Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-11-28
New Witness Appears in Fam
Gus Case and Swears to
Dual Identity
DUKE HID BEHIND FALSE BEARD
Witness Tells of Mock Funeral and
Gives Sensational Testimony-Was
Sought in Marriage by Druce-Plans
to Get Corpse for Bogus Funeral -
General News.

London, Nov 2S-A fresh sensa-
ton was added to the famous Druce
case, which was resumed yesterday
when Mrs. Margaret Hamilton. 7C
years old, took the stand and swore
that the fifth Duke of Portland and
T. c.. bruce. proprietor of the Baker
street bazaar were the same.
This trial. which involves the title
and the vast estates of the Duke OF
Portland. again filled the court room
many representatives of the nobility
being present.
Mrs. Hamilton positively identified
portraits of the duke as bruce. She
said that the duke. whom she de-
scribed as an old friend of her fathers,
always had a false beard In his peck
ct. The duke, the witness continued,
had at one time intended to marry
her, but her father refused his con-
sent Mrs. Hamilton then said that on
one occasion she had asked the duke
why he wore false beard. he eX-
planned it was necessary to have a
beard when he appeared as bruce. In
1864, the witness went on. the Duke
of portland, said to her: "Madge, am
going to die
TO this witness replied: You don't
look like it
t1,Ato n 01n rod
father had explained to her that the
Duke of Portland was going to cease
to be T. c. bruce, and she said she
was Informed there was going to be
a funeral In 1866 she again saw her
father and the Duke of Portland to-
gether in London, and on this occasion
she said chaffingly to the duke:
II thought you were dead and bur-
led" She called him bruce and this
annoyed him.
Continuing, Mrs. Hamilton testified
that she last saw the Duke of Port
land in 1876. The duke then said that
he felt very i'll and thought he was
going to die. Mrs. Hamilton said to
him:
II hope you will repent Of all your
Sins, anu 10 tIliS tlle uuNS t'AS w SASN1'
Thank you Madge.'
The witness testified that the man
she saw in 1876 was also T. c. bruce
of the Baker street bazaar. The duke,
the witness averred suffered from an
affection of the skin, and at one time
had Jumps on his nose. In the course
of her testimony Mrs. Hamilton said
that the fourth Duke of Portland was
her godfather. She had been at well
beck Abbey with her father as the
guest of the fifth duke. whom she knew
we'll in his dual character.
Mrs. Hamilton said, among other
things, that when the duke spoke OF
diving in 1864 she asked her father IL
she could get the corpse from the hos
pital, but her father replied that that
would never do, as bricks must be put
into the coffin. The dukes comment
on this remark was that anything
would do to put in the coffin Inc
witness said that in 1866 the duke had
showed her bundle of handkerch1efs
with coronets worked in the corners,
which he said his Wife had embroid-
erred in spite of the fact that he had
made her promise that she never
would use the coronet. The duke cut
the coronets from the handkerchlefs
and threw them in the fire. One of the
pieces of linen. however did not ignite,
and this Mrs Hamilton kept for years,
until she was finally told by her solicit
tor that there would be no more
bruce case"
When the case was adjourned to No
vember % Mrs. Hamilton was under
ross-eXamination in regard to DIS
crepancies between the evidence she
gave today and that given before an
other court.
Before Mrs. Hamilton took the stand
the cross examination Of Miss Mary
Robinson, amanuensis for the late T.
c. bruce, was concluded. Miss Robin
son was shown letters purporting to
have been written by the Duke OF
Portland to T. c. bruce. She admitted
that the handwriting was not the same
and she failed to recognize the hand
writing in letters signed 7. c. bruce
to Herbert bruce, defendant in the
perjury action growing out of this
case. as the handwriting Of her en-
ployer.
AS confederation Of Miss Robinsons
statement that she met Charles Dick
ems in Kensington gardens shortly be-
fore his death and her allegation that
at that time the novelist told her that
bruce and the Duke of Portland were
one and the same person. L. Atherly-
Jones, counsel for the prosecution, read
an extract from the "reminiscences OF
Sir Wemyss Reid stating that he had
seen Mr.. Dickens walking in Kensing-
ton gardens with young girl week
before he died.