'said he would come and take his tea with her that very evening. The lady in reply said, not this evening, but to-morrow evening; but my client, presuming upon the benevolence of womankind in general, waited upon her that evening; this the lady not approving of, instituted an action with the view to obtain damages, and, if possible, drive this young man from her neighbourhood. All this evidently sprang from vindictiveness, the consequence of obtruding himself some few hours earlier than had been assigned by the lady herself, and which now subjects Ardent, her former lover, to your verdict. The lady, as my brief instructs me to say, to prove the coolness which subsisted between herself and her old flame, charged him as being a sailor, thus making it doubtful, by her own testimony, who the real person was that broke the pane of glass. But my client, with the upright principles and feelings of a gentleman, which do him honour, has no wish or intention to conceal the fact that it was himself who did the mighty deed, the source of the present action. He had been teazed and tantalized by the lady herself through the glassdoor, looking on the lawn and flower-garden at

the back part of the house; and, thinking her in a playful mood and rather gayer in her looks than when she complained of despondency but an hour before, he took up a pebble from the gravel walk, showed it to her, and, in a playful manner, said, You see what will be the consequence of your not surrendering at discretion.' Now, all this foolery, for it can be called by no other name, may be excused in a lover, although, perhaps, in no one else, and then only extenuated by the ardour of his passion, which, it may be supposed, at that critical moment, was not entirely extinct, although no doubt he has since had reason to wish it had been. The weapon of assault so dreaded by the fair lady in question, was no other than a pebble stone of the size of a hazel-nut, made use of, no doubt, for the purpose of making the communication the more easy, while the lady kept him in suspense as to whether she would or would not open the door. The door was eventually opened by the defendant by removing a middle bolt, and if she really did not wish him to enter, why not have fastened all three bolts, instead of the only one within reach? There looks like some design in this, which I will thank

you, gentlemen of the jury, to bear in recollection, for it appears suspicious, and very like a premeditated contrivance to ensnare my client and induce him to commit an indiscretion on finding the only obstacle to be one bolt, and that, perhaps, scarcely in the socket. The pane of glass being broken, away ran the lady to her opposite neighbour, saying, a sailor man had broken into her house, and she was apprehensive of very bad consequences to herself, had she remained. My client, it seems, finding the lady was gone out of the house by the front door, retired in about ten minutes after, lamenting the fickleness of woman. The lady, the same evening, as if to obtain his admission of the fact, sent the constable to inquire what Mr. Ardent meant, while herself stood outside of the house during the inquiry, waiting for his answer. He had too much principle either to evade or deny the fact; it was then, after that admission, that every inconvenience followed, which would be tedious to relate in this place, and trespassing on the time of this court. I have only a few general observations to make, and will then conclude. There had been some previous misunderstanding, which prevented the gentleman visiting the lady

for full three months before. To lovers, gentlemen of the jury, three months is a very long period of absence-indeed, tantamount to years with men of cooler reflection; and poets themselves have considered three weeks-nay, three days, according to Mr. Ovid, insupportable when deprived of seeing their mistresses, who are renowned in story for beauty and loveliness. That there are such characters even in the present day, I think cannot be doubted; and Mr. Ardent, my client, I am willing to confess, is of that intemperate class as not to brook slight obstacles in obtaining a lady's favour. The most fiery and impetuous passions in man, let it be remarked, are often indications of latent genius within, was it properly brought forth; but when not exercised in their proper course or pursuit, remain smothered by their own impulses and impetuosities, not deigning to look back or on either side, but rushing onward, and frequently leaping out of the course prescribed by nature and law. Their imaginations are in general too exuberant, and exceed the judgment of sober sense and discretion, which travels slower and with measured steps. The prevailing doctrine of

the passions is, that reason has not a sufficient control over them. Gentlemen of the jury, I crave the indulgence of your patience yet a little while longer, to state that the lady is much the senior of my client in point of age, at least thirteen years; which difference implies, if it infers nothing more, that her knowledge of the world must be the most considerable of the two, and that, unless she had given him very extraordinary encouragement, it is scarcely to be credited such a very strong attachment should have subsisted. It is possible the lady in the first instance was pleased with a youthful lover, and that after a time some difference may have arisen, which is no uncommon thing; for very few have reduced the passion of love to a complete science we are not all of us Ovids-all is not congruity, amity, and peace-offerings to the idol of the affections-no, a little intervening discord will occasionally arise, as frequently it does, in the best-toned instruments-flats and sharps in music are necessary parts of harmony, and therefore are, upon some occasions, necessary parts in the construction of our nature-for what is more displeasing than monotony? The smiling summer's