He Stole a Little Money and Issued a Bogus Cheque.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 245, 10 March 1888, Page 7

He Stole a Little Money and Issued a Bogus Cheque.

New York, February 9.— A young man who calls himself William Ritchie, and who says he is the son of a member of the English Parliament, a graduate of Oxford and the holder of an English army commission, is locked up in Yorkville on a charge of stealing §10 from his landlady. When arraigned in court this morning the young man modestly discussed himself and family thus: " Nearly all the males in our family have been soldiei s. Five of my brothers died on the battlefield. My grandfather wa3 a Colonel and killed at Waterloo. I went through the Egyptian war and came back a Second-Lieuten-ant in a company of the Life Guards. I had a hard time of it in Egypt, and have a dozen scars from sabre-cuts. I had the brightest prospects in life and my family was very proud of me, when an incident occurred which compelled me to flee to this country to avoid disgrace. I was a suitor for the hand of Lady Adelaide Duscampse, eldest daughter of Lord Lawrence of Lawrence. The Captain of my company, Sir Charles Lookhart—now a Colonel of the regiment — was my rival. I was the on© most favoured by the lady and Sir Charles tried to avenge himself and bring me into disgrace by black-mailing my character among my friend and military companions. 1 learned of this and went directly to Sir Charles's headquarters in the barracks and accused him of lying about me. Hot words ensued, and at last I struck him. For that I was court-mar-trailed, and my father gave me £5,000 and Bent me to this country. Here I met D. C. Cronche, the man whose name I iorged to a cheque. I became quite intimate with him, and I foolishly turned nearly all my cash over to him to invest for me. He gave me bonds in return, but I learned soon after that he was & clever swindler, and that the bonds were bogus. I lost aboub £23,000. 41 My father sends me an allowance, bub as the last quarter's money did ndt come I did those contemptible deeds to get enough money to keep me until my allowance arrived, when I intended to square them up with big interest. I own eight shares in' the London, Brighton and South Coast Railroad, which are worth several thousand pounds, and I have diamonds worth £2,000 in pawn, here and in Chicago." The assumed glibness with which Ritchie rattled off names from Burkes and De Bretto'B staggered the aristocratic attaches oi the court, bub when the latter, gained their breath they discovered that there' Were several manifest discrepancies in ] the glittering narrative., 'Ritchie was accordingly held over to be further inves- ' tigated. Meanwhile several other charges j haye developed against him. '"