The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1893-05-30
LORD" BEREsFoRD'aoAREER.
FACTS THAT ARE STRANGER
THAN FICTION.
How q Swindler Duped q Live and
Progressive City I'm Georgia,

Il
Cores ondence of the Atlanta Journal.
ROME, GA, May 2O.-One of the mos
picturesque swindlers of the day ha
just reached the end of his tether here
Sidney Lascelles, alias "Walter s
Beresford," more familiarly known a.
Lord" Beresford, professed son O
Lord William Beresford, of England
professed capitalist and professed as
sociate of royalty, who came to thi.
quiet Hill City of North Georgia, two
years ago, as a wealthy gentleman o.
leisure, and was wined and dined by
the social swells, will leave his cell In
Floyd County Jail in a few days for O
convict camp in south Georgia, to be-
gin six years sentence for forgery.
This will end the second of the two
great trials which have made Rome
famous in the criminal annals of the
country in the last two years, the
other cause acelebre having been the
case of Mrs. Mckee, tried for the mur.
der by poisoning of her friend and
neighbor, Mrs. Wimpee. BY reason
Of its having reached the United States
supreme court and there having pro.
voked decision involving the far
reaching question of states rights,
Beresford's case has become of national
almost rnational-importance
The career of this man, or such of it
as has come to light through the tes-
timony brought out on his trial and in
his own statements, has much
stronger flavor of fiction than of fact.
The whole strange story has been re-
called by the imminent transfer of the
noted prisoner to the penitentiary and
q striped suit, and it is interesting
enough to bear recounting.
HIS ADVENT IN ROME.
1t was in January, 1891, that Beres-
| ford made his appearance in Rome. 1t
was something in the nature of tri-
umphal entry, too, for his coming had
| been heralded and he, was welcomed
and treated as became the son of one
Of Britain's most powerful peers and
the possessor OF q quarter of u million
| dollars of his own-all of which The
| lord had caused himself to be pro-
claimed as being. He came ostensibly
to look into the HItna Iron Furnace,
| near Rome, as u probable investment,
and the Messrs. Hamilton, owners of
! the furnace, laid themselves out in en-
tertaining him. He wore clothes of per-
feet fit. bore himself like true noble
man, talked satisfedly of the vast
wealth of his father, incidentally let it
be known that he had himself come
into possession of fortune of $3.50, 900
left him by dear aunt, just deceased,
and exploited cOnspicuously check
book of London bank where his
wealth was said to be stored. He made
good impression on all sides and rap
idly won friends by his pleasing man
ners, which were deliciously demo-
cratic for SO high scion of such blue
blood.
THE LONDON END OF IT.
The story Of how this great lord had
strayed down here into North Georgia
soon came out. He had met in London
the previous December, Mr.. w. M.
Pendleton, the secretary of the
American Sales Syndicate of Wall
street, who was in England engaged in
panies and various other boom enter
prises. Mr.. Pendleton had among his
other schemes. one for the develop
mont of the Htna Iron furnace, own
ed by the Hamilton family near this
city. on which he and his New York
partner, T. j. Mcclure, had an option
He and Beresford came together by
chance, but when the lord found that
his American acquaintance was from
Georgia he casually referred to the fact
that he was just thinking of making
some investments in Savannah prop
erty through a friend of his there, and
asked Mr.. Pendleton's advice. He told
Mr.. Pendleton that he was Lord Will
liam Beresford's son. that he was en-
gagged in the Indian service at a
| salary of about $4,000 a year, that
an aunt had just died and left him
| $3.50, 1000, and that his father, VINO
had been high in the Indian gov
ernnent, had retired on salary of
$40 900 or $50, 900 year and was enor-
| mously rich. He said he was going to
America and wanted to invest few
hundred thousands while there.
Mr.. Pendleton began to look with
| more favor on his new found friend.
He told him that if he wanted to put
money into Georgia property the Pied
| mont belt was the place for it, and he
| called his attention to the Etna furn-
ace, which he said he proposed to
capitalize at million or a million and
half.
Lord Beresford seemed pleased with
Ntna and the prospect of q big deal
| loOmed up in Mr.. Pendletons eyes.
My Lord was to sail for America by
the Umbria in few days. Would not
Mr.. Pendleton oblige him with few
letters of introduction? No sooner
! said than done, and when he sailed he
carried with him letters to Mr.. Pen
| dleton's New York friends, to the
Hamiltons, of Rome, to General Alex
ander, of the Central railroad, and to
other prominent Georgians.
A QUICK SALE.
Once in America, Beresford tarried
not in New York, but hied himself on
to Rome. Arrived here, he was met
! by Mcclure, Pendleton's partner, and
taken out to the HGtna furnace. The
Hamiltons took possession of him, and
| saw that their lOrdly guest suffered for
] nothing while the deal for the sale of
/, the furnace went on. Beresford seemed
delighted with the property and came
| to terms quickly. In few days after
reaching here, on the 9th of January,
he wrote a letter to Pendleton, in Lon
don. which he first read to Harper
Hamilton, in which he told him he
had decided to take the whole prop
erty" and would ''leave for England In
about ten days to complete the ar
rangements."
My Lord did leave, but it was not to
complete the arrangements" A week
after this letter was sent, Beresford
announced that he was going to New
York to sail for London. To Harper
Hamilton he confided that he was short
of money; that he would get to New
York too late TO draw from his bank
there and catch his boat. and asked for
the advance of q couple of hundred
pounds. for which he offered u check
on the London and Westminster bank,
l,a H. L. L.