"Town "has been delighted this week by another scandal. Mr.
C. W. Adams, litterateur of fifty, proposed to Miss Cole- ridge, daughter of the Lord Chief Justice, and was accepted. Lord Coleridge objecting to the engagement, Miss Coleridge left her father's house, and sought employment as a music- mistress. Irritated by this, Mr. Bernard Coleridge, brother of the lady, addressed an absurdly violent letter to his sister, in which, besides condemning her conduct, he warned her that Mr. Adams had eloped with his previous wife, a minor, had ill-treated her, and in his suit to herself was only seeking money. Miss Cole- ridge showed this letter to her suitor, who, after demanding an apology, brought an action for libel, which came on on Thursday week. Mr. Justice Manisty asked the plaintiff, out of consideration for "one whom he was bound to respect," to refer the whole matter to an eminent arbitrator; but Mr. Adams refused. At the trial, on Friday and Saturday, he produced witnesses who disproved the charges about his first wife ; but offered no evidence to show that Mr. B. Coleridge had made his charges in bad faith and without authority. As letters of advice to sisters are privileged communications, the Bar ex- pected a non-suit; but Mr. Justice Manisty said there might be evidence of malice, and referred the matter to the Jury, who speedily returned a verdict for the plaintiff, with 133,000 damages.
Previous page
