The Sun.
London, England, 1854-03-20 00:00:00

DEFENDANT'S ANSWER.

" Haytor Vale, Dec. 7, 1853.
" Dear Girl,—According to promise, I have written'iou to
say I have' been very ill since I saw you last ; I have been• so
ill I have been obliged to send for the doctor in the middle of
the night. I suppose you thought I had forgotten you, but I
can assure you I have been so ill, I have not been able to
write, nor nothing else—so 1 came here yesterday for tho
change of ,tir for a fortnight, so if you write to me, direot• to
Mr. Sami. Bally, Haytor Vale.
" I hope the change of air for a fortnight will do me good
—'tis not likely I shall be able to come to Tor for a fortnight
from this time, if I do in that time, so I hope in that time I
shall hear from you. I hope when I write I shall be stronger
to write, and something more to say from—Yours truly,
" TUZMUZZY.

"Mrs. White, No. 5, Brunswick-square, Tor,
Torquay, I )evon."
PLAINTIFF'S REPLY.
" 5, Brunswick-square, 17th December, 1853.
"My dear Mr. Wills,—l received your note, dated the 7th,
from Haytor Vale, and am very sorry to hear you have been
so ill. I trust by this time you are nearly recovered, and that
I shall have the pleasure of seeing you soon. I think it would
have been better for you to have remained at home, and
nursed yourself, than to have gone to such a cold place as
Haytor Vale at this time of the year. I was very much dine
tressed on hearing how ill you had been. I should have gone:
nearly wild had I known it at the time. My dear sir a--Difislit-
not occur to your mind what a wretched stateyou would have
loft me in had anything serious happened to you ? What I inti-
mated to you a little time since is I fear the case. Yon told rirthen
you would marry Inc in a month or six weeks ; and, _
month of that time has elapsed, I hope you will ,shortly ma-
nage to set my heart at rest by fulfilling your promise'l
cannot fancy you will be so cruel as to leave me now, after
all that has passed between us. I feel sure you will not allow
me to bring your child into the world a leistard. I cannot en-
dure the thought of it. My dear Mr. Wills, if you have any
regard left for me, or any right feeling or principle within
you, I entreat you to spare me this mortification and disgrace,
for your own sake as well as mine. , 1 wish very much to see
you, and hope you will come as soon as your health will permit,
If you can't come, I must go to see you ; for I am truly
miserable. Do write and let me know all. I was very much
hurt at the cool style yin finished your note; something more
affectionate than yours, &C., ought to have concluded one' to
me; that is only the manner of writing to a stranger; and the
idea of vrriting to a girl you have promised to marry, and not
to sign your name, is still worse-L-itdoes not look honourable.
I feel quite insulted that you do not think rue worth telling
your name to. Do write 5000, and say when you are coining
that I may be here to receive you. " Yours ever,
"Mr. Wills, Harebeer, Bickingtou. . " Many Winn.
Mary Ann Manley, the plaintiff's aunt, and Mr. Ford gars
evidence which fully bore out the statement of the learned
counsel ; and Mr. B. WlJ.ntiff olly, surgeon, of Torquay, proved
found she wa
that. he exani s
in the fa the paimily way, about a month since, and ho
. .
Mr. Bickford, a farmer, living near. Bickington, proved
that the defendant, Mr. Wills, lived oti his own estate, which
was worth 2001. a-year.
Mr. Collier then addressed the ill
iu mitigation of da-
mages. He said he had never yet heard of a h • k
woman breaking
her heart for a man 26 years older than herself. In the pre-
sent case, the young lady, of whom he would say nothing in dis-
paragement, was 24 ; but who was the man who was supposed
to be the object of her devoted attachment ? He was a man of
50, asthmatic and bald-headed, and altogether about the last
person in the world who could be an object of attraction to a
young female. (Laughter.) It was true, that a man at that
age was only arrived at maturity in his mental and physical
capacities ; but he (Mr. Collier) could assure the jury, with-
out intending the least disrespect, that any man who had
passed 45 was not an object of ver y great attraction for the
female sex. (Much laughter.) He considered that the.
plaintiff and her aunt, had conducted their courtship with .
the defendant in the most lawyer-like business way he had
ever heard of. It was conducted throughout by legal advice;
and lie had certainly never yet known a young lady who was
recklessly in love, and who died of a broken heart, who took
every step to according ' the suggestions of a lawyer. (A laugh.)
If the defendant could have been examined, he believed the,
case would have had a very different aspect. Mr. Wills dis.
tinctly denied, through him, that he had asked the plaintiff
to take any medicine, or that he had seduced her. Being un-
able to call him, lie (Mr. Collier) believed that a verdict must`
pass against his client,
and the question was, therefore, only.
one as to the amount of damages. The estate on which de-
fendant lived was
only rated at 100/. a year, and when it was
left to him his father directed that he should support hie
mother out of it, besides paying several legacies, amounting
to nearly 900/. His means were consequently small, and he -
urged the jury to consider these circumstances in giving their
verdict.

7511 -Lordship briefly summed up, and the jury returned
verdict for the plaintiff—Damageo, 4011.