The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1874-12-11
PHANTOM INHERITANcEs
Fools and Their FOIEy-Hunting for Dead
Mems shoes.

into long and exhaustive hunts fol
phantom fortunes seem to have hac
little influence in deterring others from
similar useless experiments. There il
still some one in every village and city
who is ready to start, on the shortest
possible notice, in pursuit of pot o.
gold which is said to lie buried at one
end of the rainbow'S arch, and who
firmly believes that it has been placed
there by some supernatural power fol
his or her especial benefit. Everywhere
one finds the credulous wight who il
ready to sacrifice all his present re-
sources in striving to discover some
| legendary title to tabled estate, or IN
digging about the genealogical tree in
the hope of finding some family record
which shall prove passport to wealth
and luxury. The fool killer has not YET
arrived in the world.
Here is little story which may serve
as an illustration The other day q
police constable in a small English
town saw a German begging and ar
rested him. The man seemed respect
able and we'll educated so, when he
was brought before the magistrate, q
member of the " charity organization
society" appeared for his defense. The
court was considerably astonished to
find that the beggar was in search of an
inheritance amounting to nine or ten
million dollars that he was perfectly
sane, and that his act of beggary was
caused by the miserable circumstances
to which he had been reduced by his
mad hunt after the problematic fortune.
The German, who evidently had begun
somewhat to despair of laying hands on
the millions which he considered right
fully his, explained himself as follows
His name was Anton Halffmap, and he
was born in the province of Cleves, in
Germany. When a child he had heard a
hope expressed by his parents that a
large inheritance would soon come to
the family. A dead-and-e gone relative.
who had accumulated marvellous pos
sessions in Surinam, who had owned a
castle, and fields where cocoa and cof-
fee grew, had visited London and Am
sterdam shortly before his death; and
after he was dead it was announced that
he had committed will to his "confi-
Dental friend, " bestowing all his money,
save burial expenses and aims for the
poor, upon his lawful relatives, Half
mans parents.
Subsequently document was found
among the dead mans papers announc-
ing that the sum of forty-five million
francs had been deposited in London,
and for this the poor German has been
endeavoring for years to find some trace.
He besieged the Queen of England with
letters concerning the mysterious forty
five millions, but her majesty's secre-
tary merely advised him in reply, "to
employ a respectable solicitor" He
spent the greater part of bis little for
time in making careful researches in
Holland and in Belgium, where from
time to time this fleeing fortune was
heard of under some new guise. He
besieged the Dutch colonial ministers
for intelligence of his mythical dead
uncle's Surinam estate. He starved in
garrets while he employed lawyers to
investigate the case. He undertook
long journeys, gave up all other busi-
ness, and became totally absorbed in
the futile' search. But he never heard
from the " confidential friend to whom
the will had been given. The govern
ment authorities in Holland assured
him that no will such as the mysterious
uncle was supposed to have been made
could be found and that the Surinam
estate had long ago been divided among
persons whose title to them was un-
disputed. The news reached poor
Halffnann just as he had got to the
bottom of his purse in London. So he
began a painful Journey on foot to the
sea coast, hoping there to find chance
to work his passage back to Germany,
to hide the ruin wrought by his illu-
sions. Hunger finally drove him to
beggary and carried him before the
who was kind enough, how
him on his way with little wholesome
advice as to the foolishness of chasing
in general, and sup
posed fortunes in particular.
Many clever but unscruplous men in
Germany, England and America make
handsome livings by filling the ears of
the easily duped with such stories as
that which the unlncky Halffman seems
so firmly to have believed. A mysteri-
ously worded advertisement in the. cor
ner of the country paper an interview
with half a dozen witnesses, each of
whom has been instructed to tell the
wonderful tale; little appeal to the
family pride these are the balts ordlna-
rally used, and the victims are speedily
hooked. Golden dreams make them
happy while they are spending the
money which they have hopes of receiv-
ing but which they will never get.
Agents make jolly foreign tours at their
expense, but usually come home with
nothing more tangible than fresh evi-
1ence, by means of which money is
lrawn from the expectant "heirs."
Strangely enough, the misguided
people, who once have been persuaded |
hat they are to gain fortune which |
las SO long awaited them by some swift |
md strange process, rarely discover
hey have been deceived. They but |
AXE it very much to heart that their |
counsel has failed to make good their |
claims, or that the Vaccinations of |
some unknown villains have prevailed |
against them.-N. Y. Times.