An Audacious Impostor.

Feilding Star, Volume XI, Issue 86, 14 January 1890, Page 3

An Audacious Impostor.

The London correspondent of the Argus reports that Dr Murray, Roman Catholic Bishop of Maitland (New South Wales), had an unpleasant adventure at Rome. At the Mmeva Hotel, headquarters of the Englishspeaking visitors to that city, he made the acquaintance of a young and handsome ecclesiastic rejoicing in the aristocratic title of Monsignore le Prince Delatour DWuvergne; Domestic Prelate to His Holiness the Pope They appear to have become remark- . ably friendly, and the Australian bishop never entertained the remotest suspicion that his companion was any other than he represented himself to be, but one morning as they were walking together in the vicinity of the propaganda, an agent of the polii c apprdached, and to the horror of the Bishop of Maitland arrested Monsignore, and marched him off to prison. There he made full confession of his daring imposture, and declared that his real name waf Michael Hal in-, the son of poor people at Mauville (France.) As a student for the priesthood he was sent to the College of the 4W>pist Fathers at Vertagos, and ifinere, by means of false keys, he succeeded in stealing 2.600 florins from tie treasury of that ins'itution, besides a gold watch, and chain and other unconsidered trifles. Then he fled to Marseilles and assumed his present style and title, and with reckless audacity proceeded to Rome and ruin. After a judicial examiuatiii he was returned to his cell, and a few ho-.w afterwards the wardei on duty lound him dead, strangled by bis own hands. He W£« onlj twenty-two years of age, but he acted hie assumed part so well as k completely deceive Roman ecclesiastic* of high rank, in addition to an Australian prelate. No more audacioui imposture has been discovered ii _Kotne since Sam Bishop was detectec and ignominiously turned out of th< Vatican Council in 1870.