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ask, "How came that which you say you had only known three weeks, to be your reason for breach of faith more than a year and a half ago? How comes the date of your breach of faith to be,—not the knowledge of that fact, but the knowledge of your wife s legacy from her mother? How came you prominently to bring forward this matter of Lord Melbourne's unsecured annuity, as the cause of your conduct in March, 1852, when you now assure us, you only became aware of it while examining your wife's private account at her bankers, in August, 1853? You examined that account in order to defend actions brought by your wife's creditors? You were then already disputing the contract at law with her? On what plea? Certainly not on the plea of Lord Melbourne's annuity; for you say you did not know she had it. You were preparing your defence without that fact? You learned it,—in addition,—only two or three weeks before the action? That is your statement. And that being your statement, is it possible you do not see, that you have proved your wife's case? That you have proved, that the Melbourne annuity was not your reason (if, indeed, any reason could justify dishonesty); that her mother's legacy was your reason; and that being justly conscious of the shame your real defence would entail upon you, you substituted a fictitious defence, which you thought might throw shame upon her, and prevent, by its confused details, that public condemnation of your fraud, which you felt it must otherwise incur."
There are fifty other such discrepancies; but I will not enter into them; I will not answer Mr Norton's letter twice. I solemnly declare his assertions respecting Lord Melbourne, my mother, my brother, and my sons, to be all, altogether, and equally, untrue; and as my sons cannot be expected publicly to contradict him, I can only hope that what is said respecting them, will be weighed in the scale with all that is said (and utterly disproved), of others. I will not discuss his cruel mention of them; bitter as the temptation is. I give my
