The People's vindicator. [volume] (Natchitoches, La.) 1874-1883, 1881-04-16
The Mystery Of Thcophilus Youngs.

with Youngs. Is no alive and kicking
or is he dead?-that's the question. The
wife of Theophilus, who calls herself
widow, says he is as dead as Julius
Caesar. but q man who insists that he is
The real, genuine, original Theophilus
denies this in toto and says he is just as
much alive to-day as he ever was. ''l'm
Theophilus Youngs," says the man,
!. and you're my wife, "You're not
Theophilus," says the woman; he's
dead and you're an impostor." Queer
sort of man-and-wife disagreement, isn't
itl Perhaps I might as well explain
things q little.
Theophilus Youngs disappeared q few
wears AGO, and after a while body that
was identified as his was found in Bos-
ton Harbor. As it had been in the water
quite . time, it is needless to say that it
was dead. It had so many strawberry
marks that there was no trouble about
Identification. The bereaved widow,
who is not, wholly unconnected with
clairvoyance, was perfectly sure about
its being the body Of Theophilus, and as
such it was buried. Then the bereaved
widow applied for letters Of administra'
ton on some property that had be-
longed to Theophilus. 1t was at this
point that the trouble began. A brother
Of the alleged deceased stepped in and
objected. In the first place, he said,
the property belonged to him, under an
assignment from Theophilus, and in the
second place, Theophilus was still inthe
flesh. The body fishcd out of Boston
Harbor was some other mans. The
ophilus was alive and could be pro-
duced at any moment. And sure
enough he was produced-st least .
man claiming to be the original Youngs
came forward and said he was The
ophilus. That made the plot thicken.
Mrs. Youngs told the man right up to
his face that he was . No-such-a-thtng.
She had never seen him before, and he
was not her husband-the poor dead
and gone Theophilus all. The idea!
But the man insisted that he was The
ophilus and has stuck to it lever since.
The matter went to q referee, who is
still trying to find out whether the man
Is Theophilus Youngs or some one else,
and who seems to be in fair way to
wind up in . lunatic asylum before be
gets to the end of the conundrum.
It was q comical scene hattook place
before the referee q couple of days ago.
The man stepped up to be examined for
strawberry marks. The woman WA
ready. She knew exactly what sort Of
strawberry marks her husband was in
| the habit of wearing. One was . big
scar on the left leg, below the knee
1 Another was q silver plate on one heel
that had been injured. A third was !.
mole on, the left shoulder. A fourth
I was scar in the back part of the head
/ A fifth was another scar under the chin
There should not be any trouble abou
identifying q man covered all over will
trademarks in that way. The woman
did not examine for all of them. Tn
only ones she bothered about were Chi
and cerebellum marks. The sweet ant
beautiful expression on her face IS Oh
clawed through the hair of the alleges
4 Theophilus was q sight to behold. Th'
scar she was hunting for could not b
found. Il this was the real TheOphilua
i he had lost the scar somewhere, an
the one under his chin has been mislaid
| too-that is II the real Theophilus eve
had such scars. 'sThere," said tn
woman, with an elegant sheer playinI
around her lips, Il told you that ma
was not my husband. Theophilus
dead. This person is an impostor.
/ But the person would not be put down
, He sneered back with interest, and di
;, not seem disconnected in the least by tn
woman's reputation Of him. To tn
, spectators the scene was . fine bit {
!, comedy. They had not seen anythin
: better on the stage. TO the referee
Was . new bother. He was puzzle
, more than ever. The man was just q
J. positive that he was Theophilus Young
Q even without tho strawberry marks, q
: the woman was that he was not. 1t
; as queer a case in its way as the famou
Tichborne one. Is the man the origins
Theophilus, or is he some one else
The woman seems rather snappy an
spiteful-just the sort of woman
I stick to . thing, willy-nilly, when 81
i had once set her mind on. i. II IN
. man is really her husband, she Is facin
d ii out pretty well. anyway. Sever'
. persons have identified him as the tru
+ Theophilns, but she says no just as iirn
= " a. she did at first. When asked q
. ago, the other day, she confessed 70 .
eEbut not oytr.gracefally. Anyone &c, oo ~
= fsee In her face, when the lawyer put u
: question, ....s. .ssss.
Q YOU'RE an impudent fellow. know you afe
d / know you are, I know you are"
81 Andher answer had = sharp snap In
|, athat. mAds everybody smile. How Ii
]. curious conundrum will be solved /,
! moro thsn the present chronicler can g
: ljustnow.
~