A Clever Swindler.

Manawatu Standard, Volume X, Issue 1461, 22 September 1885, Page 4

A Clever Swindler.

At the close of His monograph on CagtiostrOj Carlyle asks liether tho c sue not even now quacks like Guseppo Balsaino> of Palermo, who can squeeze supplies of money out of whole continents ? Such a one died a few weeks ago at Lima, m Perti^ at the early age of 40. He called himself the Chevalier Alfred Paraf, and he succeeded m 10 years m swinilinjr other people out of .£403.000, wh'ch he 'dissipated sis r.ipi Uy as hi acquired ife. He was the son of a cotton manufacturer at Mulhaus, m Alsace, handsome m person, frank m manner, and most engaging m address. He exhibited a remarkable talent for chemistry, as applied to dyeing purposes; and during a visit to Q-lasgow, he imposed on a cotten spinner there by selling the ". discovery" «»t a spurious dye for £4000, Then he went to Paris, where tho money was soon spent on gamblers and courtesans. The next thing he did was to sell his own uncle a new colour, previously patented by some one else, for £2000. With this money he; crossed the Atlantic, an mads a fortune of £12,000 by travelling about the country selling licenses for the exclusive me f a worthless iuvenijon. Returning to New York, he lived- ■ like a prince until his funds weiv exhusted. when he presented a dye called cloverino. By this device he made another fortune, which went the way of its predecessor. Agaiu he was hard up, and got hold of Governor Spmgne, of Rho le Island, from whom he obtained £15,000 m hard cash to start some madder works. Presently he disappeared, was seen m Paris both needy, and seedy, and turned up again m New York with an invention for making oleo-margarine, which he" had .stolen from a countryman. A company was org/tnised for its manufacture with a capital of £100,000, and Paraf launched out again more magnificently than ever. Once more he came to grief and went to Santiago, where he started a gigantic scheme for extracting «j<»J«l from copper ore. No less than j£250,000 wa3 subscribed for this undertaking, until, m 1877, it was discovered thai that the whole scheme was :i swindle, and he was arreste ■',. cnnvic*e<l, and iiinprifcned for the offence. On his •lischaijehe quitted Chili for Peru, and mining more was heard of the " Che* *lier Paraf" until the news was hear.' 1 of his death through pneumonia. He m ght have become we«l hy and iMiiii nt by honourable means, but he was a born scoundrel, and as such he lived and died.