COLONEL NOVENA, THE PRINCE OF CONFIDENCE MEN.
THE CONFIDENCE MAN, PAR EXCELLENCE; A REAL "ARTIST"—"COLONEL NOVENA," "COUNT ANTONELLI," "GENERAL ALVEROSA," "SIR RICHARD MURRAY" MAKES A VISIT—A MAN OF GREAT NATURAL ABILITY, WITH "A SCREW LOOSE"—A BIT OF "PHILOSOPHY" (?)—THE MAN DESCRIBED, VERSATILE, AGILE, BRAVE, DARING—THE COLONEL AS A GALLANT—CURIOUS TALE ABOUT TWO SISTERS AND COLONEL NOVENA—PRESIDENT BUCHANAN, PROFESSOR HENRY, GENERAL FREMONT, AND MR. SEWARD OF THE NUMBER OF HIS FRIENDS—DISHONEST WAYS OF DOING "LEGITIMATE BUSINESS"—A SHOCKING BAD MEMORY—THE COLONEL AS A PHILANTHROPIST—COMES TO GRIEF—AT WASHINGTON, D. C.—SARATOGA TEMPTS THE COLONEL—HIS SUCCESSES THERE—A CHANGE OF CIRCUMSTANCES—A VALUABLE DIAMOND NECKLACE LOST—THE GREAT MYSTERY—THE HISTORIC CHARACTER OF THE NECKLACE—THOROUGH SEARCHING—THE SHREWDEST SCAMPS GENERALLY HAVE BETTER REPUTATIONS THAN MOST PEOPLE—TOO GOOD A "CHARACTER" A MATTER OF SUSPICION—"MR. HENRY INMAN, ARTIST," IS CREATED—HEADWAY MADE—THE NECKLACE COMES TO LIGHT, IN THE POSSESSION OF A MOST REMARKABLE WOMAN—GOODNESS IN BAD PLACES—A LIVING MORAL PARADOX—AN "UNFORTUNATE" GOOD SAMARITAN—THE GENERAL'S SENSE OF HONOR WOUNDED—TO CANADA—DOWN THE RAPIDS OF THE ST. LAWRENCE—A TOMB IN GREENWOOD—RENDERING TO WOMAN HER DUE—A BLESSED CHARITY—WALL STREET CORRUPTS THE MORALS OF THE NATION.
"Confidence men," in the usual way, are so common,—such as the fellows who drop pocket-books, stuffed with counterfeit money, in the streets of cities, in order that innocent countrymen or uninitiated foreigners may pick them up, and divide the spoils with an up-coming witness, and give him all their good money in order to have a large share in the poor or counterfeit money,—that I have hesitated a moment over the caption I should give this narrative, lest the reader should think I am about to introduce to him one of those common, every-day affairs. But, on reflection, I cannot think of a more appropriate title than I have chosen, for Colonel Novena was, of all the rogues and scoundrels I have encountered in my professional life, the confidence man, par excellence, as the French would say, not by the "excellence" of his high character, to be sure, or his moral worth, but by his artistic superiority.
The public will recollect, or such of them as enjoy retentive memories of names will do so, how much was said some years ago, by the public press, for a few days, about a certain Cuban, a "Colonel Novena," "Count Antonelli," "General Alverosa," and "Sir Richard Murray,"—for by these names, as well as sundry others, was this gentleman in his career known. His true name, as definitely as I could ever learn, was Julian Cinquez; but even that is doubtful, and it matters not. He was a man of brilliant talents, indeed, great native ability; and the wonder is that he did not attach himself to some honorable profession, or follow some pursuit in life recognized as legitimate; for he could not only have adorned any profession which he might have adopted, but he might have made an extensive fortune as well—or so we are apt to say of like characters. Yet, to confess the truth, I am not so certain that our moral reflections upon these matters are correct. The fact that the man did not lead the life which his talents apparently indicated that he might, is perhaps evidence in itself that the world might misjudge him. He might not have been able to "adorn any profession" after all, for in such men's characters, there is obviously always "a screw loose;" and for want of fixedness or tightness of that same "screw," is it, perhaps, that the general machine will not work. That may be the philosophy of the matter.
Colonel Novena was no small man in his way. He was a handsome man, too, possessing a finely-shaped face, with large, dark, not quite black eyes, and eyelashes such as would arouse the enthusiasm of the master painters, and which gave to those eyes that sweet, alluring expression so irresistible to women; or when reflecting the light of anger from them, added a twofold horror to their expression, enough to make the strongest men quail, for the man then seemed a very demon. The colonel was about five feet ten inches in height, elegantly proportioned, his form being, perhaps, as nearly perfect, in every respect, as any man on the wide globe could boast of. Grace, dignity, and strength combined in it, and when at all aroused or excited, Colonel Novena was as lithe and flexible as a cat, or better, perhaps, a tiger. Notwithstanding the classic outlines of his face, it possessed great mobility,—and having a comical vein in his nature, Colonel Novena could imitate anything, from the grimace of a pretty, simpering girl, to the Falstaffian stolidity of a Dutch judge, and was one of the most excellent of story-tellers, in consequence. In short, Colonel Novena possessed all the talents and natural "gifts" necessary to make a man the most acceptable companion under any circumstances. He won his way easily into everybody's heart, whom he considered worth his notice, either socially or business-wise; by which I mean, whom he regarded as of consequence enough to be exploited upon or victimized; and he had a way of exciting the sympathy of even officers of the law, when they felt conscious of his guilt; and I dare say that there has seldom ever existed a man so competent to play the rôle of "Injured Innocence," as was Colonel Novena. It is not surprising then that he ran so long a career of forgery and false pretence of all kinds.
Colonel Novena knew the art of dressing well. He was never over-dressed,—a fault of villains of his kind generally. He was never too poorly dressed for the special business he had in hand. His rôle of the gentleman of leisure and wealth was incomparably well taken; and being thoroughly educated, he acted the part of the literary savant to perfection. On the prairies or frontier, he was the most daring and hardy of backwoodsmen, and compelled the admiration of his fellow-travellers or hunters for his daring and prowess. He was a genius, in fine, socially. He seemed to need no "credentials" anywhere, save his fine manners and honest-looking face. Yet he always took care to secure the best letters of introduction everywhere, and had his trunks full of such things, given him by the great men of the land, such as President Buchanan, General Fremont, Professor Henry, Chief Justice Taney, Corcoran the banker, Mr. Seward, Andrew Johnson, etc.; for he obtained them from leading statesmen of all sorts of political faiths, from men of science, and from leading financiers, and did not hesitate to demand the like of the most notable ladies of the land.
Why Colonel Novena never condescended to marry some one (or more, perhaps), of the ladies of great wealth whom he numbered among his admirers, is a mystery to me, for there was not one of them who would not have been proud to own him as her husband. But perhaps the colonel had some valid reason for remaining a bachelor, or for assuming to be one; for there is no certainty, of course, that he had not a wife somewhere, or that in several parts of the world (for he had travelled all over it) there might not have been found many ladies, each one of whom might have claimed him. However, it is probable that such was not the case, for "murder" of that kind "will out" in time, as well as the real article of homicide, and I was never able to learn that the colonel was married.
As an example of the wonderful fascinations of the colonel, it may not be improper to relate here a tale, told me by one who was once on terms of intimacy with the schemer when he figured in Fifth Avenue society, and who vouched for the truth of it, as largely based on his own observations of the colonel's course with the ladies in question.