University of South Carolina Libraries
me then what was she worth to him to whom she had consecrated the bloom o( her youth, the charm of her innocence, thc^ splendor oil her beauty, the Vrealth of her tender ness, the power of. her gcniu?, the treasure of her fidelity ? She, the mother of Iiis children, the pulse ofSiiis heart, the joy of >iis pros perity, the solace of his misfortunes what was she worth to him ? Fallen I as she is, you may still estimate 1 her > you rhay see her value even i in her ruin.- The gem is sullied ? j the diamond is shivered ; but even ] in its dust you may sec the magni_- ! ficeoceof its material* After this, 1 they retired to . Kockville, their ^ seat in the county of Galway, where they resided in - the most domestic nianner? ort thq remnant oil their once splendid establishment. The gutter Ares that in their noon -tide fluttered round them, vanished at the first breath of their adversity ; | one early friend still remained faithful and affectionate, and that was the ? defendant Mr. Blake is a young gentleman of about eight and twenty, of splendid fortune, polished in his manners, interesting in his appearance, with many qua lities to attich a friend, and every quality to fascinate a female. ? Most willingly. do I pay the tribute which nature claims for him ; most bitttr* Ijr do I lament that he has been so Ungrateful to so prodigal a bene factress. The more Mr. Browne's | fortune* accumulated, the more dis interestedly attached did Mr. Blake appear to him. He shared with him his purse, he assisted him with his cguiKel I - in an affair of honor., he placed his -life and character in his handjS~he introduced his inno cent sUtti-, ju9t arrived from an Fngjfc. lisllnunnery, into the family of fris friend? he encouraged every reci !>rpcity of intercourse between the emales ; and, to crown all. that no possible Suspicioft might attach \o tiffS, he seldom travelled without his domestic chaplain ! Now, tf*it shall appear that all thi^was fcnty a ftcreeri tor his adultery ? that he took advantage of his friend's misfof-r t titoc to seduce the wife of his bo som, vhac he affected confi^cncc on ly to betray u-^that he perfected the wretchedoesl ht pretended to con> sole* ikftd that in the midst of pov erty he has left his vicHm, friend less, hopeless, companfantess 5 a husband without a wife and a father without; a child. Gracious God! is it not enough to turn mercy her firlf into an executioner! You con- ? ^vict for murder ? here is the hand that mur3fcred innocence f You convict . for treason?hefrfe ' is the nri lest ^disloyalty to friendship! ? You convict for robbery ? here is ?nfc who plOridefed virtue of her dearest pearl, find dissolved it even iti the boM that hospitality held out to?him i ! They pretend that he is innocent I Oil effrontery the most unblushing ! 0fi vilest insult, add ed to the deadliest injury I Oh base* detestable, ahd dattinable h^pocri cy ! Of the final tfcstimdny it is true enough their cunning has de prived us i but under 1'roVldence, I shall pour upon this baseness such a flood of light, thait I will defy; not the most honorable man mere ly, but the most charitably sceptic, to touch the holy evangelists, and say, by their sanctity, it has not b?en committed. Attend upon mef now, gentlemen, stfcp by step* and with me rejoice, tnat, no matter how cautious may be the tonspira cieJ of guilt, their is a power above to confound and to discover them. Chi the $7lh of last January, Ma fy Hines, one of the domestic, re ceived directions from Mrs. Bro*ne^ to have breakfast ready very early on the ^ensuing motning, as the de fendant, then on visit at the house, expressed an inclination to go out to hunt. She was accordingly brush ing down thfc stairs at a very early hour, when she observed the handle of the door stir, and fearing the noi^e h*d disturbed her, she ran hastily I ciown sulis to avoid her displeasure. I She remained below about three quarters of an hour, when he* mas ter's bell ringing violently dfc has tened to answer it. _ He asked her in some alarm where her mistress was ? Naturally enough astonished ar suchr a question, at surtran hour, she said she knew not, but would ^O down and see whether or not she wa> in the parlour. Mr. Browne, however, had good reason to be alarmed, fur she was so extremely indisposed goin^ 10 bed at night that an ex} res* stood actually prepared 10 bring medical aid from Galway, "unless she appeared better. An un usual depression both of mind and bddy preyed upon Mrs. Browne on Vrt> ceding evening. She fre quently burst into tears, threw her arms around her husband > neck say ing that she was sure another month would seperate her for ever from him and her dear children. It was no accidental omen. Too surely the warning of Piovidence was upon her. When rhe maid was going down, Mr. Blake appeared at his door totally undressed, and in a tone of much confusion desired that his servant should be rent up to him. ? She went down ? as she was about to return from her ineffectual search, she heard her master's voice in the most violent indignation, and almost immediately after Mrs. Browrie rushed pate her into the parlor, and hastiiv seizins; her writing desk t ? ? ? ^ desired her instantly to quit the ap partmenc. Gentlemtn, I request that you will bear every syllable of this scene in your recollection, but most particularly the anxiety about the writing desk. * You will soon find that, there was cogent reAson for it. Little was the ponder that Mr. Browne's time was that of violence and indignation, lie had discover-, ed his wife and friend totally undress ed, just a* they had escaped, from' the guilty bed side where they stood in all the sharne and Sorrier of thefr situation. He shouted forhcr bro*' ther, and that miserable brother had the agdny of witmx?ing his jgljilty sister m the becMorfm of her t)ara mpur* both ailitost m a-i^c o{ nu dity.,, BUke 1 Blake ! exclaimed the ? heart struck husband, is this the re tufft you have made for my hospita lity f Oh, heavens ! whiar a rtffi proach was tber& ! It wan not mere ly, you haVe dishofiett&my bed-^ it was not merely, you Kavfc sacrU ficed rny happiness ? it was not merely you have widowed me<jn my youth, and left me the father of an orphan family ? it was not merely, you have violated a comp^ti ^b which alt the world s,W8rfc * flat veneration-? but, you^you have done It, my frieid, my guest, tinder th? >eal. ro<>f barbarians reve rence where you saw her in all' the loveliness of her virtue, and" at the very hour when our little helpi* less children Were wrapt ih thn re pose which you have forever rob bed their miserable parents! I do cdnfess when I paused here in the ; perusal of these instructions,; the very life blood froze within my veins. What said I, must Lnot only feveal thisgu?lt! must I notontyex pose this perfidy I must I not otdy .Brand the infidelity of a \rife and a mother, but roust ], amidst the ago nies of outraged nature, make th$ brother the proof of the sistfcr*s| prostitution ! I hank God, gentle- i men, I miy p?t be obliged to tor ture you and him and myself, by such instrumentality. 1 think , the 4 proof is full without it, though it must advi another pang to the soul of the poor plaintiff, becdO?e it rrrfcst render it almost impossible that his little infants are not the brood of this adulterous depravity. It will be distinctly proved to you by ' Mono rial ttrennow, another df the servants, that one night; so for baek as the May previous to the last mentioned occurrence, when she was in the act of arranging the beds, she saw Mr. Blakt come up staus, look cautiously about hftin, to Mrs. Browne's bed -room door, aid tap at it i that im mediately after Mrs. Browne went, . with no other covere ing than he^ shift, to Mr. JBlakc's bedchamber, wtere the guiky par tics" locked the ogives up togedier. Terrified and astonished, the maid re tired to the servants||~apartment and in about a q uarter oHtiFhoiir afcer^he saw Mrl* Browne i qflfcaaroe habili ments return from the bed*room of Blake into her husband' s-~~Gcntle men it was by one of those aceWcnts which so often accompany and o sion. the devclopcmLnt of guile, we have arrived a: this evidence. Tc was very natural that she did not wish tidier to expose her mistress, or afflict her unconscious master, wirh rhe recital ?> very naural that she did not desire to be the instru ment of so Irightfi^fcdiscovery . However, when sh??Mgi that con cealment was out ofSHpfuestion ; chat this action was aetSKy in pro gress, and that the^guilty delinquent was publicly triumphing in the ab sence of proof, and through a herd of slanderous dependants, cruelly vilifying the character of his vie tim ; she sent a friend to Mr. Browne, and in his presence and that of two others" solemnly discovered her melancholy information. Gentlemen, I do en treat of you to examine this womun, though she is an uneducated pta s<ant} with all severity, because, if she speaks the truth, I think you will agree with m?Vthat so horrible a complication of iniquity never di-graccd the annals- of a court of justice. He had just risen from the table Of his friend ? he left his own brother ahd that friend behind him, and even from the very board of his hospitality, he proceeded to the defiJeiTient of his bed 1 Of mere 1 adulteiy I had heard before. It was bad enough? a breach of all law, religion and morality ? but ? what ^katH-call this ? ? that seduced? in ? ? u riocence? insulted misfortune ? be trayed friendship? viol at^cT frospi-' taHcy-Utore up. the very foundation of human nature, and hurled its frag ments at the violated alter, as if to burv religion b^nedth the ruins of t ' < - i ? n ? ? ? society ! 1 Oh, ic is guilt might put a Daemon to the blush ! '/ Docs our proof^rcsV here ? No ; though the mind must be ice|ifi,cal that after this [. could doubt ? &guUiy correspondence was I cabled on between tlfe parties, ar*4 Ihmt^h Its contents were destroyed by U. on the morning of the discovery* trtlll, wc shall an he utlcaie the iafct beyond suspicion. > Yog shail hear it from the very messenger they cmnwitd ?you shiU hcar it from him too>tho< the wife ami the# adulterer both bound him to the utmost secrecy, at once establishing their own collusion ?od their ? victim's ignorance, proving, by the vefy anxiety for concealment, the impossibility of contrivance t so true It is Unit the convic tion of guilt will often proceed even from the stratagem for it* security. Doc* our proof rest here ? No; jupl&sltaH Hajre f?om a gentleman of utiimi>ea?htibte Veradiy, that the defendant himself confessed the "'discovery in hi* bed room-?4' f will save him*" said he; "the trouble of proving it : iihe was in tier shift and I was in my shirt. I know Very well a jury Willawaftl damages against me ; ask BioWne will lie a^rce to compromise it ; he oyres me some money - and 1 will give him the overplus in horses 1' Can yott ifltagirte any thing more abnmina- < hie ? lie acduced from his old friend the idol of bin soul, at'd the mother of Iji* chil dren, and when jie was writhing urtder the recent wound, tie deliberately offers hirn brutes In compensation ! I will not tfepre ciate thia Cruelty by any commtUi $ yet the very bnite he would barte^fe* this un* natural mother, would haVe tost his life rathet than desert its (iffspring. Now gen tlemen, *bat tatitinal mind but rhust spurn the Asseveration ol Innocence after this?-* \Vhjr*he anxiety ahmit the writing desk ? I Why 4 clandestine correspondence With her husband's friend f Why remafti at two/hf ferent periods for a quartet of an hour to gether, in Ajgentleman's bed chaml>er, with no other habiliment, at one tinte, than her i?ed dress. At another he* *hlft. Is this Cus tomary srfth the married ft mates of this cotimtry ? Is this to be a precedent too by you their parent* find their husbands? why did he confess that a verdict for damsge* must go against him I ? Was it because he was innocent ?? The vety offer v*hn a judg ment by default, a distinct, undeniable cor roborating of his guilt* \V*U it tUat the female character should not sufrer ? Could i here be a more truropet-tongurd pror.la mation of her criminality ? -Are our wit ne*se . *o!>orncd f I-et his army of counsel sift Hi.d torture themf. Can they prove it f O yes, if it be proveahle. l*et them pro due e her brother ? in our h ???<!??, m '?lamii-. inf* pr/xT i o be ai.re ; bur then, frijlitfut t, r^:;,ir; ? > V , ConsoJa'.orv a?>'J i!t lu! . <b* \ ? viv."< ' 4 ol c:iiuni.oMv-<l celice ?be ??t n imci: w J_he teadn>< online of c i: t cxidt s?c< ? cvt? cklK'r V \??o >* ill OUty W??jhic?" is *>i> corvmcm^m a ca*e n lw.- \e**y n.ttutr (???? su;>(K>sts the nv?l cuWious *rcit<y Tlnr Ihw, i n^trrti. fcvmtjemen, doly otimur.n ; actioiT. 4*a> rccoguiscd 1 her \h|n:u> o! jnb . reauai -t * vdcuct% but . on ihax m4u*ci Do the)* re !y then on the geou'rd of ',w_ noceo V ? tf they do, I ?? v * I >? n rt to you on the nuthovity of ihe Lw, lhat infoenital evidence is 'quite tufScicnt ; and on u.c authority of reason, that in I his particular CMpr^t ittferemial testimony amounts to Amongst ihe nmunxra lc? afloaij U has been':fc**tHd t<> me m'Vjeon?TH?t they itiewt lb r?l| u vvha t ihty the liusbatul. The monWu they hu.~ ? - hurt) i hood <o recoil >o U>at, ihev, ??l ooiW^e* a'oundou all dental ot deUutpuncy, und were it folly proved, it TKe<T well *?<vriff yO\ii*most !tnous c<*n>kier >thjn? whether von will tolcmte ^ v?c h a deS nets/ as 1 1 1 at* (t is in my mux! beyond ai enduramr, that unv man should (lute to com.* into ? court ( f justice, an^ on the sbatiowy pre tence < f n\ hat he may term?i CJt tkb^iUii. pro und i lie most MthvUntiaJ and i.ixepju* hie injury. Against the unmanly prncip.k' ol* conjugal sevi: i iiy, in the name of ci - vi!^ d society, I wJemnljf protest. It >-? not tried for the meridian, and, I hepc. w?U never amalgamate Uselt with iherj^y^ T y p t 1 ncTple oT^ conjugal acveHty, in J^c name of civilised society, i solemnly p?r.:est. It is not fitted f jf lhe tt^rklian, und, I hope, w j | never amatgatiuue itself with the manners of this countr)? it is the mo?t ungenerous and insulting sus picion, reduced to the moat unmanly *?xt despotic practice. ?' f.tfi barbarous nations whose inhu??*t* loVe Is wild desire, fierce as the nuna Ihey fee! ; /___ ' " " I tc ka>teTiv tyranis from llie light cX Hearen Seclude thtir bosom slaves, meanly pos?esstd J < Of a >i?ere lift l^Hs violated form? ? While tho**e whom lore cement^ in 1k> ly faith, , \s And equal transport, fice as nahirfc lie, .t. Disdaining fear." Hut oner establish the principle of thia moral and domestic cencorship, *i>d tl tell me whefe i* it to hcfrin ? Where is its to end ? WTo shall I-omiwI sfiaif preface it ? 1W what 1 ntherio r > disco yiflg between solemnity atid levity I Will yo\\ ptrrtttt this imprudent {espionage upon your household* ; upon the nallovu d pti ?a<yrtjf your domestic hours, and; for what,. > purpose"? Wityt that the aeducer and thn' adtdterer m?f cilcutyte the security of hi* c<j!d blooded iibbttiuiam I? thai he ^ fhajr steal like an assassin upon your hours of relaxatioh, at?d content perhaps your con I fidenre intojthe Instrument of your ruin 1 If this be onfce pernfiitted as a ftitttiml of justification, we riiay bid /trowel! at opro to alLlhe delightful intercourse of soptai life# spurning as t do, at Mils odious ifya I tern of or^an'tred distrust, dufcpose I he ad ? mission made, that my client carHrss, indiscreet f culpable '11 they wjll, In Vis do? ; mesne regulations, is it therefore to be en-, timed, that every i?f?anc!ontd burglar shodld seduce hi w wife, yiolSte Ma daughter ? \% it H) lie eliclurtd* Jfcei Mr. fllakc of aft meh ahuuld #ely on such an infamous and convenient extenuation* He his friend, his Kui-st, his confident, he who Introduced a spotless sister to thit at tainted ifMimacy ; shall he say, 1 associated with you houily, I a fleeted your familiari ty Ibr many years 5 1 accompanied my do mesticated mifiist^r of religion to your family ; I almost naturalised the nearest female relative J had on earth,, uffaullied and unmarried as she waa* r^ijfRnft your household ; bat? you #as only to turn It into a btotheHl JHerciful God! will y oil endure him whetl he tells you thus, and he ia oil (he Watch to plow! tipo?T the weakftettof humanity, and audacious ly solicits y^ur charter for such liWrtin 'ism ? I have heard It averted also, that the/ mean to arraign the husband a* a conspi-* rator, because in the hour of confidence and ttiisfortuhe He abcepted a prolfcred rxf cunfcry assistance from the fri^n he ihbfffcht hit friend. It is true he iflid so i but so, K wilt aajr, criminally Cartful ^vaJl he of hia interests that he gave him hi* btmd, and ' made httri enter up judgement Oft that ^ bond, and made him inane an execution^ frj on that judgment, ready to l>e levied in a' day, (hat in the wreck of all, the friend vf 1ms bos torn should be at least indemnified/ U was my impression indeed, that under + Ica4e of i hrr nature, amongst honoi*at>le men, so far from afty Unwarrantable \rr) vile^e created, there waa rather a peculiar delicacy incumbent on the donor. 1 should have thnmrht'fo still but for a frightful ex pression of one of the counsel on (he mo tion, by which , they endeavored i)ot to trust a Dublin jury with (hi* isiuc. What, exclaimed )iHry?ip all the pride of their execrable instu'r^tions, 4< ? poor plaintiff mikI a rich daft nrtrfnt ! I* there nothing in that V9 No, ff my client's shspe <1oes not belie, Mt Species, their in nothing m that# 'X I bttved (he asstMion a* a c-iluni'w on humati nature ? tcail <r. v ??. u an allegation he repeated, to v is t i 1 u ? vmdictivr nn I ovt- f whelin t?r OVr-re