Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-02-18
MISTAKEN IDENTIFY,
Another Remarkable Case in England
How Easy 1t Is 10 Deceive ones

How Easy it is 20 Deceive ones
From the New York Times =
The Tichborne case drags its slow length
along, and, astonishing to say, it now
seems likely that the evidence for the
plaintiff, which not long ago APP
peared literally overwhelming, will be
upset alter all. By that strange law
of association so frequently illustrated
and so hard to explain, several other
cases of disputed identity have arisen in
England to divide public attention and pro-
woke controversy. By far the oldest of
these has turned up at the little vii
lage Of Kirk Langley, few miles from
Derby; and if anything more mys-
terious ever occurred, either in or out
OF fiction, we have not heard of it.
Twenty-Five years ago there lived at Kirk
Langley young fellow named Diligence
Kerry. He was of an ambitious temper, and
wearied of the monOtony and limited scope
of life in rural hamlet, resolved to seek his
fortune elsewhere. With the aid of friends
he procured an appointment in India just
before starting he married lovely girl OF
the village. L was agreed she should not
go out with him at once to India, but
should wait until he had prepared home
there. Kerry sailed and reached his deS-
tination. Before long he heard indirectly
that his wife had died OF gastric faver.
Soon after, friends wrote to the same eff
feet. s5l-gr.sf.g Ea
The afflicted husband, never doubling the
the truth of the story, remained in India,
and devoted himself to the accumulation of
fortune. In the course of years this was
accomplished, and Kerry returned home
last summer a rich man. He sought his
native village and settled down in "Star-
ling Cottage where he now resides. Not
long after his return he happened 10 be
seen one day by certain Mrs. RucktUck,
of Liverpool. This lady promptly de-
clared to her friends that Kerry
was the husband of a neighbOr of hers, he
having left the country some years ago. Mrs.
RucktuCk at once communicated with the
deserted wife, and the latter repaired with
alacrity to Kirk Langley. The moment she
saw Kerry she identified him as her hus-
band, and, despite his protestations, in
sisted on claiming him as such. The
strange dispute naturally produced Conster-
nation in the quiet village, and proof was
quickly sought on both sides to make good
the respective assertions. Pending this,
a second woman, one Mrs. Spass, suddenly
appeared on the scene and declared
that Kerry had been married to her and had
deserted her. Our readers will, perhaps,
like to know that the whole story is vouched
for by respectable transatlantic journals be-
fore being told the sequel. The sequel so
far is that four other women now come for
ward, each of whom claimed Kerry as her
own lawful husband. 1t is hard to under
stand how so many creditable witnesses in
the current suit should swear to their belief
in the identity of the claimant-assuming
that is to say, that he is nothing of the
kind.
But the case of Kerry is still more re-
markable, since each of the six women de-
clares him to be separate and distinct in
diyidual. If it be cOnjectUred that an eX-
PLANTATION lies in the fact that Kerry was an
INSCRIPTIONS bigamist, and had really mar
ried all these women, one after another, the
answer is that the hypothesis is already
disproVed; for a commission to India was
issued, afidavits were taken there and ia.
ken back to England, and it has been con-
Clusively established that at the times the
women swear the marriages took place in
England, the alleged bridegroom was actu-
ally in India.
Poor Diligence Kerry is, therefore, extri-
Gated from his dismal position, and his va
riOus pursuers are left to fight the battle
out among themselves. How far the at
fractions of 'Starling Cottage and the sup
posed affluence of its master NAV have
prompted this extraordinary attack it is
hard TO say. Such a motive might have
actuated the first asSailant, or even the
second, but that it should have moved their
followers on a line stretched almost to
Mac6eth's ''crack Of doom" is incredible.
Indeed, it is most probable that all
the women really believed what they as
serted, and that through some unlucky
chance, and possibly through a general re-
semblance to type Of form and features
prevalent in the neighbOrhOod, the whole
party were deceived. When so re-
markable a thing happens in real
life, and cOincldently with a controversy
founded on similar uncertainties, it helps to
make intelligible what was before so puz-
zling. We can understand, for example, how
many Of the witnesses for the claimant in
the Tichborne case may be thoroughly
honest and yet absolutely mistaken. Of
course there is some difference between PROV
ing a negative and an affirmative, and Dill
gence Kerry aimed to do one thing and the
putative Sir Roger another; but the women
whOsClaimed him for their own were as con-
tidenL as the strongest witnesses who swear
to the lat.ers identity; and the proved blum
der in one case gives plausibility to the eX-
TnctatiOO of q like reault in the other