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and Surrey. He has left a large fortune, which he has chiefly bequeathed topublic charities: 1o,ocol. to the Weftminfter Lying-in hofpital, donations equally liberal to feveral others, and the refidue (fuppofed to be 40,000l.) to St. George's hofpital.

21ft.

At his houfe in Staffordrow, Pimlico, aged 89, Richard Yates, efq. the celebrated comedian; his reputation in the parts of old and grotefque characters especially, was eminently great. He was remarkable for pure and chafte acting up to the words of his author with a fcrupulous attention; the more remarkable, as performers of this caft of acting frequently introduce their own humour, with what niay be called the licentia hiftrimica of the drama. He excelled alfo in teaching or making an actor, in a higher degree, perhaps, than any one of his time. He was married, firft, to a woman who was rich; fecondly, to miss Anna Maria Graham, who had been introduced to his tuition by Mr Garrick, and with him the firft came on the ftage at Birmingham. Mr. Yates died fuddenly. He had been very well, as ufual, for fome time, and had breakfafted heartily. Having ordered eels for dinner, when, unfortunately, they could not be had, his warm and hatty temper could ill bear the difappointment; and from anger he worked himfelf up to rage. His houfekeeper, zealous to pleafe him, went out a long way, and brought fome; ere the returned, exhaufted with fatigue of fpirits, he had Jeaned his head upon the table, and the found him dead.

ift.

M A Y.

This day a ftorm of thunder

was remarkably tremendous in the western part of Suffex. At Pulborough a barn was fet on fire by the lightning, and entirely confumed. Luckily it contained only feven quarters of oats. In the neighbourhood of the above place, the peas in the fields were confiderably injured by a heavy fall of hail, which accompanied the thunder. 7th. Northampton. The following

dreadful accident happened a few days fince to Mr. J. Robinson, horfe-breaker, in Peterborough: having a young colt in training, the animal began on a fudden to plunge, by which means the rider was thrown from his feat with such violence, as to feparate the ribs from the back-bone. The unfor tunate man is attended by an eminent furgeon, and there are hopes of his recovery.

A few days ago, as a groom was combing a race-horfe in the neighbourhood of Beverley, in Yorkshire, the animal became fo irritated as to catch hold of the man's fide with his teeth, and tear away the flesh in fo fhocking a mauner, as to render his bowels and entrails visible. The poor fellow's recovery is much defpaired of.

9th.

On Saturday the fheriffs of London and Middlesex appeared in the Exchequer chamber, to render into court their eftreats, levies, captions, &c. and to answer an officer called the oppofer, for the crown. Several of the theriffs" officers, no doubt, being engaged about their country houfes and their carriages, had forgotten to make any returns, in confequence of which the theriffs were ordered

to

to attend in perfon next term, for the purpose of being examined upon interrogatories by the officer before the barons. This is a circumftance to which nothing fimilar has happened for a great many years.

An important caufe came on to be tried in the common pleas, in confequence of an iffue directed from the court of chancery on the queftion of fact, whether the late earl of Orford devifed by his laft will any lands and effects to the earl of Cholmondeley. The cafe is briefly this.On the 25th of November, 1752, the earl of Orford made a will, in which he bequeathed his principal eftates, after the demife of his immediate heir, the prefent earl of Orford, to the earl of Cholmondeley, whofe grandfather had married the daughter of his ancestor, fir Robert Walpole, the first earl of Orford. In 1756, the earl of Orford made a fecond will, in which he changed the order of fucceffion, and gave a preference over the earl of Cholmondeley to lord Walpole, who is defcended in a direct line from the fecond brother of the firft earl of Orford. This, of courfe, annihilated the firft will; and, had nothing farther occurred, no queftion could have arifen on the fubject. But, in 1776, twenty years after the fecond will was made, the earl of Orford figned a codicil, the purport of which was to make various provifions which had been omitted in his wills, and declared this codicil to be a codicil to his last will, figned on the 25th day of November, 1752. On the part of the plaintiff, it was contended that this codicil, which was duly figned and attefted, was a revival and fetting up of the will to which it referred;

and that, of courfe, that will re tained the fame force and effect, as if the fecond will had never been made. On the part of the defendant, it was maintained, in the first place, that the codicil was deftitute of thofe forms, exprefsly required by the ftatute of wills, which could alone give it the effect of reviving a firft will in preference to a fecond, where a real eftate was devifed; and, fecondly, that it was the intention of the teftator to annex the codicil to the fecond, and not to the firft will. To establish thefe points, it was proposed to adduce parol evidence; but the court interfered; and were unanimous in their opinion, that the established law of the land forbade the admiffion of parol evidence to contradict a written and perfect inftrument, fuch as the will and codicil together appeared to be; that the word laft, on which the counfel for the defendant had laid fo much ftrefs, was an expreffion which had no determinate meaning until the death of the teftator, when it operated to explain the intended laft act of his life; that neither the will of 1751, nor the will of 1756, was, in fact, a will until the teftator was dead; that an alteration of the date of the codicil would be making a new difpofition for the dead, which no court upon earth was entitled to do; the only power vefted in a court, on the fubject of wills, being that of explaining the intention of the deceafed, which, in this cafe, was perfectly clear; that wills ought only to be confidered as ambulatory inftruments, fubject to the pleasure of the owner, and to be used by him as his judgment or caprice might direct; and that the will of

1752 was abfolutely revived, and made his last act by the codicil of 1756. The jury, agreeing with the court, found a verdict for the plaintiff; in confequence of which, the earl of Cholmondeley will fucceed, at the death of the prefent earl of Orford, to an estate of the annual value of 10,000l. exclufive of the magnificent feat at Houghton, which is fuppofed to have coft upwards of 200,000l. and fome other property.

Kyd Wake, who was convicted at the fittings after laft Hilary term of having, on the first day of the prefent feffions of parliament, infulted his majefiy in his paffage to and from parliament, by hiffing, and ufing feveral indecent expreffions, fuch as, "No George no war," received the judgment of the court; viz." That he be imprifoned, and kept to hard labour in Gloucefter gaol, during the term of five years: that, during the firft three months of his imprisonment, he do stand for one hour, between the hours of eleven and two, in the pillory, in one of the public ftreets of Gloucefter, on a market-day; and that, at the expiration of his imprisonment, he do find fecurity for 1000l. for his good behaviour for 10 years."

Crofsfield, Lith. Le Maitre, Higgins, and Smith, were placed at the bar of the Old Bailey, charged with a confpiracy to affaf finate the King. Crofsfield pleaded generally Not Guilty:-Le Maitre faid, he had good objections to make to the indictment, but, relying on his innocence, would not make them; he therefore pleaded Not Guilty; as did George Higgins and John Smith. Some confultation was then held at the bar, when VOL. XXXVIII.

Le Maitre, Higgins and Smith, were remanded, and Crofsfield was put on his trial. The attorneygeneral addreffed the jury, and having concifely ftated the law, fubmitted to them the following account of facts in the cafe :-Some time fince a man of the name of Upton, before the higheft magiftrates of the country, his majesty's privy-council, accused himself and feveral others, directly, with the defign of affaffinating his majefty. Among the perfons fo accused was the prifoner at the bar, who thought proper not to abide the justice of his country, but to fly from it. The prifoner at the bar, in company with Upton and another, went to a brafs founder's, where they endeavoured to procure a brass cylinder, extremely smooth in the internal furface, of the length of three feet, and with a bore of fiveeighths of an inch. From thence they went to another brass-founder's, on Snow-hill, where they endeavoured to procure the fame article; and upon the man's wifhing to know for what purpose it was intended, he was anfwered, that it was a fecret. A third brafsfounder was alfo vifited upon the fame errand by the prifoner and Upton; and from thence they went to one Hill's, who was a turner, and lived in Bartholomew-clofe, for the purpose of his turning them models of the inftrument they wifhed to make. In anfwer to his enquiry for what purpose it was deftined, he was told, for an electrical machine. From another witnefs, of the name of Cuthbert, the jury would hear, that they examined an air-gun. There were alfo draughts of the inftruments, which would be fubmitted to their infpection,

C.

and

and they would perceive that the
arrow was of a peculiar conftruc-
tion. It had points or barbs, which
upon meeting any hard fubftance
collapfed in the head of the arrow,
and afterwards opened again, fo as
to prevent its being withdrawn
when once it had entered the flesh;
and towards the point there was a
fmall hole for emitting any liquid
which might be placed in a cavity
prepared for holding of it. The con-
fideration of one of thefe draughts
might be important in the caufe,
because the dimenfions marked on
the margin were the hand-writing
of the prifoner. When the infor-
mation of Upton was received be-
fore the privy council, as he had
before informed them, the prifoner
at the bar abfconded, and they
fhould be able to trace him to
Briftol; afterwards he returned to
London; then went to Portsmouth,
where he entered on board a veffel
bound for the Southern whale-
fithery, as furgeon. The name of
this veffel was the Pomona; and,
fhortly after he came on board,
they failed from Portsmouth to
Falmouth, during which time his
behaviour was in every respect be-
coming and decent. When he was
at fea, however, he told them who
he was, and avowed his having
been concerned in a plot to kill the
king, by an air-gun; and said, that
if government knew he was on
board that fhip, they would fend a
frigate after her, to bring her back.
It fo happened, that two days after
they were at fea, they were cap-
tured by a French corvette, La
Vengeance; and he expreted the
utmoft fatisfaction at the thoughts
of going to France; feeling him-
felf much fafer there, than while
amongit an English crew. They

were put on board another fhip, the
Elizabeth, and afterwards again
transferred at Breft to another.
During this time he rather acted as
a fuperintendant of the prifoners
than as one himself. He had fre-
quent converfations with the French
commiffaries, and made feveral de-
clarations as to his former and fu-
ture intentions of killing the king.
It feemed then his intention to re-
main there or go to Holland:
but upon the arrival of a cartel
fhip, he came home under the
name of H. Wilfon, and deferibed
himself as one of the crew of the
Hope, and not of the Pomona as
he really was. Upon his paffage
home, he endeavoured to perfuade
the witneffes not to notice when
they got home what paffed at Breft,
nor the circumstances of the change
of hip and name. They were
landed at Fowey in Cornwall, and
upon thefe men giving information
to the magiftrates of what had
paffed, he was inftantly appre-
hended. In coming to town, he
endeavoured to perfuade the officers
to let him efcape, and told them
they could not expect above 5s. for
their job, but he could reward
them much more liberally. One
asked, if they confented, what they
could do with the post-boy? He
anfwered, the boy might easily be
fecured by one of the piftols which
the officer carried. Having thus
gone through the circumftances of
the cafe, the attorney general ob-
ferved, there were two points for
the confideration of the jury. The
firft, whether the prifoner was a
party to the fabrication of this wea-
pon; and fecondly, whether it was
defigned for the purpote charged
in the indictment.

He

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The jury, after retiring about two hours, brought in a verdict of Not Guilty.

Henry Weston, the un13th. fortunate young man who forged the name of general Tonyn, and thereby got poffeffion of 5000l. ftock, was tried at the Old Bailey, and capitally convicted. He calmly addreffed the court after conviction, acknowledging the juftice of his fentence, and hoping all young men would avail themfelves of his example, and avoid the crime (gaming) which had brought him into fuch a miferable fituation. The trial of William Auf14th. tin came on at the Old Bailey this morning at eight o'clock, before Mr. Juftice Grofe, and lafted till half paft seven in the evening,

when he was found guilty of being concerned in the forgery of the late Mr. Lewis's will.

16th.

An action was brought in

the court of King's Bench, by lord Valentia against Mr. Gawler, for crim. con. with lady Valentia. The damages were laid at 10,000l. Mr. Erikine, with his ufual ability, ftated the cafe, and the criminal converfation was clearly proved from the evidence of a maid fervant, lady Lucy Maxwell (his lordship's fifter), and others. The defence fet up was, that lord Valentia not only winked at, but in fome meafure promoted the incontinency of his wife. Lord Kenyon delivered an excellent charge to the jury, and they brought in a verdict of 2000l. damages.

On the morning of Friday the 13th of this month, the Peak hills in Derbyshire were covered with fnow near four inches deep, the contraft between which, and the green thorn fruit trees in full bloom, formed a fpectacle novel and ftriking.

There has lately been discovered at Wallingford an old painting, on oak, of our Lord's laft entrance into Jerufalem, which has been ufed as a chimney-board, and was near being thrown into the fire; but turns out an original of the great Raphael's. The drawing, expreffion, and arrangement, aftonifh all who have feen the picture. Connoiffeurs far and near are going to its owner continually to behold this fine piece, refcued by accident from obfcurity and the flames, and likely to produce no inconfiderable fum by its fale. Several hundred pounds have already been offered for it and refused.

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