The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1909-10-31


sea and travelled through Tartary. Persia,
Armenia. Africa. Chaldea. Ethiopia ANA
zonia, and India. Many strange things
he saw and did. and at odd minutes. when
he was not watching or doing things. he
was writing about them. On his return
journey he stopped at Rome, and his
book. the record Of his experiences and
fruit OF his literary labors. was proved
for true" he said. by the Pope and his
council. In 1856 or Whereabouts copies Of
these Travels" Of Sir John began to cir
culate, and by the time the art Of print
ing came 10 the aid OF the copyist there
were three versions in England alone.
represented by about thlrty-four manu-
scripts Urcounted thousands Of the book
have been sold since that time. II re-
mains best seller among our classics.
and. though Il was perceived that the au-
thor mingled fiction with his fact only
Of recent years did the world discover
that there never was Sir John Mande-
vllle Kt.." and that these delightful
Travels" were a patchwork Of twelve or
more contemporary chronicles and put
together by an unknown hand, says Wal
ter Leon Sawyer. in the Boston Tran
script
travellers ne'er did he. though fools
at home condemn en-" and il may be
that bluf John Davis, Of Devonshire
found IN Greenland. in the later years Of
the sixteenth century, the extraordinary
men-fsh. or fish-men. he told about IN
The Worlds Autographed Descrip-
tion;" IL may be that Capt Willard Gla-
zier discovered the source OF the Missis-
sippi, south Of Lake Itasca, In 1881, and
It may be that IT. w. Savage-Landor was
tortured In Tibet as he has described. yet
lived 10 tell the tale But housekeeping
youth have ever homely wits" One who
is sufficiently adroit and imaginative can
travel Through UneSplOred Asia with
out ever leaving Bates Hall and embalm
the result I'm a s. book; and on the slen-
derest substructure Of experience one can
rear the most gorgeous palace OF dreams
and ind thousands Of persons crowding
TO live in IT,
A brilliant Galaxy of Takers.
In this field Marco Polo. the Venetian.
was no fragrant offender. He actually
Travelled. and at the worst he did no more
than try TO lend an air OF verisimilltude
TO a bald and uncOnvincing narrative.
Baron MUnchausen was a proverblal
liar. OF course. But what OF the sixteenth
century explorers VINO talked about the
land OF gold. the Garden OF the Hesper-
ides, and the Fountain OF Youth?
The early days Of North America are
fun OF such amazing adventures. Pierre
Vignaud deceived Chan<plain with q pref
y story OF white men on the shores OF
western sea Chroniclers to-day are very
chary as to the amazing stories Of Raids
sen. who actually did lead IN the Hudson
Bay history. but gave an account Of
journeys into what is now Western Unit
GO States that are doubted very persist
entity. Father Hennepin. the RecoIet
priest, did canoe on the Upper Aississip-
p. but after La Sales death ne revised
his Journal" so az 70 include IN It fine
tale OF travelling 20 its mouth-which he
never did, Of course.
And what about Louis de Rougemont.
| hero Of the most amazing story a man
I ever lived TO tell2" II is only ten years
since this man set London by the ears
with circumstantial narrative of his
thirty years experience as a cannibal
/ chief in the wilds OF Unexplored Austria
/ LA Or. J. Scott-Kely1e, DR.. Hugh r.
Mil. and other authorities vouched for
4 him. Almost everybody accepted him at
his face value. He was just about 20 ap-
pear before the British Association for
/ the Advancement OF Science when q ma
tive wife from somewhere out Of the East
( inoppOrtunely arrived and blew upon his
pretensions. De Rougemont had travelled.
but his fancy had more than kept pace
with hts legs.
The Duke of Portland"
As P. T Barnum said. People like 20
be humbugged," and the fact explains
not only the tremendous vogue Of self
/ styled discoveries, but a million other &C.
ccntricities Of human nature. From John
Law 70 c. F. King. from the promoter OF
{ the Cock Lane Ghost TO the seeress who
tells fortunes with a dirty pack OF cards
/ for . cents. from the myth Of AphrOdite
who rose from the waves 10 the later
myth Of Thomas G. bruce, Fifth Duke
/ o. Portland" the logical succession is
complete. and the crowd. gaping TO swal-
/ low wonders, has never been found want
! ing Consider the bogus kings and princes
/ that dot the pages Of history and the
amazing lies that figure as romances OF
/ the peerage. Demetrius I. for instance.
! arose IN 1906 as Car Of Russia. With no
/ shadow OF claim to the title, he persuaded
/ practically everybody that II belonged 70
sinated would probably have reigned long
and happily. Looking back TO the days
! of the trial, it seems as though it was
/ but BY a hairsbreadth that "the claim
ant" Arthur orion, missed the Tichborne
| estates and landed Ia jail. The mother OF
Roger Charles TichbOrne recognized the
! adventurer as her son, and II he had not
{ been ignorant as well as impudent his
claim would have been allowed
New England Geniuses.
The point 10 be noted here is that the
! credulous. soft-hearted public financed
the claim. raising a defense fund.-" Just
as. two years ago. the public, grown no
wiser with the lapse of time. formed a
! syndicate TO help George Hollamby bruce
gain the dukedom of Portland Undoubt-
/ edly greed conspired with sympathy in
this latter case. II is equally certain that
! In many historic instance the hope Of
gain, unadulterated with any softer mo-
tive, has made the average man fan an
| easy victim TO the swindler. Mr.. Miller
] of Franklin syndicate fame, took in ST.
| 100000 on the understanding that he
should pay interest OF 10 per cent a week
and in Boston Mrs. Howe conducted a
womans bank on the same generous
| principle.
It is profitable to remember, too, that
! persons who should know better have
/ Joined the insenSate scramble for wealth
as eagerly as poor men. In the field OF
high finance there have been blind pools
that ranked with the fake mining com
panies 1t was Sir Julius Wernher, ex-
pert and muti-millionaire, who provided
Henri Lemoine with $3.50, 900 that he might
perfect his process OF making diamonds
! from sugar. They were mainly the piOus
and the thrifty who hearkened soulfuIIy
and bit" eagerly when the Rev. Mr.. Jer-
negan announced his plan to extract gold
| from sea water And when the poor man