guineas, which he never intended to take back; but the doctor in fome time after brought him money to repay; and appearing rather hurt at finding it was refufed, the major took it under this condition, that it fhould be ready for him whenever he should again have a call for it; but the doctor had left Dublin without calling upon him again. Mr. Alderman Sawbridge had known the prifoner many years, and he believed that if there was univerfal benevolence in man, it was to be found in the breast of the prisoner; he was harmlefs and gentle, almoft to an extreme; and he (the witnefs) concluded, when he heard of the unfortunate affair that had brought the doctor into his prefent melancholy fituation, that he must have been under the influence of a strong apprehenfion of imminent danger, or of violent and outrageous provocation and irritation when he committed the fact; and as foon as the news had reached his ears, he immediately faid, “ If he had done this from malice, the nature of the man must have undergone a total change." Governor Nugent (governor of Tortola) gave him the beft of characters; but the court at laft obferved, that it was unnecessary to bring any more witneffes to his character, as nothing could be poffibly added to make the character already given of the prifoner, more amiable or more excellent. Here the evidence for the prifoner clofed.-Judge Willes then fammed up the evidence, and first explained to the jury, from judge Fofter's crown law, the nature of the crime of murder, and the difference between it and manslaughter. Words, however abusive, could not justify a man in taking away the life of another; to make killing manslaughter, there fhould be some act of violence, fome ftruggle or bustle on the part of the deceased; and in order to exemplify his doctrine, he quoted a cafe which came within his own knowledge; and which, he faid, was very parallel to the prefent.-At the affizes for Northampton, a prifoner of the name of Snow had been brought before him, to be tried for murder: the cafe was briefly this; the prisoner and the deceased, two poor men, had had a quarrel, when the former challenged the latter to fight; the challenge was accepted, and they boxed 'till they were tired, and then parted; the prifoner went home, and being a cobler, and it being a warm evening, he placed his ftool out in the air, and fat down to his work: foon after, his antagonist paffed by him on his way home; the quarrel was renewed, and the deceafed collared the cobler, and brought him to the ground; they were both down together; the cobler was undermoft. In that fituation, he tuck his awl into the fide of the deceased, and, not satisfied with one VOL. I. 4. ftab, M ftab, he gave three, each of which gave a mortal wound: the cafe appeared to him, however, to be no more than manflaughter, on account of the ftruggle that had preceded the ftabs. The jury was pleafed to think otherwife, and found the prisoner guilty of murder; but he had refpited the execution, with a view to take the opinion of the twelve judges on the cafe: he accordingly reported it to them the first day of the fucceeding term, and they unanimoufly refolved that it amounted to no more than manslaughter.An awl was as deadly a weapon as a knife; the queftion therefore to determine, was whether there had been any struggle between Mr. Hardy and Dr. Macgennis, before the fatal blow was given? There had been no one to prove fuch a thing, if it had ever paffed; it must therefore be collected folely from circumftances, if it ever had existed; and from the circumftances there was room to prefume that such a thing had happened in the prefent cafe. The deceafed had returned to the prifoner's door, and there the candle fell out of his hand; for it was found there the next morning, and had been trodden upon. This feemed to argue that the candle had Fallen in the fruggle, and not when the fatal blow was given;" for if the deceafed had had it in his hand when he received the wound, in all probability he must have fallen down ftairs with the candle ftill in his hand, which would have been found near him; on the contrary, the candle was found on the landingplace of doctor Macgennis, and the body at leaft fifteen steps lower down. The evidence of Adey Lancashire, before the coroner, ftated that there had been a buffle, and fhe did not know but there might have been a ftruggle; certain fhe was, that there had been a noife: the prifoner's own cries, heard by Lancashire, flated that he himself was in danger of being murdered; and another witnefs had heard him cry out for affiftance: now, if after this, a doubt fhould arife on the queftion, the jury of courfe would be induced, from the uncommonly great character of the prifoner, to lean to mercy.-His lordhip having concluded, the jury withdrew; but the judge fearing that from what he had faid, they might not only not find the prifoner guilty of murder, but that they even would go fo far as to acquit him entirely, called to them, as they were going out, and told them that they could not by law acquit him; for that if his crime was not murder, it must be manflaughter, and nothing lefs.-The auditory being thus prepared for a verdict of manslaughter, were aftonished beyond measure, when, on the return of the jury, they heard the foreman pronounce the dreadful verdict-Guilty of wilful murder. The The prifoner was then called upon, to know if he had any thing to fay, in order to fhew why the court fhould not give him judgment to die, according to the law ?-He faid, that as the jury had thought proper to give fo dreadful a verdict against him, he would fubmit to it without arraigning it. But he muft fay, that if it was innocent to defend his own life, he was innocent:-if it was murder in a man to defend his life when it was in danger, he was guilty.-He had not fought to quarrel with the deceased; he did not go down to him, or quit his apartment; on the contrary, Mr. Hardy had twice been up with him, and affaulted him, had ftruck him, and was in the act of throw. ing him over the ftairs, when, by wounding Mr. Hardy, and by no other means, he at that time had faved his own life; he therefore, notwithstanding the verdict that had been pronounced against him, muft infift that he was innocent, and in this affertion he would perfevere to his laft breath. He was in the hands of providence, and would fubmit with the moft perfect refignation to its decrees. His life was now at the difpofal of his fovereign; be his royal determination what it might, he would bow to it with fubmiffion and compofure. The recorder then proceeded to pafs the ufual fentence, after a moft pathetic addrefs to the doctor, in which he declared, that, in the courfe of his duty in that court, he had never felt fo much pain and affliction, as in paffing fuch a sentence on fuch a man as he had been proved to be. A Reverend divine being one evening in the company of fome ladies, who intimated a defire to play at cards, he begged they would permit him to preach them a fermon previous to their game; the ladies were unwilling to grant his request, fearing his prolixity; but on the divine's promifing to be concife, they reluctantly complied, and he immediately preached the following difcourfe: E R M O N. "Man is born unto trouble, as the sparks I fhall divide this difcourfe into, and confider it under the three following heads: And ift. Man's ingrefs into the world. zd. Man's progrefs through the world. And ift. Man's ingrefs into the world is naked and bare. To conclude: If we do well here, we fhall be well there I can tell you no more if I preach a whole year. A QUESTION, by the Reverend Mr. J. Morgan, of Eglafkerry, Cornwall. W WHEN the fun is in the 12th degree of Aquarius, I defire to know the length of the day and night, and at what time the fun rifeth and fets, in the latitude of 52 degrees. I A QUESTION, by R. B. Bennett, of Plymouth. F my age in years be inverted and added to the cube root of two-thirds, the number will be ,8826. Quere my age with. out the affiftance of algebra, A QUESTION, by William Smith, Black-fmith, of Knacker'sbole, near Plymouth. A T the forage magazine for Roborough-camp is built a square granary, for the receiving and delivering of oats for the horfes at that camp. Now the contractor of the camp having a mind to prop the fame with timber eight feet long, four by three inch fquare, ordered the carpenter to do it in fuch a manner as to refift its being overturned by the wind (it being built with timber) as much as poffible. The carpenter not verfed in figures applied to me (being on the fpot) for directions, which I gave him according to the beft of my judgment. Should be exceedingly obliged to any of your mathematical readers, if they would give me the diftance the props ought to be put from the bottom of the houfe, the ground being horizontally level, by which I fhall know if my directions to the carpenter were true or falfe. A REBUS, by Sobrius, of Chedzoy. X7HAT floth does oftentimes produce; WHAT What, Sirs, we ought not to neglect; When the initials are combin'd, A RIDDLE. By DAVID GARRICK, Efq. ITTY, a fair but froward maid, K Kindled a flatne I yet deplore a The hood-wink'd boy I call'd to aid, At length propitious to my prayer, I saw him mount from earth to air, Say by what title, or what name, An E NIG MA. 'Ma word of four fyllables, very well known: Two fyllables taken away, you will own, POETRY. |