have often perused, was contrived to make the medicine "go down." There is no old or young Dr. H. James who was in the East, or even in the West Indies; there is no Cannabis Indica in the medicine sold, it being merely a compound of cough simples, (liquorice, slippery elm decoction and honey, prominent, costing, the bottle included, sixteen

cents.

The real Dr. H. James is the printer aforesaid-Oliver P. Brown. He hires an old man named Kuyper to represent Dr. H. James, and pays him a mere stipend for the personation. Here is the proof, but other is ready if wanting:

A. HARMAN, Esq.,-Dear Sir: I am in receipt of your favor, and in reply would say there is no such person as Old Dr. James residing in our city, but an old man is employed to personate him. The whole matter is well understood here as an imposition. Respectfully yours,

SAM'L WESTCOT, Mayor.

But is Mr. Brown content with this arrangement? Oh, no! He has gone into partnership with a fellow who is called H. Monnett. The firm is Monnett & Co., (in other words Monnett & Brown,) and the head quarters is at the northwest corner of Broome and Mercer streets, New York city, opposite the Mercer House. They have published a paper and a book, respectively bearing the titles of The Magic Monitor and Medical Intelligencer. The paper is sent to all parts of the South and West, and of course advertises the book. The book advertises the business. One of the departments is on "Magic." Here is a specimen.

same.

TO CHANGE MERCURY INTO GOLD.-Take of fine gold a quarter of an ounce, mercury one ounce. Put both in a strong bottle, and hermetically seal the Put it in horse dung for ninety days. Take it out at the end of that time, and see what you have. Now pour on to it half its weight of sal ammonia. Now set it on the centre of a pot full of sand over a slow fire, let them distil into a pure essence. Add to this compound two parts more of pure mercury; hermetically seal your bottle again, and put it back into the horse dung for ninety days. Then take them out and see what you have a pure ethereal essence, which is the pure living gold, 24 carats fine. Pour the pure spiritual liquor out upon a drachm of molten fine gold, and you will find that which will satisfy your hunger after this grand secret. For the increase of your gold will seem miraculous, as indeed it is. Now take it to a jeweler or goldsmith; let them try it in your presence, and you will have good reason to bless God for being the recipient of superior wisdom.

PURE GERMAN SILVER.-Best copper eight parts; zinc three and a half; nickel three parts. If you make German silver in this way, it will be white and beautiful, and nearly like pure silver. This is done by the use of a crucible and heat of course. I do not speak of the common article. It is cheap article, and the best is the cheapest of anything. This, like any other metal, may be easily plated with pure silver, if required.

A NEW DISCOVERY.-Dies to make millions of impressions, easily made as hard as fine steel, and far superior to those used in the United States mint. The cost of making them is almost nothing; they are made in the following manner, viz: Take copper, zinc and silver, in equal proportions and then melt them together, and mould into the forms you desire, and bring the same to a nearly white heat. Now lay on the things that you would take the im

1858.]

Humbugs.

259

pression of, and press it with sufficient force, and you will find that you have a perfect and beautiful impression.

HOW TO INCREASE THE WEIGHT OF GOLD.—I take the following from Natural and Celestial Magic in twenty books, published by the celebrated John Baptista Porta, in London, in 1658. It would be doubtless valuable to many. Here it is:

"Take your bar of gold and rub it long and carefully with thin silver until the gold absorb the quantity of silver that you require. Then prepare a strong solution of brimstone and quicklime. Now put the gold into a vessel with a wide mouth. Now let them boil till the gold attain the right color, and you have it; but do not use this knowledge for an ill purpose."

Does any one believe such nonsense? Yes, thousands, as we shall presently see when we come to the profits of the business. Perhaps your next door neighbor has been hatching gold on his dunghill, and taken it out with awful expectation after ninety days "to see what he has." The dupes will not tell you, for shame, when they have been fooled out of a $5 or a $10. One thing is certain, they never "use their knowledge for an ill purpose !"

Dr. H. James Brown Monnett continues the Leader is not content with these names, but he also advertises the wonderful virtues of the He also offers to "California Laurel!" What is California Laurel ? banish fevers, agues and dyspepsia by the use of a "Clairvoyant remedy" that is, a remedy discovered by a young girl while in a magnetic trance. These are put forth under the name of Dr. Tracy Delorme, who is to be addressed at the New York Post-office. We also find Brown figuring under the alias Professor James T. Horne. The "Professor" advertises in all the country papers that he will teach anybody to make $1,000 a year, if not more, upon the receipt of a certain sum in postage stamps. The nibblers are sent, in reply to their application, a recipe for the manufacture of artificial honey and the right (bogus) to sell in any county which the dupe may select. The recipe and right costs the dupe $5. Here are both-copied from the originals. Of course the signature affixed to these precious documents is the signature of anybody Brown may choose to select to do his business as clerk:

RECIPE.-Take ten lbs of good white moist (brown) sugar, three pounds of soft water, two and a half lbs best bread honey, forty grains of cream of tartar, twelve drops of Oil of Peppermint, half an ounce of gum arabic, one drop of otto of roses; put them into a brass or copper kettle, and let them boil for five minutes, then take two teaspoonsful of pulverized slippery elm and mix with one lb. of water; then strain it and mix it into the kettle; take it off and beat up the white of two eggs and stir them in; let it stand two minutes, then skim it well, and when nearly cold add one lb. of pure bees honey, and so on for larger quantities.

By adding more slippery elm to a proportionate quantity of water, the manufacturer can make it as cheap as he pleases, as a small quantity of slippery elm will thicken a pail of water to the consistency of honey.

N. B. What we mean by bee bread honey, is that made by the bees in the fall of the year to subsist on during the winter, it being much stronger than that made in the spring. If that cannot be procured, honey in the comb will answer the same purpose, by putting in one-half pound more than is given in the recipe, but makes considerable difference in the price.

RIGHT OF SALE.-This is to certify that, in consideration of the sum of

$

received by me from

I do give to the said — right to manufacture

and sell the honey made from my recipe in the of Signed and sealed by me,

Professor JAMES T. HORNE, [L. s.]

Some of our readers may have purchased of this honey. If so, we hope they got it cheap, since "the manufacturer can make it as cheap as he pleases, as a small quantity of slippery elm will thicken a pail of water to the consistency of honey!"

Mr. Brown, the "Retired Physician," also figures as a lady, sports in the advertising columns of various papers as Madame Julie Melville. This lady has just received from France some splendid cosmetics, one of which, "The Milk of Roses and Extract of Elder Blossoms," is magnificent. It is, according to our analysis, made of magnesia and alcohol. Brown charges $2 for a bottle of it. It costs him about eight cents. His Cannabis Indica costs sixteen cents, bottle and all-as we have before shown. His Dr. H. James' "Regulating and Purifying Pill," and the "Excelsior Ointment of India,”—all made upon the same principle -he gets as many dollars for each as they cost him cents."

Now, if the reader wishes to know whether persons can be duped by such humbugs, let him consider the fact that this "Retired Physician" has accumulated a fortune in less than three years. It is said that he is worth from $50,000 to $100,000. The man who has done his writing all along, says he is worth only $30,000. Let only this last be true, and you have a gain of over $10,000 a year, which is enough to pay the faculty of a college. Consider also that perhaps as much as is made, is spent in advertising, and you have at least $150,000 as the harvest of humbug in less than three years. Distribute this among the dupes at the rate of $2 each, and you have a nice army of 75,000 perennials! What a sight it would be to behold them all in one company marching to New York to bring their tribute to the "Retired Physician."

True this humbug with many others has lately been interfered with by the civil authorities. Many thousands of letters addressed to these sham firms have been arrested and sent to the general Post-office, that there the money they contain might be restored to those who sent it. Attempts to ferret out and arrest the swindlers who thus carried on their work under assumed names, have also been made, but they have generally managed to escape. Though routed in one place and in one business, they will no doubt turn up elsewhere with a humbug of another kind; and when they again rain down their advertisements over the land, a crop of fools will spring up anew as quick as mushrooms after a summer shower.

We earnestly beseech our readers to pay no attention to any such advertisements, as they appear in our newspapers, whether in the advertising column or as bought editorials. We should be induced to discountenance them not only because the money sent is surely lost to us, and because we have to feel the shame of having been fooled, but because it is positively sinful to encourage any such irregular and dishonest mode of making money.

SHERIDAN said, beautifully: "Women go ern us; let us render them perfect; the more they are enlightened, so much the more shall we be. On the cultivation of the mind of women depends the wisdom of men. It is by women that Nature writes on the hearts of men."

1858.]

The Atlantic Telegraph.

261

THE ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH.

BY THE EDITOR.

"The isles saw it and feared; the ends of the earth were afraid, drew near, and came." Is. xli: 5.

The past month has seen wonders-the union of the Old and the New World as they were never united before, by means of the Atlantic Telegraph. We do not refer to this wonder as news; the fact was published in four continents, on the same day the great work was successful. Monthlies never were intended to spread new, and in this age that is least of all their province. Though this be not their sphere, they have nevertheless a duty to perform in regard to passing events. They follow in the wake of news with the sober second thought; and now as the cannons have been fired, the bells rung, the bonfires, illuminations, speeches, and songs have done their work, and the shouts of the nations in concert, have died away, the humble Guardian asks leave to make a few records and reflections in relation to the great event.

As the Guardian, when bound turns into a book, and as such takes a permanent place, it will be useful, as a matter for future reference, to record here an extract from the Daily Journal of the Expedition, as left by Mr. Field. How deeply we enter into sympathy with the anxiety which must have reigned on board the fleet, whilst reading this simple but thrilling record of each day's hopes and fears.

SATURDAY, July 17th, 1858.-This morning the Telegraph fleet sailed from Queenstown Ireland, as follows: the Valorous and Gorgon at 11 a. m., the Niagara at 7.30 p. m., and the Agamemnon a few hours later. All the steamers are to use coal as little as possible in getting to the rendezvous. Up to 5 p. m., clear weather and blue sky; from 5 to 9 p. m., overcast, threatening weather, and drizzling rain; from 9 p. m. to 12 m. overcast, hazy and squally.

SUNDAY, July 18, 1858.-The Niagara passed Cape Clear in the morning; wind varying from W. by W. N. W.; heavy atmosphere; cloudy and squally.

MONDAY, July 19, 1858.-Wind varying frem W. to N. W.; hazy atmosphere; cloudy and rainy.

TUESDAY, July 20, 1858.-Wind from N. W. to N.; hazy atmosphere; cloudy and squally. WEDNESDAY, July 21, 1858.-Wind N. W., with a slight variation to the eastward; weather cloudy.

THURSDAY, July 22, 1858.-Blue sky and cloudy.

FRIDAY, July 23, 1858.-Wind from W. by S., to W. S. W.; cloudy and hazy atmosphere and rain.

The Niagara arrived at the rendezvous lat. 52 5, long. 32.40, at 8.30 p. m. SATURDAY, July 24, 1858.-Wind W. N. W.; hazy atmosphere, cloudy and squally. SUNDAY, July 26, 1858.-The Valorous arrived at the rendezvous at 4 a. m., weather calm; hazy and cloudy atmosphere. Captain Oldham of the Valorous, came on board of the Niagara.

TUESDAY, July 27, 1858.-Calm weather; hazy atmosphere. The Gorgon arrived at the rendezvous at 5 p. m.

WEDNESDAY, July 28, 1858.-Light N. W. wind, blue sky and hazy atmosphere. The Agamemnon arrived at the rendezvous at 5 p. m.

THURSDAY, July 29, 1858.-Lat. 52.59 N.; long. 32.27 W.; Telegraph fleet all in sight; sea smooth; light winds from S. E. to S. S. E.; cloudy.

Splice made in the cable at 1 p. m., signals through the whole length of the cable on board both ships perfect; depth of water, 1,550 fathoms.

Distance to the entrance of Valentia Harbor, eight hundred and thirteen nautical miles, and from there to the Telegraph House, the shore end of the cable is laid.

Distance to the entrance of Trinity Bay, N. F., eight hundred and twenty-two nautica

miles, and from there to the Telegraph House, at the head of Bay of Bull's Arm, sixty miles-making, in all, eight hundred and eighty-two nautical miles.

The Niagara has sixty-nine miles further to run than the Agamemnon.

The Niagara and Agamemnon have each 1,100 nautical miles of cable on board, about the same quantity as last year.

At 7.45 p. m., ship's time, or 10.5 p. m., Greenwich time, signals from the Agamemnon ceased, and the tests applied by the electricians showed that there was a want of continuity in the cable, but that the insulation was perfect. Kept on paying out from the Niagara, very slowly, and was constantly applying all kinds of electrical tests until 9 p. m., ship's time, 11.30 p. m., Greenwich time, when we again commenced receiving perfect signals from the Agamemnon.

FRIDAY, July 30, 1858.-Lat. 51.50 N., long. 34.49 W. Distance run by observation in the last twenty-three hours, eighty-nine miles. Paid out one hundred and thirty-one miles, nine hundred fathoms of the cable, or a surplus of forty-two miles nine hundred fathoms over the distance run by observation, equal to forty-eight per cent. Depth of water, fifteen hundred and fifty to nineteen hundred and seventy-five fathoms. Wind from S. E. to S. W. Weather thick and rainy, with some sea. The Gorgon in sight. At 3.50 a. m., had finished the main deck coil, and commenced paying out from the berth deck. Seven hundred and twenty-three miles from the Telegraph House at Bay of Bull's Arm, Trinity Bay.

At 2.21 p. m., received signals from on board the Agamemnon, that they had paid out one hundred and fifty miles of the cable.

At 2.34 p. m., had paid out from the Niagara one hundred and fifty miles of the cable. SATURDAY, July 31, 1858.-Lat. 51.5 N., long. 38.14 W. Distance run in 24 hours by observation, one hundred and thirty-seven miles. Paid out, one hundred and fifty-nine miles, eight hundred and forty-three fathoms of the cable, or a surplus of twenty-two miles eight hundred and forty-three fathoms over the distance run by observation, equal to thirteen per cent. Depth of water sixteen hundred and fifty-seven to twenty-two hundred and fifty fathoms. Wind moderate S. W., and from 6 a. m. N. W. by N. Weather cloudy, a little rain, and some sea. The Gorgon in sight.

Total amount of cable passed out two hundred and ninety-one miles seven hundred and thirty fathoms. Total distance run, by observation, two hundred and twenty-six miles. Surplus cable paid out over the distance run by observation, equal to thirteen per cent. Depth of water sixteen hundred and fifty-seven to twenty-two hundred and fifty fathoms. Wind moderate S. W., and from 6 a. m. N. W. by N. Weather cloudy, a little rain and some sea. The Gorgon in sight.

Total amount of cable passed out two hundred and ninety-one miles seven hundred and thirty fathoms. Total distance run by observation, two hundred and twenty-six miles. Surplus cable paid out over the distance run by observation, sixty-five miles seven hundred and thirty fathoms, equal to twenty-nine per cent. Six hundred and fifty-six miles from the Telegraph House.

1 p. m. Paid out from the Niagara three hundred miles of the cable.

At 2.45 p. m. received signals from the Agamemnon that they had paid out from her three hundred miles of the cable.

At 5 37 p. m. finished the coil on the berth deck, and commenced paying out from the lower deck.

SUNDAY, August 1st.-Lat. 50.32 N., lon. 41.55 W. Distance run by observation in the last twenty-four hours one hundred and forty-five miles. Paid out one hundred and sixtyfour miles and six hundred and eighty-three fathoms of the cable, or a surplus of nineteen miles six hundred and thirty fathoms over the distance run by observation-equal to fourteen per cent. Depth of water nineteen hundred and fifty to twenty-four hundred and twenty-four fathoms. Wind moderate and fresh from N. N. E. to N. E. Weather cloudy and misty and heavy swell. The Gorgon in sight.

Total amount of cable paid out, four hundred and fifty-six miles four hundred fathoms. Total amount of distance run, by observation, three hundred and seventy-one miles. Total amount of surplus cable paid out over the distance run, eighty-five miles six hundred fathoms, equal to twenty-three per cent. Five hundred rnd eleven miles from the Telegraph House. At 3.5 p. m., finished paying out the coil on the lower deck and changed to the coil in the hold.

MONDAY, August 2, 1858.-Lat. 49.22, long. 45.48 W. Distance run by observation in the last twenty-four hours one hundred and fifty-four miles. Payed out one hundred and seventy-seven miles fifteen fathoms of the cable, or a surplus of twenty-three miles one hundred fathoms over the distance run-equal to fifteen per cent. Depth of water, sixteen hundred to twenty-three hundred and eighty-five fathoms. Wind N. W. Weather cloudy. The Niagara getting light and rolling very much, it was not considered safe to carry sai! to steady the ship, for in the case of accident, it might be necessary to stop the vessel as soon as possible.