A final reply to the numerous slanders, circulated by Nathaniel Chapman, M.D., professor of the institutes and practice of medicine in the University of Pennsylvania / by Granville Sharp Pattison.

  • Pattison, Granville Sharp, 1791-1851.
Date:
1821
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A final reply to the numerous slanders, circulated by Nathaniel Chapman, M.D., professor of the institutes and practice of medicine in the University of Pennsylvania / by Granville Sharp Pattison. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    whom they have attempted to criminate, they would not refuse him a copy of it. Yet true it is, that most sedulously have they prevented me from seeing1 it, and their agent in Edinburgh has declared, that he has their positive orders not to allow it, on any account, to come into my possession. Fortunately they have not been able to keep me in pepfect ignorance of their evidence. Having written to my agent in Edinburgh, when the rumour first began to be circulated in Glasgow, he called at the Commissary Court the day on which the sentence of divorce was passed, (5th February,) and was allowed by the clerk to read it hurriedly over, before they had given instructions for its being kept private. At this time he took notes with a pencil, of every thing which he conceived could possibly throw a shadow of suspicion upon my cha- racter. His notes are as follows :— * The witnesses examined are Agnes Sydeserf and Jean Lindsay, servants at the time in Dr. Ure's family; Mrs. Mary Park; James Gemmell, Writer in Edinburgh; James Monteath, Writer in Glasgow ; Agnes Blair, Spouse of Wm. Mitchell, Weaver in Falkirk, with whom Mrs. Ure resided; Christian Stirling, Wife of James Baird, residing at Falkirk, who lived in the flat above Mrs. Ure; and Ann Simpson, servant with Mrs. Mitchell. The citation was executed the 2d December, 1818, against Mrs. Ure personally. The exami- nation of witnesses began the 19th January, 1819. Mrs. Ure appeared to be identified by witnesses. The sentence is passed in her absence. The writings produced are—1. Mi-. Pattison's address in Paris, -written in pencil. 2. A card from Mrs. Ure to Miss Pa-ttison, requesting her to send said address. 3. The draft of a letter dated Falkirk, holograph of Mrs. Ure, but unsigned and unad- dressed. 4. A holograph prescription of Mr. Pattison's.' ' The substance of the servants' evidence is as follows:—That Mr. Pattison had called frequently at the house, and had occasionally remained in the Din- ing-room alone with Mrs. Ure—That once on entering the room, one of them had seen Mr. Pattison standing at the fire beside Mrs. Ure, and she thought he had his hand touching her shoulder.—That one forenoon Mr. Pattison called for the keys of the Institution, that he got a key from Mrs. Ure, but that she shortly afterwards left the house, saying, that she had given Mr. Pattison » wrong key, and that she would require to cany him the right one—That on one occasion, one of them returning home from a message, had the door open- ed by Mrs. Ure, whose dress seemed a little deranged—That without asking any questions, her mistress had told her that Mr. Pattison was with her; but that she neither saw him nor heard him go out. Lastly, that they had never, at any time, when Mr. Pattison was alone with Mrs, Ure, heard any noise nor observed the slightest derangement of the furniture. One of the servants says she was suspicious of Mr. Pattison, from seeing him standing at the fire with her mistress, and from his calling frequently at the house.' • Mrs. Park swears that on a visit to Mrs. Ure in Edinburgh, Mrs. Ure told her that Mr. Pattison was the father of her child.' « Messrs. Gemmell and Monteath merely swear that they had been consulted by Dr. Ure as to the divorce.'' < Dr. Geo. Monteatli and Mrs. Park identify the hand-writing of Mrs. Ure.' ' Agnes Blair alias Mitchell, Ann Simpson and Christian Stirling alias Baird, swear, that Mr. Pattison had called once upon Mrs. Ure at Falkirk, and had walked with her in a garden behind the house.' ' The copy of the letter which was said to be returned from Falkirk to Glas- gow in an empty box, and identified to be in Mrs. Ure's hand-writing, states that she is with child to the person for whom it was intended. It is neither signed nor addressed, but the exclamation, 0 Granville ! is occasionally em- ployed in it.' 'The letter from Mrs. Ure to Miss Pattison merely requests her Brother's ad- dress in Paris, for the information of a gentleman of her acquaintance, The address is simply Mr. Pattison in Paris, written in pencil.' The above abstract of the testimony, furnished me by my agent, was the on- ly one I could ever, until the present, obtain of the evidence advanced in the trial. It was from this that I prepared my Statement op Facts, screTal dp- cuments from which are published in this Bffrnr. NATIONAL LIBRARfOF MEDIC1NF WASHINGTON, D. C.