The Sun.
London, England, 1839-10-09 00:00:00

JWENING EDITION.

THE LATE LADY FLORA
HASTINGS.

SIR JAMES CLARK'S STATEMENT of thf
CASE of the late LAD} FLORA HAST.INGS
So long as the accusations brought against mek
in reference to the case of the late Lady Flora Nast'`'
ings, continued to be either anonymous or unau',
thorized, I felt it right to submit in silence to every
6pecies of provocation, rather than bring before:
the public circumstances of a very delicate nature,,
which came within my knowledge in the implied
confidence of professional intercourse. The pub•
lication, however, of the Marquis of Hastings, the
nearest relative of Lady Flora Hastings, made me,
doubt seriously whether, in regard to myself, as.
well as the profession, I was justified in not laying
before the public an account of the case so far as
I was concerned. The renewed attacks which have
followed that publication, permit me no longer to
hesitate ; although, even now, it is with the utmost,
reluctance I bring myself to enter into details,
which, I am of opinion, ought never to have been
made the subject of public discussion.
On the 10th of January last, I was consulted by
Lady Flora Hastings, who had that day arrived
from Scotland, and had come into waiting on her
Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent. She had
derangement of bowels, and of the general health,
and she complained of pain low on her left side.
There was also considerable enlargement of the
lower part of the abdomen.
Under the use of some very simple remedies the
derangement of the bowels and the pain in the side
gradually abated, and ultimately ceased ;
and Lady
Flora complained only of weakness.
•
The size of the abdomen, however, continued
undiminished ; and Lady Flora's appearance be-
came the subject of remark in the palace. About
the Ist of January, as near as I am able to fix the
date, I was sent for by Lord Melbourne ; and, 0a
going to him, his Lordship informed me that a
communication had been made to him by LadY rc
a-
vistock, respecting Lady Flora Hastings, who ar
pearance had given rise to a suspicion in the palaSi.e
that she might be privately married ;
Lordship asked my opinion on the subject'
stated, in reply, that while I thought such susr'
cions ought not to be readily listened to, I was, at'
the same time, bound to admit to him that the ar
pearance of Lady Flora in some degree counte
nanced them. I added, that without more aril&
means of observation, I could not venture to re,
an oin on the subject ; and his Lordship agree'
with met hat no step should then be taken in tbc
matter.
From this time the condition of Lady Flo,ra
Hastings caused me considerable anxiety. I"
only source, besides pregnancy, from which the siie
and peculiar form of the abdomen could pr°erd
was disease ; but the probability of disease being
the sole cause in Lady Flora's case was diminished
by the circumstance that the enlargement was aei
companied by very little general derangement 0
health. In fact, Lady Flora continued to perfetri3
her usual duties with apparent little inconvenience'
to herself.
I continued to visit Lady Flora about twice a
week, from the 10th of January to the 16th of Fe"
bruary, and on several occasions examined the state
of the abdomen over her dress ; but being unable,
in this way, to satisfy myself as to the nature of the
enlargement, I, at length, expressed to her my t:"
easiness respecting her size, and requested that, 11
my next visit, I might be permitted to lay my ban".
upon her abdomen with her stays removed. To
this Lady Flora declined to accede. •
Matters remained in this state until the 16th of
February. On that day I found it had been de-
termined that I should acquaint Lady Flora with
the suspicions which existed in the palace, and
should suggest her calling another physician into
consultation with me. Before visiting Lady Flora,
I asked Lady Portman, the Lady in Waiting, if
might use her name to Lady Flora, as one of the
lades who entertained the suspicion respecting her.
To this Lady Portman at once assented. Her Lady,-
ship then described the peculiarities in Lady
form and carriage, which had produced the uues_
pression in regard to her state. To the _s
tion as to what my opinion on the subject
I replied that the appearances were cer-
tainly suspicious, but that even to medical men
such appearances were often deceptive. Lady
Portman concluded by observing that for the sake
of Lady Flora Hastings herself as well as of the
Court, it was necessary that the matter should be
cleared up. Immediately after this interview with
Lady Portman, I went to Lady Flora for the pig`
pose of making this very unpleasant communica-
tion ; and I need hardly add that I made it in the
most delicate terms which I could employ. After
a few remarks on the state of her health, I told her
that her size had attracted the attention of the
ladies, and that it was now my painful duty to ac-
quaint her Ladyship that they had, in consequence,
been led to suspect that she must be privately mar-
ried. This was the mode, and these were the words
in which the painful communication was made.
I urged Lady Flora, for obvious reasons, if there
were any grounds for this suspicion, to acknow"
ledge the fact ; and if not, to see another physician
at once, to put an end to the rumour. Lady Flora
denied that there were any grounds whatever for
the suspicion, and named Sir Charles Clarke, who,
she said, had known her from her childhood, as the
physician she would wish to be called in ; but she
declined, notwithstanding my earnest entreaties, to
see him on that day. This refusal, after the rea-
sons which I had given, lessened very considerably
the effect upon my mind of her Ladyship's denial.
After the interview with Lady Flora, it remained
for me to communicate what had passed to her
Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent. I therefore
informed Lady Flora that I was going to her Royal
Highness for that purpose : to the propriety of this
Lady Flora immediately assented. I accordinglY
went to the Duchess of Kent, and stated the n,a-
ture of the interview I had with Lady Flora. Her
Royal Highness immediately expressed her entire
disbelief of anything injurious to Lady Flora's cha-
racter, and she asked me my opinion. However
reluctant I felt to express any doubts on the sub'
ject after Lady Flora's declaration, I could not de
cline giving a conscientious reply to her Royal
Highness's question ; and I answered to the effect
that the suspicions I previously entertained were
not removed. t,ioh
In the coupe of the evening of the day on wi.
I made the communication to Lady Flora Hastings'
I received a note from her Ladyship, of which the
following is a copy

" Saturday.
" Sir,—Although I think you perfectly understood
me this morning, that I did not wish you to take a t nY_
steps without hearing from me, it is perhaps bette r .°
obviate the possibility of any mistake, that I shoulr
distinctly say so. I shall be governed entirely by
he
Royal Highness's wishes and orders. —L'our's si,lcerelY*
" FLORA ELIZA HASTINGS.
I heard nothing more on the subject till the .a lt,)
noon of the following day (Sunday, February 17,111 Pf
when I received another note from Lady °

High
whcshir—theßfyoilileorwlitnogyaisi
a copy
es:s's command, I h3v:c
written to ask Sir Charles Clarke to name au hour tl"5
afternoon to come to me. He has answered mY note
by coming, and is now here. Could you come 0
meet him :'—Yours sincerely.
" F. E. HASTINGS.
On receiving this note I immediately went t 0
Lady Flora, and found Sir Charles Clarke with her
sLaysip He statd to Me, in Lady.Flras
scnced h ~
as part of thee conversation he hado had `pith
her, that he urged her, if there were any grounds
for the suspicions entertained, to admit the fact now'
as after the examination it would be too late.
After this conversation, Lady Flora requesteer
d
n h
that Lady Portman might be called in. O
arrival, Lady Flora retired to her chamber, where
her maid was in attendance. After Sir Cl
Clarke had made an examination, he returned With
me to the sitting room, and stated as the Sanerstol
that there could be no pregnancy, but at the
,c
time he expressed a wish that I also should mai'
an examination. This I at first declined, stating,
it to be unnecessary ; but, on his earnestly urgii.ig,
me to do so, I felt that a further refusal might be
construed into a desire to shrink from a share of the
responsibility, and I accordingly yielded. After
finally consulting, we gave the following certifi-
cate :

(COPY OF CERTIFICATE.)
" Buckingham Palace, Feb. 17, 1839.
we have examined with great care the state of
Lady Flora Hastings, with a view to determine the
existence or non-existence of pregnancy, and it is our
opinion, although there is an enlargement of the stomach