The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1877-03-02

RIpuX. ana IL was soon known Shat- these
insolent proceedings were taken by the
wfe's authority, who was a: last bringing
an action against her husband as an impos-
ter. Yet she sent money and clothes to
him in the prison. Size se.mS to have been
unable To make ap her mind positively
aud 1t seems clear that her signature. au-
thorizinS the capture, WAS cxtor;ed by
those five men against a tmid Woman.
Now began one of the str;,ngest of cduses
cete6res. The accusers charged the solids
ant Martin Guerre with being really Gel
tain Arnold Tilh, native of Saeias. His
defence was simple aud straight forward.
/ lie stated that alter the quarrel with his
father he led rowing life, and associated
with different persons, all of whom he
named. He had been i'll the X ing s service
in France seven years then had run away
/ to Spain and made his way home as soon as
! he knew that he could do safely. Friends,
| sisters, wife, every one in ArtIgnes had
| recognized him. and received him with open
/ arms. That his wife was on the side of his
! accusers was clearly because she was under
! c''mpulsion. She had lived with him hap
PLY aud without shadow of suspicion for
| three years. Pierre's mofives were oi,iy
/ too PLAIN they were revenge aud seif-in-
! terest, and he had been heard by people in
] Ar;Ignes to vow vengeance against his
/ nephew. Tn. accused demanded that his
/ wife should be removed from Pier.e's in
fdeucc aud placed under the protcctinn of
unbiased persons. This was granted, and,
! i'll addition, a mOBitOire was issued com
manding every one who knew any hing of
| the affair To come forward under pain of
, exconmunication. The result was a most
/ triumphant cou.iI nation of fevery statement
| Of The accused. Further. his answers were
| completely satisfactory to every question
! ad dressed to him. He gave correctly every
particular as to his parents. his birthplace.
his marriage, the priest who oificiaied at
the ceremony, and even described the dress
and conduit of some of the guests. Bert
rande was separately examined On all these
| points and the answers Of tile two tailed
| exactly. As smany one hundred and fifty
| witnesses gave their evidence. About sixty
! declared that the resemblance between
| Martin Guerre and Arnold Tilh was re-
markable that they refused to say which of
the two stood before them from thiity to
! fo,ty said decidedly that the accused was
Martin, aud about fifty more, equally posi-
! tive, that he was Arnold. On the question
| of fdmily likenesses, Martins son was pro-
| nounced IT, bear no resemblance to the
prisoner while Queries four sisters were
! found each as like her supposed brother las
! two eggs The decision of the Judge at
The CLOSE of the trial against the prs-
| uner. aud he was sen euced 10 death. The
| prisoner appealed To the Parliament of Ton
| louise, and new trial was granted. As
| i}ertrande de Ross 20 bc a decisive wit
ness, It the inquiries into her character
proved satisfactory, these were very exactly
! made. All bore testimony to her biameless
life and viIiupus character. Would she
| have lived with the prisoner for thIee years
| unless she had been firmly convinc. Il lie
| was her husband? -? The supposed husband
| aud wife were confronted. His manner wts
| frank, assured, and feaIl less hers. coGfus
| ed, huttcring. and uncertain. He boldly
charged her totell the trutli; to say whether
he was, was not, her husband. He
| ~onId have no Judge bat herself, and was
rea0y io suffer the punishment 1t she were
| prepared 10 affi III on oath that lie was not
Martin Guerre. She replied that .'she
would neither swea: it nor believe it. -
| This evasive reply seemed to streug hen he
cause of the prisoEer, but the Judge hesita-
| ted to decide. Another inquiry began.
| Eighty Of the former witnesses were select
| ed, of whum nine ten confirmed, and
seven or eight denied, the assertion of the
! accused j; the rest remained neutral. The
resul: was an increase of perplexity. There
| was more than sufficient reason for believ-
| ing that the prisuner was Martin GuerIe.
| aud quite much for declaring him an
impostor.
The great point to be proved by his ac-
| cuSers was that the person in question was
| Arnold fih. Arnold was irreIigious dis
|
gambler. The likeness between him and
| Martin Guerre was SO remarkable t!at
| nothing was easier han to mistake one for
! tie other. His apparent knowledge of facts
! which could only be known to Martin
| Guerre merely proved that I've had laid his
/ plans very well. and Informed himself ex-
actIy "f all those particulars. No one ever
| Thought of charging Ber.Iaude with COM
pliciiy in the plot.
| AmDnc the witnesses who spoke positive
| ly to the prisoner, Arnold 'rilh. was one " ho
} swore thai he had admitted ;his to him in
confidence two deposed that they recog-
nized him. Guerre was IA BIscayan. but the
accused did not know the Basque dialect.
The shoem Ike. employed 10y Martin Guerre
| swore that his numJer was Twelve, while
| that Of the prisoner was nine. Then the
! uncle uf Tihl burst into tears on seeing him
| in chains a strong evidence. as his recog
! milton must be the ruin of his nephew.
Here was siroug evidence but. strange
to say, that on the opposite side was equally
convincing, and the latter witnesses had
| known Martin Guerre from childhood,
while the others had, for the most part.
only seen Tih at different times and i'll
| casual interviews. There were one or two
of the witnesses who. al first, were not sure
whethe. the person was their old friend or
| not, and whom he convinced OF the fact by
reminding them of circumstances which
! cond be known only to them aud to Martin
Guerre. He addressed them all by name,
and varied his manner To Martin s intimate
friends according to the degrees of intima-
cy which had subsisted Could the clever
est impostor play part so fauitiess'y and
who could have been his teacher? Either
Bertrande-aud she was above suSpicon-
or Martin himself. Aud how could NaItin
have imbued him will, his tastes. his ways
of thinking. aud all the little familarities
which iudivdualze a character?
The slight personal di~similarities which
had been commented on were explained by
the d itfcrence of age. He had grown much
storter he bad corrected his old sis'uch-
ing gait. Martin had u peculiar growth
of the nail of one fineer, scar on the fore
head. "A blood mark on the left eye all of
which were found on the prisoner.
As he left Biscay when only two months