The Sun.
London, England, 1804-05-26 00:00:00

btaILIN,MAy tg.

iIII.EA.CI4 (itz PAOMISE Ot MARRIAGk
FITZGERALD IJ. HAW IiSW Old il.
, Yesterday in the King's Bench, a ierdia for'
t goof. and 63. costs were given for the Plaintiff
against the Defendant. Few trials at Nisi Pri4i.
' have more engaged the public attention, or excited
an higher degree of interest ; and whether we pe-
skier the nature of the action, the portion of thte it
occupied, or the celebrity of at least one of the
parties, it was• eminently calculated to call ford:
much curiosity. The trial lasted three days, from
Tuesday .morninA till late on Thursday evening.
The Defendant is a young Clergyman, who has
figured as a Preacher in most of the churches of
this metropolis within the last five years, and whom
his admirers consider as scarcely inferior to Kirwan
himself. In the year 1794, Mr. Hawkswosth, being
then in his twentieth year, and on the point of taking
his degree in College, became attached to Misa
- Fitzgerald, who was then scarce sixteen. This
young Lady was the datighter of a respeFtable
Officer, who had retired from the service with muds
honour, but no great share of wealth, and had
fixed his residence in Castletown, a beautiful vil-
lage in the neighbourhood -of Mountrath, in the
Queen's County. Mr. Hawksworth soon gained
her afFedions ; but still he was not satisfied, as his
father was an enemy to early marriages, anti, of
course, an immediate union was impossible. Thne
or accident, he apprehended, might defeat his
hopes, or a parent's authority consign her to the
arms of another. In his letters, therefore, he urged
her,_ with all the ardour of a doating lover, to enter
into a solemn engagement never to marry any btrt
him; and to encourage her to make this vow, he
called upon his God to forsake him when he forsook
her. These letters were read in evidence ; and
though they exhibited no very finished specimens of
epistolary elegance, they seemed, at least, to flaw
from the heart, and were not ill adapted to make an
impression on a girl of sixteen : at length they made
that, and thus the connexiori continued until the
year 18oz. Meanwhile Mr. Hawksworth had been
ordained, had become a popular Preacher, and was
much followed. In January 18oz, he called on a
Mrs. Palmer, a particular friend of Miss Fitzgerald,
and after some preliminary conversation, he told
her he was ready to fulfil his engagement with Miss
Fitzgerald, if her friends would give her moos.
and begged she would communicate his intention to
them. Mrs. Palmer delivered the message. A
council of war was summoned. Captain Fitzge-
rald, the father, agreed to give four hundred
pounds ; . the uncle, also an old Officer, agreed
to give two hundred ; and the brother to the young
lady, who was then serving with his Regiment
in Malta, uon being written to, immediately pro-
mised to the remaining 4001. out of the ho-
nourable ea- ngs of his professioo ; and though he
was then adually in treaty for a Majority, he cheer:
fully postponed his own promotion for the happiness
of a beloved sister-=he did more, he came w Ire.
land to be a witness of that happiness. Hawks.
worth seemed delighted with his arrival ;every thing
was settled, the weddirrg-cloaths prepared, a special
licence procured, and even the ring purchased.
Mr. Hawksworth and young Captain Fitzgerald
went down to the country on Friday, the next day,
Saturday, was to be the'happy (Sy ; when lo! iii.
stead of the bridegroom a billet! Lti.ewas delivered
to the company at .Castletown, begging to be ex-
cused, as he was obliged to go from home ou pecu-
niary, business. FlOlll this period until the action
was brought, the interval was filled with evasion ;
the torch of love seemed completely extinguished,
and the visions of his early days to have vanished _
for ever. The adion was then brought, and the
verdid 25001. is commensurate with hio property,