The Sun.
London, England, 1865-01-07 00:00:00

ROMANTIC TRIAL

The Supreme Tribunal of Barcelona, in Spain, has been
for some time past engaged in hearing a trial from a judg-
ment given by an inferior court of that district in July,
1861, relative to the identity of a young man who claimed
to be the son of a wealthy banker of Barcelona, dead some
years ago. The circumstances of this strange affair may
be briefly stated as follow :—The Marquis Don Francisco
de Cara-Fontenallas, a partner in the well-known banking
firm of Lamberto y Fontenallas, had two sons, Don Lam-
berto and Don Claudio, and ono daughter, Donna Eulalia,
married to the Marquis of Villamediana, residing on his
extensive estates in the neighbourhood of Madrid. In
September, 1845, the younger son, Don Claudio, then 23
years of age, suddenly disappeared, and all efforts to
find him proved fruitless. It was afterwards ascer-
tained that ho had been seized by. the brigands, who
carried him off to the mountains. Some days later, how-
ever, two or three letters:vvere addressed to the Marquis
. • ,_

by his son, stating that he was in the power of brigands,
who refused to release him until a ransom of 1,000 ounces

of gold should be paid. Perhaps the Marquis did not be-
lieve in the reality of this capture, and regarded it merely
-1

as an expedient adopted by his son to obtain a large sum of
money. At all events, he did not send the gold demanded,
and from that time nothing was heard of Don Claudio til
May, 1860. Meanwhile, the Marquis made a will, dated
May, 1850, in which he expressed his wish that his property
should not be divided between Don Lamberto and Donna
Eulalia until his lost son had been found, or his death
satisfactorily proved. When the marquis died some time
after, Don Lamberto succeeded to the title, and at once
divided his father's property between himself and his sister,
the Marchioness de Villamediana. This prompt division
of the property caused some scandal at the time, as the pro-
visions of the will were generally known, but it was soon
forgotten. In 1852, however, a man named Gomez, who
had been arrested for robbery, gave the police a full account
of the abduction of Don Claudio by the brigands, and the
authorities determined on making a further investigation,
when it was found that all the documents relating to the
circumstances had disappeared, with the exception of Don
Claudio's two letters written while in the power of the
brigands, which the deceased marquis had given to a police
magistrate in 1850. The investigation, therefore, led to
nothing ; but nine years later, in 1861, Don Lamberto, the
new marquis, received a letter, dated May 15, and signed
" Your brother, Don Claudio," stating that the writer had
just arrived at Barcelona by the steamer Puerto-Rico from
Charlestown. Don Lamberto immediately sent an old clerk
of the bank, named Don Francesco Juan Marti, to meet his
brother. As soon as Marti set foot on the deck, he was
accosted by Don Claudio, who called him by his name and
shed tears of joy on meeting him. They went together
to the Marquis Don Lamberto, who appeared to
gladly recognise the young man as his brother Claudio,
and instantly sent off a telegraphic despatch to his sister,
the Marchioness of Villamediana, announcing the re-
turn of their brother. On the following day Don Lam-
berto informed the Governor of Barcelona of his brother's
arrival, and also formally acknowledged him as his brother
in presence of a magistrate. Not the least doubt was en-
tertained by anybody that the new comer was really Don
Claudio, and ho continued to be entertained by his brother
as such till the 23d May ; but at 2 o'clock in the morning
of that day he was arrested by the police in his brother's
house, on the charge of being an impostor. This arrest
was afterwards ascertained to have been made at the in-
stance of the Marquis and Marchioness of Villamediana.
Don Claudio was so overcome by this terrible accusation
that ho was instantly seized with a violent fever, and
begged to have a glass of water, which was brought by one
of the Marquis's servants. He had no sooner drunk it than
he exclaimed that ho was poisoned. Ile was, nevertheless,
carried off to prison, where antidotes where administered,
and he recovered, after three weeks' illness, but still re-
mained in the prison infirmary in a very weak state. While
he lay there a tailor and his wife, named Felin, were
brought to see him, and they declared the supposed Don
Claudio to be their son Claudio, who had gone to Buenos
Ayres in 1857, being then only 20 years of age ; their son
and daughter also recognised him as their brother. All
four gave evidence on oath to this effect. Two other per-
sons, however—Don Claudio's nurse and foster-brother—
declared that he was really Don Claudio. In his defence
before the examining magistrate, Don Claudio produced
four documents in which he was styled Don Claudio Fothn-
tenallas : the first was his commission as ensign id
dnthaet
army of Buenos Ayres, dated April, 1857, which prove
he'could not be Claudio Felin, as the latter sailed from
Barcelona to Buenos Ayres late in February in that year,