LOVEDEN 9. affirmative evidence which is here produced, will relieve me from the necessity of entering very mi18th July 1810. nutely into the particular circumstances vouched by a great variety of witnesses. They certainly do prove a state of intimacy between these parties suspicious in the highest degree. The parties were observed to be fond of walking together separately from the rest of the family, arm-in-arm together;— that she paid particular attention to his accommodation when he came to the house,—was peculiarly attentive to the preparations of his room,-to the ornaments of his room,-even occasionally assisting to make up the fire in his room;-that she addressed herself with particular attention to him at dinner and meals ;-that he came evidently by appointment, and when the husband was absent from Buscot, the place of his residence, or particularly engaged; that this attracted the notice of these witnesses, and convinced them that his visits must have been by appointment; because no sooner was the back of Mr. Loveden turned, than this gentleman appeared:-that while he was there, and the husband was absent, she was ordered to be denied to all other persons who came there, and was actually so denied ;-that if Mr. Loveden's return was announced by the ringing of the house bell, they separated immediately, and met again in Mr. Loveden's presence as if for the first time,-as if they had not been in company and held any conversation before ;-that they were fond, when walking in company, of separating from the rest of the company, walking together separately, and in the attitudes described;-that they were often seen retiring into the shrubberies and plantations in the garden; -that he came very frequently on horse-back, LOVEDEN v. coming with his horse into these plantations and shrubberies unknown till observed by servants; and never going up to the house, but meeting this 13th July 1810. lady at these places;-that they have been seen in the gardens with arms round each other's waist; -that they were seen upon one particular occasion to kiss each other; that upon finding themselves observed, they retired in great confusion; that at table they were in the habit of sitting close together, and, as the butler positively swears to his own observation of the fact, with their legs and feet fixed together under the table;-that in London they met, and evidently upon signals and by appointment, to ride together in the Park ;-that he has been seen to lay his hand upon her hip, and, upon being observed, to withdraw it in confusion; that at another time he laid his hand in a most familiar manner upon her shoulder ;-that he was admitted alone into her dressing-room, where other gentlemen were scarcely ever admitted; and that he was so admitted totally unknown to Mr. Loveden ;that when parties went out coursing or hunting, these two persons always came home an hour before the rest of the company, and remained alone together:-in short, that a degree of familiar intercourse took place which attracted the notice of every servant and of every visitor in the house. These are facts spoken to by such a number of the witnesses, that I must repeat great part of those depositions which have been read, and which have been commented upon much at length, if I were to refer to them: I must state them entirely over again if I were to enumerate the particular facts spoken to in the depositions which these several LOVEDEN U. several witnesses have given; for all the servants, in various capacities which gave them opportunities of 13th July 1810. observation, concur in describing the intercourse as suspicious, and as gross in a very high degree. It has been made matter of objection, among the few objections which it was possible for the ingenuity of advocates to collect upon this occasion, that this lady seems to have been living amongst spies, and that they seem all to have acted with unfavourably conceived impressions. The fact is, that their observations were awakened, and could not be otherwise than awakened, by the appearances which were presented to their view. Such scenes as these going on in a decent and respectable family, and some of them passing under the eyes of such a number of persons, could not but excite observation, could not but provoke conversation among them. If the evidence had been otherwise, I think it would have furnished a just ground of imputation; for such circumstances, as are described by the witnesses, could not pass without producing such consequences and conversation among them: they must provoke the indignation of the servants; they must have alarmed their vigilance, and have engaged them in what we find them to be engaged in, the common purpose of defeating and detecting an intercourse so disgraceful to the house and so injurious to their master. The only wonder in the case, I think, is, that such an intercourse could have been possible for such a length of time, without in some way or other, by some accident, by some information, reaching the notice of Mr. Loveden. It had certainly attracted the notice of his visitors;-so says Mr. Seymour, who was a visitor - LOVEDEN. in the house, and who states that he had himself LOVEDEN V. observed so much, and had heard so much from other persons who had seen the same, that he found 13th July 1810. himself compelled by the duties of friendship to expostulate with her upon the intercourse, which he did not at that time suspect to be criminal, but which was at least suspicious, between her and Mr. Barker. She took it ill, and declared that so long as Mr. Barker behaved well to her she should not alter her behaviour to him ;-a pretty strong proof of a blind attachment to this gentleman; because a woman of delicacy, who had been informed by a friend that her character was suffering, in the opinion of respectable persons, on account of the footing on which she was with another gentleman, would at least, for the protection of her good name if not of her innocence, have avoided appearances that had led to such unfavourable impressions of her character. Mr. Pryse, who is the son of Mr. Loveden by a former wife, says, that he had observed attentions, though not with the suspicions which must have been excited if he had seen more. It appears by the conversation to which I have already alluded of the butler, Hastings, with Mr. Barker, to have found its way into the general talk of the country. With all this, however, nothing appears to have attracted the notice of Mr. Loveden. That occurred in this case, though certainly in an uncommon degree, which happens in many others, that the husband is the last person who entertains a suspicion of his misfortunes. There is, I think, no reason whatever to presume any kind of connivance on his part, or any other forbearance than what arose from the most pro found LOVEDEN V. 13th July 1810. found ignorance of the dishonour that was practising upon him. There are several particular instances of the familiarities passing between these persons, which I think it may not be improper for me more particularly to advert to; and, amongst the rest, some that are spoken to by Hooper and by Chamberlain: by Hooper upon the fifth article, and by Chamberlain upon the same day. the same day. Chamberlain says, "That on a Sunday morning, happening some "time about a year and a half and within two 66 years last past, Mr. Barker having either slept "at Buscot House on the preceding night, or "having called there on the Sunday morning, and "the family being preparing to go to Church, and "the carriage having gone for that purpose, and being about to come round to the door, he "having Mr. Barker's horse in the stable, came to "the under-butler, who was then in the pantry at "the bottom of the stairs, and near to the billiard66 room, and asked him if Mr. Barker had ordered "or if he wanted his horse; and to the best of his "recollection Hooper replied, that Mr. Barker "was gone into the green-house, and that if the "deponent would stop a little he would show him "some of Mrs. Loveden's tricks: and the bell of "the room in which the family had breakfasted having just then rung, the said James Hooper "desired the deponent to go into the butler's bedroom, and watch from the window thereof, " which commands a view of the conservatory or "green-house, whether Mr. Barker came out of "the said green-house or not; and that Hooper "then went to answer the bell, and the deponent "watched 66 66 |