The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1876-07-04 00:00:00

AN IRISH DIVORCE CASE.

An extraorctin'arl-riir:Orie-ces-e—WL Pa;tl; heard Tues-
day. before Judge Warren, at Dublin. Tim petitioner is
Captain Richard Spread Morgan, of Portnoy, county Cork
andthe respondent, his wife, Lady Catherine Louisa Morgan
is a daughter of the Earl of MountcasheL The petitioner
sought a divorce on the ground of adultery and cruelty.
They were married in 1858 and had four children, one a
son, now dead, and three daughters, living, aged Pi, 15,
and 11 years. The petitioner alleged that the respondent
during many year, has committed adultery with
many persons whose names are given. It was
alleged also that her deprim ity was open and glaring,
and that she constantly confessed and boasted of
her amours to drive him to desperation. She would pull
his whiskers, cut him with a whip, throw his shirts out
of the windows, point a loaded gun at him, prevent the
servants from cooking food or lighting a fire for him,
throw water on the tire when he attempted to light it,
throw water on him in bed, sell his clothes, fill his boots
with water, cut them in pieces, strike him with • chair, and
spit upon him. At length she went altogether to London,
and petitioner ceased to live with her. -Lady Morgan,
who was in court, in her answer denied the adultery
and. accused the petitioner of having neglected her and
the children—Sergeant Armstrong stated that the evi-
dence that would be given would be evidence if revolt-
big depravity which, but that history had furnished
such examples, might be thought by the jury incredible.
He then stated a variety of gross instanceo of misconduct
Marry Harrington, who was stated by Serjeant Armstrong
to have been the confidant of the respondent's amours.
was examined, and deposed to the familiarities of her
mistress with a person named Vincent, and with one
whom she called "!ferry." She had another friend
named Flemin,.'; and she wu also intimate with a horse
trainer named Mangan, at Moore Pork. Her ladyship
said llangau was very handsome, and that he would
be better looking if he had a moustache.--Manican
afterwards got a moustache to please her. She
bought new clothes for Mangan and gave him a watch.
Witness seeing him no well dressed, said " his soother
would not know him." Mangan did not like the observa-
tion. It seemed to affect him, and he began to cry. The
respondent used to bring him into the dining-room and
keep him there for a long time. Her excuse was that
she was writing letters for bins, and that she was teaching
him to write. At one time the family resided at Cork-
hill. Mangan slept in the kitchen, and her ladyship
threw a turnip into his bed in order to rouse him. Lady
Morgan also told witness that she was in the habit of
going to the office of Mr. Julian, who was a solicitor in
Cork. .

After some further evidence had been given the case
was adjourned.
The hearing of the Morgan divorce case was resumed
at Dublin. In the course of the examination of Mary
Harrington, a number of letters were put in evidence
which passed between her and her mistress after the
latter had left Captain Morgan. The letters from liar-
' rlton were in very affectionate terms. The letters from
1.. y Morgan to Harrington were also in kind terms, but
stated that the writer had heard a good deal against her,
and urged her to leave Captain Morgan and to go over
to London, promising • quantity of fine clothes, and
reproaching her for unkindness in not
.going. The letters
also contained complaints that Captain Slorgsui had not
furnished the respondent with sufficient 111C1115.-- Wit-
nesses were then examined, who deposed to undue
familiarity on the part of Lady Morgan with men iif low
iseition in various places. --A hotel-keeper in Fernioy,
who deposed to remited visits of Lady Morgan to a
stable loft in company with a green, was in
crersexaelination whether Captain Morgan was not a
notorious drunken lilackgiasinl, and answered that
when sober Captain Morgan was a perfect gentleman,
but when drunk he was quite the reverse. tin one
occasion Lady Morgan hail to fly to witness's hotel for
protection from him. Captain Morgan himself was
examined, and stated that his wife's couilect was very
gross. On one occasion when she was in a delicate
condition, he suggested that she should not go hunting,
but he was shocked to find her on horseback in the hunting
field. She bad climbed throush a window and broken
open the stable door. On another occasion she cut him
on the leg with • riding whip when he was getting out of
bed. Lady Morgan and her father, Lord Mounteashel, were
in court during the hearing. Evidence was given to
show that • book of an immoral character had been
left behind her by Lady Morgan, and read nightly by the
servants. John Heffernan said: I recollect the races at
Kanturk. I was a billiard-marker at a hotel in Mallow.
I met Captain Morgan and Lady Louisa at the railway
etation. There was to have been • gentleman's race, in
which Captain Morgan was to ride, but as it did not fill.
Capt. Morgan refused to ride among the "Jocks." upon
this, Ludy Louisa turned round, abused him, and called
him a "cowardly dog," adding that only she was a woman
she would ride. I observed Lady Morgan in company
with Donnelly, a jockey. She walked with I ' arm-in.
arm round the course, and afterwards got into a wag-
gonette with • party, drank some wine or brandy, and
drove away. The captain was not one of the waggonette
party. He went home disgusted. John Fleming said that
on one occasion Lady Morgan jumped out of a hedge and
tore Captain Morgan's whiskers. The captain did not do
anything, but tried to get her hands out of his whiskers.
He did not strike her, lie bad heard her frequently scold,
the captain. Captain Morgan was severely examined. He
, admitted having been frequently drunk, ani having called
his wife ill-names. For them, in 1276, he had offered
publicly to apologise. lie then retracted thezn_: but he
now said that he would not believe her oath. He had been
intimate with her before marriage and considered her an
impure WORLD before and after. She first reproached
herself with infidelity. lie had called her the worst
names, but nevertheless then wished her to be over the
children, because they were young. He took notes of
Lady Louisa's conduct, and was convinced of her falsity,
and experienced her cruelty, but at that time desired her
to remain, so as to not upset him place--Captain Morgan,
on being cross-examined admitted that he had
been accused by his sister-in-law, Jane Moore,
of being a notorious drunkard, and that his father
had written bin, a letter, attributing his pecuniary em-
harassments to his "improvidence, extravagance, and
dissiptation." He said he was rolibed of his watch and
money when drunk at a roulette table, and admitted that
he had been two years in gaol for an assault committed by
himself and • party of men under his command at night
on a gentleman nettled Hunt. Ile said be committed the
assault because Lady Morgan represented to him smile
grossly improper language used by Hunt to her when she
MU on horseback at Youghal Races. On one occasion his
wife tried to set tire to the window curtains because he
objected to her going to a ball. Another time when she
had abused him and pulled his wiskers he tied up a
favourite mare of hers and flogged it, because, of course,
be could not beat his wife. (Laughter), lie denied that
Lady Morgan stopped her ears with her lingers to keep her-
self from hearing his filthy songs, but said she was in the
habit, alter abusing him, of stopping her ears so as not to
hear what he said in return. They had constant quarrels,
and the second child, who used to sleep in his wife's bed-
room, must have heard when awake the bad names they
called each. other. She presented his own loaded gun at
him once. She broke another gun of his into pieces. She
beat his dogs to annoy him. She put a chair screw his
knees and oat on it 80 as to hurt him. Ehe struck him on
the face with a stick. She threw his clothes on the fire.
She frequently came home drunk. Witness Jamie notes
of the alleged misconduct of his wife, and some of these
were read, as follow:—" December 11, Louisa remained
out till twelve o'clock. I locked the doors, but she broke
them in. December 12. Remained out till twelve o'clock.
Brokethe doors, which I had locked when she went out."
December IS. She gave me dreadful abuse. She took out
a ring on the 12th and said it would suit another besides
herself that she meant the little soldier, that he was
better looking than Hall, but not au good looking as
Mangan."
. . .

Margaret tsirscaditen, who had been in Lady Morgan
service for ten days, deposed that her mistress frequently
asked her to get a faction of 'by" to beat out Captain
Morgans brains.
The petitioner's case having closed, Mr. Murphy,
opened the case for the respondent He said it was rather
a twitter for congratulation for his client to be brought
into Court to repel away the .slious and loathsome charges
which had been heaping against her both here and in
England during the last fifteen or rd stem) years. Ile was
confident that the evidence would remove the infamous
accumulation of obloquy.

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Liver Oil "We C#ti bear personal testimbny to Its
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I). PlontoN and SON, Grot*ni Shaftesbury, G.
K6llBlll, Wine and Spirit Merchant. Sherborne
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Laista att4 CQ., Worcester.

A NOBLE AMUSEMENT.

The following narrative reaches me, says " Atlas" in
the World, from a trustworthy correspondent: —" Last
Wednesday week, accompanied by sonic young PenV.
I was driving from
Richmond
in a scai;gonnette.
were an extremely prosaic and. quiet party. In the
neighbourhood of Hammersmith ice were overtaken lov
the coach of a well-known nobleman, who warn himself
driving his four splendid browns. Attracted by this
agreeable sight, all eyes were turned to look, when to our
dismay we were *mailed hy a shower of hard bran pin-
cushions., thrown by the heavy-handed, hot-headed. and
unmannerly passengers .oi his lordships drag. These
gentlemen further hurled these hard halls at two of the
Sisters of Charity belonging to the Nazareth Convent, who
were driving their cart on their umal round of good deeds.
Had this annoyance proceeded from a party of coster-
mongers returning from the Derby, it will not have
surprised us. We are all people who can take a joke, or •
bit of fun merrily enough; hut these :Mulles were too
hard, when thrown from a height by strong :trona to be
looked on in any other light than as my:idled-for
rudeness. My correspondent has furnished me with the
name of the noble coachman, which I prefer to supress.