Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 12, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 December 1874 — Phantom Inheritances. [ARTICLE]

Phantom Inheritances.

The thousands who have been duped into long and exhaustive hunts for phantom fortunes seem to have had little influence in deterring others from similar useless experiments. There is still some one in every village and city who is ready to start on the shortest notice in pursuit of a pot of gold which is said to lie buried at one end of the rainbow’s arch and who firmly believes that it has been placed there by some supernatural power for his or her especial benefit. Everywhere one finds the credulous wight who is ready to sacrifice all his present resources in striving to discover some legendary title to a fabled estate, or in digging about the genealogical tree in the hope of finding some family record which shall prove a passport to wealth and luxury. The fool-killer has not yet arrived in the world. Here is a little story which may serve as an illustration: The other day a police constable in a small English town saw a German begging and arrested him. The man seemed respectable and well educated; so, when he was brought before the magistrate, a member of the “ Charity Organization Society” appeared for his defense. The court was considerably astonished to find that the beggar was in search of an inheritance amounting to nine or ten million dollars; that he svtts perfectly saue and that his act of beggary was caused by the miserable circumstances to which he had been Teduced by his mad hunt after the problematic fortune. The German, who evidently had begun somewhat to despair of laying hands on the millions which he consi3ered rightfully his, explained himself as follows: His name was Anton Halffniann, and he was born in the province of Cleves, in Germany. When a child he had heard a hope expressed by liis parents that a large inheritance would soon conic to the family. A dead-and-gone relative who had accumulated marvelous possessions in Surinam, who had owned a castle, and fields where cocoa andjmffee grew, had visited London and 'Amsterdam* shortly before, his death; and after he was dead it was announced that lie had committed a will to his “ confidential friend,” bestowing all liis money save burial expenses and alms for tlie poor upon his lawful relatives, Halftmann’s parents. Subsequently a document was found among the dead man’s papers announcing that the sum of forty-five million francs had been deposited in London, and for this the poor German had been endeavoring for years tofind senne trace. He besieged the Queen of England with letters concerning the mysterious fortyfive millions, but Her Majesty’s Secretary merely advised him in reply “to employ a respectable solicitor.” He spent the greater part of his little fortune in making careful researches in Holland and in Belgium, where from time to time this fleeing fortune was heard of under some new guise. He besieged the Dutch Colonial Ministers for intelligence of his mythical dead uncle’s Surinam estates. He starved in garrets while Ire employed lawyers to investigate the case, lie undertook long journeys, gave up all other business, and became totally absorbed in the futile search. But he never heard from the “confidential friend” to whom ! the will had been given. The Government authorities in Holland assured him that no such will as the mysterious uncle was supposed to have made could be found: and that the Surinam estates had long ago been divided among persons whose title to them was undisputed. The news reached poor Halffman just as ! he had got to the bottom of his purse in t London. So lie began a paifijul journey i on foot to the sea coast, hoping there Jo ; find a chance to work his passage back j to Germany to hide the ruin wrought by 1 his illusions. Hunger finally drove hiiii j to beggary and carried him before the magistrate, who was kind enough, however, to give him some money and send him on his way with a little wholesome I advice as to tlie foolishness of- chasing i i will-o’-the-wisps in general and supposed j [ fortunes in particular. Many clever but unscrupulous men in | Germany, England and America 1 make i ! handsome livings by tilling the ears of | I the easily duped with such stories as I !■ that which tße Halflinann seems | so firmly to hp.ve believed. A myste-i I riously worded advertisement in* the corner of tlie country paper; an inter- ; i view with half a dozen witnesses, each j i of whom has been instructed to tell the j I wonderful tale; a little appeal to family J 'pride: these are the baits ordinarily j ! used, and the victims are speedily j ■ hooked. Golden dreams make them happy while they are spending the i money which they'have hopes of .receiv-; ing but which they will never get. Agents make jolly foreign tours at their i j expense, but usually ccme home with ; nothing more tangible than fresh evi- ! denee. by means of which money is ‘ draw from the expectant “ heirs.” Strangely enough, the misguided peoi pie who once have been persuaded that 1 they are to gaiiu a fortune which has so j j long awaited them by some swift add ! strange process rarelv discover they have been deceived. They but take it ! j very much to heart that their counsel j has failed to make good their claims, or | ; that ffie machinations of some unknown j | villains have prevailed against them.— j I 2Teu York Time*. ' l*_ . ■

—A patent has been recently taken out in England for a substitute for leather, which is produced in perfect imitation of diflerent kinds of -leather. The sheets of fibrous pulp from which the material is made are pressed into real skins of leather, the grain of the skin to be imitated being thus accurately reproduced. The article is called leatherette, costs one-eighth as much as leather and is stronger and of more uniform quality. The British { Trade-Journal . whieh describes It, does not give any description of the process of manufacture.