XI.—The "Great" Francis is to Arrive.
Sandringham, King's Lynn, Nov. 16.
"My dear Lady Mordaunt,—I must apologise for not having answered your last kind letter, but accept my best thanks for it now. Since the 10th I have been here at Sir William Knollys' house, as I am building a totally new one. I am here en garcon, and we have had very good shooting. The Duke of Cambridge, Lord Suffield, Lord Alfred Paget, Lord de Grey, Sir Frederick Johnstone, Chaplin, General Hall, Captain (Sam) Buckley, Major Grey, and myself, composed the party; and the great Francis arrived on Saturday, but he is by no means a distinguished shot. Sir Frederick Johnstone tells me he is going to stay with you to-morrow for the Warwick races, so he can give you the best account of us. This afternoon, after shooting, I return to London, and to-morrow night the Princess, our three eldest children, and myself, start for Paris, where we shall remain a week, and then go straight to Copenhagen, where we spend Christmas, and the beginning of January we start on a longer trip. We shall go to Venice, and then by sea to Alexandria, and up the Nile as far as we can get; and later to Constantinople, Athens, and home by Italy, and I don't expect we shall be back again before April. I fear, therefore, I shall not see you for a long time, but trust to find you, perhaps, in London on our return. If you should have time, it will be very kind to write me sometimes. Letters to Marlborough House, to be forwarded, will always reach me. I hope you will remain strong and well, and wishing you a very pleasant winter,
"I remain, yours most sincerely,
"Albert Edward."
On the afternoon of the fifth day of the trial, the Prince of Wales, who had been driven by his royal mother to take the step, much against his will, appeared in court to testify, nominally at his own request, but really from a fear of public opinion. The presiding judge of the Divorce Court, Lord Penzance, when he heard that the Prince desired to testify in his own behalf, exerted himself in such an extreme fashion, as to call down the ridicule and scorn of the London press for his servile proceedings. Having been informed that the Prince was about to appear in court, this flunkey judge, who had been created a peer for something that he had done as a lawyer, was most eager, painfully eager, in fact, to accommodate his Royal Highness. The latter was treated by the judge with a respect which was a combination of profundity, enthusiasm, and excitement. One journal suggested to the learned judge, that while the Prince was in attendance on the trial, it was the duty of the magistrate to have a smoking room fitted up for the special use of the Prince, while another claimed that a billiard table should be provided for the amusement of the Prince between the intervals of the evidence, and asked Lord Penzance to be careful and open court daily at an hour to suit the convenience of the Heir Apparent, who is I believe, a late riser. It is a rule of British law, that the members of the Royal family cannot be called upon to testify in any case, unless of their own free will, and then they are not asked to swear to the evidence which they may give, as their simple affirmation is deemed to be sufficient. The Prince of Wales on this occasion, however, thought it necessary to be sworn, and he testified that he knew Sir Charles and Lady Mordaunt, and that Lady Mordaunt had been an acquaintance of his before his marriage to the Princess of Wales. He also testified that he was fond of riding in hansom cabs, and lastly, he swore that there never had been any improper familiarity or criminal act between himself and Lady Mordaunt. This statement, in open court, was a great relief to the Queen, who it is said, at once upon hearing of it sent for the Prince to come to Buckingham Palace, and on his arrival he was welcomed warmly by his mother.
SIR FREDERICK JOHNSTONE TESTIFIES.
The next witness examined was Sir Frederick Johnstone, who testified that he had gone to dine with Lady Mordaunt at the Alexandra Hotel, in obedience to a request which she made by letter, to that effect. The dinner was a tete-a-tete one, (no one being present but Sir Frederick and Lady Mordaunt) in a private room, and it lasted from four o'clock in the afternoon until twelve o'clock at night. Sir Frederick acknowledged that the dinner took place without the knowledge of Sir Charles Mordaunt, and that he never told the latter of the circumstance afterward, although a visitor at Walton Hall. This closed the case on evidence. A paper had been found in Lady Mordaunt's handwriting, with the memoranda "280 days from June 29—April 3d," referring, as it was supposed, to her first meeting with Viscount Cole. Sir Charles Mordaunt, in his affidavit, alleged the marriage on the 6th of December, 1866, at St. John's Episcopal Church, Perth; cohabitation at Walton Hall, and at 6 Belgrave-square; and adultery with Viscount Cole in May, June, and July, 1868, at Chesham-place, and in July, 1868, and January, 1869, at Walton Hall; and adultery with Sir Frederick Johnstone, in November and December, 1868, at Walton Hall, and in December, 1868, at the Alexandra Hotel, Knightsbridge; and adultery also with some person between the 15th of June, 1868, and the 28th of February, 1869.
The English aristocracy never have had such a blow dealt at their corrupt social system, as the developments of this suit impelled against them. "Reynolds' Newspaper," a London journal with a circulation of 280,000 copies weekly, spoke in thunder tones as follows, to its readers, the workingmen of London:
"THE PRINCE OF WALES IN THE DIVORCE COURT.
The great social scandal to which we have frequently alluded, has now become blazoned to the world through the instrumentality of the Divorce Court. Nothing was left undone that might hush it up, so that the Prince of Wales' name should not figure in so discreditable a business. Every effort was made to silence Sir Charles Mordaunt. A peerage was, we believe, offered him. Any place of emolument he asked for would willingly have been given him. All the honors and dignities the crown and government have it in their power to bestow would readily have been prostituted to insure his silence. Lord Penzance, at the last moment, earnestly strove to keep the name of the Prince from coming before the public. Sir Charles Mordaunt, however, was deaf to every persuasion, and, like a noble minded man and high spirited gentleman, scouted all attempts to shut his mouth; and, with contemptuous indifference to the entreaties of the judge, and disregarding the course adopted by his own counsel, at once told the whole story of his supposed dishonor, without blinking facts or concealing names. He told the court that he forbade his wife continuing her acquaintance with the Prince of Wales on account of his character. He intimated to the Prince that his visits should cease. He, however, alleges that, despite this intimation, they were surreptitiously continued; that letters of a compromising character were found; and that other circumstances occurred leading him to suppose that an improper intimacy existed between, the Prince and his wife. It should be borne in mind that when all this is said to have occurred the Prince of Wales was a married man himself, and the father of a family. The question, therefore, remains to be solved, is he an adulterer or not? Can he disprove the apparently damnatory allegations of Sir C. Mordaunt? Of course we do not wish to prejudge the case. We hope, for his own and for his wife's sake, that he can completely refute the heavy accusation laid to his charge, and that he will do so at the earliest opportunity. But we have no hesitation in declaring that if the Prince of Wales is an accomplice in bringing dishonor to the homestead of an English gentleman; if he has deliberately debauched the wife of an Englishman; if he has assisted in rendering an honorable man miserable for life; if unbridled sensuality and lust have led him to violate the laws of honor and of hospitality—then such a man, placed in the position he is, should not only be expelled from decent society, but is utterly unfit and unworthy to rule over this country or even sit in its legislature."
THE FASTEST MAN IN ENGLAND.
I don't see how any writer could make a stronger case against Royalty, (however hostile his spirit,) than this fearless exposition by the English journal of wide circulation, to which I have referred. The evidence of Sir Frederick Johnstone, which I have omitted, was too disgraceful to appear in this work, although the English papers printed every line of it. Well, the case went to the jury at last, after Lord Penzance had properly and carefully manipulated them, and a verdict was brought by them "that Lady Mordaunt being of unsound mind, was totally unfit to instruct her attorneys," and thus Sir Charles Mordaunt, having been dishonored and his domestic happiness destroyed by a conspiracy of titled persons, had to be satisfied with the verdict. In these days the plea of insanity is always a convenient one, and is very useful in a desperate case. Sir Charles was not daunted, however, and appealed his case, but met with defeat again, and thus the matter rests, and will rest. It is the intention of the injured husband to visit America, as he is an admirer of our institutions. I do not wish to offer any comment whatever on the state of society in which such corruption exists. The facts must speak for themselves.
The "fastest" young man in England is undoubtedly, William Alexander, Louis, Stephen, Douglas-Hamilton, Duke of Hamilton, Marquis of Hamilton, Marquis of Douglas, Earl of Angus, Earl of Arran, Earl of Lanark, Baron Hamilton, Aven, Polmont, Macanshire, Innerdale, Abernethey and Jedburgh Forest, and premier Duke and Peer in the Peerage of Scotland, Duke of Brandon (Suffolk), and Baron Dutton in the Peerage of Great Britain, Duke of Chatherault in France, Hereditary, Keeper of the Holyrood House, and Deputy Lieutenant of some county with an unpronounceable name in Scotland.
Possibly some of my readers, in going over this long line of titles, will recall the days of Bruce and Douglas, of "proud Angus," whom Marmion bearded in his hall, and of that Douglas who carried the heart of Bruce, like a Paladin, amid the lances of Spain; or perhaps the picture of Chevy Chase, and Douglas, and Percy, in armed fight, will be evoked with thoughts of the greatest historical House in Europe. Nobler descent, or more genuine historical honor, cannot be claimed by the holder of any lordly or royal title, than that which belongs to the present Duke of Hamilton, who is as yet only twenty-seven years of age. He is a first cousin of the Emperor of France by his mother, Stephanie, Duchess of Baden, a noble, beautiful, and good woman,—who married the old Duke of Hamilton; and one of his sisters is married to the Prince of Monaco, a sovereign in his own right. Two other sisters of the present Duke are nuns, having been educated in the Roman Catholic faith by their mother. The fourth sister is married to a private gentleman of large fortune.