162 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1816. 



one of the journies the coachman 

 broke three whips. In one week 

 15 horses died ! The coach, how- 

 ever, has never been overturned, 

 and no niatcrial accident happen- 

 ed, except overtuining a fish- 

 cart near Kennington-coiumon, 

 whereby the driver was in- 

 jured, but not seriously. Tliis 

 was continued for about three 

 months, and excited attention 

 and curiosity all the way on the 

 road : a cro\vd of persons was 

 daily collected at the Elephant 

 and Castle, to see it start and 

 come in, and it always kept its 

 time within a few minutes. This, 

 however, became alarming, pai- 

 ticularly in the populous neigh- 

 bourhood of Newington, through 

 v.'hich it passed ; and the parish 

 oflicers there caused informations 

 to be laid against the drivers for 

 dri^ing furiously on the public 

 road, so as to endanger the lives 

 of his Majesty's subjects, under 

 the Act of Parliament for regulat- 

 ing stage-coaches, &c. This be- 

 ing followed up, the speed was 

 reduced, and the coach is now 

 about three quarters of an hour 

 or an hour longer on the road. 



18. This evening, iibout eleven 

 o'clock, a barn, cow-house, stable, 

 five corn-stacks, and a pea-stack, 

 were discovered to be on fire, at 

 Stour-hall, Ramsey, the property 

 of Anthony Cox, Esq, of Har- 

 wich; the whole of which were 

 completely destroyed. The barn 

 contained one hundred coombs of 

 wheat, ready to be de!i^•cred the 

 next day, besides a quantity of 

 other grain. There being no 

 doubt as to the premises, kc. be- 

 ing wilfully set on fire, suspicion 



fell on , a farmer at Ram- 



scv, who had been heard to de- 



claie he would be revenged on 

 Mr. Cox, for having hired a farm 

 which lie could no longer hold 

 himself. He was accordingly 

 taken into custody, as were also 

 his two sons ; and, after a long 

 and strict im estigation before the 

 magistrates at Harwich, sufficient 

 evidence was made out to commit 



, the elder (who is 70 years 



of age), to our gaol, to take his 

 trial at the ensuing assizes. The 

 loss is estimated at "20001. — Chelms- 

 ford paper. 



19. The following law-suit, or 

 rather succession of law-suits, as 

 detailed in a French paper, fur- 

 nishes a cuiious specimen of the 

 gloi ious uncertainty, complexity, 

 and expense of French law : in 

 this respect at least, if not in their 

 liberty, they resemble oiirsehcs ; 

 — " The Ci-iminal !^ection of the 

 Court of Appeal was occupied the 

 day before yesterday vviih a very 

 serious case, although originating 

 only ill a trifling wager of four 

 bottles of wine ; but the parties 

 (two Normans) have contrived 

 by their obstinacy, to involve in 

 this law-suit their foitune, their 

 liberty, and their honour. Quetel, 

 one of the parties, passing through 

 Troarn, in Calvados, stopped at 

 the Inn of Valdempierre, the other 

 party, Mliere he slept. After sup- 

 per he made a bet of four bottles 

 of wine with the servant of the 

 inn ; he lost the bet, and refused 

 to pay it. Valdempierre detained 

 as a pledge the horse of Quetel. 

 The latter sets out for Caen, and 

 summonses -Valdempierre to re- 

 store his horse and his portman- 

 teau, containing a bag of 1,520 

 fiancs in gold. Valdempierre 

 offers to give up the horse, but 

 not the bag and portmanteau. 



The 



