The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-11-06
The Fleeing Of CasteIIane.

absurd prices.
1t was the common pracuceshrdlde Is
It was standard joke among certain
Of his confre-es TO sell him sQayiEed
horses at prices which would have
bought some of the most famous thor
ough0reds in the world Cheap daubs.
. cleverly framed and displayed, were IN
loaded en- aim as genuine works OF Jhe
old masters
Bric-a-brac manufactured for the oc-
casion found ready purchaser in the
Count, who was told that the specimens
he bought were of great historic value.
HIS ignorance in purchasing anything
shat was offered 10 him with a clever
story Of It's value is almost Incredible.
He bought right and left without know
ing the actual value Of his purchases.
for the sole reason Of securing something
that he believed other people of wealth
wanted
one of his purchases was a painting,
for which he paid $4,000 He bought it
from a woman who moved in the most
aristOcratic circles of Paris. She told
/ him that it was a genuine Rembrandt.
! Three months later he discovered that
the high-born woman who had favored
him with one Of the gems Of her collec-
ton Of paintings had paid $50 10 an OBJ
scure, pot-bOiling art student in the
Latin quarter to paint the thing. She
made s59950 by dispOsing Of it to the
Count de Castellane.
When George Gould was in Paris two
or three months ago ne was permitted
to bring experts to his sisters house to
get some idea. Of what the furnishings
We're worth, as assets. He found that
among other impOsitions upon the Gre
dulity and pocketbook Of the Count was
pair Of bronze candlesticks, which an
q AZ 10 oil n
/ him for $4,000. The Count bought them
on the assn ance that they had once be-
longed TO Marie Antoinette. George
Gould discovered that they were clumsy
limitations of the genuine candlesticks,
which are now IN the Antwerp Museum
The Counts fellow-clubman paid $50
for the pair he sold to the Count and
therefore cleaned up $3.50 by the trans
action
Another gang that systemat cally pluck
ed the little Count was composed of po-
lirical schemers who played upon the
vanity of their victim. They absorbed a
| large share of the Gould money by fatter-
ing the daughters titled husband. Their
most profitable coup was to secure a
| comparatively undefended district and
offer the nomination for deputy to Cas-
tellane. During the campaign, which
should not have cost 100 francs to elect
the Count. these tricksters succeeded in
getting a large sum of money.
They nominated fake candidates
against him and then pretended to buy
them of with money given by the Count
According TO the Counts own admis-
sion, his seat in the Chamber Of Deputies
cost him 100000 Even after his cleo
ton the swindlers continued to prey up
on him under the pretense Of exploiting
/ the most absurd propaganda against the
Dreyfusites. the Jews, and the republic
One Of their schemes was the secret pur-
! chase for q large sum of money, Of The
Nationalist newspaper lie Soir. This
sheet was prosperous when the Count
| de Caste1lane was induced to purchase
it. He personally managed It and in four
months abandoned It. This four months
! diversion cost him $4,000. He sold it
for $500
Almost everybody who came IN contact
with The Count seems TO have gotten The
best Of it. For instance, when bids were
asked to cons ruct the Castellaue place
in the boulevard several contractors who
intended to compete for the work were
paid large sums by other contractors 70
refrain from Kidding The palace cost
twice as much as experts estimate its
value.
Another form OF imposition on the
i
when a London dealer in curios sued to
recover the face value of a protested
note.
AS soon as it became known that the
Count had decided to furnish his house
throughout in the style of Louis XVI,
prominent dealers in furniture and brio
a-brac mOnOpolizing a supply Of genuine
I furniture IF that period combined to hold
| up the little Count. They did do It in the
most approved style, in some instances
getting twenty tines the legitimate price
of the article
One example OF this is furnished by the
purchase Of a fine antique buffet For
several years the highest price offered for
this article was $500 Count Boni paid
$50 600 for it. Intimate friends Of the
Count relate numerous instances in
which ne was openly swlndled out Of
large sums They say that he has spent
100000 ia gambling, politics and fool
ish extravagances and still owes $500
CO.
They cite innumerGble instances Of Law
ish and ostentatous acts Of charity both
on the part Of the Count and the Coun-
tess. According to a well-informed au-
thority twenty or thirty families have
been maintained by them. in addition to
receiving large yearly en50wmeuts. Tho
stories If the charitable acts Of the
Count and the Countess show that thew
are done on the impulse OF the moment
and By faithfully accepting the stories
told them. which were not always true
One charitable undertaking Of the
Count and Countess was the establish
meut Of a charity bazaar which cost
them $4,000 Ii is estimated by con-
servative friends that they have given
away nearly a million dollars in charity
during tbe last I'VE years.
There is no doubt that George Gould.
as the manager IF his sisters estate,
win dEht many Of the claims which VIII
be presented. A feature cf the contest
Which is expected TO provide picture CUE
entertainment for the fashionable o.
accounts OF various famous Insurers o.
Paris and the English capital Most o.
these claims are based upon purchases
made uy The Count Of old curiositles
The money-lender seems TO have plum
dere1 She Count mercilessiy. Prevented
hv the Jaw from encroachiug upon the
capital of his uifes fortune. he BAD re~
source Co many suhteTluEe one Of
these was to visit q curi ets1 slmeut.
maintained BIZ notorious Gslrf ara
buy Q lot Of things without looking ~
Them re would agree 60 pav say f1
90 for ris purchases. giving his note. in-
5crse5 hv his wife ard bearing b. legal
rate ~ interest TIE next dsv. hsy~rs
changed his ntrd he would rzeell thc
truck to the saus deal for
casa thus paying M peT ren SO the
loan. while the usgrer wog.d 6odEs .ha
rigorous Jaws preventing suc1 -arsac-
lions
This form ~ raising The wtns~ hs-
carsa 81 frequent -het enc dealers with
whom - transacted hns.ross entered i1-
~ an gre ment among tHem elves -
excite less suspicion. Trey Wrg q refuee
~ re1ty The goods 81 h oaEl- rom
them be preceding day aut Tu1
him ar ADDRESS WheT he oul5
~ .rer1 al aeo1f h= u= rate - los