Abstract
In June 1842 the wife of Lewis W. Gilles, a banker in Launceston, wrote to Mrs Pugh, inviting her and her husband, Mr William Russ Pugh, to an entertainment and ball. The Pughs neither responded to the invitation, nor attended the ball. Mrs Gilles mentioned the discourtesy of their non-attendance to a friend, who the following morning brought the complaint to the attention of Dr Pugh. Pugh immediately wrote a brief note explaining that neither he nor his wife had received the invitation. Further correspondence between Gilles and Pugh ensued, becoming more and more bitter until Pugh publicly insulted Gilles. The Launceston Club, of which both men were members, ultimately became a casualty of the dispute and was dissolved. A Supreme Court defamation and libel case followed with Gilles as plaintiff and Pugh as defendant. Gilles won the case but received only token damages.
And the missing letter? Too late, Mrs Pugh's maid found it tucked between the pages of a periodical on the dresser.