The Washington times., 1907-08-13
LITERARY FRAUDS
AND THE FORGERS
Cunningham Wrote Ballads
of Father and Beauty.
Scott VictimiZed.
Frenchman Paid $4,000 for
Bogus Collection-FOr-
mOSan Deceived
Nobody.

IT could cheat a whole general assem-
bly, Of anuGuarians with my original
manner of writing and forging ballads"
The man who made this proud boast
Allan Cunningham-wa a youthful
stOnemason of Scotland, earning IS shil-
nngs a week. That he was no idle
braggart Is evident, says the London
TIt-Bits. from the fact that in his TWEEN
ty-nfth year he perpetrated one of the
greatest literary frauds Of the nine
teenth century.
Cunningham. in spite Of his humble
srole in life, could write poetry. the beau
" and pathos OF which would brins
tears TO the eyes of the reader. Appar-
emily, however. he possessed a desire
Characteristic Of many rogues of literary
genius-tO make experts look foolish,
and when a Mr.. Cromek, who in 1909,
was travelling in Scotland with a view
10 making a collection Of genuine Scot
tsE songs. asked Cunningham TO as
SlSt him, the stonemason conceived the
idea Of writing ballads and passing them
OFF on CrOmek as old Scottish Droduc-
tons.
Critics Discover Fraud.
These were included in a volume, and.
although most OF the critics detected the
fraud and 1t was established beyond
doubt that Cunningham wrote the bal
lads himself, they acquired an immedi-
ate reputation, and the genius Of the
writer led the people 10 overlook the de-
Ception.
NOT was Cunningham the only forger
of Scottish ballads. Robert Surtees the
generated anuQuary and historian. for
some curious reason not only palmed of
on Sir Walter Scott as ANTIQUE three bal
lads purely sf his own composition hut
a; a. suffered them to occupy a place
IN the "MinstrelSy of the Scottish FOr-
der" with a fictitious account of their
origin, and left the novelist deceived 10
the end Of his days
Mention OF the deception Of Sir Wal
Yer scott reminds one that the famous
noVelist was the victim on several &C
casions OF literary fOrgers who used his
name 10 boom their own work. George
W Haering, who, under the pseudonym
Of Willibald Alexis. came to be one of
Germany.S first nOvelists Of the early
iI-HtleenIh century, published his first
1ooh, W aIlaqmor, and announced it as
4 tree translation into German Of a
EoVel boldly ascribed 10 Sir Walter
scott. He afterward endeavored TO ex-
Suse himself on the ground that people
.!1d oeen stupid enough not 70 see in
Nalladmor' a satriCal attack on the
craze then prevalent for SCOTS works.
French Forgeries of Scott.
In France several mimetic attempts
Ian Cameron OS39 and "Ayne VERDI
dSi2). which were both published IN
Paris as being SCOTS and La Pythie
des Highlands introduced TO the world
as the work of the famous novelist in
lS44 by Charles J. David. sen of the ia
nous French painter
But perhaps the most interesting of all
the attempts TO trade on SCOTS name
was that connected with the name Of
Z. dc Saint Maurice Cabauy. director
nf Arc -
France, who in 1855 startled the literary
world with a newly-discOvered novel by
scott, entitled 'Moredun, a Tale OF the
In J. A. Farmers book entitled Lit
erary Forgeries" it is explained now.
on account of inaccuracies in dates and
could not have been written by Scott
but the authorship remains n mystery.
Pays 100000 for Forged Collection.
The prince OF literary forgers. as re-
CARDS quantity. also halls from France.
This was Vrain-Denis Lucas. the son Of
a peasant, who, after providing certain
classes Of people with more or less -spu-
rious pedigrees, perpetrated one Of the
most colossal literary frauds of the
nineteenth century by successfully palm
ing of 1890 forged letters Of ancient
and eminent men TO NJ. Chasles. a man
OF worldwide reputation as a geometri-
can and astronomer, who paid Lucas
nearly $4,000 for the collection.
Lucas false letters included some
from the apostles, from Pluto, Pllny.
Lazarus, and Mary Magdalene. And vet
NJ. Chasles did not consider il extra
ordinary that these worthless wrote On
paper and IN the French language u
timately his eyes were opened, and Luz
cas- was arrested and sentenced to two
years Imprisonment.
Formosan Fraud.