Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1868-03-18
A SINGULAR CASE OF MYSTERIOUS
DISAPPEARANCE

London has rivalled Washington in the
way of the mysterious disappearance of a
gentleman about to commit matrimony.
The particulars of his disappearance are
thus stated:
"On the 8th of January, the Rev. Z.
Spoke, clergyman of parish in Somerset
shire, England, and brother of the celebra-
ted African explorer, went 10 London TO be
present at the wedding of friend, saying
that he should return the next evening.
On reaching London, he drove to the resi-
dence of his brother-in-law in Eccleston
square, remained there about ten minutes,
aud then went out to buy hat, remarking
that he was afterward going on business to
Westminster. He made his purchase at a
shop in Warwick street, ordered the hat to
be sent to his brother-in-law' not later than
81 P. NJ, as he had an engagement to dine
at Z, and from that time (which was about
81 in the afterneon) all trace of him was
lost. He did not return to Eccleston square,
and little after the same evening the
hat he had been wearing, with his name
written in it, was picked up in a distant
part of London. The police were put on
the alert Every quarter of the metropo-
lis was searched in vain. Ingenuity was
exhausted in trying to account for his dis
appearance. He was gentleman of ami
able temper, of well balanced mind, of a
highly religious character, and a cheerful
disposition. He was in perfect health and
had no irregular habits. Nobody knew Of
any reason why he should voluntarily take
himself off by fight, or put an end to his
life by suicide. There seemed no way of
accounting for his presence in the part of
London where his bat was found, unless on
the supposition thbt he had been decoyed
into some low hadn't for the purpose of
robbery. Foul play was generally suspect
ed. For weeks the newspapers teemed
with letters and editorials on the great mys
terry of the year. One correspondent even
reminded the public that Mr.. Spoke bore
an extraordinary resemblance to the Home
Secretary, Mr.. Claiborne Hardy; and was
it not quite possible that the Fenians had
carried him off by mistake, in retaliation
for the executions at Manchester ~
Seven weeks afterwards Mr.. Spoke was
found alive and well, in a remote corner
Of the kingdom, several hundred miles
from London. 1t appears that on the 25th
of February a man dressed az a bullock
droyer was arrested at the little seaport
town of Padstone, in Cornwall, on suspi-
cion of being an absconder from Hull. He
proved not to be the person supposed, but,
after a great deal of questioning, reluctant
ly admitted that he was Mr.. Spoke. He
had large sum of money in his posses
sion, and several DISCUSSES were found
among his effects. A great deal of curios-
ity was naturally excited by this discovery,
as to the reason of his strange journey, his
silence under the anxiety of the public and
the distress of his friends, and the circum-
stance of his being in disguise. There was
one circumstance, however, that appeared
rather significant to those who kept posted
in regard to the matter. For some time
before the discovery, it was noticed that
the anxiety of Mr.. Speke's family seemed
a good deal relieved, and it was even
stated that they had assurance of his being
alive and well. And now comes the solu-
ton of this strange conduct on the part of
this clergyman. 1t appears that he was
under promise of marriage, and it was to
avoid the fulfillment of this promise that
he sought to practice a fraud upon the
lady to when he was engaged and his
family and friends in the manner he did.
He had deliberately planned this fraud,
and as deliberately prepared himself to
carry it into execution. He says be had
wandered over England in hopes of get
ting ont of the way and avoiding detection.
He wanted to get TO some country where
nobody knew anything about him, so that
he might work for his living and preach
the Gospel. Mr.. Spoke processes to be
ashamed of what he has done, but it does
not appear that he has concluded to marry,
even if the woman will overlook his most