The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1874-03-24

Whether the man could forget his mothers
home, his own birthplace, the companions
OF his childhood, his plavfellows aud school,
his tutors, his studies, even his HOLIDAYS?
whether 1t is natural that a runaway heir
should pay $500 apiece TO a couple of agents
for discovering him, when he could any day
have discovered himself for nothing? The
more one thinks of it the more monstrous il
seems that questions like these should have
taken so long to answer The one solitary
point In the claimants favor was that he was
recognized by Rogers mother, but then she
recognized him before she saw him and in the
teeth of his absurd and ignorant mistakes
about Rogers personal history, and it is
clear that she had worked herself into a
crazy state of mind on the subject, in " hich
she was prepared to accept anybody as her
son rather than want one. The au-
daclty of an imposture attempted by an ignc-
rant, uneducated man, with such slender
means OF information TO begin with, has
been with many persons one of the argu-
ments In the claimants favor. 1t is likely.
they ask, that, without knowing anything
about Roger Tichborne, he should set about
personating him? IL is quite clear. however
TO any one who GOES back to the beginning
OF the story that the claimant never planned
the imposture as grand whole, and that he
was led on and on by the temptation OF cir
cumstances. In the first place he was trying TO
SCREW SOME MONEY OUT OF MR.. GIRBEs.
property in England. Lady Tichborne's
advertisement furnished him with a few par
ticulars to work upon, and Gibbes himself,
after he had seen the advertisement, pressed
him To declare himself the missing heir. He
put on writing to Lady Tichborne a. long as
possible, and 1t was only when he was abso-
lutely penni!ess, and saw that Gibbes would
give nothing until the dowager had been ap-
piled to, that he agreed to do so. The eager
6OXVaUprfc nd az
regard of the claimants Ignorance. were
further temptations, and he seems to have
thought that at least he might carry the thing
FAR enough to extract something handsome
out OF her. He was starving in Australia,
and 1t was always an advantage to get a
passage to England. Then Boyle turns up.
and Baigent and the rest, rogues aud dupes
at every turn assisting him. He had soon
got so far committed to the project that it
was easier to go on than to 90 back. There
can not be a greater mistake than TO imagine
That the claimant Is a clever, quick-witted
man, with any subtlety or inventiveness
about him. He is certainly not stupid. He
has ready, plausible address, self possess
sion, and great promptitude of assertion.
Under cross-examination be rarely
ready to fire off at once, however
little to the purpose. Apart from these
qualities, however, he is a very poor crea-
ture. At the first he had evidently thought
OF trying to pick up smattering OF French,
of drill, and of other things, but had given
1t up as too much trouble. His laziness and
stolidity have done him good service. A
quick, ingenious man would have been
more inventive. and would have taken more
to play the part-thus laying pitfalls for
himself. The claimant avoided invention as
much as possible, and contented himself
whenever he could with simply saving al
don't recollect, ""I am i'll, +" or Il am drunk, -
or, MY mind is blank about that" When
he gave any names or dates they were taken
from his own, that is, from Orton's life.
Never did any one drift so lszily into a
great crime, or display so little ingenuity in
the execution off JHF