THE WICKED DUCHESS OF KINGSTON.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 2628, 26 August 1876, Page 3

THE WICKED DUCHESS OF KINGSTON.

The notorious Duchess of Kingston is one! of the most interesting persons in ouroriminal annals. Bold, beautiful, and licentious, she is a fair typo of the Ray lady of that loose time when " George the Third was King." It is just a hundred years since the oon« elusion of the famous trial whioh made her name a household word for all that a woman should not be. Wraxall, dealing with the narrative, relates soveral anecdotes about the lewdness of the times. We will seleot one of thoso, whioh is taken in its turn frond Horace Wai pole. Lady Worsley, sister of the Countess of, Harrington, says Wraxall, ran away with an officer, and her husband, Sir Richard Worsley, oommenoed' an aotion against the seducer. Lady Woraloy, desirous to save her last favourite, called as witnesses thirty-four gentlemen of the higher classes to swear that they had enjoyed her favours. Twenty-seven of them really appeared in Oourt, but only a few of them were examined ; for one of them stated that the plaintiff bad once taken him on his baok to see his lovely wife through a window in her bath. The jury displayod their appreciation of Sir Eiohard's oonduot as a husband by giving him a shilling damages. It was during a period in whioh this was possible that Miss Ohudleigh, afterwards Duohess of Kingston, lived at Plumstead as one of tho notorious beauties of the time. Copper-plates may still be seen in the possession of private individuals representing the lovely Miss Ohudleigh in the costume, or rather no oostutno, in whioh she appeared at a fanoy ball given by tho Venetian ambassador). It is about as full dress as Evo wore on her expulsion from Piradigo. Contemporaries supply us with characteristic anecdotes. ' Tho masked ball to.>k place in 1749, and Miss Chudleigh appoarod at it as Iphigenia. Her dross was so classically antique, that, as a young lady expressed herself in a letter, " ths taorifioing priest might easily inspect th6 ontrails of the viotim." Horace Walpole wittily says, " sho more resembled an Andromeda than an Iphigonia," ThoPrincois of Walos, nor mistress, horrified at this display, threw with her own hands a veil over Miss Ohudloigh's shoulders. Th« young lady was not in tho slightest abashed by this; she simply folded tho veil ol&ssically round her. \ The king, at that time 67 years of age, was oharmed with the fair one, handed her a gold wfttoh worth 85 guineas, gave her mother an appointmont at Windsor, and asked a kiss ip thanks, which ho took in the presence of the whole Court* • When she was a duchess, widow, ana possessor of a princely fortune, she undertook f triumphal procession through Europe; or whioh many, characteristic anwdotesare tola. On arriving at Calais for tho first t!md, she put an advertisement in iho paper fora travelling companion. Tho first gentleman wh^> offered himself pleaoed her so, that, strangely enough, he watt permitted to accompany her through the whole tour. She sailed to Bom* in x\£Fj9W'' : SsstotA WftV «* oße pope. M^m*«fwWtvs? • h wMnnf'Mt? 111 !? Frederick 11. fd late snown" her groat politeness' at

Berlin act! Potsdam. Though her spring and summer were so brilliant, in the autumn of her days she was destined to meet with contempt, and even accept charity. Trusting in the pride of her beauty, she for* got that in thirty yean the laws oSworality had ohaaged for the better in her natire land. Miss Elizabeth Ohudleigh, bom in 1720, was the daughter of Colonel Thomas Ohudleigh, the yonngest son of a family whioh was greatly respected in Devonshire. It does net appear that this branoh was specially favoured by fortune ; but Miss Elizabeth, richly endowed with beauty and wit, managed to find the path that led to fortune. There were many obstacles in the poor girl's way, but she was indefatigable in making friends, and was eventuallyappointed maid of honour to the Princess of Wales, daughter- in* law of George 11. We hare seen from the preceding anecdotes that this court was not exactly a school of morality. We are told that Miss Ohudleigh, in addition to other leveadventurei, agreed to marry the son of a duke? but the match was off through romantio accidents. The records mention nothing of this; they begin first in 1744, when she fell ia lore with a young naval officer, Augustus Hurley, son of Lord John, and grandson of John, Earl of Bristol. Relatives of the young lady favoured the connection, and they made a secret marriage. Before long, however, they broke it off by mutual consent. The so-called, or real husband, who had been at sea for years, did not trouble himself much whether the lovely Elizabeth were his wife or not, until circumstances changed with both of them. We read, though it is not mentioned in the trial, that after a while Miss Ohudleigh thought it advisable to destroy all proof of the ill-starred marriage. It had taken place in a small village church, and with her own hand she removed the page from the register. Some time after, however, the father of her husband died, and the latter became heir to the Earl of Bristol. She anxiously collected all the proofs again, and wrote in her own hand the notice whioh she had previously, abstracted from the church books. Be this as it may, the trial proved the following facts : — Both husband and wife, with riper years, felt a mutual desire to be liberated from their fetters, and marry again, or be free. For this purpose they contrived to come closer together and consult how their marriage could be broken off legally. These consultations were largely discussed in the report of the trial, for they formed the basis of the charge. At first, Harvey wished to apply for a divorce on the grounds of adultery on the part of his wife, and he had no necessity Jo, seek for proofs, as they were at bis servioe on all sides ; he only required to select the one that suited him best. The lady, however, declined this, and found an easier way of settling matters. After various consultations, she— the maid of honour of fifty years of age— demanded the annulment of the marriage, while he ostensibly sought to show its validity. But his proofs were so defective or so weak that his objections were repudiated, and the lady gained the day. The Ecclesiastical Court deolared that no marriage had taken place between them, and both parties were at perfect liberty to marry again as they pleased, Miss Elizabeth, in the meanwhile, had favoured and dismissed a multitude of adorers, until, in riper years, she entered into a oloser conneotion with the Duke of Kingston. He was very riob, had no children, and was probably an enervated and weak old man. Miss Ohudleigh was for years kept by him aa a mistress, and neither the Court of the pious George 111., nor Augustus Harvey had any objeotion to offer. In 1768, after the Ecclesiastical Court had deolared her marriage with Harvey annulled, the duke married his mistress. Two years latter he died, without any posterity, leaving, so it is said, his whole fortune to his wife. Others say, however, that he favoured his widow more than his natural heirs liked. The latter, the duke's nephews, with Charles Manvers, the elder, at their head (who presently acquired all the duke's estates, and was raised to the peerage in 1788 as Earl Manvere), had already prepared for this event, and collected proofs of the former marriage of the dowager-duohets. In order to rob her of all the fruits of her inheritance, they went more radically to work than by merely assailing the will. They acoueed her of bigamy. The duohess, not knowing how seriously she was accused, or, perhaps, not caring for it, was travelling in Italy when the charge was brought agaitst her, and must appear in person if she wished to save herself. Her enemies expected that she would be frightened, and not put in an appearance, and for that purpose tried to strip her of the money for her travelling expenses. Her banker hesitated about paying her a sum of money, but Elizabeth appeared before him, pistol in hand, and he very soon paid up. Thus she appeared in London, prepared and determined to do her u'mott. But the tragedy was destined to be preceded by a farce. As if she had not given the townsuffioient matter fortalk, vexation, and malice, she dared a paper warfare with tbe most dangerous of opponents, Samuel Foote. This witty, but unscrupulous playwright, bad learned from a former confidante of tha duohess some piquante adventures of her private life j and he worked them up in a farco, in which the Duchess of Kingston would appear on the boards under the name of Lady Kitty Crocodile When all was prepared, the author let her know what she had to expect, and, at the same time, was impudent enough to intimate that, if she paid him £2000, he would euppress the piece According to report, tho duchess began bargaining with the dangerous man, and offered him £1,600 ; for whioh turn, however, he would not surrender hi» wares. Fortunately for her the Lord Chamberlain interfered, and, on being informed of the scandalous cnturo of tbe farce, he prohibited it. When Foote prepared to print it, the Duohesß managed to prevent its publication by threatening him with an action for libel. Footo wrote her a letter stating that the matter was at an end, which sbe was so foolish as to send to tbe papers. This naturally led to a reply from Foote, and, though the lady was not ohoice in her language, she got the wortt of the affair. [ Tho trial for bigamy was to have takefa place in the Court of King's Benoh, bujt the duchess had it removed to the House of Lords, by appealing to her marriage with i peer of tbo realm. The trial commenced ob April 16, 1776, and old Westminster Hall hafl rarely colleoted a more atistooratio audienc< . Even Queen Charlotte war present, with the young Prince of Wale*, and four other obile • ren. Tfao dowager pachsjte of K'*ng»toi , though regarded at a prisoner, was treats i with all the respect due to theiiiidcnr.of t> peer. She was dressed in dejp jno&ninjgp>ii t hardly a tiaco of her on»,enpi*w?tiDg *»■£ WMTUiWfI !

Hannah More, who was preseul^'teJlg qsj that, had it not been'for her white fao*. ate might easily have been taken for a bal* of bombasin. Still, she behaved herself pie. perly, and not without dignity, and he? presence of mind did cot desert her for anon***. We have already described all the* eueg*** stances as proved at the trial by the witness**, and need only add that the Lords naapi< nwrasly brought her in " Guilty." Only one, the Duke of Keweattle, proposed to add, " Guilty, but only in error, not purposely.*. In conclusion, the Duchess handed .in. a> petition, claiming the benefit of peerage, infltout which she would have been branded m the hand. The Lords consnltfd on fc hi* p*ist^ but at length gave it in her favour, ancTse) Lord Sigh Steward discharged the pntoofr, telling her that her conscience would be lpr severest punishment, and recommending ft** not to come there again on a similar Thus this' remarkable trial ended onthe eighth day, and the duohess was conveyed, in a fainting state, to her carriage. She at ooee quitted England, and died some twenty jmn later, we believe, in Bussia.