The Sun.
London, England, 1820-08-22 00:00:00

1816, 'her Majesty .arrived in Italy, and took up
her residence in the Palace d'Este, on the lake
of Como. There the' brother-of Bergami was
advanced to the situation of PrefeCt of Ma-
jesty's palace. After. :this period the brother,
his sister, and a cousit4 who had'also been intro-_
duced into her 'Majesty's service, ltined at a
parate table,. from the Test of. her Majesty% sake.
--During her' Majesty's absence from the Pa..
lace d'Este, a theatre ha&been- built by' her
direction. Here, on her Majesty's return,
she frequently performed on the stage with
Bergami, and some other of her servants
Bergaini performing the part of a lover, and
her Majesty. representing., the person beloved.
On other occasions her Majesty played the part
of servants,; and other low CharacterS. I only
mention: this as one of the very many instances
of the familiarity with which Bergami was treated
by her Majesty.: After her Majesty's return to
d'Este, she went on a tour to Lucani,. and other
places. But I must mention a circumstance which
occurred while her. Majesty resided at d'Este.
Her Majesty's courier was sent express with a
letter to a person at Milan, to which an answer
was to he returned to Bergami. The courier
returned late at night, or rather early in the
morning, her Majesty's household being then at
rest. The-courier, thinking it his duty to deliver
the answer immediately, went to Bergami's bed-
room for that purpose ; bat, to his surprise, Ber-
gami was not there. In a short time, howeveri
the courier saw Bergami coming out of her Ma-
jesty's bed-room in his shirt and robe-de-chambre.
He is seen by. the courier in his shirt coming out
of her Majesty's chamber ; and this courierbeing
but a short tine in her Majesty's service, he 'ap-
peared some4That astonished, and was about. to
make some observation, when Bergami told him,
it was an accidental circumstance, and'hegged he
would say nothing about it. The fact, however,
was obvious, for there was Bergami coming out
of
_her Majesty's room, which was nearly adja-
cent to that iu which was his own bed ; a free
communication between both chambers, and
nothing' to interrupt the intercourse between
them, .1 say, my Lords, this fact in an ordinary
case would be amply sufficient to satisfy a jury
as to the guilt of adultery.. The circumstance
cannot be accounted, for in any other way ;• nor
can there. be any other reason assigned but the
continuation' of that intercourse going on from
'day to'clay; and therefore your Lordships must
be led to the conclusion stated in the preamble
of the,. Bill :In a short time after she had
been at Villa d'Este, there was a palace built for
Bergami at her Majesty's expence, fitted up; in
,the first style of . tasteful elegance, at a cost of
some thousands: And thus this man who had
.been only- employed in her Majesty's service
since the year 1816—is not only raised to the
dignity of Chamberlain, and covered with the
insignia of honourable :orders—but is possessed
of a splendid seat-, called Villa. Bergami, at
Baronce, purchased for him at an expence of
seyeral thousand pounds. How could this man,
so recently elevated from indigence , and ser-
vility, obtain all this wealth and those ho-
nours, but through the favour and munificence
of this most liberal Princess ? And from
,What other motive for . these extraordinary
marks of her favour, but the kind of. inter-
course-which' had so long taken, place between
them ? 1 would.. ask, has there been any other
intelligible reason to induce her Majesty to
heap on.this man all those honours and munifi,
cent proofs. of her bounty.? _During the period
of the Carnival, the most disgraceful scenes took
place, the description of which I would much
rather leave.to the witnesses who are . to be ad-
duced before your Lordships, but that it forms a
necessary link in the detail, I have,.the painful
duty of subuiittina' for your Lordships' attention,
The scenes which took place at her Majesty's
liOnse on that occasion were such, as rather
de-
served for it the name of a brothel than any thing

else. Balls were
,given there during the'Carni..
Val,'not for the entertainment of the Nobility of
the place, who would have been proud of the
honour of her Majesty's
,countenance ; but for
persons of the lowest description, amongst whom
scenes the most licentious took place; and I can
satisfy your Lordships by evidence, that : those
scenes passed under her Majesty's notice, because
if I could tiot,:those who defend her Majesty would
say, such scenes might take place in the kitchens of
the hoese, amongst the very lowest description of
servants„ wholly without the knowledge of her
Majesty, and ought not therefore to be :adduc-
ed for her crintination But I say this passed un-
der her Majesty's own observation ; and so far
from being displeased, she expressed ,high satis-
faction at those disgraceful proceedings. It may
be said, my. Lords, that although this woman
May have done things unbecoming her rank ; yet
not sufficient to prove the fact of adultery. I
admit, my Lords, the fairness of such an obser-
vation wherever it can apply; but this fact shows
to your Lordships and to every, reasonable mind,
what must be the' disposition of her Majesty in
permitting such transactions to take place under
her roof ; and that the debasing intercourse to
which she had degraded herself had so far de'-
, prayed her mind as to render her careless not
only of the decorum which should belong to her
rank, but even.all sense of decency; and this can
•only be accounted for from the disgraceful inter-
course which had taken place. About the. 18th
of February,lBl7, her Majesty made a tour. into
Gerthany, and a remarkable circumstance took
place at the commencement of this tour. I t happen-
ed that on her arrival at Charente, on the way to
Inspruck, M. Bergami was obliged to go forward
to obtain passes for
,the journey. Bergami had
not, returned at a late hour. of the night, and her
Majesty ordered one of her female servants to
sleep in her chamber. Bergami returned, how-
ever, froth Inspruck in the middle of the. night.
What was hiS conduct! Did he retire to his own
chamber, and forbear to disturb her Majesty till
the morning ? No ; he goes immediately into her
Majesty's chamber, and her. Majesty immediately
orders her female attendant to get up and retire
from the room, which she accordingly did,
leaving Bergami alone with her Majesty, where

Ire remained For the night. t would asli your
Lordships whether:this occurrence does .not
fully explain itselfs or whether it leaves roam for
any other conclusion than that of adulterous con.
nection. Butthis was not all. Upon their sub-%
sequent,slrrival at Carlsrhue, on their arrival at
W.1.1,,kre toy .to ,s p tie
A nitlit,re-erbonis were 'provided, each openhig
into the other—numbers 10, 11, and 12—and it
was so contrived, that Bergami alone could
find access from the rooms assigned for him
to that of her Majesty—and there, mY Lords,
her Majesty is seen in the day time, on the bed
,of Bergami, who was there naked, with his arms
round her Majesty's neck. Is it probable, then,
that such a circumstance could take .place_ be-
tweet' persons of such description, if a criminal
intercourse had ndt previously taken place ? But
your Lordships will find, that after this scene
took place, a cloe.ky which belonged to her Ma-
jesty, is found in Bergami's be(' by one of the
servants, which cloak is.afterwards worn by her
Majesty. After this fact; I would ask, can any.
.doubt remain of the adulterous intercourse ?
After this her MajestY pursued her route to
'veil, and in the course of her journey caused a
separate carriage to be hired exclusively- for her-
self and. Bergami, the rest of her suite travelling
in separate carriages. This separate carriage was
Purchased' by Bergami by
,her Majesty's direC-tions ; and- the same kind' of arrangements were
made at every inn where she stopped for the'
night for securing a chamber for Bergami close
to that of her Majesty. In her Majesty's bed-
room was her small ttavelling bed, beside a large
bed, capable of accommodating two persons, and
here the same unequivocal proofs were -obserVed,
that two persons had occupied thelarge bed, ivhie.
the small one was unoccupied, and no 'PeTSon
but Bergami had access to; the chamber ;aiifl
in the course' of—their journey, wherever they
stopped on the Toad to Change* horses, it was ob-
served, that even during that short interval, her
Majesty and Bergami always retired to the same
room, and reposed • together on .the same bed.
This was observed upon more than one occasion
during the journey. Upon what other grOund was
it possible to suppose thathe could have used such
familiarities unlesS an adulterous intercourse exist-
ed 'betiveen them. They returned to Milan, and
there, at the Barona, Bergami'S mother and bro-
ther Leivis were permitted 'to dine at the same
table with the Princess and Bergami. From that
time forward they were regularly admitted to the
same table. These favoUrs, conferred upon the
fathilY might, unconnected with other circum-
stances, prove nothing. Here, however, they
showed the anxiety with which the' PrinCesS
strove to please this man, by gathering his rela-
tions round her. It is a singular circumStance,
that they were daily gathering round her. Ber-
gami's Mother: held no situation in the family ;
she was not a maid of honour; she perfOrnied no
kind of duty. :Why then was she introduCed ?
What possible reason can be Assigned. for it, but
a desire to shew her extraordinary regard for
this man. It .might be said, that thtl circurm=
stance of bestoMing the title of ,Princess on his
daughter proves nothing,-'as the youth Austin
was also dignified with the title of Prince. In
itself, and taken alatie, it Might be considered
unimportant, but is far from being so, when con-
pled with the other circumstances of the caSe.---,
In some time after . the period of which I am

speaking, they visited the Villa d'Este, and
from thence went to Rome.- They first resided

at the Rupinella Palace, a house which for-
merly belonged to one of the,Buonaparte family,
but soon after took up their residence at
another house in Rene, called the Villa Bram-
.

chi. Here also, as at various othet
Bergami's apartment was near that Of her Ma-
jesty, there being a COmmunication by a corridOre
between them. Here he was observed,' upon
more occasions than one, going at an early bOlir
in the morning from his own room into that of
the Princess, and there remaining, for a conside-
rable time. This ,was in July, 1817. Your
Lordships shall have it proved, to 'you that, upon
two,or three occasions, at an
.early hour, he was
seen going towards her apartment, entering.and.
there remaining for some time. This alone
would be sufficient eviOnce of the .criminal in-
tercourse that: existed. In ordinary cases of
criminal conversation, would there be felt,
on the part of .any jury, ,the slightest hesi-
tation in deciding 'upon this circoapstance
alone? Can 'any doubt remain after this,
as to the impropriety of, the intercou7se, more'
particularly when it is not a solitary,. in-
stance. here too, Bergarni, as in other places,
was .admitted into the Princess's room while
she was *dressing,
,while in her dishabille.
out the least reserve, or previous notice, he was
permitted to go into her room upon all occasions.
There also, your Lordsbips will find, that upon
two or
,three occasions he is ,seen visiting her
room at night. From .Villa Bran chi they return-,
ed to Milan in the month Of. 'August, and there
the same arrangements were made with respect
to their bed-rooms. So' great' was
.the influence
he acquired over her, that his absence was oh-
.served always to create a visible. uneasiness in
the mind of the PrinceSs. Upon one occasion he
visited the Barona. His absence appeared to
give her the greatest trouble. She sent a mes-
senger
.for
him, and at their meeting they em-
bracedthe- Princess expressing that
sort of joy and satisfaction, in countenance and
manner, that is naturally to be expected from
persons between •whom 'such a connection exists.
This took place in August, 1817.
Here some Noble Lord expressed a wisil that
the dates of the various transactions alluded to
should be distinctly stated.
The Loan CHANCELLOR said, it would be
convenient if the dates of the arrivals and depar-
tures. from the different places mentioned were
given in by the Learned Gentleman.

The ATTORNEY-GENERAL proceeded.—The
date of the arrival at Trieste is the 11th April,
1817. At the Itupinella, about 23d June of the
same year : at the Villa 13ranchi, a few days
after 'the end of June, or early 'in July, 1817.
They left the Barona in January, 1817, for the

putpoSe of prkeeding to TridSie. 'nett hirival
at Pesaro was oti the 9th de August, 11.3176 Where
they took up their residence •for a time, and it
was after this the facts "tvhicli tam mow goiog• to
state occilfreil! Manywatticutars:ivhich Have
not ni.entirme ttshall "'ear irk eyidencei. , While
at Villa ct•Vste,,it will be proved by various wit,
'asses, that the Princess and Bergami frequently
rode out alone, in a vehicle, so contrived that
there was only room for one to sit down, so that if
there was a second person, it was necessary that
one should sit on the other: In this they frequent-
ly drove out, the Princess sitting on. his kneel
with his arms round her waist while he guided
the horse. In this indecent posture, they were
frequently seen together. On the River Brescii
they were often observed indulging in most inde=
cent familiarities, kissing one another, and taking
other freedoms which it is impossible to account
for, unless by supposing that a criminal inter-
course took place. All this will be proved by
various witnesses. On the return of'the Princess
from the East', she. brought in her train a man
named Leone, of the most brutal and depraved
manner. This person used 'to exhibit himself at
the Villa Branchi in the most indecorous and
shameful manner, the Princess and Bergami bey
ing present.. The circumstances are so shocking,
so disgusting to the mind, that I cannot, without.
difficulty, bring myself to mention them to
your Lordships, but it is necessary. The
painful situation in which I am placed; re-
quires that , I should make yotir Lordships un-
derstand the nature of the disgusting exhibi-
trun, which shall appear by the testimony of
various witnesses, This man, in the situation

1 described, among other things, used to imitate,
in the- most indelicate manner, the sexual in
Oter-
; urse before the servants, and in the presence
f the Princess. These degrading circumstances
do not certainly of themselves prove, the filet ...of .
adulterous intercourse ; but a woman who conic].
condescend to this, would not hesitate to sacri-
fiecia her virtue in the most licentious manner.
These facts prove the disgustin4 and licentious .
conduct alluded to in the preamble, and leave no
doubt as to the other fact of adultery. .Your

Lordships, after this, will not be snrprised to

find that she visited Roman Catholic places of
worship with Bergami, though on her first arrival
in Italy she acted as beckne a Protestant Prin-
cess,. and either attended divineworship in Noilic
Protestant Chapel, or had it performed in \her
own house.. This rule she observed while at
Genoa, but relinquished it soon after Bergarni
came into her service. How is this fact. to be
accounted for, unless your Lordships suppose
an influence arising, from criminal Connexion.
The Princess had taken into her service, and
placed. in various situations not less than
ten of Bergami's relations. This, coupled with
all the other circuiristances, is a strong and almost
convincingproof :of guilt. I Iplow it has been
said, that these facts are to be proved by Italian
witnesses. I know a general cry has been raised
against them. It has been said, that no depen-
dance is to be placed oh the- testimony of me-
nials and Italians. By what other witnesses
could the factS alleged he proved.? Persons of
rank and distinction could have had no oppor-
tunity of becoming acquainted with 'stfch'circum-
stances. lit most cases of- crimiiial conver-
sation it is impossible to bring forward other
evidence. than that of servants. But how
can her Majesty complain that the witnesses
are Italian :—she who took this Bergami
into her service—who heaped upon him' so
many favours and honours—who, soon after
her arrival in Italy, ceased almost to be an
Englishwoman, and filled every situation in,
het house and,about her person with Italian do-
mestics ? How can her Majesty,..after this, say,
do not call Italian witnesses they are not to be
believed., So, my Lords, a person as culpable a 4
the meanest wretch on the earth, may do what
she pleases abroad, and-when coming before. art
English Court of Justice, cries out you must re-
fuse receiving evidence of criminality ? But,
will your Lordships receive such au argument ?
lam satisfied you will not. You may, as Eng-

lishmen, feel yor superiority over other nations;
but you will not, therefore, refuse all credit to

the witnesses because they happen to be foreign-
ers. Her Majesty, who caressed foreigners,
who gave them the most distinguished places about
her, must not now turn-round and say, foreigners
are not to be credited against her. If any difficulty
occurred on this point, her Majesty alone was
to blame. But, however, that, I am sure, will
not•operatc on your Lordships as to the witnesses
not being seen abroad and in thb streets; he
would to God it could have been otherwise. But
the conduct exhibited on their arrival forbade it.

I am isure, however, when the evidence is shown,
the manly feelings of Englishmen will return,
and the witnesses be allowed to walk when and.
where they please. My Lords,' I now conclude..
If the facts I have stated be proved, your Lord-
ships will have but one duty to perform; you
will discharge it 'with temper and discretion;
you will come to your decision only on unexcep-
tionable dis'cretion ; you will scrutinize the tes-
timony, and view the case as affecting the public
morals and' tranquillity of the country. I shall
now, my Lords, proceed to call evidence to sub-
stantiate my charge."
At twenty minutes after twelve, the Learned
.ATTORNEY-GENERAL concluded his speech; and
after a few minutes had elapsed,
Lord,ErtsKlN'E said--" I wish to know what
arrangements are made for the attendanceitof wit-
nesses Is it to be so ordered that we can re-call

them, if it should be found necessary, or how are
they to be forthcoming ? Their presence may be
found absolutely necessary.'.'
The LORD CIIINCELLOII.—" It is competent
to your Lordships to put questions on this case
before its conclusion. The witnesses, after being
called and examined, may be re-examined. And
I now therefore move the usual order, That the
witnesses do attend from day to day till further
orders."

Lord KING.—I wish to know, that if in the
event of the witnesses prevaricating, or giving',
false testimony if they can be punished other.-
,