The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-07-02

man altogether. AS TO the metaphyslc1ans,
they have so mystified the world with the
synthesis of the l with the non /, the Ich
with the non Ich, the ego with the non ego,
that nobody can make anything of the mat
ter. There was a very good plan adopted,
according to lyrical authority, by the little
old woman who fell asleep on the kings
highway. Being bewildered with trick
which had been played by peddler, named
Steut, she resolved to make use of her little
dog as a test-proof of her personal identity,
an honest witness to show whether she was
really herself or not. She stated the case
thus
libel,
As do hope be,
have a little dog al home,
And he knows me.
And then proceeds to argue:-
II IbeI,
Hell wag his little tail;
But if be not l.
He'll bark and wall.
The question of personal identity often re-
solves itself into mere case Of imposture,
the case of pretending to be what we are not,
for the attainment of certain ends by indirect
means. This is famous instrument in the
hands OF the dramatist Many and many a
plot, good, bad, and Indifferent, turns upon
some machination of this kind. The
audience are sometimes kept in the dark
until the very last scenes whereas in other
instances the dramatist prefers to let them
into the secret at once In Scribe's
opera of the Groom Diamonds, so pleasantly
be be.jewelled with sparkling music by Auber,
the veritable Queen of Spain pretends to be
a brigand's daughter; and her lover, innocent
fellow. has not the slightest suspicion of the
real truth until the dazzling scene of the
throne-room in the asst act. Again,
in Lord Lytton's Lazy Of Lyons, we (the
audience) know all about the circum-
stances which drove the gardeners son to
the personation of an Italian prince, and the
agony which Pauline Deschapelles suffered
when she discovered the cheat; but as Claude
Melnotte, much to the satisfaction of every
body, is good fellow at heart, everything
turns out well in the end.
The records of courts of Justice present
multiplied instances more or less allied to
this in character. Bamfylde Moore Carew
Cif his history be trustworthy, which is
deubtfuD was famous example of the bold,
unscrupulous personator. He could so
change the expression of bis features, the
arrangement of his hair, the apparent bulk
of bis person, the bend or curve of his
shoulders, the shape of his legs, his mien or
gait, and his general appearance, as to de-
ceive everybody. On one occasion he so
pricked his hands and face, and so effec-
tually rubbed in gunpowder and bay-sat, as
to appear exactly like man suffering Sc
verely from smallpox; thereby averting i'm
pressment as seaman. When in America,
and dressed as a Quaker, he deceived all
the real Quakers in Philadelphia. On one
occasion, as a gentleman unknown in the
neighborhood, he visited Colonel Strange
ways. The conversation turned upon the
notorious Bamfylde Moore Carew. The
colonel said he knew him we'll, and would
never allow himself to be deceived as other
persons had been. The real Bamfylde, an
hour or two afterwards, betook himself to
gypsy haunt known to him in the neigh
borhood, and underwent a most thorough
personal transformation. He appeared at
the colonels house as q wretched object,
all rags and tatters, leaning on crutches,
displaying a counterfeit wound on the leg,
and uttering piteous moans He received
charity from the colonel, who did not sus-
pect the trick. Bamfylde again appeared
as a gentleman guest at the colonels table
that evening, and announced what he had
done. Bamfylde, who was well-known at
Mr.. Portman's, near Blandford, appeared
there one day as a rat-catcher, and after
creating great amusement by his cleverness,
was addressed by Mr.. Pleydell, who ex-
pressed pleasure at meeting the celebrated
Mr.. Carew, whom he had never seen before.
''Yes, you have" says bamfylde; who an
nounced that he was certain wretched beg
gar to whom Mr.. Pleydell had given charity
few days before. Upon a declaration that
such deception would not pass undetected
a second time, Bamfylde accepted the chal-
lenge. Next day, Mr.. Pleydell's servants
were called out to an old woman,
who was leaning on crutch,
and dragging along three miserable chill
dren; she was so importunate, and the
children were SO noisy, that the master came
out, spoke to her, gave her money, and sent
her away. 1t was not known that Bamfylde
and the old woman were one person until he
announced the fact at MIR. Pleydells table
that same evening So it was everywhere;
whether as a shipwrecked mariner, Kentish
farmer impoverished by floods, or clergy
man brought to distress by unavoidable
,calamities, this strange mans disguise is de-
scribed as all but impenetrable.
The touching story of the Beauty of But
termere presents an example of personation
for fraudulent purposes. In 1892 a volume
was published, under title of "a Fortnight's
Ramble, giving an account of a visit to the
Lake district of Cumberland. The tourist,
at the little inn at Buttermere, was waited
upon by young girl of exquisite beauty,
fourteen or fifteen years of age; and he
wrote as he felt, about finding such a girl
again, few years afterwards, he found her a
full-grown woman, more lovely than ever.
He also saw evidences that his book
had attracted visitors to the spot
for there were scribbled verses on the
walls of the inn, not only in English
but in French, Latin, and Greek, all
in praise of the reigning beauty of the
Lakes. In 1902 the inn was visited by the
(so-called) Honorable Colonel Hope, brother
og the Earl of Hopetoun; a handsome man,
with very winning address. He proposed
to Mary and was accepted. Not long after
the marriage, he fell into the meshes of the