The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1895-09-09


thur Orton's will always be made from
time to time, but with increasing diff
Guilty. There are plenty on record.
In 1923 French society was much in
terested by the temperance of the
Comte de st. Helene a wealthy and
agreeable young man of high family
whose death in Spain had been report
ed two years before. He had not the
least trouble in proving his identity,
for every one recognized him, the royal
family included. For FORMS sake, he
produced his papers, Wien We're quite
correct. The king, delighted, gave him
a STEP" and when he rejoined his
regiment officers and men recognized
him unanimously. This was
stronger case than Orton's. therefore;
we find no mention of the Comics rel
atives, but it must be supposed that
they did not object. For TWO years he
enjoyed himself nightly. At the end
of that time, when parading with his
squadron at some court ceremony, a
drunken loafer greeted the brilliant
captain vociferously as "Ami Cognard"
he would not be silenced, and the po-
lice arrested him. On recovering his
senses he persisted that the Comte de
st. Helene was his old comrade of the
hulks, In brief, so it proved; after a
sensational trial, the hero was con
demned to the galleys for life, and died
at Toulon sixteen years later. But
such impostures are mean beside the
grand school of antiquity. Read the
amazing tale of Alexander the Paphla-
gonian, or that of Peregrinus, which
| Christian antiquarians have not ceased
to discuss-both told with spirit inim-
liable by Lucian. The career of the
| Comte de st. German is mysteriously
interesting even yet. 1t is not to be
hoped that the world will see again
such a wondrous humbug as George
Psalmaneser, who actually invented a
| language and grammar to support his
| fictitious adventures in Formosa. The
talent could be found, no doubt, and
the impudence, but science would nip
| the enterprise in the bud.
| A name of evil celebrity among bibli-
| ophiles is that of Jean Aymon. He
was very able man, fine scholar,
l anu III Cdl 1y SCellS pcIIdEo d dGNOuJ
| Roman Catholic. Pope Innocent XII.
made him a prothonotary-on Of those
| offices of which the title is a household
word to most of us, but comprehended
| by few. In the height of his favor, for
reason unknown-probably modifying
l-Aymon fed to Switzerland and be-
came a Protestant. There also he
made an excellent position-deserted it
| and went to Holland. A rich and pious
| widow fell in love with him, his elo-
quent preaching charmed the Dutch,
and for some years wealth and fashion
kept him quiet. Suddenly he declared
his intention of visiting Constantinople
upon mysterious business which would
bring great advantage to the Christian
| faith; when his admiring friends left
him, however, he went to Paris. There
1 this extraordinary man presented him
self to M. Clement, keeper or the Bib
lotheque du Roi, PROCESSING such re-
morse for his apostasy that Clement
was persuaded to introduce him to the
Cardinal Archbishop of Paris. That
dignity, overjoyed to recover such a
precious soul, enjoined a pious ere
treat" for six months, but he allowed
Aymon to pass the time in the Roya
Library
Before the six months expired, how
ever, he was back in Holland with a
number of large and heavy boxes. and
there, in no long time, he announced
the publication of various works pro
foundry interesting To scholars and
theologians. Among then was to be a
transcript of the proceedings of the
last council at Jerusalem, of which the
only manuscript known lay in the Bib.
liotheque du Roi. The hapless Clement
saw this advertisement, and rushed t.
his shelves-his manuscript was gone
There was no catalogue of the library
What Aymon took will never bt
known. But he had foraged at will
among the unique and priceless treas
ures which were the glory of the collec
ton. Fourteen sheets, even, had hi
torn from the Bible of st, Denys Itself
these were recovered from the Baror
Won Stocks years afterwards; thirty
five sheets from the seventh-century
manuscript of the Pauline Epistles
Earl Middleton returned thirty-four b
| lHGn III the emu Tic ldSl Tio HeNcl
been heard of. Volumes of secret dis
patches confidential letters from pope!
and kings, antique manuscripts ant
records-the sagacious and erudite Ay
mon had patiently overhauled the 10
and appropriated the most valuable
For century the officials of the Bibli
otheque, supported by government
were negotiating, intriguing ant
threatening to recover such lost treas
ures as they could identify from thu
persons to whom he sold them. Thu
thief, meanwhile, lived in nigh consid
GRAFTON at Amsterdam and died In thu
odor Of sanctity. The Dutch govern
ment would not be persuaded nor co
creed to proceed against him, and hi
congregation never lost faith.
An instance of another sort wei
worth recalling is told in the Annals o
Lord Elgin's Mission to China. Som
weeks after the taking of Canton ma
tive merchants brought a proclama
ton to his lordship asking whether i
I