then driven to state that a promise had been made subsequently to his coming of age; but even then, Lord Ferrers was not much more enlightened upon the subject. He was at a loss to discover how it could be alleged that he had ever seen the plaintiff after his return from abroad, and it was not till June 1845 that any further information was obtained. There was a course of proceeding, by which, when a party was about to produce written documents, he might call upon the other party to admit those documents. These letters had been produced; but, as the attorney was told he was not at liberty to read the contents, an application was made to allow a complete inspection of the letters, but, this being objected to, the matter ended. They had heard the application which he had made in court, and his learned friends had objected to allow an inspection of the letters. The plaintiff had a great advantage in this respect; she had an opportunity of selecting the letters, and she had an opportunity of selecting the witnesses. She was not compelled to call those persons who would have expressed a disbelief as to the handwriting. On the part of the defendant, if the case was a false and fraudulent one, he had no such advantage; he came completely in the dark, without having the dawning of the light, and it was by the gradual opening of the perfect day only in the progress of the case that he acquired that information, which was derived from the evidence, and he could then but learn whether the story was so false and fraudulent that he might be enabled to

detect and expose it. He had ap

peared in Court under these circumstances. It had occurred to the

defendant's adviser that one test of detecting the fraud would be by the post-marks of the letters, because they might have shown that Lord Ferrers was at the time in a distant part of the country; but it had been now stated that all these letters had been delivered by private hand, generally by Joseph Atkins, a confidential servant of Lord Ferrers, sometimes by James, a servant of Lord Ferrers; but it was said that one had been delivered by the wife of Joseph Atkins. He might at once tell them that the whole of this was an entire fabrication and falsehood; that Joseph Atkins had never received any letters from Lord Ferrers, addressed to Miss Smith, and had never delivered any such letters to her, and the same answer would be given both as regarded "James" and Mrs. Atkins. They had, therefore, the means at once of proving in this most important part of the case, that the representation of the plaintiff was a pure fabrication, that no such letters had ever been delivered to her by any or either of the parties named. They then thought it possible that there might be something in the letters by which they might be able to prove their falsehood, but his learned friend, the SolicitorGeneral, had opened the case with that ingenuity for which he was so distinguished, and, having ascertained that these letters were full of pure fictions, had endeavoured to avert the consequences of such a disclosure by this solution-his learned friend had said that Lord Ferrers was a young nobleman so totally regardless of his word, that he never spoke truth in his life; that he would, therefore, be found to allude to

persons and things which had never existed except in his own fertile imagination; and his learned friend had thus endeavoured to preoccupy the ground upon which the advisers of Lord Ferrers had hoped to establish his innocence. He would now pass to the important period to which their attention must chiefly be directed in the course of this most anxious case. In January 1843 Lord Ferrers came of age; the story of the plaintiff was, that after that period he was in the habit of meeting the plaintiff at Austrey, and even under her father's roof that he wrote letter after letter to her-that he received letters from her breathing the most ardent affection that he fixed the day on which he would unite himself to her and that she was led on by those false hopes until they were all broken and annihilated by the intelligence she received of his marriage to another. Now the first thing that struck him (the Attorney-General), in this stage of the history of this very extraodinary conduct, imputed to Lord Ferrers, was, that when he came of age he had no one to control his actions; he was supposed to have entertained the most ardent affection for the plaintiff; she was his inferior in rank; but upon what possible ground could they imagine that every thing should have been conducted in so mysterious a mode, and that neither her father nor her mother, from beginning to end, should have had the slightest communication with Lord Ferrers? Why was it that, upon the very eve of his violating his pledge, Lord Ferrers should have written to her father a letter containing the particular promise of marriage? The sister

of the plaintiff had been called yesterday. With regard to the evidence of that child, it was the most painful of all considerations, that that little girl had been brought forward to tell a story which was utterly without foundation in truth, and which he could not but deeply lament; and, when he called their attention to the means he had of disproving her statement, they would come to the same conclusion.

She

The Attorney-General then referred to the evidence of Ann Smith. When they had a relation of this kind, without any date, it was impossible to meet it by contradictions; but they happened, most fortunately and most providentially, to have the relation of another interview on the 9th December, 1843. She then spoke of Lord Ferrers being in the drawing-room playing the piano. could not be mistaken as to the date, because it was Austrey Wake. Now on that very day Lord Ferrers, accompanied by his sister, Mrs. Hanbury Tracey, left Chartley Castle, and posted a distance of 58 miles to luncheon on the road to Welshpool, and entirely in an opposite direction to Austrey: and, as good fortune would have it, they had the bills for the horses on the road. What, then, would they think of the mother, who must have known that this was false, who would produce her own child of that tender age to perjure herself to support this false story, without regard to the consequences here or hereafter? Then as regarded the letters. Lord Ferrers had received an excellent education, having been under divers tutors, and spent two years at Eton. Three witnesses had been called

to speak to the handwriting in the letters, but he must submit that two of them must be entirely dismissed from the case as utterly unworthy of one moment's consideration. He also contended that the witnesses who had been called to speak to the handwriting of Lord Ferrers to the letter, were either unworthy of credit, or had no real knowledge upon the subject, notwithstanding the high respectability of some of those witnesses. They had then arrived at the conclusion that the letters were not in the handwriting of Lord Ferrers; but still they were desirous of being conducted to a right issue, and to discover whose letters they really were. The learned counsel then stated that he should be enabled to show, that from the internal evidence of the letters, it was clear they were a fabrication, because persons were named in them who had no existence, and others were described in them who were of a totally different character to that by which the letters assailed them. Mr. Devereux Shirley, it had been said, had met Miss Smith at Tamworth about the bonnet; he should show that that gentleman joined his regiment in Scotland in 1843, and had never been absent from it, and that he had never in his life seen or written to Miss Smith, and yet some letters had been introduced as having been written by Mr. Devereux Shirley to Miss Smith, speaking of the wedding, saying how happy it would make them, but that his brother was too ill to write. These letters commenced with, "My dear Mary," and ended with, "Love to you from your true friend, Devereux Shirley." They also stated that his brother (Lord

Ferrers) was delirious, but whenever sensible or awake he spoke of "Mary." The learned counsel then adverted to the facts spoken of by Mrs. Smith, as to the similarity of the writing in the letters purporting to have come from Lord Ferrers with the writing of Miss Smith. He had now come to the third volume, and must, almost reluctantly, let them into the secret, and tell them the whole affair. After Lord Ferrers' return from abroad, he received a variety of anonymous letters, evidently the production of a lady, all in the same handwriting, full of the most ardent affection. He was not aware who his fair correspondent could be. He threw many of them behind the fire, but when it became important to search for any that might have escaped destruction, only four could be discovered; but those four were not without their value. The first he would read was dated the 19th of December, 1842:—

"Dec. 19, 1842.

"My Lord,-Strange it may seem to you, no doubt, to receive a note from a stranger, and a lady too, but it signifies little to me, as I know well you never knew the writer of this, nor never see her. Now for what I have to tell you; it is this:-There is a public ball at Tamworth every Christmas, generally about the 6th or 8th of January. Go, I advise you go; there will, to my knowledge, be a young lady at the ball whom I wish you to see and dance with. She is very beautiful, has dark hair and eyes-in short, she is haughty and graceful as Spaniard, tall and majestic as a Circassian, beautiful as an Italian; I can say no more.

a

You

have only to see her to love her that you must do. She is fit for the bride of a prince. Go, look well round the room. You will find her by this description. She may wear one white rose in her dark hair. Go early. If you see her not there you will never see her, as she is like a violet, hid amidst many leaves, only to be found when sought for. I know she is young, and it is my wish that she should have some one to protect her. From what I have heard you must be that one-you and you alone; it is your destiny therefore go at all risks; you will then be of age, with nothing to prevent you. I sometime knew your father. By the time you receive this I shall be on my way far away. I have put this in the Derby post-office. Burn it when read-show it to no Keep your own counsel, my lord, and deem yourself happy in the idea of knowing one so talented, beautiful, and young; ask her to dance with you-fear not. And now I have fulfilled my mission, and shall rest in peace, more peaceful though did I know that you would meet this bright young girl. If you, like other men, love beauty, you will love her.

to

one.

66

Adieu, burn this, and remember she is my legacy to you. You have hurt your hand, I hear; I am sorry. Farewell for ever.

"ISA. "The Right Hon. Earl Ferrers." Did they understand the case now ? Had he (the AttorneyGeneral) kept his faith with them; had he redeemed the pledge he made in the opening of this case, that, however dark and mysterious it might appear, he would disperse all the shadows. Her mother had spoken as to the white rose in the

hair to be worn at the ball. He had admitted that letters were received by Lord Ferrers, directed to him. Had they the slightest doubt that this girl, deceiving some, assisted by others, had been contriving, from the beginning to the end, a scene of the grossest and most scandalous iniquity, and that, but for accidental circumstances, Lord Ferrers would have fallen a victim to the snares with which he appeared to be encompassed his character blasted, his reputation gone, and, what would have been of trifling importance, his wealth injured by this attempt?

The Attorney-General then read other letters, signed "Marie" and "A. B.," of a similar nature, in one of which a handkerchief had been inclosed.

After this the case was proved to the very letter. Let them now ask themselves, seeing that Lord Ferrers could not have written the letters, who was the person who wrote them-forged and fabricated them for the purpose of making him responsible. The likeness of the letters to Miss Smith's handwriting had been already proved by the mother. Would they now require distinct proof of the handwriting? Would not the various incidents confirm the opinion that they were Miss Smith's own letters? Would they hesitate to arrive at that conclusion? He said they were written by Miss Smith herself, under circumstances which showed the danger of once deviating from the paths of truth. Having flattered herself that she had warmed the heart of Lord Ferrers, turning her day dreams into reality, inventing the notion that he was attached to her, being led step by step to support

her infamy, to weave that intricate web in which, but for the most extraordinary circumstances, Lord Ferrers must have been entangled. He trusted he had protected the interests confided to him-that he had shown that the result of this painful and anxious inquiry could not attach the slightest blame upon Lord Ferrers; and, if the consequences would be so serious to the plaintiff as his learned friend had stated, he could only say why did she not think before she took that first fatal step into error? why did she not anticipate into what a mass of falsehood she might be drawn? If serious consequences attached, they were consequences which she had brought upon herself. He almost pitied her; but in a court of justice he dared not.

The anonymous letters were then put in, and by consent were taken as having been read.

Mr. Evelyn Philip Shirley examined.-I am cousin of the defendant. I was his guardian. I was in the habit of receiving letters from him; many of them were signed "Washy," his nickname. Since he came to the title he has always signed "Ferrers." He has never signed himself

66

Washington Ferrers." I have often received letters from Lord Ferrers. I have brought about 60 to-day. They are not any of them on scraps of paper. I am married and have two children-one, one year and a half; and the other, about six months old. My daughter, of course, is not married. I do not know a person of the name of Walker, and I have no daughter married to such a person. Lord Ferrers is certainly not a gambler. I was one of the late Earl's executors.

The con

servatory was erected at Stainton. An ugly affair it was, and cost 1,5007. It was to be sold, but the defendant took it at a valuation for 400l. The purchase was made shortly after the late Earl's death. Lord Ferrers always spent his holidays with us, and was with us the 6th of January, 1843, when he came of age. He then spoke of an anonymous letter he had received. I did not see it. I never introduced Lord Ferrers to Lord Clive. The description given of his lordship in that letter is not at all like him. Lord Ferrers has been at Effington since he came of age. I do not recollect Lord Ferrers buying a carpet of Oliver Cromwell's, nor did I step in and ask him what he, a bachelor, could want with such a thing. I never knew of Sir Terence Volney, of Berkshire. This is all fiction. I am guardian to Devereux Shirley. There is no such person as Dr. Macpherson who has attended my family. I cannot say that Lord Ferrers spells correctly, but he writes grammatically. These letters are not in the handwriting of Lord Ferrers, which are signed" Washington Ferrers. cided forgeries.

66

They are de

Mrs. Hanbury Tracy.-I am sister to Lord Ferrers-his only sister. We are upon very affectionate terms. I have been in the habit of writing and receiving letters from him. He always signed "Ferrers." I never received a letter signed Washington Ferrers. I have been often to Chartley Castle, and have been much in Wales. I never was at Brighton till August 1845. Mr. and Mrs. C. H. Tracey live at Brighton. That lady is not in good health. I have very good health, and have never been otherwise. My brother never