Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1909-12-15
LITERARY FORCER|ES
Versatility and ClevernesS of a
Shrewd Scotch Lad.
FOOLED THE cONNoISsEURS.
HE Poured Forth His Extraordinary
Documents In Profusion TO Supply
the Demand and Was Finally Ex-
posed by Simple Little Slip.

Documents In Prefusion TO Suppiy
the Demand and Was Finally Elk
posed by Simple Little Slip.
From the days OF Isidor Mcrcater.
who forged letters Of the bishops OF
Rome with such skin and success that
they were treasured Tor centuries In
the Roman archives. to the days OF
Ireland. the notorious forger of shake
spearean plays and letters. and CHAT
terton. the clever and an fated boy
who died miSerably i'm his attic. there
have never been wanting unprinciplcd
men who could forge ancient manu-
scripts SO cleverly that leading experts
have been deceived.
But FOR versatility and cleverneSs
none OF these forgers OF past centuries
could approach the cleverness OF a
young Scotchman who years ago pro-
duced long succession of forged man.
uScripts which completely bafied the
connoiSSeurs of the world. The true
and full story OF these remarkable
forgeries is almost unknown and is so
extraordinary that il may well be told.
IL was In Edinburgh that this in
comparable forger practiccd his arts.
and IL was by an accident that he was
tempted TO embark on n career which.
after spell OF great success. involved
him in disaster. One day the princi-
pal OF an Edinburgh firm OF lawyers
told one of his clerks to clear out sew
eral boxes full OF old documents. the
accumulation Of many years. Among
them were several documents and au-
tographs the value of which the clerk
was quick TO recognize, and he had no
difficulty in finding purchasers for
them. AS the supply was limited and
the demand constantly increasing il
occurred to him to supplement the gen
uine documents with others OF his
own manufacture. and rs he developed
a remarkable skill in forging and had
already won the confidence OF n large
number Of collectors he found Il easy
10 dispose Of as many forgerics as he
could produce ut very profitable prices.
Many of them were sold 10 collectors
in different parts OF the world. others
We're disposed of by auction, and the
remainder were pawncd and sold as
unredeemed pledges. These forgeries
| covered n very wide range and includ-
cd autographs and letters 10y Crom-
well. Nary queen OF Scots; James VI.
Prince Charlie. John Knox. Rob Roy.
Burns. Scott. Thackeray. Carlyle, Sails
bury. Gladstone Lord Nelson and
many other men OF note as well as
vast quantities OF Jacobite correspond
ence
So cleverly were the forgeries exc
cuted that the largest purchaser OF
Scott's letters was a gentleman who
as boy had carried most OF the great
authors manuscripts from Abbotsford
TO his Edinburgh publishers and was
] as familiar with SCOTS handwriting
rs his own. and the head OF the firm
that published Lord Byron's works
| purchased forty-seven letters purport-
Ing 10 be Lord Byron's for the sum OF
/ f125 as. Cd. y very large collection OF
these manuscripts was purchased for
sum OF over $4,000 and presented TO
the Lenox library. New York. where
they were for some time regarded with
reverence as the chief treasure OF the
library, and another collection was
presented TO the city OF Edinburgh.
Although these forgeries were pour
ed on the market in such profusion. no
suspicion seems 10 have been aroused.
| They were accepted without question
10y the experts and found ready pur-
chasers at large prices. Whether the
forger's success made him careless or
whether II was due TO one OF those re-
markable oversights TO which the most
skillful criminals seem liable and
which bring their career to close, the
forger was Mt last exposed through a
mistake of which such n clever man
should scarcely have been capable.
Among the many forgeries he pro-
duced poem signed 10y Robert Burns
1t was called THE Poor Mans Pray
er'' and opened with this stanza:
Amidst the more important tolls OF state.
The counsels laboring in the patriotic
| soil:
Though Europe from thy voice expect hel
And thy keen glance extend from pole
to pole.
This poem, which consisted Of nine
teen verses. might well have escaped
detection with the rest but for the
fact that gentleman to whom the
poem was shown discovered the iden
teal verses in the London Magazine
Of 1766 in n poem addressed to the
Earl of Chatham by one Simon Hodge
laborer
Thus it appeared that If the verses
we're actually written by Burns the
poet must have opened them under
the pseudonym Of Simon Hodge at the
very immature age OF n poet OF seven
years. Suspicion once aroused. doubt
was at once cast on the hundreds OF
other documents which had emanated
from the same source. The Lenox col
lection was submitted TO the experts
Of the British museum and pronounced
"a worthless lot OF forgerieS.'' and col
lectors all the world over awoke TO the
painful discovery that their treasure
OF old manuscripts were scarcely worth
the paper they were written on. The
forger's career was brought to a sud
den termination. He was brought VI
for trial and sentenced to a term oil
Imprisonment. thus closing career Of
forgery Which for daring, clevernes.
and success has perhaps never beer
equaled.-New York Press.