Star.
London, England, 1818-12-22 00:00:00

CAM. tOM

COI:MT OP bOiiMON7IZAIS, DEeINUISIt tn.
vAtionAti V. sumt. •
Mr. Purt.arra o ned this case. The declaration
stated, that the d endant made an assault upon the
wife df the plainti and debauched her : thereby de-
priving the plainti of the comfort of her society,—
The damages were laid at £lO,OOO.
Mr. Serjeant COPLICY stated the circumstances of
Ibis rate to the Jury: The plaintiff, Mr. Vaughan,
Ye said, brought this action for the purpose of recce-
=reparation in damages, as far as damages
in repairing such an injury, for the seduc-
tion As wife by the defendant, Cases of this na-
tive had been of such frequent occurrence, and had
en often been the subjects of consideration in Courts
((Justice, that he thought it unnecessary to make
any general observations on their character ; con.
'Mead, as he was, that the feelings and understand-
ings of the Jury would suggest every thing which
he could urge in introducing such a case to their no-
tice. He thought he should best discharge his duty to
his client, by confining himself to a plain and simple
statement of the case, layin before them the situa-
tion of the parties, and the circumstances ander
which the offence was committed. He was quite
sure that the facts which he should lay before them
in evidence would be conclusive. The Learned Ser-
jeant then proceeded to state, that the plaintiff, Mr.
Vaughan, was a Gentleman very well known in the
musical world, and of great talents. So far back as
the year 1805, he was introduced, for the first time,
to a young Lady of the name of Tennant. She was
then 17 years of age, of great personal beauty and
accomplishments ; added to which, she was possessed,
in an eminent degree, of the same description of ta•
lent for which Mr. Vaughan had been so eminently
distinguished. At the latter end of 1805 a marriage
took place. From that period down to the time
when their happiness was broken in upon by the
present defendant, they lived together in the greatest
possible Vats
h'
degreeassis
of
-sd herha husbandrm ot i y
in
nnd
the affection.
discharge
of sf Ir
hiss.
professional engagements, and thus they mutually
contributed to the support of their common offspring.
They had had several children, of whom six were
now alive ; the eldest not above ten years of age.
The defendant was the son of a Dr. Smith, residing
at Richmond, and held an office under the Govern-
ment of the country. The two families, Mr.
Vaughan's and Dr. Smith's, were upon the most in-
timate terms. Mrs. Vaughan had two children at
school at Richmond, and when she went down to see
them she frequently stopped a day or two at Dr.
Smith's. In like manne_r, when_ _ the Miss Smiths came
to '

J town, they remained at the house of Mr. Vaugims..
and, together with every branch of their family, we*
received with the greatest hospitality and kindness.
In this situation, things remained, until at last the de-1
fendant succeeded in seducing the wife of his friend ;
and finally induced her to elope from him. It was'
Isere necessary to.state, that when Mrs. Vaughan war
delivered of her last child to her husband, about two
years ago, she suffered so much in consequence dm
internal complaint, that her medical advisers deemed
,it necessary to recommend that in futute her husband
and she should sleep in separate beds. Mr. Vaughan
',loved his wife with the utmost affection and regardl-
,but finding it expedient, for her sake, that this course
should be adopted, he disregarded his own feelings,
and yielded to the suggestion. From that time until the
elopement, they slept in separate beds, in rooms ad-
joining each other. At what time the defend= suc-
ceeded in effecting his dishonourable purpose it had
not been clearly ascertained; but that a criminal inter-
course had taken place upwards of a year back was
manifest, from the birth of a child, of which the de-
fendant was the father. This fact was proved by se-
veral letters from the defendant to Mrs. Vaughan;.
from the tone and manner of which, the intimacy
which had subsisted between them was too evident.
These letters were not addressed to Mrs. Vaughan,
but from their import, and the way in which they
found, they were clearly conveyed to her. Here
here
Serjeant Copley read several passages from the
letters to which he alluded; which were signed by
the defendant, and in which he addressed Mrs.
Vaughan as his " Dearest, dearest Bess, his very life'
his own valued—cherished—most beloved wife." In
these letters he makes allusion to the situation in
which Mrs. Vaughan was, from the intercourse which
had passed between them; speaks of the pledge of
their mutual regard which lay beneath her bosom,
and entreats her to quit her husband's house before
he discovers her pregnancy. Mrs. Vaughan finall'
deserted her husband and, her children, and after
short residence in a cottage near Tut:nham-green,
she proceeded to Lyme, in Dofsctshire, where shr
was delivered of ahoy, the fruit of her unhappy in-
trigue with the defendant. It remained that he
should say a few words as to the damages. The most
honourable persons came into Courts of Justice to re-
cover damages in cases like the present. Damages
were not a compensation, and not even an allevia-
tion of the injury; btu they felt anxious to have the
opinion of a Jury upon their own conduct, and upon
the circumstances and conduct which had destroyed
their happiness. In this case the plaintiff's domestic
life was a blank ; his future prospect of happiness
was a blank, witlout a single ray to gladden or
enliven it He had six infant children, many
of them females, looking for instruction, advice,
and example, to their mother. The children, from
the constitution of society, must partake at least of
the degradation of their parent. If this deadly blow
to his domestic comfort and to his children's happi-
ness had been struck by a stranger, it would be less
severe. But it was his friend, his intimate friend,
always received almost without restraint, and with
the utmost hospitality, who seduced his wife, and
planted a dagger iu his bosom. The plaintiff was net
in the highest rank, but he belonged to a class in
, which an injury of this sort was more severer felt
than in the highest class. The pliintiff was a ptofea-
sional man: His leisure, his relaxation, his enjoyment.
were necessarily all at home ; and if be lost domestic
happiness, he lost all means of enjoyment. 'Acre
was also a further consideration in estimating the
, datnaget. Indignant as the' plaintiff was at the de.
fendant, it was impoisible for kim not to feel for a
woman who had been his wife for many years, and.
with whom he had felt so happy—the mother too of
his children. Now she had been prevailpd on to elope
but a few days when she bitterly lamented her situa-
tion;, upbo sreing chilsitou come into the aroom;