The Express.
London, England, 1851-03-31 00:00:00

be taken as a party to any such marriage, and I believe
that that marriage was broken off with her full approba-
tion." Then came another important statement that Mile
Talbot went back to the convent of her own will, an•t to
great satisfaction in doiag so, and Dr. Doyle added that
Lord and Lady Shrewsbury informed him that trey had
placed her as a boarder at the convent at Taunton, and
that he did not object thereto, and that he In•lieved
that the statement made to him by the Earl and
Countess of Shrewsbury, that it was with her own
consent she bad been placed as a boarder at the convent,
was perfectly true; that he had never considered her as a
postulant, or forming part of the community; and be
auaied, as was stated in the affidavit of Mr. Berkeley, that
any imposition had been practised upon the court, or that
there was any desire to stifle inquiry. It came all to this,
that the Earl and Countess of ..ltrewsbury had sent her
back, as he was informed and believed, merely for a tempo-
rary purpose. Now it must not be forgotten that the young
Lady was only nineteen yean old; that she knew nothing
of the efforts that would be made to induce her to embrace
a conventual life, and yet Dr. Doyle, who knew what
these convents were, never wrote to her or had any
communication with her. It was his duty to ascer-
tain if she wished to remain there, or if she pre-
ferred going into a private family. Ile took no
pains to inquire whether there was any other family
who would be willing to receive her. Ile did not %enture
to inform the court of that arrangement, and believing
it to be temporary, he took no steps to put an end to that
temporary state of things. If it really was a temporary
I arangement, it was the plain duty of Dr. Doyle to lase no
time an finding some other home for her. The onli thing
that occurred was this, when to his " utter amp. Ise and
consternation," after these matters had come before the
Public, ic,,e and had .riagiabit Inc ventilated, in. month of March
"wavering as to In coming
I f

a nun." The first step taken by Dr. Doyle upon the mai::
riage being put an end to wait that which he took in elerch,
1851 ; he had no communication with the young holy • he
had done nothing until he was informed by itomebody or
other that she an wavering in her notions, and the result
of which would be, if carried out, a gift of that emu of
8.5,000 i. to the convent. it was one of the most numerous
instances of neglect that could possibly be imager el, and
there was, in the conduct of her guardian, evidently a moat
entire neglect and disregard of all her best interess; upon
that point. Well, then, there was this young lady, wjeo
had been brought up at a hothouse plant, in that a eluded
state, totally unfitted fur the world • she was seethedy
thrown into the bustle of the London semen, and the
hurry and fatigue attendant thereon naturally reduced
that very reaction the convent wished for; and yet Die
Doyle took no notice of all that, until public attention WM
called to the matter. Did the case stop there? 1/r. Doyle
further said that he believed the young lady was only. •
boarder at the convent, and not a postulant. The time cir-
cumstances would, he apprehended, have never emtne to
light if Mr. Berkeley had not heard of her being in the con-
vent. Ile believed all along from 1813 that she was tbroad
with Lord and Lady Shrewsbury, and he, when he beard of
the fact, went to the convent. What wee the stetement of
Mr. Berkeley ? In his affidavit of the eeth of February,
made when the petition was presented, he stated teat,
hit opinion and belief, Dr. Doyle did not exercise Lin legal
authority or remonstrate with the Earl and Come,. of
Shrewsbury with regard to theirconduct towardethe infant,
and then he added, that on the lit h of lee britary he c lied at
the convent—that he saw !Hiss JeetlingliiiM, the eupeeones,
and in talking over other matters she admitted that the in-
fant had been placed there in September, 11150, by the Earl
of Shrewsbury, with the intention that she should tike the
veil, and she also admitted that she was at the time a postu-
lant for that purpose. The infant was introduced into the
room, and he entered into conversation with her :theme the
gaieties of London life ; and on :eking her if she was deter-
mined on becoming a nun, the answer was., "that there
was plenty of time for detenuining, ee a period of eiehteen
months was yet to elapse Wore she became eligible." Now,
that certainly implied that some step had been taken to-
wards becoming a nun. Ile went on to ray that be asked
to be left alone with her, that he might have for and eine
restrained conversation with her, being convimed, from
the :meow; manner of Miss Talbot, and her glances towards
Miss Jerningham, that she was labouring under great tear
and undue restraint. Ile then went on, in his affidavit, to
give his opinion m to the doctrines of the church of Rome
about nut having any right to exercise private judgment,
and quoted some extracts from Dr. Wieemane. writings,
which it wan not material to read. He said if the intent was
allowed to remain that she would be compelled to take the
veil, and her money would lerfeited to the ecebeimtical
revenues of the Church of Rome, or leer the endowment of
the convent; and that she would Is' compelled by the laws
of the convent to do so. Now, Mr. Berkeley WAA not mis-
taken in that view, we he would he able to show kis lord-
ship. The important point, however, was, if that conver-
*aeon was correct, Miss Jerningham admitted Ord Mee
Talbot was placed there with a view of her taking the veil—
that she had been admitted at a postulant, and would not
be eligible fur 18 months. Miss Jerningham also admitted—
The Lord Chancellor—You had better give her owe
words. " Admitted" wee merely as if something was left
to lw understood.
Mr. Woad had an affidavit from Miss Jerningham herself
on the subject. That affidavit of Mr. Berkeley eme filed
on the '2sth of FebruaT and there was a further affidavit
sworn by him on the February
if March, in which he stated
that " he had a distinct and vivid recollection of all
that transpired on Friday, the 11th of February, 1851,
during his visit to the convent called the Lodge, atTaunton,
and more especially from the fact his having, home-
diately after he left the convent, reduced to writing, by the
advice of his solicitor, the conversation that took pile be-
tween Miss Jerningham and himself, and also between the
infant Augusta Talbot and himself." lle settee tied in
talking nutters over with Miss Jerningham, "she stated
that no young lady was admitted a second time to the con-
vent, except as a postulant; that Mies Jerningham stated
most unreservedly, that the said infant Augusta Talbot was
placed at the convent in the month of September, 1810, by
John Earl of Shrewsbury, with the full intention that the
said. infant Augusta Talbot should take the veil, and Miss
Jerningham admitted that the said infant was a postulant
at that time for that purpose." He stated that when
Miss Tce d 'Talbot was introduinto the room, in consequence
of what had been stated by Miss Jerningham, he asked
her distinctly " whether it was her wish to remain fir ever
in the said convent," when Miss Talbot replied, " Oh,
there is time enough yet to decide that, as I ant not eligible
for the black veil for eighteen months and upwerele."
Further, he requested of Miss Jerningham to be left alone
with Miss Talbot for a short time, its be desired to have •
little conversation with her,when the said Miss Jerningham
informed hint that Lord Shrewsbury had given pleitive in-
structions in September last, when be left her there, " that
she never was to see any one for an instant unless in the
presence of the newesr or vieuress ;" that the abuse lan-
guage was made use of by the said Miss Jerningham and
the said Augusta Talbot, and the above words within
the inverted commas were written by hint home-
diately after the interview on the 14th of February,
1851, and that he could not by any possibility he mistaken.
Now if they wanted any confirmation of the truth of these
statements of Mr. Berkeley, it would be found in the fact
that he was not acquainted with the rules of these convents,
that he had never heard the word postulant before, and how
could all that enter his mind unless be had heard it ? lle
thought the whole of Mr. Berkeley's statement was so clear
and correct as to satisfy his lordship beyond the poseileility
of doubt. Before he came to the statement of Miss J,•l-ling-
ham, he would read to his lordship the letter of Dr. Hen-
dren, which he contended he was entitled to read.
The Lord Chancellor—What is your authority for that?
It was this : Mr. Doyle in his affidavit hail set out the pe-
tition of Mr. Berkeley to the House of Commons from
the Times newspaper, stating that he believed it to be
true. In the some paper there appeared a letter iloln •
gentleman calling himself the Bishop of Clifton. They had
thereupon applied to the Times newspaper to obtain a sight
of the original manuscript, and having procured it, they
were informed and believed that it was really written by
Dr. Hendren, the party calling himself Bishop of Clifton.
The information was sought fur and obtained front Mr. Ito hie,
the solicitor teethe Tosco, and, that being so, it was in evi-
dence that Miss Talbot went to the convent under his (Dr.
Hendren s) directions.
The Lord Chancellor—As I understand you, you chal-
lenge inquiry as to whether the young lady is there as a
postulant, and your mode of doing so is that you give the
statement of a party who you believe had authority to say
so, that who was there as a postulant.
?dr. Wood—And the other side did not accept the chal-
lenge. They admitted the fact, as they said that no person
could be ueLmitted as a postulant without the consent of
the bishop. The challenge being given, was not therefore
met: it was, in fact, admitted that the statement was true.
In his letter this Dr. Hendren stated—that the frequently
expressed a wish to become a nun. The learned gentleman
then read the letter of Dr. Hendren, which has already been
published, but complained that the letters of Mee Talbot,
referred to in that letter, and the letter written to her by Dr.
Hendren, were not produced. Miss Jerningham had made an
affidavit, but made no reference to these letters, which he
had stigmatised on a former clay as not creditable to a Chris-
tian bishop. It was with reference to the disposal of the
lama's property. The insinuation against Mr. Berkeley
wan, in his opinion, base, unmanly, and unjustifiable. Dr.
Hendren says she was at liberty at any time she pleased to
leave the convent, and gave extracts from the rule!, or the
Council of Trent as to the safeguards against any compul-
sion. Mr. Berkeley denied all the statements contained in
that letter, except that he had not seen the infant for e con-
siderable time. 'Dien Miss Jerningham, in her affidavit filed
that morning, stated that in Sept., 1830, she was applied to by
Dr. Winter, chaplain to the Earl of Shrewsbury, to receive Miss
Talbot as a boarder; that not being able to receive her as
a boarder, but as a postulant, it would lee necessary to
apply to Dr. Hendren ; that although she was admitted as
a postulant, it was only nominally, and she never went
through the ceremonies on the admission of a postulant,
and never wore the religious habit of a postulant, and was
only looked upon as an inmate; that Mr. Berkeley asked
her if she meant to become a nun, and she replied,
" There was time enough for that." She denied ales that
she had stated to Mr. Berkeley_that the infant hid been
placed there by the' of •
Lion of her becoming
the white and black
to questions from '•
to Miss Talbot, but
the convent generally
Talbot was nominally
convent whenever e!
intent only because
never exercised an'
r 'used u private
lie cause such were
affidavit there we
came there. The
the letter of' Dr.
upon this point,
appear that, somehow

io air. Deraezry••••—
oy the Earl of Shrewsbury with the inten-
oming a nun; that the anew en about taking
black veils were made generally in reply
urn Mr. Berkeley, . 4erenee
t, but merely ref , m of
nerally ; that she
ainally a postulant . '-
to
("is:
ver she pleased ; .dalik4
awe they never tMt. ' , shrt . ,phe
any control or 1.4 ovicllie infikkAnd
to interview to 2,* Arittaahr Want
ere her paid, . , . Noce ithat
was no exp • ^,. 6 • "Stir- gitaldbot
:l letter e leer or th '. • tti . if and
Ir. *inter would , rfl6 . .light
t, but neither was • ` • t ould
mellow or other, some ... . 1 her that