The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1867-10-21

at the end OF this time Peter Guerre the
uncle OF Martin, brought n bill Of complaint
against the man as an imposter. Al the trial
nearly one hundred and fifty persons were ex-
anlncd OF these between thirty and forty de-
posed that the accused was the true Martin !:
others said he was one Armand du Tilh, of Sa :
gias and sixty declared the two persons were
SO alike IL was simply impossible to say
whether the prisoner caS Armand or Martin.
The Judge. finally pronounced that Arnaud
was guilty, and that he should be beheaded
ana luartered. The prisoner, appealing. how
ever, 10 the Parliament Of Toulouse. was
again tried by that higher tribunal. Nine or
ten witnesses still declare they We're not able
TO say who he was. Forty-five witnesses af-
flrmed he was Armand, having known him
since he was {, child Matters in fact, began
TO look pretty black for the accused. Both
Martin and Armand, ii is true. had scars on
the cheek and right eyebrow but Martin had
fiat nose and forked, turned up chin-lnarks
which the accused, like Arnaud, did not pos
sess. Martin stopped ana had crooked legs ;
Arnaud, like the accused, was dapper and
weil-set. The accused could not wrestle-
Martin could. The foot OF the accused was
shorter than Martins.
Martin spoke with Basque accent: the nc
cused did not. A man who kept 4 public
house sWore also, that the accused had con-
fessed he was not Martin. On the other hand
thirty or forty witnesses, including Martins
terS, sWore the accused was The real
Simon Pure, because, like Martin, he had two
strokes under his eyebrow, n left eye blood
shot, 4 crooked nail on his first finger, and
four warts on his right hand. 1t was also
proved that Bertrande had been persuaded 70
the accusation by Peter Guerre, who had
quarrelled with the accused.
The Parliament was in 4 paroxysm of doubt
and pcrplrXity, and was about To reverse the
Judgment of the inferior court when suddenly
who should hobble into the court but Martin
Guerre himself, fresh from Flanders, with 4
wooden leg which he had won al the battle of
St. Lawrence. When confronted with his
rival, Arnaud tried TO braZen il out, and
declared Martin to be a man hired BY Peter
Guerre TO swear away his life. The two men
were then examined apart. Martin sanswers
were 1t first irresolu te and confused, but after
wards fuller and moro satisfactory; but
Arnaud's We're clearer, and apparently equally
truthful; and some began 10 think there was
really witchcraft in the business, for ii seemed
only to grow darker and darker. When the
sisters of Martin and his wife, however, en-
tered the court, they instantly recognized the
true claimant. The sisters embraced him and
shed tears. Bertrande fell on her knees, and
assured Martin that her strong desire 10 see
him once more had helped on the cheat. His
wife's tears and protes Lations Martin received
with sulen and Jealous indifference. 1t was
nll over with Arnaud. He was almost ins tantly
condemned 10 be hung and burnt, having first
done penanCe in the market place of Antiques,
in his shirt and with bare feet, Il halter round
his neck, and Il lighted torch in his hand
Armand died very peni'cnt, having con-
fesscd that what first led him into crime was
his having been mistaken for Martin when he
came from the camp in Picardy. From Mar
tin himself and his friends he had, IN many
conversations, learnt abundance of circum-
stances concerning Martins father, wife, Sis
ter, and other relations, and of everything ne
had done before he lett that country. These
ucw facts, added to the materials that he had
obtained from Martin Guerre himself i'll 4
great number of conversations, had put IL
fnlly III his power 10 carry ont the cheat he
had projected with so much artilicc and sue
cess.
ordinary cases of deception, ii Is only natural
that long lost heirs 10 estates should, on their
return To daylight, be rigidly examined and
tested till even the faintest doubt OF their
Identity IL removed.