Ellsworth American., 1922-12-20

THE CAMPDEN SECRET
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A BOUT the middle of the Seven
teenth century all England was
greatly excited over what was popu-
larly referred to as the "Campden
Secret" the mystery of the disappear
ance of William: Harrison, who was
supposed to have been robbed and
then murdered. A mother and her
two sons were arrested, tried, convict
ed and executed-and then, two years
later, Harrison returned and told a
most remarkable story of kidnapping
and adventure, filled with such i'm
possible and conflicting statements
that it has generally come to be be-
his own home from the time Of his
disappearance until his return!
But why did he remain away, and
why did the persons accused Of his
murder give such misleading accounts
OF their actions that jury convicted
them of murder practically without
hesitation?
The evidence brought out at the
trial showed that Harrison left his
house in the afternoon and walked or
was supposed to have walked, two
miles to Charringworth to collect some
rents. When, as evening came on and
Harrison had not returned, his servant
"A man named John Perry-was sent
In search of him. Neither Harrison
nor Perry put in an appearance that
niuht in fho -
sons Of the missing man joined in the
search, meeting Perry on his way
home.
The servant maintained that he had
been able to find no trace of his mas
ter, but when young Harrison joined
in the search he located bloodstained
hat which was supposed to have be-
longed to William Harrison Soon the
entire countryside was engaged in an
attempt to solve the mystery and the
strange actions of Perry led to his
being suspected of the crime, the al
legged motive being the securing Of
the money which Harrison had upon
him at the time. Under pressure
Perry stated that his mother and
bOrther had frequently asked him
when Harrison went to collect his
rents, and added that 1t was his
Perry's) belief that the missing man
had been murdered by Mother Perry
and her son.
On the strength of this all three
Of the Perrys were arrested, tried and
t4
the first to be hanged, protesting her
innocence. Richard Perry followed
his mother to the gallOws, and finally
John Perry, Harrlson's servant, later
retracted his previous statement and
declared that he knew nothing what
ever Of the crime or any possible mo-
tive
Nearly two years after the three
had been hanged for his murder, Will
liam Harrison returned to his home,
apparently unconcerned, and telling a
tale of having been waylaid by high
waymen. kidnapped and spirited away
to the continent. For several days,
he stated. his captors had kept him
hidden and had then put him on board
ship, though he never vouchsafed
any explanation as to the motive for
the outrage, for he had comparatively
little money in his possession, and
one Of the details Of his story has to
do with the way in which his alb.
ductors kept him supplied with
money.
Finally, he declared he was sold to
a physician at Smyrna, but he was
able to give no definite description Of
the city nor was he able to explain
how, penniless and unfamiliar with
the languages spoken on the continent,
he was able to find his way back
home
The only apparent explanation Of
the entire affair Is that, for some rea-
son, Harrison's presence at Campden
was inconvenient to some one then in
authority. He had lived through troub-
lous times, and had come into
changed state of affairs with new
masters. He was familiar with num-
Der Of secrets, and therefore might
have been better out Of the way for
the time being. But the precise ma
ture Of these secrets and why three
innocent persons were permitted to
go to the gallows for crime which
had not been committed has never
been disclosed.