Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-02-24
A MOST MYSTERIOUS CASE.
Disappearance of a Prominent Somersetshir,
Banker on His w eddipg Eve.


Banker on His Wedding Eve.
The case Of Mr.. W. R. Lidderdale, q
prominent banker of minister, Somerset
county, England, who disappeared in JAN
uary last, on the eve of his marriage to q
most estimable young lady of that
place, becomes more and more mysterious
the deeper it is investigated. His accounts are
straight. and though it is said that woman
has hold upon him, as evidenced
by the discovery OF certain let
tiers, little faith is placed in the
statement that he is prisoner in this woman 3
hands. In these letters the writer upbraided
Mr.. Lidderdale for casting her off to marry
another and threatened that she would never
permit him to marry her rival; that she would
kill him rather than allow him to do SO.
On February 10 there appeared in the col
umns Of the London Times the following death
notice:
"On the 3oth Of January, on Miss B. A. H. Vim
ing's yacht Foresight. William Robertson Lid
derdaie OF minister. result of an accident on
the 9Th OF January, aighting from carriage
when in motion"
1t will be noticed that no mention is made of
where the yacht was when the alleged death
occurred.
On February 10 in the personal columns of
the Times there appeared the following:
''Miss b. A. H. Vining is urgently requested
to communicate details of the death OF Mr. w.
T. Lidderdale, as announced in the Times Of
the 10th instant, on board her yacht Foresight,
to his relatives or to Messrs Pritchard and
Marshall. 81 Grace Church street, London"
This request met with no response and on
February i9 Messrs. Pritchard and Marshall,
who are Mr.. Undertakes solicitors, again ad-
vertised in the Times Offering f25 reward to
concerning the matter.
A representative of the Associated Press
called on Messrs. Pritchard and Marshall yester-
day and attempted to learn something OF the
case, 1t being said that the Miss
Vining mentioned is an American. The
solicitors stated that they were still
unable to establish the identity of Misc Vinlns
They say they have found several persons
named Vining, but none Of them could be
traced to Queen Anne Mansions, Lon
ing lived. They added There is a
Miss Vining who b believed to be wealthy
1t is supposed that she is from New York. but
We dom believe that she was the lady who in
serted the notice Of Mr.. Lidderdale's death in
the Times"
Press representative as to whether this Miss
Winning knew Mr.. Lidderdale the solicitors said
Yes, but you had better be careful to avoid q
LIBEL
An attempt was made to learn the where
abouts of Miss Vining. but the solicitors stated
1t may be added that the family Of Mr.. Lid
derdale and his solicitors though they are leav-
ing no stone unturned to find out what has be-
come of him, believe that he never left
S Wis sSss b. OF na. bis hes own .t free
killed or kidnapped at the instigation Of
some woman who was determined that
he should not throw her aside to
marry another; that the popularity Of
the name of the alleged yacht Fore
sight attracted the attention of the
solicitors, and in their efforts to learn il there
was such craft they searched the lists of
all British and foreign yacht clubs, but found
no vessel OF that name. Furthermore
they made inquiries on the supposition that if
there was such yacht she might not belong
to any club. but their efforts in this direction
were equally fruitless.
Nota line Of the inquiry followed BY the
solicitors has thrown q single ray Of light on
the mystery. The work ia still being pushed,
however, and hopes are entertained that the
affair will eventually be cleared up. If it turns
out that Mr.. Lidderdale has been killed or
spirited away his murderers or kidnapers will,
II discovered, be dealt with to the full extent of
the law. No money is being spared to clear
away the mystery.