The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-03-24

sons injured this: I'm order to keep up the
credit of our house / have forged powers Of at
torney, and have thereupon sold out all these
sums without the knowledge of any of my part
ners. | have given credit in the accounts Tor
the interest when it became due. The bank OF
England began first to refuse our acceptanees
and thereby to destroy the credit of our house,
and they shall therefore smart for 1t. Henry
Fauntleroy.'
1t was found that the forger preferred the
society of loose women to his family. He was a
social animal, and belonged to two clubs. lie
settled money on some of his females, and had
to pay them regular annuities When he
made his speech he said; Il Will not
a cold-bloOded and abandoned profigate, running
all around me in the selfish qualification of vice
and sensuality, and involving even my conhdlng
partners in the general destruction. l have been
accused of acting treacherously toward the te-
male who now bears my name, having refused to
make reparation until threatened by her brother;
of having deserted her when she had the greatest
claim on my protection"
/ quote this portion of Fauntleroy's evidence
to show what | have suspected of all forgers-
that incontiuence is at the bottom of that class OF
crimes. The jury went out twenty minutes, and
found Fauntleroy guilty. Many petitions were
presented in the prisoners behalf, but ne was
executed on the last day of October, 1874, just
about the time of the year of the appearance of
the Garfield -Morey forgery, which came out on
the oath of October, 1880.
Another English trial and execution for forgery
happened in 1906, toward the close of Jeffersons
administration, and in England.
At Bath, the chief watering-place of England,
lived a swindler named John Dorke, who passed
for a rich West Indian, was about forty years OF
age, and lived with a woman who passed for his
wife. Here, again, you see that the lncontlnence
of the body leads to incontinence of the pen,
even to writing another mans name to a draft.
He fell in debt at Bath and London, and was put
into the debtors jail, where his mistress visited
him. Tracking his career up, the police found
that he had been a forger, TOO. DOrke, who went
under the name of ROuvelett, saw that his
woman was the only witness against HIM,
and accused her of robbery-of stealing his
purse-and she was brought into the Old Bailey
Court. The woman had stolen nothing at all,
but was devoted to the wretch, but if he
could have convicted her she would not have
been eligible to prove the forgery. The poor
woman was acquitted, and the forger, who had
so basely treated his old companion OF the
weaker sex, was brought to trial at Wells for
having forged a bill of exchange for about s., 900.
His mistress had seen him, in red ink, draw a
draft, and through this red ink she identified the
draft as the forged one. 1t was because she had
seen him write it that he wanted to send her to
prison.
Dorke, or Rouvelett. was executed at Ill
chester in 1906, asserting his innocence to the
last.
Several of these forgers seemed to have a kind
of a talent for off hand speaking.
John Hatfield was executed for forgery i'll 1903
at Carlisle, England. He was of low descent,
hut with natural abilities, and he married
the Legitimate daughter of d nobleman,
who gave her $1,000 to find a respectable
husband. This monument scamp presented
himself as such, and the poor girl was presented
to him with $500, probably now worth twice as
much. The adventurer, with this money, went
to London, kept a coupe, went to the fine coffee
houses. and said he was one of the near relatives
of the Rutland family. He spent all the mar
rage portion, sent lis wife back to her kin with
three daughters she had borne him, and she died
brOken-hearted.
The Duke of Rutland was made Lord Lieu
tenant of Ireland at the close of the American
Revolution, and this fellow. Hatfield, then went
to Dublin, stopped at a hotel, said that his serv-
ants, horses, etc, had not arrived, and they gave
him credit till he could present himself to the
Niceroy in good shape. Having swindled every
body around Dublin, he went to Scarborough
and played the same trick, and was thrown into
the debtors jail, where he lay eight
years and a half. when an interest
ing woman paid his debts. took him
out of Jail and married him, She bore him
two children, for he was of dashing appearance,
and he ran for Parliament. and then he aban-
doned her. He then went TO another part of
the country with a fine carriage and called at a
cottage where a nice old couple lived with an
only daughter An Irish family was at the place
also, with a young lady of good birth and for
tune. He engaged himself to be married to the
rich lady, but she had some doubts, and he then
married the poor girl, going infinitely around the
neighborhood to inquire about her family and
see if there was any spot upon it. At the time
of the wedding he forged a draft, and in a few
days abandoned the beautiful girl, who became
thesubject of an English novel.
He was prosecuted for felony, pretending to be
a member of Parliament. for franking the name
of a member of Parliament on letters to avoid
postage, for forgery and bigamy. He died
plausibly and making a speech. His manners
were very polished and insinuating. His last
female victim rather mourned his fate, but when
he was swung off her parents said, God be
thankedI'