The Virginia Gazette

A Conclusion of the Surprising Story of
MARTIN GUERRE.

H E Shoemaker, who used to make
Shoes for Martin Guerre, deposed, that
Martin's Foot reached to the Twelfth
Size, whereas the Foot of the Accused
reached no farther than the Ninth. Another swore, that Martin Guerre was
very dextrous in Fencing and Wrestling,

whereas this Man knew nothing of the Matter. John
Espagnol, who kept a Publick House, declared, that
the Accused acknowledged to him that he was not Mar-
tin Guerre. Valentine Rougle deposed, that the Person
accused, perceiving that he knew him to be Arnold du
Tilh, made a Sign to him with his Finger, that he
should say nothing. John de Liberos deposed to the same
Effect, and added, that the Accused gave him two Hand-
kerchiefs, with a strict Charge to deliver one of them to
John du Tilh his Brother. There were also some Hearsay Evidences produced, which M. Coras says, tho' the
Law does not admit when passing thro' several different
Mouths, yet is considered when heard from the Accused,
or the first Author.

Two Persons swore, that a Soldier
of Rochfort, passing thro' Artigues, was surprised that
the Accused called himself Martin Guerre, declaring
aloud, that he was a notorious Impostor, for that Mar-
tin Guerre was in Flanders, and had a wooden Leg, in
the Room of one he lost before St. Quentin, in the Battle
of St. Lawrence. They considered also the Report that
Sanxi Guerre did not at all resemble the Accused. It
was added, that Martin Guerre was a Biscayan; where
the Language is very different, not only from French,
but from the Gascon ; but the Accused could not speak
the Basque, tho' he took Pains to mingle a few Words
with his French, using them with a visible Affectation.
There were also a Number of Witnesses who deposed,
that Arnold du Tilh had from his Infancy the most wick-
ed Inclinations. and that since he has been hardened in
Wickedness, a great Pilferer and Swearer, a Defier of
God, and a Blasphemer; consequently, every way capa-
ble of the Crime laid to his Charge, and that an obstinate
persisting to act a false Part, was exactly suitable to his
Character. These Circumstances bore hard upon him.

On the other hand, there were thirty or forty Wit-
nesses, who Swore that he was really Martin Guerre,
that they knew him intimately, and remembered him
from his Childhood ; among these, the four Sisters of
Martin Guerre, who were all brought up with him, and
who had all the Reputation of being Women of good
Sense; and two of their Husbands, Brothers in Law to
Martin Guerre. Such as were present at the Nuptials of
Martin Guerre and Bertrande de Rols, deposed in Fa-
vour of the Accused; Catherine Boere in particular said,
that when she carried the Aledianoche, or what we call
the Sack-Posset, after they were in Bed, she saw Ber-
trande's Spouse, and that the Person now accused was
the same. The greatest Part of these Witnesses agreed,
that Martin Guerre had two Scars in his Face, that his
left Eye was Blood-shot, the Nail of his first Finger
grown in, that he had three Warts on his right Hand,
and another on his little Finger; all which Marks the
Accused had.

Other Witnesses deposed, that Peter Guerre and his
Sons-in Law had laid a Plot to ruin the Accused; that
they had sounded John Loze, the Consul of Palbos, to
know if he would advance Money for that End ; that he
refused, and told them that Martin Guerre was his Kins-
man, and that he would rather give Money to save than
undo him; that Peter Guerre and his Cabal prosecuted
the Accused contrary to the Will of his Wife, and that
many had heard him say that the Accused was Martin
Guerre, and his Nephew.

Almost all the Witnesses declared, that when the Ac-
cused arrived at Artigues, he saluted by Name all Mar-
tin Guerre's familiar Acquaintance ; that to those who
hardly remembered him, he recalled to mind the Places
where they had been, the Diversions and Entertainments
they had partaken, ten, fifteen, twenty Years back, as if
they had newly happened ; and what is more remark-
able, made himself known to Bertrande de Rols, by re-
ving in her Memory the Mysteries of the Nuptial Bed,
and other the most secret Circumstances. He said also,
after the first Salute, Go look for my Taffety Breeches
with the white Lining, which I left in a Chest. She
owned the Matter of Fact, and said she found the Breeches
in the Chest, not knowing they were there.

Pasquier says, that the Accused told, of himself, an
Adventure that Martin Guerre met with in the Country
where he went with his Wife. There were only two
Beds, for Martin, his Wife, a Brother and a Sister; the
two Women lay in one, the two Men in the other ;
Martin Guerre, while his Bedfellow was asleep, find-
ing conjugal like other Love heightened by Difficulty,
sto le to his Wife, whom he found awake, and ---. went
back to the other Bed before Day !

Add to this the perfect Resemblance of the Accused
to the Sisters of Martin Guerre, both in their Air and
the Features of their Faces, so that those who witnessed
this, said, Eggs were not more alike.

Moreover, what ought not to leave the least Doubt,
but set in a full Light all the Fraud and Malice of the
Prosecutors, is the Behaviour of Bertrande de Rols her-
self towards the Accused at the Tryal. When he was
confronted with him, the Accused challenged her, upon
the Solemnity of an Oath, to acknowledge him ; made
her Judge in her own Cause; told her that he submitted
to suffer Death, if she would swear that he was not her
Husband. But what Answer did She make? Why. that
She would take no Oath, nor yet believe him. Was not
this, as if she had said, Tho'I cannot deny. the Truth,
which speaks for you, and condemns me, I am loth to ac-
knowledge it, tho' driven to it, because I am gone too
far to retreat. As to her Behaviour towards the Ac-
cused before the Prosecution, she lived with him near 4
Years without complaining. She behaved herself duti-
fully, as a Wife ought to a Husband under the endearing
Ties of Matrimony ; and thus it was pleaded in his Fa-
vour. Was this because the Accused had so perfect a
Conformity with Martin Guerre, that his Wife could not
perceive the least Difference? Was Nature so intent on
making them resemble one another, that She resolved the
Wife should not be able to find the Mistake? In a Body
so like, would she lodge a Soul of the same Character ?
For Bertrande alleged no Difference at all in that Re-
pect. When she was told by Somebody that the Accu-
sed was not Martin Guerre, did she not give him the
Lye? Did She not declare, that she knew him better
than Any-body, and that she would murder those who
affirmed the contrary ? And to shew that it was not po-
ssible
ible should be any other than Martin Guerre, did she
not say, That it was he, or the Devil in his Skin? How
often did she complain of Peter Guerre and his Wife,
who is her Mother, because they would force her to pro-
secute the Accused for an Impostor! Did not they threat-
en to drive her out of her House, if she did not come in-
to their Measures? 'Tis plain therefore that She is led
aside at present, and a Slave to the Passion of Peter
Guerre and her Mother.

It was alledged further, that the Accused having been
imprisoned by the Seneschal of Toulouse at the Suit of
John d'Eschornbeuf, who was privately instigated there-
to by Peter Guerre, it was confidently objected to him,
that he was not Martin Guerre; and Bertrande de Rols
complain'd that Peter Guerre and his Wife were conti-
nually solliciting her to enter a Prosecution against the
Accused in her own Name. to have him convicted of a
Capital Crime. Being acquitted by the Seneschal's pro-
nouncing a Sentence of Disagreement (un Appointement
de Contrariete) and returning home, his Wife (as he
call'd her) receiv'd him with all possible Kindness, gave
him a new Shirt, washed his Feet, and went to Bed to
him, as usual; and yet the next Morning he was hurried
to Prison by Peter Guerre, by Virtue of a Paper sign-
ed by her the Night before, even the Night in which
she had expressed all this Fondness for him; nay, she
had discovered her Tenderness since his being in Prison,
by sending him Money and Cloaths.

It would be too tedious to insert at large the Plead-
ings of the Lawyers on this very perplexed Affair. Ne-
ver were any Arguings more Elegant, delivered with
greater Energy, or more Charming than those of the Ad-
vocates on each Side, as they are cited by M. Coras, the
original Reporter of this Case; but after all their Ha-
rangues, the Parliament was still in Doubt, and at last,
considering the Nicety of the Case, and the Consequence
of annulling a Marriage, and illigitimating a Child,
they began to incline to the Part of the Accused, and
had Thoughts of reversing the Judgment of the inferior
Judge.

While the Parliament were puzzling themselves what
Sentence to give, of a sudden, as if he had dropped out
of the Clouds, or rather had been led thither by an im-
mediate Interposition of Providence, Martin Guerre him-
self appeared, having a wooden Leg, as the Soldier had
related; he set forth in his Petition a distinct Account of
the Impostor who had taken his Name, and demanded
to be heard. The Court hereupon ordered that he should
be kept in Safe Custody, and that he should be confronted
with the Accused, with Bertrande de Rols, his Sisters,
and the principal Witnesses for the Accused. He was
interrogated on the same Facts as the Accused had been,
and his Answers were true indeed; but neither so clear,
nor so particular as those given by the Accused. Being
confronted, Arnold du Tilh behaved in such a manner,
as struck the whole Assembly with Amazement; he treat-
ed Martin Guerre as an Impostor, as a Fellow suborn'd
by Peter Guerre; nay, he confidently declared, that he
would be content to be hanged, if he did not unravel the
whole Mystery, and prove all his Enemies Cheats. He
then, with the same Assurance, asked Martin Guerre
abundance of Questions, as to several Transactions in his
Family, to which Martin answer'd but faintly, and
with some Confusion. The Commissioners directing Ar-
nold to withdraw, put several Questions to Martin that
were new, and his Answers were very full and satisfacto-
ry; then they called for Arnold du Tilh again, and
question'd him as to the same Points, and he answered
with the same Exactness: So that some began to think
there was Witchcraft in the Case.

The Court resolving to clear up the Truth, directed,
that now both the Persons were present, the four Sisters
of Martin Guerre, the Husbands of two of them, Peter
Guerre, the Brothers of Arnold du Tilh, and the chief
of those Witnesses who were obstinate in owning him for
Martin Guerre, should be called in. and obliged to fix
on the true Martin. Accordingly all these Persons ap-
peared, except the Brothers of Arnold du Tilh, whom
neither the Injunctions nor Threatnings could force to
Court; which being reported, they were excused, it seem-
ing an Act of Inhumanity to oblige them to depose a-
gainst so near a Relation; but this Refusal to appear,
made against him. The first who drew near was the
eldest of the two Sisters, who, after She had looked a
Moment, ran to Martin Guerre, embraced him with
Tears, and cry'd, Oh! my Brother Martin Guerre,
I acknowledge the Error into which this abominable
Traitor (pointing to Arnold) drew me and all the In-
habitants of Artigues.' Martin mingled his Tears
with his Sister's, receiving her Embraces with the utmost
Affection. All the rest likewise knew him, even the
Witnesses who had been most positive.

At last Bertrande de Rols was called in: She had no
Sooner cast her Eyes on Martin Guerre, but bursting
into Tears, and trembling like a Leaf, she ran to em-
brace him, and begg'd Pardon for suffering herself to be
seduced by the Artifices of a Wretch. She then pleaded
for herself in the most innocent and artless Manner: That
she had been led away by his credulous Sisters, who had
owned the Impostor; that the strong Passion she had for
him, and her ardent Desire to see him again, helped on the
Cheat, in which she was confirmed by the Tokens that
Traitor had given, and the Recital of so many Particu-
larities, which could be known only to her Husband;
that as soon as her Eyes were open, she wish'd that the
Horrors of Death might hide those of her Fault; and
that she had laid violent Hands on herself, if the Fear
of God had not with-held her; that not being able to bear
the dreadful Thought of having lost her Honour and
Reputation, she had Recourse to Vengeance, and put the
Impostor in the Hands of Justice, and prosecuted him so
vigorously, that he had been condemned to lose his
Head, and to have his Body divided into four Quarters;
and that she had not in the least relented in her Zeal to
prosecute him, since his Appeal from that Sentence.

Martin Guerre, who had been so sensible of the Tes-
timonies of the Love, Friendship and Tenderness given
him by his Sisters, remained wholly unmoved by these
Excuses of his Wife; he heard her indeed without Inter-
ruption, but when she had done, with an Air of Con-
tempt and Resentment, he said, 'You may cease weep-
ing, my Heart can never be moved by your Tears, in
vain you pretend to justify yourself from the Conduct
of my Sisters and Uncle; a Wife has more Ways of
knowing a Husband, than a Father, a Mother, and all
his Relations put together; nor is it possible she should
be imposed on, unless she has an Inclination to be de-
ceived: you are the sole Cause of the Misfortunes of
my Family, and I shall never impute my Disgrace to
any but you.' The Commissioners endeavoured to en-
force what the unfortunate Bertrande de Rols had said,
in order to make her Husband comprehend her Inno-
cence: but he, persisting in a sullen Air of Indifference,
shewed plainly enough that his Anger was such as Time
only could efface. We are not told how Arnold du Tilh
behaved on this Discovery; but it is most probable, that
he stood it out with his usual Impudence, since it is cer-
tain he did not confess the Truth of what was laid to his
Charge 'til after his Return to Artigues.

All Doubts being now cleared, the Court, after mature
Deliberation, pronounced the following Sentence.

UPON reviewing the Process before the Criminal
Judge of Rieux, against Arnold du Tilh, called
Pansette, but asserting himself to be Martin Guerre,
Prisoner in the Conciergerie; and appealing from the
Judgment, &c. Which Appeal being received and heard,
and the Said Arnold du Tilh appearing to be guilty, this
Court hath thought fit to declare the same; and for the
Punishment and Reparation of the Imposture, Fraud,
Assumption of a false Name and Person, Adultery,
Rape, Sacrilege, Plagiarism, Theft, and other Crimes
of the said du Tilh Set forth in the said Process, the
Court hath condemned, and doth condemn him the said
du Tilh to make Amende honorable in the Market
Place of Artigues, in his Shirt, his Head and Feet bare,
a Halter about his Neck, and holding in his Hands a
lighted
lighted waxen Torch, to demand Pardon of GOD, the
King, and the Justice of the Nation, of the said Martin Guerre and de Rols his Wife; and this being done,
the Said du Tilh shall be delivered into the Hands of
the Capital Executioner, who, after making him pass
through the Streets, and other publick Places in the said
Town of Artigues, with a Rope about his Neck, at last shall
bring him before the House of the Said Martin Guerre,
where, on a Gallows set up for that Purpose, he shall
be hanged and strangled, and afterwards his Body shall
be burnt. And for certain Causes and Considerations
thereunto moving, this Court hath ordained, and does
hereby ordain, that all the Effects of the Said du Tilh,
shall belong to, and be the Property of the Daughter
begotten by him on the Body of the said Bertrande de
Rols, under Colour of a Marriage by him falsely pre-
tended, in assuming and taking upon himself to be the
Said Martin Guerre, by Means whereof he deceived the
said de Rols, and broke thro' all the Laws of Equity
and Justice. And the said Court hath discharged, and
does hereby discharge from further Attendance thereon,
the Said Martin Guerre, and Bertrande de Rols, and al-
so Peter Guerre, Uncle of the said Martin; and hath re-
turned, and does hereby return the said du Tilh into
Hands of the Said Judge of Rieux, that he may cause to
be put in Execution this Sentence, according to the
Form and Tenor thereof, Pronounced judicially, this
Twelfth Day of September, 1560.

Monsieur De Coras, the Reporter of this Case, ob-
serves, that the Sentence of the Criminal Judge of Rieux
was invalid, by reason of the Punishment therein inflicted;
because by Decapitation or Beheading, to which
he condemned Arnold du Tilh, only Persons of Distinc-
tion are to be put to Death; nay, a Theft, or a Trea-
chery of such a Nature as deserves a capital Punishment
when committed by a Person of noble Extraction, re-
quires no better Instrument than the Gallows; only the
Gibbet, in such a Case, is to be raised a little higher
than ordinary.

In this Sentence of Arnold du Tilh, it is remarkable.
that no less than Seven very high and enormous Crimes
are mentioned: [1] Assuming a false Name, [2] Pre-
tending to be another Person, [3] Adultery, [4] Rape,
[5] Sacrilege, [6] Theft, [7] Plagiatism: This last
Crime is constituted by the Civil Law, and is commit-
ted when one detains a Person who is the Property of, or
belongs to another; as also when a Person disposes of a
Freeman, and either buys or sells him for a Slave.

It is remarkable that the Effects of Arnold du Tilh
are adjudged to his Daughter by Bertrande de Rols, on
account of the Mother's upright Meaning; and the French
Lawyers have reported various Cases of the like Nature.
As for Example, where a Man married a Second Wife,
the first being alive, and being ignorant thereof, in Fail-
ure of Issue by the first Match, the Inheritance was gi-
ven to the Children by the latter, tho' the Marriage was
not strictly legal.

Monsieur de Coras says, that the Court, in drawing up
this Sentence, was chiefly embarrassed on this Head, viz.
How far Martin Guerre and Bertrande de Rols his
Wife, were guilty of breaking the Laws, and thereby li-
able to Censure. As to Martin Guerre, it was said, that
his abandoning his Wife was the Original Cause of all
this Mischief; but what bore hardest upon him, was. his
having carried Arms against his Prince, at the Battle of
St. Laurence, where he lost his Leg by a Cannon-Shot.
As to the first, the Court were of Opinion, that as Martin
acted rather from Levity than Malice, and as the Mis-
chief complain'd of flowed from a Mixture of other
Causes, his leaving his Wife, if it was a Crime, deerved
not to be enquired into by any Court on this Side
of the Grave, but ought to be left to the Decision of that
great Day, wherein all Hearts shall be open, and all
Secrets known. As to the Second, it did not appear that
his serving against his Prince was a voluntary Act. For
going into Spain, he entered into the Service of the
Cardinal de Burgos, and afterwards into that of a Bro-
ther's of the Cardinal's, who carried him into Flanders,
where he was obliged to go, whether he would or not.
with his Master, into the Army; and as in the Battle he
lost his Leg, it seemed to them a sufficient Punishment
for his committing an Offence against his Will.

In Regard to Bertrande de Rols, her Guilt was
thought more apparent. That a Woman should be de-
ceaved in her Husband, was a Proposition that few could
digest. It appeared very odd and unaccountable, that
the Notice those, so strictly united, usually take of each
other's Person, should not furnish her with Marks where-
by to know the Impostor from her Spouse; and that she
should never discover, in their secret Conversations, any
Ignorance in him, or want of Remembrance, as to mate-
rial Points, which might have happened in their Family
Affairs. Yet the Character of the Woman, in point of
Modesty and Prudence, the acquiecing of the four Sis-
ters of Martin Guerre, the rest of his Relations, beside,
a Multitude of other Persons in the Town of Artigues
who were all deceived as well as she; the surprising Like-
ness between her Husband and this Man, assuming his
Name, and the wonderful Agreement of the several
Marks on each of their Bodies, joined to that standing
Ring
Maxim in the Law, that In a doubtful Case Innocence is
to be presumed, at last determined the Court to acquit
and discharge her.

In order to the Execution of the Sentence, Arnold du
Tilh was carried back to Artigues; he was there exa-
mined in Prison by the Criminal Judge of Rieux, who
first condemned him, on September 16, 1560, and made
a very long and exact Confession: He acknowledged that
he was determined to commit this Crime, by an Accident.
Coming from the Camp in Picardy, he was taken for
Martin Guerre, by some of his (Martin's) Friends;
from them he learned abundance of Circumstances con-
cerning Martin's Father, Wife, Sister, and other Rela-
tions, and of every Thing he had done before he left that
Country. These new Lights, added to the Materials he
had obtained from Martin Guerre himself, in a Multi-
tude of Conversations, put it fully in his Power to carry
on the Cheat he had projected, in the artful Manner he
did. He denied however his making use of any Charms,
or other magical Tricks, for the Furtherance of his De-
signs; he owned a great many other Crimes, which he
had committed, and persisted in every Point of his Con-
fession, when it was read over to him. At the Foot of
the Gallows, erected over against the House of Martin
Guerre, he, in the most humble Manner, asked Pardon
of him, and of his Wife; appeared a most hearty and
sincere Penitent, testified the most lively Grief for the
Offences he had committed, and finally continued, as
long as he had Life, to implore the Mercy of God, thro
Jesus Christ his Son.