The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1890-06-13
MISTAKEN IDENTITY.
A Court Incident Showing How
Easy II Is to be Deceived.

lated to a Maine attorney by Judge
Il. r. Hoar, of Concord. 1t indicates
that there are cases of mistaked iden-
tity:-A man was tried for highway
robbery at East Cambridge, Mass,
some forty years ago. He had no
counsel, belonged to the class of hab-
itual criminals, and as the evidence
went in you would have said the case
was hopeless. The person robbed
identified him with absolute certainty.
Other witnesses who had known
him long and intimately testi-
fed to seeing him in the
neighborhood of the place where the
robbery was committed just before 1t
occurred, and others who knew him
equally we'll heard his voice at the
time of the outcries and saw him rum
ming away from the scene of the
crime. AS the Government ended the
examination of each witness the
Court asked the prisoner in the dock
if he wished to ask the witness any
questions. To which he uniformly
answered:-ssYes; one question:" and
being told to ask it, it was each
time:-
Are you sure it was me?n
To this each witness replied
Certainly, / know it was you"
When the Governments case was
closed the Judge asked the prisoner il
he had any evidence to offer, or
wished to say anything to the Jury.
He had seemed to be very cold and
unmoved during the trial, making no
comment on his failure to disturb the
confidence of any adverse witness,
and to the Judges question replied
II should like to call witness"
ssCall him then" said the Judge.
els Captain Robbins in court?" said
the prisoner, and there stepped for
ward the we'll known master of the
House of Correction, with his record
book of commitments under his arm.
do you know me?' asked the pris-
oner.
II should think / did, replied Cap
tain Robbins.
"WiIl you look in your record and
tell the Court where | was on the
fourteenth of last December?" (The
day of the crime on trial)
Captain Robbins looked in his book.
ssYou were in the House of Correction
at South Boston, serving out a years
sentence for larceny
That's all, said the prisoner.
The Judge said to the jury that the
defence, though not especially credit
able, seemed to be conclusive if they
believed Captain ADMINISTRATION
Journal.
Don't qUait to be kicked out, Nh. Cleve-
land. Don't resign.
Less Time Spent ON Letters Now Than For
merIy.
During the battle of Copenhagen
Nelson had occasion to write a letter
to the Crown Prince of Denmark. A
wafer was handed to him. but he re-
iected it, and ordered a lighted candle
to be brought from the cockpit. He
melted wax and sealed the letter with
a larger seal than he ordinarily used.
This is no time" said he, ITO appear
hurried and informal.
The anecdote illustrates Nelson's
GOODNESS in a time of intense excite
ment, and it also shows his diplomatic
skill, which, knowing the effect which
trifies have on human intercourse,
preferred wax to a wafer, deliberately
selected a larger seal and made aclean
impression of his coat of arms.
Mr.. Ha1nerton, who quotes this
story in his Human Intercourse
publishes also this extract from
Scott's "Waverly" to illustrate the de-
liberation with which our forefathers
sealed a letter, and the care they
exercised to cur al accurate inn
pression:-
'Sir Everard again conducted his
nephew to the library, where he pro-
duced a letter, carefully folded, sur
rounded by a little strip of fox silk.
according to ancient form, and sealed
with an accurate impression of the
Waverly coat of arms.n
Our generation is practical, and
knows the value of every second. 1t
cannot jspend the time necessary to,
melt the wax, and to secure a fair inn
preston of the seal. 1t is satisfied
rapidly to lick the gum on the inside
Of an envelope, and then to thump it
to make it stick. The practice is
neither dignifed nor elegant, and
there are no pleasant associations con-
nected with it, such as were linked to
the act of sealing; but it saves time,
and that is valuable to men Of bust
ness Youths Companion.