The Sun.
London, England, 1851-08-07 00:00:00

WESTERN CIRCUIT.—Bodmin, Aug. 5.
NISI PRIUS COURT.—(Before Mr. Justice COLE.
RIDGE and a Special Jury.)

LANDERYON v. ALLEN.

Mr. Sergeant Kinglake and Mr. M. Smith were coun-
sel for the plaintiff, and Mr. Crowder and Mr. Karslake
for the defendant.

This was an action brought to recover compensation in
damages from the defendant for having had criminal
coversation with the plaintiff's wife. The plaintiff, in
1843, being then twenty-four years of age, married Miss
Harriet Ann Brown, the daughter of a farmer, she being
twenty years of age. Ho then took the King's Arms Inn
at Falmouth, and in course of time his wife had two chil-
dren. The defendant at that time was residing in Oporto,
and there he married. In 1844 he returned to Falmouth,
and sat up in business as a wine-merchant. He was then
twenty-nine years old. An intimacy soon sprang up be-
tween these parties i❑ consequence of the defendant sup-
plying the plaintiff with wine. The plaintiff also had a
farm in the neighbourhood of Falmouth. I❑ order to
carry on the business of the tavern the plaintiff's
wife used to retire to bed at an early hour, the
plaintiff himself remaining up until the house
was cicsed. Tho wife got up early in the morn-
ing, the plaintiff continuing in bed longer. As the
farm had to bo looked after, the plaintiff was accus-
tomed, as soon as he had breakfasted, to leave his house
and go to his farm. Time passed on, and the plaintiff
and his wife appeared to live on the most affectionate
terms, the defendant continually looking in. In the
year 1849 the plaintiff took the Red Lion Hotel at
Truro, to which house he removed. The defendant
shortly afterwards took some wino and spirit stores in
Truro, and in order to attend to these stores he took a
sitting-room and bed-room in the Red Lion. The plain-
tiff and his wife still continued to live on the mast affec-
tionate terms, but on the 14th of April the plaintiff had
left Truro fur the purpose of going to a farm in the
neighbourhood. It was supposed that he would be ab-
sent for many hours, but from some cause or other he
shortly returned. He went into the Red Lion and
asked for his wife, and was told she was upstairs. He
therefore went up, and upon going to a sitting-room,
No. 9, which was occupied by the defendant, he found
the door was fastened. He asked to be admitted,
but could not obtain admission. He proceeded to
break open the door, and succeeded in seeing the de-
fendant with his dross disarranged and his wife in the
room; the appearances were such as to convince him
that his happiness was destroyed. He called his ser-
vants and accused his wife of infidelity. She said, " You
have not caught us," aad the defendant said, " Listen
to reason." As soon as this discovery was made the
plaintiff was informed of different facts—that for years,
before he was down in the morning and after he had
gone to his farm, the defendant, who was well ac-
quainted with his habits, was constantly visiting Mrs.
Landeryon; they used to go into a room together, draw
down the blinds, and remain together for a length of
time. She had been sitting on the defendant's knee and
he had been seen kissing her, and when the plaintiff was
from home at night the defendant had remained with
Mrs. Landeryon in a room in the dark for hours.
All the circumstances that now came to his knowledge
made it clear to the plaintiff that his wife and the de-
fendant had been carrying on an adulterous intercourse
for years.

A barmaid stated that there were two panes of glass
broken of the window of the room in which she was, and
she had often heard the defendant and Mrs. Landeryon
outside whispering and kissing. She thought it was the
sound as of kissing. She did not know anything of
kissing herself, but she thought it was kissing, though
she might have been mistaken. This was very frequent.
She had seen the defendant go into a room, and Mrs.
Landeryon soon followed him, and then the blind was
drawn down. She had soon this more than half a dozen
times. The defendant was there five or six times a-day
for two years. Her suspicions were aroused, and she
used to take notice of it. She thought there was no
good going on, and yet she did not tell the plaintiff al-
though he was her cousin. She did not like to wound
his feelings. She had once knocked at the door of the
room in which they were, but she was not admitted.
She bad known another barmaid stand in the passage to
give signal, sometimes by a cough and sometimes by a
laugh. This was when Mr. Allen and Mrs. Landeryon
were in a room together. Upon one occasion the plain-
tiff came home when his wife and the defendant were
in the room together. She came out and went up stairs.
Her hair and collar were disarranged. She came down
in a few minutes with everything put in order.
The ostler said that as soon as the plaintiff went to the
farm the wife always went into a particular room and
pulled down the blind, and then the defendant came.
The defendant could see the plaintiff leave from his own
house.
A great timelier of witnesses were examined, who
spoke to small circumstances, all of which tended to
show that there had been great intimacy between the
parties.
For the defendant it was contended, in the first place,
that when persons had been extremely intimate for many
years that which would have led to suspicion among
others was perfectly harmless and justifiable as regarded
such parties. It was then contended that the prying
curiosity of a number of individuals had magnified acts
which were in themselves innocent, into proof of guilt,
and that it was impossible if au improper intercourse had
been carried on for so many years, but the plaintiff must
have been apprised of it at a much earlier period. Upon
the whole the jury were urged to believe that the whole
was a mere phantom, and that there was no proof of
anything criminal having taken place.
The Learned JUDGE having summed np,
The jury retired and at length returned a verdict for
the plaintiff—damages 350/.