The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1824-12-07 00:00:00

VICE-CIIANCELLOWS COURT. MOSDAT. Dec. S.

Ilia Ilanwur was occupied the whole of the d 4 In bearing ex.
mutat% of nu public ioterent or iiiiportiance.

COURT 01' KING'S MiNCII, 3lownAr. Dia.&

BREACH OF PROMIsE OF MARRIAGE.

WHARTON V. LEW'''.
Mr. ABRAHAM opened the pleading& This was an action
brought to reenetrcinupenratiost in damages fix a breach of promise
of marriage. The declaration set forth, that the defendant had
promised in marry tie plaintiff: The pin a the defendant was.
a denial of such pmtniee; ;end that was the question on whith the
Jury were to deride. The damages wire laid at 3,lifllf.
Mr. Iliocuriaar appeared for the plaintiff: It had never de-
volved upon hint to submit to the consideration of the Jury cit.
cutustances of a more aggravated description than the present.
And when he hid developed those circumstances, he was aatisfied
that the Jury wouid agree with hint, that within their experience
also a ease had in‘er recurred aerie circumstances ealli el more
feelingly attd powerfully upon their eoinpa•rion fcr the pariy
conipt,,,,,ipe., and few their probation of the party c nit; I .loud iit.
The plaintiff was ]piss Ameita It'harton, a voting laity of reaper!.
able parents and good Once: inn. Her father resided for some time
time in 'limiter, in frxfandshire, and afterwards retired to %Car-
-1 umugh, in the Fame County, arta having rear:Bed a competent in-
dependence. fie had tiwronly been proprietor of the King's Anna
IDn, at illaidenhead.hrklge, Berks. fits daughter, the present
plaintiff, had been brotmlit up with the Utairett rare, and in the
strictest morals; she wan also poweetesnl of pensidtrable perwinal
beauty. l'utfortnnatcly she beranir acquainted. about June,
with Cart ',why an Officer ion the Madras Establishieent, who was
then in England, on leave of abace.ce, in conserptte‘ce or iii..henfeh.
lie wan not then a Captain, but had been rolnuted sitter the damn(
his acquaintance with the present plaintiff-a faintly. Ile wan a
toting man of respectable connections and goo I p-ospects in life.
The plaintiff beratite acquainted with the defendant at the botuee
of her brother, at Walworth, where he had been int:Aaiun d by
a friend of the heretic?. lie soon manifested his
for Mira Wharton, cu"tivated more and n ore the intimacy of her
fancily and friends. a,..1 an a root' of his desire and wish to he on
t..lnot of the closest. trbotth,hip with them, he became godfather
to one of Iter broth is children. Ili§ nrgilaintarre bed nut eye-ni-
vel a few weeks. when his attentions became set marked that they
were nincrvahle to all. Ile di etinaly iutinisted to hat brother,
that thew attention were preparatory to a proproal toe marriage.
The brother of Miss Wharton and her family behaved on thin
ocesshm with the utmost cant:mar and gond faith ; and here he
would say, t hat their enrol on througlout all she efeewlisiapen opthe
ease, was Hawked with a propriety, delicacy. and discretion,
that perhaps was neer, exceeded by per. ots in their station in p.
(tiny. Iler brother candidly told hint, that his sister was without
fortune. To this he replied. that fortune was net with him an ob-
jeer.—tbat he loved her for herself, and that he hail bright pros-
pens b, ton. to ii of advancement in the world. Iles attentions
continuing wants and unabated. r was tame:minted to the father
of the young lady, aho expre—el great atirrke that no oh) .rtiol
was made en the part of the defendant, on account of the deficiency
of fortune. Finding, however. that he had expressed himself in.
'efferent on that subject. and that his rdientions did not relax. be
eensentfil to the courtship. Asa proof of the wanmohof the defer.
dants affection. h.: re rote sevet al Inters to het in theism:on, and went
on more than one eceasian to raft her. It wan painful to be ob-
liged to submit tenets of this kind to the Cenrt ; the excited
:by !medics* curienity of the public, a:4l uptituents aph:lS wen I

written in all the warmth and fervour of youtbfal love only fur-
nislust matter of amie:mon or of ridiestle.to the world. flowerer,
it WAS not his fault if these letters were dragged forward to pub-
! lie view. flail the defendant fanned the lionourabie union he hail
bi:u elf proposed, there would riot here been a neceesire for en-
hibiting theist in a Cohn of Justice.. lie wrote several letters to
' her in the country. In one of these letters, dated the 2211 of Sep-.
tember. 1821—lie eddreataa her. Denrest 'nut molt beloved Ante-
lia—lcithout you i am wretched-_I ant niiserahle. Ido not
I know what to do or where to go. No one has eves felt what von
and I have felt. I must en myself and bring you to town, for I
cannot live without you—Hod bless you," fte. The Jury would
be able to f StrincOpillitni of die ardour of his affection I..en such
language as thin. l'here were other kettle which would he read in
evidence, breathing sentiments of equal ardour and affection. Again
lie wrote to the following effect :—" I cannot better employ my time
than In writing to you ; I have been !wretched all night_l dreamt
you were near me : I feel wild-1 cannon write. 11,1, only consola-
tion is reading your lettere." Such was his language at this period.
and it an. not an easy limiter for one to express himself in terms of
more ardent love. (hi one occasion I:e wrote a letter by which be
bound himself by a! vow that he and the plaintiff should be ore.
1 his document lie sent to her and requested her to sign it also : she
di : sign it. This was the document that conveyed in the distinct:
cht terns the promise, for the violation of which he wan now
to be made responsible. %Vhilst his attentions continued shut un-
abated. an anonymous letter, the entenation of some hsrnant
ti- ml„ was addressed to the father of the defendant. This letter
grossly libelled the character of the plaintiff; however, inquiry was
Made, rat thematic was, that the meetitheat and his family were
aoredied of ins falsehood and mrli tniuv ; they iesvived her after
this as the insentient wife of the &feminist, traduced her in that
diameter to their fSends, and &seared publicly their conviction of
the fate hood and in . ity arch:. e. and re is by which she had been as-
sailed. It was then generally iii•derritnd that they were to be
mirr'ed, and a reason gifeit bir the dole, was, that 111 r. Lewes
w nits, net immediately depart fur India, oil as his wife would Mil
with bimf k was deemed advisable to postpone the marriage tiU a
short petted benne their departure, nt ardor to prevent an obvious '
inconvenient, wilted. might otherwise arise on board ship. Mean.
while the defendant urged. but urged in vain, the plaistift to a
Ovate molearle- With the propriety that character:2A her con.
duet (broth/WWI the !their of these trammetlona, she refused to
marry without the Imosekelge and apptsibuthnt of Ilia father. Thus
matters were until the month dt Januery in the press to year, alien '
the plaintiff we•it on a 'bin to her brother in 1 tentrilshire. The
defendant followed her, but her better settee and superior prudence '
still moved as a check to his entreaties, and she a second time re-
(sued to marry hint without the sanction else bell re required.
About this' time an event occurred in Mr. Wbarton's faiiii!yothi;h, I
with the exception of one member, tnrotved thigh all in otter and
indiscriminate ruin, His eon who succeeded him in the inn at
Maidenhead-bridge, and in whore hands, to aid the establishment,
Mr. Wharton, vets. hail left whatever of capital he possessed, be. I
came uneepeeteilly insolvent. The property of the plaintiff' being
invested in the inn, he was unable to fumlab she aunt he had in.
tended and agreed to supply as a portion towards the outfit requi-
site to a voyage rm. India. This fact was however cconnunicated
to the defendant, who replied, that that circumstance should
not make the slightest alteratimi in his mind, hut that it would rea-
der her an object of still greater endearment to hit:, as it would
make her more exeluslvely dependent on his protection. Noteitlt-
standing this declaration, very shortly afterwards a marked altera-
tion took place in his depnriment towards her—a t0:111 change in Ibis
affectimis was visible. Whether this charge was effected by the
cold-blooded and selfish monads of his family and friends
—whether it ass that same other object interposed to engage l'is
affections, or whether it arose front sexation at the delay of
the gratification of his unruly paminmi, he (Mr. IL) could
tint decide; but whatever mar have Leen the motive, fie was
induced suddenly to break of all idea of the snatch, and to
treat the plaintiff wi:h conlreas and indifference. 'this sudden
change, as might naturally be supposed, wax as distreehing to the
plaintiff as the came of it was inexplicable. The intelligence of a
determinetion in his mind to break she solemn engagement, had a
powerful effect upon her mind ; and here, on an oceshion that te-
, mitred and imperatively cited tar delicacy. eartelour,and humanity,
' be had the unparalleled baseness, the unbecoming turpitude, to
ray. that the impropriety of her own conduct occasioned and justi-
fied him in breaking off the match. (hi receiving a communication
of this change in hie sentiments, she fell into a ht, which lasted ter
two hours. Site remained cold and hits' in that situation, and it
was thought •hat she had expired. However. she recovered, and
was cor.veyed to bed, where she ten ained lie a tortnight,duriog
the most of that time in a state of raving delirium; nor was she even
to this day recovered from the shock that this communiention oc-
casioned to her both in body and mind. Such was the character of
her fond, faitlitill attachment—ard such the sad consequences of it.
As to the pretence that the failure of her brother rendered her
father incapable of performing his part of the agreement, by giving
21101. her the motif, that was but an artifice, as her btothens uttered
so make gsxd that -um. and on one nerasion that they went to
offer it, they were told by the ticfendart's lather, that if they were
to put down SO WO/, hits eon should het marry their sister. Itehides,
she had two ',tare, wit. h cet:tnin tie:meting/at assurances that the
ir.isfortunes of her family had not in any degree altered his in-
tention of marrying her. What defence would besot up by the
defendant he was at a loss to conjecture. Hid he Intend blackening
her char/maw, and to revert hi the old and refund slanders sug.
mated in the vile anonymous letter he referred to ? Thee had been
removed hem the defend:sees mind, es his ova dectse:al seaistac.
tioa, months and months sg3. He hoped he wooled nest, for he had
(lint knows) done enough of misthtef to this unhappy woman
alraily—lie bed robbed her of her peace of mind by a faithless
breach of an eeerigement be had himself made; he had brought
up in her, by his conduct, a severe illness, from which she hod not
as yet reentered ; and he hoped he would no: now increase the many
injuries he had done her, by adding fresh ones, with a view of
inmening the just compensation to which his past conduct
towards her had amply entitled her. If he did tercet to t' ewe
slander., badly es he (Mr. Brougham) theuefit of him better,
he wouldstill think worse ef him ; but he was se•lefiAl that
if the defendant did revert to them, it would ut ly serve to
inspire the Jury with greater compassion for her situation,
and induce them to Inciude In their verefict compensation not
only for past injuries, but also for this wanton aggravatior.
of them. It might be attempted perhaps to slight her charac-
ter, because she had been bound to • respectable female in
a reputable lire of busiress ; but this would have no effect,
unless it were endeavoured to be maintained that no female
except a nthrried one should embark and engage in buehiews. Hut
title he was satisfied would not he contended for; hie it was well
knows there were many, very many unmarried females of unim-
peached character, who enjoyed the grind opinion and respect of
the world, by engaging In pursuits of laborious industry, and
thereby becoming estimable and useful members of society. In
the course of his statement, Mr. Brougham read several eXtratts
trots: letters, which we subjoin, and which were read in evidence in
the course of the trial.

The following witnesses were then called on the part of the
plaintiff.
Mr Henry Wharton is the brother of the plaintiff, and resides
at Walworth ; recollects the defendant coming to hie boner in the
month of June in the last yeer; he WAS introduced by Mr. Plod.
son ; the plaintiff was not present at that time; an appointment
WAS sonde for a party to go Yauxhall on the 18th of June; the
plaintiff was one of the party ; another party WAS subsequently
made to go to Fairlop Fair; the plaintiff; the defendant, and two
of his sisters, as well as several others, were of the party: another
engagement was made to go to Vauxhall, and subsequently the
dewialant stood sponsor to wittiess's ehlid ; afterwards wham' had
some conversation with the defendant, respecting his sister; he said
lie was quite smitten with her, and valid wish to make her his site.
SS itness told hint that his sister would have no fortune until the death
of her father, and perhaps not t yen then; defendant replied that
fortune was not his object; witness replied that a young man of
the defendant's% expectations might to have a wife with teOlnif. at
least, FM therefore it would he better that he should never enter
won. ss'e Itonse again, as it would be only disturbing his sister's
peace. On the fullowing day defendant called on witness in the
city, bringing a note for his siert; at this time witness consented
to write to his father for his approbation; in the following week de-
fendant called again ; the planitiff was residing with witness at this
tine; the defendant't father was a !foster and glover, in Cestle-
street, Leicester-muse,: the defendant's father subsequently called
on witness respecting his sister, when witness told liim t'te
sante that he had before told the defendant respectire his sister's
fortune. After this the defendant's father and mother gave the
I witness, his wife, and sister, an invinditsa to dinner on the
following Sanctity ; but. in tronarittienee of the receipt of an
anunynsius letter, they did not accept the invitatitta.—The
di feadant call.xl witness out of the room on Om .I'hutsday or
Friday preetding the Sunday, etating that his father had received
. •
a letter respecting his sister's conduct. Witness read the levee,
and instantly denounced int come:its to be false, and clewed the
' defendant to various places where he might inquire. in order to
ascertain its faleehood. Sulriequently Inc saw the ilt•fentlatit, who
said he had made the inquiries. and was satisfied of the falsehood of
the letter. The torreepondettee between her end defendant was
then resumed. White.., his hotter, and the plaintiff, dined with
the defendant and old Mr. and Mrs. I.ewis; neon which oeettit.'
the plaintiff was treated by all as the intended wife of Capt. I,te-is
' A .any was subsequently made by a Mr. anti Mrit. filierairt, to
which the ',cerise% and wittwes's sister -were ineited, .et stitch oe-
carion Captain Lewitt attetafril Fiaint!ff ; after this he eolith-me'
to vial:. the plaintiff daily ; in the ll of Norenther the plaintifl
Went on a visit to her &miter, who kept the feirg's Alms at
31aidenhead.bridge Shout this time it was discovered that the
brother was in bad cireumstaeees. and witness communicated the
fact to the defendant, at the tame time eiteete.tieg that the emit-
apondence between hint tied the plaintiff situ hd cove.; but the de.
Indent replied. that nothing or. oath shoeld ever induce faint to
give the plaintiff up ; the detendant at this time olfered to mort-
gage his pay. if he coedit raise the money necessary to matte the
plaintiff; w knee. replied, that sorely Litt family would never soh.
mit to that, aril then pntmised to write to his tither on the subject;
in consequence of a letter teeeived from site son. wimess waited on
hint and I:is father and both of them behaved in the most uncon-
cerned manner ; witness was Truett exasptrated, and threatened
to horsewhip the defendant witereete he might meet with hint ;
winners then demanded of the defendant, whether, if the flamer for
his sister's outfit was raised, he would many her ; he replici. that
litter what had passed he eertantly would no:; the defendant)s
mother was present and cried much, she said she Was extremely
sorry it could not be arranged, as she net er saw a young lady whom
she should like so well for a ilangliter-in.law.
Cross-examined.— Witness did me employ the attorney in this
action. nor is he responsible for riots. Defendant's tither told wit.
resit that he find six children, and that lie !tad done as much to • the
defendant as he could, his °nth' having cost him CIIOL, and Inc
would have !MIMIC until his, the elder Me. Lewis'., death, when
his property would to: equally divided. The ancejneous least al.