Show I 1 confidence men A r aj 2 T 3 JL AA assi t ati t t J L t alio celoso of the racing season the card sharper takes to confidence tricks confidence men are ailed incie vernacular of the pouce the derl vulon of thia term Is iner in thieves slang to mag alsto talk an fn a specious oily the Is a shindler sTi who ici sous out ot their possessions ilia hap liy kroun d la the vicinity of tho largo railway stations where passengers hook tor long journeys hoat trains are preferred as oder ing tho safest class ot victims these the massman works industriously and profitably the calculate that tho majority of victims consent to be duped without allowing their misfortune to be biado public they do not wish lacar to learn how easily they were done as their reputation for ordinary intelligence would suffer by the exposure the inoes this and other bilings which tend to make his railing lucrative and comparatively immune he isi a privileged rogue 0 c tart and daring invariably crosses dr fashionably Is frequently aman of travel with tho geography af pf other countries at his fanger alpa above all ho la a born bluffer natural gifts hayo been cultivated to perfection magsmen arc very busy in london at present by in eummer and railway stations in winter they flourish all the year it in from no spirit of chivalry that they pe adom try the confidence trick upon women better women ara not ohp stupid acx T hero arc however in the craft who attend to thia branch of the bad bust nes thaw sirens also act as allies of the men in assisting fools to part with their money euston and waterloo stations have attained notoriety as haunts of gangs ot confidence men around the arc of these great railway termini may often be as many as a score ot them who aro almost all on nodding acquaintance with alio police it is the policy of detectives to kechi up even a speaking intimacy with such elusive gentlemen toils la useful in many ways for example when a big robbery la taxing the wits ot scotland yard and bouc or more of the missing from their accustomed resorts the inference la at once brawn that their disappearance has some connection with the crime recently a was taken in the act ot duping a countryman at waterloo on lila way to an appointment in south africa armed with a moat story of roell benco tho police had their man charged before one of ho shrew est magistrates in london hut the prosecutor waa on the sea and the magistrate had no option but to discharge the accused aleak later the bame prisoner waa arrested elsewhere for robbery and sent tor trial ho Is now serving a sentence 0 eighteen months UNHAPPY since tho close of the war it la estimated that hundreds of men generally tradesmen who have saved a little filoi have taken ah unhappy farewell of the country by reason ot the played upon them at parting should a bland obliging stranger seek their acquaintance at capetown where there are also magsmen ho la certain to bo curtly cut the confidence man teaches hs victims a acs eon for life however being rewarded with gratitude tho price paid Is generally grudged magsmen dress well their cannot be performed in shabby attire i they must look tha moneyed men they pose as being A pleasing manner Is equally essential churls do not win confidence or strangers to hadvance rad vance money to meet the all night at kiis ton it la alao necessary to rise early and a few hours borrowed from sleep are repaid with when the trick succeeds nor Is much almo wasted over a hopeless subject with amazing quickness they read their man and detectives have often seen magsmen drop their contemplated prey within tho space of a minute solely because they did not think him worth trouble this Is one of the smart new french sailor hats in white felt edge with a hairred band of white taffeta the crown is of medium height and edged with a wreath of little white barda set in a nest of tulle the simple traveler Is tor the reason that he Is not fly enough in his own estimation to take any risks lie merely avoids the question of money like a man who declines to be drawn into conversation about bis own affairs with strangers other men welcome P stranger for the ready ear ho lends to autobiography these are the right game that heed no stalking but rather tempt him to perilous rashness rash nesa in tactful measure he will feed their vanity with flattery carefully noting the effect of doses and nat be long until his chuckles on hearing his companion congratulate upon meeting such a pleasant gentleman while only a stranger passing through london of course they arc both bound for af alca by the same boat and the voyage ought to be doubly delightful AN EVERYDAY the rogue hag lost no time in giving this assurance to the simpleton who now talks tenderly at some bar of tho friends ho Is leaving behind in the i north it is a common drama at the dawn of a winters day sordid cruel 1 or comical as you caro to consider it for this la aliat happens when the curtain falls at waterloo the bags i man haa seen the end the beginning soon canies conies the reward of ala labors ho pays the cab across lon don and tips alie driver handsomely under the eyes of hla fellow fare they reach tho platform in good and take their scabs scats in the train tho men tlona that he expects a man tocoma along with a bill for the shipment of some maihl nery that must him to the cape he cannot KO without that important luggage sorry old nan he aabye but I 1 am afraid he Is not coming ana in that case I 1 must wait till the next boat this grieves the guileless one then happily up cornea tha man breathless demanding pounds the has nothing less than a fifty pound note ho crosses to the book ing office and to say that the clerk alu not cash anything above ten thrusting the fifty pound note a spurious one to bo sure Into hla victims hand a a guarantee ot good faith he a humble 20 pounds meantime the deed Is done as the countryman coUntry maa reflects re flecta that thirty pounds Is a good balance on the right bide waldi Is precisely what tho wished him to thank we roust have some magazines says the ever obliging ho jumps out to buy them and Is lost in tho crowd then hla waiting creditor examines the note stilt thinking of his bargain ho reads bank of engraving where the legend should have been bank of england |