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CHARLES HUNTRISS - LETTERS HOME

Over the way, Tichborne and travel arrangements

I have spent the merit holiday with Ned, and have been a good deal with Uncle Henry's and of course been "over the way"; on Monday night we had supper at G. Edwards's where Ned is going to dinner next Thursday, I was asked but don't suppose I shall go.

On Monday morning I went ...

... to meet Fred at Finsbury Park to skate but the ice was not very good, Louisa went to hear Tichborne instead.

Thanks for the tie, it is a very nice one and just in time.

I am coming home on Thursday week by the 10 train from Kings Cross which gets to Halifax at 2.55. I shall go by the 9 as usual as I don't want to miss breakfast, so I shall leave here at 7 and have breakfast with Uncle Henry as they have asked me. Also if I go by the 10 train I shall have someone to go with, one of the masters who lives in Doncaster.

Do you think I am at all ...

... likely to leave because if I am I had better know in good time as as I have such a great number of books etc which I shall not bring home unless.

I don't think I shall write again as it is so near the holidays, so with love, believe me, your affectionate son,

Here is a crest for Jessy

The Tichborne case

The Tichborne case was a legal cause célèbre that captivated Victorian England in the 1860s and 1870s. It concerned the claims by a man sometimes referred to as Thomas Castro or as Arthur Orton, but usually termed "the Claimant", to be the missing heir to the Tichborne baronetcy.

Roger Tichborne, heir to the family's title and fortunes, was presumed to have died in a shipwreck in 1854 at age 25. His mother clung to a belief that he might have survived, and after hearing rumours that he had made his way to Australia, she advertised extensively in Australian newspapers, offering a reward for information. In 1866, a Wagga Wagga butcher known as Thomas Castro came forward claiming to be Roger Tichborne. Although his manners and bearing were unrefined, he gathered support and travelled to England. He was instantly accepted by Lady Tichborne as her son, although other family members were dismissive and sought to expose him as an impostor.

After a civil court had rejected the Claimant's case in 1871, he was charged with perjury; while awaiting trial he campaigned throughout the country to gain popular support. In 1874, a criminal court jury decided that he was not Roger Tichborne and declared him to be Arthur Orton, passing a sentence of 14 years.