Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1909-12-18
THE CASE OF GUERRE
One Of the oueerest Stories Of
Doubles In History.
AuDAcITY OF THE IMPosToR.

Even the Wife. Of the Man Whose
Place He Usurped--The Return Of
the Real Guerre and the Exposure.
Perhaps the most remarkable case
Of doubles in all history is that of
Martin Guerre, Frenchman. who
was born near Bayonne in the first
half of the sixteenth century. Martin
Guerre was the son of a well to do.
farmer and brickmaker, and. as was
the custom OF the country at the time.
he married At the age of eleven Ber-
trande de Rolls. whe had then reached
the age OF ten. For eight years they
lived together.
Unfortunately Martin stole bushel
of corn from his father. Frightened
by the Nervousness of his crime, he de-
serted his wife and fed to Spain.
There he entered the service of EN-
peror Charles v. and after several
years of campaigning seems to have
forgotten his wife, Bertrande. and his
baby boy. Sancho. At any rate. he
ceased to write home. and his family
lost all trace of him. His absence
stretched on to eight years.
Then one evening stranger arrived
at the inn OF the village where the de-
serted wife was still living. He at
once told his host that he was Martin
Guerre and recounted the adventures
and hardships that had kept him from
home so long. The rumor of Martin
Queries return soon spread. and his
four sisters hastened to the hosiery
to welcome him home. They found
him much changed. He had gone
eight years before. scarcely more than
a boy. Now he was a mature man,
bronzed and bearded. Nevertheless
they welcomed him. embraced him
and carried the news to his wife,
Bertrande FASTENED to him at once
When she saw him first she started
back with misgiving But he address
ed her tenderly. repeated word for
word their parting conversation and
mentioned details that only husband
could have known. He even spoke of
the clothing he had left behind and
where 1t could be found. Bertrande
was convinced. She begged forgive
ness for her doubts and threw herself
into his arms. An uncle arrived. He.
too, hesitated. but the newcomer de-
tailed to him all the minutiae of their
business transactions eight years be-
fore, and he also was convinced
The upshot of the matter was that
this newly arrived Martin Guerre re-
turned home with his wife and lived
happily and without suspicion with
her for four years. During this time
hod ,ht
father at his death bequeathed him a
farm.
However. a soldier passing through
the village declared that he had seen
Martin at the siege of st. Quentin.
that he had lost leg there. but that
he was still alive. and the soldier left
written deposition to that effect.
The rumor spread that the man living
as Martin Guerre was an impostor
Bertrande at this filed a criminal
information against the man to whom
Tor four years she had granted the
rights of husband. He was describ-
ed In the accusation as Arnault du
Tilh and was committed to prison.
The prisoner said that the uncle had
Influenced his wife and that the whole
charge was conspiracy to deprive
him OF his fortune of 5000 livres He
submitted to searching interrogatory,
after the French fashion, and an
swered all questions satisfactorily. He
told Of his campaigns and revealed the
most intimate details of the family his
tory. He relied for his defense. too, on
the four sisters who still called him
brother. on his four years life with
Bertrande with her consent. and press
ed her In the presence of the Judges to
swear that he was not her real hus-
band, declaring that II she so swore he
was ready to forfeit his head. Ber-
trande refused to take this oath She
was confused by his confident manner.
In the trial 100 witnesses were exam
med. or this number forty deposed
that the man was the real Martin
Guerre, fifty deposed that he was Ar
nault du Tilh. and sixty declined to
pronounce any opinion. owing to the
extraordinary resemblance. In spite
of the conflicting evidence the Judge
him guilty. He at once
appealed to the parliament of Tou-
louise.
Ou tuiS appear thirty witnesses were y
re-examined. Ten deposed that he was
Martin Guerre, eight that he was an
impostor. and the remainder confessed
that they were too bewildered to have
any opinion. The judges were sorely
perplexed and leaned to the side of the
prisoner.
BY curious coincidence just at this
juncture the real Martin Guerre made
his appearance on the scene. He show
ed the same marks on his face as those |
borne by the prisoner. The men we're |
with each other In court.
Even the four sisters, who till now had /
chung to their belief In the prisoner. !
confessed their mistake. The prisoner
lost his nerve. confessed his crime and
begged forgiveness. He was condemn
ed to death and executed. The real |
Martin was restored to his rights
Conrad Oak In New York Tribune