Breach of Promise by a Lady.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVI, Issue 3, 5 January 1904, Page 4

Breach of Promise by a Lady.

JILTED MAN OBTAINS £250. A remarkable breach of promise action came before the London Sheriff's Court for the assessment of dmages, in which the usual roles were reversed—the lady being the defendant. Mi Frank Knight, a bicycle dealer, was the plaintiff, and his claim was eyainst Mrs Kirardo, who, when he lirst met her in 1898, wa3 Miss Constance Van Per Bergh, her father being a prosperous City merchant, nail residing at Stake Nowingcon.

Plaintiffs counsel, Mr Haddon Chambers, said he thought the jury wc-aXi aglree with him that his client luuJ been tieaUJ ih a very heartless fashion. The lady's father had at lirst no objection to Mr Knight as a son-in-kiw, except that his position might be belter, and conseojjently Mr Knight took n cycle lysines*) at Tulse-irill, und began to make a position for himself. The (.'■judgement was delinitely made in 1900. A very laige number of love letters passed between the parties, airji on July 23, 1900, the lady wrote :

My Dearest. —1 am feeling so unhappy that t thought 1 would write to you a few lines to see if 1 shall ftel better for unburdening my mind. . , , Darling, suppose papa does not give his consent, will you marry life) without at the end of or any time before Blanche's (her sister) we&iing ; it will be the middle of OctcJUer f As, if papa does not consent, I cannot possibly be p.reseut at the nodding, and have everytx-Jy sym<pa.t'hising with me. Dearest, you do wot know how unhappy lam at home. J haive always tiwd to ihsgtuise the fart from you. ... I am quite willing to live over the shop for at loa6t 12 months. ... 1 think it i/cst to tell him (her father) what 1 think of doing, ami then it will be KMHe time to take the bull by the -Uorrns. If he sees we intend to take the matter into our own haicids I think, he will then be obliged to give tit. It will be iiuposa'}ble for lire to wait until nc-xl August, as 1 cannot possibly live at home after telling papa what I intend to do. I ehall hujve to go away somewhere, so 1 come to you lirst.—Your laving little sweetheart, Connie.

In a letter written on Oct. 21, 1900, the' lady me.U'jwied incidentally that she was "going into dinner wltt Joe Uicaido, so you need not be jealous. Heaps of love to yourself, from your very own Connie." Mi- Ilicnido, it was explained, was a friend of the plaintiff, who was then a-ading for the Bar. A letter of Oct. 27 ran :—"I am suiliiug you a piece of Blanche's wi.jjing cake to Tulse-hill. If you IM a piece untfer your pillow you will dream of your future wife. 1 •Au-esay you will dream about her without doing so. 1 find I dream of my future h-ustend very often, and 1 never had wedding cake under my pillow."

In another epistle she said she bad teen doing some cooking, and "thought you prefer me practising on tho people here rather than on .vou." (Laughter.) On Maivh 28 she wrote ;—"I have tA-tai like a mad woman nil day ; 1 do not know what to do with ~'iysvlf. Vou must get someone to lend .Vdu the £2OO. ... If you will do this thing for me 1 will marrv yom whenever you appoint the day." Two days later plaintiff received" a tekignom, "Arrange for marriakne immediately. Write to Alice what arraj.^rl.—Connie."

Plaintifl arranged for tihe marriage to take place at the registrar's, but the lather found out what was occurring, and persuod.vi the young couple to wait another s-ix months. Matters even went ho iar as for Mr V,aai Uer ltej a h to ask 'lie plaintiff ivhetlrer he would mind tang wan-fid in d svtiaeogue llauntifl said that he would not let o0 religions stai.t.l In tlw wav so it <.ouU not be savd that iie ' was a ■■'•got. (Laughter.) After the plaintiff, counsel said hmimado the premises at Tulse-liili ready for• the reception ofhisintmd«J. budo he received, in July Last, a letter frcau her bivalcing off the enliMigpiiieirt, pleading t,lml she h u d U*n toil that it would cau.se her inother to have a lit of apoiilexy if *e married plaintiff, as her L.t tod died of that complaint. Plaintiff wrote saying that she wished de.endant every happiness, but was effected at't'he UnTlZl had taken. He was, however astounded when two months later he ment of Miss Van Der Berth's marriage to Mr liirardo bos. and boa- out Mr Hadclon Chambers' statements. In cross-ex Van Iter ]*»*. SU i d lha . t hw ' lt *, n.t his daughter off with a sh 1, «' f »hc married him, amd he k, w «mt her mother was- against the marriage. 6""» i the

«».* ; ' thc «*oteniiant's f aU „,,. M, K ?." rst Wd <» '899 t at iyr. He told plaint II that it Wuu - nftculow, thing for nim to a umrrymff defwrfaat, aaid XLf him the house. would HNH»«M er^ tj8 d JJ rt he PWnWs po.ittn it never dud, a„d he always refused h£ «. His darter vv o u,d,o have had a cent if s i w h(ui married kraown his daughter all his life but nMnwAl Aufluet last, after the affair teTtß» $ K»Pgj,t 'jp'

Van Der Hergh was at an end, and he had witiness' consent. In crossMsxaiiiiimlion witness admitted that. Mr Ricardo contributed to the marriage- settlement. Mis daughter was not in love with Mr Ricardo while engaged to .Mr Knight, but she married him within two months of his asking. Counsel : Kather a quick change ? —Witness: (iirls aiv funny. (Laughter). Counsel : 1 agree with you.

Witness added that be never nskod Mr K»ig)H if lie would he married in a synagogue. He thought Mr Knight wwnitdd witness' datigHiter for the money she would have, and told him so.

The umder-sheriir said that this was the first case of the kind (hut, had ever come before him, Out the law said that a man was entitled to damages us much as a woman for breach of promise if the man had the temerity to bring the action. Tiie jury, after a very short consultation, awarded the plaintiff £2.")0. Judgment accordingly.