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accidents, I am sure I shall complete my task."

Wednesday, presented a repetition of the same annoyance from the crowd; much of this interruption was attributable to design, for in one particular instance a ruffian approached so closely behind him as to kick him up and throw him on the ground. An expedient was resorted to, which completely prevented a repetition of this violence. Several persons followed the pedestrian with a pole of about ten feet in length, which they carried in a horizontal position behind him. By this means the crowd was effectually precluded from closing upon him behind, while his sides were kept free by two parallel lines of rope, extending from each end of the pole to some distance before him.

Thursday, the pedestrian was in the highest spirits, though subject to repeated interruptions from the assembled multitude. The atmosphere, which up to this period had continued very warm, was become cool, and in cousequence, by the advice of his indefatigable friend, Mr. Dyer, a thin cotton jacket was exchanged for one of thick flannel. It may be necessary to notice, that as soon as the pedestrian arrived at Mr. Dyer's house, after the completion of each day's labour, he himself assisted in stripping him, and in bathing and washing his feet in goulard water, the effect of which is particularly healing. Such, in fact, were the advantages of this treatment, that the excoriation which existed in his feet was completely removed, and the skin appeared on this day perfectly sound and hard.

Friday and Saturday, Wilson continued his career, exhibiting avery appearance of good health,

unabated vigour, and spirits. On the former day, the Magistrates sent the posse cometatis on the Heath, and removed all booths in which liquors were vended.

On Saturday, Wilson was visited by Mr. Bicknell, the Clerk of the Magistrates of the County, who asked what arrangements had heen made for his removal on Sunday, and also adverted to the necessity of making some arrangements for his future walk, as it was wished he should not again appear on the Heath. The pedestrian's friends in reply promised compliance with the wishes of the Magistracy.— Wilson now took an opportunity of stating, that the object he had in view, in undertaking the arduous labour which he had commenced, was to raise a little fund by which be could set up in business, and by his own industry lay the foundation for comfort in the evening of his days.-Exertions were made all Saturday afternoon to find & proper spot for the following day's walk; our limits will not permit us to go farther than state, that they being all without success, Wilson was conveyed next morning in a stage coach into Surrey, and after much loss of time, a convenient spot was measured on the road opposite Lord Gwydir's park,` near West Wickham.-The morning was peculiarly unpropitious, the rain fell in torrents, and owing to the want of those grateful nourishments which he had been furnished with at Blackheath, and from a number of other impediments to which he had been subjected by the removal, he did not complete his task of fifty miles till five in the morning. As he began his match at six in the morning, he had thus only one hour to spare.— -At the conclusion of the fifty

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miles, which completed the seven hundredth mile of his whole com. plement, he was placed in a postchaise, and driven back to Mr. Dyer's at Blackheath. Having had some refreshment, he was put to bed at eight o'clock. He had previously slept well in the chaise, and after three hours further nap, he awoke. He then breakfasted, and after this meal, was drawn in the usual way to the starting post, where he arrived at ten minutes before twelve o'clock. Having completed his first mile in twenty minutes, he addressed the populace as follows: -"I have now, Gentlemen, gone one mile more than any pedestrian, under similar circumstances; and, with the help of Providence, I have no doubt I shall complete the whole one thousand miles within the twenty days. I feel myself well and comfortable, and I sincerely hope the Magistrates of this county will not feel it necessary to disturb me. I mean no disrespect to these gentlemen; but I am quite unconscious of having, in any one instance, been instrumental to riot. or confusion. If, however, they are determined to stop me, I must only declare that my failure does not arise from any want of physical strength."-He then pursued his daily task, and completed his 750th mile at twenty minutes before six next morning.

On Tuesday, the sixteenth day, after a sleep of four hours and a half, he awoke refreshed in a most extraordinary degree, and declared, that he felt himself as well as he had been during any period of his undertaking. At ten minutes past eleven he renewed his labours, in high spirits, but bad not proceeded more than a mile or two before he was taken into custody under a warrant from several Ma

gistrates, as creating a public nuisance. Wilson's friends being prepared for this interruption, were also ready with bail, to enable the pedestrian to proceed elsewhere to complete his task; but the Magistrates, it seems, had taken the precaution not to be at home, and were resolved to afford no opportunity of accommodation. Lond and deep were the murmurs of Wilson's friends against the authors of their disappointment; and the general feeling on the ground was, that the veteran pedestrian had been harshly treated, inasmuch as, it was said, he had given notice to the Magistrates in general of his intention to walk on Blackheath, and no objection bad been made to it, until now, when his task was nearly completed, and the old man had been almost worn down by fatigue, though with the prospect of reaping the fruits of his labours. The following is a copy of the warrant upon which Wilson was apprehended :

"Kent (to wil) To the High Constable of the upper half hạndred of Blackheath, in the county of Kent, and to all other officers of the peace for the said county.

“Forasmuch as it appears to the Justices (to wit) The Rev. Dr. Watson; the Rev. Dr. Burnet; the Rev. J. Messiter; the Rev. Arthur Onslow; Col. Jones; J. Williams; G. Trenchard Goodenough; J. Masou, and R. Smith, Esqrs. this day in petty sessions assembled, at the Mitre Tavern, in Greenwich, in the county of Kent, upon the view of the said Magistrates, that George Wilson, who has been for several days, pursuant to public advertisement, walking upon Blackheath and in the vicinity, for a remuneration in money, bath thereby drawn together, by

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day and night, a very tumultuous assemblage of people from the surrounding and other parishes, and occasioning a considerable interruption to the peace of the inhabi-tants we have therefore to re-quire you, and every of you, in his Majesty's name, to apprehend the - said George Wilson, and bring him before us, whose names are hereunto subscribed, being Justices of the Peace for the said county, in order to his being called upon for his security for his appearance at the next General Quarter Sessions of the Peace, to be bolden for the said county, then and there to answer the allegations, and also the being of good behaviour in the mean time, towards his Majesty and all his liege people.

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Given under our hands and seals the 21st day of September, 1815. "JOHN MASON, "RICHARD SMITH,

"JOHN RICE WILLIAMS. "CHARLES BURNEY." Wilson repeatedly declared, that he had not failed from any want of ability on the contrary, he felt himself quite competent to the complete fulfilment of the task.— His appearance and general state of health gave the best earnest of the truth of this assertion.

Wilson had many presents made him during his journey, and the principal inhabitants on Blackheath repeatedly sent him refreshments of all kinds.

The following is a statement of his daily progress :-

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Wilson went to bed in the afternoon of Tuesday and rose at seven o'clock Wednesday morning free from fatigue. Several gentlemen, who had betted largely, went to him at the Hare and Billet, with the view of ascertaining whether there was, as report had stated, any natural impediment to his success. Wilson, to satisfy them, stripped

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5 min. past 10 .. half past 10 40 min. past 10

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40 min. past 2 40 min. past 2 10 min. past 2 15 min. past 2 .30 min. past 5

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SPORTING LAW CASE.

Tried at the late Chester Assizes, before Sir W. Garrow and Francis Burton, Esq.

Stanley, Bart. v. Hodgson.

MR. Williams stated to the Jury, that this was an action brought by the plaintiff, Sir Thomas Stanley Massey Stanley, Bart. residing at Hooton, near Chester, against the defendant, Mr. Hodgson, a gentleman of great respectability, and well known on the turf, in order to recover the amount of a wager made by them, and which defendant objected to pay, for reasons which the laws of the turf did not allow to be sufficient, The dispute had been argued above in a Court of a very different description to that which he had then the honour of addressing, and it had decided for the plaintiff. But the Court to which he alluded (the Jockey Club) having neither writ nor process to compel the execution of its decisions, the worthy Baronet had been recommended to bring his cause before a Jury of his country, whose determinations carried much more weight with the laws of the land, than those of the Court of Honour which he had occasion previously to advert to.The learned Counsel had stated, that the Tribunal in question had no means of enforcing its de

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Chief Justice." It has the horse-whip !"—It certainly had THAT resource, but it was a summary process which in all cases was not agreeable; and it was therefore thought preferable to leave the matter to a Court of Justice. The circumstances of the case were briefly these:-In 1811, a party of gentlemen were invited to dine at the house of Colonel VOL, XLVI.-No. 276.

Barnston, in Chester, amongst them the plaintiff and defendantthe latter a gentleman of fortune residing in Liverpool. They had each of them at that time a filly, about a month old-and the Jury pretty well knew what could be expected from an animal of that early age: they_therefore agreed, that at Chester Races, 1813, they would start in a match; and this would be proved by the handwriting of a gentleman then present, who had written the terms of the engagement, which was signed by the parties:-it was, that Sir T. S. M. Stanley's filly, by Archduke, bought of Mr. Smith, should run against Mr. Hodgson's filly, by Orville, out of Muxton, 8st. each, 100gs. half forfeit.-The important period of Chester Races, 1813, arrived; Sir Thomas Stanley's filly attended at the post, but no horse of Mr. Hodgson's made its appearance.-The Jockey of Sir Thomas's horse, was then, according to the custom of the turf, weighed, and rode over the course, about a mile.-Of the occasion of his absence, Sir Thomas had not heard a syllable; but he (the learned Counsel) was told, that Mr. Hodgson had been attempting to purchase the filly from Sir Thomas, previous to the day of starting. Soon after Sir Thomas received a communication from Mr. Hodgson [which was read by the officer of the Court] stating, that the filly was dead, and he (Mr. H.) never meant to say that the plaintiff was not entitled to the wager; and referred him to Mr. Benson as to the terms of the agreement. This the plaintiff had done; and he would that day bring Mr. Benson forward to state the case. Although there was an Act of Parliament of considerable standing,

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standing, rendering certain wagers illegal; another is in existence which legalizes all wagers of 501. This was done to encourage the breed of horses; and the country had not more signalized itself by the bravery of its men, than by the superiority of its horses.-The learned Counsel observed, that the stipulation of the half-forfeit, was to guard against accidents, which horses as well as men were subject to. It was not to be supposed, that if the filly had broken one of its legs, that it would have appeared at the post, on one and two legs; or that if it had fractured its forelegs, it would have been able to have started for the prize dragging its hind legs behind it; these would have been wonders such as had seldom been seen!-This wager had been won up to the extent of one half of it: if a man makes an agreement he must abide by it, and this doctrine is as old as the law itself. But a person might undertake to do impossibilities: a man agreed to go to Rome in twelve hours-a most extravagant agreement certainly! but the law takes no notice of the party binding himself, but only of the fulfilment of his undertaking.-The law of England would also shew, (and by no other were the Court to attend to) that the defendant was bound to pay the 501. for the recovery of which the action was brought.

Mr. Millin,-from Liverpool, proved the hand-writing of Mr. Hodgson.

Ralph Benson, Esq.-Said he knew Sir Thomas Stanley, and was intimately acquainted with Mr. Hodgson, who formerly resided in Liverpool, but now lived at Stapleton Park, and London. He dined with the parties at Col. Barnston's : after dinner the plaintiff and de

fendant were talking about their fillies, and the conversation terminated in the witness committing to writing the terms of the race which was then agreed to.

Cross-examined by "the AttorneyGeneral.-The name had been changed from Phlebotomist to Archduke, Sir Thomas having no filly by Phlebotomist.-This was not written on the day of the diuner, but the following morning, at the Hotel, and was by the consent of both parties.-Witness did not know of any dispute between the parties, till he was subponed to attend the Court.

Mr. Williams said, that to avoid the waste of time, he admitted the filly was dead, but that it was living at the time of the agreement.

The Attorney-General-submitted to the Court, that the act of God had rendered it impossible for the defendant to fulfil his part of the contract; and that such rule of law was equally as applicable to brutes as mankind.

Chief Justice.-Here not so undoubtedly; a man undertakes that he will do so and so, and binds himself to the performance of it— he is responsible for the non-performance of his agreement.-So with a horse; a man may bind himself that his filly shall perform a stipulated task, which it cannot do. The responsibility certainly lies upon the contract.

Judge Burton. Certainly: when a person binds himself to do so and so, it is entirely at his own risk.

Mr. Williams-put the case of an embargo, where parties were bound to abide by the terms of their voyage, although perhaps confined for two years.

Sir W. Garrow.-If I bad time, leisure, and inclination to attend

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