New-York tribune., 1909-10-24

had cIunq to their belief in the prisoner, con-
fessed their mistake. The prisoner lost his
nerve. confessed his crime, and begged forgive
ness He was condemned to death and exc
cuted. The real Martin was restored to his
rights
The Tichborne Heir
THE most remarkable instance in recent
years of man who used his likeness TO
another for the purpose of 1mposture IS the
famous Tichborne case in 1872. Sir Roger
Tichborne. heir to one of the largest estates IN
England had disappeared eighteen years be
fore All through this long absence ms
mother never gave up hope OF his return one
was rewarded at the end of the eighteen years
by a letter from Paris purpOrting to be from
her SON who begged her to come to see him
She departed for Paris at once. Here she
found a letter asking her to come TO the place
where her son was living as he was then Ill IN
bed. She went with one Of her servants, and
in a poor and darkened room she found man
living in bed with his face turned to the wall
She leaned over him and exclaimed, " He looks
like his father and his ears are like his uncle S!
She at once accepted him as her long lost son.
This man was one Arthur Orton, butcher
of Mapping, who had also disappeared from
England many years earlier and gone to Aus
tralia Two bitterly contested trials resulted
from the attempt of Orton to gam possession
of the estate for which he was playing 1t IS
enough to say that more than dozen disinter-
ested witnesses swore that he was the rghttul
heir and identified him by describing mlnutely
the pecuharities OF appearance walk, and man
ner of the Sir Roger they remembered 1he
mans LAWYERS made a special plea, too, on the
strength of the fact that he had been recog-
nized and accepted by the mother, declaring
that her mothers instinct could not have mis-
led her in regard to her own son. The direct
evidence was greatly in favor of the 1mpOStOr.
Yet the Judge decided finally and rightly,
against him. This decision Is striking exam
pie of the value of direct evidence as against
Circumstantial evidence, which has so often
been denounced as dangerous IN criminal
courts Out of all the conflicting testimony
the Judge based his decision on number OF
suspicious circumstances, such as the mans
comparative illiteracy, the fact that lmme-
dately on his return he had gone TO Wapplng
instead of to his mother, and details OF similar
nature. The decision was that he was really
an impostor engaged in a fraudulent attempt
to gain possession of another mans property.
Deceived Even the Wife
THERE was singular case in New York of
woman who identified a stranger as her
own husband In the conflicting testimony 1t
almost rivals the case of Martin Guerre. \
man was tried IN a town in the northern part
of the State in 1904 as James Hoag, on a
charge of bigamy. In his defense he declared
that it was a case of confusion of identity, and
asserted that his name was Parker. Numer-
Gus persons, to the contrary however, testi-
fed that he was HOag, and among them was
serted In describing Hoag, many witnesses
said that he spoke quickly and with a lisp,
that he had scar on his forehead and a mark
on his arm. This description fitted the pris-
oner exactly. Two other witnesses swore that
Hoag had a scar on his foot. The prisoner was
examined. He did not have this scar. On the
strength of this and the books of his EMPLOYERS
in New York city, he finally succeeded in prov
ing an ahbi and establishing his identity.
Aspirants Royalty
RUT perhaps the most romantic of all these
cases of doubles are those Of persons who
have used their likeness to members of a roval
family as an instrument for gaining a throne
History abounds IN adventures of this sort
The most notable instance in English history
is that of Perkin Warbeck. In 1892 handsome
youth of noble appearance begged an audi
ence of Margaret, Duchess of Burgundy As
soon as she saw the youth, she recognized him as
her nephew, Richard, Duke of York Younger
son of Edward ", supposed to have been
murdered in the Tower by order of Richard
III. 1t is unnecessary to go into the strange
adventures and tragic end of this mysterious
His resent Obl31Ca 10 he