Page:Blackwood's Magazine volume 001.djvu/219

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1817.]
Register.—British Chronicle.
217

and nourishment he pursued through the day, answered as follows:—"At half past two o'clock in the morning, I take two spoonfuls and a half of jalap, and then a quantity of electuary; then I sleep till seven, and repeat the dose of both jalap and electuary; at nine o'clock I take 14 pills of No 9, and 11 pills of No 10, to whet my appetite for breakfast; at breakfast I eat a basin of milk; at eleven I have an acid and alkali mixture; afterwards I have a bolus; and at nine at night I have an anodyne mixture, and go to sleep." After some progress had been made in the evidence, a compromise took place, the plaintiff accepting a verdict for £450.

Old Coins—A farmer at Bar-le-Duc, in France, digging lately near the trunk of an old tree, found seven pieces of large gold coin, which bear the effigy of James VI. king of Scotland (afterwards James I. of England). These were in circulation at Bar, during the residence of James II. of England there, in 1712.

The ploughman of Mr H. Land, of Sea Street, Hearne, in Kent, last week ploughed up, in one of his master's fields, a guinea coined in the reign of Charles II. in high preservation. Money of this denomination was first coined by that monarch, and called a Guinea, from being made of gold imported from the part of the African coast which goes by that name.

24.—Boat upset.—About one o'clock in the afternoon of Thursday, the 13th instant, as two fishing boats, belonging to the East Haven, were making for the Bell Rock towards Arbroath, one of them, in consequence of carrying too great a press of sail, run down, a short distance from that harbour, and the whole crew, consisting of six persons, were committed to the mercy of the waves, and one person only was saved.

A hard Law—At the Lincoln Assizes, Wm Nubert, and Ann, his wife, were tried for, a burglary. The evidence was clear, but Nubert declared he did it by the persuasion of his wife, which she acknowledged, declaring, "I am the wretched cause of his committing the robbery, and if I only could be hanged I should be satisfied." The judge observed, that, in point of law, Ann Nubert could not be convicted of this crime, for, as she acted with her husband, the law regarded her as acting under his coercion. "You and I, who are married men (said his lordship to the jury), know that this presumption of the law is often wrong, and that the husband is too often coerced by the wife. (A laugh.) I believe I have made myself intelligible, though perhaps my information may not be very palatable, it is not our business to inquire why the law is so, but it is our duty to act as it requires; and therefore, gentlemen, you must acquit the female prisoner." The jury accordingly acquitted the wife, and found William Nubert guilty.

27.—The Highland Society—The Highland Society of London, on the 21st instant, met to celebrate the anniversary of the Battle of Alexandria, in the Freemason's Tavern. This meeting was the most numerous and splendid, without exception, of any which ever took place. The chieftains, and most of the members, wore Highland dresses, richly ornamented, which had a most splendid and characteristic appearance. The Duke of York took the chair as president, supported by the Dukes of Argyle and Athol, the Marquis of Huntly, and a number of noblemen and gentlemen connected with the Highlands. The gallery was filled with an assemblage of beauty, from the first families in the country, many of them in the Highland costume. His Royal Highness the Duke of York, after two or three of the national toasts had been given in Gaelic and English, explained, in a short address, the occasion on which they were assembled,—viz. to present, from the Highland Society, a piece of plate to the 42d Regiment, or Royal Highlanders, as an acknowledgement of the high sense entertained by the society of the distinguished services of that regiment; and added, it was with peculiar satisfaction that, in the discharge of his duty as chairman of the meeting, he now addressed himself to the Marquis of Huntly, its noble commander, on whom, and on the conduct of the regiment in the various parts of the world in which they had been engaged, his Royal Highness passed an animated encomium. His Royal Highness then presented to the Noble Marquis a richly chased silver tripod, with fluted bowl; the legs of the tripod were ornamented with thistle foliage, and altogether adorned with appropriate emblems. The Marquis of Huntly, in returning thanks to his Royal Highness and the society, said it could not but be highly gratifying to himself, and the other officers of the regiment of Royal Highlanders, that, in so numerous and respectable a body as he saw assembled there that day, his Royal Highness, as commander in chief, had spoken of the regiment in such flattering terms. The vase having been presented, the Duke of York resigned the chair to the Duke of Argyle, who is president for the year. A number of noblemen and gentlemen were admitted as members. When the Duke of Argyle withdrew, the chair was taken by the Marquis of Huntly, who kept up that spirit of conviviality, characteristic of a Highland meeting, to a late hour on Saturday morning. Every thing was conducted according to the ancient banquetting of feudal times. The great cup of friendly pledge went round the hall. The whisky was drank out of the shell. A celebrated piper struck up "The Gathering," as the head of each clan was tousled, whilst Gow's band roused the company with those national airs which make the heart light.

28.—Cobbet's Departure.—A letter from Liverpool, dated the 26th instant, says, that

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