The Sun. — London, England, 1820-10-26 00:00:00

laut,, drat the Princess was dressed, and that she !reposed on bed in a travelling cap, anti a dress much fur on it, until Bergami returned with the passport. 'Not dilly was the Princess but • Dumont .Was compelled to acknowledge that bhe herself was lying on another bed in the •larne room. lie should now call their Lord-, ships' attention . to the letter written by Du.- motiVio her Sister, - which, had 'undergone consl detrable 'discussion. Tohis- sufpri4e,his, Leartya • 14'.riends wished it to be believed that Dumont Si sincere when she wrote that letter. He was perfectly willing to agree with them in their .a.;•-sertion ofDumout's then sincerity, and what cli:Jj;at letterstate'; It spoke in the highest terms or her bountiful_ mistress. It stated, tliat it had. been a.t4eniptcd :to bribe her; that the spies of her Royal Highness had surrounded her and ' annoyed her with affairs ; and it proved also that 'she knew nothing at all in the slighest degree affecting the conduct •of her Royal Mistress. It was true, that Bergami and Vassali set out from (.11arnitt for Inspruck, to obtain papports; that they returned between two and thace.O'clock in the nuirning; that Dumont left her .bed when they returned ;••that the whole party was instant lyin motion—as in:;tantly in motion as the 'un wieldy suite of a Royal person could be—to set out on a journey in snowy weather, and under pe culiar circumstances. Her Royal Highness was then on her road to the palace ol".11,a&-tadt,where there was accommodation befitting a Lady of her illustrious rank. • She could not however reach that palace from want of passports; and, in con sequence, her Royal Highness . was obliged to :stop at a miserable -inn, where there was scarcely a room to rest herself in, under any circumstances —where her suite were compelled to lie on straw --1-witere they were' all obliged to keep on their " • clothes, except, as Dumotit would .at first insinu ate, herself and her Royal Highness. She ftir -ther said, at page . 301, -303, and 6.3.,,that Ber gami returned at .a_late 'tomb—that he and her`' Royal. Highness had gone to bed , about.' ten Dumont said nothing of her Royal highness being, dressed or intdresSed, lot -thig it be -supposed that.'-no one would go to eel withoutundresSing. was however proved that 'when the passports. -Ater", brought, her 'Royal Highness was found half sitting and half • lying in her. room waiting for them.. Bergami was in her room, but so also was Schiavini and -the Gciuntess of Oldi, and the whole suite passed Ihrotigh.it during the whole night. This had been proved by the Chevalier -VaSsalli, and he trust ed in addressing liberal men, he should have occasion .to, ash - tkeir tordships to. divest • theMselves of, any jrnpresSion they might possibly have imbibed' against thigGentleman from the ; circtanstance of 'his having. been ofig - i:ially a pri, - Nato - soldier. lie had been such, it was:trite.; hilt tie, - wirs a soldier of the Guard of Honour, and - it 'was known that that guard was composed Of Wien who Avere not only goad soldiers; but men of re-: - , apectattle . ;farailies. To the hOneur o the' Clic " • 'Nailer it was ici.be recorded, that his individual, 42As Aistinguishert Enei- j tt, had - caused his elevation AVliis present rank ; —araiil)l4:lll . cli:g'inAaiiied -with honottr,, by the manners 'of a seldiev united 'to iltose , of 'the mast accorTlished •gentlenifin, The account whiCh he had. 4,Y,iven of idiot ?lace at Chartifti was perfect ly.consis ten t thr'ough-: • • • coot, was , inconsistent with nothing, Tut those Oise statments NOMA' had been" originallyWri tzposed on their Lordships.' It was worthy: of no vice That Sacchi iya's at Charm r, and ,pet the Learned Counsel opposite did not dare to •Krnpstion him in confirmation of tine evidence of :.I)umont. lie now ilame to the affair Of-Carls .Attre ; and it 'was impossible not to look:bad( -on the difficulties with which this Illusffioiii Lidy Lad lad to struggle ihroaili the Whole of; her marled life. She had. been in a.Mainer obliged ..to- eave Engiand—she knew ,that the Mast, inju ,rious reports were in circUlationshe knew that ,Ohe was s surrounded by persons who were anxious An 'destroy iier—and . .although, in the course of :her journies, she .aXposed herself at no lessthan if.fty inns yet no attempt had, been made to peach her ronductat any of them, except by that ;respectable :witness, Nett.° Cachi, and that worthy Lady, Mrs.. Barbara Kress. If that adul ierot4-4atereourse, whiBl2 this waiting-maid had ...sought to prove, had taken place, how happened gat that . it was - not betrayed by - the linen ?It =list have beertibetzayed t by what he might call ;their body linen;, and the : same remark would . za,Pply to the fie week,s.they slept oh hoard the liolacca, Au& as. no attempt had,l)een made to trove this fact by the evidence of Dumont, he Thad a right to infer that what had been stated uras untrue. Ije.wishedall the circumstances' of liter Majesty's sitoatiop at Charnitz to be taken *lto consideratiOn. Was it pOssible to doubt • ghat in consequence of certain things 'she ewes watatee by persons of high rank anal rat pOwer ? If not,how ,Hanoverian linistet=at Rome? What conneCtiori was there tloetweetz this Protestant and quit Papal State : ?— . 3lajocei itaid been instructed by some.. one to say that he dirt rte . know this Hatioverian'tuvoy, butpteda, but 'that his trame. was as strange to 'Um as,tat of one of the 'Chiefs in. the •Sandwich Jslands . and Burnout, thOugh 'not denying a ICr.vleilge of ~his name, aays she never . heard of •any.improper condutt 6-r, his 'part, ner .of ~ any ;kicking *.f locks. , lit, was proper that they ghiuld , • .look_ at facts that had been kept. hick. _They ought ;not to forget that an active a g ent of :the : Blanc Oin;iaission ha 4 accompanied 111 i.. Cook, the h i e . . prif that Commission, to Frankfort, to,,gk the &mice of IVlautifie Maurice Credi ,Nrhotri'Mr. jlovvhaih-states was. em ployed to steal Abe keys ~of her Royal Highness's cabinet by Jtaron.:Otnpte4a. Why then was not Credi.call .e.d the lived with the • Priar,ess at the time, and ,urnight, no doubt, have. beau a good witness for. ttlie prosecutitin; but he would .have ,been, UH fortunak.ly, compelled to acknowledge this itn- Ffrfant fact. The fa,ct,that Credi was kamined sit Fratildort, and waS not 'examined here, was in c itrelf of no small hnportariee. Ile Was a witness Iw'ho could have said as much any other, bat he trust have dmitted the existence of a conspiracy against her goy.a.lllkgfiness, yet be had not been called ; and there was a woman now in England, who could have spoken : to facts of great iniport-, ance but ...,Who hatt':also : been kept baCk, anxious as' phis Lear, d -Fr ends were that. the whele'truth, Withqtit the least reservation, should . come before their Lordships. Now, with respect to Majocci, he could . not forget under, what circumstances he had denied all knowled of the name of Ompteda. He.had most strongly denied that he knew the name. To oppose his, • ''evidence, he would call their . LordshiPs'' atten-' Lion to that of the •witness Carrington, and he could not do this, without first noticing the diffe rent circumstrances in. libich the .parties in this proceeding were placed, and the diflidulties under which the.Que.en laboured, notwithstanding all that had been said of the advantages she had re ceived. .The V. - itness Carrington.no sooney.had left the Bar-of their Lordships, to the satisfac tion of every one who had heard'his testimony, than - materials were laid .for his cross-examina tion by - the first Lord of the Admiralty ; books were searched, and his Captain brought'to town to be examined. He would not complain of this, but if it were not irregular he would seriously, tlink the. Noble Lord for that cross-examination; and he would say, that in wheteVer rank: in so ciety Carrington's lot might be cast—nature made litim a Gentleman. The . character of this wituesS' roSe.higher froni every cross-examination e and his testimonycould not be shaken. The Learned Gentleman then proceeded to sheiv how the', eyi-' dence_Of this witness overturned the testimony of Majecci, as to Baron Ompteda, at whose con, duct lte (Majocci) felt so indignant, that he said, if he met him, he would kill him like a dog The result of the cross-examination was mbst satisfactory. When it closed, a pa per was put in; which proved that he had ac tually. :teen rated as' midshipman on bOard the , Poictiers, and Sir John Beresferd said, ,he never parted with any one with so much regret, as he was a most excellent sailor. He Could not but notice .how differently situated the 'Counsel for the Queen were' to their opponents. Her Majesty's Counselltad no Admiralty books to refer to—no Means .of getting witnesses' to Come, or of compelling the production of a single paper. They could get no Foreign Courts cere r inOnionSly to legalize papers—they could obtain from ,Foreign Powers nothing but unceremonions refusals. to bring. over their witnesses. He 'would not condo - an foreign witnesses, but it was a great disadvantage to the defence, that they had to meet persons of whose character and conduct in they 'were eh titelY ignorant, and of whom they knewliothing till - they were placed at tie ,bar against her., And yet, fortunately for her Ma jesty, every witness against her had been confut ed out of hiS Own mouth by his contradictory testimony ; for Dumont and Majocci, notwith -standing.the'eVidence they had (riven at the bar of 'that lIouse; :- had acknowledged that the PrineeSs was surrounded by persons anxious :to betray, and who distorted every-action of her life. At Carlsruhe, it appeared that not fewer than thi•ec Ministers had been employed to get 'evidence 44 - Inst - the Princess. One of them lieeeiVed her Royal Highness at the inn, and up his apartments to her ; but no soon6i. h'ati. 'she 'quitted them, than he Was seen runieng front room to room - to get some charge 'against her ROyal Highness.' He thought be; had caught' her in a trap,' and with the aid of Barbara Kress, Would complete her . ruin. IreS4 haksWern that in going into the room of the PrinceSs with some water, about seven, o'etock in the 'evetVing, she' saw the 'Princess sitting on to bed 'With Beegami, and her arm round 'his ; btit 'from her cross-examination,it appear ed that she' did not know whether it was the Princess or Countess Oldi who was on the bed. He '4'ent at considerable length into the evidence 'Kress, and centended, that the inference to be 'drawn' from what she had said was, that a broader bed had been placed in the room apprepriated .to *her ROyal 'Highness, by order of her courier. She had Stated that the courier arrived, and then the broader bed had been introduced. It . was,. 'however, possible, that 'this had been don'e by Order of Mr. Grimm, who ruight think that he Could more easily make out ie case of adultery by means .of a broader bed. Ile proceeded to argue from the. evidence of Kress, that it was riot certain the Princess was the, person she had seen with Bergail:li, and if there was any truth at all in her story, it was probable that the Coun tess of Oldi, and not the Princess, was 'the' in dividual seen: seated on the bed. The decla ratiens of this witness must show very clearly the nature of the .praCtices against her Royal High ness. Her compensation was,,nhe said, very little indeed ; but those who, 'Were 'uncertain or - the conipensation they were to receive, knew well the scale of pa M,ent tipbn which they were to cal culate, and that they could not expect a consider rabic sum, except they wer€ detetinined to swear qUite up to the mark. The Learned Cotinsel then paSsed on, aftey a few observations upon `the circumstance of the finding a cloak in her Reyal Ilighness's bed, whicli Kress afterward's saw upon Bergami, to that part of the testi-; potty .which related to the stains in the bed.. The period at Which those stains were said to have been 'seen was.net at all stated ; and the cross examination of Kress completely disproved her former assertions. She had said the stains were . NoiitC . : now this could be while she deScribed the - m to be inaistate of humidity he could not . enderstand: Asked if she; . a married woman, knew xhat they came froth', she replied that site *liad..nOt examined them ; and after Wards she had t'!iellinpudence - tei - say, when a shriller question ,vas Put - --yon Will )inrdon me, lint 11' have not/theught of it. If 'she had not thought on thiS subject, why kid She Veen brought . here at such an expence to the 00' Ple of 'this country to depose against theft- Queen ? Did this declaration'arise from her mo desty? Was she urea her cross'-examination sited for the firsttime with a fit of modesty ? No, her agitati o n an d he r - bl us h e s w e r e caused by a iioi.y , diffe ren t . f ee . ling, .I.rv . the 'struggles' of expir ing tiutt, siie-bad : sau g - ht to withdraw herself from the perjury, but that she was perjured was proped by the evidoxe which had been brought. , 'Th'el.evidenee of Mr. Hownam, which proved the wbole_course of the Princess's conduct at Carls 'rube, gave the :lie in the most mitive manner' to allthe assertions of this abandoned woman. The Learned ,Counsel then read epracts from the evidence of Mr. Hownam, whiCh stated the pe riods at .which she fettived from the entertain ments of the Grand 'Duke and the .Margra vine, which her Royal Highness had at tended every day (haring her stay at that placeE'very thing- that .had taken. place t fat Carlsruhe was fully accounted for, not only by the *.ividence of Lieut. Hownam, but by that of Vassali, who proved that this Illustrious Lady, who had been represented as associating with the lowest and the most proAigate of the species, bad been .constantly in the society of the most exalted characters. But if this female waiter had been contradicted, what ,should he say of the:male waiter, who had distinguished himself by placing his eye at the key-hole; and who had pretended that out of six:nights' he had seen Bergami, on three .or four, passing undressed to the chamber of her Royal Highness. He would not describe that person, for if his face were one that could be forgotten, the portrait which his Learned Friend had given of him 'never could be. Their Lord ships would' consider that there - were two wit nesses called to state facts of . the hideous desr cription which went directly,to proce the criminal intercourse, and that those witnesses had been effectually contradicted. Kress bad been contra dicted by Mr. Hownam' and Count Vassali, and Ctichi Was contradicted by every body ! That worthy person swore that he saw Bergami go into her Royal Highness's room three or four days successively in a state of 'undress; when it appeared,-upon the acknowledgment of all, that her Royal 'Highness was at : Trieste but -one day! He had made no mistake. He had spoken po sitively.to the appearznce of Bergaini without his stockings, and so forth, and had in the course-of his cross-examination, declared that he was quite sure that Bergami had gone three or four days out of six to the chamber of the Princess, tho' it was demonstrated beyond the possibility of doubt that her Royal Highness had slept in Trieste but one night. 'This business 'must be carried further in another place, as the defenders of her -Majesty would certainly be remiss in their duty, if, when these-proceedings terminated, he. should still remain in Cotton-Garden ; if he had not been sent away to bear joyful tidings to the re latives of those inestimable persons who were still doing honour to this country by remaining in it ! For the Sake of the English nation=for the sake of human nature—in justice to mankind—they Would feel themselves called upon to drag him to justice, and prove that such persons could not assail the most exalted characters without being Called upon to answer for their conduct. That what had been sworn was false, had been fully proved by Lieutenant' Hownam. It would be remembered that they were then on the way to Venice. It was proved, that on the 15th of April they arrived at Trieste, and a letter, writ `'ten by Lieut. Hownam on the 17th, 'to the Lady he had afterwards married, was dated from Venice. That letter he had in his pocket, but the Counsel .for The Bill had not asked to see it, nor ,put a single question on the subject, as they felt assur ed that the statement was true. It was panty to advert to some of the statements which had been - made.- - Had their Lordships understood this was to. be a case of keyholes and chamber-pots, he was 'sure they would never have entertained it ;' but the. appearances once said to have been marked with respect to what he had last mention ed, it must be perfectly clear, must always have been observed, had lefthis o*n bed to go to that tk her Royal Highness's, or if she had quitted her's for the. purpose of resorting to the em braces of Bergami. Mrs absence of these, and Of the marks on the linen to. which he had allud ed before, proved, in his mind, that the adulter ous intercourse charged had never taken place. He had now to Wade through that ,disgusting and incredible part -of the prosecutor's statement, re lating. to the Carnival at the Barona.. The Attor ney-General, in his opening of this part of the case had said that " the scenes at the Barona were such that he would rather their Lordships should hear the detail from the witnesses. than from him ; sqllice it to say, that these more resembled the licentiousness of a brothel than the dignified amusement of a Palace." So much-for the, state ment, and now for the prOof. There were two questions : First, did these scenes ever take place ? and next, 'did they take place with the knowledge and approbation of her Royal High ness•.? From the evidence of Sacchi, it would seem that at first the Barons was visited by per sons of rank, .and respectability, but that subse quently these persons never made their appear ance:at the Barona, they were so, disgusted with the dreadful debaucheries they had witnessed. Now -these were the persons who should have been brought to prove this statement, not only On account -of the weight which their respectabi lity would have given to their evidence, but likewise on account of the strong language with which they would have expressed their in dignation at the scenes. in question. Had they, 'or any of them, been called ? No, the censors of morals, and the delicate critics of manners on this occasion were Majocci, Dumont, end Sacchi. The Learned Gentleman then remarked upon the deficiency of proof, even by • such witnesses as these, compared with the opening of the Attorney 7 General, - circumstances which clearly she Wed that their first tale which was put into the Attorne'y-General's brief, varied Material . - ly from.the .second; He argued on the strong improbability of the truth of Sacchi's statement. He would undertake to say; that all which had been sworn to and which was capable of refuta tion, had been completely refuted. There were parts- of his evidence which did not admit of a refutation by 'direct negative proof, but .their Lordships would know what degree of credit to give to a-man, in' those points, when lie bad been decidedly contradicted in others 7 ' The cir cumstances which were disproved, ought not to be forgotten ; for they :became material from their very refutation ; for they shelved how his Illustrious Client had been beserby spies arid 1 1 tale-bearers. At the balls nothing improp er hats been proved. Her Royal Highness bad s ome times come out of a contiguotta apartment in(° the ball-room, had several times joined in t he (Mice, and then retired to her own apartureat, She had- done no more than malty Noble felt themselves at libertir to do in this counts', in making their tenantry and neig hbours happy by such means. It might have been supposed that .a poor negro, who had -bee° described as being less than man, was here Inas; ter of the revels. Lieutenant Hownam and Coli n Vassali gave in detail precisely the same descrii7 tion of evidence with respect to the character o{ the entertainments given at the Barona, and est"' blished beyond all reasonable doubt, that the re was nothing in them either improper or indece nt. Not an individual of the female sex was there/ who had not her natural protector or guarai3° with her. If any toying bad occurred b etwee.' t any of the parties on their / way home, would I be just to charge it on the Illustrious Persona: who had given the entertainment ? Where w° , ,, the proof of any person of di s ti n ction basin , withdrawn from the society of her Royal re ness on account of these balls ? It app ear from all that had transpired, that they were a„ i tended by the same company from first to la 6 A Nothing had appeared from what had been state' of tl - iese entertainments by Hownam, Vassali/ and Ogioni, and the description given of thef t by PalTli made one wish to have been there. appeared from him, that a ball had been principally on account of a family of eighte e ; children that her Royal Highness was desirq of seeing altogether. t. was mere trilling to tall: of these occurrences as affording any ground 1"r imputation against her Royal Highness; but f ?, that very reason they became important fac ts the case for. the Queen, since they spewed los the most innocent actions of her life were attcolt; ed to be perverted to her prejudice. .As Dunt° ° s had said, it was the misfortune of that Illustriou Lady to-be " constantly beset by spies, to be hated where she ought to be cherished, to have ever '' , action of her life distorted and misrepresent ed-, Not a virtue which she possessed, but .was c°"; trived to .be set in array against her ; kindness, her affability, her love of children/ - love almost inseparable from open and g ea rs rous natures—her desire to make her neigh bour i happy, were all brought against her—sent fir s , , 5 to the Green Bag and then transferred to ill Learned Friend. But it was a fact on whie, he reflected with proud consolation, that in evetif instance in which the witnesses to this case,°,,, artifice and treachery could be .contradic ted other witnesses capable of speaking to the sa w " facts, they had been contradicted in the most 1 3 ; sitive manner—their testimony.bad been en tt i , pieces. It still remained to speak of the ex hibitl ie by Mahomet. Did their Lordships wish t hat should detain them a moment on this disg ust''" part of this most miserable case ?—(A pau c i i) —Majocci, who bad not been properly (I'lls ' ed as to the complexion to be given to t"„,e incident, had uususpectingly %declared tha t saw nothing in the dance which made it tii ri fit to be seen by eitter - man — Or - woman. C° ° ,, E s their Lordships believe, that if there any thing in this exhibition of the abou': nably filthy description ,represented by the oPe ce '' ing case of the Attorney-General, it could P o i escaped the notice of a man of MajocCi's tar'' it, mind ? Out of the mouth of their own chief ness, the allegations stood completely refn te aa But without resting on the testimony of any 11 2 d so tainted as Majocci, their Lordships would tri in the evidence of Mr. Hownam and Count 13;0 sali, that they had perceived nothing indece nt o f it, and Mr. Granville Sharpe had seen a danc e r , the same kind performed at Calcutta before Pero sons of high distinction. Lieutenant Hosvo s o , had told them how this dance-came to be' t\ tr i a , duced. It appeared from his testimony, that',he hornet had quarrelled with the Doctor on boar(' , polacre about taking his physic, and it had in ro of ' sequence been common to call for the danc e v , " Dimwit'? to annoy the Doctor, by svay of a i ° r in He next noticed the extravagance of the ma ne to which Bergami had been described as -stealin; the chamber of the Princess, when frornstbe b e the of the weather all the doors and windows i° house were open. Would the House believellto? a story on the evidence of discarded serve t o t If they did, there was no persbn so exalted, de o his character might be destroyed by the sla" oa f that discarded servants might couspire at r ;pe themselves to get up against their masters. t ie Learned Gentleman proceeded to detail pe r evidence given by Sacchi as to the , 019 , 1) ,,0i of his 'attendance upon her Royal h i g h t v in the course of the journey from Rolu e ibe Senegaglia. 'Every morning he went up - t ° vh eit carriage window to ask what was wanted- ; JO he is asked who was in the carriage hes " o Bergami and the Princess, he takes refu!,, De that want of memory which he knows i t " for his only safeguard against that punishtoe°)ft• perjury, which he so justly .merits. ne Denman) asked, was it possible for any IT o of creature, under such circumstances, not t° DI whether the sister of the party Charged wa en" his side at the time he was so criminally it to ployed ?" That answer alone was suffici c ` t ie satisfy him that the whole tale was a fahric'i,eo; But without trusting to this as a cowl - A( 0 4 . 1 0 0 : tation, he would go to the direct contradic" 001,' the fact by evidence ; and their Lordships ever see that it was to demonstration clear that " cs ait, this 'infamous individual was entitled to . cr lie he had now for evermore forfeited that tioe%ad referred their Lordships to' a_ 634, where e would find the evidence of Carlo Fortil thßol° to ; ness, who attended on the journey fron t .„ oloi es' Senegaglia as courier to her Royal 001° being himself on horseback during th e 1 . bas' journey. So far therefore from this Sacc,iity • ing had an opportunity of drawing the "410)111, curtains of the carriage in which bar e u d 011 Highness travelled, he did not even atftrica that occasion. This .witness Fort' w as ' 9 3ce cross-examined as to all the evide nce in page 634 ; and ; in the cearse o f that Xarr in a► se rv i Sacd rier 8 tri m Saco vo nsi haze it „. _ . , ti Pe] m e t o a )Va s fa lse the t ti i ott of givoi ti ktio‘