The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-11-17 00:00:00

THE SMITH AND FERRERs ROMANCE

A bulky pamphlet has just issued from the press which
is likely to be read by the lovers of romantic go:.sp with
considerable avidity. It is nothing less than a long
rative from Miss Smith, the young lady who sued Earl
Ferrers for damages for breach of promise, of the rise and
progress of her love passage with the earl. Th authoiess
dates from Syerscote Man^r, Warwickshire, the place of
ber retirement, and appends her name in formal algoatute
at the close of her statement. She says, having in some
measure recovered from the dreadful shock consequent on
the unexpected and unfirtunate termination of the trial,
she deems it a duty to herself and her family to lay before
the public a plain statement of facts, with replies to the
chief points in the speech of Sir Frederick Thesiger. She
then proceeds at once with her narrative, stating, that in
1839 Viscount Tamworth resided with the curate of Aus-
trey. at which time he was seventeen years old, and she
fourteen. They became acquainted, and he professed for
her an ardent attachment, which she really and ardently
returned. When, she was subsequently sent to school, she
was broken-hearted at the departure. Lord Tamworth
was shortly afterwards removed from Austrey. " He re-
turned home," says Miss Smith, " in the year 1842, and
the month after his return, I met with a genttentan. who
addressed me as Earl Ferrets, and whom, from my rf col-
lection of Viscount Tamworth's countenance, I betiVfed

to be him. He asked me, reproachfully, if I did not re-
member him? I replied that 1 did, that I was perfectly
satisfied. He was in deep mourning, and mentioned the
death of his grandfather. He told me he had never for-
gotten me, and was now come for the purpose of assuring
me how much he loved me, and to know if I retained my
former feelings for him. My reply was, that I did. He
exprested his delight—his satisfaction ; and swore nothing
earthly should prevent our union." The basis of the de-
fence is, that if the person thus spoken of was not Lord
Ferrers, he was an imposter who cruelly and wickedly
personated him, and led her on from folly to folly. In
providing herself with an alternative, however, she does
not profess to believe that she was the dupe of a third
party ; on the contrary, she goes into a varied and plau-
sible statement, and shrewd argument, to show that such
could not have been the case. Having defended the cha-
racter of her younger sister, Miss Smith proceeds to vin-
dicate herself, displaying great earnestness and consider-
able tact and ingenuity. The extreme cleverness of this
pamphlet (considering the age and sex of the writer) tells
against as well as for Miss Smith ; for while it makes out
a strong case in her favour, it affords evidence of an abi-
lity to do so, provided she were armed with the necessary
knowledge of the facts the forgeries deposed to. The
capability to i nitate the handwriting of the noble lord is
another sort of gift altogether, upon which no stranger
can pretend to offer an opinion. Though she admits that
it is possible she may have been the victim of an impo-
sition, of which Lord Ferrers was not cognizant, she
pretty significantly maintains that it was he eho duped
her. In noticing Miss Smith's pamphlet, the Britannia
says it is a curiosity, and may take its place amongst the
monstrosities of literature. " Her talent,'.' continues
our contemporary, " it must be admitted was severely
taxed. I was," she says. " urged to write the next
two letters from a circumstance communicated to me by
a then intimate friend. She stated that Lord Ferrers
was not only engaged to the daughter of an etinent
Chancery lawyer, but that it was even thought probable
that he would marry a common girl at Stafford, whom he
was then noticing. My object in writing this letter was
to try if it were possible that this might be true ; for if his
lordship could entertain an affection for so many at once,
my plot for convincing him of his infidelity might be suc-
cessful ; hence the assertion that the letter came from one
unknown to him."
She goes on to state that Earl Ferrers, when she saw
him next, mentioned those letters to her, and told her he
had used them to light his pipe with. Hence, she says,
she had no scruple in affirming they never had existence :
" Supposing that they had all shared the same fate that
he assured me the first had. I did not scruple to deny
their existence to Mr. Hamel ; thus casting a stain upon
my nature which, I fear, no after event will ever efface,
and had in consequence t- submit to a nonsuit ! «hat
was meant as a mere girlish frolic has proved a misfor-
tune of the deadliest kind."

It is singular that this unfortunate girl, wl.ile endea-
vouring to defend herself from the charge of falsehood,
allows it to be seen that she never had the slightest re-
g-,rd for truth. She speaks of the tissue of deceit she
acknowledges, as perfectly allowable. and cannot even
imagine that there is any guilt in deliberate and repeated
falsities. In her own mind she probably regards the
whole plot as a girlish frolic of rather a superior kind, and
is proud of the skill with which she carries it on.—Leeds
paper.