it is not a crime, but only a literary imposture, by way of imitation of another's style and sentiments, of which there are numerous instances. One of the recognized motives for such imposture is fun—the pleasure of a practical joke, mere mental diversion, without malice, or the desire to injure any one. It may serve to while away an idle hour, as a test of one's power of imitation.[1]
The reference to Arlington in the forged letter points to that place as the scene of the concoction of the forged letter; and the "old Puritan" anecdote, from the local history of Connecticut, indicates someone from that State as the villain in the play. Not a newspaper correspondent, as Dr. Jones suggests—such "copy" would not be expected from a war correspondent—but rather some bright young graduate from Yale, a soldier in the Federal Army, and now in camp at Arlington. Here time hangs heavy on his hands. To relieve ennui, he examines the letters of General Lee scattered around, and among them the two referred to above as suggesting the forged letter. He is struck by their sententious, didactic style (General Lee, himself, has spoken of his "old habit of giving advice"); and the thought occurs to him that it would be easy of imitation. He is familiar with literary impostures, but probably, as yet, the thought of publication has not occurred to him.
With the letter of May 4, 1851, as the cue, he begins with, "Your letters breathe a true spirit of frankness," and writes the paragraph on that topic—commonplace enough—but still in imitation of the style of Lee. But what next? He sees that both letters speak of duty, and he recalls the anecdote of the "Old Puritan" from the local history of his own State. He tells the story, and his comment on it concludes the letters. As he re-reads the letter, and recalls that General Lee is known as the great exemplar of devotion to duty, he smiles as he thinks that
- ↑ "The motives of the literary forger are commonly mixed, but they may perhaps be analyzed roughly into piety, greed, 'push,' and love of fun. Occasionally it has happened that forgeries begun for the mere sake of exerting the imitative faculty, and of raising a laugh against the learned, have been persevered with in earnest." Andrew Lang's "Books and Bookmen," pp. 16, 17. See also J. A. Farrar's "Literary Forgeries," p. 1.
