The National Register. — London, England, 1808-03-06 00:00:00

,~. -~. ~l .., - ~ , . THE NATIONAL itiEGISTER:_ 132 there, it appears, saw on the above day three eruizers working into Fort Ro)al Bay, and taking them for our men of war, hauled clue In under the land after them, when she discovered they were enemy's vessels, one a frigate, another a ship corvette, and the other a brig of war, and observed a sloop - and a schooner come out from the land, and juin them, w hen she hauled off; hut before sight of them saw the whole five stand into the Ba• - . I! is tuns evident that the enemy's force in these seas has been increa•ed, both military and naval, as there is every pro bability that these %ey,els had troops on board, which indeed it leo; been ascertained the two frigates really had, and in great numbers. SCOT LAN D. Lochglass, in the parish of Alness l on the 10th curt. a man .r name of Munro and his sister were found dead in a small , where they were carrying on illegal distillation. No osAs of violence appearing on their bodies, their death has o:•en attributed to the lightning which, on that tempestuous night, accompanied a very heavy fall of snow that completely covered the hut. From the nature of the business,. however, in which they had been engaged,'atal which, from various consi derations, we have cause to lament is too frequently pursued, it is more probable that their death was occasioned by the exclu sion of the atmospheric air, and the exhalation of carbonic acid gas, from several casks of wash, or pot-ale, found in a state of fermentation in the cct. Time tire-damps i! , sttiug from coal-mines have, by recent expe riment., been foiled to consist in 100 parts of tij inflammable gas, oxigen, 254 5 azote, and 5 carbonic acid, being nearly the same as the gas obtained from stagnant water, or that from the destructive distillation of pit coal, and not, as has been sup posed, any admixture of sulphnrated hydrogen ; whence it is evident, that the tire-damp is not the immediate product of the decomposed hater by beds of pyrites, nor of water by coal, but probably results from coal distilled by beat of py rites, ex cited by the occasional influx of water. MARCH G. MURDER !—A horrid murder was committed on Friday se'nnight, at Hallend, in the parish of Wootten Waveu, on the body of Join Booth, jun. The deceased was found in the sta ble, with five or six wounds on the head, and the skull fractured, lying near to the horses heels. A coroner's inquest was taken by Thomas Hunt, Esq. which sat the whole of Saturday and Monday, to ascertain the cause of hip death, when they returned a verdict of Wilful Murder; and, dreadful to relate, on Tues day his brother was committed to Warwick gaol, by the Coro ner, on suspicion of being the perpetrator of the horrid act. HERTFORD ASSIZES. HERTFORD, MARCH 3.—Mr. Justice Heath arrived this morning, and read the King's Commission for holding the Assizes for this County; but as it was late before his Lordship arrived in town, only one cause was tried in the course of the day, which was wholly uninteresting. FRIDAY, MARCH 4. HORRID MURDER AT lIODDESDON. Thomas Shnmoni was indicted, for that he, at Broxbourn, in this county, on the 20th of October last, did make an assault on Sarah Hummerstone. and wilfully gave her a mortal wound in the neck with a knife, of which she instantly died.—This is the case of the inhuman wretch who murdered the two unfor tunate women at Iloddesdon, and the Court was crowded at an early hour in the morning to hear the trial. It did not la , t long, as the facts lay in a very narrow compass. The prisoner, on being brought to the bar, looked around him with great com posure. He is, contrary to the description given of him, a decent-looking rustic, about the middle age, and his features by no means accorded with his conduct. Mr. Pooley, for the prosrion, addressed the Jury at some length, and stated the fa•cii: would be proved in evidence. He commented with coesiderable force and ability on the hor rible facts which would he adduced. They were of that nature text tti ould make mankind blush for the frailty of human na t're, and stamp to eternity the horrid act of the prisoner in the catiiin i lie of the most abandoned and terrific (Menders. He en treated the Jury to banish from their minds any vague idea that he taken from report, ana ,judge of the guilt of the pri soner by the evidence that. would fo:low. Sarah Harris, =ervant of Mr. Boreham, said she had lived four )ears with hint ; Simmons, the prisoner, had lived there three years, and quitted it last 'Michaelmas: the prisoner wished to marry her, but her mistress disapproved of it : they had quarrelled before he quitted the service—on which occasion he heat her ; and when he hail done he said he did not care if he had killed her. lie has Often said be would make away with her, because she would not marry him. About half past eiAht in te evsning of the 20th October, he came to the house—she was in the kitchen, and heard him comingalong the yard ; he was swearing violently. He came up to the window and struck at her through the lattice, and swore he would do for them all. She desired him not in make a noise as they had company : he said he did not "are for the company, he would do for them all. Mrs. Ilummerstone hearing the noise, opened the room door and came to the yard. She told him to go away. He gave her a blow on the head, which knocked off her bonnet; she ran into the house, and he , immediately followed her. The witness immediately heard the shrieks of murder, but did not know from whom. All the fa mily were in the room—the three young ladies, Mr. Ildrcham's daughter. Mrs. Warner, the married daughter, Mr. Boreham and his wife, and Mrs. Hummersione. In a very short time the prisoner came to the wash-house to her ; she shut the door, and cried out murder. The witness ran into the sitting room. She there saw some one lying under the window—she ran front thence down a passage—the prisoner followed her—she there met her master, with the poker in his hand—in running hastily, her master, who is a very old and feeble man, was knocked down. The prisoner caught her and threw her down, and drew a knife on her. Ile threw her across Mrs. Warner, who was lying dead, as she believed. Ile drew the knife across her throat, but she guarded it with her hand, which was cut. He ' made a second blow, when she wrested time knife out of his hand. lie immediately ran• away, and she saw no more of him. Thomas Cop perwheat went in search of the murderer. He discovered Simmons concealed under some straw in a crib in the farm-yard ;he had on him a smock-frock eerybloody ; the place where he was found, was about 100 yards from the house. Benjamin Rook, the Coroner, said, when the evidence of Harris w as read to the prisoner, he said it was very true, he had PRO VIN TinuttiNcfrun, F 29.—About seven o'clock in the even ing, a meteor (commonly called a fire ball,) was observed in and about this tutu; when tint seen, it appeared to he about 40 feet from the ground, in its course inclining to the earth, in a lice from north to south ; and it is ?opposed must have been soon al ter dissipated, but no explosion was heard. This meteor was of unconolion brilliancy ; the shape very much resembled that of n comtm, u..t ing a tail, the length of which was apparently about three feet, and breadth four inches, and the diameter of the ball about one foot. MAD DoGs.—At Newbury, on Tuesday morning last, a grey hound almost tore off the nose of a child, about three years of age ; soon after, he bit a man in the hand, almost through ; it is feared he has bitten many other persons. He was at length killed. Seven persons have who have been bitten about New- bury, passed through that town in a caravan about a week since, On their way to the salt water at Southampton. The following receipt for the cure of the:bite of a mad deg, , has been applied with the happiest success, as welt in the brute creation as in the human species : Take the yolks of three eggs and as much oil of olives as will fill three half egg shells—put them tog ether into a fry-pan over a gentle tire, and keep stirring with aknife until they turn to a conserve or thick jelly :—To be taken after tasting six hours ; and to fast six hours from meat and drink after taking- it. The wound, if there be any, to be kept open with a 'wooden skewer, and the medicine applied to it twice a-day. The affected part should be rubbed as soon as possible, after being bitten, with the oil of olives. As soon as the dose has been administered the patient should be put into a warm bed, as it will cause a great perspiration. A striking display of omnipotence of love, occurred at the High Church, Hull, a few days ago. A young woman having given her heart to a sailor, who was impressed and carried on board the tender by the interference of her friends, resolved ne vertheless to marry the object of her choice : He was accord ingly brought on shore, and escorted by the press-gang to the' church, train whence, after the marriage ceremony, he nas again conveyed in the tender. The following singular circumstance took place at Sheffield some time ago :—A young woman was married on Thursday, brought to bed On Friday, the child dierim the Saturday, was interred on the Sunday, the husband enlisted for a soldier on Mond ty, marched :mai on Tuesday. ~~_ f