The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-08-04 00:00:00

NORTH SIDE

£283,000
130,000

• - - _ £113,000
Supposing the city to be subject,to taxation by the new
Corporation Bill, at the rate of is. Gd. in the pound, the
sum fixed by the bill brought in by Lord Morpeth and Mr.
Pigot, and ordered to be printed on the 22d of July instant,
the case would stand thus :

CITY—NET VALUE•
£434,165.... South Union
283,000.... North Union

X 717,165
One-thirteenth, equal to ls. 6d. in the pound, would give
taxes amounting to £55,166 yearly. What a blessing the new
corporation of Dublin would be with a power to add such an
amount to our burdens! In many places the new corpora-
tions would prove a curse. The country should, with one
acclaim, demand a total abolition in preference to any change.
" Better to bear the ills we have than to fly to others that we
know not of." If the bill shall not pass this session—and
we pray sincerely that it may not--petitions should be got
up everywhere praying for abolition.

THE WEATHER AND THE CROPS.—The weather on Sa-
turday last was very showery and cold, and on Sunday rain
fell at intervals. On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday,
the weather was very fine and warm, and a considerable quan-
tity of hay was housed. Early on Thursday morning there
was a smart shower of rain. but the day turned out warm and
also was a very fine day. This droughty. Yesterdaycon-
tinuance of fine.weather has much improved the prospects of
the farmers, and sanguine hopes arc again entertained of a
plentiful harvest. The crops of grain are looking remarkably
well, in all parts of Yorkshire, and a fortnight or three weeks
of fine weather only is requisite to gather it into the garner.
In ten or twelve days, much will be ready for the sickle, es-
pecially on the high dry grounds.—Leeds Intelligences..
POTATOES RAISED FROM CUTTINGS.—Mr. Cortselt, of
Stapleton, near Bristol, has succeded in raising this valuable
root from cuttings. Mr. Cortselt says—" Reasoning upon
the analagy of the potato to the dahlia, I was induced, in the
spring, to try an experiment on cuttings, and have succeeded
admirably, having from white apple and foxes seedlings, (an
early potato) produced a good crop of full-sized potatoes,
many of which weighed half-a-pound. The method was this;
when the potatoes were about nine inches high, I cut off the
tops about six inches long, planted them in a line about eight
inches apart, with a flat dibble, pressing the earth cArefully
against them, gave them water, and afterwards hoed them as
an ordinary crop. I produced this way at the rate of 14011 u
per rod.

THE TRIAL OP DR, LARDNER

CRIM CON
HEAVISIDE V. LARDNER
LEWES, SATURDAY.—This case, which has occupied the
public attention for some time past, in consequence of the
station of the parties, and all the circumstances connected
with it, was fixed to come on first this morning. The excite-
ment produced was very great. Every room in every hotel
in the town was inconveniently crowded with occupants, and
beds were not to be had for any money. At an early hour
the doors of the court were besieged by-parties anxious to
procure places, and long before the cause was called on
every
.seat was occupied. Among those present were the
Dowager Countess of Carhampton, Lady Murray, Colonel
Spicer, the Hon. Mrs. Greville, Mrs. Wigney, Mr. Divett,
M.P., Mr.. Darby, .M. P., and a number of distinguished
ladies and gentlemen.
At nine o'clock Mr. Baron. GURNEY took his seat upon
the bench, when the names of the jury (which was a special
one) were called over.
Mr. THESIGER, Mr. PLATT, and Mr. PETTERSDORFF,
were retained for the plaintiff; Mr. Sergeant CHANNEL'.
and Mr. CLARISSON, for the defendant.
Mr. PETERSDORFF opened the pleadings, and the damages
were laid at £lO,OOO.
Mr. THESIGER then spoke as follows:—Gentlemen of the
jury, I rise to discharge the painful and arduous duty of de-
tailing to you the circumstances under which the plaintiff has
been compelled to seek in a public court that poor and unsa-
tisfactory reparation which the laws of our country afford
for the severest injury which one man can do to another.
I cannot enter into this case without being at once overcome
by strong and almost uncontrollable feelings of indignation
against the author of all the misery which the plaintiff
has endured, and which must tend to embitter his life
for the remainder of his dayi. The defendant is a per-
son who has arrived at a period of life when the passions
are ordinarily subservient to the judgment, and whose
experience of the world is'matured. He possessis sCientific
knowledge which has acquired for him a literary reputation ;
he has converted all these advantages to the unworthy and
unprincipled object of tampering with a weak and unguarded
woman, of seducing her from affections which ought to have
been her pride—from her duty, to which she was bound by
every sacred and enduring obligation—and from the home
which she was calculated to adorn, and which threw around
her everything that could conspire to her happiness. The
plaintiff, who was now compelled by the misconduct of the
defendant to publish his dishonour before the world in a
public court of justice, and submit to the degrading necessity
of seeking for compensation in damages for that which no da-
mages can repair, is probably known to most whom I have
the honour to address. The plaintiff is a member of an
honourable family, and is the only son of a gentleman who
was a magistrate of the county of Middlesex, and lived for
many years at Peterborough House, near Fulham. The
plaintiff himself received a liberal education. He was sent to
Eton, and in due time.went to the university of Cambridge.
At tl;e death of his father, in 1814, he entered the army,
having purchased a cornetcy in the Ist Dragoon Guards.
The unhappy lady, into whose conduct you are about to in-
quire, is a daughter of Colonel Spicer. formerly of the 12th
Lancers ; she was his only child. The mother of the plaintiff
was sister to Colonel Spicer, and consequently the plaintiff
and this lady are first-cousins. The plaintiff did not meet
his cousin for many years, Colonel Spicer having resided
abroad at Chateau Capitole, at Boulogne, till, in 1823, Mr.
Heaviside went to pay Colonel Spicer a visit. He then be-
came acquainted with his cousin. This intimacy produced an
attachment, and. such was the feeling that sprung up in both
their hearts that they looked forward to a happy union, a
feeling, that was cherished and sanctioned by the approval of
their relatives and the blessing of her parents. It was re-
solved that they should be married, and accordingly that took
place on the 17th of July, 1824, at St. Michael's, Bath, in the
presence of their relations. It was a marriage of entire affec-
tion. There was no sordid motive to sully their affection.
The means of Mr. Heaviside were sufficient to render him
careless of fortune; and I am sure that you, gentlemen, will
agree with me that interest rarely becomes the substitute of
affection in 'a woman's heart. There was a settlethent by
which £20,000 was secured by Mr. Heaviside in the usual
way to himself for life, afterwards to his wife, and then to
their children. Mrs:Heaviside had no fortune; but she was
entitled, by the settlement of her father and mother, to
£15,000 after the death of the survivor of them. After their
marriage Mr. and Mrs. Heaviside resided for about three
years upon the continent. They then returned, and lived-for
some time at Saunders Court, near Oakingham, in Berkshire.
They then came to Brighton, and resided in Brunswick-
square, where they lived at the time the unhappy event took
place which is now the subject of inquiry. Gentlemen, the
establishment of Mr. and Mrs. Heaviside was replete With all
the comforts which refinement could desire. Thee moved in
the first circles ; their company was courted by 'all; and it
appeared that they were sincerely devoted to each other, and
this devotion being increased by that strong cement of affec-
tion, the birth of several children, there was nothing to be
wished for in this world by them. They had now three sur-
viving children ; the eldest was a girl of 14 years old, the
next a boy of 13, and the youngest was a girl 6 years of age.
The plaintiff was a kind, affectionate, and indulgent husband.
There was no indifference or neglect on his part, which a wo-
man's heart could ill- bear, to chill her affections. There was
no anger—no exhibition of hasty temper, to estrange these
affections. He lived in the circle of his family, as if it to him
was all the world and during the whole nine years which
they' resided at Brighton, he was absent from his home only
on one occasion. She was a person of quiet, gentle, and re-
tired habits ; she never exhibited the slightest appearance of
levity, and was always, apparently, strongly attached to her
husband and family. If it were possible to expect any
permanent happiness in this life, one might imagine
that it would- have been secured in such a home. It is
difficult, when we are basking in the sunshine of happiness,
to think of the coming shade, but every . day reminds us of
the precarious tenures by which the enjoyments of this life
are held. Thus in an evil hour the defendant made his ap-
pearance at Brighton ; he came there, I believe, on some
literary pursuit, and his reputation was a passport for him
to the best society. The plaintiff', unfortunately, courted his
acquaintance ; he obtained an introduction to him, and in-
vited him to his house. There was nothing in the age, the
appearance, or the manner of the defendant which could lead
him to expect that he could be a dangerous visiter, or that
when he entered the doors of peace and of affection, that it
was to destroy, to annihilate, all the happiness the plaintiff
enjoyed. Gentlemen, he was' invited to the house of Mr.
Heaviside from time to time ; two or three times he dined
with the plaintiff, the friends of the family being present ; be
was also at one or two evening parties there, and they also
met occasionally at the houses of their mutual friends ;' but I
believe that during the day, when Mr. Heaviside was absent
in the performance of his magisterial duties, Dr. Lardner
was in the habit of calling at: Brunswick-place, and visiting
Mrs. Heaviside';' but so careful and so guarded was his con-
duct towards her, that no one perceived anything extraordi-
nary in their intercourse, or anything beyond what the
courtesy of society demanded. Gentlemen, in consequence
of this care, and of the guarded conduct adopted by the de-
fendant, I shall be unable to point out where was the begin-
ning of the fatal influence which he ultimately exercised over
the mind of this unfortunate lady. In consequence of this
Cannot show the gradual advances he made in criminality, or
trace his steps in making that advance; but, gentlemen, our
knowledge of human nature may serve to guide us to
the truth; and it is not to be supposed the defendant.
'was an individual likely to be hurried away by the in-
fluence of strong passions, or that he would permit those
passions to master his judgment. I cannot suppose that
such an excuse will be pleaded for him to-day. I,t cannot
be said that the defendant was urged to the commission
of the conduct which I have here to complain of, by the
impulse of headlong passion, 'and that under its influence his
judgment erred. I hardly think, therefore, that such an
excuse as this will be offered for the defendant. I can under-
stand how a woman of talent might be flattered by the atten-
tions of a person of superior age and knowledge, and I can
imagine that under the influence of such attentions she would
become irretrievably lost. It was in this manner, no doubt,
the defendant drew a circle round the unfortunate lady in
question, and, by attending to all the peculiar circumstances
of such a line of action, you may at once see the traces of
every thread of that web in which Mrs. Heaviside was so
cruelly involved. It appeared that on the 11th of March, in
this year, the plaintiff left Brighton for town, and, on the
morning of the 13th of the same month, Mrs. Heaviside in-
formed her servants that she was going from home to pay a
visit to a lady named Greville, and that she would not return
to dinner. Of course the servants thought nothing more of
.the matter, but one of them, on going into Mrs. Heaviside's
-room in the course of the day, missed some trifling articles,
such as combs and the like, and this circumstance gave rise
to suspicions relative to Mrs. Heaviside. The butler imme-
diately proceeded to Mrs. Greville's, and found that Mrs.
Heaviside had not been there that morning. He then pro-
ceeded to town to communicate the fact to the plaintiff.
The latter, however, crossed his servant on the road, and he
arrived in Brighton on the same day. On proceeding to his
home he then learned the, sad tale, under the frightful influ-
ence of which he became insensible, but he subsequently
awoke to the painful situation in which he was placed.
It appeared that the guilty party went, in the first
instance, to the Adelaide Hotel, London-bridge, where
they arrived on the 12th, and on the following morn-
ing they proceeded to Ostend, and from thence to
Dunkirk, and then all traces of them were lost. Shortly
afterwards it was ascertained that the parties were living
together in the rue de Trochet as man and wife, and it would
not have been difficult to have produced evidence from Paris
to prove the adultery of the defendant with Mrs. Heaviside.
It seems, however, that an arrangement has been made be-
tween the solicitors in this case—an arrangement which I
very much regret, and with which Mr. Heaviside had nothing
whatever to do—by which Mrs. Heaviside and Dr. Lardner
were to go before the chambermaid at the Adelaide Hotel, in
order•to their being recognised. Consequent upon- this ar-
rangement was another, by which it was agreed that the
butler of the plaintiff should be produced as a witness. I
will tell you the reason why this was done. A letter was
received by the father of Mrs. Heaviside, dated the 14th of
March, by which the residence of Dr. Lardner and Mr.
Heaviside's wife in Paris was ascertained. The defendant
instantly started for Paris, and went to the rue de Trochet.
He opened the door, and.there he saw his wife and the de-
fendant at breakfast. She immediately uttered a scream.
The plaintiff overcome with his feelings, and impelled by in-
dignation, rushed upon the destroyer of his happiness and
bestowed upon him a severe and well-merited chastisement.
The butler was present when:this circumstance took place,;
and this, gentlemen, is the reason why the butler is to be
called before you this day. I cannot from my heart regret
the treatment which the defendant experienced at the hands
of the plaintiff. There are moments when the feelings of
our nature will assert their supremacy and act in defiance of
the slow progress of the law ; but if this circumstance is put
forward in mitigation of damages, I will ask you this ques-
tion—lf Dr. Lardner brought an action for this assault.
what would be the amount of damages you would give him ?
Ascertain what those damages would be, and then I will ask
you to deduct them from the damages which you will this
day give in the present instance. I will now mention to you
a most extraordinary circumstance, to which my attention
has been called. Upon the writing desk of Mrs. Heaviside
being broken open in'Paris, the. copies of two letters which
Mrs. Heaviside had addressed to her father Colonel Spicer,
and to her husband, were discovered. The copy. of that ad-
dressed to Mr. Heaviside was partly written by the defen-
dant. The first twelve or fourteen lines were in the. hand-
writing of the defendant, and the drafts of both letters were
corrected in many places by the defendant ; and it was
evident that these letters were in every part the concoction
of the defendant, for in' them was exhibited no contrition of
the heart for the gross offence committed against the peace
and happiness of the plaintiff, but in every line was displayed
the cold expressions of a mechanical philosopher. The first
letter which I shall read is dated.
" Sunday, March 15, 1840.
" I sit down to the painful duty of fulfilling the .promise
made in my note of Friday."
This note, gentlemen of the jury, I am not at liberty to
read, but my learned brothers will permit me to say that the
note referred to was a note promising explanation.
" I will do it as briefly as the circumstances to be told and
the feelings to be expressed will permit. You have observed
the continual indisposition from which I have suffered for
many weeks past, and which I have allowed you to suppose
proceeded from bodily illness. My sufferings, however,
were of a different nature, and arose from a different cause.
They originated in the mind and in the heart. Among the
persons introduced to your acquaintance within the last few
months was one, who, unfortunately for me, produced such
an impression upon my heart, as I felt could never be effaced.
In the first period of our acquaintance I flattered myself that
the sentiments he inspired were those of friendship merely,
and I indulged in his society with unguarded, and, as the
event proved, most imprudent freedom ; as this, however,
was no more than was done by other ladies by whom his
acquaintance and conversation were eagerly sought, and

as I never before bad reason to distrust myself, I pro.
eeeded, nnepprehensive of consequences." [All this, gen.
tlemeu, as I before observed to you, was found in draft
in the defendant's own handwriting.] "He departed
from Brighton, and the effects of his absence convinced
me, for the first time, •of the real state of my heart,
and I soon felt that my peace of mind was irretrievably
lost. He had never presumed to tell me that I was to
him an object of affection. His manner and language
were, on the contrary, most deferential and respectful. I
had seen, however, indications of his feelings towards me,
more convincing and unequivocal than any which mere words
could convey. In short, without any express communica-
tion on the subject, our feelings became mutually known.
We felt that every dictate of duty suggested immediate sepa-
ration and absence • separation and absence were accordingly
tried, and continued until I was driven very nigh to madness.
I shall not attempt, because the attempt would be unavailing,
to describe to you what I suffered. Had you been more
constantly with me than your avocations usually permitted
you to be, the state Of my feelings could not have been con-
cealed from you ; and it was only by heartrending efforts that
I assumed an apparent cheerfulness during the brief and dis-
tant intervals you passed with me. You know me tub well
to doubt my truth, when I assure you that on more than one
occasion I was on the point of attempting to rescue all parties
from the evil which menaced them by removing myself to
another world by opium. I struggled—God only knows how
I struggled !—to subdue this criminal attachment, and to re-
cover sufficient tranquillity of mind to enable me to perform
my duties as your wife. I wrote to him declaring my reso-
lution to conquer my affection for him ; his good feeling and
real regard for me prompted him to acquiesce in this course,
and he expressed his entire approbation of it. I tried it ;
I failed ; the struggle almost lost me my life. I now became
fully convinced that I was for ever incapable of discharging
towards you the duties and offices of a wife, save by the
adoption of a course of systematic dissimulation and unre-
mitting hypocrisy from which all my better feelings revolted
with loathing and dis;ust. I felt that the attempt would
render my life one continued lie. No course then remained
for me by which I could be rescued from the horrors of my
position except either self-destruction or to withdraw myself
openly from you, and resign myself to him who engrossed
all my affections. To have adopted the only intermediate
measure, by indulging in his societrand secretly committing
infidelity to you, while I continued to profess the feelings and
perform the obligations of a wife, was one of which I was al-
together incapable. I, therefore, after viewing my situation
and examining my heart, determined to abandon a position
which I could not conscientiously maintain ; and I did ac-'
cordingly on Friday last, deliberately and advisedly, and not
in a moment of excitement,-or under any sudden impulse of
feeling, leave _my home, and place myself in the hands of him
to whom my affections-had been surrendered: •
" Need I assure you•that up to the hour I quitted your
door I never was guilty •of any act injurious to your
honour, or incompatible with the vows I had made you • what
1 have done I' have done openly, and have •not added the
meanness of falsehood and deception to the sin of infidelity.
While by this formal confession 1-place;- itilso,ur bands the
power of releasing yourself froin the tie witficit binds me to
you, and of preserving the tights of our children from the
possible consequences of my act, I am prompted, as much
by my feelings as my duty, to declare, most unequivocally;
that what I have dOne has not been caused by any absence
of kindness and affection on your part ; that on the contrary,
from the day of our marriage to the day of my departure from
you, you have been most kind, most tender, most affectionate,
and I am deeply sensible that you have deserved a very dif-
ferent return from any that it has been in my power to make.
As I believe and trust that my own conduct, as well as
that of the person to whom I am now united, has been, up
to the hour of my separation from you, such as to afford no
grounds for objection and suspicion, you cannot, I presume,
have any means of linowing who that person is ; it is neces-
sary, therefore, tharl should inform you that it is Dr. Lard-
ner. Neither he nor myself desire to offer any extenuation,
much less defence, of our conduct. We feel it, however, to
be only justice to ourselves to say, that we are prepared to
suffer all the evils attendant upon a total change of pecuni-
ary circumstances, as the inevitable consequences of the step
we have taken. have come to him destitute of any means
of support, and bringing nothing with me but the few articles
of dress I have upon my person. He has•surrendered a
large income which he has for many years enjoyed, arising
from his professional labour. Banished as he must be, to a
foreign country, damaged in character by the very measure
which gives me to him, removed from all those connections
on which the profitable occupation of his time' has hitherto
depended, he is at this moment uncertain where or how he
may obtain even that very .small income which will suffice to
supply our most moderate wants and wisher. Not foresee-
ing an. exigency like the present, he has not realised ally con-
siderable amount of property : nothing, in fact, which can
materially aid us in our present position. We were both
fully aware of these formidable-difficulties and sacrifices, but
he felt, .that any sacrifice, however great, would be most
willingly, made by him to soften the evils attendant upon the
position which I must assume. Now, in conclusion, allow
me to express a hope that the first anguish attending the
misfortune has been arranged. You will see that your peace
and comfort will be more proMoted by losing me altogether,
than by retaining me without retaining my affection. That
would be irksome to you, and you would have the pain
.of
seeing me daily consumed by a hopeless attachment to
another, which would eat into my heart, until I should be
reduced to the mere shadow of myself, and which must,
after a brief period,.have , brought me to the grave. It is
not likely that you will feel any disposition to communicate
further with me, but, as we still have some common interests.
I feel that it is my duty to supply you with the means of
such communication, should it be necessary. , Anything
which is addressed to. Mrs. Williams, No. 17, OM Burling-
ton-street, will be forwarded to Ine.=Believe me still, your
most sincere and grateful friend, _ _

" MARY HEAVISIDE."
" It is my wish, if you have no objection, that this letter,
or a copy of it, should be sent to my father."

—Now, gentlemen, I must call your attention to a letter
written by Mrs. Heaviside to her father under the same cir-
cumstances as relates to the controul of Dr. Lardner as the
last. [The learned gentleman then proceeded to read the
letter of Mrs. Heaviside to her father. It resembled the
preceding in its tone and sentiments. After acknowledging
the kindness and considerate tenderness evinced in her
father's letter, she proceeds to say that " neither he, nor her
other relations understood her feelings," and deprecates the
idea that what she had done had been done " in afitof insanity."
With reference to the advice she had received from her
father, she says—" Were I now to adopt that suggestion
which your love for me, rather than your better judgment,
has induced you to make, I should be signing my own con-
demnation, as well with the present generation as with pos-
terity." With reference to Dr. Lardner, she remarks—
" Whatever difference of opinion individuals may entertain
respecting his merits, Dr. Lardner has held so Conspicuous
a position in public life, and is so 'well known in every part
of the world, that one connected with him as I am must ex-
pect to be subject to more than- ordinary scrutiny." (Mr.
Thesiger here observed that this part of the letter had
Leen corrected in the handwriting of Dr. Lardner.)
after declaring her " profound and unalterable attachment "
to Dr. Lardner, she declares that she had been influenced by
" those licentious motives which too often influence women. '
She then proceeds—" You say that a special clause will be
introduced into the act of divorce to prevent my marriage.
You must, in common with every well-informed person, be
aware, that such a prohibition is not customary, and if it were
introduced in this case, it must be done on special grounds,
or' through the exercise of some special influence. No special
grounds exist for such a prohibition, and if any sinister in-
fluence should be exerted to deprive me of the means of rec-
tifying my position, and receiving at the altar the vows of
him for whose sake I have made so terrible a sacrifice, I have
no refuge except in the consolation arising from the reflection
that the state in which he and I will be compelled to live is
one which we should use every means in our power to avoid.
We feel' that we are already as strongly bound to each other
by every tie for which we entertain respect as marriage could
Make tiS, and if we look-fOrward. to that ceremony hereafter,
itis not: for the sake 'of ourselves, but with a view to the opi-
nion of the world, and to the interests of those to whom we
may give birth."—The remainder of the letter chiefly related
to pecuniary matters.—The learned counsel then proceeded—
. Gentlemen, I have already explained to you that those letters
bear the risarkS of haiing-been controlled and dictated by the
defendant ; and I will now call your attention to this extra-
ordinary circumstance, which accompanies them all, and
which also accompanies anotherletter which I shall pre-
sently produce to .you, anti which was written by Dr. Lard-
ner himself. You observe that both in the letters to the hus-
band and to' the father, there is a strong and earnest
desire expressed that there may be no intervention on the
part of the family to prevent a divorce'. I think I am en-
titled to say that circumstances give me some clue to the
motives by which the conduct of the defendant has been
actuated. Mrs. Heaviside is entitled under her settlement,
in the event of her surviving her husband, to an income of
£lOOO per annum ; and in the -event of her surviving her
father and mother, she is absolutely entitled to a further suns
of £13,000. The interest of the large sum settled by Mr.
Heaviside at his marriage, and the other sum to which Mrs.
Heaviside is entitled by another settlement, never could be-
. come the 'property of the defendant unless a divorce took
place ; and the earnest anxiety which he betrays on his part
that a divorce should be obtained, betrays also, and conclu-
sively to my mind, the mercenary and sordid motives which
actuate his whole conduct. He writes to Mr. Divett, the
member for Exeter, in these terms. His letter is dated the
14th March, the very day after the elopement :
" Great Queen-street, Westminster, March 14, 1840.
" My dear Sir—Before this letter will reach your hands
you will have learned the circumstance which has produced
it ; it is, therefore, unnecessary for me to inflict on you and
myself the pain of its recital. Your old and attached friend,
Mrs. Heaviside, supplicates you, by all the sentiments of
regard you have entertained towards her, to exert your 'in-
fluence to urge her husband to pursue with all possible ex-
pedition the steps necessary for the dissolution of their mar-
riage. This course he ought to take for the sake of the
rights and interests of their children, which her present
situation endangers ; but what she implores you as her for-
ever-valued friend to consider is, that such a proceeding on
his part is the only chance she has of recovering, as far as it
can be recovered, her right position, by having it in her
power to unite herself in marriage with him for the love of
whom she has made .so terrible a sacrifice. It is, I hope,
needless for me to say that 1 impute no part of her conduct
to impurity of mind, or to any quality which renders a union
with her less desirable to me than it would be were she an
unmarried woman with a reputation 'the most unsullied.
Whenever she shall be capable of contracting marriage, I
shall be most proud and happy to make her my wife, and un-
til then she shall be cherished .by me with as much tender-
ness, and treated with as scrupulous respect as if the word
which unites us had all the sanction and force of marriage.
You-will not suppose that I should of myself take the liberty
of addressing this letter to you. It is done altogether by the
desire of Mrs. Heaviside, who wishes me to say to you, that
if you should have any communication to make to her, it will
reach by being addressed under cover to me. She has writ-
ten a full disclosure 'of her feelings and conduct to her hus-
band, which she hopes his long friendship and intimacy with
you will induce, him to show you.
(Signed) "'D. LARDNER."
Now, gentlemen, am I not justified in the observations 1
have made ? Is it not perfectly apparent that the £20,000.,
in case Mrs. Heaviside survived her husband and children,
the £l,OOO. per year in the event of her surviving him, and
the £13,000. absolutely in the event of her surviving her
father and mother, who are both advanced in life—that these
formed the motives which operated on the mind of the de-
fendant, and induced bins to proceed in a course so ruinous
, to Mrs. HeaviSide, and so fatal to the happiness and peace of
mind of the plaintiff ? It is-unnecessary for me to press upon
your attention the deep, the lasting, misery inflicted on the
plaintiff by the means of the defendant. If the grave had
closed between him and the unhappy partner of his life when
she was in a state of purity and innocence, heavy, indeed, must
the calamity.have bpen, but he might have borne it with iia-
tience and resignation. If,. in those trials which must happen
to us all in this chequered scene of existence it pleases Pro-
vidence to visit us with the heaviest of ail afflictions, the
death of a wife, the cherished partner of our bosom, though
the tears must fall, and the heart must bleed, yet the sorrow
which we feel is not without its consolation and its dignity.
We are stricken and afflicted by the hand of God, and we
must bow to his mysterious dispensations ; and when time, at
last, arrives with healing on its wings, the heart will close
on its cherished object, and it will be embalmed for ever in
our most sacred and endearing recollections. But when our
joys are nipped in the blossom by the withering hand of an
adulterer, no such feeling of consolation remains—every
thought has a scorpion's sting, and every memory is mad-
ness. There are the outraged feelings of a husband—his
wounded heart—his deceived affections—there is the pity of
the world, so like its scorn ; there are the constantly irri-
tating recollections of. the disgrace brought upon his home
by an adultress ; all these recollections fester and rankle in
the heart, and no time can cure them. This, and more, has

;he plaintiff endured at the_ h4nda of the difetclent.end,!le

now is compelled to appear before you, to seek for the pitt•
ful recompense which the laws of his country afford him for
an injury for which it is almost degrading to ask for pecu-
niary compensation. But as this is the only redress which
the law affords, I do, on 'the present occasion, earnestly,
most earnestly, hope that you will not be niggard in
dealing out the amount of damages against the defendant.
On occasions of this kind the estimate which a jury makes of

the damages which a plaintiff is entitled to, is generally co!n-

. -
pounded of the estimation in which they consider the plain-
tiff has maintained the dcmestic relation invaded, the loss
sustained, and the nature of the misconduct of the defendant.
In addition to all this, it is usual to consider, amongst other

circumstances, the pe'cuniary circumstances of the defendant
himself. I have never been able to understand on what prin-

ciple any such consideration should be involved in an inquiry
like this. If a trespasser invade my property and spoil my
goods, I am entitled to recover from him a full indemnity for
my loss, whatever may be his condition in life, or whatever
may be his pecuniary circumstances ; and shall it be said,
when a man has committed a much higher trespass L-when he
has inflicted on me a far greater injury—when he has invaded
and destroyed the peace of my home—that the consideration
of the amount of his property is to enter into the estimate of
a jury in awarding damages for the injury sustained ? If
Mr. Heaviside had been called upon, and asked whether he

would barter his domestic peace, sell his honour, consent to

make his wife and the mailer of his cbildren_an outcast of

society, and a disgrace to his family, for £lo,ooo—at which
amount, since it •is necessary to limit the claim, the damages
have been laid in his declaration—if he had been asked such a
question as this, what would have been his answer? He would
have rejected it with scorn and indignation. And is there any
thing to induce you to take a different view of the damages ?
And if you do take circumstances into consideration,_just see

in what a situation the defendant proposes to place hh nself.
He has taken from the. plaintiff the sum of £13,000 which
would have been his if the marriage continued. He has ac:

tually placed 111;:seif inthepositio'n of securing to . himself
all the benefits arising to Mrs. Heaviside from the settle-
ment made upon herby her unhappy and deceived husband.
I am- almost ashamed to descend to this sort of calculation,

but it is unfortunately necessary in cases of this kind, and
whether you look to the amount of injury, or whether you
look to the circumstances in which the defendant has placed
himself, there is no reason why you .should abate one far-
thing of the claim to which the plaintiff has been advised
to limit himself. Who are the parties before you ? On the
one hand you have a husband and a father, unexceptionable
in both these tender relations. You have seen him living in
comfort and luxury, devoted to his wife, deserving her at- -
tachinent, living Within his domestic circle, and finding in
that endearing home (that word which strikes upon every
heart with a thousand tender associations) everything which
he could desire in this world. You find him in the midst of
all this happiness suddenly broken in upon by rash intrusion
of an adulterer, and he now appears before you heart-broken.
Every joy, every comfort, every hope shattered and annihi-
lated. You have his children, at a time of life when they most
require the watchfiff care and protection of a.mother, not only
deprived of that protection, but compelled almost to forget
her very existence. Imagine the miserable situation to which
these poor children are reduced. Their young affections to
be instructed to forget that being whose smile first welcomed
them into the world, who poured into their infant veins the
simple nourishment of existence, and who led them through
the path of infancy with that tender care, with that anxiety,
that labour, that anxious watchfulness, that absence of self,
which a mother's heart can alone exhibit—which a mother's
heart can alone enjoy. On the other hand you have a man
advanced in life, of mature reason and judgment, with power
to control his passions, arid, under the imperative obligation
which every man has upon him, to resist temptation. You
find that man pursuing a cold, calculating, systematic course
of seduction, and, as is apparent from his conduc', from the
most paltry and sordid motives. If ever there was a case of
this description presented itself to a jury in which every
man's feelings would agree that the law should be carried to
its fullest extent—if ever there was a case in which you should
take the full benefit of the privilege conferred upon you to
render justice as far as it is in your power, and to the full
extent of your power, this is emphatically the case. I earn-
estly supplicate you, for the sake of justice, not in the small-
est degree to reduce the amount of damages which the plain-
tiff claims. There is not one single palliating circumstance
—there is nothing in the case to extenuate in the slightest
degree the conduct of the defendant. On the other hand the
plaintiff stands out clear and irreproachable, without spot,
mark, or stain on his character. All that you have heard of
the transaction appeals to you for the fullest compensation,
and I earnestly implore you, for the sake of public justice,
that the appeal will not be made in vain.
The learned gentleman, at different periods of his speech,
wes much affected : and many ladies in the court expressed
by tears their sympathy with his eloquence.
The certificate of marriage of the plaintiff and Mrs.
Heaviside was then put in and read.
Anne Smith, examined by Mr. PLATT.-1 was the servant
of Mr. Heaviside in March last, and had been so for eight
years. It was my duty to attend on Mrs. Heaviside, who
then lived in Brunswick-square, Brighton. I remember the
defendant visiting there. He first came there about Christ-
messiest, and he came there often after that time. He came
about lunch-time every day. Mr. Heaviside was sometimes
at home in these visits, and sometimes lie was not. When
be was not at home, the defendant was introduced into time
drawing-room. Mr. Heaviside was then sometimes at the
Town-hall, and sometimes at the railway, of-which he was a
director. I was housekeeper and lady's maid in the family.
Mrs. Heaviside was a very reserved person, and I never
remember her mentioning defendant's name. Defendant "
dined two or three times at family dinners at the house,
when Mr. Heaviside and other friends were present. I
recollect Mr. Heaviside going to London on the 11th of
March. He was expected to return on the 13th. I re-
member on the morning of the 13th, at half-past ten o'clock,
Mr's. Heaviside, going out, when she said she was about
going to visit Mrs. Greville, at whose house she said it was
likely she would dine. At six o'clock I went to her room
to put out Mrs. Heaviside's things for dinner in case she
returned, and saw the combs and brushes and the toilet
things were gone away. That excited my suspicions, and I
communicated that circumstance to the butler, and he went
to see if she was there. He returned ; and, in consequence
of what he heard, he went to Lewis and Allonby's to inquire
about a box of Mrs. Heaviside's, which was- stated to be gone
away, and the butler went in a chaise to Mr. Heaviside, who
returned at half-past nine o'clock that night. I saw him first,
and told him of Mrs. Heaviside's absence. I said to him
what I have told the court, and on hearing it he became in-
sensible, and continued so for two hours. He then went to
bed and had a fit of ague, which continued all night. His
sufferings appeared to be very great. I found a note in the
basket in the drawing-room, which I gave to Mr. Heaviside.
It was a note from my mistress ; he could not read it. I
read a part of it to him. I gave it to him, and I did not see
it afteriviirds. Mr. and Mrs. Heaviside lived'on most com-
fortable terms, and he was very affectionate to her. One of
the children was born after I went there. They had three
children altogether.
Cross-examined by Mr. Sergeant CHANNELL.—Dr. Lard!
ner dined at the house about six times, and the occasion I
mentioned was the first on which I saw him. I mean at
Christmas.
Mary Sandford, examined by Mr. PETERSDORFF.—I am
chambermaid at the Adelaide Hotel, London-bridge. I re-
member Mrs. Heaviside and defendant coming there on the
12th March last. Apartments had been prepared for them
before they came. They dined there. There was a bed-
room and a sitting-room taken by. them, and they occupied
one sleeping apartment, and they left early next morning.
They left in a small boat, to go in the Ostend packet.
Richard Pegler, butler to the plaintiff for eight years, de-
posed to the amicable terms upon which Mr. and Mrs.
Heaviside lived together.
Col. William Spicer gave evidence to the same effect.
Mr. Edward Divett, the Countess Dowager of Carhamp.
ton, the Hon. Mrs. Greville, Mr. J. N. Wigney, Lady
Campbell, and Mrs. Wigney, gave similar evidence.
The settlement upon the marriage of Col. Spicer and Miss
Riddle was then put in, showing that £13,000 was settled on
Mrs. Heaviside. •
The. settlement of Mr. Heaviside and Miss Spicer on their
marriage was also put in, showing that £20,000 was settled
by him on himself for life, and on Mrs. Heaviside after his
death, and then on their children.
The letters read by Mr. THESIGER were then put in, and
also the drafts of the letters read by him in the course of
his opening address.
Mr. Sergeant CHANNELL then rose to address the jury
for the defendant, but he spoke in so low a tone that much
of his speech was inaudible in the seat were the reporters
were placed. He said that he felt considerable anxiety as
counsel for the defendant. The advocate for the defendant
in such a case was always conscious that he did not receive
the willing attention of a jury, or their willing inquiry into
his arguments. The plaintiff complained that the defendant
eloped with his wife ;he admitted this. He admitted also
that they had taken the route which had been described,
and that she was now' under the defendant's protection.
Upon these facts the plaintiff was entitled to their verdict,
and to damages which' must be a compensation for the
feelings which he admitted had been injured and wounded.
His instructions were not to disparage in the slightest degree
the honour of Mr. Heaviside, or to reflect upon his conduct
as a husband or a father. Their verdict must be for damages
for the loss upon their estimate of the injured feelings of Mr.
Heaviside, according to the evidence produced before them.
But his learned friend asked for damages of a very different
description—he asked for damages of the most extensive cha-
racter. This bad been the great object of his impassioned
address. He would, however, direct the attention of the
jury to the principle by which. they should estimate their
damages so as to meet the justice of the case. The plaintiff
and his wife had made a happy marriage, and he enjoyed the
'full and confiding affection of his wife. They were blessed
with affluence.. This state of happiness had been lost ; it had
been broken in upon by the act of the defendant • but it was
not upon the fact of the elopement, or that the lady was
now' under• the protection of the defendant, that they
were to measure the damages. They must take into con-
sideration the whole facts in connection with the evidence.
How, then, did the case stand? Here was a lady neither
young nor inexperienced, a lady who had been married for
sixteen years, the mother of a family, constantly abroad in
society ; in the frequent habit of seeing company of the first
respectability and intelligence at her own home, and merit-
ing the eulogium which had been, no doubt justly, paid
her by his learned friend, that her society was courted
by all who had her acquaintance. Such being the facts of
the case, was lie not justified in saying that she could
not be considered as a victim caught in the toils of a deli-
berate seducer, a character which his learned friend im-
puted to his (Mr. Sergeant Channell's) client. When,
therefore, he looked at the age of Mrs. Heaviside—when he
considered the wasein which she went into society—when
he found that, after an acquaintance of three
,months with
the defendant, she left. home with him—and when he re-
flected that the visits of Dr. Lardner to the plaintiff's house,
by invitation, were only -five• in number—that the evidence
of the servants only proved that the defendant was at the
house of the plaintiff' two or three times to dinner, and
had paid some five or six morning calls—was he not
warranted in saying, that if they dismissed from their
minds all the prejudice which, no doubt, had been created
there by the powerful and able address of his learned friend
—and that if they could be induced to look at all the circum-
stances of the case in their fair and natural position—Mrs.
Heaviside was not the unsuspecting victim of the arts of a
deliberate seducer, as his client was designated ; and that
while• Dr. Lardner might be justly assailed as the cause of
the plaintiff's present distressed position, yet he ought not to
have the imputation of a deliberate seducer thrown upon
him ; and further, that there was not that state of bliss
existing between the plaintiff and his wife up to the period of
the visits of Dr. Lardner, which was stated to them by his
learned friend, and which he admitted had been borne testi-
mony to by so many highly respectable witnesses. He
called on them to .look at all the circumstances of the case
before they came to the conclusion that the defendant ought
to be called upon in this case to pay heavy damages. He
used these observations, not with a view of desiring that they
should not look with proper sympathy at the situation in which
Mr. Heaviside was placed, but that they would be careful that
while on the one hand they did justice, they would not on the
other allow unfair prejudices to operate upon their minds so as
to induce them to deal in an unnecessary harsh manner towards
Dr. L. The learned counsel then proceeded to sum up his
previous argument, and after alluding to the length of time
the lady had been married, the shortness of her acquaintance
with the defendant, the painful position in which the defend-
ant was placed, and the blighted nature of his pecuniary
prospects, he contended that the degree of guilt imputed to
Dr. Lardner was by no means of that atrocious character
which his learned brother had described, and that the heavy
damages called for were not only unsuitable to the offence.
but quite inconsistent with the defendant's circumstancess
Upon the protection and support of the defendant the wife of
the plaintiff must in future depend ; and would the jury, un-
der all the circumstances, consent to return such a verdict