to hide from him. -The Court had wind of that direct correspondence -with his majesty and therewith things were so managed -that the diplomatist got into trouble. -Madame de Pompadour surprised the direct correspondence -between the king and d’Eon, with the -result that the latter was persecuted by the jealous -courtiers who intrigued, until in 1765 he was -replaced at the Embassy of London by the -Count de Guerchy and he himself became the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_274">274</a></span> -mark for all sorts of vexations and persecutions. -His deadly enemy, the Count de Guerchy, tried -to have him poisoned, but the attempt failed. -D’Eon took legal steps to punish the attempt; -but every form of pressure was used to keep the -case out of Court. An attempt was made to -get the Attorney General to enter a <i xml:lang="la" lang="la">nolle -prosequi</i>; but he refused to lend himself to -the scheme, and sent the matter to the Court -of King’s Bench. There, despite all the difficulties -of furthering such a charge against any one so protected -as an ambassador, it was declared on trial -that the accused was guilty of the crime charged -against him. De Guerchy accordingly had to return -to France; but d’Eon remained in England, -though without employment. To console him King -Louis gave him in 1766 a pension of 12,000 livres, -and assured him that though he was ostensibly exiled -this was done to cover up the protection -extended to him. D’Eon, according to the report -of the time, was offered a bribe of 1,200,000 livres, -to give up certain state papers then in his custody; -but to his honour he refused. Be the story as it -may, d’Eon up to the time of the death of Louis -(1774) continued to be in London the real representative -of France, though without any formal -appointment.</p> - -<p>During this time one of the means employed with -success by his enemies to injure the reputation of -d’Eon, was to point out that he had passed himself<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_275">275</a></span> -as a woman; the disguise he wore on his first visit -to Russia. His clean shaven face, his personal -niceties, the correctness of his life, all came to the -aid of that supposition. In England bets were -made and sporting companies formed for the purpose -of verifying his sex. Designs were framed -for the purpose of carrying him off in order to -settle the vexed question by a personal examination. -Some of the efforts he had to repel by violence. -In 1770 and in 1772 his friends tried to arrange -that he should be allowed to return to France; but -he refused all offers as the Ministers insisted on -making it a condition of his return that he should -wear feminine apparel. After the accession of -Louis XVI he obtained leave to return, free from -the embarrassing restraint hitherto demanded. As -he was overwhelmed with debts he placed as a -guarantee in the hands of Lord Ferrers an iron -casket containing important French state papers. -The minister sent Beaumarcheus to redeem them, -and in 1771 the Chevalier returned to France. He -presented himself at Versailles in his full uniform -of a captain of dragoons. The Queen (Marie -Antoinette) however, wished to see him presented -in female dress; so the Minister implored him to -meet her wishes. He consented; and thenceforward -not only wore women’s clothes but called himself -“La Chevalière d’Eon.” In a letter addressed by -him to Madame de Staël during the French revolution -he spoke of himself as “citizeness of the New<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_276">276</a></span> -Republic of France, and of the old Republic of -Literature.” On 2nd September, 1777 he wrote -to the Count de Maurepas, “Although I detest -changes of costume, yet they are hard at work at -Mademoiselle Bertin’s on my future and doleful -dress, which however I shall cut in pieces at the first -sound of the cannon shots.” As a matter of fact -when war with England became imminent he demanded -to be allowed to take in the army the position -which he had won by bravery and as the price -of honourable wounds. The only reply he got was -his immurement for two months in the Castle of -Dijon. In 1784 he returned to England, which he -never again left. In vain he appealed to the Convention -and then to the First Consul to be allowed -to place his sword at the service of his country; but -his prayer was not listened to. Used to the practice -of the sword, his circumstances being desperate, he -then found in it a source of income. He gave in -public, assaults-at-arms with the Chevalier de Saint-George, -one of the most notable fencers of his time. -At length he was given a small pension, £40, by -George III, on which he subsisted during the remainder -of his life. He died 23rd May, 1810.</p> - -<p>In very fact Chevalier d’Eon is historically a -much injured man. His vocation was that of a -secret-service agent of a nation surrounded with -enemies, and to her advantage he used his rare powers -of mind and body. He was a very gallant -soldier, who won distinction in the field and was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_277">277</a></span> -wounded several times; and in his endurance and -his indifference to pain whilst carrying despatches -of overwhelming importance he set an example that -any soldier might follow with renown. As a statesman -and diplomatist, and by the use of his faculties -of inductive ratiocination, he averted great dangers -from his country. If there were nothing else to his -credit he might well stand forth as a diplomatist -who had by his own exertions overthrown a dishonest -Russian Chancellor and an unscrupulous -French Ambassador. Of course, as he was an -agent of secret service, he had cognisance of much -political and international scheming which he had -at times to frustrate at the risk of all which he held -dear. But, considering the time he lived in, and -the dangers which he was always in the thick of, -in a survey of his life the only thing a reader can -find fault with is his yielding to the base idea of -the flighty-minded Marie Antoinette. What, to -this irresponsible butterfly of fashion, was the honour -of a brave soldier or the reputation of an acute -diplomatist who had deserved well of his country. -Of course to her any such foolery as that to which -she condemned d’Eon was but the fancy of an idle -moment. But then the fancies of queens at idle -moments may be altogether destructive to someone. -That they may be destructive to themselves is shown -in the record of the terrible atrocities of the Revolution -which followed hard on the luxurious masquerades -of Trianon and Versailles. Even to the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_278">278</a></span> -Queen of France, the Chevalier d’Eon should have -been something of a guarded, if not an honoured, -person. He was altogether a “king’s man.” He -had been for many years the trusted and loyal servant -of more than one king; and from the king’s -immediate circle the proper consideration should -have been shown.</p> - -<p>There is something pitiful in the spectacle of this -old gentleman of nearly eighty years of age, who -had in his time done so much, being compelled to -earn a bare livelihood by the exploitation of the -most sordid page in his history—a page turned more -than half a century before, and then only turned -at all in response to the call of public duty.</p> - -<p>In his retirement d’Eon showed more of his real -nature than had been possible to him in the strenuous -days when he had to be always vigilant and -ready at an instant’s notice to conceal his intentions—his -very thoughts. Here he showed a sensitiveness -with which even his friends did not credit him. -He had been so long silent as to matters of his own -concern that they had begun to think he had lost -the faculty not only of making the thought known, -but even of the thought itself. The following -paragraph from the London <cite>Public Advertiser</cite> of -Wednesday, 16th November, 1774, shows more of -the real man than may be found in any of his -business letters or diplomatic <span class="locked">reports:—</span></p> - -<p>“The Chevalier d’Eon with justice complains of -our public prints; they are eternally sending him to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_279">279</a></span> -France while he is in body and soul fixed in this -country; they have lately confined him in the Bastille, -when he fled to England as a country of -liberty; and they lately made a Woman of him, -when not one of his enemies dared to put his manhood -to the proof. He makes no complaints of -the English Ladies.”</p> - -<p>In an issue of the same paper 9th November, -of the same year, it is mentioned that the Rt. Hon. -Lord Ferrars, Sir John Fielding, Messrs. Addington, -Wright and other worthy magistrates and -gentlemen and their ladies did the Chevalier d’Eon -the honour to dine with him in Brewer St., Golden -Square (common proof that the Chevalier d’Eon -is not confined in the Bastille). D’Eon was much -too wily and too much accustomed to attack to allow -diplomatic insinuations to pass unheeded. He was -now beginning to apply his garnered experience to -his own protection.</p> - -<p>From the above extract of 16th November one -can note how the allegation as to his sex was beginning -to rankle in the soldier’s mind, and how an -open threat of punishment is conveyed in diplomatic -form. Indeed he had reason to take umbrage at -the insinuation. More than once had attempts -been made to carry him off for the purpose of -settling bets by a humiliating personal scrutiny. -From something of the same cause his friends on -his death caused an autopsy to be made before several -witnesses of position and repute. Amongst<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_280">280</a></span> -these were several surgeons including Père Elisée, -First Surgeon to Louis XVIII. The medical certificate -ran as follows:</p> - -<p xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">“Je certifie, par le présent, avoir inspecté le corps -du chevalier d’Eon, en présénce de M. Adair, M. -Wilson et du Père Elysée, et avoir trouvé les -organs masculins parfaitement formés.”</p> - - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_283">283</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2><a id="X_THE_BISLEY_BOY"></a>X. THE BISLEY BOY</h2> -</div> - - -<h4>A. PROLEGOMENON</h4> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">Queen</span> Elizabeth, the last of the -House of Tudor, died unmarried. Since -her death in 1603, there have been revolutions -in England due to varying causes, but all -more or less disruptive of family memories. The -son of James I had his head cut off, and after the -Commonwealth which followed, Charles I’s son -James II, had to quit on the coming of William -III, by invitation. After William’s death without -issue, Anne, daughter of James II, reigned -for a dozen years, and was succeeded by George I, -descended through the female line from James I. -His descendants still sit on the throne of England.</p> - - -<h5>NO DESCENDANTS</h5> - -<p>The above facts are given not merely in the -way of historical enlightenment but rather as a sort -of apologetic prolegomenon to the ethical consideration -of the matter immediately before us. Had -Queen Elizabeth had any descendants, they need -not have feared any discussion of her claims of descent. -The issue of the legality of her mother’s -marriage had been tried exhaustively both before<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_284">284</a></span> -and after her own birth, and she held the sceptre -both by the will of her dead father and the consent -of her dead half-sister who left no issue. But Queen -Elizabeth, whatever her origin, would have been a -sufficient ancestor for any King or any Dynasty. -Still, had she left issue there might have been lesser -people, descendants, whose feelings in the matter -of personal and family pride would have required -consideration; and no person entering on an analysis -of historical fact would have felt quite free-handed -in such an investigation.</p> - - -<h4>B. THE QUEEN’S SECRET</h4> - -<p>There are quite sufficient indications throughout -the early life of Queen Elizabeth that there was -<em>some</em> secret which she kept religiously guarded. -Various historians of the time have referred to it, -and now and again in a way which is enlightening.</p> - -<p>In a letter to the Protector Somerset in 1549, -when the Princess Elizabeth was 15, Sir Robert -Tyrwhitt says:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>“I do verily believe that there hath been some secret promise -between my Lady, Mistress Ashley, and the Cofferer” [Sir -Thomas Parry] “never to confess to death, and if it be so, it -will never be gotten of her, unless by the King’s Majesty or -else by your Grace.”</p></blockquote> - -<p>In his <cite>Girlhood of Queen Elizabeth</cite> Mr. Frank -A. Mumby writes of <span class="locked">this:—</span></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>“Elizabeth was as loyal to Parry as to Mrs. Ashley; she reinstated -him after a year’s interval, in his office as Cofferer,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_285">285</a></span> -and on her accession to the throne she appointed him Controller -of the royal household. She continued to confer preferment -upon both Parry and his daughter to the end of their lives—“conduct,” -remarks Miss Strickland, “which naturally induces -a suspicion that secrets of great moment had been confided -to him—secrets that probably would have touched not -only the maiden name of his royal Mistress, but placed her -life in jeopardy, and that he had preserved these inviolate. -The same may be supposed with respect to Mrs. Ashley, to -whom Elizabeth clung with unshaken tenacity through every -storm.”</p></blockquote> - -<p>Major Martin Hume in his <cite>Courtships of Queen -Elizabeth</cite> says of the favourable treatment of the -Governess and the <span class="locked">Cofferer:—</span></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>“The confessions of Ashley and Parry are bad enough; -but they probably kept back more than they told, for on -Elizabeth’s accession and for the rest of their lives, they were -treated with marked favour. Parry was knighted and made -Treasurer of the Household, and on Mrs. Ashley’s death in -July 1565 the Queen visited her in person and mourned her -with great grief.”</p></blockquote> - -<p>The same writer says elsewhere in the book:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>“Lady Harrington and Mrs. Ashley were, in fact, the only -ladies about the Queen who were absolutely in her confidence.”</p></blockquote> - -<p>In a letter to the Doge of Venice in 1556 Giovanni -Michiel wrote:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>“She” [Elizabeth] “I understand, having plainly said that -she will not marry, even were they to give her the King’s” -[Philip of Spain] “son” [Don Carlos, Philip’s son by his first<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_286">286</a></span> -wife] “or find any other great prince, I again respectfully remind -your serenity to enjoin secrecy about this.”</p></blockquote> - -<p>Count de Feria wrote in April, 1559:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>“If my spies do not lie, which I believe they do not, for a -certain reason which they have recently given me, I understand -that she [Elizabeth] will not bear children.”</p></blockquote> - -<p>At this time Elizabeth was only 26 years of age.</p> - -<p>The following extract is taken from Mr. Mumby’s -<cite>Girlhood of Queen Elizabeth</cite> in which is given -the translation taken from Leti’s <cite>La Vie d’Elizabeth</cite>. -The letter is from Princess Elizabeth to -Lord Admiral Seymour, 1548 (<i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">apropos</i> of his intentions -regarding her):—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>“It has also been said that I have only refused you because -I was thinking of some one else. I therefore entreat you, my -lord, to set your mind at rest on this subject, and to be persuaded -by this declaration that up to this time I have not the -slightest intention of being married, and, that if ever I should -think of it (<em>which I do not believe is possible</em>) you would be -the first to whom I should make known my resolution.”</p></blockquote> - - -<h4>C. BISLEY</h4> - -<p>The place known to the great public as Bisley -is quite other than that under present consideration. -Bisley, the ground for rifle competitions, is in Surrey, -thoughtfully placed in juxtaposition to an -eminent cemetery. It bears every indication of -newness-so far as any locality of old earth can be -new.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_287">287</a></span> -But the other is the original place of the name, -possessing a recorded history which goes back many -hundreds of years. It is in Gloucestershire high -up on the eastern side of the Cotswold Hills at their -southern end where they rise above the Little Avon -which runs into the embouchure of the Severn to -the Bristol Channel. The trace of Roman occupation -is all over that part of England. When the -pioneers of that strenuous nation made their essay -on Britain they came with the intention of staying; -and to-day their splendid roads remain unsurpassed—almost -unsurpassable. In this part of the West -Country there are several of them, of which the -chief are Irmin (or Ermine) Street, running from -Southampton through Cirencester and Gloucester -to Caerleon, and Ikenild Street running from -Cirencester, entering Gloucestershire at Eastleach. -I am particular about these roads as we may require -to notice them carefully. There is really but one -Bisley in this part of the country, but the name is -spelled so variously that the simple phonetic spelling -might well serve for a nucleating principle. -In all sorts of papers, from Acts of Parliament -and Royal Charters down to local deeds of tenancy, -it is thus varied—Bisleigh, Bistlegh, Byselegh, Bussely. -In this part of the Cotswolds “Over” is a -common part of a name which was formerly used -as a prefix. Such is not always at once apparent -for the modern cartographer seems to prefer the -modern word “upper” as the prefix. Attention is<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_288">288</a></span> -merely called to it here as later on we shall have -to consider it more carefully.</p> - -<p>The most interesting spot in the whole district -is the house “Overcourt,” which was once the -manor-house of Bisley. It stands close to Bisley -church from the grave-yard of which it is only separated -by a wicket-gate. The title-deeds of this -house, which is now in possession of the Gordon -family show that it was a part of the dower of -Queen Elizabeth. But the world went by it, and -little by little the estate of which it was a portion -changed hands; so that now the house remains -almost as an entity. Naturally enough, the young -Princess Elizabeth lived there for a time; and one -can still see the room she occupied. A medium-sized -room with mullioned windows, having small -diamond-shaped panes set in lead after the pattern -of the Tudor period. A great beam of oak, not -exactly “trued” with the adze but following the -natural trend of the wood, crosses the ceiling. The -window looks out on a little walled-in garden, one -of the flower beds of which is set in an antique stone -receptacle of oblong shape which presents something -of the appearance of a stone coffin of the -earlier ages. Of this more anon.</p> - -<p>Whether at the time of the birth of Elizabeth -the mansion of Overcourt was itself in the King’s -possession is a little difficult to fathom, for, in the -Confession of Thomas Parry written in 1549 concerning -a period a little earlier, it is said: “And I<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_289">289</a></span> -told her” [Princess Elizabeth] “further how he” -[Lord Admiral Thomas Seymour] “would have -had her to have lands in Gloucestershire called Bisley -as in parcel of exchange, and in Wales.”</p> - -<p>In addition to its natural desirability in the way -of hygiene and altitude there seems to have been -a wish on the part of family advisers of those having -estates in the vicinity of this place, to enlarge -their possessions. This was wise enough, for in -the disturbed state of affairs which ushered in the -Tudor Dynasty, and the effects of which still continued, -it was of distinct benefit to have communities -here and there large enough for self protection. -This idea held with many of the families as well -as individuals whose names are associated with Bisley. -Henry VIII himself, as over-lord with ownership -derived from the Norman Conquest, had -feudal claims on the de Bohuns who represented -all the local possessions of the Dukedom of Gloucester -and the Earldoms of Essex Hereford and -Northampton. Also the greedy eyes of certain -strong men and families who had hopes that time -and influence already existing, might later on bring -them benefit, were fixed on this desirable spot. -Thomas Seymour, the unscrupulous brother of the -future Lord Protector, was high in influence in the -early days of the Princess Elizabeth, and even then -must have had ambitious designs of marrying her. -On the death of Henry VIII he had, when Lord -Sudeley, married the king’s widow within a few<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_290">290</a></span> -months of her widowhood, and received a grant of -the royal possession at Bisley which, on his attainder, -passed on to Sir Anthony Kingston, who doubtless -had already marked it down as an objective of his -cupidity.</p> - -<p>The “Hundred of Bisley” was one of the seven -of Cirencester which of old were farmed by the -Abbey of Tewksbury. Its position was so full of -possibilities of future development as to justify the -acquisitive spirit of those who desired it. In its -bounds were what is now the town of Stroud, as -well as a whole line of mills which had in early -days great effect as they were workable by both -wind and water power, both of which were to be had -in profusion. This little remote hamlet had a progressive -industry of its own in the shape of a manufacture -of woollen cloths. It also represented dyeing -in scarlet and was the place of origin of Giles -Gobelin, a famous dyer who gave his name to the -Gobelin tapestry.</p> - -<p>One other thing must be distinctly borne in mind -regarding Bisley in the first half of the sixteenth -century; it was comparatively easy of access from -London for those who wished to go there. A line -drawn on the map will show that on the way as -<i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">points d’appui</i>, were Oxford and Cirencester, both -of which were surrounded with good roads as became -their importance as centres. This line seems -very short for its importance. To-day the journey -is that of a morning; and even in the time of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_291">291</a></span> -Henry VIII when horse traction was the only kind -available, the points were not very distant as to time -of traverse. To Henry, who commanded everything -and had a myriad agents eager to display -their energy in his service, all was simple; and when -he went a-hunting in the forests which made a network -far around Berkeley Castle his objective -could be easily won between breakfast and supper. -There was not any difficulty therefore, and not too -much personal strain, when he chose to visit his -little daughter even though at the start one should -be at Nether Lypiat and the other at Greenwich -or Hatfield or Eltham.</p> - - -<h4>D. THE TRADITION</h4> - -<p><em>The Tradition</em> is that the little Princess Elizabeth, -during her childhood, was sent away with her -governess for change of air to Bisley where the -strong sweet air of the Cotswold Hills would brace -her up. The healthy qualities of the place were -known to her father and many others of those -around her. Whilst she was at Overcourt, word -was sent to her governess that the King was coming -to see his little daughter; but shortly before -the time fixed, and whilst his arrival was expected -at any hour, a frightful catastrophe happened. The -child, who had been ailing in a new way, developed -acute fever, and before steps could be taken even -to arrange for her proper attendance and nursing, -she died. The governess feared to tell her father—<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_292">292</a></span>Henry -VIII had the sort of temper which did not -make for the happiness of those around him. In -her despair she, having hidden the body, rushed off -to the village to try to find some other child whose -body could be substituted for that of the dead princess -so that the evil moment of disclosure of the sad -fact might be delayed till after His Majesty’s departure. -But the population was small and no girl -child of any kind was available. The distracted -woman then tried to find a living girl child who -could be passed off for the princess, whose body -could be hidden away for the time.</p> - -<p>Throughout the little village and its surroundings -was to be found no girl child of an age reasonably -suitable for the purpose required. More than -ever distracted, for time was flying by, she determined -to take the greater risk of a boy substitute—if -a boy could be found. Happily for the -poor woman’s safety, for her very life now -hung in the balance, this venture was easy -enough to begin. There <em>was</em> a boy available, -and just such a boy as would suit the special -purpose for which he was required—a boy well -known to the governess, for the little Princess had -taken a fancy to him and had lately been accustomed -to play with him. Moreover, he was a pretty -boy as might have been expected from the circumstance -of the little Lady Elizabeth having chosen -him as her playmate. He was close at hand and -available. So he was clothed in the dress of the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_293">293</a></span> -dead child, they being of about equal stature; and -when the King’s fore-rider appeared the poor overwrought -governess was able to breathe freely.</p> - -<p>The visit passed off successfully. Henry suspected -nothing; as the whole thing had happened -so swiftly, there had been no antecedent anxiety. -Elizabeth had been brought up in such dread of -her father that he had not, at the rare intervals -of his seeing her, been accustomed to any affectionate -effusiveness on her part; and in his hurried visit -he had no time for baseless conjecture.</p> - -<p>Then came the natural nemesis of such a deception. -As the dead could not be brought back to -life, and as the imperious monarch, who bore no -thwarting of his wishes, was under the impression -that he could count on his younger daughter as a -pawn in the great game of political chess which -he had entered on so deeply, those who by now -must have been in the secret did not and could not -dare to make disclosure. Moreover the difficulties -and dangers to one and all involved would of necessity -grow with each day that passed. Willy nilly -they must go on. Fortunately for the safety of -their heads circumstances favoured them. The -secret was, up to now, hidden in a remote village -high up on the side of the Cotswold hills. Steep -declivities guarded it from casual intrusion, and -there was no trade beyond that occasional traffic -necessary for a small agricultural community. The -whole country as far as the eye could see was either<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_294">294</a></span> -royal domain or individual property owned or held -by persons attached to the dynasty by blood or -interest.</p> - -<p>Facilities of intercommunication were few and -slow; and above all uncertain and therefore not to -be relied on.</p> - -<p>This then was the beginning of the tradition -which has existed locally ever since. In such districts -change is slow, and what has been may well -be taken, unless there be something to the contrary, -for what is. The isolation of the hamlet in the -Cotswolds where the little princess lived for a time—and -is supposed to have died—is almost best -exemplified by the fact that though the momentous -secret has existed for between three and four centuries, -no whisper of it has reached the great world -without its confines. Not though the original subject -of it was the very centre of the wildest and -longest battle which has ever taken place since the -world began—polemical, dynastic, educational, international, -commercial. Anyone living in any -town in our own age, where advance and expansiveness -are matters of degree, not of fact, may find it -hard to believe that any such story, nebulous though -it may be, could exist unknown and unrecorded outside -a place so tiny that its most important details -will not be found even on the ordnance map of an -inch to the mile. But a visit to Bisley will set -aside any such doubts. The place itself has hardly<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_295">295</a></span> -changed, in any measure to be apparent as a change, -in the three centuries and more. The same buildings -stand as of yore; the same estate wall, though -more picturesque with lichen, and with individual -stones corrugated by weather and dislocated by -arboreal growths, speak of an epoch ending with -the Tudor age. The doors of the great tithe-barns -which remain as souvenirs of extinct feudalism, still -yawn wide on their festered hinges. Nay, even the -very trees show amongst their ranks an extraordinary -percentage of giants which have withstood -unimpaired all the changes that have been.</p> - -<p>Leaving busy and thriving Stroud, one climbs -the long hill past Lipiat and emerges in the village, -where time has suddenly ceased, and we find ourselves -in the age and the surroundings which saw -the House of York fade into the Tudor dynasty. -Such a journey is almost a necessity for a proper -understanding of the story of the Bisley Boy, which -has by the effluxion of time attained to almost the -grace and strength of a legend. It is quite possible -that though the place has stood still, the tradition -has not, for it is in the nature of intellectual growth -to advance. One must not look on the Gloucestershire -people as sleepy—sleepiness is no characteristic -of that breezy upland; but dreaming, whether -its results be true or false, does not depend on sleep. -In cases like the present, sleep is not to be looked -on as a blood relation of death but rather as a preservative<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_296">296</a></span> -against the ravages of time—like the mysterious -slumber of King Arthur and others who are -destined for renewal.</p> - -<p>It may be taken for granted that in course of -time and under the process of purely oral communication, -the story told in whispers lost nothing in -the way of romance or credibility; that flaws or lacunæ -were made good by inquiry; and that recollections -of overlooked or forgotten facts were recalled -or even supplemented by facile invention. But it -may also be taken for granted that no statement -devoid of a solid foundation could become permanently -accepted. There were too many critics -around, with memories unimpaired by overwork, to -allow incorrect statements to pass unchallenged. -There is always this in tradition, that the collective -mind which rules in small communities is a child’s -mind, which must ever hold grimly on to fact. -And that behind the child’s mind is the child’s nature -which most delights in the recountal of what -it knows, and is jealous of any addition to the story -which is a part of its being.</p> - -<p>Major Martin Hume writes in his <cite>Courtships of -Queen Elizabeth</cite>:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>“Elizabeth was only three when her mother’s fall removed -her from the line of the succession.... In 1542, however, -the death of James V of Scotland and the simultaneous -birth of his daughter Mary seemed to bring nearer Henry’s -idea of a union between the two crowns. He proposed to -marry the baby Queen of Scots to his infant son and at the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_297">297</a></span> -same time he offered the hand of Elizabeth (then nine) to a -son of Arran—head of House of Hamilton, next heir to the -Scottish crown.... Mary and Elizabeth were restored -to their places in the line of succession.... In January -1547 Henry VIII died, leaving the succession to his two -daughters in tail after Edward VI and his heirs. Queen -Catherine (Parr) immediately married Sir Thomas Seymour, -brother of Protector Somerset and uncle of the little king -(Edward VI). To them was confided Princess Elizabeth -then a girl of 14.”</p></blockquote> - -<p>Elizabeth was three in 1536. The story of the -Bisley Boy dates probably to 1543–4. So that if -the story have any foundation at all in fact, signs -of a complete change of identity in the person of -Princess Elizabeth must be looked for in the period -of some seven or eight years which intervened.</p> - - -<h4>E. THE DIFFICULTY OF PROOF</h4> - -<p>In such a case as that before us the difficulty of -proof is almost insuperable. But fortunately we -are dealing with a point not of law but of history. -Proof is not in the first instance required, but only -surmise, to be followed by an argument of probability. -Such records as still exist are all the proofs -that can be adduced; and all we can do is to search -for such records as still exist, without which we lack -the enlightenment that waits on discovery. In the -meanwhile we can deduce a just conclusion from -such materials as we do possess. Failing certitude, -which is under the circumstances almost impossible, -we only arrive at probability; and with that until<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_298">298</a></span> -discovery of more reliable material we must be content.</p> - -<p>Let us therefore sum up: first the difficulties of -the task before us; then the enlightenments. -“Facts,” says one of the characters of Charles Dickens, -“bein’ stubborn and not easy drove,” are at -least, so far as they go, available. We are free to -come to conclusions and to make critical comments. -Our risk is that if we err—on whichever side does -not matter—we reverse our position and become -ourselves the objects of attack.</p> - -<p>Our main difficulties are two. First, that all -from whom knowledge might have been obtained -are dead and their lips are closed; second, that records -are incomplete. This latter is the result of -one of two causes—natural decay or purposed obliteration. -The tradition of the Bisley Boy has -several addenda due to time and thought. One of -these is that some of those concerned in the story -disappeared from the scene.</p> - -<p>The story runs that on Elizabeth’s accession or -under circumstances antecedent to it all who were -in the secret and still remained were “got rid of.” -The phrase is a convenient one and not unknown -in history. Fortunately those who <em>must</em> have been -in such a secret—if there was one—were but few. -If such a thing occurred in reality, four persons -were necessarily involved in addition to Elizabeth -herself: (1) Mrs. Ashley, (2) Thomas Parry, (3) -the parent of the living child who replaced the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_299">299</a></span> -dead one; the fourth, being an unknown quantity, -represents an idea rather than a person—a nucleated -identity typical of family life with attendant -difficulties of concealment. Of these four—three -real persons and an idea—three are accounted -for, so far as the “got rid of” theory is -concerned. Elizabeth never told; Thomas Parry -and Mrs. Ashley remained silent, in the full confidence -of the (supposed) Princess who later was -Queen. With regard to the last, the nucleated -personality which includes the unknown parent possibly -but not of certainty, contemporary record is -silent; and we can only regard him or her as a mysterious -entity available for conjecture in such cases -of difficulty as may present themselves.</p> - -<p>We must perforce, therefore, fall back on pure -unadulterated probability, based on such rags of -fact as can be produced at our inquest. Our comfort—content -being an impossibility—must lie in -the generally-accepted aphorism; “Truth will prevail.” -In real life it is not always so; but it is a -comforting belief and may remain <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">faut de mieux</i>.</p> - -<p>A grave cause of misleading is inexact translation—whether -the fault be in ignorance or intentional -additions to or substractions from text -referred to. A case in point is afforded by the -letter already referred to from Leti’s <cite>La Vie -d’Elizabeth</cite>. In the portion quoted Elizabeth -mentioned her intention of not marrying: “I have -not the slightest intention of being married, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_300">300</a></span> -... if ever I should think of it (<em>which I do not -believe is possible</em>).” Now in Mr. Mumby’s book -the quotation is made from Leti’s <cite>La Vie d’Elizabeth</cite> -which is the translation into French from the -original Italian, the passage marked above in italics -is simply: “ce que je ne crois pas.” The addition -of the words “is possible” gives what is under the -circumstances quite a different meaning to the -earliest record we have concerning the very point -we are investigating. When I began this investigation, -I looked on the passage—neither Mumby, -remember, nor even Leti, but what professed to be -the <i xml:lang="la" lang="la">ipsissima verba</i> of Elizabeth herself—and I was -entirely misled until I had made comparison for -myself—<i xml:lang="la" lang="la">Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?</i> The addition -of the two words, which seems at first glance -merely to emphasise an expression of opinion, -changes the meaning of the writer to a belief so -strong that the recital of it gives it the weight -of intention. Under ordinary circumstances this -would not matter much; but as we have to consider -it in the light of a man defending his head against -danger, and in a case where absolute circumspection -is a necessary condition of safety so that intention -becomes a paramount force, exactness of expression -is all-important.</p> - -<p>The only way to arrive at probability is to begin -with fact. Such is a base for even credulity or its -opposite, and if it is our wish or intention to be just -there need be no straining on either one side or the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_301">301</a></span> -other. In the case of the Bisley Boy the points to -be considered are:</p> - -<p>1. The time at which the change was or could be -affected.</p> - -<p>2. The risk of discovery, (a) at first, (b) afterwards.</p> - -<p>It will be necessary to consider these separately -for manifest reasons. The first belongs to the -region of Danger; the second to the region of Difficulty, -with the headsman’s axe glittering ominously -in the background.</p> - - -<h4>F. THE TIME AND THE OPPORTUNITY</h4> - -<h5>(<i>a</i>) <i>The time at which the change was or could -have been effected.</i></h5> - -<p>For several valid reasons I have come to the conclusion -that the crucial period by which the Bisley -story must be tested is the year ending with July -1544. No other time either earlier or later would, -so far as we know, have fulfilled the necessary conditions.</p> - -<p>First of all the question of sex has to be considered; -and it is herein that, lacking suitable and full -opportunity, discovery of such an imposture must -have been at once detected—certainly had it commenced -at an early age. In babyhood the whole -of the discipline of child-life begins. The ordinary -cleanliness of life has to be taught, and to this end -there is no portion of the infantile body which is -not subject to at least occasional inspection. This<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_302">302</a></span> -disciplinary inspection lasts by force of habit until -another stage on the journey towards puberty has -been reached. Commercial use in America fixes -stages of incipient womanhood—by dry goods’ advertisement—as -“children’s, misses’ and girls’ clothing,” -and the illustration will sufficiently serve. -It seems at first glance an almost unnecessary intrusion -into purely domestic life; but the present -is just one of those cases where the experience of -women is not only useful but necessary. In a question -of identity of sex the nursemaid and the -washerwoman play useful parts in the witness box. -Regarding Elizabeth’s childhood no question need -ever or can ever arise. For at least the first ten -years of her life, a woman’s sex <em>need</em> not be known -outside the nursery and the sick room; but then -this is the very time when her attendants have direct -and ample knowledge. Moreover in the case of -the child of Queen Anne (Boleyn) there was every -reason why the sex should have been unreservedly -known. Henry VIII divorced Katherine of Aragon -and married Anne in the hope of having -legitimate male issue to sit on the throne of England. -Later, when both Katherine and Anne had -failed to satisfy him as to male issue, he divorced -Anne and married Jane Seymour for the same purpose. -In the interval either his views had enlarged -or his patience had extended; for, when Jane’s life -hung in the balance, owing to an operation which -the surgeons considered necessary, and the husband<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_303">303</a></span> -was consulted as to which life they should, in case -of needful choice, try to save, his reply was peculiar—though, -taken in the light of historical perspective, -not at variance with his dominating idea. -Gregorio Leti thus describes the incident (the quotation -is made from the translation of the Italian -into French and published in Amsterdam in -1694):—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">“Quand les médécins demandèrent au Roi qui l’on sauverait -de la mère ou de l’enfant, il répondit, qu’il auroit extremement -souhait de pouvoir sauver la mère et l’enfant, mais que -cel n’étant possible, il vouloit que l’on sauvat l’enfant plutôt -que la mère parce qu’il trouveroit assez d’autres femmes.”</p></blockquote> - -<p>It had become a monomania with Henry that he -should be father of a lawful son; and when the -child of his second union was expected, he so took -the consummation of his wishes for granted that -those in attendance on his wife were actually afraid -to tell him the truth. It would have been fortune -and social honour to whosoever should bear him the -glad tidings. We may be sure then that news so -welcome would never have been perverted by those -who had so much to gain. As it was, the “lady-mistress”—as -she called herself—of the little Princess, -Mrs. (afterwards Lady) Bryan, wrote in -her letter to Lord Cromwell in 1536—Elizabeth -being then in her third <span class="locked">year:—</span></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>“She is as toward a child and as gentle of conditions, as -ever I knew any in my life.”</p></blockquote> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_304">304</a></span> -The writer could have had no ignorance as to the -sex of the child, for in the same letter she gives -Cromwell a list of her wants in the way of clothing; -which list is of the most intimate kind, including -gown, kirtle, petticoat, “no manner of linen nor -smocks,” kerchiefs, rails, body stitchets, handkerchiefs, -sleeves, mufflers, biggens. As in the same -letter it is mentioned that the women attending the -child were under the rule of Lady Bryan—an accomplished -nurse who had brought up Princess -Mary and had been “governess to the children his -Grace have had ever since”—it can be easily understood -she was well acquainted with even the smallest -detail of the royal nursery. Had the trouble -of the lady-mistress been with regard to superabundance -of underclothing, one might have understood -ignorance on the part of the responsible controller; -but in the plentiful lack of almost every -garment necessary for the child’s wear by day or -by night there could be no question as to her ostensible -sex at this age.</p> - -<p>Thence on, there were experienced and devoted -persons round the little Princess, whose value in her -father’s eyes was largely enhanced since he had secured, -for the time, her legitimacy by an Act of -Parliament.</p> - -<p>After Elizabeth had been legitimised, she became -one of the pieces in the gigantic game of -chess on which Henry had embarked. Despite the -fact that the son for whom he had craved was now<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_305">305</a></span> -a boy of six, it was only wise to consider and be -prepared for whatever might happen in case -Prince Edward should not live, and if, in such a -case, Mary should die without issue. The case -was one of amazing complexity, and as the time -wore on the religious question became structurally -involved. England had declared in no uncertain -voice in favour of Protestantism, and the whole -forces of Rome were arrayed against her. Mary -was altogether in favour of the religion of her injured -mother, and behind her stood the power of -Catholicism which, even in that unscrupulous age, -was well ahead in the race of unscrupulousness. -And as Elizabeth stood next to the young Prince -Edward in the forces of Reformation, on her was -focussed much of the suspicion of polemic intrigue. -The papacy was all powerful in matters of secret -inquiry. Indeed in such an inquest its powers were -unique, for unscrupulous spies were everywhere—even, -it was alleged, in the confessional. How -then could such a secret as the sex of a little girl -of not a dozen years of age, who was constantly -surrounded by women necessarily conversant with -every detail of her life, be kept from all who wished -to solve it. In such a state of affairs suspicion was -equivalent to discovery. And discovery meant -ruin to all concerned, death to abettors of the -fraud, woe and destruction to England and a general -upheaval of the fundamental ideas of Christendom. -It may, I presume, be taken for granted<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_306">306</a></span> -without flaw or mitigation of any kind that up to -July, 1543, the “Princess Elizabeth” was what she -appeared to be—a girl.</p> - -<p>At the time of her first letter to the new Queen, -Catherine (Parr), she was just a trifle under ten -years of age and a well-grown child, quick, clever, -rather precocious, and well grounded in the learning -of her time. The exact date of this letter is -not given by Leti—of which more anon—but it -must have been somewhere between July 12 and -31, 1543. Henry VIII married Catherine Parr -on 12 July, and in her letter of 1543 Elizabeth calls -Catherine “your Majesty.” In her letter of 31 -July, 1544 she writes to the same correspondent:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>“... has deprived me for a whole year of your most -illustrious presence.”</p></blockquote> - -<p>The whereabouts of Elizabeth during this last -year appears to be the centre of the mystery; and if -any letter or proof is ever found of Elizabeth’s being -anywhere but in her own house of Overcourt in -Bisley Parish, it will go far to settle the vexed question -now brought before the world for the first -time.</p> - - -<h5>(<i>b</i>) <i>The opportunity</i></h5> - -<p>The year 1542 was a busy time for Henry -VIII. He had on hand, either pending or -going on, two momentous wars, one with Scotland -the other with France. The causes of either<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_307">307</a></span> -of these were too complicated for mention here; -suffice it to say that they were chiefly dynastic and -polemic. In addition he was busy with matrimonial -matters, chiefly killing off his fifth wife -Catherine Howard, and casting eyes on the newmade -widow of Lord Latimer. In 1543 he married -the lady, as his sixth wife. She herself can -hardly be said to have lacked matrimonial experience, -as this was her third union. Her first venture -was with the elderly Lord Borough, who, like -Lord Latimer, left her wealthy. Henry had by -now got what might be called in the slang of the -time “the marriage habit,” and honeymoon dalliance -had hardly the same charm for him as it -usually is supposed to have with those blessed with -a lesser succession of spouses. The consequence -was that he was able to give more attention to the -necessary clearing up of the Scottish war, which -finished at Solway Moss on December 14th, with -the consequent death from chagrin of the Scottish -King James V. The cause of the war, however, -continued in the shape of a war with France which -went on till 1546 when peace was declared to the -pecuniary benefit of the English King. For the -last two years of this time Henry carried on the -war singlehanded, as the Emperor Charles V, who -had begun it as his ally, withdrew.</p> - -<p>There is a paragraph in Grafton’s <cite>Chronicle</cite> -published in 1569 which throws a flood of light on -Elizabeth’s absence at this time, 1543: “This yeare<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_308">308</a></span> -was in London a great death of the pestilence, and -therefore Mighelmas terme was adjourned to Saint -Albones, and there it was kept to the ende.”</p> - -<p>In his <cite>Girlhood of Queen Elizabeth</cite>, Mr. Mumby -says: “For some obscure reason Elizabeth seems to -have fallen out of her father’s favour again very -soon after Catherine Parr had obtained his consent -to her return to Court” (1543). No such cause -for the removal of the Princess from London was -necessary. It was probably to the presence of the -pestilence in London that her removal to a remote -and healthy place was due. Failing Prince Edward, -then only five years of age and a weakly -child, the crown must—unless some constitutional -revolution be effected in the meantime or some -future son be born to him—devolve on his female -heirs, a matter pregnant with strife of -unknown dimensions. Mary was now twenty-seven -years old and of a type that did not -promise much for maternity. At the same time, -Mary, though his eldest living daughter, was the -hope of the Catholic party, to which he was in violent -opposition; whereas in Elizabeth lay the hope -of the whole of the party of the Reformation. -Her life was to her father far beyond the calls of -parental affection or dynastic ambition, and she had -to be saved at all costs from risk of health. -Henry’s own experience of child-life was a bitter -one. Of his five children by Catherine of Aragon -only one, Mary, survived childhood. Elizabeth<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_309">309</a></span> -was the only survivor of Anne Boleyn; Edward, -of Jane Seymour. Anne of Cleves had no children, -and if report spoke truly no chance of having -any. Catherine Howard was executed childless. -And he had only just married Catherine Parr, who -had already had two husbands.</p> - -<p>On July 12, 1543, Henry married Catherine and -in due course devoted himself to the war. On the -14 July, 1544, he crossed from Dover to Calais to -look after the conduct of affairs for himself, and -on the 26th began the siege of Boulogne. This -lasted for two months when having reduced the -city he returned home. On the 8 September he -wrote to his wife to that effect. During his absence -Queen Catherine was vicegerent and had -manifestly as much public work on hand as she -could cope with. Bisley was a long way from London, -and there were no organised posts in the sixteenth -century. Moreover, ever since his last marriage, -Henry had been an invalid. He was now -fifty-two years of age, of unhealthy body, and so -heavy that he had to be lifted by machinery. -Catherine was a devoted wife; and as Henry was -both violent and irritable she had little time at command -to give to the affairs of other people. There -was small opportunity for any one then who was -sufficiently in the focus of affairs to be cognisant -of such an imposture as the tradition points out. -Doubtless hereafter, when a story so fascinating -and at first glance so incredible begins to be examined<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_310">310</a></span> -and its details thoroughly threshed out, -more items of evidence or surmise than are at present -available will be found for the settlement of the -question, one way or the other. In the meantime, -be it remembered, that we are only examining offhand -a tradition made known for the first time after -three centuries. Our present business is to consider -<em>possibilities</em>. Later on the time may come—as -it surely will; if the story can in the least be accepted—for -the consideration of <em>probabilities</em>. -Both of these tentative examinations will lead to -the final examination of possibility, of probability, -and of proof <em>pro</em> or <em>contra</em>.</p> - -<p>At this stage we must admit that neither time -nor opportunity present any difficulty in itself insuperable.</p> - - -<h4>G. THE IDENTITY OF ELIZABETH</h4> - -<h5>(<i>a</i>) <i>Documents</i></h5> - -<p>The next matter with which we have to deal -is regarding the identity of Elizabeth. This -needs (if necessary) a consideration of the facts -of her life, and so far as we can realise -them, from external appearance, mental and moral -attitudes, and intentions. On account of space we -must confine this branch of the subject to the smallest -portion of time necessary to form any sort of -just conclusion and accepting the available records -up to 1543, take the next period from that time to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_311">311</a></span> -anywhere within the first few years of her reign—by -which time her character was finally fixed and -the policy on which her place in history is to be -judged had been formulated and tested.</p> - -<p>This implies in the first instance a brief (very -brief) study of her physique with a corollary in the -shape of a few remarks on her heredity:</p> - -<p><cite>Grafton’s Chronicle</cite> states, under the date of 7 -September 1533, “the Queene was delivered -of a fayre Lady” which was his Courtly way of announcing -the birth of a female princess, blond in -colour. In all chronicles “fayre” means of light -colour. In Wintown the reputed father of Macbeth—the -Devil—is spoken of as a “fayre” man; -evil qualities were in that age attributed to blondes.</p> - -<p>In a letter dated from Greenwich Palace, 18 -April, 1534, Sir William Kingston said to Lord -Lisle: “To-day, the King and Queen were at -Eltham” (where the royal nursery then was) “and -saw my Lady Princess—as goodly a child as hath -been seen. Her Grace is much in the King’s -favour as a goodly child should be—God save her!”</p> - -<p>In 1536, when Elizabeth was but three years old, -Lady Bryan, the “Lady-mistress” of both Mary -and her half-sister, wrote from Hunsdon to Lord -Cromwell regarding the baby princess. “For she -is as toward a child and as gentle of conditions, as -ever I knew any in my life. Jesus preserve her -Grace!” In the same letter she says “Mr. Shelton -would have my Lady Elizabeth to dine and sup<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_312">312</a></span> -every day at the board of estate. Alas! my Lord -it is not meet for a child of her age to keep such -rule yet. I promise you, my lord, I dare not take -it upon me to keep her Grace in health an’ she -keep that rule. For there she shall see divers -meats, and fruits, and wines, which it would be -hard for me to restrain her Grace from. Ye -know, my lord, there is no place of correction there; -and she is yet too young to correct greatly.”</p> - -<p>Testimony is borne according to Leti to the good -qualities of the Princess Elizabeth in these early -years, by the affectionate regard in which she was -held by two of Henry’s queens, the wronged and -unhappy Anne of Cleves and the happy-natured -Catherine Parr. Anne, he says, though she had -only seen her twice loved her much; she thought her -beautiful and full of spirit (“pleine d’esprit.”) -Catherine, according to the same writer who had -seen her often before her marriage to Henry, admired -her “esprit et ses manières.”</p> - -<p>If Leti could only have spoken at first hand, his -record of her would be very valuable. But unhappily -he was only born nearly thirty years after her -death. His history was manifestly written from -records and as Elizabeth’s fame was already made -before he began to treat of her his work is largely -a panegyric of hearsay. There is, regarding the -youth of the Princess, such an overdone flood of -adulation that it is out of place in a serious history -of a human life. In his account of the time which<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_313">313</a></span> -we are considering, we find the child compared in -both matters of body and mind to an angel. She -is credited at the age of ten with an amount of -knowledge in all branches of learning sufficient to -equip the illustrious men of a century. The fact -is the Italian has accepted the queen’s great position, -and then reconstructed her youth to accord -with it, in such a way as to show that whatever remarkable -abilities she possessed were the direct outcome -of her own natural qualities.<a id="FNanchor_2" href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">2</a></p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_2" href="#FNanchor_2" class="fnanchor">2</a> Amongst other branches of knowledge he credits her with knowing -well “Geography, Cosmography, Mathematics, Architecture, -Painting, Arithmetic, History, Mechanics.” She had a special facility -in learning languages; spoke and wrote French, Italian, Spanish, -Flemish. She loved poetry and wrote it, but regarded it as a -useless amusement and, as it was distasteful to her, turned to history -and politics. Finally he adds: “She was naturally ambitious -and always knew how to hide her defects.”</p></div> - -<p>The details above given are not merely meagre -but are only explicable by the fact that during the -earlier years of her life the child was not considered -of any importance. The circumstances of -Anne’s marriage—which in any case was delayed -till it became a necessary preliminary to the legitimacy -on which any future claim to the throne must -rest—did not make for a belief in the public mind -for its permanency. Things were fluctuating in -the religious world and few were inclined to the belief -that the Pope (with whom lay the last word -and whose political leanings in favour of Catherine -of Aragon and the validity of her marriage to -Henry were well known) would be overthrown by -the English King. And in any case, were Henry<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_314">314</a></span> -to be the final judge of appeal in his own case no -great continuity of purpose could be expected -from him. The first important event which we -have to consider with reference to the question before -us is Elizabeth’s first letter to Queen Catherine -(Parr) in 1543. In this the girl then ten -years old writes to her new step-mother, at whose -marriage she together with her half-sister Mary -had been present. It is in form a dutiful letter, -not entirely without an apparent compulsion or at -least intelligent supervision. As it stands, it is impossible -to believe that it emanated from a child of -ten quite free to follow out its inclinations. The -dutifulness is altogether, or largely, due to the -training and self-suppression of the royal child of -an arbitrary father with absolute power. But it -remains for each reader to consider it impartially. -The points which we should do well to note here -are its plain form of expression, and its entire absence -of personal affection. The latter is all the -more marked in that it was a letter of thanks for a -kindness conferred. Elizabeth was very anxious -to come to her father, and Catherine had furthered -her wish and secured its fulfilment. After the -marriage, the child, as is shown (or rather inferred), -had been sent away for more than a year, -which absence had been prolonged for at least six -months—as already shown.</p> - -<p>There is little evidence of Elizabeth’s inner nature -in these early days; but we have every right to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_315">315</a></span> -think that she was of a peaceable, kindly and affectionate -nature. Lady Bryan her first nurse or -governess (after Lady Boleyn, Anne’s mother) -thought highly of her. Catherine Ashley, who -had charge of her next, loved her and was her devoted -servant, friend and confidant till her death.</p> - -<p>Thomas Parry her life-long friend was devoted -to her, and when the circumstances of their respective -lives and the happenings of the time kept them -apart, she restored him at the first opportunity and -made his fortune her special care.</p> - -<p>There is little base here on which to build an inverted -pyramid; our only safety is in taking things -as they seem to be and using common sense.</p> - - -<h5>(<i>b</i>) <i>Changes</i></h5> - -<p>Let us now take the years beginning with 1544. -From this time on, more is known of the personality -of Elizabeth; in fact there is little unknown, -that is, of matters of fact, and to this only we -must devote ourselves. Whatever may have been -Elizabeth’s motives we can only infer them. She -was a secretive person and took few into her confidence, -unless it was of vital necessity—and then -only in matters required by the circumstance. The -earliest knowledge we have of this second period of -her history is in her letter to Queen Catherine -(Parr) written from St. James’ Palace on 31 July, -1544.</p> - -<p>In the year which had elapsed since her last recorded<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_316">316</a></span> -letter Elizabeth’s literary style had entirely -changed. The meagre grudging style has become -elegant and even florid with the ornate grace and -imagery afforded by the study of the Latin and -French tongues. Altogether there is not merely -a more accomplished diction but there is behind it -a truer feeling and larger sympathy. It is more -in accord with the letter accompanying the gift to -the Queen, of her translation of the <cite>Mirror of the -Sinful Soul</cite> which she had dedicated to her.</p> - -<p>Historians have given various rescripts of certain -earlier letters of the Princess Elizabeth, but -none of them seem in harmony of thought with -this, whereas it is quite in accord with her later -writings. Metabolism is an accepted doctrine of -physiology; but its scope is not—as yet at all events—extended -to the intellect, and we must take -things as we find them within the limits of human -knowledge.</p> - -<p>It will perhaps be as well to reserve the consideration -of any other point, except the change in -actual identity, till the complete analogy of all natural -processes is an established fact.</p> - - -<h5>(<i>c</i>) <i>Her personality</i></h5> - -<p>We have no letters of Princess Elizabeth before -1543 which are not open to grave doubt as to date, -but there is one letter to which allusion must almost -of necessity be made. It is a letter from -Roger Ascham, tutor to the Princess Elizabeth, to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_317">317</a></span> -Mrs. Ashley. No date is given by Mr. Mumby, -but he states in his text that it was written “during -Grindal’s term of office” as tutor to the Princess. -Mumby quotes from the <cite>Elizabeth</cite> of Miss -Strickland, who in turn quotes from Whittaker’s -<cite>Richmondshire</cite>. Now Grindal’s term of office -lasted from 1546 (probably the end of that year) -till it was cut short by his death from the Plague -in 1548, so that he could not have known his royal -pupil <em>before</em> 1544. The text of the letter leads a -careful reader to infer that it was written <em>after</em> that -date. The important part of the letter is as follows:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>“... the thanks you have deserved from that noble -imp by your labour and wisdom now flourishing in all goodly -godliness.... I wish her Grace (Elizabeth) to come to -that end in perfectness and likelihood of her wit and painlessness -in her study, true trade of her teaching, which your -diligent overseeing doth most constantly promise.... I -wish all increase of virtue and honour to that my good lady, -whose wit, good Mrs. Ashley, I beeseech you somewhat favour. -Blunt edges be dull and dure much pain to little profit; the -free edge is soon turned if it be not handled thereafter. If -you pour much drink at once into a goblet, the most part will -dash out and run over; if ye pour it softly you may fill it -even to the top, and so her Grace, I doubt not, by little and -little may be increased in learning, that at length greater -cannot be required.”</p></blockquote> - -<p>If this letter means anything at all—which in -the case of such a man as Roger Ascham is not to -be doubted—it means that Mrs. Ashley, then her<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_318">318</a></span> -governess, was cautioned not to press the little girl -overmuch in her lessons. It is an acknowledgment -of the teacher’s zeal as well as affection, and in the -flowery and involved style of the period and the -man, illustrates the theory by pointing out the -error of trying to fill a small vessel from a larger -one by pouring too fast. She is not a backward -child, he says in effect, but go slowly with her education, -you cannot give full learning all at once.</p> - -<p>Compare this letter with that of the same writer -to John Sturmius, Rector of the Protestant University -of Strasbourg, on the same subject in 1550:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>“The Lady Elizabeth has accomplished her sixteenth year; -and so much of solidity of understanding, such courtesy united -with dignity, have never been observed at so early an age. -She has the most ardent love of true religion and of the best -kind of literature. The constitution of her mind is exempt -from female weakness, and she is endued with a masculine -power of application.</p> - -<p>“No apprehension can be quicker than hers, no memory -more retentive. French and Italian she speaks like English; -Latin with fluency, propriety and judgment; she also spoke -Greek with me, frequently, willingly, and understanding well. -Nothing can be more elegant than her handwriting, whether -in the Greek or Roman character. In music she is very skilful -but does not greatly delight. With respect to personal -decoration, she greatly prefers a simple elegance to show and -splendour, so despising the outward adorning of plaiting the -hair and of wearing of gold, that in the whole manner of her -life she rather resembles Hippolyta than Phædra.”</p></blockquote> - -<p>That such a scholar as Roger Ascham makes the -simile is marked. Hippolyta was a Queen of the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_319">319</a></span> -Amazons and Phædra was an almost preternaturally -womanly woman, one with a tragic intensity -of passion.</p> - -<p>The Elizabeth whom we know from 1544 to -1603 certainly had brains enough to protect her -neck. In 1549 Sir Robert Tyrwhitt wrote to the -Protector Somerset, apropos of the strenuous effort -being made to gain from her some admission -damaging to herself concerning Thomas Seymour’s -attempts to win her hand:</p> - -<p>“She hath a very pretty wit and nothing is gotten -out of her but by great policy.”</p> - -<p>In a letter from Simon Renard Ambassador to -the Emperor Charles V dated London September -23, 1553, there is incidentally a statement regarding -Elizabeth’s character which it is wise to hold in -mind when discussing this particular period of her -history. Writing of Elizabeth’s first attendance -at Mass he said: “she, Mary, ... entreated -Madame Elizabeth to speak freely of all that was -on her conscience, to which the Princess replied -that she was resolved to declare publicly that in going -to Mass as in all else that she had done, she -had only obeyed the voice of her conscience; and -that she had acted freely, without fear, deceit, or -pretence. We have since been told, however, that -the said Lady Elizabeth is very timid, and that -while she was speaking with the Queen she trembled -very much.”</p> - -<p>Compare with this the letter of 16th March, 1554<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_320">320</a></span> -to the Queen (Mary) written just as she was told -to go to the Tower. In this letter which is beautifully -written and with not a trace of agitation she -protests her innocence of any plot. Her mental -attitude was thoroughly borne out by a calm dignity -of demeanour which is more in accord with -male than female nature. In very fact Elizabeth -appears all her life since 1544 to have been playing -with great thoughtfulness and yet dexterity a -diplomatic game—acting with histrionic subtlety -a part which she had chosen advisedly.</p> - -<p>A good idea of the personality of Elizabeth during -the period beginning with 1544 may be had -from a brief consideration of the risks which a person -taking up such an imposture would run, first -at the time of beginning the venture and then of -sustaining the undertaken rôle. At the outset a -boy of ten or eleven would not think of taking it -seriously. At first he would look on it as a “lark” -and carry out the idea with a serious energy only -known in play-time. Later thought would give it -a new charm in the shape of danger. This, while -adding to his great zest, would sober him; thence -on it would be a game—just such a game as a boy -loves, perpetual struggle to get the best of someone -else. To some natures wit against wit is a -better strife than strength against strength, and if -one were well equipped for such a fray the game -would satisfy the ambition of his years. In any -case when once such a game was entered on, the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_321">321</a></span> -stake would be his own head—a consideration which -must undoubtedly make for strenuous effort—even -in boyhood.</p> - -<p>The task which would have followed—which did -follow if the Bisley story is true—would have been -vastly greater. If the imposture escaped immediate -detection—which is easily conceivable—a new -kind of endeavour would have been necessary; one -demanding the utmost care and perpetual vigilance -in addition to the personal qualities necessary for -the carrying out of the scheme. Little help could -be given to the young boy on whom rested the -weight of what must have appeared to all concerned -in it a stupendous undertaking. From the -nature of the task, which was one which even the -faintest breath of suspicion would have ruined, the -little band, originally involved, could gain no assistance. -Safety was only possible by the maintenance -of the most rigid secrecy. All around -them were enemies served by a host of zealous spies. -If then the story be true, those who carried such an -enterprising situation to lasting success, must have -been no common persons. Let us suppose for a -moment that the story was true. In such case the -Boy of Bisley who acted the part of the Princess -Elizabeth could have had only two assistants—assistants -even if they were only passive. <em>Whatever</em> -may have happened we know from history that -both Mrs. Ashley and Thomas Parry were ingrainedly -loyal to Elizabeth, as she was to them.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_322">322</a></span> -For convenience we shall speak of the substitute -of the Princess as though he were the Princess herself -whom he appeared to be, and for whom he was -accepted thenceforth. That the imposture—if -there was one—succeeded is a self-evident fact; for -almost sixty years there was no question raised by -any person of either sex and of any political opinion. -The statecraft of England, France, the -Papacy, and the German Empire were either unsuspicious -or in error—or both. It is reasonable to -imagine that a person of strong character and -active intelligence might have steered deftly between -these variously opposing forces. It is conceivable -that in the case of a few individuals there -might have been stray fragmentary clouds of suspicion; -though if there were any they must have -come to those who were held to a consequent inactivity -by other dominating causes. We shall -have occasion presently to touch on this subject but -in the meantime we must accept it that there was -no opinion expressed by any one in such a way as -necessarily to provoke action. Of course after a -time even suspicion became an impossibility. Here -was a young girl growing into womanhood whom -all around her had known all her life—or what was -equivalent—believed they had. It is only now -after three centuries that we can consider who it -was that formed the tally of those who knew the -personality of Elizabeth during both periods of her -youth, that up to 1543–4 and that which followed.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_323">323</a></span> -Henry VIII manifestly not only had no doubt on -the subject but no thought. If he had had he was -just the man to have settled it at once. Anne -Boleyn was dead, so was her predecessor in title. -Anne of Cleves had accepted the annulment of her -marriage—and a pension. Jane Seymour and -Catherine Howard were both dead. Nearly all -those who as nurses, governesses, or teachers, Lady -Bryan, Richard Croke, William Grindal, Roger -Ascham, who knew the first period were dead or -had retired into other spheres. Those who remained -knowing well the individuality of the Princess -and representing both periods were Mrs. -Ashley, Thomas Parry and the Queen (later dowager) -Catherine Parr.</p> - -<p>We know already of the faithfulness of the two -former, the man who was a clever as well as a faithful -servant, and the woman, who having no children -of her own, took to her heart the little child -entrusted to her care and treated her with such -affectionate staunchness—a staunchness which has -caused more than one historian to suspect that there -was some grave secret between them which linked -their fortunes together.</p> - -<p>As to Catherine Parr we are able to judge from -her letters that she was fond of her step-daughter -and was consistently kind to her. Those who -choose to study the matter further can form an -opinion of their own from certain recorded episodes -which, given without any elucidating possibilities<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_324">324</a></span> -leave the historians in further doubt. Leti puts in -his <cite>Life</cite>, under the date of 1543, “before her marriage -to Henry, Catherine Parr had seen often -Elizabeth and admired her.” The Italian historian -<em>may</em> have had some authority for the statement; -but also it may have been taken from some statement -made by Elizabeth in later years or by some -person in her interest, to create a misleading belief. -In any case let us accept the statement as a matter -of fact. If so it may throw a light on another -branch of this eternal and diverse mystery. -Martin Hume and F. A. Mumby approaching the -subject from different points confess themselves -puzzled by Elizabeth’s attitude to men. The former -writes in his <cite>Courtships of Queen Elizabeth</cite>:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>“No one can look at the best portraits of Elizabeth without -recognising at a glance that she was not a sensual woman. -The lean, austere face, the tight thin lips, the pointed delicate -chin, the cold dull eyes, tell of a character the very opposite -of lascivious.”</p></blockquote> - -<p>Mr. Mumby writing about Mrs. Ashley’s “Confession” -and of the horse-play between Elizabeth -and Lord Seymour (whom Queen Catherine had -married immediately after the King’s death) makes -this remark:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>“The most surprising thing about this behaviour is that the -Queen should have encouraged it.”</p></blockquote> - -<p>There is plenty of room for wonder, considering -that Admiral Seymour had earlier wanted to marry<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_325">325</a></span> -Elizabeth. But Catherine was a clever woman, -who had already had three husbands—Seymour -was her fourth—and children. If any one would -see through a boy’s disguise as a girl she was the -one. It is hard to imagine that Seymour’s wife -had not good cause for some form revenge on -him of whom Hallam speaks of as a “dangerous -and unprincipled man” and of whom Latimer said -“he was a man farthest from the fear of God that -ever I knew or heard of in England” as it was believed -at the time of her death that he had poisoned -his wife, the Queen dowager, to make way for a -marriage with Elizabeth, with whom according to -common belief he was still in love, it would be only -natural that a woman of her disposition and with -her sense of humour, should revenge herself in a -truly wifely way by using for the purpose, without -betraying the secret, her private knowledge -or belief of the quasi-princess’s real sex. Such -would afford an infinite gratification to an ill-used -wife jealous of so vain a husband.</p> - -<div id="ip_325" class="figcenter" style="width: 599px;"> - <img src="images/i_326.jpg" width="599" height="600" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">THE DUKE OF RICHMOND</div></div> - -<p>We now come to the crux of the whole story—the -touchstone of this strange eventful history. -Could there have been such a boy as is told of; -one answering to the many conditions above shown -to be vitally necessary for the carrying out of such -a scheme of imposture. The answer to this question -is distinctly in the affirmative; there <em>could</em> have -been such a boy; had the Duke of Richmond been -born fourteen or fifteen years earlier than he was,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_326">326</a></span> -the difficulties of appearance, intellect, education, -and other qualifications need not have presented -themselves.</p> - -<p>If the question to be asked is: “Was there such -a boy?” the answer cannot be so readily given. In -the meantime there are some considerations from -the study of which—or through which—an answer -may, later, be derived.</p> - - -<h4>H. THE SOLUTION<br /> - -<span class="subhead"><i>The Duke of Richmond</i></span></h4> - -<p>The points which must be settled before we can -solve the mystery of the <em>Bisley Boy</em> are:</p> - -<p>(1) Was there such an episode regarding the -early life of the Princess Elizabeth?</p> - -<p>(2) Was there such a boy as was spoken of?</p> - -<p>(3) How could such an imposture have been -carried out, implying as it <span class="locked">did—</span></p> - -<p>(a) A likeness to the Princess so extraordinary -as not to have created suspicion in the mind of -anyone not already in the plot.</p> - -<p>(b) An acquaintance with the circumstances of -the life of the Princess sufficiently accurate to ward -off incipient suspicion caused by any overlooking -or neglect of necessary conditions.</p> - -<p>(c) An amount of education and knowledge -equal to that held by a child of ten to twelve years -of age who had been taught by some of the most -learned persons of the time.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_327">327</a></span> -(d) A skill in classics and foreign tongues only -known amongst high scholars and diplomatists.</p> - -<p>(e) An ease of body and a courtliness of manner -and bearing utterly foreign to any not bred in -the higher circles of social life.</p> - -<p>If there could be found a boy answering such -conditions—one whose assistance could be had with -facility and safety—then the solution is possible, -even if not susceptible of the fullest proof. Following -the lines of argument hitherto used in this -book, let us first consider reasons why such an -argument is tenable. I may then perhaps be -allowed to launch the theory which has come to me -during this investigation.</p> - - -<h5>(<i>a</i>) <i>His Birth and Appearance</i></h5> - -<p>A part—and no small part—of the bitterness of -Henry VIII in not having a son to succeed him -was that, though he had a son, such could not by -the existing law succeed him on the throne.</p> - -<p>Nearly ten years after his marriage to Catherine -of Aragon and after a son and other -children had been born to them, all of whom had -died shortly after birth, Henry had in the manner -of mediæval kings—and others—entered on a love -affair, the object of his illicit affection being one -of the ladies-in-waiting to Queen Catherine, Elizabeth, -daughter of John Blount of Knevet, Shropshire.</p> - -<p>The story of this love affair is thus given in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_328">328</a></span> -quaint old English in <cite>Grafton’s Chronicle</cite> first -published in 1569 which covers the period from -1189 to 1558:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>“You shall understande, the King in his freshe youth was -in the cheynes of love with a faire damosell called Elizabeth -Blunt, daughter of Syr John Blunt Knight, which damosell -in synging, daunsing, and in all goodly pastimes, excelled -all other, by the which goodly pastimes, she wanne the king’s -hart: and she againe shewed him such favour that by him she -bare a goodly man childe, of beautie like to the father and -mother. This child was well brought up lyke a Princes -childe.”</p></blockquote> - - -<h5>(<i>b</i>) <i>His Upbringing and Marriage</i></h5> - -<p>This son of an unlawful union—born in 1519 -it is said—was called Henry Fitzroy after the custom -applicable in such cases to the natural children -of kings. Naturally enough his royal father took -the greatest interest in this child and did, whilst -the latter lived, all in his power to further his interests. -A mere list of the honours conferred on -him during his short life will afford some clue -to the King’s intention of his further advancement, -should occasion serve. The shower of favours began -in 1525 when the child, as is said, was only -six years of age. On the 18th of June of this year -he was created Earl of Nottingham and Duke of -Richmond and Somerset, with precedence over all -dukes except those of the King’s lawful issue. He -was also made a Knight of the Garter—of which -exalted Order he was raised to the Lieutenancy<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_329">329</a></span> -eight years later. He was also nominated to other -high offices: the King’s Lieutenant General for -districts north of the Trent; and Keeper of the city -and fortress of Carlisle. To these posts were -added those of Lord High Admiral of England, -Wales, Ireland, Normandy, Gascony and Aquitaine; -Warden General of the Marches of Scotland, -and Receiver of Middleham and of Sheriff -Hutton, Yorkshire. He was also given an income -of four thousand pounds sterling per annum. In -1529, being then only ten years of age, he was also -made Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Constable of -Dover Castle and Warden of the Cinque Ports—three -of the most important offices of the Nation. -A few months before his death in 1536 there was a -general understanding that Henry VIII intended -to make him King of Ireland and possibly to nominate -him as his successor on the throne of England. -That some such intention was in Henry’s -mind was shown by the Succession Act passed just -before the close of the Parliament which was dissolved -in 1536. In this Act it is fixed that the -Crown is to devolve on the King’s death to the son -of Jane Seymour and in default of issue by him, -on Mary and Elizabeth in succession in case of lack -of issue by the former. In the event of their both -dying before the King and without issue he is to -appoint by will his successor on the throne.</p> - -<p>The various important posts conferred on the -young Duke of Richmond were evidently preparations<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_330">330</a></span> -for the highest post of all, which in default -of legitimate issue of his own legitimate children -he intended to confer on him.</p> - -<p>The education which was given to the little Duke -is of especial interest and ought in the present connection -to be carefully studied. It was under the -care of Richard Croke, celebrated for his scholarship; -who in the modern branch was assisted by -John Palsgrave the author of the earliest English -grammar of the French language “<cite>Lesclarcissement -de la langue Francoyse</cite>.” In spite of the -opposition of his household the Duke of Richmond -devoted his young life to study rather than to arms. -Whilst still a young boy he had already read a -part of <cite>Cæsar</cite>, <cite>Virgil</cite> and <cite>Terence</cite>, knew a little -Greek, and was fairly skilful in music—singing -and playing on the virginals. There was much -talk in Court circles as to whom he should marry -and many ladies of high degree were named. One -was a niece of Pope Clement VII; another was a -Danish princess; still another a princess of France; -also a daughter of Eleanor, dowager Queen of -Portugal, a sister of Charles V. This lady was -afterwards Queen of France.</p> - -<p>Early in 1532 the Duke resided for a while at -Hatfield. Then he went to Paris with his friend -the Earl of Surrey, son of the Duke of Norfolk. -There he remained till September, 1533. On his -return to England he married by special dispensation, -on 25 November, 1533, Mary Howard, daughter<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_331">331</a></span> -of the Duke of Norfolk by his second marriage -and sister of Surrey. Incidentally he is said to -have been present at the beheading of Queen Anne -(Boleyn), May 19, 1536. He did not long survive -the last-named exhibition, for some two months -later—22 July, 1536, he died. There was at the -time a suspicion that he had been poisoned by Lord -Rochford, brother of Queen Anne (Boleyn).</p> - -<p>Henry Duke of Richmond and Somerset had no -legal issue. As a matter of fact though he was -married in 1533, nearly three years before his death, -he never lived with his wife. It was said that -he was not only young for matrimony, being only -seventeen; but was in very bad health. It was intended -that after his marriage he should go to Ireland; -but on account of the state of his health that -journey was postponed—as it turned out, for ever.</p> - -<p>A light on this ill-starred marriage is thrown in -the quaint words of another chronicler of the time, -Charles Wriothesley, who wrote of the time between -1485 and 1559.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>“But the said younge duke had never layne by his wife, -and so she is maide, wife, and now a widowe; I praie God -send her now good fortune.”</p></blockquote> - -<p class="in0">In this summarised history certain points are to be -noticed:</p> - -<p>(1) The Duke of Richmond was like his father -(Henry VIII) and his mother who was “fayre.”</p> - -<p>(2) A Dispensation was obtained for his marriage<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_332">332</a></span> -to Lady Mary Howard which took place in -1533 but with whom he never cohabited.</p> - -<p>There is a side-light here of the hereditary aspect -of the case. Both the Duke and Duchess of Richmond -were “fayre,” and in the language of the old -chroniclers “fayre” means blonde. Wintown for -instance speaking of Macbeth’s supposed descent -from the Devil says:</p> - -<div class="poem-container"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Gottyne he was on ferly wys<br /></span> -<span class="i0">“Hys Modyr to woddis mad oft repayre<br /></span> -<span class="i0">“For the delyte of halesum ayre.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">“Swa, scho past a-pon a day<br /></span> -<span class="i0">“Tyl a Wod, hyr for to play:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">“Scho met at cas with a fayr man.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>And Grafton thus speaks under date 7 September -1533 of Elizabeth’s birth: “The Queen was delivered -of a fayre Lady.”</p> - -<p>Now Anne Boleyn is described as small and -lively, a brunette with black hair and beautiful -eyes, and yet her daughter is given as red-haired -by all the painters.</p> - -<p>It is somewhat difficult to make out the true colours -of persons. For instance Giovanni Michiel -writing to the Venetian Senate in 1557 puts in his -description of Elizabeth “She is tall and well -formed, with a good skin, although swarthy” but -in the same page he says “she prides herself on her -father and glories in him; everybody is saying that -she also resembles him more than the Queen -[Mary] does.” As to the introduction of the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_333">333</a></span> -word “swarthy” as above; it may have been one of -the tricks of Elizabeth to keep the Venetian ambassador -from knowing too much or getting any -ground for guessing. If so it looks rather like -Elizabeth concealing her real identity—which -would be an argument in favour of an imposture; -if she was the real princess there would be no need -for concealment.</p> - -<p>It is only common sense to expect, if the -paternal element was so strong in Henry as to -reproduce in offspring his own colour, that had -the Duke of Richmond had any issue especially -by a fair wife it too would have inherited something -of the family colour. Holbein’s picture of -the “Lady of Richmond,” as the Duke’s wife was -called, shows her as a fair woman.</p> - -<p>These are two points to be here borne in mind; -that Henry VIII was probably bald, for in none -of his pictures is any hair visible. It would hardly -be polite to infer that Elizabeth wore a wig for -the same reason. But it is recorded that she always -travelled with a stock of them—no less than eighty -of various colours.</p> - -<p>But there are other indications of such concealment. -Why for instance did she object to see doctors? -So long as she was free and could control -them she did not mind; but whilst she was under -duress they were a source of danger. Perhaps it -is this which accounts for her taking the Sacrament -on 26 August, 1554 when she was practically<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_334">334</a></span> -a prisoner at Woodstock in the keeping of Sir -Henry Bedingfield. About the third week in June -the Princess asked Sir Henry to be allowed to have -a doctor sent to her. He in turn applied to the -Council who made answer on the 25th that the -Queen’s Oxford physician was ill and Mr. Wendy -was absent and the remaining one, Mr. Owen, could -not be spared. The latter however recommended -two Oxford doctors, Barnes and Walbec, in case -she should care to see either of them. On July 4th -Sir Henry reported to the Council that Elizabeth -in politely declining said: “I am not minded to -make any stranger privy to the state of my body, -but commit it to God.” Then, when through her -submission to the Queen’s religious convictions she -had obtained her liberty, she took no more concern -in the matter.</p> - - -<h5><i>The Duchess of Richmond</i></h5> - -<p>Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, married -twice. His second wife was the lady Elizabeth -Stafford, eldest daughter of the Duke of Buckingham, -and he had issue by both marriages. In 1533 -the only surviving daughter of the second marriage -was Mary, who was thus the Lady Mary Howard, -sister of the Earl of Surrey. It was this lady with -whom the uncompleted marriage of the Duke of -Richmond took place. Doubtless they were early -friends. In her youth she used to spend the summer -at Tendring Hall, Suffolk, and the winter<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_335">335</a></span> -at Hunsdon, Hertfordshire, where was one of -Henry’s palaces; in addition Henry was one of the -closest companions of her brother, the Earl of Surrey. -Lady Richmond’s part in the historical episode -before us is hardly direct. It only comes in -through two circumstances not unattended with -mystery. It is not necessary that the two were -correlated; but no student can get away from the -idea that there was some connection between them, -especially when there is another inference bearing -on the subject with reference to the second marriage -of the Duchess. This took place after an -interval of some years to Gilbert, son of Sir George -Talboys of Goloths, Lincolnshire. The name of -the second husband is variously spelled in the -chronicles as Tailboise or Talebuse. She died in -the year before Elizabeth came to the throne. The -two things to examine closely with regard to this -marriage to the Duke of Richmond were the Dispensation -for the marriage (together with the date -of it), and its non-fulfilment. The Dispensation -was dated 28 November, 1533, but the marriage -took place three days earlier. Whether this discrepancy -had anything to do with her later marriage -to Talboys we can only guess—unless of -course more exhaustive search can produce some -document, unknown as yet, which may throw light -on the subject. It is a matter of no light mystery -why a Dispensation was obtained at such a time -and by whom it was effected. At this time Henry<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_336">336</a></span> -VIII was engaged in the bitterest struggle of his -life, that regarding the supremacy of the Pope, so -that it was a direct violation of his policy to have -asked for, or even to recognise such a Dispensation -in the case of his own son whom he intended to -succeed him as King. Before a year had passed -he had actually thrown over the Papal authority -altogether, and had taken into his own hands the -headship of the National Church. What then was -behind such a maladroit action? If it had been -done as a piece of statecraft—the ostensible showing -that there was as yet no direct rupture between -the British Nation and the Papacy—it would have -lost its efficacy if it might be cited as a Court -favour rather than a national right. Moreover, as -it was to sanction by then existing canonical law -a marriage of Henry’s son with a daughter of the -head of the most powerful Catholic House in England, -it could not be expected that Rome would -not use this in its strife for the continuation of its -supremacy. If Henry was directly concerned in -the matter, it was bad policy and unlike him to conciliate -Catholicism by a yielding on the part of one -who would be in the future the Head of the Reformed -Church. Altogether it leaves one under -the impression that there must have been a more -personal cause than any yet spoken of. Something -to be covered up, or from which suspicion -should be averted. There was already quite enough -material for a controversy in case Henry Fitzroy<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_337">337</a></span> -should come to the throne and it might be well to -minimise any further risk. But in such case what -was there to be covered up or from which suspicion -should be averted? Already Richmond held under -his father all the threads of government in his own -hand. If he ever should need to tighten them it -would be done by himself as ruler. There must -still be some reason which must be kept secret and -of which Henry himself did not and must not -know. Beyond this again was the question of the -personal ambition of “Bluff King Hal.” It was -not sufficient for him that a barren heir should -succeed him—even if that heir was his own son. -He wanted to found a dynasty, and if he suspected -for an instant that after all his plotting and striving—all -his titanic efforts to overcome such obstacles -as nations and religions—his hopes might -fail through lack of issue on his son’s part he would -cease to waste his time and efforts on his behalf. -It is almost impossible to imagine that the Duke of -Richmond had not had <em>some</em> love affairs—if indeed -he was only seventeen (of which there is a -doubt)—it must be borne in mind that both the -Lancastrians and the Yorkists who united in the -Tudor stock matured early. On both his father’s -and mother’s side Henry Fitzroy was of a pleasure-loving, -voluptuous nature, and as the masculine -element predominated in his make-up there is not -any great stretch of imagination required to be -satisfied that there was some young likeness of him<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_338">338</a></span> -toddling or running about. But in a case like his -masculine mis-doing does not count; it is only where -a woman’s credit is at stake that secrecy is a vital -necessity. We must therefore look to the female -side to find a cause for any mystery which there -may be. So far as a boy of the right age is concerned -with a decided likeness to Henry VIII it -would not have required much searching about to -lay hands on a suitable one.</p> - -<div id="ip_338" class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> - <img src="images/i_334.jpg" width="450" height="600" alt="" /> - <div class="captionl"><p class="p0 in0">The Lady of Richmond.</p></div> - <div class="caption"><p>THE DUCHESS OF RICHMOND</p></div></div> - -<p>But here a new trouble would begin. It would -be beyond nature to expect that any mother would -consent, especially at a moment’s notice, to her child -running such a risk as the substitute of the dead -Princess Elizabeth was taking, without some kind -of assurance or guarantee of his safety. Moreover, -if there were other relatives, they would be -sure to know, and some of them to make trouble -unless their mouths were closed. Practically the -only chance of carrying such an enterprise through -would be if the substitute were an orphan or in a -worse position—one whose very life was an embarrassment -to those to whom it should be most dear.</p> - -<p>Here opens a field for romantic speculation. -Such need not clash with history which is a record -of fact. Call it romance if we will; indeed until -we have more perfect records we must. If invention -is to be called in to the aid of deduction no one -can complain if these two methods of exercise of -intellect are kept apart and the boundaries between -them are duly charted. Any speculation beyond<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_339">339</a></span> -this can be only regarded as belonging to the region -of pure fiction.</p> - -<p>In one way there is a duty which the reader must -not shirk, if only on his own account: not to refuse -to accept facts without due consideration. Wildly -improbable as the Bisley story is, it is not impossible. -Whoever says, offhand, that such a story -is untrue on the face of it ought to study the -account of a death reported at Colchester in Essex -just a hundred years ago. A servant died who -had been in the same situation as housemaid and -nurse for thirty years. But only after death was -the true sex of the apparent woman discovered. -It was masculine!</p> - -<div class="tb">* <span class="in2">* </span><span class="in2">* </span><span class="in2">* </span><span class="in2">*</span></div> - -<p>Here I must remind such readers as honour my -work with their attention that I am venturing -merely to tell a tradition sanctioned by long time, -and that I only give as comments historical facts -which may be tested by any student. I have invented -and shall invent nothing; and only claim -the same right which I have in common with every -one else—that of forming my own opinion.</p> - -<p>Here it is that we may consider certain additions -to the original Bisley tradition. How these are -connected with the main story is impossible to say -after the lapse of centuries; but in all probability -there is a basis of ancient belief in all that has -been added. The following items cover the additional -ground.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_340">340</a></span> -When the governess wished to hide the secret -hurriedly, she hid the body, intending it to be only -temporarily, in the stone coffin which lay in the -garden at Overcourt outside the Princess’s window.</p> - -<p>Some tens of years ago the bones of a young -girl lying amidst rags of fine clothing were found -in the stone coffin.</p> - -<p>The finder was a churchman—a man of the highest -character and a member of a celebrated ecclesiastical -family.</p> - -<p>The said finder firmly believed in the story of -the Bisley Boy.</p> - -<p>Before Elizabeth came to the throne all those -who knew the secret of the substitution were in -some way got rid of or their silence assured.</p> - -<p>The name of the substituted youth was Neville; -or such was the name of the family with whom he -was living at the time.</p> - -<p>There are several persons in the neighbourhood -of Bisley who accept the general truth of the story -even if some of the minor details appear at first -glance to be inharmonious. These persons are not -of the ordinary class of gossipers, but men and -women of light and leading who have fixed places -in the great world and in the social life of their -own neighbourhood. With some of them the truth -of the story is an old belief which makes a tie with -any new investigator.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_341">341</a></span></p> - - -<h5><i>The Unfulfilled Marriage</i></h5> - -<p>The remaining point to touch on is the unfulfilled -marriage of the Duke of Richmond. This certainly -needs some explanation, or else the mystery -remains dark as ever.</p> - -<p>Here we have two young persons of more than -fair presence, and graced with all the endearing -qualities that the mind as well as the eye can grasp. -We have the assurance of Chronicles regarding -Henry Fitzroy; and from Holbein’s picture we -can judge for ourselves of the lady’s merits. They -are both well-to-do. The lady, one of title, daughter -of one of the most prominent Dukes in England, -the man then holding many of the most -important posts in the State, and with every expectation -of wearing in due course the purple of royalty. -They both come of families of which other -members have been notorious for amatory episodes; -voluptuousness is in their blood. They have been -old friends—and yet when they marry they at once -separate, she going to her own folk and he to -Windsor. Seemingly they do not meet again in the -two and a half years that elapse before his death. -The story about his youth and health preventing -cohabitation is all moonshine. The affair points -to the likelihood of some ante-matrimonial liaison -of which, as yet, we know nothing. Applying the -experiences of ordinary life in such cases, we can -easily believe that Mary Howard, egged on by her<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_342">342</a></span> -unscrupulous and ambitiously-intriguing brother, -was for ulterior purposes either forced or helped -into an intrigue with the young Duke. There is no -doubt that Surrey was unscrupulous enough for it. -A similar design on his part—only infinitely more -base—cost him his head. He had tried to induce -his sister, Duchess of Richmond, to become mistress -of Henry VIII—her own father-in-law!—so -that she might have power over him; and it does -not seem that there was any wonderful indignation -on the part of the lady at the shameful proposal.</p> - -<p>We are told that when Sir John Gates and -Sir Richard Southwell, the royal Commissioners -for examining witnesses in the case of the -charge of treason against the Duke of Norfolk -and the Earl of Surrey, arrived at Kenninghall -in the early morning and made known -their general purposes in coming, the Duchess of -Richmond “almost fainted.” But all the same -when she knew more exactly what they wanted she -promised without any forcing to tell all she knew. -As a matter of fact her evidence (with that of -Elizabeth Holland, the mistress of the Duke of -Norfolk), whilst it helped to get Norfolk off, aided -in condemning Surrey. There must have been -some other cause for her consternation. She had -been bred up in the midst of intrigues, polemical -and dynastic as well as of personal ambition, and -was well inured to keeping her countenance as well -as her head in moments of stress. The cause of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_343">343</a></span> -her “almost fainting” must have been something -which concerned her even more nearly than either -father or brother. It could only have been fear -for her child or herself—or for both. It is possible -that she dreaded discovery of some sort. <i xml:lang="la" lang="la">Omne -ignotum pro magnifico.</i> Suspicion has long flexible -tentacula, with eyes and ears at the end of -them, which can penetrate everywhere and see and -hear everything. She knew how to dread suspicion -and to fear the consequences which must result -from inquiry or investigation of any sort. If she -had had a child it must have been kept hidden, and -if possible far away—as the unknown Boy was -at Bisley. Indeed the Howards had immense family -ramifications and several of them had collateral -relationships in and about Bisley. There were -Nevilles there, and doubtless some of them were -poor relations relegated to the far away place where -living was cheap and where they might augment -their tenuous incomes by taking in even poorer -relations than themselves whose rich relatives -wished to hide them away. It is only a surmise; -but if there had been a case of a child unaccounted -for, which any member of so great a family as -the Howards wished to keep dark, it would be hard -to find a more favourable locality than the little -almost inaccessible hamlet in the Cotswolds. If -there were such a child, how easy it would all have -been. When the Duke was married he was fourteen -or perhaps sixteen at most—an age which<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_344">344</a></span> -though over-young for fatherhood in the case of -ordinary men seemed to offer to the Plantagenet-York-Lancaster -blood no absolute difficulty of -taking up such responsibility. As Elizabeth -was only born some two months before the -Duke’s marriage there was not any time to -spare—a fact which would doubtless have been -used to his advantage if Henry’s natural son had -lived. In all probability Richmond’s marriage was -a part of the plot for aggrandisement of the Howards -which began with the unscrupulous securing -by Surrey of the son of Henry VIII at the cost -of his sister’s honour; and ended with the death of -Surrey as a traitor—a doom which his father only -escaped by the King dying whilst the Act of Attainder -was lying ready for his signature. If this -reasoning be correct—though the data on which it -is founded be meagre and without actual proof—as -yet—the risk of Duchess Mary’s child born before -her marriage must have been a terrible hazard. -On one side perhaps the most powerful sceptre in -the world as guerdon; on the other death and ruin -of the child on which such hopes were built. No -wonder then that Duchess Mary “almost fainted” -when in the early dawn the King’s Commissioners -conveyed to her the broad object of their coming. -No wonder that freed by larger knowledge -from the worst apprehension which could be for -her, she announced her willingness to conceal nothing -that she knew. That promise could not and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_345">345</a></span> -would not have been made had the whole range of -possibilities, which as yet no one suspected, been -opened to their investigation. For even beyond -the concern which she felt from the arbitrary power -of the King and at the remorseless grip of the law, -she had reason to doubt her own kin—the nearest -of them—in such a struggle as was going on -around them when the whole of the Empire, the -Kingdom of England, France and Spain, and the -Papacy were close to the melting-pot. It would -have been but a poor look-out for a youth of a -little more than a dozen years of age had fate made -him the shuttlecock of such strenuous players who -did not hold “fair play” as a primary rule of the -game in which they were engaged.</p> - -<p>In his <cite>Life of Elizabeth</cite>, Gregario Leti concludes -a panegyric on the Queen’s beauty with the following: -“This was accompanied by such inward qualities -that those who knew her were accustomed to -say that heaven had given her such rare qualities -that she was doubtless reserved for some great work -in the world.” The Italian historian perhaps -“builded better than he knew,” for whether the -phrase applies to the one who is supposed to have -occupied the throne or one who did so occupy it, -it is equally true. The world at that crisis wanted -just such an one as Elizabeth. All honour to her -whosoever she may have been, boy or girl matters -not.</p> - -<hr /> - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_347">347</a></span></p> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2><a id="INDEX"></a>INDEX</h2> -</div> - - -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Ahasuerus, <a href="#Page_111">111–114</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Alcaçer-el-Kebir, battle of, <a href="#Page_20">20–22</a>, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Alvares, Matheus, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Althotas, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Ascham, Roger, letters of concerning Elizabeth, <a href="#Page_316">316–318</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Ashley, Mrs. Catherine, <a href="#Page_284">284</a>, <a href="#Page_285">285</a>, <a href="#Page_298">298</a>, <a href="#Page_315">315</a>, <a href="#Page_321">321</a>, <a href="#Page_323">323</a>, <a href="#Page_324">324</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Austin, “Beau,” murder of by John Law, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>.</li> - - -<li class="ifrst">Balsamo, Joseph, early life of, <a href="#Page_80">80–82</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Bank of England, early history of, <a href="#Page_140">140–142</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Banque Générale, founding of by John Law, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Banque Royale, control of by John Law, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Berners Street Hoax, <a href="#Page_252">252–254</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Beugnot, Comte de, description of Cagliostro by, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Bingham, Jinny, Mother Red-Cap, <a href="#Page_186">186–189</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Bisley, <a href="#Page_286">286–291</a>, <a href="#Page_294">294</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Bisley Boy, The, <a href="#Page_283">283–345</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Bisley Tradition, The, <a href="#Page_291">291–294</a>, <a href="#Page_339">339–340</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Bogus Sausages, <a href="#Page_260">260–262</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Brinvilliers, Marquise de, <a href="#Page_169">169–172</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Brunneau, Mathurin, <a href="#Page_40">40–41</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Buried Treasure Hoax, The, <a href="#Page_258">258–259</a>.</li> - - -<li class="ifrst">Cagliostro, career of, <a href="#Page_80">80–94</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Castro, Don John de, prophecy of concerning Sebastian, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>,</li> -<li class="isub1">visit of to impostor, <a href="#Page_26">26–27</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Cat Hoax, The, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Catizzone, Marco Tullio, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Catherine, Empress, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Caule, Rev. John, denunciation of Matthew Hopkins by, <a href="#Page_197">197–198</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Chevalier d’Eon, career of, <a href="#Page_269">269–280</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Compagnie des Indes, controlled by John Law, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Cork, Simnel and Warbeck favored by, <a href="#Page_8">8–9</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Cumberland, Duke of, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Croly, Rev. George, author of “Salathiel,” <a href="#Page_114">114–115</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Czar, The False, <a href="#Page_31">31–35</a>.</li> - - -<li class="ifrst">Dauphins, The False, <a href="#Page_36">36–48</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Darien Company, The, <a href="#Page_142">142–143</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Dean Swift’s Hoax, <a href="#Page_259">259–260</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Dee, Dr. John, career of, <a href="#Page_155">155–163</a>.</li> - - -<li class="ifrst">East India Company, history of useful to John Law, <a href="#Page_138">138–140</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">East, Mary, career of as a man, <a href="#Page_241">241–246</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Edward IV, resemblance of to Perkin Warbeck, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_11">11–12</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Elizabeth, Queen, changes in youthful character of, <a href="#Page_315">315–316</a>,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_348">348</a></span></li> -<li class="isub1">early life of as concerned with Bisley tradition, <a href="#Page_301">301–306</a>,</li> -<li class="isub1">identity of, <a href="#Page_310">310–315</a>, <a href="#Page_326">326</a>,</li> -<li class="isub1">interest of in Dr. Dee, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>,</li> -<li class="isub1">personality of, <a href="#Page_316">316–326</a>,</li> -<li class="isub1">secret of, <a href="#Page_284">284–286</a>.</li> - - -<li class="ifrst">Feliciana, Lorenza de, wife of Cagliostro, <a href="#Page_83">83–84</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Flanders, importance of in 15th century, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Fontolive, personator of Dauphin, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li> - - -<li class="ifrst">Gordon, Catherine, marriage of to Perkin Warbeck, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.</li> - - -<li class="ifrst">Hehl, Father, controversy of with Mesmer, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Henry VII, difficulties of, <a href="#Page_3">3–4</a>,</li> -<li class="isub1">measures of against Perkin Warbeck, <a href="#Page_13">13–14</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Henry VIII, activities of, <a href="#Page_304">304–307</a>, <a href="#Page_309">309</a>,</li> -<li class="isub1">desire of for son, <a href="#Page_302">302–303</a>,</li> -<li class="isub1">father of Duke of Richmond, <a href="#Page_327">327–329</a>,</li> -<li class="isub1">mystery of attitude of toward Papacy, <a href="#Page_336">336</a>,</li> -<li class="isub1">visit of to Bisley, <a href="#Page_291">291–293</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Herbert, Henri, story of as personator of the Dauphin, <a href="#Page_41">41–46</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Hervagault, Jean Marie, attempt of to personate the Dauphin, <a href="#Page_39">39–40</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Hoaxes, <a href="#Page_249">249–265</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Hoaxed Burglars, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Hohenheim, Theophrastus Bombast von, real name of Paracelsus, early life of, <a href="#Page_72">72–75</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Hook, Theodore, <a href="#Page_252">252</a>, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Hopkins, Matthew, career of as witch-finder, <a href="#Page_190">190–198</a>.</li> - - -<li class="ifrst">James IV, belief of in Perkin Warbeck, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Joinville, Prince de, settlement of Eleazar Williams’ claim by, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>.</li> - - -<li class="ifrst">Kelley, Sir Edward, career of, <a href="#Page_175">175–181</a>,</li> -<li class="isub1">friendship of with Dr. Dee, <a href="#Page_161">161–163</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Kenealy, Dr., course of as counsel for Tichborne Claimant, <a href="#Page_222">222–223</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">“King of Penemacor,” <a href="#Page_22">22–23</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">“Knight of the Cross,” <a href="#Page_23">23–29</a>.</li> - - -<li class="ifrst">Laski, Palatine Albert, interest of in Dr. Dee and Sir Edward Kelley, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_178">178–179</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Law, John, career and character of, <a href="#Page_123">123–144</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Louis XV, friendliness of for Chevalier d’Eon, <a href="#Page_270">270</a>, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>, <a href="#Page_273">273</a>, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Louis XVII, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Locke, Richard Adams, author of Moon Hoax, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Luie, Jean, testimony of for Tichborne Claimant, <a href="#Page_221">221–222</a>.</li> - - -<li class="ifrst">Margaret, Duchess of Burgundy, interest of in Perkin Warbeck, <a href="#Page_10">10–11</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Marie Antoinette, <a href="#Page_90">90–93</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Marriage Hoax, The, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Maupin, Mlle. de, career of, <a href="#Page_235">235–241</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Mesmer, Frederic-Antoine, career of, <a href="#Page_95">95–103</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Military Review, The, <a href="#Page_256">256</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Mississippi Scheme, The, formation of by John Law, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>,</li> -<li class="isub1">growth and collapse of, <a href="#Page_127">127–133</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Mother Damnable, story of, <a href="#Page_182">182–189</a>.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_349">349</a></span></li> - -<li class="indx">Mother Black-Cap, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Mother Red-Cap, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Moon Hoax, The, <a href="#Page_262">262–265</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Morocco, invasion of by Sebastian, <a href="#Page_19">19–21</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Motte, Madame de la, plot of concerning Queen’s Necklace, <a href="#Page_91">91–93</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Mueley Abd-el-Mulek, <a href="#Page_20">20–21</a>.</li> - - -<li class="ifrst">Naundorf, attempt of to personate the Dauphin, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>.</li> - - -<li class="ifrst">Orton, Arthur, career of as Tichborne Claimant, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>, <a href="#Page_214">214–224</a>.</li> - - -<li class="ifrst">Paracelsus, career of, <a href="#Page_71">71–79</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Paradis, Mlle., controversy over as patient of Mesmer, <a href="#Page_100">100–101</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Paris, Matthew, credibility of, <a href="#Page_108">108–111</a>, <a href="#Page_117">117–118</a>,</li> -<li class="isub1">narrative of concerning Wandering Jew, <a href="#Page_107">107–108</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Parr, Queen Catherine, <a href="#Page_306">306</a>, <a href="#Page_308">308</a>, <a href="#Page_309">309</a>, <a href="#Page_312">312</a>, <a href="#Page_315">315</a>, <a href="#Page_323">323</a>, <a href="#Page_324">324</a>, <a href="#Page_325">325</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Parry, Thomas, <a href="#Page_284">284</a>, <a href="#Page_285">285</a>, <a href="#Page_298">298</a>, <a href="#Page_315">315</a>, <a href="#Page_321">321</a>, <a href="#Page_323">323</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Persat, attempt of to personate the Dauphin, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Pucci, Francis, combination of with Sir Edward Kelley, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>.</li> - - -<li class="ifrst">Richard III, consequences of lawless acts of, <a href="#Page_3">3–4</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Richmond, Duke of, life of as a natural son of Henry VIII, <a href="#Page_326">326–332</a>, <a href="#Page_341">341</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Richmond, Duchess of, <a href="#Page_334">334–335</a>, <a href="#Page_341">341–345</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Rohan, Cardinal Prince de, <a href="#Page_91">91–94</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Ryves, Mrs. A. T., <a href="#Page_49">49</a>,</li> -<li class="isub1">law-suit of attacking succession to English throne, <a href="#Page_58">58–67</a>.</li> - - -<li class="ifrst">Stephen, King of Poland, interest of in Dr. Dee, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Snell, Hannah, career of as soldier and sailor, <a href="#Page_231">231–234</a>.</li> - - -<li class="ifrst">Tichborne Claimant, The, <a href="#Page_201">201–224</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Tichborne Case, trial of, <a href="#Page_218">218–223</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Tichborne, Baronetcy of, <a href="#Page_252">252</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Tichborne, Lady Mabell, doom foretold by, <a href="#Page_203">203–204</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Tichborne, Lady, belief of in son’s existence, <a href="#Page_213">213–214</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Tichborne, Roger, <a href="#Page_206">206–212</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Toll-Gate Hoax, The, <a href="#Page_256">256–257</a>.</li> - - -<li class="ifrst">Voison, Madame, career of, <a href="#Page_164">164–174</a>.</li> - - -<li class="ifrst">Walpole, Horace, theory of concerning Perkin Warbeck, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Wandering Jew, The, <a href="#Page_107">107–120</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Warbeck, Perkin, career of, <a href="#Page_5">5–15</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Werbecque, Jehan, <a href="#Page_5">5–6</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Westphalus, statements of concerning Wandering Jew, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Williams, Eleazar, story of as personator of the Dauphin, <a href="#Page_46">46–48</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Wilmot, James, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Wilmot, Olive, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Witchcraft, <a href="#Page_147">147–198</a>,</li> -<li class="isub1">English statutes concerning, <a href="#Page_147">147–148</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx">Women, attempts of to disguise themselves as men, <a href="#Page_227">227–231</a>.</li> -</ul> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="transnote"> -<h2 class="p1 nobreak"><a id="Transcribers_Notes"></a>Transcriber’s Notes</h2> - - -<p>Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made consistent when a predominant -preference was found in this book; otherwise they were not changed.</p> - -<p>Simple typographical errors were corrected; occasional unbalanced -quotation marks retained.</p> - -<p>Index not checked for proper alphabetization or correct page references.</p> - -<p>Hemi-titles that duplicate the immediately-following chapter title have -been deleted from this eBook.</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_3">3</a>: “villany” was printed that way.</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_43">43</a>: “romancists” was printed that way; may be a misprint -for “romanticists”.</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_78">78</a>: “are current Paracelsus” was printed that way; perhaps a -question mark should have been used after “current”.</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_284">284</a>: Paragraph beginning “Elizabeth was as loyal to Parry” contains -unbalanced quotation marks.</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_325">325</a>: “some form revenge on” was printed that way; seems to be -missing an “of”.</p> -</div> -</div> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Famous Impostors, by Bram Stoker - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FAMOUS IMPOSTORS *** - -***** This file should be named 51391-h.htm or 51391-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/3/9/51391/ - -Produced by deaurider, Charlie Howard, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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