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and her little purse. Mrs Rudd thanked her, told
her she was in no want of money, on the contrary she was in
a condition to reward her liberally for one f very essential
piece of service it was in her power to do for her.
When this service came to be explained, it was, to get
a lesson Mrs R. had invented, and swear the forgery
upon Sr Tho: Frankland and Mrs R. Perrau.
For this service 900£ was offer'd or even £1000. And
to quiet her conscience, — the fact was true, only there
unfortunately wanted evidence. The poor woman astonished,
and not knowing what to make of it, gave
no definitive answer, but went and told her husband.
Her husband is a Carpenter, who works every now and
then for Mr Gilliess, and who told Mr G. this
story. This happened about 6 weeks ago. I have
not seen it yet in print. However I have seen
it in the papers that a Bill has been found against
Mrs Rudd for subornation.
Two other passages of domestic life have since
that engaged the attention of the public. One is, the
death of Mr Scawen, of Woodcote in Surry, Uncle
to the member. The other is, a paper war
between the Duchess of Kingston and Foote.
Mr Scawen had kept in the house with him for
5 or 6 years past a young girl of the name of
Butterfield, whose chastity he had brought it is said of her father
at the age of 14, & whom for some years past he
had permitted to take his name. He had taken:
great care of her education, and was known
to have made a will in her favour to the amount
. For this year or two last past, he had
very declining, scerbatic, state of health.
was a young Officer, who for some time past
had been intimate at Mr Scawen's. Him
and Miss B. Mr S. it is said had encouraged
to think of making a match afte as soon as Mr
S. should die. Mr S. had for a long time been
accustomed, contrary to the persuasions of all his friends
to tamper with quack medicines. He would take
nothing but from Miss B's hands. At last being
very ill and in a state of salivation, he called
in Sanxay the Surgeon, an old practitioner, who
lives I think in Norfolk Street. Sanxay when he
saw him, and heard his story took a suspicion that he had been
poisoned by Miss B. with a mercurial poison.
Mr Schawen gave into the suspicion, and suffer'd
himself to be taken to a house of Sanxay's where
he continued for 3 weeks, and then died. On Sanxay's
evidence Miss B. was indicted last Surry assizes, but
acquitted. Notwithstanding the circumstances I have mentioned,
Miss. B. is almost universally believed innocent.
Sanxay has hurt himself very much in the affair. I
should have mentioned that while at Sanxay's house, Mr
S. cancelled the legacy he had given to Miss B. Sanxay's
known opulence acquits him of any criminal design, but
his profession charge him with great ignorance and rashness.
What is remarkable, is that all the time Mr
6)
S. was at his house, neither did he (Sanxay) call in any Physician
or Surgeon of note to warrant his proceedings, nor on the other hand did
Miss B. send any person of the faculty to inspect them, though she
knew she was suspected. On the other hand, though she might easily
have absconded, she did not. She is said to be very handsome, to
have served Mr S. with great appearance of tenderness and fidelity,
and to have born in all respects a most irreproachable character.
If innocent, her situation is truly lamentable. The revocation of the
legacy, it is said is likely to be contested, upon the ground of the
verdict, and the evidence at the trial.
The war between the Duchess and F. has served as a farce to alleviate
the horror of this tragedy. F. had taken off her Grace in a new
piece he had designed for this summer's entertainment, to have been
entitled "The Trip to Calais". The Lord Chamberlain refused to license
it. This produced an expostulatory letter from Foote to his
Lordship in the papers. Soon after appeared a letter
to the Duchess, with her answer, both published by
offers to forbear publication of the piece, out of tenderness her Grace
upon condition of her putting an end to the attacks which at her instigation,
he says have been made upon him in the papers; intimating
that she had made pecuniary offers to him which had been rejected.
The Duchess's answer betrays violent indignation with an attempt
a very awkward attempt at pleasantry. Foote was not long before he put in a reply, to
the last degree humourous and severe. The affair concluded with an
affidavit of the Revd Mr Foster, Chaplin to her Grace (our Mr
Foster) purporting that upon his calling on Mr Foote to talk with
him upon the subject by her Grace's order, Foote had offer'd to suspend
the copy for £2000. These four letters when you see England again
will afford you much diversion. It is astonishing how the Duchess could
think of descending to a personal altercation in the Newspapers with
the veteran Buffoon.
Mr Burgh, Mr Darling's acquaintance , Master of the Academy at Newington,
Author of the "Political Disquisitions", a well meant but superficial
performance of which he had just lived to publish the 3d & last
Volume, is dead.
By means of Sam's zealous and attentive friend Mr Davies, I have
lately negotiated for Mr Clark the purchase of a lot of the King's
Timber. I was at Chertsey t'other day. He is very busy clearing, cleansing
embanking and planting his two acres. But if I was in his
place I should be afraid of draining my purse of money, before I had
drained my estate of water. I think what I am going to mention was
not done before you went — he has taken Mrs Ewance's house till
Christmas, and now lives in it. She has taken Mr Wyat's, who is
gone to live in the family house upon his Mother's death.
My old friend Gwatkin, I understand is arrived somewhere in Great
Britain, but I have not seen him. He has been employd for some
time by Ld Dunmore, Gov:r of Virginia as tutor to some of his
children. The spot grew too hot to hold him, as well as his
patron. I have several times been in company with a brother-professor
of his, lately arrived from America on the same account;
on whom just before his departure he had introduced to my acquaintance
With regard to M<hi rend="superscript">rs Rudd, I should have told you, that a
few days after you left England, she published her narrative under
the title of " Facts", which has gained no more credit than Perreau's
did.
Sam will probably have new and perhaps better quarters to come to upon
his return. Mr Davies's Father Wife's Father in Law is dead. The Widow is
to live half of her time with Mr D. and on that account he tells me he is about
taking a larger house.
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Identifier: | JB/537/352/001 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 537.
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1775-09-05 |
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537 |
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352 |
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001 |
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Correspondence |
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Jeremy Bentham |
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