§ The Counsel for and against the Bill were then called in; and the Attorney General was informed by the Lord Chancellor that he might proceed to open his case.
Mr. Attorney-Generaladdressed their lordships as follows:—My lords; In obedience to your lordships' order, I now attend at your bar to fulfil the duty which your commands have cast upon me, of stating to your lordships the circumstances to be adduced in evidence in support of the charges contained in the preamble of the bill now under your lordships consideration. A duty, my lords, more painful or more anxious I believe was never cast upon any individual than that which I have now to perform. I have, my lords, to state to your lordships the circumstances which are to be adduced in evidence at your lordships bar, in support of the serious and heavy charges which are made in the preamble to the bill now under your lordships' consideration against the highest subject of this country—charges which not only reflect the greatest scandal and dishonour upon the individual against whom they are made, but also reflect great dishonour upon the country itself—the highest individual a subject in the country is charged with one of the most serious offences both against the laws of God and of man—that of an adulterous intercourse, 742 carried on under circumstances of the greatest aggravation.
My lords; upon the nature of this charge-—upon the importance of this investigation—it is quite unnecessary for me to enlarge. Your lordships, and every individual in the country, must be sensible of them. The only consolation I derive under the discharge of the duty which I have now to fulfil is this—that it calls upon me not to address your lordships' passions or your feelings upon the present occasion, but that I am sure I shall best discharge it according to your lordships' commands by abstaining from any observations which might tend to aggravate the charges made against the illustrious person, and by confining myself, in this stage of the proceedings, to a clear, simple, but full recital of the facts which are to be alleged in evidence.
My lords; we are now arrived at that period of these proceedings in which silence can no longer be preserved. It is now necessary that the charge, in its fullest extent, should be laid before your lordships and the public; and if, in the recital of the circumstances which I have to detail, I shall be under the painful necessity of bringing before your lordships scenes which must disgust every well-regulated mind—transactions which must offend the feelings of every honourable and virtuous person—I am sure your lordships will think that upon this occasion I ought to hold no reserve; at the same time taking care—as I assure your lordships I shall most conscientiously do—to state nothing which, in my conscience, I do not believe I shall be able to substantiate in proof; but to withhold no circumstance from your lordships upon which I have the same conviction. I shall, therefore, my lords, without further preface, state to your lordships, as generally and as succinctly as I am able, the painful narrative of those facts and those circumstances which are to be adduced in proof at your lordships' bar. My lords; undoubtedly that recital must include a considerable space of time, and apply to facts which took place at various places which her majesty visited during her residence abroad. I shall therefore commence my statement at the period at which the evidence adduced at your lordships bar will commence in point of proof, and proceed as well as I am able, through the detail of the various facts and circumstances which took place from that period until almost 743 the time at which I have now the honour of addressing your lordships.
My lords; it is well known to your lordships and to the country, that in the year 1814? her majesty, for reasons operating upon her own mind, and not by compulsion, as has been insinuated at your lordships' bar, thought fit to withdraw from this country for a period——
Mr. Attorney General. I am sure that my learned friends do not desire to embarrass me; I know them too well: but observations made in a tone of voice to be heard are apt to embarrass one. But appearing before so public an assembly, and with the public expectation, and with the consciousness of my inability to do justice to the trust your lordships have cast upon me, I am sure I shall receive your lordships' indulgence for that embarrassment which no man, even of stronger nerves and greater power than myself, would be able to counteract.
Mr. Brougham. My lords; I am sure I did not mean to embarrass my learned friend: I am the last man to do it: but I am sure your lordships will permit—[Order, order!] In every court it is allowed.— [Order, order!]
Mr. Attorney General.I am sure my learned friend will not believe that I alluded to him with any idea that he meant to embarrass me. I was stating, that in the year 1814 her majesty left this country for the purpose of travelling on the continent, and of visiting other countries that she had a desire to visit. She went, in the first instance, to her native country, Brunswick, and from thence, after a short interval, proceeded to Italy, and arrived at Milan I think about the 9th of October 1814. My lords; her majesty, when she quitted this country, quitted it with attendants, and with persons about her princely person—she being at that time Princess of Wales—suitable to her rank, and moving in that exalted station which one would naturally expect would be the case with persons whom she selected for her immediate attendants. She was accompanied, as might naturally be expected from an English princess, by very distinguished females of the country in which she enjoyed that high rank. Her establishment at that time consisted of two ladies of great rank—lady Charlotte Lindsay and lady Elizabeth Forbes, who 744 were her maids of honour. She was accompanied by Mr. St. Leger as her chamberlain, and by sir William Gell and the hon. Keppel Craven; who also, I believe, officiated in a similar character as her majesty's chamberlain; by captain Hesse her equerry, by Dr. Holland her physician, and by other persons in the more humble situations in her majesty's suite, whose names it is unnecessary for me to enumerate to your lordships at this period of my statement. With this suite, and thus attended she arrived at Milan. Her intention was to proceed from thence to other parts of Italy, and to visit Naples. She remained at Milan for the space of about three weeks, and during that period a person was received into her service whose name occurs in the preamble to this bill; and, my lords, whose name will frequently occur in the course of these proceedings—a person of the name of Bergami, who was taken into her service as a courier, and also to officiate in the character of a footman or valet de chambre. My lords; this person was at that time in want of employment; but he had been serving in a similar car pacity with a person, a general Pino, who was an Italian, and with whom I believe Bergami had, for some time, lived; but at the period to which I am now calling your lordships' attention, this person being in want of a situation, was, I believe, recommended to her majesty's service, and was received into her majesty's service in the character and capacity I have stated to your lordships. I need hardly remark to your lordships, that in that situation in her majesty's service, the distance which was interposed between the courier and her majesty was such, that in the natural course of life of such a high personage, the communication between her majesty and her courier must have been extremely rare and infrequent, and of course the distance interposed between them was such, that no familiar intercourse could—at least in an early stage of the service—take place under ordinary circumstances.
My lords; with the suite I have described to your lordships, composed of English ladies of high rank, and other persons whose names I have enumerated to your lordships, her majesty set out from Milan within a fortnight after this person, Bergami, was hired into her service—certainly not above fourteen or fifteen days. She proceeded from Milan to 745 Rome and from Rome to Naples, where she arrived on the 8th of November 1814. Your lordships, therefore, will perceive, from the dates which I have stated, that at the period of her majesty's arrival at Naples, this person in this situation, who had travelled as her courier through the whole course of this journey, had not been in her majesty's service more than three weeks. I beg your lordships attention to this circumstance, because your lordships will find how material it is when you come to attend to the facts which I shall have presently the melancholy duty to relate to your lordships.—I should have stated, that besides the persons who accompanied her majesty, and whom I have mentioned to your lordships, was a lad whose name is probably known to most of your lordships, William Austin—a boy at that time—upon whom her majesty bestowed particular attention. She appeared very much attached to him, and being a boy at the time I believe of six or seven years of age, he had been in the habit, from the time of her majesty's departure from England until her arrival at Naples, of sleeping in a bed in the same room with her majesty. My lords; the arrangement of the rooms and apartments of her majesty, at the different places at which she arrived devolved upon her servants, whose duty it was, to take care of that arrangement; and previously to her arrival at Naples, a private house having been taken for her majesty, that arrangement was made which had been previously made, placing the menial domestics, and Bergami the courier among the rest, in one part of the house, at a distance from that which her majesty herself occupied—rooms of course appropriated to her majesty, and one appropriated to her as her bed-room, in which room, as I have stated to your lordships, it was expected that this boy would continue to sleep as usual. On the first night of her arrival, November the 8th, to which I have called your lordships' attention, that arrangement continued. Bergami slept in that part of the house appropriated to the domestics of her majesty, in another part of the house; but, upon the following morning, November the 9th, the servants of the establishment learned with some surprise (because no reason appeared to them at the time for the change) that Bergami was no longer to sleep in that part of the house where he had slept on the night preced- 746 ing, but that a room very near to that in which her majesty herself slept, and which had a free communication with it by means of a corridor or passage between the room in which she slept, and this room which was appropriated to this person, had been, at her majesty's express desire, appropriated to this courier Bergami. My lords; I need not state to your lordships that such a fact naturally excited the surprise of those whose duty it was to attend near her majesty's person; and that surprise was not a little increased when they learned from her majesty that it was no longer her pleasure that the boy William Austin should continue to sleep in her room. She assigned undoubtedly as a reason, that which was a very proper reason, if that had been the only motive for the change, namely, that he was now arrived at that age in which it became no longer proper that he should sleep in her room, and that therefore another apartment should be provided for him, and that the practice which, up to that time, had been continued should cease.
My lords; the arrangement was accordingly made. The bed-room which I have stated to your lordships as having a very direct communication—a free communication—with her majesty's, was assigned to the courier; and, my lords, upon the evening of the 9th of November I think your lordships will believe, from the facts which I am about to relate to you, that that intercourse commenced which is charged in the preamble of the present bill, and continued from that time during the continuance of that person in her service. My lords; upon the evening of the 9th of November her majesty went to the opera at Naples; but it was observed that she returned at a very early hour. One of her maid servants who attended particularly to her bed-room happened to be present at the time of her return. My lords; she was struck with the manner of the princess. There was an air of agitation in her manner. Upon her return she hastened to her apartment. She gave strict orders that William Austin should not be admitted into her room upon that evening, She was observed to go from her room towards that which was assigned to Bergami, and to which she had previously herself retired; and she very soon dismissed her female attendant, in a manner quite novel—she told her she had no far- 747 ther occasion for her services. The female attendant retired, but not without those suspicions which those circumstances would naturally excite in the mind of any individual who had observed them. She knew that at that time Bergami was in his bed-room. This was the first alteration of the arrangement I have stated to your lordships, and placing him so near the apartment of her majesty; it was quite new that she should be dismissed in the manner in which she was; and she could not but observe the conduct and demeanor of the princess, which evidently marked there was something on her mind which the attendant had not previously observed. But, my lords, if her suspicions were excited upon that evening, they were confirmed by her observations upon the following morning. And, my lords, in any other case than such a one as that which is now to be presented to your lordships, if the evidence at your lordships bar shall prove that which I am now about to state, it would be, I apprehend, evidence upon which no jury would hesitate to come to the conclusion, that an adulterous intercourse had taken place upon that very night, between this exalted personage and this menial servant. For, my lords, on the following morning, upon observing the state of the rooms, it was discovered that it was evident her majesty had not slept in her own room on that night. The bed remained almost precisely in the state in which it had been upon the preceding day; and, my lords, the bed assigned to the other person had, to the observation of those who saw it upon the following morning, the clear decisive marks of two persons having slept in that bed.
My lords; I should state to your lordships, that these apartments of her majesty were at a distance and removed from those which were assigned to any part of the suite. My lords; upon the following morning it was perceived, that her majesty did not come from her room at the usualhour—that access to her majesty's room was not afforded; at least no one ventured to go in, until they received the necessary call or signal from her majesty, but her majesty remained in those apartments with this man Bergami in those rooms which I have stated to your lordships, until a late hour upon the following morning. My lords; her recent arrival at Naples had naturally induced persons 748 to pay that respect to H. It. H. which her rank demanded; and various persons, upon the 10th of November, called at her house for the purpose of paying her those respects. But, my lords, her majesty was not accessible until a late hour upon that morning. I have already stated to your lordships the observations which were then made upon the state of the bed that was appropriated to her majesty and that which had been assigned to the courier Bergami. My lords; I say that here upon these facts, I think no one can doubt or hesitate upon the conclusion to which they will arrive upon the case, when I come to narrate to your lordships the various circumstances which subsequently occurred; your lordships will have no doubt, I think, upon your minds, that this was the commencement of that most scandalous, most degrading, and most licentious intercourse, which your lordships will find continued and increased, from the period to which I am now directing your lordships attention.
My lords; the natural effect of such an intercourse is to alter the comparative distance of the parties—I mean the distance which ought to exist between a person of royal rank and one of her menial servants. But, my lords, when once a person of that exalted rank demeans and degrades herself to such an intimacy as that which I have described, it naturally creates, in the manner and temper of the person with whom that intercourse is formed, a freedom and an assumption which, under other circumstances, they could not venture to assume. My lords; such was the case here. It was observed by the domestics, that Bergami's conduct became more haughty—that there was an assumption of more importance—and the whole demeanour of her majesty towards this person when she was unobserved by those persons of rank and station about her, was such as convinced those who had the opportunity of observing it, that this intercourse was continued and going on between them.
My lords; a few days, I believe, after the time to which I have now called your lordships attention, her majesty gave a masked ball or entertainment to the person who at that time filled the Neapolitan throne, at a house which, I believe, belonged to the then king of Naples, and which was given by her majesty in return for the reception which 749 she had received at that court. At that masked entertainment her majesty first assumed the character of a Neapolitan peasant; but after she had remained a short time at this entertainment, she returned to the house at which she had attired herself, which was not the house at which she resided, but a house near that at which the entertainment was given, and she withdrew to a room for the purpose of changing her dress; and, to the surprise of her attendants, instead of being accompanied upon that occasion by those females who usually assisted her majesty upon those occasions, the courier Bergami was sent for, and withdrew with her into the apartment, for the purpose of this change of dress. My lords; it seems that it was her majesty's intention to appear in a character which had been, whether selected by her majesty or the wish of some other person that she should assume I know not, but she was to assume the character of the Genius of History, and she was to be accompanied by a gentleman to the entertainment, in that character. My lords; I am instructed to state to your lordships, that the dress which she had assumed, or rather the want of it in part, was an extremely indecent and disgusting character. But, my lords, the material fact to which your lordships attention is to be directed is this; that that change of dress took place in the presence and with the assistance of Bergami; no other persons being at that time present. My lords; let me ask your lordships, in stating this fact, what motive can be assigned, what reason can be given, that a person who at that time filled one of the most menial situations in her majesty's service; who waited at table behind her majesty's chair; who rode as courier before her majesty when she travelled from one place to another—I ask your lordships what reason can be assigned by any reasonable person, why this man should be selected upon this occasion—why her attendants should be discarded at this time—and why he, and he alone, is to be present at the time, and to assist her majesty in this change of dress? But, my lords, more; after her majesty had appeared in this character, she returned a third time; and she then changed her dress, and assumed that of a Turkish peasant; and this courier—this menial—is also attired in a similar dress, and assumes a similar character, that of a Turk- 750 ish peasant, I believe, and actually accompanies her majesty in that disguise to this entertainment given by her majesty to royalty, and at which the nobility and persons of the highest rank at Naples-were at that time assembled. It will appear to your lordships, that Bergami did not long remain at this place; but he returned alone, apparently mortified from some circumstance which probably had occurred at that entertainment. Her majesty returned and pressed him to go again with her, but he declined. Her majesty was much disappointed at this—returned alone, I believe, and the entertainment soon after closing, she returned to her house, where the apartments in which the servants slept were arranged as I have already stated to your lordships, and which it is unnecessary for me now to repeat.
My lords; it was observed by those whose duly it was to attend to her majesty that in the morning when she rose and afterwards breakfasted, Bergami always rose just at the same period; and, my lords, they observed, that in those apartments so situated as I have stated to your lordships, at a distance from the other apartments inhabited by that part of the suite composed as I have stated to your lordships, her majesty was daily in the habit and practice of breakfasting with this courier. Your lordships will observe, that during the whole of the period to which I am now calling your lordships attention, this man's situation in the family remained the same. He was still the courier—he wasstillthevalet-de-cham-bre,—at least still the footman; and, consequently, when her majesty dined, this man still continued to wait at the table; and therefore to those of her suite composed of the English ladies of distinction and the gentlemen of distinction I have enumerated to your lordships, at this time he appeared to them undoubtedly still in that character in which he had been hired into her majesty's service; and it was only in private and in secret, and only in the presence of those servants whose presence was absolutely necessary to perform those offices about her majesty's person which required their attendance in private—it was to them, and to them only, that at this period those familiarities were visible. But, my lords, her majesty did also occasionally walk upon the terrace which adjoined 751 the apartments which she herself occupied; and she was also seen by those persons occasionally walking arm in arm with this courier—with this menial servant.
My lords; it happened that during her majesty's residence at Naples this person met with an accident. He received some injury from the kick of a horse, and he was confined for some time to his room in consequence of that injury. My lords; he had already acquired that ascendancy over her majesty that he was enabled, even at that period, to introduce into the family a servant, and that servant, upon that occasion was selected by him for the purpose of attending upon him during this illness; and, my lords, this servant sleeping near the room in which Bergami slept, did, during the time that he was thus in attendance upon him, observe, more than once—I believe two or three times—that after all the persons in the house had retired to rest, her majesty went from her own room with great caution and great care, through the passage which I have described to your lordships, to Bergami's room, and that she remained there for a very considerable period. And I am instructed that it will be proved to your lordships, that at those times this person, after her majesty had entered the room of Bergami and had been there for a short time, heard sounds which convinced him that her majesty and Bergami were at that time kissing each other in that room in which Bergami slept. My lords; I am aware how these circumstances, disgusting as they are when detailed to your lordships, naturally excite that feeling which undoubtedly I anticipate must be excited in your lordships minds of disgust. It is with great pain I am under the necessity of doing it; but, as I have stated to your lordships, the duty cast upon me—nay, the duty cast upon your lordships—requires that I not only should state them to you—undoubtedly stating them to you with as much reserve as I can—but that I should state to your lordships those circumstances fully, that your lordships may perfectly understand the nature of the intercourse which at this time was going on between the parties, and the familiarities observed between them by those who had the opportunities of observation, and I am sure I shall not incur your lordships censure by detailing those facts, as I feel myself com- 752 pelled to do in the statement I am now making to your lordships.
My lords; her majesty remained at Naples from the month of November to the following month of March, and during the whole of that period, it will be proved to your lordships that the intimacy continued and increased between those persons. My lords; I am not at liberty, and ought not to allude to any public rumour, or any thing but what can be substantiated in proof; but it is a little singular that her majesty at her quitting Naples loses great part of that English suite which accompanied her from this country. My lords; the fact itself needs no comment; it speaks volumes to every unprejudiced mind. Your lordships will find, that on her quitting Naples, several of those persons who had attended her thither remained at Naples and ceased to form part of her suite. Mr. St. Leger, I have stated, had quitted her at Brunswick; therefore my observation does not apply to him; but, my lords, lady Elizabeth Forbes remained at Naples upon her majesty's quitting that place. Lady Charlotte Lindsay left her majesty at Leghorn, in the month of March 1815, in the course of her majesty's proceeding from Naples to Milan; but at Naples was left lady Elizabeth Forbes; at Naples were left sir William Gell and the hon. Keppel Craven; at Naples was left captain Hesse; so that of seven English persons who had accompanied her majesty from this country—one of them undoubtedly quitting at Brunswick—to whom my observation does not apply—four of the remaining six left her majesty's service at Naples.
My lords; there may be, and probably will be, reasons assigned for those persons quitting her majesty's service at that period; but I cannot but think it a little singular, that at this period she should have been quitted by so many of those attendants who had accompanied her from this country. It will be hereafter, my lords, to be explained how this took place. I cannot help thinking, however, that your lordships will at least think there is great reason to believe that although not aware—as probably and undoubtedly they were not aware—of the degrading and vicious intercourse which had taken place between her majesty and Bergami at that time, yet that probably some observations might have been made by others with respect to the familiarities between them. 753 But whether that was so or not the fact is that which I have stated to your lordships, that her majesty is there quitted by those persons.
My lords; during her majesty's residence at Naples, another circumstance well worthy of your lordships attention took place with reference to her majesty and Bergami. There was a public masquerade at a theatre in that city—the Theatre Saint Carlos, I think. Her majesty chose to go to this masquerade, and, my lords, not accompanied by lady Charlotte Lindsay, or lady Elizabeth Forbes, or any of those gentlemen who held the high situations of chamberlains in her majesty's service; but her companions on that occasion were the courier Bergami and a female servant who was a fille-de-chambre, a mademoiselle Demont—the only companions of her majesty on this occasion were those two domestics. My lords, the dresses chosen by her majesty on that occasion were, as I am instructed, of the most indecent description—of such a description, that upon her entrance into the theatre with those persons, Bergami and Demont, attention was generally excited; so much so, that they were received with considerable insult upon that occasion—I mean marks of disapprobation were shown by the persons present, insomuch that they were under the necessity of retiring; and they withdrew home hastily from that masquerade. My lords, how did her majesty go to that theatre? Not in her royal carriage accompanied, as I have stated to your lordships, by those around her who would naturally be her companions upon such an occasion, but a common fiacre was procured—they did not go out at the door, the common entrance to her majesty's house, but they crossed the garden in the night to this coach waiting at the garden gate, and these three persons in this carriage went, in the manner I have described to your lordships, to this scene; and, my lords, that took place which I have stated to your lordships, and they withdrew long before the entertainment would otherwise have ended, in consequence of the observations her dress occasioned. Perceiving that she was discovered, her majesty hastily withdrew to her house, accompanied by Bergami and Demont. Why, my lords, we have heard, in the course of what has already taken place before your lordships, some criticisms upon the language of the preamble of this bill, with 754 respect to what may or may not be called indecent or offensive familiarities: but I ask your lordships whether if what I have stated to your lordships be proved, there is any one of your lordships, or any man in the country, who can doubt that the familiarities I have described were of the most offensive and disgusting kind—whether they were such as were fitting, I will not say to a person of the illustrious rank of H. It. H. but to any woman of delicacy or virtue, of whatever rank or station? For, my lords, let me not forget to state to your lordships, that, which if I did not state now, would, in the course of a very short period of my narrative have appeared to your lordships; and that which I believe your lordships will think is no small aggravation of these offensive and disgusting familiarities, that Bergami, at the time he entered into her majesty's service, was a married man. I say, my lords, adultery perhaps can hardly be aggravated: but here is a double adultery, if adultery has been committed; and, my lords, I will show to your lordships, that her majesty was aware of that circumstance from that which, very shortly after the period to which I am now calling your lordships attention, actually took place.
My lords; I do not here again repeat that which I am afraid I shall have too often to repeat in the course of what I have to state to your lordships, the various acts of familiarity which were daily occurring between those persons; because, if I were to do so, I must be constantly repeating the same guilty conduct. My lords; it will be proved to you, that during her majesty's residence at Naples, as I have already stated to your lordships, her majesty was almost daily in the habit of breakfasting with this courier—that they were in the habit of retiring to their rooms almost at the same moment—that her majesty dismissed from her bed-room the servant who had previously attended her majesty, and assisted in taking off those habiliments which she was attired with at the time she retired to rest—that those services were dispensed with, and that this occurred which never had previously, that Bergami, of all the servants of her suite, was the only person admitted to her bed-room without being sent for, or without giving some intimation at the door; but he was admitted at all times, without ceremony and without notice: whereas no other person in her suite or establishment, at that time could venture to take that liberty. 755 My lords; as I have already stated to your lordships, the natural consequence of all this was an assumption with respect to the establishment; which your lordships will find very soon increased to that extent, that he became the lord and master of the family. That did not occur, undoubtedly, at the time he quitted Naples, except as to the one circumstance I have mentioned, of one servant being taken into the service who had been a friend and an acquaintance of his previously.
My lords; on her majesty's quitting Naples, which I believe was about the month of March, 1815, she went to Rome, where she staid a short time, I believe two or three days, at the European Hotel, and from thence to Civita Vecchia, where she embarked aboard a frigate in his majesty's service, called the Clorinde: she sailed in that frigate to Genoa, in the course of her voyage leaving lady Charlotte Lindsay at Leghorn; so that upon her arrival at Genoa she had no English lady of rank in her suite, but was at that time joined by lady Charlotte Campbell, who remained with her during the time she was at Genoa, and quitted her majesty's family in the month of May following at Milan. My lords; on her embarkment on board the Clorinde, Bergami still filled the menial situation of a courier and attendant at her majesty's table; and I mention this circumstance to your lordships, for a reason which I think you will, by-and-by, easily perceive. He waited behind her majesty's chair at the table during the voyage from Civita Vecchia to Genoa. My lords; at Genoa it was observed by her majesty's servants, that the confidence and intimacy which existed between her majesty and Bergami greatly increased, and that now he frequently withdrew at the time when it was ordinarily his duty to wait at the table, endeavouring to avoid that menial service as much as possible, accompanying her majesty in her rides and in her walks: and, my lords, at Genoa an apartment was again assigned to him very near her majesty's, and which had a communication with it; and the observation which had occurred at Naples was here made more frequently, that the bed appropriated to her majesty in her room appeared rarely to have been slept in.—My lords, so rarely, that the servant whose duty it was to make it up daily, found it unnecessary to be at that trouble; for she found it often as being little discomposed—apparently not at all 756 discomposed by a person sleeping in it. There was an appearance sometimes of the bed having been pressed down for the purpose of giving it the appearance of being slept in; but so little, that the servant contented herself by sometimes not at all touching the bed, and sometimes by only setting the counterpane or quilt right. My lords; Bergami's bed room was very near and had easy communication with her majesty's. Upon this part of the case, let me ask your lordships, why, if it was necessary, that a male attendant should sleep near her majesty, it was that one of those persons who filled the highest situations in her majesty's suite was not selected for that purpose, and how it happened, that this man Bergami, who had been known to her majesty not more than three weeks when first it took place—between whom and her majesty, except for the purpose of this disgraceful intercourse, little familiarity or intercourse could have taken place—I ask, why it was that this man was always selected to sleep near her majesty's person? How happened it that her majesty did not sleep in her own bed, and how happened it, as it will be proved to you, that Bergami's bed had frequently the appearance of two persons sleeping in it—and that her majesty was observed, as she was at Naples, to visit his bed-room after he was in bed, and to remain in that room with him for a considerable time? What, my lords, should induce a person filling the high rank of Princess of Wales to visit a common courier who happened to have received an injury—to visit him after he is in bed? Why, my lords, what reasonable, what possible cause can be assigned for this familiarity, but that which I think your lordships will believe took place, namely, that adulterous and licentious intercourse which existed between them.
My lords; I know that, upon this part of the case, it is incumbent on your lordships to be satisfied, by a reasonable evidence, that an adulterous intercourse had taken place; and, my lords, not only the circumstances that I have stated to your lordships occurred, but you will find, as the narrative proceeds, that if this evidence be not sufficient to satisfy your lordships as to the nature of the intercourse, it will be put beyond the possibility of doubt by other facts which I shall have to state to you in the course of my narrative. My lords; at Genoa again 757 began the practice I have stated to your lordships, of their breakfasting together in a retired part of the house, separate from that in which her majesty's suite resided; and here took place some circumstances which mark the power this courier was acquiring over her majesty by this degrading and disgraceful conduct of hers towards him. My lords; I have stated to your lordships that he was a married man. He had a daughter called Victorine; and, my lords, at Genoa this child is brought and received into her majesty's family. Not only the child, but a brother of Bergami's, named Lewis, was taken into the service. His sister, a person of the name of Faustina, was received into her family, for the purpose, as it was said, of assisting in taking care of this child, for whom Bergami had a great affection, and whom her majesty wished to adopt into her family. Nay, more, my lords; from the affection which this man was stated to have for one of his parents, the other I believe being dead, his mother also is removed into her majesty's family. So that at Genoa there are at once introduced his brother in a menial situation in the service, his sister, his mother, and his child, Victorine. Why, I ask your lordships, how is this to be accounted for? Is it usual in any family for a person who even for a long time has been in the service of his master or mistress, and may have faithfully performed that service—but still less for a man who has been but a few months in the service? for your lordships will find that he was received into her majesty's service at the latter end of October, 1814; but in the month of April or May, in the following year, a few short months after he has been so received into the service, his mother, his sister, his brother, his child, are all at once taken into the family, for no assignable reason whatever. When the child was taken into the family, I believe she was only of the age of two or three years—of very tender years at that time. But who is received into it to take care of the child? Your lordships would naturally suppose that a child of those tender years required the fostering care of her mother. But no, my lords, the wife is not received into the service. She remains apart from her husband—the child, the sister, the mother, and the brother are received; but the wife, who would be the natural person to take care of and to watch over the health of this infant, is 758 not received into the family, but the child is withdrawn from her care, and received into it. And, my lords (which I think greatly aggravates the case), her majesty, though she knew that Bergami was married, as I will prove to you by her own declarations at a subsequent period, represented that which one should have thought would not have added to the esteem which she might have felt for a faithful servant: she represented to some of those about her, that Bergami was not married—that this was a child he had had by some person, and that she was on that account anxious to receive this child. My lords, I say that circumstance one should have thought, to a virtuous and to a delicate mind, would not have tended greatly to increase the estimation for the menial courier. But that was no defect in her majesty's eyes. She consented to receive the child, and, as I have stated to your lordships, consented to receive it under those circumstances.
My lords; her majesty remained in Genoa until the 15th of May. She then went from that place to Milan, leaving lady Charlotte Campbell at Genoa; but I believe lady Charlotte Campbell shortly after joined her at Milan; where, however, she remained for a very short time, finally quitting her majesty's service in that month of May 1815, having joined her majesty at Genoa in the month of April. My lords; in the journey from Genoa to Milan, Bergami still accompanied her majesty's carriages as a courier; but you will remark, that lady Charlotte Campbell did not accompany her majesty in that journey, though she afterwards attended her at Milan. In the course of this journey, it was observed by the servants, that her majesty frequently conversed with her courier—that she offered him refreshments from time to time, and showed the strongest marks of attention to him—he still habited and performing his services as a courier. My lords, at Milan, her majesty first lodged at some house in a part of the town where she remained only two or three days, I believe; but she went to another called the Boromeo, where she staid about two months. My lords, on lady Charlotte Campbell's quitting her at Milan, her majesty was left without any English lady whatever in her suite. One would have thought that, considering the high rank and station of her majesty—considering the expectation she had of 759 becoming queen consort of this realm—that she would naturally have been anxious, during the whole course of her absence, to have had about her person as her companions ladies of high rank and distinction of this country. But, my lords, if there were any difficulty in that, at least we should have expected that she would have looked for persons of a similar rank either in the country she visited, or in her native country Brunswick; but, will your lordships believe, that upon this occasion she received into her service a person whom she had never seen nor heard of— a person of vulgar manners—an uneducated person. But, my lords, who was that person? My lords, that person was another sister of the courier Bergami. The man at that time who filled that menial situation in her service and waited at her table, contrives, by the power he has assumed over her majesty, to obtain admission for a female, designated as the countess Old, and who is her majesty's only female companion on the travels on which she was about to proceed. So that your lordships have now two sisters, the mother, the brother, and the child received into her majesty's family — the sister sitting at table with her majesty as lady of honour, Bergami waiting at table as courier, the brother performing menial services, the mother dining at the table with the servants, Bergami dining at the table with the servants, and the sister received into the family as lady of honour!
My lords; it was known to some persons at Naples, that the countess Oldi was the sister of Bergami. It was not known to any other of the suite. She carefully abstained from communicating that circumstance to others. Bergami was anxious to conceal the fact; but it could not be long concealed, and the fact became known that the sister of Bergami was received into her majesty's service, in the month of May 1815, not only as her lady of honour, but as the only person filling that high rank and situation in her majesty's service, which had been previously filled by those ladies of distinction of this country whose names I have stated to your lordships, lady Charlotte Lindsay, lady Elizabeth Forbes, and afterwards lady Charlotte Campbell. What inference can your lordships draw from this circumstance? Not that I am asking your lordships to decide on inference and suspicion—but when your lordships couple 760 this with other circumstances I have stated, and shall hereafter state, can any man doubt what was the cause, what was the motive, what was the reason, for the introduction of those persons into the service?
My lords; her majesty had not been long at Milan before she made a tour to Venice, and upon that tour Bergami still accompanied her as a courier. My lords, to show your lordships the degree of familiarity which existed between those persons, I will now state to your lordships a circumstance which occurred on that visit to Venice in the month of May or June 1815. I have stated to your lordships the different periods at which the English gentlemen had quitted; but she had been joined at Milan by Mr. Drummond Burrell, who accompanied her to Venice.
Lord Gwydir.—My lords, I must beg leave to set the learned counsel right, by stating, that it was not Mr. Drummond Burrell who accompanied her majesty.
Mr. Attorney General.—My lords; I mean Mr. William Burrell. I am sure your lordships will believe that I am betrayed into the error by carelessness, but that I did not mean the slightest reflection upon the noble lord, or upon the gentleman whose name I mentioned. My lords, I am stating to your lordships the facts—I mean not the slightest reflection upon any of those gentlemen whose names I have mentioned; but that Mr. William Burrell was the only English gentleman who had replaced those gentlemen I have stated to your lordships, and that he accompanied her majesty on that tour from Milan to Venice. I am not imputing to Mr. William Burrell—far from it—the slightest suspicion. I have no doubt he was ignorant of that which was taking place in her majesty's family. I undoubtedly did not state that Mr. Burrell was cognizant of the facts I have stated. I am sure your lordships will excuse me in the difficult task I have to perform, and will excuse the error into which I fell. I was about to state to your lordships a fact which took place at Venice. My lords, at Venice, upon one occasion, when after her majesty had dined, and her attendants had withdrawn from the table, and she was left in the room with Bergami, who had been waiting upon that occasion, and was still, as I have stated to your lordships, in the situation of courier, it was observed, not by one of 761 her own attendants, but by one of the servants at the hotel, that, alter the company had retired, her majesty took a gold chain and presented it to Bergami and placed it upon his neck—that upon that occasion there was a great familiarity and playfulness between those persons. He withdrew it from his own person, and placed it upon her majesty. Her majesty replaced it upon him; and this occurred in the presence of one of the servants of that establishment. My lords, why do I mention this fact? I mention it to show your lordships how this familiarity was proceeding—how this improper intercourse was increasing between these persons, and that, even at that time, when he was filling this menial situation, she was conferring upon him this favour, and marking him out from all the rest of her suite, by this present she had made to him at Venice. After this had taken place, she went to the room to which the other parts of her suite had retired; and, in stating this, I am imputing nothing, I trust, to any person but to her majesty and Bergami; but your lordships will think that it is a fact which strongly confirms the other parts of the narrative which I have been making to your lordships, and which proves conclusively the familiarity and intercourse which at that time existed between those persons.
My lords; her majesty returned, after a few days, from Venice to Milan, and after her return she went to the house of the Villa Villani. Here, after she had been a short time, Mr. William Burrell quitted her majesty's establishment, he having remained with her a short time when she was at Milan upon the tour to Venice—and upon her return to Milan to the Villa Vallani, Mr. William Burrell quitted,
My lords; it was observed by the servants, that by degrees as the English establishment quitted till they had totally quitted—for she had not now one English servant—her majesty was less reserved in her intercourse with Bergami. It was observed at the Villa Villani, that she had presented him with a gown of her own—a silk bed-gown, which Bergami wore as a morning gown. My lords, it was observed at the Villa Villani, that the arrangement of the rooms continued as it had at the other places—that his room was very near that which she occupied at night—and that there was a free communication to go from one to the other, 762 without being observed by the other parts of the establishment. Here again that was observed which I have already stated to your lordships, that Bergami had free access to her majesty's bed-room without ceremony, without notice—and that he was the only person of the suite who had this permission and licence given to him.—My lords, after Mr. Burrell had quitted, and after, as I have stated before, all those had withdrawn from her service who had accompanied, who went with her from this country, and when no English lady remained about her, and no English person of distinction in her train, her reserve to Bergami became less, and she became also more familiar with the rest of her servants. My lords, I do not impute it to her majesty as a crime or an offence, although I think she much demeaned herself; but I can attribute it only to this most unfortunate, this most wicked attachment she had formed for her courier, who was one of those servants. She was in the habit of familiarly playing with her servants at games. When I state this, I do not impute this to her majesty as a crime by itself: it may be nothing; but when you consider the reasons, the occasions, the circumstances, under which this familiarity took place—I say, my lords, I think it must prove to your lordships satisfaction, that it arose out of that degrading, that licentious attachment which she had formed for the courier Bergami, and that no other circumstance would have tempted her majesty to demean herself to those acts of familiarity which she was in the habit of showing, not only towards him, but towards her other servants, by playing at games at the Villa Villani.
My lords; during the time she remained there, during the mount of August 1815, her majesty visited Mount St. Gothard, and upon that occasion was accompanied, as she always was, by Bergami, who still, I believe, filled the station of courier in her service. My lords, upon that occasion she visited a place called Varise. She stopped at the inn at Varise, where she dined; and it will be proved to you, that upon that occasion she retired with Bergami to a bed-room, and was shut up in that bed-room with him for a considerable time. This, my lords, in the day-time-at a period when no apparent reason required the attendance of Bergami; who was still her courier—but such the fact was, that she did retire with him, and was with 763 in a bed-room for a considerable period. My lords, after that dinner they proceeded to a place called Madona della Monte, where they slept, and the next clay they went to the Boromean Isles. My lords, her majesty had visited that place in her way from Germany to Italy, and upon that occasion, as was natural, a large apartment, the best I suppose which the inn afforded, was assigned to her majesty for her bed-room. The persons at the inn naturally expected that the same apartment would be occupied by her majesty upon this occasion; but, my lords, that room bad no communication with any other room in which a person could sleep: and it is remarkable, that upon this second visit, when she was accompanied by the courier Bergami, she alters the arrangements of the rooms—she declines to occupy that which she had occupied upon her first visit—and she solicits another and an inferior apartment, but which other and inferior apartment immediately communicated with the room which was assigned as the sleeping-room of Bergami. Why, my lords, this I say is a little singular. What reason is there fortius? What situation does Bergami fill in the family which requires that he should always sleep in a room adjoining that of her majesty? How is it that he is the person selected by her majesty out of her suite to occupy a room which had immediate communication with his? However, my lords, such was the fact; and I mention it to your lordships to show the difference—that when she had not been accompanied by Bergami, and before he unfortunately entered her service at the time she first visited Italy, another room was assigned to her, which was superior in point of accommodation: But that she refuses upon this occasion, and chooses one near Bergami's and having communication with it. That was, my lords, as I submit, undoubtedly for the purpose of keeping up that intercourse which could not have been the case, at least without exciting observation, and not only observation, but discovery, if her apartment had remained at a distance from that assigned to him; but having taken care to have his room near her own, then the communication was easy, without observation, and afforded the means of continuing that intercourse that had previously existed.
My lords; her majesty also, upon that occasion, upon their return, stopped at a 764 place called Bellinzona; and I mention that place to your lordships because I think it will appear to you, that now indeed their familiarity had arrived at that height, that Bergami thought himself entitled to a much higher place in her majesty's service, and that he was then entitled not only to a much higher place in her majesty's service, but to sit at her majesty's table. My lords, undoubtedly before this, except perhaps upon one occasion, I know not whether upon any, except breakfasting together in private, when no person observed them but those in immediate attendance upon her majesty, she had ventured before this period to introduce Bergami at her own table. But at Bellinzona this man, still retaining the dress of a courier—still performing the menial offices of that service—is actually admitted by her majesty in that dress to her majesty's table at dinner. And I believe your lordships will find, from that period, that he constantly, and afterwards uniformly, dined at her majesty's table. Why! my lords, does this accord with the dignity of a princess?—My lords; if there were such merits in this man which entitled him to advancement, and to high favour and distinction on the part of her majesty, would it not have been more decorous—would it not have been more appropriate in her—to have first advanced him to those situations which would have entitled him to dine in company with her majesty, and at her majesty's table?—But no, my lords, this infatuated attachment had so taken possession of her Majesty's mind, that she actually, in the presence of her servants, admits this man, in the garb of a servant, to dine as a companion with her. My lords, I may be told this is pardonable familiarity—that this is levity—that these are foreign manners. My lords, I know not whether these observations, if they shall be made, will have any weight with your lordships; but I cannot think that, under any circumstances, such familiarity was allowable between a person of the high rank and station of her majesty and one of her menial servants. My lords, was it ever heard of—I will not say in high society—but even in the middle ranks and classes of society, that they admit as their familiar companions at their tables, persons at the time performing menial offices in their houses? My lords, if this does not take place private life—if it would be considered as indecor- 765 ous—how much more indecorous, how much more disgusting, is it when it takes place between a person of the exalted rank and station of her majesty, and a servant holding a menial capacity in her service! My lords, I say, can this be accounted for upon any other reason or motive, than that criminal attachment which had been formed?—My lords, when once such an attachment as that has been formed, and a criminal intercourse has taken place, all distinctions between the persons are thrown down—the lowest and the most vulgar person becomes upon a level with the highest, and they assume—and they assume that which they have a right to assume towards such persons—to be treated by them with the same attention as a person of the rank equivalent to that her royal highness enjoyed—which was the case with this person at that period, and continued to be so.
My lords; upon that occasion also they visited Lugano; and at Lugano your lordships will find the most decisive evidence of that which occurred at various other places of an adulterous intercourse taking place between them. The arrangement of the rooms at all these places is abreast, always the same, and care is taken that the room of the courier Bergami shall be near that of the Queen. And, my lords, without entering into disgusting particulars, your lordships will find that upon the visit at Lugano, at least I think when the evidence comes before your lordships you will be satisfied of that which the facts of the case I think will have left no doubt upon your lordships minds had previously existed—namely, that an actual adulterous intercourse took place between those parties.
My lords; upon her return from this tour, her majesty established herself at a villa near Como, the Villa d'Este; and your lordships will find that, upon her establishment at this place, the bed-rooms of the Princess and Bergami were arranged in a manner similar to that I have described to your lordships as taking place at the various places her majesty visited—that they were divided only by a small cabinet communicating internally with the chamber on the one side of her majesty, and on the other of Bergami, the doors of which chambers were opposite to each other, and the apartments thus assigned to her majesty and Bergami being at a distance and separate from the rest of the family. My lords, here 766 was observed to take place that which I have already stated to have taken place before, that the Princess and Bergami retired to their bed-room about the same period, and rose about the same hour in the morning, and during her residence at the Villa d'Este, her majesty thinking, no doubt, that it would at least appear better to the world that he should appear in a particular character, he was advanced to the dignity of her majesty's chamberlain, and in that character constantly dined with her majesty, and from that period, without interruption, he dined at her majesty's table, with the dame d'honneur or countess Oldi, and those persons admitted to that honour.
My lords, she continued at the Villa d'Este till the month of November 1815. She then went to Genoa, and on the 15th of November 1815 she embarked on board one of his majesty's ships of the line, the Leviathan, and proceeded in that ship to Sicily. My lords, on her going on board the Leviathan, apartments, the best that could be provided, were naturally allotted to her majesty. It had been thought, of course, by those who were not aware of the intercourse which had taken place between her majesty and Bergami, that the proper mode of assigning those apartments would be to place her female attendants as near her majesty as might be; and therefore two cabins in the inside of the room used as a dining-room were prepared, one for her majesty and one for her lady of honour; a cabin immediately adjoining this, at least adjoining her majesty's room, was assigned to another female servant, in her majesty's suite; but, on her majesty's coming on board, that arrangement of the rooms was altered, and her majesty directed that the room immediately adjoining her own, and which I have stated to your lordships had been supposed a proper room for one of her female attendants, should be appropriated to the use of Bergami. My lords, she remained on board this ship from the 15th of November, when she embarked, until the 26th. I think, in the course of her voyage, she visited Elba, where she staid a day or two. She then sailed to Palermo, where she arrived on the 26th of November 1815. My lords, on board this ship Bergami, as her chamberlain, continued to dine at her majesty's table; but, as was naturally to be expected, your lordships will find that she was extremely cautious, and had been 767 even before this period, in the habit of avoiding in the course of her travels, the meeting with any English persons on the continent. During her short stay on board this ship, she took care to conceal from the eye of those who were strangers to her those familiarities which had commenced, and were no doubt continuing, between herself and Bergami. But, my lords, she did that which I have stated to your lordships—she altered the arrangement of the cabins—she treated Bergami with the greatest familiarity as her chamberlain—she frequently walked with him arm in arm upon the deck, and she appeared particularly attentive to him.
My lords; her majesty arrived at Palermo on the 26th of November 1815, and at Palermo she went to court, and was accompanied by Bergami to the court of Sicily, attired in a very magnificent hussar dress in the character of chamberlain. She remained at Palermo for a very short period, and then went to Messina, where she remained from December the 6th until early in the following month of January—I think the 3rd of January 1816. My lords, upon her arrival at Messina, in the house which she occupied there the same arrangement again took place with respect to the bed-rooms of herself and Bergami—the bed-room of Bergami was very near to the Princess's, but separated by one in which the countess Oldi, his sister, slept—so that in order to arrive at the room of the Princess, you must pass through the room in which Bergami slept, and then the room in which the countess slept. My lords, it was observed that the door of Bergami's room, which, as I have stated to your lordships, opened a communication through his room and through the following room to that of the Princess, and was the only communication door, was constantly locked at night after her majesty and after the countess of Oldi had retired to their rooms.—But, my lords, the apartments of some of the servants who attended upon her majesty—of one at least —was sufficiently near for her occasionally to hear that Bergami was actually in the room of the Princess—and more, it frequently happened in the morning, that when her majesty wanted the assistance of her servant for any purpose about her person, she was frequently seen coming in the state in which she had left her bed, without being dressed, through the room of the countess Oldi and the room Ber- 768 gami himself occupied, and before he had left it. And, my lords, it was observed, that Bergami and the then Princess, her present Majesty, frequently retired at Messina at a very early hour in the evening to their rooms; and that, instead of requiring the assistance of any of her female servants for the purpose of retiring to her bed, that after they had so left the other part of the house and retired to their rooms, they were not seen again from that period till the following morning, and that no assistance was required on the part of the female servants to her majesty previous to her retiring to her bed — frequently she would withdraw without calling either (for her majesty had at that time two filles-de-chambre) to undress her. She became very regardless of her person—she became more apparently endeared to this chamberlain—she called him by the most familiar and endearing titles—"her friend," "her heart," and various other epithets she used when she addressed him. So that no doubt remained upon the minds of those who were in the daily habit of seeing those familiarities and hearing those expressions, and regarding this conduct, that those familiarities which would alone justify those expressions, did continue between: them.
My lords; on the 6th of January 1816, her majesty left Messina, and upon that occasion embarked on board the frigate the Clorinde, which had, as will be in the recollection of your lordships, carried her majesty, after she left Naples from Civita Vecchia to Genoa. My lords, the vessel was still commanded by that same honourable person who had commanded her upon the former occasion; and, my lords, it will be in the recollection of your lordships, that at the period when her majesty first went on board, Bergami had attended upon her in the character of a menial servant, and had waited upon her at table. My lords, upon this second occasion he had been advanced to the dignity of chamberlain, and had been permitted by her majesty to dine at her table. The honourable officer who commanded the Clorinde, and who had previously seen Bergami in the low situation I have described, felt that it even would degrade the English service and himself, if after having witnessed that, he consented or permitted himself to sit at the table with her majesty in company with this person; and therefore an intimation was 769 given by that honourable and gallant officer captain Pechell to her majesty, that if her majesty condescended to come on board his ship, and he was to receive her majesty, as he was bound to do, and to provide a table for her and her suite, he must request her majesty to spare a British officer the disgrace and scandal of sitting at table with a person who had filled that menial situation.—My lords, I think every man—every Englishman I am sure—will enter into the feelings of that honourable officer. I think the conduct of her majesty upon that occasion marks most strongly, how deeply she must have felt the objection which had been taken by this gallant officer; because, my lords, if there had been nothing improper in the advancement of this man—if, as we may Probably hear, his manners, his fidelity in her service, had rendered him an object worthy of her majesty's condescending regard, and had rendered him entitled to be advanced to the high situation he then filled — my lords, I say, the princess, feeling this, would have said, "Do not make this objection. Do not object to sit down with a person of this character, and of these merits. I have not demeaned myself by permitting him to dine at my table, and therefore let me tell the British officer, whoever he may be, that I think he will not be degraded or lowered by associating with such a person." Nay more, I think she would have said, "You are offering me an insult by refusing to associate with this person, with whom I associate. You are offering an insult to me, a princess of the highest rank in my country. You are offering an insult to that country itself. I shall therefore complain of you to that country which has provided me with a ship of war, to visit the places I may be inclined to visit. I will not go on board your ship, but will represent your conduct to your commanding officer, and insist that you shall make that recompence for the insult to me and the country which such conduct demands." I say, my lords, that would have been the conduct of a princess with an inward consciousness of innocence; and if there were not the conviction that this was a most scandalous intercourse originating in that licentiousness which existed between them, such would have been her conduct without hesitation, without reserve; and we should have instantly heard of a complaint made to the commanding officer upon the station. But, my 770 lords, what was the conduct of her majesty upon that occasion? She takes a day or two to consider whether she will consent to captain Pechell's suggestion, and whether she will consent to dismiss this person from her table. And not only that, but she expostulates, and says, captain Briggs of the Leviathan had no objection to associate with him. Upon which captain Briggs said, "he had never waited behind my chair. I did not know him in the degraded situation in which he had been, or I should have acted as captain Pechell has done." Your lordships will remember that captain Pechell had been himself waited upon by this very man in the presence of his officers; and can you consent to compel him now to sit down with this man at the table, as his associate and companion, who had himself stood behind his chair as a menial servant? A difference must strike your lordships minds between the one and the other. Her majesty notwithstanding that, took a day or two to consider of this proposition. And I say, that that hesitation, that that delay, to my mind, is a most convincing proof that she was actuated upon that occasion by that unfortunately infatuated attachment which had laid hold of her, and induced her even to submit to this insult (for insult it was, unless there was that reason for it), rather to submit to this insult than consent to abandon this man's society, even for the few days she was on board the Clorinde; and she embarked on board the ship, and refused to associate with captain Pechell, in order that she might associate at the same table with the countess Oldi and her brother Bergami. Now, I ask, whether this does not convey, more than any thing I can express to your lordships, the conviction of that which had taken place, and was continuing between these persons? She consents to be insulted by an English captain—she consents to have it stated to her, that she has advanced a person from a menial situation to her table, and from which circumstance the captain refused to associate with him, and, without any complaint made of the captain's having so refused, she goes on board that ship, and associates with him, and separates herself in consequence from the captain—she consents during that period to submit to this insult and degradation—she consents to associate with a man whom the captain of an English frigate refused to admit to his own table—be- 771 cause he had filled that menial situation, and because no reason was given—no cause assigned—for the advancement of the man from that situation to the higher; and therefore from the mere circumstance, without any reason assigned, captain Pechell did no more than his duty to himself and to the persons filling the high situation of officers in his majesty's navy by his conduct.
My lords; the Queen yielded. She declined persisting in captain Pechell's sitting down at table with her favourite—and she embarked on board the Clorinde and sailed from Messina to Syracuse, where she landed in four or five days. My lords, at Syracuse, in the house in which she lodged, the same arrangement which I am afraid I tire your lordships almost with repeating—but which it is essential to the case to state—the same arrangement takes place with respect to the bed-rooms. My lords, there were three bed-rooms in the house which she occupied at Syracuse—one occupied by the princess, another by the countess Oldi, and another by Mademoiselle Demont and her sister, the two filles-de-chambre; but there was a private staircase, and it was observed the door of the princess's room communicating with the dining-room was always locked at night; by which means all access to the apartments of Bergami and the princess was cut off, leaving a free communication by means of this private staircase, between her room and that of Bergami. Such was the arrangement of the rooms at Syracuse.—My lords, on the 3rd of that month, she left Syracuse and went to Catania. Your lordships will perceive how material it will be for you to attend to the arrangement of the rooms which originally took place at Catania, and the alteration made therein by her majesty. My lords, at first a room was allotted to Bergami at some distance from her majesty's room; but in a very short time that arrangement was altered, and Bergami's room was removed—he removed himself from the room which had been previously allotted to him, to a room very near to her majesty's, but in going from that room to her majesty's, you must pass through a room which had been allotted to some of the female servants of the house. My lords, the princess and Bergami retired to their rooms earlier than the other persons in the family. These filles-de-chambre had been generally awoke early by 772 the other servants in the family, and therefore did not observe what might be taking place between the Queen and Bergami; but during one morning these servants, remaining longer in their room than usual, observed the door of Bergami's room open, and I will not say to their surprise; for they were perfectly satisfied of what had taken place—the princess was observed going out of Bergami's room at this hour in the morning, and where, therefore, she must have been during the night—for those persons had never observed her go in during the night, and she could have gone in only by passing through this room—they saw her coming out at this hour in the morning, under circumstances which will satisfy your lordships that her majesty had slept that night in Bergami's room—and I will tell your lordships why. She had under her arm a pillow, upon which she always slept, and she was carrying that pillow under her arm from Bergami's room, at the time she was seen by those two servants. Why, my lords, your lordships are not to decide on inference and suspicion, undoubtedly: but you are to decide on reasonable evidence; and I ask your lordships whether in any other case that fact alone—if it were a common case of divorce—that fact alone of a lady having been in the bed-room of a man all night, and having been seen coming out of it in the morning under the circumstances I have stated, would not be sufficient to satisfy any jury of the country that a criminal intercourse had taken place between them? But, when you add to that, the circumstances to which I have called your lordships attention, I mean the other familiarities, and his advancement, no doubt can remain upon the mind of any person, as to the familiarities which had occurred. What reason can be assigned for her coming out of that room with that pillow? And, not only that, but she was at that time undressed; which is a material circumstance. My lords, I say this fact alone, if it be proved to your lordships satisfaction, must satisfy your lordships' minds, that that had taken place during that night, which is charged against her majesty in the preamble to this bill. My lords, another circumstance which occurred at Catania, and which is mentioned for your consideration, is this: your lordships will recollect I mentioned that at Genoa, Bergami's child was received into her majesty's family, and such an extraordinary attachment appears to have 773 been formed by her majesty for this child, that she was never easy or satisfied, but when this child was with her. The child slept in her room—it was dignified at last by the name of princess, and the child, withdrawn from its mother, and susceptible of all these attentions, naturally conceived on her part an attachment to her majesty so great, that frequently at night, if her majesty was withdrawn from the room, the child if it awoke would express its concern at the absence of her majesty, by crying. And, my lords, upon this occasion these servants frequently heard this child crying for her mamma, for that was the title by which she was permitted to call her majesty: they heard the countess endeavouring to quiet this child, but they heard no symptoms of her majesty being in that room, but that which satisfied their minds that she was absent from it, namely, the pain of the child's mind, and the difficulty which the countess of Oldi had to pacify this child. When therefore they saw the princess coming from this room, that left no doubt upon their minds, that that was not the only occasion on which she had slept in that room; but that she had previously gone to that room before they came to bed at night, and had not returned till they had left their room in the morning. This must satisfy your lordships minds, that this adulterous intercourse had taken place during the whole time of her residence at Catania. But at Catania her majesty thought it right, having advanced Bergami to the dignity of her chamberlain, to procure for him higher honours, and at Catania she procured for him the dignity of the knighthood of Malta. From that time she called him (and her suite were of course obliged to follow the same course), his excellency, and she always addressed him as "Monsieur le Chevalier." My lords, what necessity was there for her majesty to dignify him with this knighthood?—None, but that guilty attachment. There was nothing on his part which entitled him to this distinction—there was nothing but this attachment which could be the ground of her majesty's procuring him this dignity. My lords, I should state to your lordships, that when she first visited Catania, as was natural, the nobility of that country paid her those attentions which were demanded by her rank; but it was observed, that after a short time, she was careless of any other society but that of her paramour,—became lees and less visited, 774 and rarely seen in the company of the nobility of that country.
Mr. Attorney General.—I should state to your lordships, that I have not got through one half of the disgusting narrative I must state to your lordships.
§ Ordered, that the further consideration, and second reading of the said bill, be adjourned to Monday.