ABSTRACT
The credulity of the public pays charlatans so well in money, in applause, or in gratification of the literary instinct, that history is cursed by the constant invention of stories, letters, speeches, documents, and even whole books. The contents of most historical libraries are carefully sifted and re-sifted by experts. Custodians of public archives usually take every precaution to exclude spurious documents. The cheating document seldom imposes upon any but the ignorant or careless. Portraits are as easily and frequently forged as documents. Sometimes they are deliberately invented, with intent to deceive. The most dangerous and vicious of all forgeries are those committed in behalf of a cause—the cause of a nation, an institution, or a leader—and intended to bring about a permanent falsification of history. Finally, the historical inconsistencies were numerous, and several were absolutely inexplicable.
