Camden gazette. (Camden, S.C.) 1816-1818, September 29, 1817, Image 2
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