Star.
London, England, 1823-08-18 00:00:00

PRICE OF SUGAR

The Average Price .of Bcowo or Muscovado Sugar. mot.
puted from the Returns-nude in the Week ending 19th Angua,
tali; SO& Old. per !wt. ectiosive of Impottation Duties.

BREACH OF PROMISE OF MeIRRIAGE.

KILKENNY ASSIZES.

-------
.41ARY ANNE LEONARD D. ErEBY' HARTFORD.
This trial came on before Mr. Justice Jeeps and A i
special Jury.
Mr. Fox opened the pleadings, and stated that It
was an action for a breach of promise of marriage : '
the damages were laid at 1,0001. and the defendant I
pleaded the general issue.
Mr. DOHERTY. in addressing the Jury, stated that
Miss Mary Anne Leonard is the fourth daughter of;
the late John Leonard, who some thirty years ago.
married a Miss Bibby, a person of very r,:spectable
family and connexions in this city, and (what it may ,
he material for you to recollect) not very distantly
related to Mr. Bibby Hat tfor,l, the defend tnt Mr. I
Leonard died some rime in theyear.lBl9,• and the
family, which had heretofore enjoyed competence, if
not affluence, were considerably reduced in their cir-
cumstances. Mrs. Leonard and her five children,
four daughters and an infant son, removed to a small
cottage in the suburbs of Kilkenny, for which she
became tenant to her friend and relative, the defend-
ant ; and there she and her family have since conti-
nued to reside. The defendant is now in or about his
60th year, and having had the misfortune of being
deprived, about 18 mouths ago, of the partner to
i whom lie had been for some years mart ied, and by
whom he had several children, in the month of Janu-
ary last he came to the resolution of endeavouring,
if possible, to supply her .place. He mentioned
this 'resolution as adopted in consequence -of the
advice both of his apothecary and his clergyman.
-Mr. Hartfcrd repaired to the cottage of Mrs. Leo-
nard : but I pray you, gentlemen; do not for otie
moment be led•to suppose, that on that occasion be
resembled the Mr. Hartford, who is, I perceive, just
now so artfully exhibited before you. Oh ! no, gen-
tlemen! there is a certain comb of the wig and cock
of the hat, a light and gusty air, a gay and debonair
carriage, which unmistakeably proclaims when such
, projects enter the head of an old man. I doubt that
yOu, gentlemen, would have recognized your fellow-
citizen, had you met him on that morning .
" Brushing, with hasty steps, the dewy lawn,"
exalting as mach the every day appearance of your
friend, Mr. Hartford, as he this day falls short of it ;
and both disguises, 1 must say, have been equally
adopted for a purpose. Arrived at the cottage of
Mrs. Leonard, he obtained admission into the room
where she and her daughters were seated. Hitherto
Mrs. Leonard had only received the visits of Mr.
Hartford as her landlord : she but little suspected
that he was now. about to appear in the more inte-
resting and amiable character of a lover: his conver-
sation, on each occasion, was adapted to the part he
had to play. Formerly he talked of the hardness of
the times, the difficulty of obtaining rent, and the
utter impossibility of living without it. Now,—
strange reverse I—the times were much improved.--
money had grown plenty, and the Ministers (God
bless them) bad taken the taxes off, so much so that
he had thoughts of setting up his carriage—Mr.Bibby
Hartford in his carriage! Of all the flies with which
a man can go wife-fishing, I do verily believe, gentle-
men, there is none like a carriage. I know not how
it is, but, be it coach, chaise, or chariot—be it green,
brown, or yellow—nothing is so attractive. Miss
Leonard was aware that, Mr. Hartford had made a
kind. and indulgent husband to his late wife : she
knesithat be was passing rich; and but one possible
objection could now be urged against him—his age;
and of this he endeavoured to do away the impression
by what is usually termed the puff collateral ; he
contrived to drop out accidentally, in the course of
conversation, that, in approaching the house, he had
found the gate locked, and that he had leaped over
the wall. This Rome of sixty.
" With Love's light wings did he o'erperch these walls,
" For stony limits cannot hold Love out."
From January till March, the defendant continued a
constant visitor at the cottage, and Mr. Gregory, the
very apothecary who had prescribed marriage to him,
having received his instructions, communicated Mr.
Hartford's wishes to Miss Mary Anne Leonard. She
at once accepted his proposal.. Mrs. Leonard ex-
plicitly stated, that of which Mr. Hartford himself
must have been previously well aware, that her
daughter had no fortune, her father had died intes-
tate, and any property of which he was possessed,
being freehold, devolved on his, infant son. 111,
Hartford offered not the slightest objection on this
or any ether ground, and he then announced his de-
termination to settle a jointure of £lOO per annum
on his wife. Nothing now remained but to appoint
the time. Mr. Hartford begged for an early, a very
early day ; and Mrs. Leonard and the plaintiff both
requested some further time. Mr. Hartford was pe-
remptory. The Wednesday following must be the
day—the happy day. " Delays are dangerous," cried
•his friend the prophetic apothecaty, and
" Happy's the wooing
" That's not long a doing,"
exclaimed the urgent and impatient lover. Resist-
ance was vain, and Wednesday morning, at nine
o'clock, was the appointed
,day and hour. Matter's
being.thug finally arranged, it remained only for Miss
Leonard to employ the short interval with' the milli-,
nor, and Mr. Hartford with the attorney.—False,
1 fleeting, faithless lover ! The morning arrived—Mrs:
Leonard, her daughters, and a few select friends, we: e
in expectation of the bridegroom ; the appointed hour
came, he'had not arrived; ted o'clock—he comes not
still ; elevenno' lover leaped o'er 'the garden wall ;
twelve—the hour after which, by canonical regula-
tion, no marriage can be celebrated, and still no
bridegroom, nor tidings of him came. The wedding
party which had assembled at Mrs. Leonard's, had
not separated, when Mr. Hartford (having waited
till after the hour at which he could have entered the
Church) rode up-,--he alighted—be came in, but 071--
attired as a bridegroodie took his chair in 'Hence
—at length he essayed to speak—he humnMed—he
, hawed—and stammered out, that " his family had
!discovered all,-and were going to play the devil with
him."—Why, Gentlemen, can anything be more
hflimsy in the shape of excuse, or. more absurd ? Miss
Leonard never supposed that she was about to make
a secret match—that she was about to impose on the
youth and inexperience of this minor of sixty.: he
saw there Mr. Bibby, his own relative, and the bro-
ther-in-law of plaintiff, who had attended to be pre-
sent at the nuptials. The defendant then said, that
if Miss Leonard would overlook his folly on this cc-
' casion, he would repay her by affection—that if she
would say that she would-marry him on Friday Om
. • •

clay hot one following). he would instantly repait tfi
the name!, and have the settlement prepaid; Mi 6
Leonarj yielded once more to the importunity of Mil'
fOurttbrd. and f:ridAy was filed to be. without fail.
1
. the wedding-day. Gentlemen, you will, I am sure)
Illy your own astonishment, be able to estimate that
di Miss Leonard, when I lead you the letter which
l'wigs delivered to her on the follwwing day by the de-
's son t'

" Mr: Bibby Ifirtfokl's enmplimerts to Mrs. Leonard, and
on due consideratint! think what I proposed would not alum •
me. I must bet pardon, for being so trouhicsdaw, although .
having every regard for you and Lindy.
" April 10, 1823." •
, After the receipt of this note, hut bne course was
open for Miss Leonard, and that was an api)cal to
you, Gentlemen. It -has been said in the ca.e of
man, " if once•refthcd, I'll never sue again ;" then,
surely,• a woman, when twice rejected and di:ap-
pointed, .cannot confide again. Accordingly, Mr.
Costeiloe, plaintiff's att.,rney,' cal ti.e 18th of April,
wrote, but receixed no a:!swer ; on the ‘2,Bth cf. the
same month, Mr. Hartford was served w ith the writ,
and on the follow log day he had the eff. outcry to re-
pair again to thu cottage. Miss Mary Anne Leonard
saw him approach, and, as was most natural, she re-
tired to her own room: he followed to the door; he
said," he hoped she would notbting him into Court,
and that he was ready to perform his promise." Not
having obtained any satisfaction, Mr. Hartford le,
tired, and fearing that his own evidence might not
avail him on a trial, he sent his son, accompanied by
Surgeon Pack, in the course of the same day, to
make a regular legal tender to the nlaintiff of a bus.
band to the plaintiff,. alleging (notwithstanding the
contradiction contained in his note) that the defend-
ant then was, and always had been, ready to marry
the plaintiff. Why, Gentlemen, is not this adding
insult to injury? Would it be possible for any girl
who had a sense of pride, or regard for her future
happiness, to accept a husband under such circum-
stances, when by process of law she had been obliged
to compel the performance of his already- broken
proniises? Oh! no, Gentlemen,
s For what is wedlock forced, but a Wit;
" An age of discord, and perpetual strife ?"
Gentlemen, I am at a loss to conjecture what defence
my Learned Friends on the opposite side mean to rely
on. With the recent authorities which are to he found
in every newspaper, they ill not assert that a wi-
dower of 60 cannot. contract marriage,• even though
he have children by a former wife; or that a Lady
may not derive comfort, honour, or happiness from
such an alliance. I protest I should regard such an
assertion at the present day as little short of scanda-
lung magnatuir. As to the defendant's appearance, it
is a strange Jury question—rdegustibus non dispa-
tandum—that was altogether a question for Miss
Leonard, and she chose to accept him. I cannot be-
lieve that the defendant will to-day instruct his Couna
sel to disparage and deprecate his person, in order.to
protect his pocket. If they attempt to do so I. hope
he will exclairn—" non tali auxilio." But, Gentle,
men-iiillfey•shoulik:atternivt• it, I must dispute the
fact ; and if that be the defendant whom [have now
the honour of seeing seated opposite to me, though I
cannot flatter him by saying that he resembles what
I would figure to Myself as Romeo,
" On Love's light wings O'erpeochlog garden walls!"
yet I am satisfied that. he is not as bad as it is °W.
ously their intention to represent him, from the disha-
bille in which they have so studiously seated him just
opposite to the Jury.
Mr. Joseph Gregory, Mr. Thomas Bibby, and Bar-
naby Scott, Esq. were examined, and proved the
facts stated by the Counsel.
Dntscott stated the defendant's case. He elo•
quently expatiated on the inaptitude of the defendant
for matrimony, and the consequent improbability of
hisentertaining any genuine affection for the plaintiff.
He told the Jury he would produce evidence of the
most unimpeachable veracity to satisfy them that the
weakness of his client had been practised on by the
plaintiff and her family.
The only witness produced for the defence was
Mr, W. Hartford.

Mr. SHIEL spoke to evidence.—ne insisted that the
defence which the defendant had endeavoured to in-
stitute, should greatly aggravate the daMages.
Mr. Justice Jess then recapitulated the evidence
with great precision.
The Jury then retired ; and after about half an
hour's deliberation, returned with a verdict fur the
plaintiff—Damages 1.Y25, an 4 6d. colts.