The Sun.
London, England, 1856-07-07 00:00:00

COURT OF COMMON PLEAS.

(Sittings at Nisi Prius, in London, before Mr. Justice
Wines and a Special Jury.)
SMITH V. WOODFINE-BREACH OF PROMISE OW
MARRIAGE.

This was an action brought to recover damages for a
breach of promise of marriage, and the defendant denied
the promise ; and that the plaintiff had not been always
ready to marry him ; and he also pleaded that a reason-
able time had not elapsed for the performance of the
promise ; and that he had broken it by the leave and li-
cence of the plaintiff.
Mr. Sergeant Byles, Mr. M. Smith, and Mr. Untbank
appeared for the plaintiff ; and the Attorney-General
and Mr M. Chambers for the defendant.

Mr. Sergeant Byles said that he had the honour to ap-
pear for Miss Margaret Smith, a younz lady of amiable
temper and pleasing manner:, the daughter of a gentle-
man who was ftir a great many years in the Audit-office,
but who had retired three or four years ago on a pension,
and he was in addition possessed of some fortune, the
result of the judicious employment of some capital he
possessed, and of an economical mode of living. He had.
four daughters and a son ; and his wife having died, he
retired to live with one of bis daughters, who had mar-
ried a medical gentleman named Matthews, and resided
in the vicinity of Hornchurch, near Relator& In
the neighbourhood of Hornchurch also lived the de•
fondant, who was a bre eer—his father having died
in 1853, and left the business to the defendant and
his mother. The brewery was a very thriving con-
cern, and was represented by the defendant to be
worth from 61,11001. to 70,0001. or 80,000/. ; and in
addition to his interest in that business the defendant
was possessed of other property. He was a young man,
32 or 33 years old, and the plaintiff was about 21 years
of age. The defendant visited at Mr. Matthews's house,
and there he saw the plaintiff ; and as early as June,
1855, he made known his intentions to her, but she re-
quired that those intentions should be communicated to
her father, and they were so communicated. She also
did what was natural and what was also highly proper
to be done on such occasions ; the defendant was compa-
ratively a stranger to her, and she took time to delibe-
rate on so important a step ; she wished for an oppor-
tunity to form a deliberate judgment how far such a
union would contribute to their mutual happiness. Mat-
ters went on without anything particular occurring until
about Christmas, 1855, when it was finally arranged
that the defendant should be the accepted suitor of the
plaintiff, and the day of the wedding waa fixed for the
3d of April. In order to show upon what terms the
plaintiff and defendant were, he would read some pas-
sages from a correspondence, in which the defendant ad-
dressed the plaintiff in the most affectionute manner,
and these letters showed clearly enough what at that
time the defendant thought. and hoped, and believed.
In August he addressed her as "My dear Madge," and
said, " Now absent, it affords me pleasure in writing to
you, in whom my happiness is reposed. You know,
dearest, without your society I cannot continue happy,
but I by to console myself with the pleasing thought
that we shall be united, after a few mouths have passed
over. ' In another part of the same letter he said "Your
doves are in the new cage and are taken great care of ;"
and he concluded by remaining her "ever-affectionate,
'Montag %Voodfine." A day or two after he said, " The
recollection of the happy time I passed with you is pleas-
ing to me, and can never be forgotten ; for you, dearest,
possess my sincere love, and to contribute te your happi-
ness shall ever be the study of sour ever affectionate and
fondly attached, Thomas %Voodfine." On the 21st De-
' cember, he expresses himself thus :—" Haying now ar-
-1 rived at the close cf this year, never to be forgotten by
1 me, I beg to express a hope that the succeeding one will
be as happy to you as it will to me ;" and he was still