Star.
London, England, 1826-12-18 00:00:00

THE ITALIAN OPERA.

There was a well-attended Opera at the repetition of ./A Vestals
on Saturday night, and that Sae work rises nightly in the estima-
tion of its hearers, in proportion to the improved effect Meath re-
presentation. This was particularly remarkable in the execution
of the overture. Madame Caw-anon will have made a considerable
advance in the estimation of judges, by her able performance of
Giulia. We regret to see that Cumin does not yet enjoy the full
return of hls health and powers. Madame Baotou continues to
give proof that she has studied well in a good school, and that she
will be a valuable auxiliary to the company.
Zucnatu is arrived. and Miss F. Awns, a young English
Singer, pupil of Signer Liveliest, whose tranacendent talent has
excited much sensation in Italy, is expected in the course of next
week. Mademoiselle ETCLINA FLIXILOT has renewed her engage-
ment, and is to appear in the new Ballet of 4nactvots, by M. D'Eci-
TILLS. The Margaret frillijou, by Ma* classes, is going to be put
speedily in rehearsal. Signor Neat is on his way to Italy, as Charge
d'Afaires of Mr. F.'s's', to strengthen the Opera Corps, which is
considered as likely to exceed that of any former season.

prince LIEVEN, the Russian Ambassador, transacted
busiDell yesteaday, with ►Mr. Secretary CAMP O, at his office, in

The Marquis de PA LtaELLA, the Portuguese Ambas-
sador, transacted business on Saturday, at the office of the Secre-
tory of State for Foreign Affairs.
Earl BATHURST, Secretary of State for the War De-
partment, visited the Duke of You yesterday.
The Duke Of CLARENCE Came to town on Friday
morning, from his residence, at Bushy, and returned to Bushy in
the afternoon.
Mr. LATCHFORD, the King's Messenger,left town on
Friday night for Paris, with dispatches, from Mr. Secretary Caw-
nolo to Los d ORANVILLE, our Ambassador, in France.
Saturday was the bit th-day of Prince LEOPOLD, when
his Royal Highness completed his thirty-sixth year. His Royal
ilighness's tradespeople illuminated their houses on the occasion.
• THE LORI) CHANCELLOR.—His Lordship's complaint
remains very much in its former state, the pain being confined to
sat hi: l,,,tdship's knees, and one of his feet; but, although he
was still 'offering very severely, he was not considered worse.
The E,lll of LIVERPOOL is nearly recovered from his
late indisposition.
The Glasgow Courier says that Mr. Motcrerru has
relinquished his seat in Parliament.
The Marquis of CLANRICARDR, in his quality of Un-
der Secretary of State, has all South America confided to his offi-
cial management.
A letter horn Naples, dated the 30th of November,
states that the Marquis of HAMM died on board his Majesty's
ship Ramon, 011 the 28th, and that his remains were to be con-
eeyed, by his Majesty's ship /SALAMI, Captain Fgrect.anince, to
Malta, for interment, in cnnjormity with the wishes his Lordship
bad expressed. 'rise Marchioness of HASTINGS would remain at
Naples torsonse time. Ifice•AdiaL Sir H. bloats, in the 13.xvonas,
was to rotted on the 3d foist. to Marseilles.

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

ARCHES COURT, Dacauaza 16.
wassasawra ir. warrsawnt.
Dr. LUSHINGTON resumed his argument this day.
He went through the facts detailed in the evidence
(and which have been so fully repotted) respecting the
other act of imputed adultery with Mary Brenan. He
then proceeded to comment upon the facts alleged in;
support of the imputed cruelty, which, he contended, did
not depend upon Mackenzie's testimony, but was sup-
ported by the best possible evidence, that of the Mar-1
quis himself, in his confessions to Mr. Wood, who, as al
friend of the late Lord, and an acquaintance of the pre.
sent Marquis since his infancy, was likely to.be biassed
in favour of, rather than against, his Lordship. The
confinement of the Marquis at the suit of Mr. Wood
was the just and disgraceful punishment of his Lord-
ship's violence. The Learned Advocate then adverted
to the complaints of L icly Westmeath, in consequence
of which Mr. Wood went to her, in order to effect a re-
conciliation. Lord Westmeath was present in the room
when her Ladyship recited his acts of violence, which
the Marquis, though agitated, acknowledged distinctly,
and did not recriminate. The evidence of Miss Wood,
as to the subsequent transactions in France, admitte4
the occasional kindness of Lord Westmeath, and he (Dr.
Lushington) allowed this, and that the Marquis was a
man capable of acting with energy and ability, but he
was liable to be hurried away by passion. With respect
to the blow at Granvilliers, which would have caused
the Marchioness to fall, but for the aid of Miss Wood,
and which was accompanied by the etpressions " Go to
h—; I wish I had never seen you," he considered that
comment was superfluous: here was an act of cruelty
which it was as needless to exaggerate as to hold a can-
dle to the sun, and which (without perfect condonation
on the part of Lady Westmeath) was alone a sufficient
ground for divorce. The observations respecting Lady
We,tme.sth's hunting and gaiety, whilst it was alleged
she was suffering under ill-treatment, he should meet by
appealing to the proof aff irded thereby of her anxiety
to conceal from the world their family differences. It
too often happened amongst married persons, that a gay
aspect concealed an aching heart ; and in this case he
feared there WAS a concealment of inward suffering, and
disappointed hopes and expectations. To prevent the
necessity of application to a Court, a deed of separation
was thought of ; but by the intervention of friends, the
Marchioness consented to live with her husband, on the
express condition that in case it should happen, that by
a renewal Af their disputes she should be hereafter com-
pelled to live apart from him, a certain annuity should
be allotted to her : but a clause was contained in the
deed, to the effect that such separation should only take
place in consequence of ill-usage, or gross abuse of
Lord Westmeath towards his L idy. A few months after
the execution of this deed, Lady Westmeath was obliged
to compel the Marquis to fulfil this stipulation; and he
admitted the violation of the contract, and executed a,
deed of actual separation to escape a suit in the Eccle-
siastical Court, acknowledging that he had given cause
lir it. Scarcely was the in dry when, in a fit of un..l
governable passion, he destroyed this deeJ ; and al.
though he repented, and executed another, yet what
was to be said of the temper of such a man? Would
any Gentleman whatever, of education and manners,
take such a mode of cancelling an instrument? After
renewing it, Lord Westmeath resorted to a measure of
a culpable nectar.: ; lie privately offered a protest, where-
by he might evade or hope to evade the contract, which
Mr. Wood, considering it as an intended fraud, treated
as an insult. It thus appeared that this Nobleman was
not only a victim of ungovernable passion, but that the
principles of moral rectitude were not of sufficiently
strong growth in. him to keep him in the path of truth
and honour. It had been objected to LadyWestmeath that
after the separation the Marquis was suffered to live in
the same house with her; but this, unfortunately, was
conceded by the Marchioness, contrary to her own pru-
dent determination, to the importunity of friends ; and
it shewed the absence of that obstinacy and pertinacity
which some persons had ascribed to her. The Learned
Advocate then detailed the circumstances attending the
last interview of the parties, the frantic violence of Lord
Westmeath, and his threat of challenging and shooting
Mr. Wood ; and he asked whether such conduct did not
constitute a renewal of the cruelty, which did not re-
quire an act of the same intensity ? There was a speci-
fic indication of the same temper and the same violence,
which :hewed that the man was unchanged. The Court
could not repel this Lady because she had not claimed
its protection earlier ; she alleged these transactions
only for self-protection, and to prevent being compelled
to return to the power and dominion of her husband.—
The Learned Advocate then commented on the general
averments offered in opposition to the prayer of the
Marchioness, namely, that the representations of her
case were inconsistent with the evidence ; that twenty
witnesses from her own family had appeared, and that
she had administered objectionable interrogatories. He
observed that Lady Salisbury's memory had been
most treacherous where the facts would have favoured
her daughter, and shewed alacrity when otherwise.—
In her evidence she reptesented Lord Westmeath's
conduct as always kind towards her daughter; yet
an exhibit annexed to the interrogatory was shewn
to hear in which she expressed herself as follows :
I" I have no doubt that Lord Westmeath's conduct
has been in the highest degree blameable and improper,
and that Emily has sustained much mortification and
cruelty from him." The declaration of Lady West-
meath, when she endeavoured to procure for her hus-
band an advance of money from her father, namely,
that his Lordship had been " uniformly kind to her,"
was an evidence of her wish to keep their differences
secret: But wherefore rely on this declaration, when
Lord Westmeath's letters of this date acknowledged
his ill-treatment of his wife? Dr. Jenner had ascribed
all these differences to the subject of the natural chil-
dren ; this argument he (Dr. Lushington) denied ; it was
not in the slightest degree borne out by the evidence,
but, on the contrary, was distinctly negatived by it.—
Not a single dispute appeared to have originated from
this subject; and throughout the whole correspondence
it was mentioned but once. With respect to the objec-
tionable interrogatories, he observed, that when a per-
son was driven to the extremity to which the Mar-
chioness had been driven, every allowable expedient
must be resorted to. It was not just to say, that because
the interrogatory was denied, it was disproved; nor
was much reliance to be placed on the denial of a person
with such a vile and treacherous memory as Lady
Salisbury. It had been objected that the letters of
Lady Westmeath shewed an affection which contradicted
the allegation of suffering. But though be (Dr. Lush-
ington) did not deny that there was a warmth of affec-
tion prevailing in the letters of the Marchioness, he met
the argument by saying that the acts of violence were
forgiven; and would it have conduced to her happiness

to bring to herhusbapd's recollection his former offences,
and thereby nourish the' fwe of tioknce in his heart?
A more blameable line of conduct could not beimputed
to a wife than a false forgiveness, which pretended to
pass over offences for the sake of calling those grievances
to mind at a future period. But there were letters
which contained symptoms of suffering and intended
separation. In one dated April, 1815, she said, "It is
only when you break my heart, and mortify me to the
quick, that I have ever intended to abandon you." The
contemporary letters of Lord Westmeath were more
explicit; almost every one imputed blame to himself,
and contained a tribute of praise and commendation of
Lady Westmeath 's patient suffering. He expressed
" remorse for changing the natural character of a vir-
toous and disinterested object ;" he spoke of the " blast
which he had made of her happiness ;" and with " the
brutality be had shewn her in individual instances."—
No ingenuity could get rid of theseproofs of unjustifiable
violence. In another letter he says," Thank GOD, I did
not commit a last act of brutality and madness, by
taking Rosa away from you, who suffered twice what
most mothers suffered, during your whole time, in mind
As well as body." Yet this very act, which he held up
himself as an act of consummate violence, he committed
at a future time ; he did take from the mother her only
child, and debar her from the sight of it. And now
this Court was called upon, knowing what were the
duties of the marriage state, to aid a man who had con•
fessed a violation of them all, and to send the Mar-
chioness back to experience a repetition of the same
conduct. If the Marquis could not refrain from violence
when love was young arid new, was any man so doltish
ac to suppose that, at this period, alter his passion had
been exasperated by the public exposure of his conduct,
that be would become a meek and moderate husband ?
He (Dr. Ltnhington) was aware of the difficulty lie had
to contend with in the sentence given in the Court
below; but it was for the protection of suitors that
Cotnts of Appeal were established to remedy the errors
to which the wisest and most learned Judges were sub-
ject; and he would not believe that, now, when the
question came to this,—not, whether either party
*ltould triumph, nor whether Lord Westmeath should
be convicted of criminality, but whether Lady West-
meath should be compelled to return to her husband,
despite his cruelty, and despite his whole violent con-
duct, which shewed no affection towards her,—he would
not believe that Lady Westmeath would be so com-
pelled ; and he felt a perfect confidence that, as she had
appealed to the Court's protection, the Court would
leave her unprotected.
After some brief remarks of Counsel and the Court,
Sir Jostle NICKOLL stated be would bear the reply on Wednesday
next, but should not give his opinion till the beginning of next
Term. In the meantime Lord Westmeath might consider whether
it was advisable to press his suit. The Learned Judge thought he
would act wisely, and his friends would pursue a judicious course
in so advising him, if he refrained, whereby the case might be taken
out of Court.