368 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1804. 



with great regard, your obedient and 

 obliged servant, John Boydell. 



6th. The court of king's bench 

 came to a decision in the case of the 

 king V. Dowley, •■ in which was in- 

 volved the question " Whether a 

 volunteer had a right to resign or 

 not?" Avhcn Lord Ellenborough 

 stated it as the opinion of the court, 

 that such right did exist; and that 

 the conviction of Air. Dowley could 

 not be sustained, and ought to be 

 quashed. 



7th. Mr. John Pauley put a pe- 

 riod to his e.'iistence, by nearly se- 

 vering his head from his body at a 

 barber's shop, Charles-street, Port- 

 man-sqiiarc, whither he went on 

 pretence of getting himself shaved. 

 The barber's wife being the only 

 person at home, the deceased got 

 possession of a razor, and effected 

 his purpose. Coroner's verdict — 

 Lunacy. 



1 ItJi. The sun was this dav' visibly 

 eclipsed. The following were the 

 particulars for Loudon : 



u. M. 



Bcgiuning\of the 



Eclipse ... 10 27 



Greatest Obscu- 



rauon ... 11 39 



End of the 

 Eclipse ... 12 55 



Digits eclipsed 8 dog. 3G min. 



About half past six o'clock it 

 blew a most terrible storm, and 

 rained the whole morning, and du- 

 ring the eclips;-, particularly, it 

 poured a torrent. 



Hth. liis majesty became so 

 much indisposed at the queen's 

 hoiise, as to lequire the close at- 

 tendance of Sir Francis Miluian, 

 Doctor Ileberden. and Doctor Duu- 



das, of Richmond, during the whole 

 day. At 12 o'clock the following 

 bulletin was issued, and shewn to 

 the nobility and gentry who cam* 

 to enquire after his majesty's health : 

 Fci>. 14, 1 804. 



" His majestj- is much indisposed 

 to-day." 



A coroner's inquest was held on 

 the body of Mr. Lacey, attorney, of 

 Bread-Street-IIill, who, the pre- 

 ceding evening, cut his throat with 

 a razor in a dreadful manner. By 

 the evidence it appeared that the 

 fact was committed during a pa- 

 roxysm of the gout in the head, 

 with which the deceased was se- 

 verely afflicted. Verdict — Lunacy. 



An ewe, belonging to Mr. Tho- 

 mas Evans, jun. of P>astington, 

 Gloucestershire, yeaned G lambs, all 

 of which appear healthy and are 

 likely to live. When dropped, they 

 were nearly as large as lambs usually 

 arc at their yeaninij. 



15th. The bulletin of the king's 

 health was couched in the following 

 terms : 



" His majesty is to-day much the 

 same as he was yesterday." 



16th. This day Mr. Astletttwas 

 put to the bar ; and the judge, af- 

 ter recapitulating the counts of the 

 indictment on which he Avas con- 

 victed, noticed the opinion of the 

 twelve judges, the majority of whom 

 had determined that the embezzle- 

 ment of the bills by the prisoner had 

 subjected him to the penalty ofthe 

 act of the 15th Geo. IL; or, in 

 other words, that he was guilty of 

 felony as laid in the indictment. — 

 On the Alonday following, the re- 

 corder passed sentence of death upon 

 him. 



* Vide Chronicle for .January, p. 361. 

 I Vide C!iro:nc!e of last yeur's Volume, p. 403. 



The 



