Wilmington journal., 1872-08-09

A PLAUSIBLE VILLAIN
"Dr.'' Miller, alias MiIIard, alias Mer-
ritt-His Confidence Operations
Forgery one of His Principal Ac-
cOmplishmenfs- Years I'm Pre-
pairing the Way for Stroke of For
tune. .rs-.. a. -.,-f -.-
At the beginning of the year 1870 man,
accompanied by a woman whom Reclaimed |
as his wife, engaged board at first-class |
house in this city, taking one of the parlors
thereof at a large price.
The name by whichshe introduced him. |
self was Miller. lie had the appearance
and address of gentleman of wealth, and |
was possessed of great amount OF intOr- |
nation and some literary ability. His
wife, a handsome woman OF medium
height, well-rounded figure, black hair and
eyes, was very amiable and accomplished
person. [+A
Miller, who claimed to be physician, 4
graduate ofthe Edinburgh Unive:s sty, was
somewhat given to self-gratuatiOn upon
his shrewds business tact and pecuniary
successes, stating that he had given up
lucrative practice to engage as discussing
agent fOl. the Government during the war,
and that by this agency he had made
large fortune, Which had been added To
from time to time by sundry specnlati"ns
in cotton. .-. -5 81 .#ssS
His wife possessed handsome ward
robe, including many valuable jewels. DR..
and Mrs. Miller were evidently of ankee
| origin, but had travelled much both i'll ElI-
| rope and America, and WeIJs cultured ami
| intellectual people. They were exceeding
| ly pleasant 10 those whose acquaintance
| they cared TO make, but being of Il huIRef-
! Gus and sarcastic turn, were apt to see the
| ludicrous in everything, and were some
what given to enjoying themselves at. the
expense Ofthose they did not particularly
| affect. -a-~t -..E5
To several parties in the house, however,
they made themselves exceedingly agree
able. The Doctor was poet of some
merit, and claimed to have been contrib
| utor to the Wduerly Magazine, over the
signature of Wanderer." lie had good
voice for singing, and played well upon 4
solid silver flute, which he asserted he had
purchased in England at a cost of $50 i'll
gold.
Amongst the boarders in the house was
one gentleman OF scientific, literary, and
musical attainments, whose friendship they
took great p-ins to cultivate. 1t being
| natural that persons of similar aesthetic
tastes should be drawn together, the gcll-
| tlcman alluded to suffered himself to drift
into All acquaintance with them, which
| seemed very deSilOus To. perpetllatc.-
| After remaining in the city for several
months and meeting with promptness all
pccuniary obligations, they left, ostcnSibly
to visit their little daughter Florence, who
| was, they said (dnd this 9cd& t1Uc), Il pupil
at the Convent school at Mount dc Chan
tel, near Wheeling, w. Va. Save an occa
| Sional letter to one CT other of their board
ing-hOuse acquaintanccs, nothing was
heard of them until last winter, When Mill
Ter wrote to his musical friend, announcing
his intention of coming to Philadelphia TO
stay some months, requesting him to pro-
cure accommodations for himself, wife,
and daughter at the house where tlley had
formerly boarded, of which the gentleman
addressed was still III inmate.
| Arrangements having been made to re-
ceive them they We're notified of the fact
by letter, addressed, by request, to Dir.
Miller, care of General e. II. Lewis, Ash
lahti House, N. Y. Shortly after this he
came to the city, called at the house and
stated that the smallpox was 50 bad he
was afraid to bring his family here, and re-
turned to New York the same evening"
, He was heard Of no moe until some time
in June last, when he visited the city a9aIii,
looking very miserable, having been, he
said, injured very badly by a railroad acci
dent during the month of january last.
lie was now, he claimed, largely en-
ga-ed in the cotton busincss-hId pl,l.-
| !
Savannah that by mistake three hundred
of these had been Shipped to this city, and
1t was to correct this mistake that he was
here. lie stated also that he had pur-
chased a handsome residence III Hartford,
Conn, with the intention Of settling down
for life, and warmly. invited his gcntl, man
acquaintance to come on anil spend lis
summer vacation and enjoy his fiile library
and large cabinet of Scientic specimens
| aff Loft
him dated at st. Albans, VT, alInonncng
his Intention Of being in the CITY during
the following week. AT the appointed time
he made his appearance Mt the place of
| business of the gentleman, whose acquIain-
tance he had been 1T the trouble to keep
up for the last two years. After Il leN
minutes conversation on unimpOrtant
matters, he said I" Oh do you think !
can get a draft ON New York cashed herc?"
The answer was, - tln not know but
will ascertain"
The draft, which was drawn to his
(Miller's) order, was presented, and upon
his identification by the gentleman, it was
paid. This draft proved to be Il forgery
Throughout. Since the occurrence it has
been discovered that DIR. Miller is Identical
with Il. Arthur Millard, who was arrested
i'll Louisville on the 18th Of February last
tor forgeries committed on certain banks in
| "IO w dS 10 20
unwhpt ofjustice on disgorgng his i'll got
ten gains. A communication received
from police headquarters at Louisville,
KY, described him as 6 L. A. ALillart,
dti0s Il. j. Millard, alias Blos Miller, aged
torty-1ve Cs more-probably tifty-five,) six
feet high, sandy Whisllers and moustache,
sprinkled with gray, grayish hair, quite
thin, BLUSH grey eyes, fair complexion,
nose sharp at the end, turned up, and a
slight scar across it; heavy-sct, broad
shoulders weight about one hundred and
eighty-five pounds fOrger, and confidence
man" Ihe gentleman above described is
badly wanted in this city, and any infor-
nation of his antecedents or present where
abouts will be thankfully received by the
chief Cf the detective force of this city, lie
has since proved to be identical with n DIR.
1 Merritt, a rabid Secessionist who resided ut
| Ayr, Canada, during the war, and who Sc
creted John Surratt, after the assassina-
ton of Mr.. Lincoln, until he could escape
to Europe. During the winter of 1SG5-'GG
he passed his time at the Charter House,
Media PhitadetphiG Tetegraplt, 20th.
| THE VIEWS OF GENERAL HANKS
raHb@s EaE0x -- "1@. -a -ss
| He Thinks Greeley WEI Eie Elected
| President.