The National Register. — London, England, 1815-06-04 00:00:00

.TUNE - 4. It is impossible to witness a trial for Adultery, without lamenting the flital but necessary prejudice, which places the honour of an ho nest and brave man at the disposal of his wife, who but too often proves an unfaithful guardian of it. This reflection particularly ap plies to the case of Colonel It . . . , whose cause has commenced in the 4th C hamber. Monsieur Parquin, the advocate for Colonel H . . . began by set ting forth the good character of his client ; whom he described as having reached a very high rank, and loaded with numerous marks of distinction, searching for perhaps more real happiness in a suitable union. The beauty and youth of his wife appeared to have influenced his choice more than tfe considerations of fortune. It was this very wife, whose afl'•ctions certainly ought to have been his, who at the age of 1; kept up three correspondences, and who had at the same titre three lovers. The Colonel's life had been unexceptionable, and ta fleeted upon him the highest honour. He entered the service at the age of 14, and his first miiita•y exploits were under General liosci udo; in the year 6, he served in the Polonese Legion of General Da rowski ; at 93 he was lieutenant IN the Artillery, and at 30 lie was Major f a Regiment, and decorated with the insignia of two Orders. Even• thing promised happiness to his future prospects. The young Lady Estelle H . . . departed from St. Quentin with her mother, and was not long before she commenced her first intrigue with Mr. D.—Mr. P. quickly had a share in her affections, and Mr. B. soon partook of the same happiness. By the same destiny which frequently attends so many poor husbands, Colonel H . . . iemaired for some time ignorant of that, with which every• body else was perfectly ac quzintA. At length, however, the justice of Heaven, which sooner or liter is always manifested, opened the eyes of this confiding hus lund. The manner in which Colonel H . . . gained his intelligence was En one of those accidents which we dare not call fortunate. He '••a; at a distance from his wife, occupied in bringing back the depot of his regiment ; she was at Pont Audemer. The Colonel had written to Irr several times, hut the Lady never cotalescende.; to favour him ;th an answer ; astonished at this silence, he made every enquiry to ascertain if there were no letters for him. One day that the postman, accordii , g to the custom of regiments, brought him an account of the postage of letters owed by the men of his regiment, and which could rut be reimbursed without his approval, he perceived in the box a let ter frum his wife; he recognised the beloved writing, but it was NOT TO iltm that the letter was addressed ; it was to Mr. B—, an officer in his regiment, that his wife had written. The Colonel immediately became a prey to the most violent suspicions: he opened the letter, and was convinced of the infidelity of his wife. He went after her to Pont Audemer without hesitation. An idea may be fcrmed of their interview ; reproaches were of course violent, but the Colonel acted like a %Nell bred man ; he merely demanded the key of her escru v-ire, or rather he broke it open. He searched as every mm would Co on such an occasion, and found—ELEVEN letters from Mr. D. =if - razz,' from Mr. P. and FIFTEEN from Mr. B. and to crown his rage and vexation, he saw his own with their SEALS UNBROKEN. He carried his wife to Saint Denis, where the depot of his regiment was, and allowed her to go to her aunt, who resided at Versailles. It was :Tom thenc.• that Estelle wrote two letters to her husband, the style of which woall have done honour to the pen of a Geniis, a Cottin, or a Riccoboni ; protestations of sincere repentance an tender love were made use of to soften him. The Colonel re plied with calmness and dignity—" You can no longer poss'-ss !leart as my wife,"--" I request permission not to see • •C:J again r—l am sorry', but there is no !nip for it; it is A- (FROM THE GAZETTE HE FRANCE.) known how easily a woman who'is to blame is put out of temper. Madame I-1 . . . changed her style—" Sir," replied she, " I shall no longer waste my time in justifying myself fora fault of which I am not guilty." She proposed to the Colonel an amicable separation ; his honour and her reputation alike required it. "We may still keep up the appearance of loving each other; if, however, you are deter mined upon a divorce, I shall keep FOk Tux!, for to tell you the truth I AM A MOTHER." The mother of Estelle proposed a divorce by mutual consent, and the Col , nel, who was a much better soldier than lawyer, took her advice, being ignorant that his wife could not consent to such an arrangement, in consequence of her being a minor, that besides they must have been married more titan two years, And that in that case parents must give up a portion of their property to the chil dren, and the Colonel knew the origin of the one which existed ; what was he to do ? The law grante I but two months for the husband to disavow the child. There was but one manner he could proceed in. and that was to demand a divorce on account of adultery; the step was violent, but it was necessary ;in fact it was the only one. The Colonel cited his wife—she replied to the Citation by making a last effurt. "My dear Adam," she wrote to him, "my father has in. formed me, that you would consent to receive back your wife, if you believed that she still loved ) Ott. When I reflect upon what I have done, lam inclined to believe that I have laboured under paroxysm of madness. Pardon your Estelle, who has been wicked, but who ib again become good. 1 still feel rt”silf capable of ensuring ycur hap piness ; I know not how you will receive my embraces, but I em brace you with all my heart." Here the faithful memory of Mensieue Parquin brought to his recollection that scene of the painter of Na ture in which Angelique, almost surprisel by her husband, makes the of every feminine stratag m, and nearly persuades her kind spouse. that his sight is troubled with one of those phantoms, which so often hover over the imagination of hu.ib.mds. Wel informed people re c:•guisecl the new Angelique, and pitied the Colonel for the resem blance he bore to the husband of 1 4 .1oliere. He sent no answer to this letter, which contained so many sweets. She sent a fresh message, and even ventured upon a visit, but the Colonel was out. His Ave. cate carried on the proceedings, and the Court ordered the Ciarnina. tions to be heard with closed dcors. Estelle appeared, and by one of :hose stratagems which our sex are incapable et' putting into execu tion, she petr . fied the Judges, the Attorney, and her husband, by the fold lowing question which she addressed to the latter : " Have you not been married before, and are you not so at present ?" The Colonel collecte his ideas, and confessed the fact. Estelle triumphed; but it war. ()lily for a very short time. 'Colonel H . . . had really married at Pi-a the beautiful Clorinde de Lucca, but his marriage was not legal ; a priest only had received their vows ; agreeably to the military regula. Lions, the Colonel had been refused permission to marry by his supe rior officers. The ecclesiastical authority alone had united them, yid the same power dissolved their union. With one consent Clorinde do Lucca and her husband solicited from his Holiness the Pope, a disso lution of those ties which were unpleasant to them both, and the Consist( ry Court pron unced that they were free. Clorinde con tracted another marriage, and wa; at present widow of Ger. Ralocca. Three witmsses proved these facts. The father-in-law himself, wl o, as quarter-master of the reg'rnent, kept a register of its acts, could not prove to the contrary. Madaree H . . was now d.iven to her last resource. What more could she do ? She named two objections, which the talent of Mr. Berryer, jun. rendered unexceptionable. Mr. Parquin terminated by endeavouring to do away the force of these ob jections. " Can it be looked upon as a crime," said he, " for the Colonel to have seized and opened the letters of his wife, and ought procuring them to prevent his making 1154 Of this ilegal mode of .THE NATIONALEVGIStER. . n solutey necessary when 1-9