The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1874-07-02
MISTAKEN IDENTITY.

MISTAKEN IDENTITY.
Gases of personation and mistaken
identity disp ay great deal of SINH
larity, while at the same time they seem
to possess the popularity of impressing
the general public with the belief that
each fresh case is distinctly su5 oeneris.
How often in thee past two years have
we heard such comments on the Itch
borne case as the "most wonderful
piece OF imposture," "most extraerdi-
nary case ever heard Of" etc., whereas,
IN fact, if we except the immense
amount of time consumed in putting in
the evidence, and in summing up, it
cannot compare with many earlier ones.
Of these we will recall the circum-
stances of two interesting impostures
Of this nature. Although one took
place three hundred years ago, and the
other some one hundred and fifty years
later, they have both been so fully re-
ported that the facts in each are as &C.
cessible as those to more recent ones,
while their very age may give tlem q
certain freshness.
They are both French cases, and here
We may pause to note the TACT that from
the time of Perkin Warbeck down, the
Orton case is the only important case
of fraudulent impersonation reported
in England. There have been cases of
imposture, where the claimant sought
TO establish mis- identity with some par
ticular status, such as the great case of
Smyth VS.. Smyth, where he claimed to
be the son of Sir Hugh Smyth, when,
in fact, no such son had ever existed.
But OF personation, pure and simple,
where claim is made of identity with
a real existing or pre- existing person,
the English Reports are utterly barren.
Why this should be so is a paradox.
The Anglo-Saxon race is as much as any
other given to wander off for long
periods Of time, thereby giving rise to
the very combination OF circumstances
which invites imposture of this nature.
The same complete absence of cases of
personation marks the Teutonic records
of causes ceLebreS. But to return.
Martin Guerre, a peasant of Antiques,
after married life of some niue years,
disappeared one day, leaving behind
him his wife and young child. The
cause of his departure was some petty
theft from his father, whose anger at
Its discovery he wished to blow over
before making his temperance. His
wife was privy to his departure, and it
was supposed at the time that after he
had been absent some eight days, he
might return in safety. AS matter of
fact eight years elapsed before any
thing more was heard of Martin Guerre.
His wiie and all his friends had by that
time given him up for dead.
At length, one evening in the year
1555, a man presented himself in the
village as Martin Guerre, and had no
sooner announced himself than he re-
ceived joyful recognition and welcome
from his uncle and four sisters. The
original Martin, it seems, had not been
a devoted husband, and his wifes re-
ception of him was not so enthusiastic
But lie folded her to his arms. asked
many and anxious questions about the
child and his growth and improvement
in the past eight years said he had
sown all his wild oats, and had come
home to settle down as an ornament to
society.
He appeared somewhat changed by
years and toll, nor was this extraor-
dinary, for the original Martin, although
nine years benedict, was very young
when he disappeared. He certainly
bore a strong resemblance to the long
lost husband, and seemed perfectly
familiar with private circumstances
which could be known only to the lat
ter, including some which transpired
during the honeymoon. A rehearsal of
these "reminiscences overcame whatever
hesitancy his wife at first exhibited,
and they lived happily together for two
years. The claimant was of course put
into possession of all the property of
the original Martin, including some
lands inherited from his father. All
went well with him, until in an unlucky
hour he became involved in a qnarrel
with his uncle, who had teen among
the first to recognize him on his arrival
at the village.
Angered at his nephew, Pierre
Guerre urged his niece to institute pro-
ceedings against her supposed husband
for imposture, to which she quickly
consented. AS the new Martin had
made far kinder husband than the old
one, his wife's conduct is only explica-
BILE on the snpposition that two years
intercourse as man and wife had en-
abled her to Judge more correctly as to
his pretentions, and had finally con-
WINGED her that he was not her has
band. .......
He was accordingly brought before
the Court OF Rienz, and, as he had two
trials, the proceedings dragged on for
several months. With the details OF
the evidence we need not delay, but
will give brief glance at the more i'm
portant points. The claimant himself
told perfectly smooth, straightforward
story of his wanderings, and, unlike
Orton, never once contradicted himself
or made an error in his statements, as far
as they could be verified. He replied
unhesitatingly and accurately to every
question of family history, and when he
eft the bar at the end of his long in