DEAD MAN’S RETURN.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXII, Issue 8902, 23 August 1907, Page 4

DEAD MAN’S RETURN.

Arthur Albert Steer can stroll up to St. Luke’s Cemetery, at Bromley, in Kent, and have a look at his grave. A laurel bush and sonic flowers arc growing thereon, and _it really looks very well. But Steer insists that he is’ not dead, and not even his burial cortiticato and otliei records will convince. After all, it is a subject on which he is entitled to his own opinion. His ago is si. ami his wife am. family reside in Cannon Hoad, Lickley, Kent. For many years ho has been of a roving disposition, and often went away to seek work in some other part of the country. Therefore when, on April 24, lie announced his intention of going into Surrey after a job no one was a bit surprised. On the following day the dead body of a man was recovered from the Thames at Chelsea, and a description of the body was circulated. The tale is now taken up by Mr John Steer the eldest son of Mr Arthur Steer, who, in the course of an interview, said : “On Sunday, April 28, while I was at work in the gasworks here, one of my mates came in with a copy of Lloyd’s News, and showed .no a paragraph headed, ‘The Mystery of a One-Eyed Mail. ’ Every detail published‘tallied so exactly with that of my father that I felt sure it was his hotly that had been found floating in the " Thames. My father had lost an eye ami had a scar over the right eve; fo had the dead man. He also had a broken toe and a damaged nose, and also had the dead man. “On the following morning I went up to the Horscferry Road mortuary, and had no hesitation in identifying the body as that of my father. The inquest was held on the Tuesday, and six of ns brothers and sisters went up to take a last sad farewell. Mother was too ill to go. After the inquest, when an open verdict was returned, wc had the body brought down hero, and tuo remains were buried in St. Luke’s Cemetery, Bromley Common. We had taken it in turns to go up and place flowers on the grave ever since, while very soon a stone would have boon erected to his memory. “And now comes the extraordinary part of it. Last Sunday week some stokers from the gasworks wont for the day to Tatsfiold, and in a public house,‘during the conversation with some men, one of them said ho had seen Steer, or at least someone answering to his description, and ho did not believe ho was dead. “When they brought home the news to mo my brother diaries and lat once cycled over to Tatsfleld. From '■hero wo were sent to Whiteleaf and other places, but we could not gain any furt.icr particulars. The landlord of a public house promised to try and find out what lie could ami my father evidently heard of our visit, for he came to Bickloy on Monday evening last, and called at the Bricklayers’ Arms. I was sent for, and when I found him I took him to my own house for the night. ’ ’ If the sou seemed dazed at the weird return to life of his father what must have been the feelings of those of the man’s friends when he calmly pushed open the door of the Bickley public house and walked in! “Good gracious!” exclaimed one, as his face paled; “there's Steer, or his ghost!” Of course the police were immediately notified that the “dead” man had‘re turned homo, and the mystery of the one-eyed man remains a mystery still!