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344

CASES

FROM

THE

OLD

ENGLISH

LAW

REPORTS.

I. FRAUD ON MARITAL RIGHTS.1 BY A. WOOD RENTON. MARY BOWES, the daughter of a wealthy English gentleman, with a mansion house and a valuable collection of plate, books, medals, jewels and pictures, be sides other real and personal property of a great variety of forms, became entitled on her father's death to a life interest in it all. The hand of a lady so richly endowed was naturally an object of desire, and in a short time Miss Bowes became Countess of Strathmore. There were five children of the marriage, three sons and two daughters. In March, 1776, the Earl of Strathmore died, and in the beginning of the following, year the Countess, who was then about to marry a Mr. Grey, executed with his knowledge and consent a settlement, securing her property to her own use, independent of the control of any future husband. Mr. Grey was not destined, however, to become the husband of the Countess of Strathmore. There was at that time in the army a half-pay Lieuten ant—Andrew Robinson Stoney by name— who, being in "greatly distressed circum stances,'' was exceedingly anxious to fill the position. He adopted an ingenious method of compassing his end. He secured the in sertion in a number of newspapers of attacks on the lady's character, and then pretended —and of course had the pretence brought to the Countess's knowledge—to engage in duels for the purpose of vindicating it. Hav ing thus created in the Countess's mind feel ings of gratitude towards himself, Stoney proceeded to turn them to the desired account. One evening a message was con veyed to the Countess that her gallant cham pion, who had been warring as usual in de fence of her reputation, was lying mortally wounded at his lodgings in St. James

Street, and that if she wished to see him in life she must come at once. The Countess went. The spectacle that awaited her had been arranged with a considerable appreciation of dramatic effect. Stoney was lying on a couch apparently in great torture. Address ing the Countess in a low and languid tone of voice he thanked her for her condescen sion in coming to see him, told her that he had only twenty-four hours to live and that, if she would but consent to marry him, he would gladly sing his Nunc dimittis. With the self-abnegating enthusiasm to which even widows with five children are sometimes subject, the Countess consented, and next morning the marriage was celebrated—the dying bridegroom being carried to church on a litter. Having gained his immediate object Stoney was not long in pursuing his advantage. A few days sufficed to heal his feigned wounds. He assumed the name of Bowes and brought to bear on his wife, for whom of course he had made no provision on his marriage, and of whose ante-nuptial settlements, placing every penny of her prop erty beyond his power to touch, he only learned afterwards—every available sort of undue influence to induce her to revoke the instrument which stood in the way of his pe cuniary ambitions. Angry words, threats, indignityand blows followed each otherinquick succession. Soon the spirit of the lady was utterly broken. She signed parchment after parchment without knowing or caring what she was doing, and Bowes acquired that full control over her heritage which in the ab sence of settlements husbands had in the old 1 Bowes v. Bowes, 1797, 6 Brown P.C. 427: Eng. Rep. 2H. L. 1178.