The Sun.
London, England, 1848-11-14 00:00:00

The trial of this case, which was brought to recover
compensation in damages for criminal intercourse with
the plaintiff's wife, was resumed this morning, when the
case for the plaintiff was proceeded with.
Thomas Price, examined by Mr. ADDISON—Said he
was " boots" at the Portland coffee-shop, Castle-street,
in September last. Recollected a lady coming on a
Thursday evening to the shop. She had luggage with
her, consisting of a box, a bundle, and a basket, and he
took them up to No. 7, which was a bedroom. Saw th e
lady at the bar writing a note. Did not see a gentleman
in the evening, but did so in the morning. Called him
at six o'clock in the morning in room No. 7, where he
was sleeping, and saw him after he came down. He had
a cup of coffee and went away, and returned again about
eleven o'clock. He then went for a cab and came hack
with it. 'Witness brought down the luggage, and the
lady and gentleman got into the cab and drove away.
Saw the gentleman again about a fortnight afterwards
at his house at Hoxton. That gentleman was Mr.
Fletcher, the defendant; had no doubt of his identity.
By the COURT—The gentleman's hair was dark, and
he was about the middle age—about 28 years.
The JUDGE—That is what you call the middle age?
—Yes.
Mr. HUNFREY —I hope you won't take that down as a
fact.—(Laughter.)
By the COURT—The gentleman was rather thin, but
did not take particular notice of the lady.
John Farrow examined by the Learned JUDGE—
The plaintiff and his wife resided in my house five
weeks. lam always at home; thank God, I have no-
thing to do, having retired from business.—(Laughter,)
I had opportunities of observing the conduct of the hus-
band and wife constantly. He always left about a
quarter before nine in the morning, and returned at six
in the evening, and frequently sooner. Her habit during
that time was to go in and out, but she endeavoured
always to be at home when her husband returned. After
the first week she went out nearly every day. She ap-
peared happy and delighted to see him when he came
nome and they kissed each other in the morning when
he left and ahaked hands.—(Laughter.) He was re-
markably steady ; never observed any profligacy
about him. He never slept out at night. Indeed,
they were the happiest couple I ever had seen.
He seemed to be over-fond of her, and that is the fact.—
(Laughter.) When he knew of her infidelity, he was
more like a madman than a man in his senses. He cried
like a child, and did not appear to know what he
was doing.
Eliza Heath examined by Mr. BARON PLATT—Re-
membered the gentleman who slept at the coffee-shop;
he had dark hair, and dark eyes, and a pale complexion,
and was inclined to be stout. He was about twenty-eight.
Remembered something being said about the key to the
box when they went away in the cab. The lady said she
could not get it out. Had no doubt, whatever, that the
gentleman was Mr. Fletcher.
This closed the case for the plaintiff.
Mr. HumEnEv then addressed the jury on the part of
the defendant. He admitted that the charge against the
defendant was the moat serious which one man could
commit against another, and in that respect it was a
peculiar action, and the law regarded it with peculiar
formality. He complained that no one of the plaintiff's
sisters, or any female, had been called to speak to the
terms upon which the husband and wife lived from the
time of their marriage up to the period when it was said
the seducer took her away. In fact every one of her
own sex, to whom she might have made complaints that
she would not convey to the ear of a man, had been
studiously kept back. And that was a case, of all
others, in which the terms upon which the husband and
wife lived together ought to be plainly, truly, and ho-
nestly given in evidence to the jury. Ile would ask,
therefore, whether there was not some object
in the plaintiff refusing to produce such evi-
dence, especially as it turned out that several
members of the plaintiff's family were present in
the Court? They should look at the conduct of
the husband, so tar as it came out in evidence. Why,
six weeks after his wife lett him it was proved that he
slept at a pet house, paying ls. Gd. for a joint bed with
the witness, and that in the morning he went to a public •
house to have some gin and water, and told the drunken
fellow who pawned his clothes, and who was obliged to
borrow a suit to make his appearance in Court, that he
was sorry Fletcher had not come to him to make a settle-
ment, because he might have settled the action without
going into Court. Was that the state of a man whose
teeliugs was represented as beieg so deeply wounded and
injured that he was not likely to entirely overcome the
oflect which the infidelity of his wife had had upon him?
His Learned Friend (Mr. Sergeant Shee) had alluded
to those beautiful feelings of affection to a wife, which
bad ever influenced man since he first lived in the woods,
and had descanted upon that fine theme with all
that tenderness and eloquence for which he
was noted. To carry out the fine metaphor
they might imagine the amusing:witness (Mr. Farrow)
who gave so glowing a picture of the plaintiff's wife,
describing her as " the most graceful and most insi-
nuating little woman he ever saw," roving in the woods
among the most graceful of nymphs, satyrs, and fauns,
or whatever they might be, conversing with trees and
woods like the poets of old.—(Loud laughter.) He
would give his Learned Friend the whole benefit of the
picture he had conjured up, but let them look at the
contrast—the husband getting drunk, sleeping in a pot-
house with the witness, who pawned his clothes,
and drinking gin-and-water at a public-house
in the morning,.—(Loud laughter.) Fortunately in
that primitive state of nature, there were no pawn-
brokers to pledge clothes with, and no public-house at
which to drink gin and water.—(Loud Laughter,) Then
said Mr. Humfrey, fancy to yourselves, the wild savage,
Mr. Farrow, wandering in the woods.—(Laughter.)
Mr. Farrow exclaimed with much warmth, and not a
little anger—My Lord, that is too personal. I am a
married man, and have been married 50 years.
Mr. lIUMFRE T --I am merely thinking of the well-
known words of the poet—
" When wild in woods the noble savage ran."
—(Great merriment.)
Mr. Baron PLATT—I believe, however, Mr. Humfrey,
that the poet has not mentioned2l r. Farrow's name.
Mr. HUMFREY then alluded to that part of the evi-
dence which tended to criminate the defendant, in the
first instance directing his observations to the time when
Mr. Farrow saw him and the plaintiff's wife together
near the garden wall, when he went up to his bed-room
window to take what he called an observation, describ-
ing the positions be took, first to the east then
to the west, and to the other points of
the compass, just as if ho were laying down
a map.—(Laughter.) With the exception of this and
the statements of the witness from the coil; e-house in
Castle-street, there was no other evidence against the
defendant. except, indeed, that of his discharged aseis-
taut, who said that the plaintiff's wife came fiequilitly
to the di and rstnained gQr,,,„..1y aht,ut
an hour in the sat get y. Ilut it was customary fir ea
rate to stop sonic time there, and as it did not appear
that the door was locked, no inference could be
drawn from the fact. lie implored the jury, be-
fore they came to a conclusion to consider what the
most important witnesses had been studiously kept
back, not the relations of his wife, who might be
biassed, but the plaintiff's own relations, viz., his sister
and his cousin, who could say on what terms they lived,
and to bring forward whom there could not object, if
the plaintiff's case was a true one. It was the only case
in his remembrance in which no female had been called,
and it would naturally : occur to the jury, that if