“MR. BASSETT--I am sure both yourself and my husband will suffer in
public estimation, unless some friend comes between you, and this
unhappy lawsuit is given up.
“Do not think me blind nor presumptuous; Sir Charles, when he wrote
that letter, had reason to believe you had done him a deep injury by
unfair means. Many will share that opinion if this cause is tried. You
are his cousin, and his heir at law. I dread to see an unhappy feud
inflamed by a public trial. Is there no personal sacrifice by which I
can compensate the affront you have received, without compromising Sir
Charles Bassett's veracity, who is the soul of honor?
“I am, yours obediently,
“BELLA BASSETT.”
She posted this letter, and Richard Bassett had no sooner received it
than he mounted his horse and rode to Wheeler's with it.
That worthy's eyes sparkled. “Capital!” said he. “We must draw her on,
and write an answer that will read well in court.”
He concocted an epistle just the opposite of what Richard Bassett, left
to himself, would have written. Bassett copied, and sent it as his own.
“LADY BASSETT--I thank you for writing to me at this moment, when I am
weighed down by slander. Your own character stands so high that you
would not deign to write to me if you believed the abuse that has been
lavished on me. With you I deplore this family feud. It is not of my
seeking; and as for this lawsuit, it is one in which the plaintiff is
really the defendant. Sir Charles has written a defamatory letter,
which has closed every house in this county to his victim. If, as I now
feel sure, you disapprove the libel, pray persuade him to retract it.
The rest our lawyers can settle,
“Yours very respectfully,
“RICHARD BASSETT.”
When Lady Bassett read this, she saw she had an adroit opponent. Yet
she wrote again:
“MR. BASSETT--There are limits to my influence with Sir Charles. I have
no power to make him say one word against his convictions.
“But my lawyer tells me you seek pecuniary compensation for an affront.
I offer you, out of my own means, which are ample, that which you
seek--offer it freely and heartily; and I honestly think you had better
receive it from me than expose yourself to the risks and mortifications
of a public trial.
“I am, yours obediently,
“BELLA BASSETT.”
“LADY BASSETT--You have fallen into a very natural error. It is true I
sue Sir Charles Bassett for money; but that is only because the law
allows me my remedy in no other form. What really brings me into court
is the defense of my injured honor. How do you meet me? You say,
virtually, 'Never mind your character: here is money.' Permit me to
decline it on such terms.
“A public insult cannot be cured in private.
“Strong in my innocence, and my wrongs, I court what you call the risks
of a public trial.
“Whatever the result, _you_ have played the honorable and womanly part
of peacemaker; and it is unfortunate for your husband that your gentle
influence is limited by his vanity, which perseveres in a cruel
slander, instead of retracting it while there is yet time.
“I am, madam, yours obediently,
“RICHARD BASSETT.”
“MR. BASSETT--I retire from a correspondence which appears to be
useless, and might, if prolonged, draw some bitter remark from me, as
it has from you.
“After the trial, which you court and I deprecate, you will perhaps
review my letters with a more friendly eye.
“I am, yours obediently,
“BELLA BASSETT.”
In this fencing-match between a lawyer and a lady each gained an
advantage. The lawyer's letters, as might have been expected, were the
best adapted to be read to a jury; but the lady, subtler in her way,
obtained, at a small sacrifice, what she wanted, and that without
raising the slightest suspicion of her true motive in the
correspondence.
She announced her success to Mr. Oldfield; but, in the midst of it, she
quaked with terror at the thought of what Sir Charles would say to her
for writing to Mr. Bassett at all.
She now, with the changeableness of her sex, hoped and prayed Mr.
Bassett would admit the anonymous letter, and so all her subtlety and
pains prove superfluous.
Quaking secretly, but with a lovely face and serene front, she took her
place at the assizes, before the judge, and got as near him as she
could.
The court was crowded, and many ladies present.
_Bassett v. Bassett_ was called in a loud voice; there was a hum of
excitement, then a silence of expectation, and the plaintiff's counsel
rose to address the jury.