The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1883-09-20

A YOUNG WOMAN WHO COULD NOT TELL III
LOVER PROM HIS BROTHER.

xouxo WOMAN VINO COULD NOT TELL HEI
LOVER FROM HIS BROTHER.
Milwaukee telegram of the 18th SAYS
Tho fact was briefly tciegraphed from thi:
c,,v last night Of one OF the most peculiar
v.so,nnlIcaied cases OF mistaken identity
cycr recorded, In which lady married
,ho twin brother OF her affianced, both
mon being so much alike II Is almost an
;,onossibiiity 10 tell one from the other.
sThc Developments to-day have been
h;a'blv interesting. On Wednesday last
a weIl-dressed. good-looking, ana very
;ntcllircnt young couple visited the
nf,,cc Of Magistrate Benzler and re-
oucsted him 10 marry them. 1he
Isnal INQUIRIES were made, which revealed
the fact that the name OF the would-be
bride was Matilda Pope, OF Genesee, while
the irrespective groom said bis name was
Wi,I;am Conlin, OF Vernon. Miss Pope
gave her age as twenty-nine, while Mr.
2onr,n informed the Justice that he had
inst attained twenty-one years. The JUS
lice was n little suspicious that the would
no husband was not as old as he repre-
senied himself. but as he swore to the fact,
ard his statement was borne out by the
yi0orous protestatiops OF his betrothed, he
reformed the ceremony and the couple
dcparfed apparently very happy.
Yesterday morning Justice Benzler was
somewhat surprised ut receiving a visit
from Mrs. Conlin, who was accompanied
nv her legal adviser, and who desired a
scparation from her husband. She wanted
the iustice 10 declare the marriage null and
void. and gave as her first reason for this
strange request that her husband had COM
mitted perjury in swearing that he was
fwenty-one years old, as he had not yet
reached that age. The Justice Informed
her that il was beyond his province to undo
the work which he had performed, but
recommended the young woman TO Judge
Hamilton. Upon being pressed further as to
the cause OF this sudden revolution in her
feelings toward her young husband. the
lady admitted, with sobs. that she had
married the wrong man. She said her hus-
band was not the individual she had in
tended TO marry, and that when the cere-
mony was performed she' was under the
belief that she was marrying her husbands
twin brother. Her legal adviser then in
formed the surprised Justice that there are
two brothers named ConlIn bearing such a
close resemblance TO each other that il
was hardly possible for their relations
10 distinguish one from the other.
Although these brothers are so much
alike in person and feature. they are the
reverse Of each other i'm their characters.
one OF them being known and respected as
sober. industrious, and moral young
man, while the other Is said to be diSsi-
pated scapegrace. Miss Pope fixed her AZ
fections upon the moral brother, and when
he asked her to marry him she consented.
Al least, she thought it was the respectable
brother whom she accepted, but she has
learned since that. although her love was
given to the good Young man, she has been
mainly courted and won by the bad young
man.
Mrs. Conlin thinks that her position is
an extremely unpleasant one, as she is not
only married to man she does not love.
but is unable to tell her husband from
his brother. She is OF the opinion that
this might lead 10 disagreeable complica-
lions. The lady and her attorney deemed
tic fact Of the husband swearing falsely to
his age good grounds for divorce. She
also expressed her objection to having
husband who was not Of age, and wished
for divorce in order to marry his twin
brother. The papers in the divorce case
were filed in the higher court later in the
1ay