Page 53 - Reading Mercury

trembled, then was agitated with a great violence; people in different stations were
sensible of the rocking motion; those in bed, were apprehensive of being thrown out;
those on chairs with difficulty kept their seats; and those standing, actually retorted;
the windows rattled in their frames; the pewter jarred on the shelves; At one house,
situated on a rising ground, the bar of a window flutter, which was not fastened up,
vibrated like the pendulum of a clock; and at the same time, a bird was shaken off its
perch. The shock continued about ten seconds. Its direction was from southward to
north east. A person from Sheinton, a village about four miles from hence, informs us,
the shock was felt there at the same time, and with equal violence.

Yesterday the sessions began at the Old Bailey, when twenty-five prisoners were
tried, 6 of whom were capitally convicted, viz.
John Wild, for returning from transportation before the expiration of his term.
Thomas Young, for stealing a chestnut gelding, the property of Thomas Hillton.
James Johnson and Thomas Bath, for robbing William Germaine in Oxford-road, of
six shillings and a piece of Russia cloth.
Silas Shearrs, for assaulting John Foster in the 5 Fields, Chelsea, and robbing him of
a guinea, some silver, and two seals.
George Childs, for assaulting Thomas Holmes, near Tottenham Court turnpike, and
robbing him of a guinea and a half.
Nine were convicted to be transported, and ten acquitted.

WOKINGHAM, Sept. 15.
On Monday evening about seven o’clock, a man from Anvill, Middlesex, was
robbed at Bill hill, near this town, by two footpads, of five guineas, 20s. in silver, &
three shillings worth of halfpence; after they had robbed him, they stabbed him in the
arm to the bone.

The following robberies were committed last Thursday evening by three
highwaymen, one of whom was dressed in a countrymen’s smock, viz. About nine
o’clock they attacked the Shrewsbury coach by the Duchess of Portland’s wall near
Beaconsfield; on their bidding the driver stopt, he begged they would spare a young
woman among his passengers, who was a servant out of place, going to her friends;
but the hard hearted villains robbed her of a guinea, which was her All, and four other
women in the coach of about four more---They then waited a little while for the
Gloucester coach, the passengers in which they robbed of about five pounds, and a
gold watch.---They next attacked the Birmingham Diligence, with two ladies in it,
whom they robbed of near four pounds---Their next and last attempt was upon the
Worcester coach, which had a guard with a blunderbuss in the basket who told them
the coach should not be robbed upon which one of them fired a pistol at him, the
guard fired at them, and they retreated to a little distance. They came up a second
time, d---d the guard, and said they would rob the coach in spite of his endeavours to
prevent them; the guard resolutely declared they should not; they fired again, the
guard returned their fire and they rode off, and left the coach to pursue its journey.
The guard received a small graze on his ribs, and a ball went through the flap of his
coat; but it is not known any of the robbers was wounded.

On Friday evening, a few minutes after ten o’clock, a shock of an earthquake was
felt at Oxford, the vibrations were so strong that some people who were in bed rose

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