The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1870-12-17 00:00:00

BREACH OF PROMISE.

In London, the cause of "Hall e Regnart" has been tried,
and was an action for breach of promise of marriage. The
defendant dented the promise, and pleaded, secondly, that •
reasonable time for the marriage had not elapsed ; and,
thirdly, that the agreement to marry wes upon the condition
that the plaintiff's mother should, before the marriage took
place, satisfy her creditors and obtain • respectable position,
and that this condition had not been fulftlied.

Mr. Turner, in his opening, said this Wrtl a else in
which the young lady had been deeply wronged, be-
cause the defendant, after breaking his promise, had
tried to insult her, and wound her feelings. The
plaintiff, Emma Hall, in 189, when 19 years of age,
was living with her father, a dealer in china and glass
In the Tottenham court-road, and the defendant,
Horatio Greece Espied, who was about the same age,
PM then a shoprnan in the employ of Mestra Maple
and Son, the well.known upholsterers in that thorough.
fare. Inconsequence of busineas communications they
became intimate, and in 1861 the defendant made the
young lady an offer of marriage, which was accepted.
Owing to some misconduct en the part of her father
Miss II .I 1 left home and took • situation as sales.
woman in a shop at Bayswater. A constant corres-
pondence was kept up between the parties, and the
deferiltrit's letters were couched in the most endear-
ing terms, beginning "my darling Emma," or "my
darling,' and winding up with "your affec-
tionate twer, Horace Regnart " (using that Christian
name instead of his proper one, Horatio), or " with
fondest love and beet wishes, yours ever, &r.," and
'dueller phrases. Miss Hall's father died in 1864, and
in 1865 she went on a visit to Scotland, and after.
wards, on the persuasion of the defendant, she took a
situation in the shop of Mrs. Temple at Brighton.
While ahe was there the correspondence continued,
and in one letter the defendant said—" Yon are very
acute in reading love letters, but you know what a
duffer I am at it r while in others he spoke of an absence
of a few days from her being like a separation for
years, and of her being his "principal port in this
world," and strongly advised her for his sake to avoid
the damp and cold of Brighton. On July 14, 1865, he
Wrote—
- • -

" I received your kind letter yeiterday morning. I am
very glad to hear that you have had a bathe. I intend to
have one every morning when I come down. I have • very
peculiar feeling, which tends to make ma uneasy—it le that
feel quite lost when you are away."
In another letter, written on the 27th December,
ISO, be maid—
' I was highly delighted to hear of your safe arrival, and
hope you will not etch cold by your cold ',limey. The piece
of poetry seems to me to be very appropriate; Indeed, under
the dr.: unistunce. I really fancy, my dear Emma, you must
have got it purporely for the occasion. I feel that I must
spologim to you, but I must confess that I really felt unwell
on Tuesday, and although I cannot get rid of It my cold Is a
little better than when we parted. My mother has wanted me
to have • mustard plaster on, but you know howl abhorthem.
However, if It Is no better to-morrow evening I will take her
advice. I have been thinking that I &111 BUM you would use
goQd Wamotilon In dedroyin my v. 7711117 WWI . . , tor I

sm stye that the leading press, the limes' would not eon.
shier them of any valor to publish If you thought It nec,s-
Cory, but if your nilmti in as comfortable uism that point as
ml t ele that days newe will not occur for the public at
large."

When Mr. Hall died, the business was carried on by a
son-in-law for the bonefit of the widow, but ultimately
Mrs. Hall took it into her own hands. In Februsry,
1867, by the wish of the defendant, Min Hall came to
London to ligniati her mother. She lent him some of her
saving., and he lent the mother EN, which was repaid,
with 10 per cent. interest. In the same year Mrs. Hall
(Advil, and her daughter went to another eitnation at
Tunbridge Wells. Thecurrtspondence a as still kept up,
and the defendant alluded to having a salary of r,i3o a
year, besidea commission, to his having insured his life
for another £2OO, and to his looking out for house pro-
perty. He made reference also to some calico, a pre-
sent for the yoarg lady, Lot after the mar:iage was
broken off he made a ulaim for the price of it. In July,
1869, Ml. Hall noticed a change in his manner to her,
and she heard he wee pa} log virile to another young
lady, whom it was believed he subsequently married.
She asked for an interview, and he then told her be
had made a mistake, and must break off the engage-
ment. Thus, after having wasted the beet parent the
girl's life, he whistled her if, to be an objet for the
laughter and ridietile of Olen.. During the engage-
ment he had wit scrupled to borrow £26 from her, and
in oi-toiler, 1869, he wrote to her, in reference to the
loan, this cool note :
" Mr. Run art livery sorry to and he Is not able to keep
his promise to-day to Mies Hell with regard to the pay-
ment of the money he owes her, it may le as well to state
thst there may be no ground for mum ; that I owe the
debt, and I feel sorry it was ever contracted."

In afterwards remitting the money he deducted £3
for the calico. The defendant said a reasonable
time had not elapsed for the marriage, but he had
found time to marry another girl. With regard to the
other plea as to tho mother's obtaining a respectable
po.ition, the learned counsel said that she had never
held any but a respectable position, and had done her
best to resuscitate her husband's liii.intss' and that
after having been engaged to the young lady for to
many years, it NUM only adding insult to injury to ray
that the promise was dependent on such a condition.
Mr. Baron Martin, on the conclusion of the learned
counsel's ttatement, expressed his opinion that it was
a case for settlement. _ _

_
And the parties, who at the outset had endeavoured,
but in vain, to come to terms, entered again into nego-
ciatiot, and the result was a verdict for the plaintiff—
Damages .C 1,50.