Then the mayor gave Caldigate to understand that he
must hold himself as committed to stand his trial
for bigamy at the next Assizes for the County.
The Conclave at Puritan Grange
John Caldigate was committed, and liberated on bail.
This occurred in Cambridge on the Wednesday after
the christening; and before the Saturday night following,
all the Boltons were thoroughly convinced that this
wretched man, who had taken from them their daughter
and their sister, was a bigamist, and that poor Hester,
though a mother, was not a wife. The evidence
against him, already named, was very strong, but they
had been put in possession of other, and as they thought
more damning evidence than any to which he had alluded
in telling his version of the story to Robert Bolton.
The woman had produced, and had shown to Robert Bolton,
the envelope of a letter addressed in John Caldigate’s
handwriting to ‘Mrs. Caldigate, Ahalala, Nobble,’
which letter had been dated inside from Sydney, and
which envelope bore the Sydney postmark. Caldigate’s
handwriting was peculiar, and the attorney declared
that he could himself swear to it. The letter
itself she also produced, but it told less than the
envelope. It began as such a letter might begin,
‘Dearest Feemy,’ and ended ‘Yours,
ever and always, J.C.’ As she herself had
pointed out, a man such as Caldigate does not usually
call his wife by that most cherished name in writing
to her. The letter itself referred almost altogether
to money matters, though perhaps hardly to such as
a man generally discusses with his wife. Certain
phrases seemed to imply a distinct action. She
had better sell these shares or those, if she could,
for a certain price,—and suchlike.
But she explained, that they both when they married
had been possessed of mining shares, represented by
scrip which passed from hand to hand readily, and that
each still retained his or her own property. But
among the various small documents which she had treasured
up for use, should they be needed for some possible
occasion such as this, was a note, which had not, indeed,
been posted, but which purported to have been written
by the minister, Allan, to Caldigate himself, offering
to perform the marriage at Ahalala, but advising him
to have the ceremony performed at some more settled
place, where an established church community with a
permanent church or chapel admitted the proper custody
of registers. Nothing could be more sensible,
or written in a better spirit than this letter, though
the language was not that of an educated man.
This letter, Caldigate had, she said, showed to her,
and she had retained it. Then she brought forward
two handkerchiefs which she herself had marked with
her new name, Euphemia Caldigate, and the date of
the year. This had been done, she declared, immediately
after her marriage, and the handkerchiefs seemed by
their appearance to justify the assertion. Caldigate
had admitted a promise, admitted that he had lived
with the woman, admitted that she had passed by his
name, admitted that there had been a conversation
with the clergyman in regard to his marriage.
And now there were three others, besides the woman
herself, who were ready to swear,—who had
sworn,—that they had witnessed the ceremony!
