The Yelverton marriage case : Thelwall v. Yelverton : comprising an authentic and unabridged account of the most extraordinary trial of modern times, with all its revelations, incidents and details : specially reported.
- Avonmore, William Charles Yelverton, Viscount, 1824-1883.
- Date:
- 1861
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: The Yelverton marriage case : Thelwall v. Yelverton : comprising an authentic and unabridged account of the most extraordinary trial of modern times, with all its revelations, incidents and details : specially reported. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.
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![Many letters ? Yes. How many, do you know, until you saw her nc.xt ? I don’t know. You saw her next at Leith ? Yes. Did you make her any promise, in the intenml, between the time she left Balaklava and the time you saw her in Leith .? A promise that I would go see her in the Bosphorus. Did you get this letter from her—“ In truth I am not friends with you Mr. Carlo; and yon never shall sit on my divan again imtil you fulfil the promise better that you made there ?” I have no doubt that I did. What docs the divan refer to ? Hand me the letter (witness reads the letter.) What does the divan refer to there ? Ho answer. Did you ever sit on a divan in the convent of Galata with Teresa (Longwortb ? It was a sofa she eat upon. Is it called a divan ? The Turks call a thing they sit upon a divan. Well, did you sit with her on something at Galata ? On a sofa. What the Turks call a divan ? No answer. Why don’t you answer Because I don’t know—that is m} reason. Didn’t you swear that the Turks call what they sit upon a divan? Yes, but that was not a Turkish place at all—it is a French place. Is Galata in France ? It was in a French convent, but it is in Turke]'. Did you sit at Galata on a divan or sofa ? I sat on a sofa. Upon your oath does not “ divan” in that letter refer to that sofa ? I think it does. Sir ; the letter is written figuratively. Take it again in your' hand. “ You shall never sit on my divan again till you fulBl the promise you made to me”—what does that promise refer to? I recollect no promise. It is my opinion that was written in a figurative manner. 'Turn to page 89 of the book. In the letter beginning Cara Teresa you will find these words,— “ If, on reflection, I find that I had placed myself in a false position with regard to 3'ou, one of all others the most painful to me—namely, that I had promised to you to do more than I could have performed when the time came”—what was that promise, upon your oath ? Witness (after some hesitation)—It was a promise to live a good deal with her, and the whole of our future connection was pointed at. It had been arranged that we were to go abroad and to live together, but we were not to be mairied. I had promised to do more than I could perform when the time came. I had promised to spend more time with her than I found I could do, as it would involve too much absence from my friends and from mv duty. “ When the time came”—what did that mean ? WTien she could come to live with me. When was that letter written ? The letter was written some time in Ma}^ or June, 1857. Look now at her letter where she says “ I have been dreaming ever since. I cannot bear it. You know it is not in nature, and you swore before God, and you will not perjure yourself.” Wliat does that mean ? It is a very strong expression on the part of Miss Lougworth. I have no recol- lection of swearing with any solemnity before God, anything. Anything at all ? Anything at all. You never swore anything before God with her ? I have no recollection of doing so. At any time ? Except it be to protect and love her under the unfortunate circumstance of the impossibilit}' of our having any better connection. Do you think the wmy to protect and lore a woman is to hold her- as your mistress, and throw her off when you like—is that jmur protection and love ? The protection and love that I meditated at that time. Then call it by some other name, and do not degrade those words by attaching to them so vile a meaning—find me some other name for your design ? Passion. She says “You swore before God, and j-ou will not perjure yourself.” You say that this is a figurative expression, and that you never swore solemnlv—did you swear at all ? I have no recol- lection of swearing at all. But you might have done so ? No ; I do not think I might. And this promise of yours—“that you hfid promised to do more than you could perform w’hen the time came”—was the protection and love you would give to this lady as your mistress, so that }'ou could fling her off whenever you liked. Is that so ? I had no intention of throiving her off. But intentions are dangerous things. You know you did so ? True. Can you teU how many letters passed between you and Teresa Lougworth from the time she esoimed from you in Balaklava till j'ou saw her again at Leith ? I can’t tell. Were there fifty, do j'ou think ? No, I don’t think so. Well, there is a good large bundle of them there. What time did you first see her in Leith, in 1857, after she had left Balaklava ? At the end of January or the beginning of February. Had you told her before that, or written to her, that she would be welcome in Edinburgh if she came ? I had written a small sentence to her in Italian to that effect. Did you write these words to her—“ Sei la ben venuta”—before she came to Edinburgh ? I wrote that to her, to the best of my recollection, on her coming to England. What is the translation of “ Sei la ben venuta ?” It is the ordinary expression of welcome m Italian. Is it not “Be thou the welcome one ?” It is a familiar welcome. Again, I .ask you, is not “ Be thou the welcome one” a fair translation of it ? It means Be](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b28408214_0088.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
