The Sun.
London, England, 1852-03-25 00:00:00

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.
HOME ClRCUlT.—Kingston, March 23.
The commiosion for the county of Surrey was opened
at this place on Monday, and to-day business was pro-
ceeded with in both courts, Mr. Baron Parke presiding
on the Civil Side, and Mr. Justice Coleridge in the
Crown Court. There are 33 prisoners for trial on the
Crown Side, and 44 causes are entered at Nisi Prius,
six of which are special jury cases.
CIVIL SlDE.—(Before Mr. Baron PARKE and a Com-
mon Jury.)
JENNINGS V. CROCKER.

This was an action to recover damages for a breach of
promise of marriage.
Mr. Chambers, QC., and Mr. Bavill appeared for the
plaintiff ; and Mr. James, Q.C., and Mr. Wordsworth,
were counsel for the defendant.

The plaintiff in this action, it appeared, was a cook,
and in the years 1848 and 1849 she filled a situation in
that capacity in the family of a gentleman named Clark,
residing at Peckham. The defendant, who was at that
time not more than 18, was in the service of a butcher
in the neighbourhood, and the parties it appeared be-
came smitten with each other, and by the consent of
the mistress of the plaintiff the defendant was allowed
to visit her in the kitchen, and was received by her
and her fellow-servants as a suitor, and on several
occasions he intimated his intention to marry her,
and said he should set up in business for himself ;
and one of the other servants in the establishment was
to be taken into their service when they were married.
During the courtship the defendant sent several valen-
tines and other poetical epistles to the plaintiff, but as
she unfortunately was unable to read, a good deal of
their intended effect was doubtless destroyed. The par-
ties, however, continued a correspondence together until
the month of August in 1851, when the defendant wrote
a letter to the plaintiff, in which he addressed her as
" Madam," and went on to say that he was surprised
she should have said that he had left Peckham bieause
he was ashamed to stay there any longer; and that he
had done nothing he was ashamed of, and he intended
to return very shortly. He also said that he had heard
she had been to his uncle's to complain about him, and
advised her to be very careful what she said in future.
The letter went on to state that he did not care what
she or any one else said about him. He was fond of
having " a flirt," and he would have one as long as he
lived; and the letter concluded by stating, that if she
behaved well, when he went to Peckham he would go
and see her. The letter was signed, " Yours, &0., J. B.
C.;" and it appeared that two months afterwards the
defendant got married.
Evidence was given to prove these facts, and it ap-
peared that the defendant had stated to one of the wit-
nesses that an uncle had died and left him 1,0001.; and
after this a coolness was observed on his part towards
the plaintiff. It appeared that the latter was five or six
years older than the defendant.
Mr. JAMES made a most humorous speech to the jury
on behalf of the defendant. He said he was quite sure
this action would never have been heard of, if it had not
been for the silly boast of the defendant, that his uncle
had left him a thousand pounds, for which there was not
the least foundation; and the fact would, no doubt, have
been proved, if it had been capable of proof. The case,
he submitted, was of a most trumpery character. What
were the facts? A butcher's boy, for he really was
nothing else, in the course of his business falls in love
with a lively cook. Which was to blame it was not for
him to say, but cooks were proverbially susceptible.—
(Laughter.) Whether it was owing to the heat of the
kitchen, or to the peculiar nature of their profession, he
could not say, but certainly they did continually bear of
the affections of cooks for policemen, and persons of that
stamp, and Life Guardsmen.—(A laugh.) In the pre-
sent instance it appeared to be a butcher's boy. He con-
tended that there had been nothing but a little familiar

flirtation, and all that the plaintiff had lost was her
butcher's boy.—(Renewed laughter) He then referred
to the poetical epistles sent by the defendant, and ob-
served, that inasmuch as the plaintiff could not read,
she could not have been very much affected by them,
and the Learned Counsel caused a roar of laughter in
court by referring to some of the letters. In one of them
the defendant, after talking about " foaming tear" and
" loving hearts," and such matters, concluded by stat-
ing, as a postscript, "In haste, as lam going to kill."
In another letter he gave an account of his old mare
having " slipped up" as he was riding very fast down a
hill, and he said that if he had not "stuck" to her, he
must have been seriously injured, but as it was, they
both got up together, and he found nothing was the
matter with either, so that he went off again as fast as
aver. The Learned Counsel concluded by calling upon
the jury, if they gave a verdict at all for the plaintiff,
only to award moderate damages, as any others must
inevitably cause the utter ruin of the defendant.
Mr. Baron PARKE summed up, and the jury, after a
very brief deliberation, returned a verdict for the plain-
tiff—Damages 501.