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and that threw me out. I am very sorry for it on all accounts.
I might further have profited by your remarks and by the
sharpness of your eyes.

That was the last thing he wanted, somebody with sharp eyes.

The Duke died, and the new Duke succeeded A friend of the
new Duke’s, Sir Frederick Madden of the British Museum, asked
to borrow the book. Madden and an assistant named N.E.S.A.
Hamilton consulted Nevil Maskelyne, who was in charge of the
Department of Minerals at the museum. He used a microscope
on the book. Now, the ironic part of this is that this microscope
had only recently been used on another forgery, Urmuus, by a
man named Constantine Simonides who did Creek forgery. Col—
lier kept referring to the microscope in his correspondence as
though it was called the “Simonides Uranius." Once Maskelyne
started examinations with the microscope things went from bad
to worse for Collier, because the ink didn/t belong to the Eliza—
bethan period. It didn’t have the same properties or appearance.
But the really damning evidence was underneath the ink. Maske—
lyne found penciled markings under the ink. Collier had tried to
erase as best he could, but it was clearly a pencil. He was accused
of fraud.

Books were written by and about Collier. Like most forgers
his defense was rather pathetic. Here is Collier responding to
Hamilton (remember, Collier was an elderly man, using all the
low tricks):

I began to be almost afraid that it would not appear at all or
at least during my life, while I could vindicate my own con—
duct and character, for at the age at which I have arrived,
no man can calculate upon having much time to spare. I am
thankful for my continued health, and for the nonimpair—
ment of my faculties, if only because lam thus able to meet,
and in most particular, confute.. ..

He never did meet or confute. There was no doubt that he had
created the notes. He went on endlessly in this same vein, re—
peating his story about the bookseller and not knowing the notes
were there.

The funniest part of this whole episode was that some time
during the 1850's, before Collier was exposed, an eccentric old
man read his book about this so—called “Perkins” folio and
claimed he remembered the book with notes already in it. This
must have given Collier quite a start. When he began to be ac—