The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1804-08-07 00:00:00

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Ct;RtcaiS custo4:

A very singular sustom, connetged with tl
r manor of :toetford, in Esier, is the balding of
what is called a Lostile., court. Its origin is uncer-
tain, but tradition represents it as Ar.sing fkm a
conspiracy against the Lord.of the M snor, projeCted
during his absentee, and overheard by him on his
way h-me. As a punishment, he ordered that all
the tenants on his manor should ever afterwards
ass-mole at a certain hour of the alight, on the same
sp .t where the .b.nspiratorS met, and do homage for
their lands The court is held lo the open au-, on
King's Hill, on the. midnight of the first Wed-
nesday after Michaelmas day ; and all the business
is transacted in whisper:, the minutes being made
with a coal, instead of pert and ink. The steward
opens the court in as low a voice as possible ; yet,
those tenants who negleCt to answer, are deeply
fined, and every absentee forfeits double his rent in
every hour's absence. time of assemWing is
from twelve till cnek-crow. The parties previously
meet at the King's I kad, in Rnchforsi.

The body of Mr. Joets, who was drowned in
the Thames, opposite Somerset House, cn Sundays
is not yet found, though the most .dive search has
been made f r it. The child is perfeitly recovered.
At eight o'clock on Monday, a Gentleman who
had undertaken to walk from Hull to Drilfield and
back again, I-or a waeer of two hundred guineas to
one, set off from the end of Prospeift-street, and
reached dh iiiield ahout a quarter past twelve. He
returned to the place whence he started aboet
49 minutes before live in the morning, being i
minutes within the limited time. A great number
of persons had assembled at that early -hour, to wait
the decision of the wages.
A singular aid melanaleily circumstance hap-
pened a few days ago iu Salt-lane. Salisbury
very fine child, two years of age, was sitting with
his mother at dinner, when a boy, about twelve
years old, entered the house with a frightful old
mask on his face, the sight of which so much
alarmed the poor infant, that he fell into fits, in
which he continued five or six days, and then died.
This is mentioned as a caution to deter parents
Fern suffering their children to disguise th .mselves
in order to frighten others—a praditee which, ex.
elusive of this instaace, has frequently been attend' d
with most fatal conseeuences.
A very providential and sinettlar preservation
from instant death was experieaced by an unfortu-
nate girl at the Workhouse, in Birmingham, na
Wednesday. She was confined in a room four sto-
ries high, in the sick ward, front wheece she en-
deavoured to escape from her confinement. She
got out of the window, with an intend u, as is sup-
posed, to leap upon some houses nearly opposite,
which were about 20 feet from the window, but
missing her aim, she precipitated herself into the
yard below, a h iight of hence! n GO and 70 feet !
and, strange to tell, none of her limbs were broken.
or bones fraslured. She complains only of a slight
pain on her hip.
On Tuesday seineight, as Mr. FT.ATIIERET ,13,
jun. of Pasrington, surgeon, and another ge see-
r:lath were returninp: en tl.at I.t tee frisrn se...atom
on horseback, a dog suddenly assailed them. aid
bit their looses ; in consequence of e hicho thy
were both thrown to the ground. The letter y •n-
-tleman escaped without injury ; but Mr. Feel.,
a -
STOW received so severe a flow on the head, f om
the fall, that, though his life is not now considered
in much d anger, yet the effeas of it he will prt.ba-
bl) b ar to tile grave. a
01 Monday se'nnight, a wager was determined
be. ween a party of Gentlemen, at the Dolphin,
Heigeam, Yorkshire. The wager origiaated from
a c inveisetion on fishermen in certain pasts of Eng.
land currying their boats on their backs from plate
to place, which do not we
.211 more than 19 to 201 b.
It was maintained as imp eeble for any thing to be
consttufled of se small a weight, which could carry
a person in safety upon the water. 'I he ne:er party
asserted it was possible, and engaged to const %ha a
boat for that river, which was performed, not only to
carry one man, but two persons, who rowed ale, ut
1. The boat is construe:tea of wicker-work and od
silk, it had two bladders on each side the gone-1,
with which it weighed only Oh. 1 l oz. It was
afterwards contended that no bladders ought to he
attached to the boat, and to peeve its powers still
farther, they were taken off, and a gentleman rowed
from the New Mill Pool to the Tempotary Bridge.
The weight without the bladders was $ lb. 14 OAS.
The following most extra's' dinars. and auciacinps
attempt at burglar.., was made on Tuesday last, on
the premises of Mr. Bence. in Kir/ale-mad, near
Bevngton Bush, Liverpool. About ha!t- -"eat three
o'clock, the female servant being in the house alone,
observed trom the kitchen w indce.e which looks iefo
the garden, three men, habited like sailors, ap-
proaching the house from an stvenue, which she
knew they could only Is me entered by climbing over
the wall. She immediately fastened the door and
the windows of the lower story, and running tip
stain, looked out of the chamber window, and 'de-
sired to know shat they wanted. They asked for
Mr. Buse H, but being toW he tees not at home, they
desired to be adtnitt id into the house, saying they
would wait till he came in. On leer refusing to let
them in, they told her they wre determined to
break into the house, and immediete.y arts mpted to
force the door. On this she seized a brace of pistols,
which were laying in the chamber ready loads..',
aed fired them successively at the vidains, without
an% She then took up a blunderbuss loaded whit
small shot, and fired it also, on which one of the
men dropped, and appeared to he badly wounded ;
one of his companions threw him across his shoul-
der, and made off. The thr.d then lodged itp at the
young women, and swearing he would beve her
life," attempted. with more violence than before, to
break into the house through the window. Ternfied
with this threat, she instantly ran to the back part
of the house, tied a sheet to the windoss -shutter,
and, with much difficulty and some bruises, let
herself down into the lane. She then called fur as.
sistance, but on searching the premises, no traces
could be found of the robbers. Adlive search is,
however, making after them by the Police Officers,
and we doubt not but they will speesl4ly he taken into
custody. It is remerkable that Mr. Buscn's premises
have been attacked no less than eight times, within a
short space of time, probably by the same gang.