Trial of Henry Fauntleroy : and other famous trials for forgery / edited by Horace Bleackley.

  • Henry Fauntleroy
Date:
[1924]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Trial of Henry Fauntleroy : and other famous trials for forgery / edited by Horace Bleackley. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    “ anxious terror and agonising apprehension,” never know¬ ing a moment’s peace of mind. An acquaintance tells us that he was walking down Berners Street in company with a friend when they happened to overtake Fauntleroy, who was strolling along, deep in thought. One of them tapped the banker on the shoulder with the remark, “ Hello, old fellow, what are you thinking of? ” Starting like a guilty thing, the forger wheeled round, and his face, naturally without much colour, became white as death. “ You almost frightened me out of my wits,” he stammered.1 He was living in dread of the grasp of a police officer. No doubt, it was this terrible suspense that had driven him into his deeper dissipations as an anodyne for his misery. Hence, his preference for Brighton in place of the quiet river-side village and his devo¬ tion to tempestuous ladies like the famous “ Mrs. Bang.” It was this feverish pursuit of pleasure that had been responsible for the ruin of his schoolgirl mistress. And as the years went on constant change and excitement were neces¬ sary to his existence. Each night, as soon as the bank was closed, he was obliged to seek the distraction of the play, or a ball, or a hilarious dinner party. And on every Saturday evening he dashed off to Brighton in a post-chaise in the company of some of his familiar friends, just as he used to go down to Hampton-on-Thames, to spend a profane Sabbath at his seaside villa. At last, in September, 1824, after ten years of crime, the hour that he had dreaded came to him. Because of his assured position and financial astuteness, Fauntleroy had often been chosen as an executor by many a wealthy testator. Thus, he had been a trustee of the estate of Benjamin West,2 the president of the Royal Academy, and he had acted in a similar capacity on the death of John Julius Kerie—a relative of his wife—the rich West Indian planter. Recently, also, he had been named as one of the executors under the will of Lieut.-Colonel Frank William Beilis of Oxted, who died on 23rd January, 1 “ Recollections of the Last Half-Century,” Rev. John Richardson, XL 49. 2 Benjamin West [1738-1820]. Die. Nat. Biog.