The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1870-03-22 00:00:00

JUDGMENT IN THE WESTON CASE.

- - - _
ROLLS Col7Wri 144J14-11 166 I
Till Mo•TIII or røi Roue pee judirlisent In this extras ,
cordinuy cute this morning, es tolled :—ln this ease I ben
reed with great anxiety the whole of the evidence, and In my
opinion the defendant, on whom the burden of proof lies, bas
tailed to Prove the adultery. I will now proceed to date the
wends upon which I have come te that conclusion. In the
first place, It 111 de.irable to ,tate the date°. The marriage took
plac- in December, 1857. • There wore three children of the
earn .ge, all of them daughter', who were born et intenale of
about two years each—one In 1859, oDe in 1051, and the youngest
a
• December, 1883. After the marriage the Partieu ppeared
to have lived exceedingly happy together until December, 1 .2,
when Hie. Weston wee •t Weymouth. and formed the
stoquelntaece of • gentleman 01 the name of Andrew Quick,
who eeemedto have been • friend of her Itudtande At all
evade, they ~ion became very intimate, and her budged
asked him to stolid ht. hode. Ile was • gentleman if small
means, who had formerly been in the army. Ile WY • 'manger
*On, and had no Deal =donee of his own : but he lived,
Mere,' adding, with some of his friends or relations, and
I at tbe request of Mr. Weston he =wand lived at Ma house f_oor
I • ainederable time. While he was r. ailing there "att. !,
reverie got ideal, which reports verY 'reel nre
without the allirbted foundation.
arein!"
cuntry. where persons have serf little t" he talked
o
nag to be propagated In or ler that- sounding mayt
slls tut. Then reporto were to the elect that not onilty Mr.
Qmck was • paramour of Sirs. Weston. but he was ei wh
the
knoele 'es atid eoncurrence of Mr. =on. Mr. Quick
naturally exceedinglv displeased et It, and after the "Pr:
got very rife he determined to Inn the hind. item wh
Mr. Wed on end "You will only give stronger current to t
hem
.ree the
by invitee" No doubt when such unt
veldt polky ls to take not the slightest notice of inetw •
However, he left the boon in consequence of, not only these
reporto getting prevalent, but scene other reports being added
to them. The remit wart, that Mr. and Mrs. Wee= d got 's-
atisfied with each other, and 4etermined to separate. Amor-
din :ly • deed of .eiention sae executed iin the edth December,
Med which was in the readier form, and by which the trustee
covendted against the husband being compelled to pay the
debt. of the wife, aod he covenanted to pay her
an annuity of £l,OOO, =ening to himself the power
In nue she committed adultery at any time to
rat oke the whole diner, and pay her nothittg atter that,
and deo 11 die euditutal any proceedings in the Divorce
Court for the restitution of conjugal rigid or dimone, and
the like. In other repents, the deed was en ordinary deed,
with the esception that there was no covenant on his pert to
pay money, and there ea.. power to the nudge. to distrees
and enter, no that they might have enteral upon kb cede and
distralned, in cue he did not ploy the annuity. The lady left
her husband'n house with the two youngest children (the oldest
remaining with the father) on 310 December, 1866. and on the
10 January, 1567, dve seat to Boulogne with her mother.
If in. Quick, the aunt of Mr. Andrew Quick, who Is an elderly
ady, but perfectly podded of .11 her facult.dtst:wirrif did not
accompany her, followed her I : andno-
dded witteher. The =Olt I:l44.ithough Mr. Andrew
Quick del not =We with them, be resided only • short data=
cie. and made conatent ski= to them. I think this was great
pine of indimetion ma the ran of Mr. Weston, and it at Ord
Impedel me at unfavourably that I wee looking at everything
eh= could preset Itself as unfavourable to her view of the ,
cam She este. Mat she lived with Miss Quick, because she
could not well afford to have • nparate establishment of he
awn. awry. "wegjopt,e. there weed hen been no harm In
that, if It were not for the frequent visite of Me. Quick. Elbe
pee an account of this to her husband, and certainly the letter
which her ha-band dote t, her after she arrived at Boulogne,
is &letter shoaling that he took • werna Interest In her welfare.
for, =onset other things, he said that he would tell her what
to do on any ocnsion that she might consult him as • friend,
and the Ike. When he heard of the frequent delta of Mr. '
Quick he got very much =pleated, sa ens natural enough,
and he wrote • letter to that effect which is open to so=
comment. Upon bearing of it he aped by Ids spot to Mr. .
Pollaky to welch the proceedingn of td. wile, and to endeavour I
to menet= whether any adultery had been committed. Mr.
Pollak,' enters upon the scene with that sort of skill and ex-
perience which was to be expected. The impede:it thing In
Mese matter, of course is, to get hold of ooe of the gen-ante.
L.C.Um nothing will be learnt without ons of the servants.
Thereupon Mr. Pollaky obtains an assent In the farm of
Leullette, • Frenchwoman, the lady's maid of Mrs We-too( I
think site entered the entice of lire. Weston us the 2001
Ftbruery, 1982, and left her service on fOlth August, 1982, and
entered it again as nearly as pod -le two years dterwards on
the 31st A urust, 1806, and remained with her until the 314
March 1967, when she left aged. It is pippin to observe, that
IS Leonetti§ evidence is to be believed, there can be no quay-
about the adultery. for she proves, In fact, almost no distinctly
am If she it'd been an eye witness of it. But tnere are venous
eircomdantes which make me regard her evidencie with very
great sdpkion. In the Ant place, her evidente extends to
acts of adultery with Mr. Quick previous to the t lth f Dee.
1868, when the deed of separation wee execitted, and also.
sub= tientlyl.. the 71st of May, 1667. The =untidy of that
I', that Mr. Weston gave notice to the trustees that he Mould
docile° dyke the annuity any further, on the irroond id the
adultery of big wife on the Ild May. 1867. Consequently,
strictly and legally ers eking, the lame I have to try in, whether
the adultery was eddied between the 28th Deeember, 1868.
and the Stet May, 1867, wbkh is a period of five months. The
alleged adultery with Ile Quick previously to that tine I. un-
quedlortably important, and very proper to be gone into,
became if that is clearly and distinctly preyed, it throws a very
comiderabielleht and colourlupon the tradactitin. between Mrs.
Weirton and Mr. Quick subeiquently to that pedal, and aim if
the adultery is proved subsequently to May, when he gave the
notice, that I. still more impertaitt, bees= not only would •
strong inference be drawn from that with regard to the
tnurections which occurred during those five monde. but it
wouki be Idle to make Mr. Weston give am fresh notice, or,
when I ass clearly of aviation that adultery had been pedal,
to allow Mrs. Weston, the plaintiff, to pin the advantage id •
year or two airses annuity In the meantime. Aeconliodi , I
hey e gone theme; the whole id those prior mete, and I am
hound to toy, that lam totally needle to satisfy myself that
an retie= be to be placed upon a Me* thing that Leone=
dep.= tit In the MIL llme. Leuliette ft are standotted
wernan Thor= Hitchins, the gemm, who gives evidence, in
her paramour. In addition to that. she is clearly proved In
my opinion, by the evidence of Jullelkhamel and her mother,
to have been guilty of having attempted to suborn evidence
aphid Me West.. It is one of the deed evils almost in.
seperelile from employing persons to detect •dultery, that
they have the strongest amide interest to make evidence in
order to show that their servieva are worth emnethlng. The
eluded incurred by Mr. Pollaky were duet effi • week. I
do not aced hint 14 having done anything at all to suhorn
evidetee ; he only t•led to rain, which he =seeded in doing
Leuliette es his agent for the purred ,4 watching whet took
place in tbe heed. Ido not trust Leuldtte's evidence for the
further reseal which I am about to state. The arldenee de
gird temente, what took place at the hotel at Park its
disproved by the evident, of Cl: oluttel Ilarvey who aridehe t
plan of the hotel, and who =we that the statement she made
114 to the manner in which the door a= opened, and her cloak
Gime. Out, md Me sew Mr. Quick ill the room with lire.
damn ma improdhle, 'douse the door does me open into
the gamed in which Me stoat but opens into a small redibule
or ante-room of about Nt. long, se that there were two diem
through which she could not hde men Intr, the other place.
It slam to be observed that that then Is • singularity In the
here-faced =neer in which the adultery is sUeneated to he
proved. It inn Madly be convened that • woman would
make it am, promment when the had to much to lon by
It ea she 1. said to have did here. The strong reason I
rely upon for disbelieving her dilence is not money
thee but is the attempt as I have stated to adorn the
didetice of Julia Dedmel, which le distinctly LA dearly
proved. The evidence before the separation deed, as to what
took place at Weymouth le really the mod unpreldble sad
limey that GUI well be concleved. Bet it la strongly sup
peeled by the evidence of Thanes Entebbe, the groom, who
was her puddle I coiled it would be very difficult to
make me believe that any lady of the slightest delkacy
whatever, could make the datement ton groom which be de-
to. It in not pretended that there waa any specie. of
9;lntercourse between her and the groom, and yet,
11
,tib;teerstatement, she tells agr
owes scm,rd. that she ;:zihvwroluntarliltyw,t ;‘,l.
Quick, • hen he was very unwell, into • bath, nod afterwards
went to Ma bed mad changed Ms dirt at night. Would any-
way pe that to a groom./ 1 col:dead cannot conceive of
a lady eaying suet • thing L 4 , atlas she said it
for POMO extraordinary purpose. As be Is • confederate of
louliette I cannot place any red= upon such • statement.
Every one of then alieptions In expreatily denied by Mrs.
Wanton. In berm= daseinatlen she den= the whole t hing
att distinctly as pond.. =other point upon which consider.
able reliance is placed in. that before the separetiou deed, very
shortly before the month of November, be.. Woad, with
has child, went to Boulcgae, to cheese a bode, anticipating
the =Patin: and returned to the Hotel In Great Portland.
street, and thereupon, as it is stated, left a note to be delivered
o Mr. Quick, who we. to come Mere under the name
of Ounpbell. Lauda= speaks =tidily to eireuna-
lianas which would led any regeonable pee= to infer
adultery upon her unsupported evident. ; but it is ex-
preen contradicted by many memo who went living at
time Portland Hotel at the Uwe, and silo ars called for
the purpose of endeavourhvg to show dot there le no reliance
to to placed co her testimony. I cannot but be stitch with
the nunseroua attempt.. that are mad. to adultery, pro-
bably under the later= mid on of Mr. Penalty.
Accoidteely, there is • beep al vita to prove that Mr.
Quick and kirk WOB4llll went to Dela, that theyslept together,
and, in fact, acted Iltimon and wile The of Mr.
Quick and lan Weston wed Prodded sad slaP eg htgr uern al Vet
servants of the hotel, every one of whom mean that those
the ponds who were there. But kis conchnively proved that
they were never thee.; In fact, so much to, tied Sir R.
legally mid be mud abandon that pert of the canc. It is
proved that they were In Paris during the whole time that
thin was said .0 have taken place, and who the permits that were
redly there le explained, via., a gentleman and Ms wife who
ogee there, and wen mistaken for Mr. Quick and Mrs. Weston.
All the odd servants with the exception of the cook, wh
tenement, I conies, appear* to use exceedingly improale.
red upon Leullette's testimony alone. The evidence of the
ciek is unquedidubly • Yen extraordinary story • it is that
Mrs. Weston was one did in the kitchen at Bode= in her
drones gown, and that Mr. Quick came Into the kitchen and
mid "I 1.11114 toped to you upstairs," up.° Which they
ended =stain to her rem, After mute thee she came down
stairs with powder on her face, which Me had not when the
went up, sad then voluntarily said to the cook, "Do you knot. ,
whet Ilk. Quick doted me updates for r " No" she " I ,
don't know and I don't want to know ; it le no agele or was.. '
Mrs. Weston geld "I MU tell you, he wanted to cut my co "
This Is a very strange story, and 1 contest, makes there Is anne
eridence to corroborate that, I should think It a very odd
suggestion that a lady had boo wedeln with her paramour to
commit adultery, and that she should come doerse
and tell the er,oo (and it wes a woman cook, and
not • man atok as I, dieu the can in Prance). e
r
gentleman wanted me detain in order to cut my co r 1
f
I Mould like to have some testimony to weeper% the Inference
that adultery had been committed. There is • whi
i
struck me very much In thin extraordinary story. Mx= really
had quite • dramatic elect. lt appears that Media Iseult
thought fit when she was in the pay of Mr. Mabel, and under
the instructiorn of Mr. PoUaky, to leave Ifra Wegon's seni
and accordingly she leave. it in the Into; she gnes intoeei
room where Mra. Widen is alone (the Is admitted on both
sides), speaks to Mee Wedeln, throws herself down on her I
Mien before bee, implores her to leave her guilty eourw. ehd
=urn her that all the adultery which she Ins committed erfth
Mr. Quick will be forgiven her by her husband if she will
repent and monde not to do It any more; and that thereupon
Mrs. Wenn° says ennethleg which arnounta to a refusal
to adopt that course, upon which she goes away. Mrs.
Weston admit. that Me did perform that scene, but aye
that It is perfectly untrue that she did anything but
scold her. Mr. Quick apparently wee dtenrards spoken to
the subject. That leaves the imptedion on my mind, that are
• at Mistime, endeavouring to get uperidence MK I
Aloft 8110 had, a. I have metal, attempted to suborn one I
of the witnesses, for Pe broueht her all affidavit lady cut
and dried for the porpoise of her meeting to Irri!gje'lit which
she ref ded to do. Generally, French lady's maids are very
good actremes. end that looks on me very much se if it acre.
prepared aide, from which to endeseour to extort dinaething
which could be turned into evidence against Mn. Weeton. It
(Mel except so far as Me dates that Mrs. Wdton refused to
accept, her wise and prudent advice, and thercuimn they Perted
Ido led place any reliance either one rimy or the other u)"e
i
the feet that Leuliette ha. =re been residing, and u I
un
informal is nod reading with Mr.Weston,bentd he must have
his =need ready to produce for cronexaminallon or by
the Court, and it is much better that he should do that
e= have her at his own house than pay for h ludg"ny -
n.,1"
I look at the mope of the whole of the didene:r
010:40c4. There Is really none at all against tdja intrwith
a toe
the exception of the evideoce Leuliette, and te,
who dement to • story, which I do nottbink It n
Into, about shutting • part of • counterpan e e trat:.eerY
room, which de between her room and the ' :f„:
Quick and at Mr. Weidon'e hods. It* reere
Lhdic
FreartolAbedrede and Mr. Quick had the iree
Mr.
- Teaj----
, was by Mr. Weston'. desire. It was mkret bedr". leer
, festedd up, she aradeen In the peeepthai dter
the
up; enPearagotbiggto. laethattlathateytheatewhole of them dampen- With her
tot,aunwt,
b. easily explainable, end that no
can piiftd
a.c. the _ u uPen them in order to la-
thing
winx-riz.;,. 1.0 LO rt in the can. The serious
epopa welch were _really is, that considering the
wlt). the aunt
, u4O neighbourhood, end, residing
eeereekettriir. 47ittngtiftnee, there bring the mead of int=
tag so near to then, that sin=
ne and have
8004 to reside In the *slab .
the Itrs
u%naa resided In the suns haws. However,
emu to perfectly In %now of Mrs.
atom They Apo teat
Hwy never Huy bad n. Intercourse and that
=ale toltx•tber, except wben they tseilt their
Mrs. Weden'a excue is that her diovrance having Isem,
stopped in May, Ida, that is to my, oaly one quarter having