REMARKABLE BREACH-OFPROMISE CASE

Otago Witness, Issue 2817, 4 March 1908, Page 15

REMARKABLE BREACH-OF-PROMISE CASE

A SOCIETY SCANDAL. CURIOUS- OOELAP&B. What is commonly, ' if snobbishly, 6poken of. as* either "society" or "the fashionable world " has been greatly exercised* recently over a remarkable breach-of -promise case, which unexpectedly came to a curiously sudd«n and! abrupt close: Various factors- oonabined to- aecenutate the interest «id' «pnsaiaon*lism of the case. First among' these was* the High social position of the tvwr litigating persons ; a second prominent feature was the singular disgracefumess of the circumstances-; a third was the extraordinary beauty of .the plaintiff; a £6ua*h. may ba feund in tEe fact' that theh defendant proved ta have been long secretly married to a very pretty and popular ILendon actress. Mere, then, might be found a> whole- bundle of brilliant sensations for trie delectation of ' "society." The plaintiff in what promised to be the great cause cel'ebre of the- year was Mrs Atherton, tKe beautiful society divorcee ; the defendant was Captain Yarde Buller, eldest eon of Lord Churston and husband of: the charming Miss Denise Orme. The peculiar turpitude of~ the case consisted in the face that while yet? the- wife of Colonel Atherton, the plaintiff commited misconduct with the present defendant, Captain Yarde Boiler; and- that the promise of marriage which formed the basis of this aation was the avowed condition upon which she agreed to accept the disgraceful position involved. Colonel Atherton, in due course, obtained a divorce from his faithless wife, who afterward claimed from Captain Yarde Buller the fulfilment of that promise which had been conditional upon her obtaining her freedom from her husband. There was virtually no doubt as to the promise having been made. The real question to be determined was whether a promise made in such circumstances could possibly be held ■ valid either as a matter of law or as a question ofc " public policy," and of the interests of public, morality as ( taken account of in certain respects by the ' law-, apart from the mere letter. Immense crowds of gaily-dressed people — men and women — rushed and scrambled and fought for admission to the court. in eager expectation of enjoying a rich banquet of moral filth. Even the privileged ones who held special cards bad much trouble in. finding' room, while outside the court there atretched along the Strand a Kuge queue of the non-favoured public, most of whom were ultimately disappointed and were— like the "rich" elsewhere— "sent empty away." I cannot pretend to be sorry for the outcome as regards these sensation-seekers, i or- to weep any bitter toare over the fact I that both those who got in and those who couldn't were alike doomed to grievous disappointment. For the whole immoral entertainment which they were so deeply j yearning for fell suddenly to pieces like a house of cards* I may mention in passing that the damages claimed by Mrs Atherton amounted .to the modest little sum of £20.000 sterling. She hasn't got 'em! The pecuniary phrase of her claim may have Deen a bit a? shere bluff or it may not. But undeniably it accentuated the importance of the isaue in the eyes of a public whose gauge and touchstone almost always is that of money-value. But also I am., bound to admit the interest of the case was enormously enhanced by one more romantio< feature — cha extraordinarj' beauty of the plaintiff. Mabel Louisa Athertxm is beyond all doubt and question one of the most beautiful women of her time. Rren the numerous portraits of her that have appeared in. the daily and 1 , weekly papers, whate' 'differing drolly one ; front another, have all, for a -wonder, com- j pletely failed to represent her as other j than a, singularly' lovely woman. Assuredly I i tun not alone in. holduts this view, for ope ! leading London^ paper-- says- <( 'the plaintiff. Mrs Atherton, glided into the court a picture of Belf-poadesfiioDt altogether charming. For slimness 6he is sylfch-lrke. But she walks like a queen — conscious of the capti- , yating* power o£ her rare beauty. A melting eye, fearless and commanding, with a flash ofr roguish humour, ia it; a perfect mouth, pensively, drooping in repose — pleadng for pity at one moment and laughing frankly at the- next; a clear complexion, innocent of all art; and the whole orowned with piled masses of dark auburn hair, riohly luxuriant — that is a thumbnail sketch oi the fair plaintiff over whose adventures in love and war the tongues of society have been clattering unceasingly. The court thrilled when she came in, as calm (but by no means a colourless) as Diana. Critical ladies on the back benches had no word but a sigh of admiration/; un in the packed. Olympus of the gallery (where one or two venturesome cameras clicked' despairingly in the dim. light) the • admiration was more open still. ' What a beauty ! ' said some voice — startlingly audible. Mrs Atherton waa dressed quietly — knowing, the nature of contrasts. A big picture hat, with a black ostrich feather sweeping over it to the tip of her ear, ke.pt her face in shadow, and sables, tossed back negligently over a sealskin coat disclosed a curve of white neck, swept with a random curl — a natural effect which, no carefully- . studied pose could possibly improve upon, however rehearsed. Taking in the situation with a sweep- of her dark eyes, and noticing, with a little shrug, of her- shoulders, innumerable artists focussing her, the lady, lowered her head, for the sanctuary of shadow, and rarely looked up afterwards." How is that " for high." as Americans put it? Fairly "tall," is it not? But allow me to quote- another sober London journalist. He prefers to put it like this : " Everyone waited impatiently for Mrs Atherton. She came at halt-past 10, a tall, slender, graceful figure- in black and sables, with lustrous copper-coloured, hair end downcast eyes, making her way through the crowd with- some embarrassment, and following the usher to the conspicuous seats on the front Bench reserved foe her and her 6tep-6ister who accompanied- her-. As she dropped into her 6eat the court buzzed with exoitement, and her costume was sorutinieed intently by every pair of feminine eyes. They could see that her hair was dressed- elaborately under the- somewhat pronounced- three-cornered black hat, which contained a single long black feather, sweeping across to her right ear: that there were little curlsr down the sides of her forehead, and an intricate scheme of curls and amber-headed nins at the back. When she removed her 6able stole the watchful women above and behind gasped

at the rope of magnificent pearls which encircled her bare white throat, above a low lace, collarstte- Two other "pearls, even , larger,, were, in her ears. These were her only ornaments. The single touoh of colour in her costume wa» a handful of purple violets, pinned effectively again3t har furs, Mrs Athearton comltf hardly hawe evolved a. more ateifcing ensemble had she tried deliberately to dress for the oecaeien " — which,, of course, she didn't! She'd "scorn the haction." The adoring 6cribe proceeds: "Her cheeks were pale at first *nd flushed afterwards with the realisation of victory. But when on two occasions she turned 1 deliberately in her seat and scanned the crowded' benches behind her. as if seeking familiar faces, there were involuntary expressions of admiration — even from the critical women who watched every movement — for she was undeniably beautiful, lifer wonderful blue eyes searched the halfi shadows of the seats under the gallery. Then she turned again toward the sworn and expectant iu£Y, and so eat. with eves intent on the sable muff which lay on the ledge before her." Here perhaps I had better pause lest I should inspire in the minds of my masculine readers a desire — which unhanpily cannot be fulfilled — <k> behold this beatific vision who must <urelv be the twentieth century impersonation of the immortal Helen of Troy! To such' a picture a. contract was clearly needed, ajid it is presented in the person of the defendant, who is slightingly described as " somewhat nervous, somewhat plump, and somewhat bald." As time passed on and extended long after the appointed hour of commencement, the crowd grew tired of the constant contemplation of Captain Yarde-Buller's bald head, and even of the back view of Mrs Atherton's. hat. They watched the clock anxiously, and displayed obvious impatience for the proceedings to begin. Sir Edward Carson and Mr Rufus Isaacs came in. whispered with their respective clients, and— went out again. The judge's chair remained vacant, and as the clock hand crept round dreadful rumours of a compromise filled the wearied spectators with despair. Eleven o'clock ca-me, and no sign of either judge or counsel. The worstv was feared. Ten minutes later, however, Sir Edward Carson and- Mr Rufus Isaacs, who had been in consultation, re-entered and settled themselves in their seats in front of their juniore as if they meant to stay. Mr Justice Darling also appeared. Then Sir Edward Careon opened' a formidable document, took a long drink of water and readjusted his gown with the air of a. niM- about to make a long- speech. The waiting crowd was reassured. They concluded that there had been no settlement and that they were to have Mrs Atherton's story from the witness-box after all. Never were a number of confiding, if prurient, people, more egregiousiy sold ! All they got, after their tedious wait and squash, was a brief opening statement by Sir-Edward Carson, the lady's counsel, the reading of two or three love-letters of the stereotyped breach-of-promiso order, a concise announcement that a settlement had been arrived at, Mrs Atherton having consented to forgo her £20.000 damages on condition that Captain Yarde Buller would confess he had made and broken the alleged promise, and would pay all cost 6. Secondly, that i Captain Yarde Buller had agreed to these terms — and would admit that he had mude the promise and had broken it. But then the judge, Mr Justice Darling — what a delightfully appropriate name for the man who had to try" such a case ! — had to get hie innings. It was all very well for the plaintiff and" defendant to settle up matters in that agreeable way, but there was a/legal side which- yet had to be faced. An. entirely new point was raised by the ciroumstanoes — a point which, , strangely enough, had never before come : up, or at anyrate had never yet been definitely decided. That is to say, Can a valid promise of raarriace pass between two people if either, or both, of them be already married and have a living undivorced partner, albeit 6uch promise would- not ha»ve «ffect until the death or divorce of such, partner or partners. That ia to say, could: a valid betrothal exist between. Mrs Atherton, who had a still living- husband from whom she was not yet divorced, and Captain Yarde Buller, with whom she had been guilty of misconduct, and whose promise was that he would, wed her so^ soon as she became free from the husband, she- had betrayed ? Mr Justice Darling hinted pretty plainly that had this point come before him for decision he would have felt bound to rule that a valid pjromise could not exist in_ such circumstances, as although not spec?" ally discountenanced by statute law, the whole tendency of common law was to withhold sanction from suoh arrangement as "contrary to public policy" and to publio morals. As matters stood, he .simply gave judgment in favour of the plaintiff with full costs, but without damages. Never, I should think, was seen such a. chop-fallen and disconsolate procession of disappointed would-be sieht-seers as that which slowly filed" out of the court when the brief proceedings closed. It was noticed that almost everyone turned round to obtain a last glimpse of "the beautiful woman who made 6uch a radiant picture in the sombre court room and who still smiled so happily as ehe stood with flushed cheeks watching everybody depart."