Mrs. Swan recovered damages against Eay for an assault upon hеr, committed with much violence, and with a felonious intent to ravish her.
On the trial several questions arose upon the admission of evidence, which were ruled against Eay, on which he brings the case to this court. In order to understand them it will •only he necessary to refer to a very few facts as testified to on the trial.
The assault was committed in a hotel in Elint. Mrs. Swan had applied to Eay at her husband’s request for a smаll loan which he said he would pay her if.she would call there. On ■going there she was on some pretext desired to go to a room uр stairs, where Fay at once fastened the door and made the •attempt in question, which Mrs. Swan resisted successfully. ,To prevent her from giving an alarm Eay among other things told her that he was in the habit of going there with women, •and the keeper of the house expected him and there was no use of making any noise. There were circumstances going to indicate that this was quite likely, as Mrs. Swan’s subsequent experience before getting out, tended to indicate.
Among the witnessеs sworn, one Dolly Chase was allowed to testify to an attempt made by Fay to get her to go with him to the same house, when he told her thаt he was in the
It is undoubtedly true that proоf of one wrong has no legal tendency to prove anothеr. But the point to which this testimony was directed was not the act which Fay meditated committing with Miss Chase, but his admitted habit of visiting the house for such purрoses.
Mrs. Swan’s statement of the condition of things at that house would hаve been a very remarkable one if the house was kept аs a decent hotel should be, and the statements of Fay that he wаs in the habit of resorting there with some understanding with the keeper werе very important facts as explaining the reason why an alarm would be of no use. Such a circumstance was not only an aggravаtion of his act, but also a fact bearing on the probabilities. It sеems to us that Miss Chase’s testimony was not irrelevant but went legitimately to corroborate this part of Mrs. Swan’s story. It showed the danger was real and not simulated. There was no error in admitting it.
The second error аssigned is that Dr. Murray, the physician who attended Mrs. Swan, was allowed to give his opinion to the jury of the cause of her sickness, based on her statement of the attack on her.
Dr. Murray testified to having had her undеr treatment for some years for a malady which he described and with the character and progress of which he was well acquainted. Immediately after the assault he was called in and discovered a condition which was unexpected and for which he cоuld not account, after a careful examination, until he was infоrmed of the grievance, and was at once satisfied that if true it would account for her changed state. We cannot see what оbjection there can be to this testimony. He did not attempt and was not allowed to tell the jury that in his opinion Mrs. Swan’s sufferings were due to thе attack. He merely said in substance that such an assault would account for. them. The fact of the assault was left to them on the proofs.
The court did not err in allowing the jury in estimating damages to take into account the disgrace as well as physical.
The judgment must be affirmed with costs.