LONDON TABLE TALK.

Evening Star, Issue 9707, 16 May 1895, Page 4

LONDON TABLE TALK.

[From Oru Special Correspondent.]

London, March 23. THE CONFIDENCE TRICK.

" Beg pardon, sir, but can you tell me if the House of Commons is open'to-day?" queried Henry Edward Goater of Alfred Howarth De Montgomery as the latter was leaving Westminster Abbey on Saturday: Mr Montgomery confessed himself an entire stranger to London and ignorant of the rules of the "great babble shop." Mr Goater thereupon vouchsafed the information that he himself had only just arrived in the big city from Australia, and the two innocents at once struck up a friendship. Goater was particularly nice to the young man from (South■• Africa, and, after warning him to be careful of his money and jewellery, asked Howarth's advice as to the investment of a couple of thousands in the Transvaal. He advised Matal elelandinstead of Johannesburg or Kimberley, and .suggested an adjournment to refresh. Goater, however, declined, and the pair proceeded to talk of sheep and; ostrich farming whilst walking Charing CroJswards. Once more Goater warned his uQw-found friend aneut thieves, 'and made a suggestion that a certain conspicuous nugget dangling from Montgomery's watch-chaib would be much safer in his own pocket. Montgomery, .however, preferred to stand chances with the gew-gaw, and Goater did not press the matter. Instead, he became anxious as to his friend's intentions in the matter of further travel. Montgomery said he was off to Chicago on Wednesday, whereat Goater's face brightened. ", So'm I; we'll go together," said' the latterj pulling a bundle out of his pocket;. " Here's my steamer ticket." " All right, old chap," replied Montgomery, "we will." The pair were proceeding to exchange addresses when a man in blue suddenly laid violent hands on the man from Australia. "Do you know who you are talking to?" the policeman asked Montgomery. "No ; he said he was a stranger here," replied the latter. The officer grinned knowingly, and invited the pair to Westminster Police Court, together with a third person named Murphy, who seemed to be taking an undue amount :>i interest in Goater and Montgomery's proceedings. A searcli of the man from Australia resulted in the discovery of a roll of tissue paper enveloped in a "Bank of Eugraving" note for .£SO, and a creditable imitation of a banker's pass book with "Bank of Australia" upon it, and made up with the name Henry Goater inside. Some of the entries related to thousands of pounds. Murphy's pockets also produced " Bank of Eograving" notes. At the Police Court Goater was charged with being a confidence trickster. He protested that he was a New South Wales business man, and asked for a remand to prove his assertion. The magistrate was sceptical, and wanted to know the why and wherefore of the flush notes. "Oh," said the suspect, "that is nothing. We had them for smaller amounts than that." "Daresay," Mr Shiels laconically interjected. "They are not a novelty," quoth the prisoner; to which the magistrate replied promptly : " They are not a novelty here. You] are remanded—and you," turning to Montgomery, "have had a very useful lesson in the dangers of London ; don't forget it." It is certainly peculiar that men who have travelled far and wide, as had the intended victim in this case, should so easily fall a prey to the utterly clumsy devices of the confidence trickster. But it is a fait that half of the cases which come to court point to the man who has "seen a bit of the world -'" as the easiest person for a confidence swindler to tackle. Your born Cockney, whose knowledge of human nature is gained within the four-mile radius, never falls into such booby traps as are laid by men like Goater, but colonials are continually bein<* fleeced by them. The reason is probably that travelling renders a man liable to make a companion of the first agreeable person who comes along. Oaly this morning I came up to town in the tame compartment ot the train as a Canadian visitor to London. He asked me the correct time, and I told him. In less than ten minutes I knew the man's history, his name, occupation, Canadian address, London lodgings and that he had left his own repeater (a present from a man whose life he had helped to save) under the pillow of a bed in Room 37 of the Hotel, Brighton. In fact, I knew quite enough to have put anyone into the way of working a neat swindle upon the stranger. We parted at Victoria without him knowing so much as my. name. That man is simply anybody's game, and if he leavts town no sadder or wiser than he is at present it will ba a «reat wonder. A SON OF .MARS. There arc some capital anecdotes in the newly-published ' Recollections of a. Military Life,' by Sir John Adye, G.C.B.—an interesting and lively hook, which civilians will find much better reading than nh.etenths of the present-day novels. I take leave to quote a couple of the many excellent stories in which the work abounds. The first is a delightful sample of Indian official ine.lh.ods : Om day, Sir John says, an artillery officer called on me at Simla, and requested me to give him a certificate of his being aim-, as the Audit Office refused to give him his nav without it He seemed to be well and lively,"and I therefore complied at once, and* as bis visit was in August, dated it accordingly. On looking at it he remarked: "Ah, you have dated it August. That is of no use I have already sent them one of that kind, but whit they require is a certificate that I was alive in Julv. This opened out a new aspect of the case, but, after consideration, I certified to the best of my' belief he was living the previous month. "Whether ho ever received the pav I am not sure.

Whilst acting as director of artillery at the War Office Sir John, along with other members of the Ordnance Committee, was called upon to test the proposal of an inventive being who- thought that a horse would be a very efficient gun carriage in mountain warfare. So at Woolwich Arsenal a light gun was strapped on to a troop horse's back, the horse's head was tied up to a post, and the gun loaded. As the horse stood whilst these operations were in process the gun muzzle was pointing to an earthen mound, and the Committee stood in a group at the opposite side. A match was applied to the slow burning fuse to fire the piece, and the troop horse hearing the fizzing suddenly wheeled right round, bringing the gun muzzle fairly in line with the heads of the committeemen. In a second every man was flat on his face, the gun went off, and the shot flying over Woolwich town fell harmlessly into the dockyard. The horse was lying on its back several yards away when the Committee recovered their perpendicular, unharmed, but considerably disturbed in mind. They reported unanimously against the inventive person's suggestion.

Whilst at Woolwich Sir John had to face a great dearth of recruits for the horse artillery. This was partly due to the everchanging W.O. regulations as to height and dimensions of cnlistable men. Short men could be taken, providing they were exceptionally broad and deep as to chest and shoulders. Meeting an old recruiting sergeant one day, Sir John inquired if he had been successful in persuading likely men to take the shilling. The sergeant had not, and was by no means sanguine for the future. Pressed as to the reasons of his failure, he replied : " Beg your pardon, sir, but the Almighty doesn't make men the shape you order 'em." 1 t.'ALLIA.' The same reckless audacity and spirit of adventure which induced Miss Muriel Dowie to caper amongst Carpathian fastnesses and obscure Dalmatian villages in unbecoming male attire has led to her writing 'Gallia.' Of course, this is a sex novel. The emancipated young women of to-day cannot get away from the one weary, dreary subject. To be fair to Miss Dowie, or, rather, Mrs Norman, she hasn't fallen to the depths of 'Discords' or 'Episodes.' , Her novel belongs simply to the outrageously naughty school.-. She. meant to shock Mrs Grundy, and—well—she's certainly done it. But there's no subtly, nasty,. morbid analysis about ' Gajlia, ' The writer is a clever minx, and one feels instinctively that she is wholesome. She just thinks it fine fun to, metaphorically '• speaking, scribble dirty words on the wall and yell '' Yah !" delightedly. Still, one cannot help sorrowing that so clever a girl should have dieted herself on Zola and company. Her

success in clean; healthy romance would have been much greater. Miss Dowie's folly cannot, altogether conceal her natural attractiveness. It peeped out amidst the antics of her Carpathian masquerade, and we get many glimpses of it in -«Gallia.' The novel is nob one to place in the hands of the traditional damsel of blushing, fifteen, but "grown-ups" will get a, good .deal of entertainment out of it. WATERLOO CUP. The severe weather twice postponed the Waterloo Cup, bub on Wednesday last a start was made despite a little fio3t still lingering in the ground. The favorite on the night of the draw—up to which no betting of any account took place—was Mr Fletcher'a white-and-fawn dog Falconer (by Herschel—Fine Sport), who, with odds of 2 to 1 laid on him, was defeated in the final last year by Texture. His party proclaimed him another Fullerton, and accepted the short odds of 11 to 2 anent his running through the Cup successfully. Bar one 10 to .1 could be had, Mr Fawcett's Fabulous Fortune being backed at this rate, whilst Fair Floralie at 1,000 to 70 (taken seventy times) and Fortuna Favente at 1,000 to. 60 were also well supported. All these three belong toonelitterby Herschel—Fair Future, and showed themselves well-nigh equally good animals. The Liverpool contingent to .a man were on Mr Pilkington's Thoughtless Beauty (by Herschel—Thetis), concerning whom 20 to 1 was very freely booked, and Mr Holmes's Gallant (by Young Fullerton Sally Milburn) at 1,000 to S (taken nine times) seemed a fancied outsider. The prominent favorites all held their own in the first two rounds of the Cup, over which the Ring had much the worsb of business. On Wednesday nighb the odds were 1,000 to 800 Falconer, 9 to 2 Fair Floralie, fltb I Thoughtless Beauty, 5 to 1 Fabulous Fortuue, and long prices anything else. The third round also favored backers, but the fourth proved fatal to Fabulous Fortune, Fair Floralie, and Fife and Fiddle.

The last four left in the Cup on Thursday night proved the favorite Falconer, Fortuna Favente, Thoughtless Beauty, and Gallant. Slight odds were then laid on Falconer, 5 to 2 each against Thoughtless Beauty and Fortuna Favente, and 5 to 1 Gallant.. In the fifth round on Friday 15 to 8 was laid on Falconer against Fortuna Favente. The pair were slipped to a good hare, and raced neck and neck for fifty yards. The" outsider then forged ahead, and was two lengths to the good when he reached the hare. Puss coming round strongly to the right Falconer saw an opening, and struck in with great fire. Puss rounded to avoid lr's stroke. Fortuna Favente came cleverly with her, forging away with a good lead for the next point, and sticking well to the scut drove away as the white failed to challenge, and finished a decisive victory with a good kill. The 2 to 1 betted on Thoughtless Beauty beating Gallant was never in danger, as the bitch had the foot of the dog, and would hardly let him score a single point. For the final, which was run just at noon, expert opinion favored Fortuna Favente, and 2 to 1 was laid on her. In a splendid race down the withins Fortuna Favente gradually shot a bit to the front, bub pecking at a drain, while Thoughtless Beauty shot it like a snak"-, the lead was reversed, and the latter scored the first turn by a length and a-half. She ran out the least little bit as puss came round, and, the red taking strong possession, raised the hopes of his friends. As puss broke from him, however, the bitch dashed up for the third point, and, though the trial was desperately contested, Thoughtless Beauty clearly showed more fire" than her opponent, and victory was hers when she finished with a fine kill. The Cup winner is by Herschel— Thetis, and belongs to Mr Pilkington, who secured the stake with Burnaby a few years ago (1888).

The Waterloo Purse was won by Mr Watson's Word of Honor (by Herschel— Watchful Duchess), and the Plate by Mr Fletcher's Forum (by Herschel Fine Sport).

It is worth noting that the winners of Cup, Purse, Plate, and runner-up for tie first-named are all by Mr Hornby's famous dog Herschel. Coursers in your part of the world should mark and import some of the blood. Last year's winner. Texture, wus also by Herschel.