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between hie lordship ( the Lord Chancellor ) and Lord Shrewsbury : — « The Lord Ghahcellof : — "What took place in reference to myself was tbiff : —When I left Alton Towers last autumn there had . been a proposition for a marriage between Miss Talbot and M . Rochefoueault , which , upon being brought to . my knowledge , I said could only be entertained in the regular way by means of a reference to the Master-, to inquire as to the propriety of it . This J caused to be communicated to Lord Shrewsbury , and also intimated that ,, from the inquiries I had instituted into the matter , J did not think it was an advantageous offer . Shqrtly afterwards I , received a letter from . Lord
Shievirsbury respecting his taking abroad a ward of the court , Bertram Talbot , and he therein stated that he liad taken my hint respecting the marriage of Miss Tal-• feot , and that it nad 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 the offer of marriage , and she certainly ex-Dressed 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 she 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 . Rolt 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 such a connection would be inexpedient . Miss Talbot , although desirous that the alliance should be carried out , yielded to the supsrior 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 . 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 continued 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 . Rolt : 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 . lie trusted , therefore , that his lordship would deal with the case n » the court had always dealt with unfounded ch arges , by dismissing the petition with costs . Mr . Parker , as counsel lor the Earl and Countess of Shrewsbury , was afterwards heard , but his speech contained no new point .
Ihe Solicitor-General , in Ins reply , contended that no proper explanation had been given as to how Mi *« Talbot had been received as a postulant . Dr . Doyle had stated in his affidavit that he did not wish her to become u nun , but how had he got the impression that who was likely to become one , unless he had been informed that she was there in that capacity ? If Bishop llcndrcn had been brought forward they might huve got the real facts of the case , but his learned friends had kept him in the background . It was , however , quite clear that a groHH contempt of court hud been commuted by Dr . Doyle- Uu hud taken no pains to prevent her being placed in a convent , at the risk of being persuaded to become a nun . Ho wa « , therefore , n totally unfit pernon to have charge of her .
lhe Lord Chancellor , in giving judgment , said ho coul d not for u moment believe " that the Karl of ?~ > hrewHlmry hud in any way attempted to coerce the young huly with the view of compelling her to abandon the world . So fur as the evidence went , there were > io grounds for charging- the Jiurl and Countess ol ? Shrewsbury with any neglect of duty towards Miss Aalbot . But when they left Englund lout autumn
the ¦ whole responsibility of guardianship wa" 8 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 oh to discuss the various statements of Miss Jernihgham , 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 conclusion : T-
" 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
postulant ? 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 . "
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 tojvhom she would Avish to see , she must be consulted upon the subject , With respect to Dr . Doyle , his costs mu 9 t be 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 ,
complains 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 should be any notion that Dr . Hendren or Miss Jerningham may have dictated the letter , she says , " I must aid that every word of this letter is from m 3 self . 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 Easter 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 Nevvburgh , a Roman Catholic lady .
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TIIK 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 wa . s 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 gensdarmes and Austrian light infantry . His body was carried to Lugo , and there identified as that of Stefano Pelloni , better known under the nom de guerre above given . One of his band was apprehended , and shot at Foligno ; another was killed by n lieutenant of Roman gensdnrmes at Con . seliee ; a third , who was fighting by his side , and had been severely wounded , succeeded in making his eHeape by swimming across a river .
The Pope has determined to grant only a limited number of passports to truvellers desirous to visit London at the timo of tin ; World ' s Exhibition . None but Cardinals and Bishops will be sent over to this country . The King of Naples , as we Raid in a previous number , will allow none of his subjects to visit us . No traveller in expected from Naples , except that mnuvaia r / nvre . mcnt , the Duke of Parma . At the church of St . PriiHHede , at Rome , a preacher has been interrupted in the boat of his discourse by a bombshell fulling from the roof of the church and bursting in the midst of bis audience . There whh a universal run , and a terrific ! crush at tho doors . This was most probably the dwd of koiho Roman wag of the Daly school .
For the rest , the news from Italy is destitute of interest ; . At Rome the " Congregation" has conferred on a hw books the honour of inscription in the 44 Index . " At Florence , PUtoia , and Pisa the 23 rd
of March has been kept holy in commemoration of the fatal battle of Novara , and funeral masses have been said in honour of the brave men who fell in that Piedmon tese 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 Venice on the 27 th , and on the same day , we are told , at the suggestion of Marshal Radetzky , issued orders for the restoration of the free port of that city . He was 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 Papa ] 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 and Novara . 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 Woo'd 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 under 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 peisons , either native or foreign , who should have taken vows in foreign countries , contrary to the above-stated regulations .
The Piedmontese papers announce the almost daily arrival of Hungarian refugees from Lombardy . It seems that Ridetzky pays these brave soldiers , who alone decided the fate of Italy and of the Austrian Empire in 18-18-49 , with unnecessary harshness . They are consequently driven for shelter to Switzerland , whence not a fi-w of them had made their way into Genoa , with a view to embark for South America . As they h : ul , however , no means to defray the expenses of the voyage , the Sardinian Government sent them back to Switzerland , whence , it is hoped , they will be directed to France , destined for active service in Algeria . The ( Uizetta Ticittesr of the 26 th publishes some important diplomatic notes between the Sardinian and Swiss Governments on that subject .
The Italian and other refugees in the Canton Ticino have been forcibly removed to the ( Jcrrnan cantons . Some French ( among them the famous Serjeant Doichot , Plleigcr , Felix Py . it , ike ) , and twenty-four German refugees , have been actually driven out of Switzerland . The Germans are allowed to embark at Havre for America . How the French themselves are to make their exit docs not appear . The Italian refugees at Paris have been subjected to vexatious domiciliary visits during the closing days of last Week . Amongst them Montanclli and Mnzzoni , from Tuscany , Pianciani , from Rome , Cariui , of Palermo , and Cernuschi , of Milan . Nothing hns been / bund at their residences having ( lie least tendency to prove their implication in any
revolutionary plot either against France or R ; ily . Two of them , however , Carini and Mdzzoni , hiul received order to quit . France within twenty-four hours , but the order has been countcriniiiulrd . The 'l ' urkiwh Government in also « oro troubled on the subject of foreign refugees . Deinhinnki has left Constantinople , and his arrival in Puriu is already announced . The Port *; loudly protests that it only had engaged itnelf to the safe keeping ol the prisoners « tt Kutayeh for one your , and th . it being expired it insists now on itn right to rclras <; tbem without exception . Tho American MiniHter Iuih often repeated his request to bo allowed to claim the illuHtrious exiles for hin own country . Tho insurrection in Bosnia is described os framing
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Aphil & , 1851 . ] fEfl ip 3 Lt&t ! tt . 313
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), April 5, 1851, page 313, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1877/page/5/
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