Page 35 - Reading Mercury

stable, and a bitch fastened to the manger, with a litter of puppies were all burnt. The
perpetrators of this act of villainy have not yet been discovered.

We hear from Staines, that last week some villains broke into the dwelling house of
Farmer Ride, of Felton, and after binding the farmer and cruelly beating him, the
robbed the house of cash to a considerable amount

Wednesday last, one Jolly, a soldier, was committed to New Prison, London, on a
violent suspicion of having murdered a young woman about twelve years ago at
Salisbury, where proper enquiries are now making concerning this affair.

On Friday night last, the Hereford and Gloucester machine overturned near
Crickley-hill, by which accident a passenger had his skull fractured, another his collar
bone broke, and several others were much bruised. The same machine, on its return
from London on Sunday night, overturned at Hurley-bottom, but no material then
happened.

th
Fri 15 July
BERKSHIRE NEWS
WOKINGHAM, July 15
On Monday evening last a large Dutch ship, laden with tar, oil and other
commodities, was by some accident, set on fire, and burnt off the Isle of Wight. The
master and crew got safe in their boat to Cowed.

We hear from Sherborn, in Dorsetshire, that a mercer of that town, who, some
months ago, was mentioned in the papers to be robbed and murdered in his way to
London, to the great surprise of his wife and the inhabitants of Sherborn, arrived there
on Friday se’nnight at two o’clock in the morning. The report of his death gained such
credit, that his sister at Exeter went in mourning for him.

At the assizes held this week at Abingdon for this county, a remarkable cause was
tried, wherein a person from North America was plaintiff, and a gentleman from the
City of London defendant; the action was laid for the recovery of an estate in this
neighbourhood, which had been in possession of the defendant’s family upwards of
eighty years, the right heir being abroad, and could never be heard of, till about seven
years ago, when the defendant claimed the estate as his immediate successor; and
after several hearings it was on Wednesday last decided by the Jury in favour of the
plaintiff.

Richard Wright, the person who was apprehended on suspicion of robbing the
machine of this town some time ago took his trial at this said assizes, and was
acquitted, an alibi being proved, ten persons having swore that he was in their
company in the Borough of Southwark at the time the robbery was committed. A man
was capitally convicted for burglary, but reprieved before the Judged left the town.

On Sunday last a boy, the son of one Lawrence, a barber, in Oxford, fell from a tree
near that city, up which he had climbed in search of some birds’ nests, by which
accident he broke both his thighs, one of his arms, one of his fingers, and knocked out
one of his eyes; he was immediately taken to the Ozford Infirmary, but without
shewing any signs of life.

33