8] 
17th. In his 59th year, James 
Macpherson, esq. M. P. for Camel- 
ford. Of this celebrated author of 
Ossian some anecdotes shall be 
given ina subsequent department 
of this volume. 
MARCH. 
Mr. B. D. Cock, driving a 
* curricle round Camden-place, 
4th 
near Bath, the horses, in conse-_ 
quence of being too much curbed, 
became restive; and one of them, 
having broken the bar, suddenly 
dashed over a precipice upwards of 
100 feet deep, by which the gen- 
tleman was literally dashed to 
pieces, the curricle destroyed, and 
the horses killed on the spot. _ 
In the court of exchequer, in 
Dublin, a jury of merchants, on 
the 20th of February last, gave lord 
Westmeath a verdict of 10,000). 
damages, against Mr. Bradshaw, 
son of sir Henry Cavendish, (who 
took the name of Bradshaw for a 
large estate), for crim. con. with 
lady Westmeath. Lady West- 
meath was a Miss Jefferys, She 
was married to lord Westineath in 
1784, and has two children by his 
lordship, , 
10th. Derby: What particularly 
* engaged the attention of the 
public at our assizes was a charge 
against a woman of the name 
of Ann Iloon, aged 24, for the 
wilful murder of her infant child, 
about 14 months old. The cir- 
cumstances of this murder were 
as follows: On Friday last, this 
poor creature, who is the wife of 
a labouring man, was about to heat 
her oven, and being short of wood, 
had broken down a rail or two from 
the fencing round the plantation of 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1796. 
a gentleman in the neighbourhood 3 
some of ber neighbours threatened 
her with a prosecution, and told 
her she would be transported for 
it. ¥bis much alarmed her mind ; 
and the idea of being separated 
from her child, of whom she had 
always appeared remarkably fond, 
so wrought on her imagination, - 
that she formed the horrible design 
of putting it to death, in order that, 
by surrending herself into the 
hands of justice, she might be ex- 
ecuted for the murder, and so be 
for ever re-united in heaven to that 
babe whom she had loved more 
than life. As soon, therefore, as 
ber husband was gone out to his 
labour, she proceeded to put this 
diabolical design into execution : 
she filled a large tub with water, 
when the babe, smiling in its mo- 
ther’s face, disarmed her for the 
moment, and she found herself un- 
able to commit the horrid fact. 
She then lulled the babe to sleep at 
her breast, and wrapping a cloth 
round it, plunged it into the tub, 
and held it under water till life bes 
came extinct ; then took it out of 
the tub, and laid it on the bed, and 
taking her hat and cloak, locked 
her street-door, and left her key at 
a neighbour’s for her husband, 
when he should return from his 
laboure She then proceeded to 
walk eight or nine miles to a ma« 
gistrate, and, requesting admission 
to him, told him the whole story, 
concluding with an earnest desire 
immediately to be executed. She 
was tried this morning ; and, ma- 
ny strong instances of insanity for 
some years past appearing, the Ju- 
ry found her not guilty, 
At Stafford assizes, a remarkable 
cause was tried, in which Mrs. 
Docksey, sister and heir at law . 
the 
