The Sun.
London, England, 1822-04-11 00:00:00

(To be continued.)

"*" We are extremely sorry that the pressure of temporary
matter has prevented our giving due attention to the communi-
cations of our respectable Correspondent, but he may be assured
that they shali be inserted in due course and with all practi-
cable speed.

LENT ASSIZES.

GLOUCESTER, SATURDAY, APRIL 6.

Befbre Mr. Baron GARROW and a Special Jury.
BREACH OF PROMISE OF MARRIAGE.
KING V. CHANCE. _

Mr. LUDLOW stated, that the declaration complained of a
breach of promise of marriage, and that the defendant had
pleaded the general issue.
Mr. JERV is addressed the Jury on the behalf of the plain-
tiff. They had, he said, heard the nature of the action which
they were sworn to try, and which was brought to recover da-
mages for one of the most cruel injuries which could be inflicted
on the sex. He would, however, restrain his feelings, and state
to them the facts, which would be proved in evidence, with all
the simplicity in his power. Miss Mary Ann King, the plain-
tiff, was now 32 years of age, but was only 26 at the com-
mencement of this disastrous courtship. She was the daughter
of a most respectable man, who obtained his livelihood ky the
management of a large factory at a salary of little more than
801. a year. Mr. Chance, the defendant, now 38 years of age,
and who was 32 when he began to address the plaintiff, was
a Gentleman of considerable fortune, and of fascinating
manners, who had served as a Lieutenant in the Gloucester-
shin Militia. Attracted, no doubt, by the beauty of Miss
King, who moved in an inferior station of life to his own,
and who then was successfully attempting. to add to the
scanty income of her father, by her exertions as a fancy-
dress-maker, he early in 1815 began to visit her, and to pay
her marked attentions. Her father, solicitous for the wel-
fare of his child, thought it necessary to demand of Mr.
Chance the meaning of his visits, and that gentleman offered to
satisfy him with all the apparent frankness and honour of a
soldier. On the invitation of the defendant, they walked to-
gether to an inn, called the Old Bell, where Mr. Chance ex-
claimed, " What can I say or what possibly can I do, more
than I have done, to convince you of my honour ? May my
hand drop from my body, may my tongue cleisve to-the roof of
my mouth, if ever I deceive you or your daughter ; and no one
but she shall ever call me husband." These expressions were
strong, but they were beautiful, for they were taken in no
small degree from sacred writ. Mr. King, anxious that the
defendant should not rashly pledge himself, reminded him
that his daughter would have no fortune; to which Mr. Chance
replied, " I desire no fortune but your daughter—that is
all I desire." Mr. King then observed, that he had a mo-
ther - and relatives who probably would disapprove of the
connexion ; to which he answered, " I am not a boy ; surely
I am old enough to choose for myself. No, neither mother,
nor aunt, uncle, nor any other shall make a choice for me; I
have made my choice, and by that I will abide." But even
on this distinct promise he (Mr. Jervis) would not rely ;
he would read extracts from a series of letters addressed to
the plaintiff during the whole of the protracted courtship,
which were full of the strongest and tenderest expressions
of love. In selecting these, he had endeavoured as far as
possible to avoid wounding the feelings of the defendant, for
he stood in that Court not to gratify the curiosity of an expec-
tant audience, but to obtain redress for unmerited sufferings.
Here the Learned Counsel read extracts from the letters of the
defendant, from August, 1815 to 1819, which expressed the
warmest affection, and while they lamented circumstances
which did not permit an immediate marriage, exhorted Miss
King to sustain her spirits in the full assurance that a time
would come when their mutual wishes would be completed.
But in 1819 (continued Mr. Jervis) his love began to decline.
In that year the plaintifflost her mother, on which occasion the
defendant addressed to her a very common-place letter, far dif-
ferent from that which she might have expected from him on
an event which left her half an orphan. In the February after
he wrote to her, intimating that he had no prospect of marriage,
and could not think of bringing on her penury and wretched-
ness : but, to his honour, in allusion to her fears lest her repu-
tation should suffer from the breaking off of so long an inti-
macy, declared that her character was unimpeachable, and
that he would maintain her innocence with his life. " Never,"
said he, " did I witness any thing from you in word or in deed
which could raise a blush on the most innocent cheek." What,
however, would the Jury think when they heard, that in May,
1820, after more than five years' courtship, he paid her a
visit to inform her that he had formed an attachment to
another Lady named Maria Evans, to ask her consent to
his marriage, and to demand his letters from her hands. On
receiving this cruel intimation, she fainted, and fell into vio-
lent hysterics. He father, returning home from his daily occu-
pation,rushed into the room,and supporting in his arms his child,
doubly endeared to him by the loss of wife, and by her
own sorrows, asked the defendant_" what this could mean ?"
Mr. Chance replied, " Ask Mary;" but she was unable at first
to speak. " My dear child," said her father, " speak to me ;
what is the matter ?" " Oh father," said she, " it will be the
death of me," and again fainted. When she recovered, she ex-
claimed, " Mr. Chance is come here to tell me himself that he
has formed a similar connexion with anotherVor some time, and
to ask my consent to his marrying her, and insists on having
his letters." Mr. King then asked the defendant how he
could think of breaking off a connexion which had lasted so
long, and demanded if he remembered the promise made to
him at the inn ? " 1 don't know that I do, exactly," was his
answer. His own remarkable expressions were then repeated
to him; but he only said, " I do not know if it was exactly that."
After some time he begged Mr. King to go to his mother at
Uley, and to tell her he would never leave his daughter. Mr.
King accordingly went ; and it was to be feared that this was
only an expedient to procure his absence ; for after he was
gone Mr. Chance was overhead demanding his letters of the
scarcely conscious woman, and threatening to break open
every lock in the house if they were not given to him—
Mr. King returned, after seeing the defendant's mother, and
informed Mr. Chance that she had refused to hear him on the
subject, as her son had formed a connexion with another lady.
Shortly after the defendant left the house, and returned
no more. In a few days he wrote a note in the coldest terms,
again demanding his letters, and offering to return those of the
plaintiff, which he represented as disinterested conduct, best
calculated to secure their mutual happiness. On the 9th of
March, 1821, his mother died, and with her ceased all obstacles
to his union with Miss King, for he came into the possession of
a considerable fortune. He never, however, redeemed his
pledges, so often and so solemnly repeated ; but on the 21st of
January last put it for ever out of his power to do the plaintiff
justice, by marrying Miss Maria Evans. No attempt would
be now made to cast a shade over the character of the plaintiff—
he knew better the delicacy-of Mr. Puller's mind ; but of this he
was sure, that if all her conduct were subject to the severest
scrutiny, and all her letters exposed to the world, nothing would
be found which, in the words of the defendant, " could raise
blush on the most innocent cheek." In estimating the amount
of the damages, there were many circumstances which they
would consider. They wetdd remember the age of the parties

the defendant of mature years, and competent to decide for him.
self; the plaintiff at that =period of life when a prat:meted court.
ship, followed by desertion, was an irretrievable injury. Those
six long years of deferred hope could never be compensated in
this world. The beauty:which charmed the defendant had faded ;
grief had forestalled the ravages of time; for, from that moment
when he dared to request her consent to an unholy union with
another, her health had been utterly broken. Thoseeyes which
he had described in the language of poetry as of " heaven's
own tint" were dimmed with weeping ; and that heart which
had beaten only with love for him was exhausted forever. If
he did her the justice to declare that there was no stain on her
honour, calumny would still be busy, and insinuate- that after
so long a connexion she was not forsaken without a cause.
Who would desire to marry one who had so long lavished her
affections, though innocently, on another ? The torch of love
was exhausted, and there was no Promethean heat by which it
could be rekindled. She had anticipated an elevation in rank ;
a participation in the enjoyments which the fortune of her lover
could supply, the pleasure of an alliance with a gentleman of a
profession whose gallantry and honour justly gave its members
peculiar fascinations in the eyes of the fair. For the loss of these
—for an almost broken heart—for ruined health—for a frame
brought to the verge of the grave, they would give the only
balm within their power to apply—in those ample damages
which justice required at their hands.
John King, the father of the plaintiff, was then sworn, and
examined by Mr. TAUNTON. He stated the conversation be-
tween the defendant and himself at the beginning of the con-
nexion, and the interview in which it was broken off, precisely
as they were described by Mr. Jervis. His daughter was, he
said, in large business as a dress-maker, when Mr. Chance first
paid his addresses ; but since he had forsaken her, she had
been incapable of attending to any thing, and her business bad
therefore declined.. She was so altered as to be unlike the
person she once was. The witness was so much affected
while giving his evidence, that he was, at times almost unable
to proceed. •
Miss Jane Woodward, who was apprenticed to the plaintiff
two months before the connexion was broken off, corroborated
her father as to her condition at the last visit of the defendant,
and her subsequent illness. She had slept with her since, and
knew that she scarcely obtained any repose.
Eleanor Harris, the maid-servant, overheard Mr. Chance
after Mr. King had gone to his mother, demanding his letters,
and threatening to break open every door and lock in the house
if they were not given to him. He said he would ask the ser-
vant for them. Miss King replied it would be useless, for
she did not know where they were kept ; and if she did, she
would not give them up to him. Miss King was in bed all
the next day, and had never been well since. Mr. Chance
was in the habit of visiting and walking out with her up to that
evening.
;The letters of the defendant were then proved and read :
though not without some extravagancies, they were feelingly
and elegantly written. The death of his mother in March,
1821, and his marriage with Miss Evans, were admitted.
Mr. Morgan deposed, that he rented the patrimonial estate
of the defendant at 4001. a year. On his cross-examination by
Mr. CAMPBELL, he stated that Mr. Chance was originally a
clothier, but had failed in business, and had afterwards served
as a Lieutenant in the South Gloucestershire Militia. After
the peace, he was entirely dependent on his mother for sup-
port, and was now far Horn affluent.
Mr. PueLEa then addressed the Jury in mitigation of. de
mages. He urged that the connexion ought never to have
subsisted ; that the father ought to have communicated it to
the relatives of the defendant ; that the plaintiff had lost little
in a marriage which would have introduced her into a family
who would have treated her for life with anger and bitter
scorn ; and that the issue was only that which might have been
anticipated as the result of a connexion which could only be
completed when a mother was laid in her grave. He was
authorised by his client most unequivocally to declare, that the
conduct of the plaintiff was above all reproach, and that if
any calumny had assailed her, it was totally groundless. This,
he thought, would be a better balm to her wounded feelings
than those damages which she, or rather her friends, sought to
recover. The defendant was now far from rich, and large da-
mages would cause his ruin.
Mr. Baron GAnseow recapitulated the chief circumstances
of the case to the Jury. It had been said, he observed, that
'this connexion -ought not to have subsisted. If the plaintiff
had been an artful woman, older than the defendant, who had
taken advantage of his ardour and inexperience to entrap hilt'
into an engagement, this -would be true; but such, was not the
case before them. His chief offence, and it was no light one,
consisted in his continuing to pretend affection to the plaintiff,
when he was actually paying his addresses to another woman-
He had found her in the bloom of life, and in circumstances of
health and comfort; and had left her shattered, forlorn, and
hopeless. He had not indeed deprived her of the consciousness
of virtue, for this she had herself preserved ; but it was all be
had left her in the world. Damages were an inefficient baba
for feelings wounded like her's ; but they were all• of which the
case admitted, and these the Jury were bound to render. They
would, however, consider the circumstances of the defendant,
and not press him, with the probably innocent partner of his
joys and sorrows, to utter ruin.
The Jury retired for a short time, and when they returned
into Court gave a verdict for the plaintiff—Damages 8001.

This day the prisoners who stand committed
on charges of felony were removed from the
several gaols in the City of London and County
of Middlesex, to Newgate, preparatory to their
taking their trials at the ensuing Old Bailey
Sessions, which will commence on WednesdaY
next.

DREADFUL ACCIDENT.-Yesterday morning a
most dreadful accident was discovered to have happened in the
house Of Mr. BRADFORD, No. 12, Bryanstone-street, Man'
chester-square, which involved the family in the BRADFORD
dis-
tress. It appears that Master EDWARD PAGET BRADFORD
came from boarding-school in the country, on Saturday last.
for the purpose of spending the holidays with his parents, and
on Monday, after passing the evening at home, he retired to his
chamber in his usual health and spirits. The following morn-
ing the servant proceeded to the apartment to call him to brealc-
fast, but receiving no answer, she made an- alarm, and the
young gentleman was missing from his bed.—Every search
was made after him, and at length he was found in the front
area quite dead, and dreadfully injured, as if from a heavf
fall. There was no accounting for the fatal occurrence. He
was 16 years of age.—A Coroner's Jury was called to sit on the
body, and after hearing a mass of evidence, they returned s
verdict of " Accidentally killed by a fall."
DEATH BY FIGHTING.—At Stepney Fair, on
Monday, two men of the names of Gregory and Hansel had s
quarrel, and they agreed to fight the next day on a given spot
in the fields by the Lea river. Here they met, and knocked
each other about for more than two hours. More injury was,
sustained by throwing, both being heavy men, and at length
Hansel, who works upon the river, could not be got up. He
was conveyed to a cottage, and died in two hours from a rur
ture of a vessel in the head.

-
DRowNlNG.—Yesterday morning a Gentleman
of respectability in the City was found drowned by a water-
man, in the River Thames, at Pickle-herring-stairs. The
body was conveyed on shore to a public-house, and was owned
in the course of the morning. There was a gold watch in the
fob of the deceased. He has been missing for some days, and
was seen last at a large party of friends, which he left in high
spirits.
An enormous 'Whale came on shore at Beck-
hithe, near Cromer, in the morning of Friday se'nnight. Al'
though of large dimensions, it was evidently wasted in its
original size. It measured in length 57 feet, the extremity of
the tail was 13 feet wide, the jaw-bones 14 feet long, tongue i
feet long and 4 feet Croad. It produced but little oil, and,
from its wasted appearance, the whalebone is of small value-
The jaws were extracted, and intended as a present for Lord
Suffield, but the tide unfortunately washed them away from
the shelf of a cliff on which they were laid.—( Bury Gazette.)

COAL-MARKET, APRIL 10.
Ships at Market. Ships sold Price.
44i Newcastle - - -31 s Od to 4.2 s Od
11;i Sunderland - 9i -29 s
.Oct to 425. Oa

BIRTHS.
On the 9th inst., at Commercial-road, Lambeth, Mrs. T•
Lett, of a son.
On the 10th inst. Mrs. C. Cutten, of Quality-court, Chan-
cery-lane, of a boy, her tenth child.

MARRIED.
On the 2d inst., at Stockbury, Mr. Jamas Bourne, to Miss
H. Brean, both of Stockbury.
On the 30th ult. at Rochester, Mr. E. Tomkins, of that city,
to Miss Carlow, late of Sittiugbourne.
On the 2d inst, at Aberdeen, the Rev. R. Douglass, of Ellorli
to Ann, daughter of the late Alex. Forbes, Esq., Jamaica.

DIED.
On the 9th inst., at his house in Hammersmith, Richard Rad'
ford, Esq., in the (113th year of his age, one of his Majesty's JO'
tices of the Peace for the County of Middlesex.
On the 10th inst., at Kennington, Agnes, the wife of gr.
gGeorge Ritherdon, sen, of tile East India House.
a On the 23c1 ult., at Port Glasgow, Capt. Hugh Douglas.
-or

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