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Apbil 5, 1851.] «Ef|$ VLtatjtt. 313
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THE WEEK ON THE CONTINENT. The great eve...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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The Talbot Case. The Court Of Chancery H...
The Lord Chancellor , in giving judgment , said ho could not for a moment believe that tin ; lOarl of Shrewsbury had in tiny way attempted to coerce tho young lady with the view of compelling her to abandon the world . So far m the evidence wont , there were no grounds for charging the Karl und OnuntcHH of Shrewsbury with uny neglect of duty towards Minn ¦ lalbot . But when they left England Iant autumn
the Whole responsibility of guardianship -was transferred to Dr . Doyle , and , therefore , he ought to have exercised very great watchfulness over her , whereas there seemed to have been very great neglect . He then went on to discuss the various statements of Miss Jerningham , Dr . Doyle , and Bishop Hendren regarding the terms upon which Miss Talbot had returned to the convent . Looking at all the evidence on the subject , which was certainly very perplexing , the conclusion he had come to was that the young lady had been received as a boarder , but , as that was contrary to the rules of the convent , she had been passed off as a postulant . He should have been better pleased if the Lady Abbess had made a statement calculated to prevent any wrong
conclu-: — " Whether she was apprehensive of incurring any ecclesiastical censure , and therefore shrouded her statement in ambiguous language , leaving it to be taken one way or the other , or what was the reason for her language , he did not know ; but , there being do evidence of Lord Shrewsbury ever having placed this young lady in the convent as a postulant , he saw no reason to impute to him any such conduct . In the absence of Dr . Winter , and from the nature of Dr . Hendren ' s communication , he defied any one to reconcile the statements that had been made . That the young lady was called a postulant was clear ; but that she did not adopt the dress was equally clear . Why , then , was she called a
posbetween his lordship ( the Lord Chancellor ) and Lord Shrewsbury : — " The Lord Chancellor : —What took place in reference to myself was this : —When I left Alton Towers last autumn there had been a proposition for a marriage between Miss Talbot a » d M . Rochefoucault , which , upon being brought to my knowledge , I said could only be entertained in the r « galar way by means of a reference to the Master , to inquire as to the propriety of it . This I caused to be _ communicated to Lord Shrewsbury , and also intimated that , from trie inquiries I had instituted into the matter , I did not think it was an advantageous offer . Shortly afterwards I received a letter from . Lord Shrewsbury respecting his taking abroad a ward of the courtBertram Talbot , and he therein stated that he
tulant ? And , being so called , whv was she not dealt with , in a manner corresponding with that character ? It might be supposed that she was a favourite in the convent , and that she was received out of favour to Lady Shrewsbury ; but he ( the Lord Chancellor ) did not the less disapprove of her being there , whether as a boarder or a postulant . Because she was in a different position from what she was in when she was a pupil in the school , she was not more connected with general society , except of those ladies who were there as nuns , and that , too , at an age when the mind was likely to be materially influenced by the impressions it received . Therefore , whether as a postulant or as a boarder , it was not the place where she ought to have been in . "
, had taken my hint respecting the marriage of Miss Talbot , and that it had been broken off , and that the young lady was at last reconciled to the step , although she had very much felt it at first ; and the letter went on to state that Miss Talbot was quite resigned , and felt entirely disposed to yield to the will of God in preference to following the dictates of her own feelings . I also had a conversation with the young lady at Alton Towers respecting th « offer of marriage , and she certainly expressed no unwillingness to accept it , or intimate in any way that it was being forced upon her . I told her that I
should take care that , in a case of that kind , her wishes should be consulted , as I had the power to decide upon her marriage while « he was a ward of the court ; and , far from intimating any repugnance to the gentleman , I inferred that she would be quite willing to accept him . When I had the conversation with Mr . Berkeley in the House of Lords , I told him that the statement in his affidavit respecting the repugnance of Miss Talbot to the marriage was incorrect ; and , upon his asking me to guarantee him his costs in the event of his bringing the matter before the court , I declined doing so . "
Mr . Holt said it was evident that so far from there having been any attempt to entrap Miss Talbot into a marriage repugnant to her feelings , the very contrary was the case . The gentleman who had been proposed in marriage was a person of high rank , whose family held as high a place in the history of France as Miss Talbot ' s did in the history of England ; — " The marriage was far from repugnant to the feelings of the young lady , but the greater experience of his lordship , coupled with the opinion of Dr . Doyle , ruled that
In conclusion , he said that , on a consideration of the whole case , Mr . Berkeley ought not to pay the costs of the inquiry ; that he should not be allowed to attend the Master ; that he might , however , have access to the lady ; but , as she was of proper age to determine her own inclinations as to whom she would wish to see , she must be consulted upon the subject . With respect to Dr . Doyle , his costs must he paid out of the estate of the young lady . Mr . Berkeley's petition must be dismissed , and that of Dr . Doyle allowed , and the costs of both paid out of the estate . Miss Talbot ' s letter to the Lord Chancellor , to which reference was made during the trial ,
cornsuch a connection would be inexpedient . Miss Talbot , although desirous that the alliance should be carried out , yielded to the supjrior wisdom of the Lord Chancellor and her guardian , and resigned herself to what she innocently called the will of God . After such a shock , what place was there that she should so natur . illy look for repose in as the place where she had passed the eight preceding years of her life tranquilly ? It was a subject to her mind of great delicacy , and , as a matter of course , she would be desirous of some retirement where she could recover her calmness . "
plains of ' Mr . Craven Berkeley ' s false statements . " She cannot but feel a just indignation at his conduct , she says , " after the manner in which he has spoken of the convent at Taunton , where I have spent the happiest days of my life , and where I have experienced for nine years the most unchanging kindness . " Lest there shouid be any notion that l > r . Hendren or Miss Jerningham may have dictated the letter , she says , " I must arid that every word of this letter is from myself . I am alone while writing it , and , therefore , no one can allege that I have been prompted by any one . " In conclusion she says , " After liuster I shall be ready to yield myself " , and again enter a world whose charms I can never value . " It is stated that the lady with whom Miss Augusta Talbot is to be placed for the present is the Countess of Newburgh , a lloinan Catholic lady .
Mr . Holt proceeded to censure Mr . Berkeley in very strong terms for the manner in which he had interfered in the matter . He also took occasion to deal one or two pretty severe back-handed blows at Dr . Hendren , the Roman Catholic Bishop of Clifton , "whom he characterized as " a bold and reckless priest "— " a vainglorious , presumptious polemic , who had rushed into an arena of discussion with things that he was unacquainted with , and with parties to whom he was inferior in capacity . " The case , however , could not be influenced by anything contained in Dr . Hendren ' s letter . In sending Miss Talbot back to the convent , it was intended that her residence there should be temporary , until the return of Lord and Lady Shrewsbury in the spring of this year .
" The Lord Chancellor asked if it was known when Lord'Shrewsbury would return ? " Mr . Holt : We believe it is now uncertain . An affidavit states , it will not in all probability be this summer . " In conclusion , he contended that the whole of the accusation had vanished into empty air . He trusted , therefore , that his lordship would deal with the case as the court had always dealt with unfounded charges , by dismissing the petition with costs . Mr . Parker , as counsel lor the Knrl find Countess of Shrewsbury , was afterwards heard , but his speech contained no new point .
The Solicitor-General , in his reply , contended that no proper explanation had been given as to how Miss Talbot had been received as a postulant . Dr . Doyle had stated in his affidavit that he did not witm her to become a nun , but how had he got the impression that « he was likely to become one , unless he had been informed that she was there in that capacity ? If Bishop Hendren had been brought forward they might have got the real facts of the case , but his learned Mends had kept him in the background . It was , however , quite clear thnt a grOHH contempt of < 'ourt had been committed by Dr . Doyle . He had tidcen no pains to prevent her being placed in a convent , at the risk of being persuaded to become a llun . Ho was , therefore , - a totally unfit pernon to have charge of her .
Apbil 5, 1851.] «Ef|$ Vltatjtt. 313
Apbil 5 , 1851 . ] « Ef | $ VLtatjtt . 313
The Week On The Continent. The Great Eve...
THE WEEK ON THE CONTINENT . The great event of the week is undoubtedly the death of II Passatore , and the final dispersion of his band . He was traced to the house of one of his accomplices on the 22 nd , and killed on the following day , after a desperate chase ; and combat with a column of Pontifical goiiKdannes and Austrian light infantry . His body was carried to Lugo , and there identified as that of Stefano Pelloni , better known under the nom dc yitcrre above given . One of his band was apprehended , and shot at Foligno ; another was killed by a lieutenant of Itoman gensdarnies at Conselicc ; a third , who was lighting hy Inn wide , and had been severely wounded , succeeded in muking
of March has been kept holy in commemoration of the fatal battle of N " ovara , and funeral masses have been said in honour of the brave men who fell in that Piedmontese Waterloo . All this under the eyes of the Austrians and to spite them . The Austrians in their turn have not failed to celebrate the dies fasta in their own way . A sumptuous banquet was given at Trieste by the young Emperor to the officers of the garrison .
The Emperor of Austria reached Tenice on the 27 th , and on the same day , We are told , at the suggestion of Marshal Radeteky , issued orders for the restoration of the free port of that city . He vras expected to visit Croatia and Hungary on his return . The papers speak of the probability of a meeting between the Emperor and his Sicilian Majesty . The Count and Countess of Chambord left Modena on the 20 th , on their way back to Venice .
The negotiation , at Rome , for an Austro-Italian railway connecting Venice with Leghorn , and crossing the Papal Legations and Tuscany , has proved , so far , an utter failure . The Cardinals will either never hear of a railway , or have it constructed on a plan more conducive to their own interests . They will , probably , never go further than the King of Naples , who , more than twelve years since , got over the sixteen miles of ground that separate the capital from his palace at Castellamare , and there seems to have stopped to all eternity .
The Chamber of Deputies at Turin is engaged in discussions of local interest , respecting the rice-fields , especially in the provinces of Vercelli andNovara . The question is reduced to a compromise between health and wealth , for rice is amongst the most important produces of Piedmont as well asofLombardy : whilst all the labourers engaged in its cultivation , as well as the whole population bordering on the swampy rice-grounds , pay for the good of the country with their lives . The only remedy against the evil is found in limiting the extent of rice-fields , and only allowing them at considerable distances from each other .
The municipal authorities at Alessandria have come to a resolution to tax the boxes in the theatre of their town . A . box on the dress tier pays fifty francs ; on the upper tiers , twenty-five . Could not Sir Charles Wood take a useful hint from those worthies ? The city of Turin has made a free grant of the ground " " necessary for the erection of the monument in commemoration of the Siccardi law . In continuation of the" progressive measures of
which that famous law was only a first step , the Turin Chamber of Deputies has resolved to take into consideration a bill proposed by the Deputy Peyron , forbidding persons undtr twenty-one years of age , and unacquainted with the world , by at least six months' experience of society , from taking religious vows in a convent ; and refusing admittance into the Sardinian convents to such poisons , either native or foreign , who should have taken vows in foreign countries , contrary to the above-stated regulations .
I he Piedmontese papers announce the almost daily arrival of Hungarian refugees from Lombardy . It seems that ltadetzky pays these brave soldiers , who alone decided the fate of Italy and of the Austrian Empire in 1848-49 , with unnecessary harshneas . They are consequently driven for shelter to Switzerland , whence not a fYw of them had made their way into Genoa , with a view to embark for South America . As they had , however , no means to defray the expenses of the voyage , the Sardinian Govern . - ment sent them back to Switzerland , whence , it is hoped , they will be directed to France , destined for active serviee in Algeria . The Gazetta Ticinese of the 2 ( 5 th publishes Home important diplomatic notes between the Sardinian and Swiss Governments on that subject .
The Italian and other refugees iu the Canton Ticino have been forcibly removed to the German cantons . Some French ( among them the famous Serjeant Boiehot , Pflciger , Fehx Pyat , ike ) , and twenty-four German refugees , have been actually driven out of Switzerland . The G ermans lire allowed to embark at Havre for America . How the French themselves are to make their exit does not appear . The Italian refugees at Paris have been subjected to vexatious domiciliary visits during the closing daya of last , week . Amongst them Montanelli and Maz / . oni , from Tuscany , Pianciani , from Koine , Ciirini , of Palermo , and Cernuschi , of Milan . Nothing has been found at their residences having the least tendency to prove their implication in any
revolutionary plot either against France or Italy . Two of them , however , Carini and Mazzoui , had received order to quit Fiance within twenty-four hours , but the order ban been countermanded . The Turkish Government in also wore troubled on the subject of foreign refugees . Dciuhiuski has left Constantinople , and his arrival in Paris is already announced . The Porto loudly protests that it only had engaged itnelf to the safe keeping of the prisoners at Kutayeh for one your , und that being expired it insists now on its right to release them without exception . Tho American MiniHt < T hiiM often repeated his request to he allowed to cluiin the illustrious exiles for his own country . Tho insurrection in Bosnia ia described nu miming
his escape hy swimming across a river . The 1 Ope has determined to grant only a limited number of passports to travellers desirous to visit London at the time of the World ' s Exhibition . None but CurdinalH and Bishops will be sent over to this country . The King of Naples , an we said in a previous number , will allow none of Inn subjects J-o visit us . No traveller is expected from Naples , except that mauvais yavrcmciit , the Duki : of Parma . At tho church of St . Prassedc , at Rome , a preacher has been interrupted in the heat of his discourm ; by a bombshell falling from the roof of the church and bursting in the midst of his audience . There whh a universal run , and a terrific crush at the doors . This was nioHt probably the deed of . some Roman wag of the Duly school .
J ' or tho rent , the news from Italy is destitute of interest . At Rome the " Congregation" has conferred on a ftiw books the honour of inscription ia the " Index . " At Florence , Pistoia , and Piaa the 23 rd
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), April 5, 1851, page 5, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_05041851/page/5/
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