“Youseemtobeveryparticl’randdiffikilttosatisfy，“continuedMrs。Morris；“but，ifyeoudon’tbelieveit，jestcomeandseeforyou’sef。“
Sheledthewaytothebureau，openedthedrawer，and，raisingaplaidcottonhandkerchief，displayedthecontrabandlettersbythescore。Allweredirectedtothelotteryfirm，andwereturnedovertotheknavefromtimetotimeasitsuitedhisconveniencetocallforthem。AsnosuchfirmdidbusinessatWingtonJunction，itwasthedutyofthepostmastertoforwardtothedepartment，asfictitiousandundeliverable，alllettersbearingtheaddressoftheswindlers。Insimilarcasesneglecttoobeytheregulationwastreatedassufficientgroundforinstantremoval。
Morefullypleasedwiththeresultoftheexaminationthanthewomansurmised，theofficerresumed：“Iseeyouareveryparticularaboutyourmethodsofdoingbusiness，anddonotmeantobecaughtnapping。Thearrangementweareabouttoenterintoisaveryimportantone，and，asyouarenotpostmaster，yourhusbandwillhavetobepresenttowitnessandratifythebargain。“
“Blessyeoursoul，“repliedshe，“it’sallright。I’tendtoallthebiznis。Myhusbanddoesn’tbotherhissefabeoutitintheleast。“
“Madam，“answeredtheofficer，“pardonme。Ihadmytraininginalargecity，andamaccustomedtopayminuteattentiontoeverydetail。Yourhusbandistheprincipalinthiscase，andmustratifytheagreementtomakeitbinding。Ofcourseyouwillderiveallthebenefit，buthispresenceisessentialasamatterofform。“
Apparentlysatisfied，shecalledfor“John，“whorepliedpromptlytothesummons。
“Mr。Morris，“saidtheofficer，“yourwifehasagreedtokeepmylettersforme——“
“Yaas，“brokeinthepostmaster。“Iknow’dshewould。Yeou’llfindshe’lldewitright，tew。Nobodycan’tcomeennytricksonher——canthey，Sue？Iwishoneo’’emdurn’ddeetecterswouldcomearound，jesttewseeheowshe’dpullthewoolover’im。Iwudn’taxennybetterfun；“andheindulgedinafitofloudcachinnationattheabsurdityofsupposingthatanyonecouldmatchinsharpnesshisownbelovedSue。
“Theletterswillcometothataddress，“saidtheagent，pullingouthiscommissionfromthepostmaster-general，andexhibitingittothepair。
Takinginthepurportofitataglance，Morrisjumpedseveralinchesintotheair，slappedhissides，andexclaimed，“A
deetecter，arterall；sold，byjingo!“
“We’rebust’dthen，“chimedinSue，withamelancholygrin。
Itwasevenso。ThelettersforHighfalutin&Co。wenttoWashington，andMorriswentoutofthepost-office；butthefactthatSuewasovermatchedhurthimmorethanthelossoftheplace。
June8，1872，alawwasapprovedmakingitapenaloffensetousethemailsforthepurposeofdefraudingothers，whetherresidingwithinoroutsideoftheUnitedStates。Thepostmaster-generalwasalsoauthorizedtoforbidthepaymentofpostalmoneyorderstopersonsengagedinfraudulentlotteries，giftenterprises，andotherschemesforswindlingthepublic，andtoinstructpostmasterstoreturntothewriters，withtheword“fraudulent“writtenorstampedontheoutside，allregisteredlettersdirectedtosuchpersonsorfirms。Priortotheenactmentofthislaw，themostwholesaleandbarefacedoperationswereconductedbyprofessionalcheats，mainlythroughthefacilitiesaffordedbythemails，withalmostabsoluteimpunity。Lettersaddressedtobogusfirmswereindeedforwardedfromtheofficesofdeliverytothedepartmentas“fictitious“and“undeliverable，“andmanycolludingpostmastersweredecapitated。Suchpettymeasuresofwarfareservedmerelytoannoythevampiresandtowhettheirdiabolicalingenuityforthecontrivanceofnewdevices。Sincethelawof1872wentintoeffect，however，thescoundrelshavebeencompelledtotravelathornyroad。Scoresofarrestshavebeenmade，andinmanycasesthecriminalshavebeensentencedtothepenitentiary。
Itwouldexceedourlimitseventoenumeratethedeviceswhichhavebeentriedbydifferentswindlerswithgreaterorlesssuccess。
Giftenterprisesofvariouskindsarethemostcommonandnotorious，constitutingadistinctbranchofthebusiness；butthepretensesonwhichhumancredulityisinvitedtopartwithactualcashforimaginarybenefitsareinnumerable。Afewspecimensaregivenasillustrations。
ANOLDGAMEREVIVED
Onthe18thofSeptember，1875，afellowwasarrestedinWestVirginiawhosentthevictimswhomheproposedtobleedletterswhereofthefollowingisacopy：——
“AladywhoboardedwithmediedonlastSaturdayofapoplexy。Sheleftatrunkcontainingthefollowingproperty：Oneveryfineladies’goldwatchandchain，oneladies’goldnecklace，sixladies’fingerrings，earrings，andagreatdealofladies’
clothing。Amongotherthingswasaletteraddressedtoyou。I
supposeyoutobearelativeofthedeceased，andwanttosendyouthetrunk。WhenMissThompsondiedsheleftaboardbillunpaidamountingto$20。50。Youwillpleasesendthisamountbyreturnmail，andthetrunkwillbeforwardedtoyouimmediately。“
Insteadofremittingthemoneyasmodestlyrequested，therecipientofoneofthesechoicedouceurs，aladyresidingintheinteriorofPennsylvania，sentthelettertothemayorofthetownwhereitwasdatedandpostmarked，whointurnhandeditovertospecialagentT。P。Shallcross；andheinthecourseofadayortwosucceededincapturingthemiscreant。
Thisparticularformoftheconfidencegameisveryold；yetintheyearofourLordeighteenhundredandseventy-fiveaswindlerbymeansofitsucceedsnotonlyinmaintaininghimselfindashingstyle，butalsoinsportingaflashytravelingcompanionofthefemalepersuasion!
Wherethelettersareaddressedtomen，thearticlesreportedtobefoundintheimaginarytrunkarechangedtocorrespondtomasculinehabitsandwants。Theoperatorsreceivemanysingularandsomeentertainingreplies。Thefollowing，datedlongagofromasmalltownattheSouth，mayserveasasample，theorthographyoftheoriginalbeingpreserved：——
“COL。SNOWDEN，“DearSir，——Yoursreceived，andyousayJohnisdead。Poorfellow!
Ialwaysexpectedit。Deathrunsinthefamily。Dyedsuddenlyofappleplexy——eattoomanyapples。Well，IalwaysthoughtJohnwouldhurthimselfeatingapples。Is’poseyouhadhimburied。Yousaidnothingaboutfuneralexpenses。Hehadatrunk——goldwatchinit，&c。Well，well，whatanunexpectedlegacy!butstrangethingshappensometimes。NeverthoughtIshouldgetagoldwatchso。Andhehadthewatchinhistrunk，didhe？Poorfellow!wasalwayssoparticular’bouthiswatchandfixings。Hadtworevolvers。Whatisthem？IneverheardJohnsayanythingaboutthem。Well，youhavebeensokindastowritetome；justkeepallthebalanceofthethings，youcanhavethem；butthegoldwatch，sendthattomebyexpress。Sendimmediatelyifnotsooner。“
“Verytruly，“GEO。STREAM。
“P。S。Mymotherinlawsays，ifyoucomethisway，call。Shelikestoknowallsuchgood，kindfolks。“
Itissafetoconcludethat“Col。Snowden“neveracceptedtheinvitationtocallfromthehospitablemother-in-law。
AFORMIDABLEWEAPON
Inthesummerandfallof1875circularswerescatteredbroadcastoverthecountry，andadvertisementsappearedintheweeklyeditionsofseveralleadingpapersofNewYorkCityandotherlargetowns，settingforththeraremeritsofaweaponofdestructioncalled“Allan’sNewLow-PricedSeven-Shooter。“Asaspecimenofingeniousdescription，themoresalientpartsofthecircularareherewithreproduced：——
“InintroducingthistriumphofmechanicalgeniustotheAmericanpublic，itispropertosaythatitisnotanentirelynewarticle，butthatithaslatelybeenimprovedinappearance，simplicityofconstruction，andaccuracy，havingnewpointsofexcellence，makingitsuperiorinmanyrespectstothosefirstmade。Themanufacturershavingimprovedfacilitiesformakingthemcheaplyandrapidly，havereducedthepricetoonedollarandfiftycents；
andwhiletheprofitsonasingleonearenecessarilysmall，thispriceplacesthemwithinthereachofall。
“Wewishitdistinctlyunderstoodthatthisisnocheap，good-for-
nothing’pop-gun’；andwhilenonecanexpectittobe’silver-
mounted’for$1。50，theyhavearighttoexpecttheworthoftheirmoney，andinthisnewimprovedseven-shooterawantissupplied。
“GreatcareistakenintheadjustmentofEACH，sothatALLareequallygoodandreliable。Intheirproductionnotroubleorexpensehasbeenspared。Anelaborateandcompletesetofmachineryandgaugeshasbeenmade，bymeansofwhichallthepartsareproducedexactlyalike，thusinsuringgreatuniformityinthecharacteroftheworkproduced。“
Thisremarkableimplement，equallyusefulforpeaceorwar，isofferedtoaneagerpublicatthelowpriceof$1。50each，or$13
perdozen。Onthescoreofcheapness，theinventorgreatlyprefersthemailstotheexpressasavehicleforthetransportofhiswares。Infact，hedeclinestopatronizetheexpresscompaniesatall，unlessaprepaymentoftwenty-fivepercent，accompanieseachorderasaguarantyofthe“purchaser’sgoodfaith。“
Atfirsttheenterprisesucceededevenbeyondthemostsanguineexpectationsofitsprojector，letterswiththecashinclosedpouringinbythehundred。Forseveralmonths，however，afterthefirstpublicationoftheadvertisement，“thistriumphofmechanicalgenius，“though“notanentirelynewarticle，“existedonlyinthecomprehensivebrainofthegentlemanwhohadthegreatnesstodiscernintheimperfectworkofpredecessorsthegermsofidealperfection。Havingnoseven-shooterstosend，hewascompelledtodishonortherequisitionsoftheexpectant“traveler，sailor，hunter，fisherman，etc。“Whilecarefultolayasidetheinclosures，heentirelyforgoteventosofarrememberhispatronsastomakearecordoftheirnames。
Induetime，however，the“factory“wentintooperation，andtheseven-shooterswereactuallyproduced。Themechanical“triumph，“
rudelymadeofacheapmetalcomposition，isaduplicateofatoylongusedbyboystothedelightofeachother，andtotheannoyanceoftheirelders。Thepropulsivepowerresidesinasteelspring，whichhasforceenoughtosendabird-shotacrossagood-
sizedroom。Theoutfitwouldcostperhapssixoreightcentstothemanufacturer。Aportionoftheorderswerenowfilled，thegreaterpartbeingstillthrownunhonoredintothewaste-basketasbefore。
Cursesbothloudanddeepbegantobeshoweredontheheadoftheswindler。Complaintshavingreachedthedepartment，specialagentC。E。Henrystartedtohuntfor“Wilcox&Co。，“ofWindsor，Ohio，forsuchwasthedirectionintheadvertisementsandonthecircular。Proceedingseveralmilesfromthenearestrailroad，hefoundtheruralsettlementwherethefactorywassupposedtobelocated。
Guidedbyvariousinquiries，hefinallydroveuptothesmallfarm-
housewheretheparentsofWilcox&Co。resided。Onentering，theofficersaid，“IaminsearchofMr。Wilcox，ofthefirmofWilcox&Co。“
“Iamyourman，“remarkedayouth，perhapstwenty-twoyearsofage，whosecountenanceatoncesuggestedacutenessandcunning。“Whatwillyouhave？“
“Iwouldliketotakealookaboutthearsenalandgun-factorylocatedhere，“repliedthedetective，leisurelysurveyingthelandscape。
“TheworksareinCleveland，“answeredthegreatinventor。“Youcanseethembycallingthere。“
“Butwhereisthearsenal？Iunderstanditwassituatedhere。“
“Yourinformationiscorrect，“repliedtheyoungman。“Thatisit，acrosstheroad。“
Castinghiseyeinthedirectionindicated，theofficersawaricketywoodshedaboutsevenfeetbynineinsize。
Observingthesmileofamusedincredulitythatplayeduponthefeaturesofhisquestioner，Wilcoxreiterated，withanairofhalfoffendeddignity，——
“That’sit。Wekeepourseven-shootersthere。Butlookhere；
beforethisthinggoesanyfurther，Iwanttoknowwhoyouare。“
“Oh，certainly，sir，“answeredthestranger。“YouwillfindnothingaboutmethatIcaretokeepconcealed。Iamaspecialagentofthepost-officedepartment，andmybusinesshereistoarrestyou。“
“Why，whathaveIdonetowarrantsuchavisit？“queriedyouthfulinnocence。
“Ishallbehappytomakethatpointcleartoyou，“repliedthedetective，“thoughIamafraidtheenlightenmentwillcometoolatetoproveofmuchservicetoyou。Inusingthemailsforthepurposeofswindling，youhaveviolatedthelawsofthecountry，andmustsufferthepenalty。“
“Butwheredoestheswindlingcomein？“expostulatedWilcox。“I