Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1907-10-22
LITERARY FORGER|Es.
The Way That Sir Walter Scott
Was Basely Deceived.

Was BaseIy Deceived.
CUNRINGHAM's PROUD BOAST
This Scotchman Claimed Hs Could
Fool a Congress of Antiquarians
With His Own Writings and Ballads.
Other Famous E-orsers.
Il could cheat a whole general as
sembiy OF antiquarians with my origi-
nal manner of writing and forging bal
lads. " The man who made this proud
boast, Allan Cunningham, was al
youthful stonemason of Scotland, earn
Ing is shillings q week That he was
no idle braggart is evident, says the
London Tit-Bits, from the fact that in
his twenty fifth year he perpetrated|
one of the greatest literary frauds Of
the nineteenth century
Cunningham in spite of his humble
role in life could write poetry the
beauty and pathos Of which would
bring tears to the eyes of the reader.
Apparently, however he possessed al
desire character Of many rogues
of literary geniusto make experts
look foolish, and when a Mr.. Cromek,
who In 1909 was travelling In Scotland
with view to making collection Of
genuine Scottish songs, asked Cunning
ham to assist him the stonemason
conceived the idea Of writing ballads
and passing them off on Cromek as old
Scottish product ions. 8
These were included Id d volume,
and, although most Of the critics de
tected the fraud and 1t was establish
ed beyond doubt that Cunningham
wrote the ballads himself, they ac-
.quired an Immediate reputa tion, and
the genius Of the writer led people to-
overlook the deception. Il
Nor was Cunning hanl the emily f6rger
of Scottish ballads. Robert Surtees,.
the ce1e brated antiquary and historian,
for some curious reason not only palm
ed Off Oh Sir Waiter Scott as antique
three ballads purely Of his own COM
position, but actually suffered them to-
occupy a place Id the ttNA finstreIsy Of
the Scottish Border, q with q fictitious
account Of their origin, and left the,
novelist deceived to the end OF his.
days. @3Sss
Mention OF the deception OF SIZE wal
ter Scott reminds one: that the famous
novelist was the victim on several oc-s
casions of literary forgers who used
his name TO boom their own work.
George w. Haering, who under the:
pseudonym Of WillibaId Alexis came
to be one Of Germany's first noyeIistsE
Of the early part Of the nineteenth
century. published his first book, wal
iadmor,' and announced it as a free
translation into German OF novel
boldly ascribed to Sir Walter Scott.
He afterward endeayored to excuse
himself on the ground that people had
been stupid enough not to see In wal
ladmor'' q satirical attack on the craze
then prevalent for Scott's works.
In France several mimetic attempts
on Scott have been made, notably 'Al-i
Ian Cameron, dss2) and e Ayme Yerd,,
st1S42), which were both published IL.
Paris as being SCOTS. and La Pythiei
des Highlands, Z introduced to- the
world as the work OF the famous nov
elist Ia 1874 BY Charles J. David, son
OF the famous French painter
But perhaps the most interesting Of
all the attempts to trade on SCOTS
name was that connected with the
name Of q, de Saint Maurice Cabany.
director general Of the Society OF
tArchivistes OF France, who In 1856
startled the literary world with new new.
" discovered novel BY Scott, entitled
| 'Moredun Tale of the 1910"
In J. a. Farmers book. entitled .sLit-
erary, Forgeriess,' 1t Is explained how,
Lon account Of inaccuracies In! dates and
the description Of places, this novel
could not have been written by Scott,
lsbut tile authorship remains a rnys-
terry ssa
| The prince Of literary forgers, as re-
CARDS quantity, also halls from France.
lThis WAS Vrain-D Denis Lucas, the son
Iof q peasant, who, after providing GER
tain classes Of people with more or
less spurious pedigrees perpetrated one
OF the most colossal literary frauds Of
the nineteenth century by successfuily
Ipalming OFF 81 $40 forged letters Of an
Client and eminent men to M. Chasles,
4 a man Of worldwide reputation as d
4 geometrician and astronomer, who paid
Lucas nearly $4,000 for the collection.
4 Lucas false letters included some
from the apostles, from Plato, Pliny,
Lazarus and Mary Magdalene. And
/ yet NJ Chasies did not consider 1T Ell.
i traerdinary that these WORTHLESS wrote
On paper and In the French lang
4 Ultimately his eyes were opened, and
Lucas was arrested and sentenced ia
a two years imprisonment.
The well known story of .Psaimana
Ear, the Famous Formo sfIovss
how easily the public cal be irn posest
4 upon In regard to literature. This I'd
i inarkable individual made His ppear
ance IN London early In the efgift eentl
century, claimed TO be native Of For
mosa and wrote in Latin his very siia
i