Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1875-06-03

says, pSltuUlOglCaI sluuy. he W as
evidently aman of liberal education and
fine social accomplishments. He had a
| clear head and active intellect, capable
of cunningly combining intricate
schemes, and carving them out with cool
precision and skill. OF the ordinary vices
| of the adventurous villain he seems to
have been quite free He never ate or
drank to excess; was not, as far as
could be learned, an haJitue of Baden or
Monaco, or of any other of the great
gambling centers; his language was al
ways scrupulously proper and elegant;
his attire was faultless; his manners
were at once gracious and dignified. He
seems TO have pursued a career of con-
scienceless fraud for period Of nearly
sixty years for the mere cool love of
mischief and, at threescore and fifteen,
found delight in duping a young woman
for the sake OF the few pounds she had
been able to collect by hard and honest
labor. We're he tc write, as he could do
with ability, his adventures during that
long half century, what a tale it would
be!
A not less remarkable parsonage than
the venerable and seductive Seymour
was woman who was charged at the
Surrey Sessions, not long ago, with the
same offense of obtaining money under
false pretenses. Margaret Anne Dellair
was, it may seem, no ordinary or vulgar
swindler. She does not appear" says
writer, describing her trial, 8" TO have
lived the life Of the dashing, the aristo-
cratic, or the peripatetic impostor. We
hear of no West End tradesman victim
lied in articles of jewelry, point-lace or
dressing-cases; OF no carriage. builders
deluded out of broughams: no harness
makers fleeced of side-saddles and gold
mounted riding whips; no ne-merchant
coZened into executing orders for claret
and champagne. Mrs. Dellair was not
one of those beings who drive well.
matched piebald ponies in the park, who
give diners la Russo, terminating with
unlimited loo, or who pass off fictitious
checks on the keepers of expensive res
taurants. There was nothing snowy,
noisy or obtrusive about her operations.
She touched the harp of chicanery very
gently, and played the Rogue's March
in the minor key. She Stunned the light,
and dwelt apart in corner, and In the
center of most neatly-constructed little
web, which she fondly hoped would
elude the observations escape the be-
som of justice. She pursued her evil
avocation as steadily, quietly and me-
thodically as il it had been a thoroughly
honest and legitimate employment"
Mrs. Dellair was not beautiful, but she
had an air Of intense responsibility. She
wore pair of gold spectacles--whIch are
in themselves sort Of diploma. She
dressed with matronly prmness; there
was even a sort Of chapel going austerity
about her appearance and her serene,
resigned manner
Her mode of proceeding was brief and
simple enough. She would insert an ad.
vertisement in the papers to the effect
that ladies in town and country wish
ing for remunerative employment in lace,
church needle-work, etc, might apply to
NJ d., Fern Cottage, West Croydon"
Applicants were requested TO send
stamped envelope for the return letter,
and they would receive full proof of the
lady's respectability. Idle young ladies
of small means, maiden ladies who had
"seen better days" and wished to earn
an honest though it might be a humble
living, eagerly caught at bait so tempt
ing. Letters showered in upon M. ID.
Fern Cottage, West Croydon, was fairly
besieged, thrice day, by burdened post
men. To all these mlssives Nj. D.
Margaret Dellair-returned a printed
circular, in which the work TO be fur
nished was set forth in glowing detail.
There was braiding, there was point
lace, there was tatting, there was church
needle .work, there was Berlin wool. The |
ladies who undertook these pleasant
tasks were to receive at least a shilling
an hour-a sweet boon" to many an in |
telligent British spinster. There was but |
one condition to be fulfilled before la |
dies could be admitted to share in these |
delightful tolls and spoils. M. d. re-
quired that each applicant should pay |
one guinea /" for registration fee, mate |
rails and instructions" and half the sum !
would be returned when the work |
ceased. Postotfice orders were to be sent |
to Margaret Dellair, Fern Cottage, West |
Croydon.
Some wrote and sent the postofflce |
orders. M. DIS business waxed great |
apace. One young lady received, in |
acknowledgment of her guinea, ten |
toiletmats, with materials for braid |
ing them. She returned them 10 Fern |
Cottage, but no payment or receipt was |
returned After many weeks Mrs. Del. |
lair wrote that she had been i'll, but |
there was no mention Of remuneration. |
Finally, some ladies, overpowered by
curiosity, made a pilgrimage TO West
Croydon. There was Fern Cottage,
nestled in the woods There was Mrs.
DelIair, serene, diCnified, unpretentious,
but full of engrossing engagements. At
last several pugnacious dupes determined
that the fraud should not go on. Mrs.
Dellair, gold spectacles and all, was put
into the dock and tried. 1t appeared
that in six months she had cashed no
less than 400 postotiice orders. Her
references" one and all took the stand
and declared that they had never before
heard of her The police came forward
and showed that Margaret Dellair's hus-
band was already serving out sentence
ofDenal servitude for fraud, and now she
herself was sentenced TO undergo the
same punishment for period OF seven
years. --Appteton's Journal.
THERE are several kinds of india-rub-
Der cement. The best known is marine
glue" A cheaper cement and one that
is highly recommended is made by cut
ting a quantity Of pure india-rubber, in
I