Robert Perreau, and John Moody, a servant to Daniel. The first
endeavoured to prove that the bond was published, the latter that it was
forged. Sir Thomas Frankland proved that he had lent money on the bond.
It was objected by the counsel for the prisoner, that Mrs. Perreau was
an incompetent witness, as she would be interested in the event; but the
Court overruled this objection.
Mrs. Perreau deposed that, on the 24th December, she saw Mrs. Rudd
deliver a bond to her husband, which he laid on the table while he
brushed his coat; that it was for five thousand three hundred pounds,
payable to Robert Perreau, and signed "William Adair;" and that it was
witnessed in the names of Arthur Jones and Thomas Start, or Hart. Mrs.
Perreau, being asked when she again saw the bond, said that it was
brought to her on the 8th of March (the day after her husband was
convicted), when she selected it from other bonds delivered to him on
the 24th of December. She made her mark on it, and deposed that when it
was delivered to Mr. Perreau, Mrs. Rudd said, "Mr. Adair would be very
much obliged to Mr. Perreau to try to raise upon that bond the sum of
four thousand pounds of Sir Thomas Frankland."
Sergeant Davy cross-examined Mrs. Perreau. She acknowledged that till
the 24th of December she had never seen a bond in her life; and that on
her first sight of that in question she had no suspicion that anything
was wrong.
John Moody, the servant to Daniel Perreau, who had been examined on the
former trials, was called, and repeated the testimony which he had
before given. The bond which in this case was alleged to have been
uttered was that for 4000_l._, on which Sir Thomas Frankland had
advanced money.
The prisoner, on being called on for her defence, in a short speech
declared that she was innocent, and concluded by leaving her case in the
hands of the jury, who almost immediately declared her not guilty.
As soon as the verdict was returned, she quitted the Court, and retired
to the house of a friend at the west end of the town.
THE COUNTESS OF BRISTOL, OTHERWISE THE DUCHESS OF KINGSTON.
CONVICTED OF BIGAMY.
Few females have in their time attracted so large a portion of public
attention as this celebrated lady. She was the daughter of Colonel
Chudleigh, the descendant of an ancient family in the county of Devon;
but her father dying while she was yet young, her mother was left
possessed only of a small estate with which to bring her up, and to fit
her for that grade of society in which from her birth she was entitled
to move. Being possessed, however, of excellent qualities, she improved
the connexion which she had among persons of fashion, with a view to the
future success in life of her daughter. The latter, meanwhile, as she
advanced in years, improved in beauty; and upon her attaining the age of
eighteen was distinguished as well for the loveliness of her person as
for the wit and brilliancy of her conversation. Her education had not
been neglected; and, despite the small fortune possessed by her mother,
no opportunity was lost by which her mind might be improved; and a means
was about this time afforded for the display of her accomplishments. The
father of George the Third held his court at Leicester-house; and Mr.
Pulteney, who then blazed as a meteor on the opposition benches in the
House of Commons, was honoured with the particular regard of His Royal
Highness. Miss Chudleigh had been introduced to Mr. Pulteney; and he had
admired her for the beauties of her mind and of her person; and, his
sympathies being excited in her behalf, he obtained for her, at the age
of eighteen, the appointment of maid of honour to the Princess of Wales.
His efforts, however, did not stop at thus elevating her to a situation
of the highest honour; but he also endeavoured to improve the
cultivation of her understanding by instruction; and to him Miss
Chudleigh read, and with him, when separated by distance, she
corresponded.
The station to which Miss Chudleigh had been advanced, combined with her
numerous personal attractions, produced her many admirers: some with
titles, and others in the expectation of them. Among the former was the
Duke of Hamilton, whom Miss Gunning had afterwards the good fortune to
obtain for a consort. The duke was passionately attached to Miss
Chudleigh; and pressed his suit with such ardour as to obtain a solemn
engagement on her part, that on his return from a tour, for which he was
preparing, she would become his wife. There were reasons why this event
should not immediately take place; but that the engagement would be
fulfilled at the specified time was considered by both parties as a
moral certainty. A mutual pledge was given and accepted; the duke
commenced his proposed tour; and the parting condition was, that he
should write by every opportunity, and that Miss Chudleigh of course
should answer his epistles. Thus the arrangement of Fortune seemed to
have united a pair who possibly might have experienced much happiness,
for between the duke and Miss Chudleigh there was a strong similarity of
disposition; but Fate had not destined them for each other.
Miss Chudleigh had an aunt, whose name was Hanmer: at her house the Hon.
Mr. Hervey, son of the Earl of Bristol, and a captain in the royal navy,
was a visitor. To this gentleman Mrs. Hanmer became so exceedingly
partial, that she favoured views which he entertained towards her niece,
and engaged her efforts to effect, if possible, a matrimonial connexion.
There were two difficulties which would have been insurmountable, had
they not been opposed by the fertile genius of a female--Miss Chudleigh
disliked Captain Hervey, and she was betrothed to the Duke of Hamilton.
No exertions which could possibly be made were spared to render this
latter alliance nugatory; and the wits of this woman were exerted to the
utmost to favour the object which she had in view. The letters of his
grace were intercepted by Mrs. Hanmer; and his supposed silence giving
offence to her niece, she worked so successfully on her pride as to
induce her to abandon all thoughts of her lover, whose passion she had
cherished with delight. A conduct the reverse of that imputed to the
duke was observed by Captain Hervey: he was all that assiduity could
dictate or attention perform. He had daily access to Miss Chudleigh; and
each interview was artfully improved by the aunt to the promotion of her
own views. The letters of his grace of Hamilton, which regularly
arrived, were as regularly suppressed; until, piqued beyond endurance,
Miss Chudleigh was prevailed on to accept the hand of Captain Hervey,
and by a private marriage, to ensure the participation of his future
honours and fortune. The ceremony was performed in a private chapel
adjoining the country mansion of Mr. Merrill, at Lainston, near
Winchester, in Hampshire.
On a review of life, the predominant evil experienced may be easily
traced by every reflecting mind to some wilful error or injudicious
mistake, operating as a determinate cause, and giving the colour to our
fate. This was the case with Miss Chudleigh; and the hour at which she
became united with Captain Hervey proved to her the origin of every
subsequent unhappiness. The connubial rites were attended with unhappy
consequences; and from the night following the day on which the marriage
was solemnized, Miss Chudleigh resolved never to have any further
connexion with her husband. To prevail on him not to claim her as his
wife required all the art of which she was mistress; and the best
dissuasive was the loss of her situation as maid of honour, should the
marriage become publicly known. The circumstances of Captain Hervey were
not in a flourishing condition, and were ill calculated to enable him to
ride with a high hand over his wife; and the fear of the loss of the
emoluments of her office operated most powerfully with him to induce him
to obey the injunctions which she imposed upon him in this respect. His
conduct even now, however, exhibited a strong desire to act with a
degree of harshness most unusual so soon after the performance of the
marriage ceremony; and the consequence was that any feelings of respect
which his wife may have fancied she entertained for him were soon
dispelled. Her own expression subsequently was that "her misery
commenced with the arrival of Captain Hervey in England; and the
greatest joy she experienced was on the intelligence of his departure."
Her marriage being unknown to mere outward observers, Miss Chudleigh, or
Mrs. Hervey, a maid in appearance--a wife in disguise--would have been
supposed to be placed in a most enviable condition. The attractive
centre of the circle in which she moved, the invigorating spirit of the
life of the society formed around her, she was universally admired. Her
royal mistress smiled upon her; the friendship of many was at her call;
the admiration of none could be withheld from her: but amidst all her
conquests and all her fancied happiness she wanted that peace of mind
which was so necessary to support her against the conflicts which arose
in her own breast. Nor was her own heart, that inward monitor, the only
source of her trouble. Her husband, quieted for a time, grew
obstreperous as he saw the jewel admired by all, which was, he felt,
entitled only to his love; and feeling that he possessed the right to
her entire consideration, he resolved to assert its power. In the mean
time every art which she possessed had been put into operation to soothe
him to continued silence; but her further endeavours being unsuccessful,
she was compelled to grant his request, and to attend an interview which
he appointed, at his own house, and to which he enforced obedience by
threatening an instant and full disclosure in case of her
non-compliance. The meeting was strictly private, all persons being sent
from the house with the exception of a black servant; and on Mrs.
Hervey's entrance to the apartment in which her husband was seated, his
first care was to prevent all intrusion by locking the door. This
meeting, like all others between her and her husband, was unfortunate in
its effects: the fruit of it was the birth of a boy, whose existence it
will be readily supposed she had much difficulty in concealing. Her
removal to Brompton for a change of air became requisite during the term
of her confinement; and she returned to Leicester-house, perfectly
recovered from her indisposition; but the infant soon sinking in the
arms of death, left only the tale of its existence to be related.
In the mean time, the sum of her unhappiness had been completed by the
return of the Duke of Hamilton. His grace had no sooner arrived in
England, than he hastened to pay his adoration at the feet of his idol,
and to learn the cause of her silence, when his letters had been
regularly despatched to her. An interview which took place soon set the
character of Mrs. Hanmer in its true light; but while Miss Chudleigh was
convinced of the imposition which had been practised upon her, she was
unable to accept the proffered hand of her illustrious suitor, or to
explain the reason for her apparently ungracious rejection of his
addresses. The duke, flighty as he was in other respects, in his love
for Miss Chudleigh had at least been sincere; and this strange conduct
on the part of his betrothed, followed as it was by a request on her
part that he would not again intrude his visits upon her, raised
emotions in his mind which can hardly be described. The rejection of his
grace was followed by that of several other persons of distinction; and
the mother of Miss Chudleigh, who was quite unaware of her private
marriage with Captain Hervey, could not conceal her regret and anger at
the supposed folly of her daughter.
It was impossible that these circumstances could long remain concealed
from the society in which Miss Chudleigh moved; and, in order to relieve
herself from the embarrassments by which she was surrounded, she
determined to travel on the Continent--trusting that time would
eradicate the impression of her fickleness which she left behind her,
and that change of scene would remove the pain which every day spent in
the theatre of her former operations could not fail to sink deeper into
her heart. Germany was the place selected by her for her travels; and
she, in turn, visited the chief cities of its principalities. Possessed
as she was of introductions of the highest class, she was gratified by
obtaining the acquaintance of many crowned heads. Frederic of Prussia
conversed and corresponded with her. In the Electress of Saxony she
found a friend whose affection for her continued to the latest period of
life. The electress was a woman of sense, honour, virtue, and religion;
and her letters were replete with kindness. While her hand distributed
presents to Miss Chudleigh out of the treasury of abundance, her heart
was interested for her happiness. This she afterwards evinced during her
prosecution; for at that time a letter from the electress contained the
following passage:--"You have long experienced my love; my revenue, my
protection, my everything, you may command. Come then, my dear life, to
an asylum of peace. Quit a country where, if you are bequeathed a cloak,
some pretender may start up, and ruin you by law to prove it not your
property. Let me have you at Dresden."
On her return from the Continent Miss Chudleigh ran over the career of
pleasure, enlivened the court circles, and each year became more
ingratiated with the mistress whom she served. She was the leader of
fashion, played whist with Lord Chesterfield, and revelled with Lady
Harrington and Miss Ashe. She was a constant visitant at all public
places, and in 1742 appeared at a masked ball in the character of
Iphigenia.
Reflection, however, put off for the day, too frequently intruded an
unwelcome visit at night. Captain Hervey, like a perturbed spirit, was
eternally crossing the path trodden by his wife. If in the rooms at
Bath, he was sure to be there. At a rout, ridotto, or ball, this
destroyer of her peace embittered every pleasure, and even menaced her
with an intimation that he would disclose the marriage to the princess.
Miss Chudleigh, now persuaded of the folly and danger of any longer
concealment from her royal mistress, determined that the design, which
her husband had formed from a malicious feeling, should be carried out
by herself from a principle of rectitude; and she, in consequence,
communicated to the princess the whole of the circumstances attending
her unhappy union. The recital was one which could excite no feeling of
disrespect or of anger; and her royal mistress pitied her, and continued
her patronage up to the hour of her death.
At length a stratagem was either suggested, or it occurred to Miss
Chudleigh, at once to deprive Captain Hervey of the power to claim her
as his wife. The clergyman who had married them was dead. The
register-book was in careless hands. A handsome compliment was paid fur
the inspection; and while the person, in whose custody it was, listened
to an amusing story, Miss Chudleigh tore out the register. Thus
imagining the business accomplished, she for a time bade defiance to her
husband, whose taste for the softer sex having subsided from some
unaccountable cause, afforded Miss Chudleigh a cessation of inquietude.
A change in the circumstances of the captain, however, effected an
alteration in the feelings of his wife. His father having died, he
succeeded to the title of the Earl of Bristol, and his accession to
nobility was not unaccompanied by an increase of fortune. Miss Chudleigh
saw that by assuming the title of Countess of Bristol she would probably
command increased respect, and would obtain greater power; and with a
degree of unparalleled blindness, she went to the house of Mr. Merrill,
the clergyman in whose chapel she had been married, to restore those
proofs of her union which she had previously taken such pains to
destroy. Her ostensible reason was a jaunt out of town; her real design
was to procure, if possible, the insertion of her marriage with Captain
Hervey in the book which she had formerly mutilated. With this view she
dealt out promises with a liberal hand. The officiating clerk, who was a
person of various avocations, was to be promoted to the extent of his
wishes. The book was managed by the lady to her content, and she
returned to London, secretly exulting in the excellence and success of
her machination. While this was going on, however, her better fate
influenced in her favour the heart of a man who was the exemplar of
amiability--this was the Duke of Kingston: but, re-married as it were by
her own stratagem, the participation of ducal honours became legally
impossible. The chains of wedlock, which the lady had been so
industrious in assuming or putting off, as seemed most suitable to her
views, now became galling in the extreme. Every advice was taken, every
means tried, by which her liberation might be obtained; but all the
efforts which were made proved useless, and it was found to be necessary
to acquiesce in that which could not be opposed successfully or pass
unnoticed. The duke's passion, meanwhile, became more ardent and
sincere; and, finding the apparent impossibility of a marriage taking
place, he for a series of years cohabited with Miss Chudleigh, although
with such external observances of decorum, that their intimacy was
neither generally remarked nor known.
The disagreeable nature of these proceedings on their parts was,
however, felt by both parties, and efforts were again made by means of
which a marriage might be solemnised. The Earl of Bristol was sounded;
and it was found that, grown weary of a union with a woman whom he now
disliked, and whom he never met, he was not unwilling to accept the
proposals held out; but upon his learning the design with which a
divorce was sought, he declared that he would never consent to it, for
that his countess's vanity should not be flattered by her being raised
to the rank of a duchess. The negociations were thus for a time stopped;
but afterwards, there being a lady with whom he conceived that he could
make an advantageous match, he listened to the suggestions which were
made to him with more complacency, and at length declared that he was
ready to adopt any proceedings which should have for their effect the
annihilation of the ties by which he was bound to Miss Chudleigh. The
civilians were consulted, a jactitation suit was instituted; but the
evidence by which the marriage could have been proved was kept back, and
the Earl of Bristol failing, as it was intended he should fail, in
substantiating the marriage, a decree was made, declaring the claim to
be null and unsupported. Legal opinions now only remained to be taken as
to the effect of this decree, and the lawyers of the Ecclesiastical
Courts, highly tenacious of the rights and jurisdiction of their own
judges, declared their opinion to be that the sentence could not be
disturbed by the interference of any extrinsic power. In the conviction,
therefore, of the most perfect safety, the marriage of the Duke of
Kingston with Miss Chudleigh was publicly solemnised. The wedding
favours were worn by persons of the highest distinction in the kingdom;
and during the life-time of his grace, no attempt was made to dispute
the legality of the proceedings. For a few years the duchess figured in
the world of gaiety without apprehension or control. She was raised to
the pinnacle of her fortune, and she enjoyed that which her later life
had been directed to accomplish--the parade of title, but without that
honour which integrity of character can alone secure. She was checked in
her career of pleasure, however, by the death of her duke. The fortune
which his grace possessed, it appears, was not entailed, and it was at
his option, therefore, to bequeath it to the duchess or to the heirs of
his family, as seemed best to his inclination. His will, excluding from
every benefit an elder, and preferring a younger nephew as the heir in
tail, gave rise to the prosecution of the duchess, which ended in the
beggary of her prosecutor and her own exile. The demise of the Duke of
Kingston was neither sudden nor unexpected. Being attacked with a
paralytic affection, he lingered but a short time, which was employed by
the duchess in journeying his grace from town to town, under the false
idea of prolonging his life by change of air and situation. At last,
when real danger seemed to threaten, even in the opinion of the duchess,
she despatched one of her swiftest-footed messengers to her solicitor,
Mr. Field, of the Temple, requiring his immediate attendance. He obeyed
the summons, and arriving at the house, the duchess privately imparted
her wishes, which were, that he would procure the duke to execute, and
be himself a subscribing witness to a will, made without his knowledge,
and more to the taste of the duchess than that which had been executed.
The difference between these two wills was this:--the duke had
bequeathed the income of his estates to his relict during her life, and
expressly under condition of her continuing in a state of widowhood.
Perfectly satisfied, however, as the duchess seemed with whatever was
the inclination of her dearest lord, she could not resist the
opportunity of carrying her secret wishes into effect. She did not
relish the temple of Hymen being shut against her. Earnestly therefore,
did she press Mr. Field to have her own will immediately executed, which
left her at liberty to give her hand to the conqueror of her heart; and
in her anxiety to have the restraint shaken off, she had nearly deprived
herself of every benefit derivable from the demise of the duke. When Mr.
Field was introduced to his grace, his intellects were perceptibly
affected; and, although he knew the friends who approached him, a
transient knowledge of their persons was the only indication of the
continuance of his mental powers which he exhibited. Mr. Field very
properly remonstrated against the impropriety of introducing a will for
execution to a man in such a state; but this occasioned a severe
reprehension from the duchess, who reminded him that his business was
only to obey the instructions of his employer. Feeling for his
professional character, however, he positively refused either to tender
the will or to be in any manner concerned in endeavouring to procure its
execution; and with this refusal he quitted the house, the duchess
beholding him with an indignant eye as the annoyer of her scheme, when,
in fact, by not complying with it, he was rendering her an essential
service; for had the will she proposed been executed, it would most
indubitably have been set aside, and the heirs would consequently have
excluded the relict from everything, except that to which the right of
dower entitled her; and the marriage being invalidated, the lady in
this, as in other respects, would have been ruined by her own stratagem.
Soon after the frustration of this attempt the Duke of Kingston expired.