Chapter Fopling Flutter to Forgers and Forgeries of F by Brewer's Readers Handbook

(39) Psalmanazar (George), who pretended to be a Japanese, published, in 1704, an Historical and Geographical Description of Formosa, an Island belonging to the Empire of Japan. He was an Englishman, born in London, name unknown (died 1763).

(40) Meinhold (Dr.). The Amber Witch, a “story of the olden times.” When this story first appeared, the scholars of Germany applied to it severe tests of historical and philological criticism, to ascertain whether or not it was a relic of antiquity. Even those acute neologists, the Tübingen Reviewers, declared it to be “hoary with the lapse of centuries.” When the wise ones had fully committed themselves, Dr. Meinhold came forward, and proved beyond a doubt that he was himself the author.

(41) Richard of Cirencester’s Diaphragmata, introduced by Dr. Stukeley as a genuine work, has been demonstrated by professor Mayor to be a forgery by Bertram.

(42) Riculfe, archbishop of Mentz or Mayence, who lived in the ninth century, published fifty-nine decretals, which he ascribed to Isidore of Seville, who died in the sixth century. The object of these letters was either to exalt the papacy, or to enforce some law assuming such exaltation. Among them is the decretal of St. Fabian, instituting the rite of the chrism, with the decretals of St. Anacletus, St. Alexander, St. Athanasius, and so on. They have all been proved to be barefaced forgeries. (See Decretals, p. 383.)

(43) Sanchoniathon. At Bremen, in 18 37, were printed nine books of Sanchoniathon, and it was said that the MSS. had been discovered in the convent of St. Maria de Merinhâo, by a colonel Pereira in the Portuguese army; but it was ascertained that there was no such convent, nor any such colonel, and that the paper of this “ancient” MS. bore the water-mark of Osnabrück paper-mills.

(44) Scriptures. (See under Apocryphal.)

(45) Sibylline Prophecies, twelve in number, manifestly a clumsy forgery of the sixteenth century. There are twelve prophecies as there were twelve apostles, and twelve sybils are conjured up, and twelve emblems.

It would be too long to give all the details; but those curious on such a matter may see them in The Historic Note-Book, p. 823, and on p. 824 will be seen “Sibylline Verses.”

(46) Simonides (Constantine L. P.) (1824–1863). He palmed off numerous forgeries: one was a MS. of Homer on serpent’s skin; another was a palimpsest MS. of the kings of Egypt in Greek, professed to be by Uranius of Alexandria. The Academy pronounced it to be genuine, and the Minister of Public Instruction was deputed to buy it for 5000 thalers (about £750). Professor Dindorf gave this MS. to the University of Oxford; but it was soon discovered that it was a forgery, in fact, a translation in bad Greek of extracts from Bunsen and Lepsius, and Tischendorf pronounced the palimpsest of Uranius to be a gross forgery. Simonides was imprisoned at Berlin, but was acquitted on a point of law.

(47) Smith (Joseph). (See under Mormon.) Smith was murdered in Carthage Gaol, in 1844.

(48) Surtees (Forgeries of). Robert Surtees, in 1806, palmed off on sir Walter Scott certain ballads of his own composition as ancient ballads discovered by him, and sir W. Scott inserted them as genuine in his Border Minstrelsy. One was The Raid of Featherstonehaugh, arising out of a feud between the Ridleys and the Featherstones, said to be taken down from the mouth of an old woman on Alston Moor. Another was a ballad called Lord Eusrie, which he asserted he took down from an old woman named Rose Smith of Bishop Middleham (aged 91). A third was Barthram’s Dirge, obtained (as he said) from Ann Douglas, “a withered old crone who weeded in his garden.” A whole series of legends were professedly obtained from Mrs. Brown of Falkland; and another series from Mrs. Arnut of Arbroath. (See Chatterton.)

It is a very common device for poets and romancers to pretend that they are recounting somebody else’s words. Sir W. Scott himself has indulged freely in this device, and the line of demarcation between sir Walter’s inventions and those of Robert Surtees is very fine indeed; but no one is deceived, and no mischief