with young, and yeans towards the end of April, or beginning of May. Hinds go with young upwards of eight months; and this difference alone would be fufficient to prove, that thefe animals are of a species renicte enough from each other to exclude approaches, or commixture, or the production together of an intermediate race. In this refpect, as well as by figure and fize, they approach the fpecies of the goat, as much as they are diitant from the fpecies of the ftag; for the goat goes with young nearly the fame time, and the roe-buck may be confidered as a wild goat, which, Hving only on wood, carries a wood on his head inftead of horns. The female, in yeaning-time, feparates from the male, concealing herfelf in the clofeft and thickeft part of the woods, to a void wolves, which, in countries infefted by them, are her moft dangerous enemies. In ten or twelve days, the young fawns have already ftrength enough to follow her When he is threatened with danger, the hides them in fome bye-place, and, facing about, fuffers herself to be hunted for them; but all her cares cannot hinder men, dogs, and wolves robbing her often of her young. This is the most critical time, and that of the greatest destruction of this species, which, indeed, is not otherwife numerous. More of them are destroyed in the month of May, than in all the left of the year; and it may he remarked, that, as if in all things there was a perfect æquilibrium between the caufes of deftruction and renovation, their number is always very nearly the fame, in the fame tracts of ground. It is not difficult to reckon them, because they are no-where very numerous, go together in families, and each family has a feparate habitation; fo that, for instance, in a copfe of an hundred acres, there will be one family, that is, three, four, or five; for the female, which commonly produces two fawns, fometimes yeaus but one, and fometimes three, though but very rarely. In another tract of ground of double extent, there will be even or eight, that is, two families; fo that the obfervation may hold good contantly as to the fame number, except in years when the winters have been too rigo-, rous, and the fnows abundant and of long duration. It often then happens that the whole family becomes extinct; but the year following another family takes up its refidence in the fame piece of ground, and the parts they love preferably to others are nearly equally peopled. It is, however, pretended, that in general the number of thefe animals is diminished, and it is true, that there are provinces in France where none are now

found. Though common in Scotland, there are none in England and Ireland; there are but few in Italy; and they are more seldom. met with in Sweden, than they were formerly. This may happen, either by the diminution of forefts, or the effect of fome fevere. winter, as that of 1709, and 40, when almost all of them perished; fo that several years paffed before the fpecies was re-establifhed: Befides, they do not equally delight in all countries, because in the fame they will affect particular spots; they love hills or plains on the top of mountains; they do not refort to the depth of forefts, nor the middle of woods of a vaft extent; they more willingly occupy the skirts of woods furrounded with ploughed lands, thin copfes, and on bad ground, where there is plenty of brambles, thorn, and the like.

The fawns remain, in the whole, eight or nine months with their fire and dam; and, when they are separated, that is, towards the end of the first year of their age, their first head begins to appear under the form of two brochets or fhoots much less than thofe of the ftag; but what ftill makes a great difference between these animals, is that the stag does not caft his horns till fpring, and is not recruited in that refpe&t till fummer; whereas the rocbuck cafts his at the end of autumn, and recovers them in winter. Several caufes concur to produce thofe different effects. The ftag feeds abundantly in fummer, and grows excceding fat; afterwards he exhaufts himself by rutting, fo as to require the whole winter for recovering and recruiting his ftrength; Far therefore from his then having any fuperabundance, he labours under a deficiency of fubftance, and confequently his head cannot bud till spring, when he has fed fufficiently to afford a fuperfluity. The roebuck, on the contrary, who does not exhauft himself fo much, does not require fo much repair; and, as he is never loaded with fat, he is always almost the fame : Rutting makes no alteration in his state; he has at all times the fame fuperabundance; fo that, even in winter, and fhortly after rutting, he cafts, and is reinftated in his head. Thus, in all thefe animals, the fuperfluity of organic food, before determining towards the feminal refervoirs, and forming the feminal liquor, proceeds towards the head, and manifefts itfelf externally by the production of horns, the fame way as in man hair and beard announce and precede the feminal liquor; and it appears, that these productions, which are, as it were vegetable, are formed of an organic matter, fuperabundant, yet still imperfect, and mixed with brute parts, as ftill preferving, in their growth and fubftance, the

qua

qualities of the vegetable; whereas the feminal liquor, the production of which is more tardive, is a matter purely organic, intirely divefted of brute parts, and perfectly affimilated to the animal's body.

When the roe-buck has repaired his head, he rubs it against wood as the ftag to ftrip it of the fkin it is covered with; and this he commonly does in the month of March, before the trees begin to bud. It is not therefore the fap of the wood that tinges the roebuck's head; yet it becomes brown rubbed against trees of a brown rind, and yellow against those that are red; for there are rebucks diftinguished by these two colours; and, confequently, that colour of the horns proceeds only, as heretofore obferved in regard to the itag, from the animal's nature, and the impreffion of the air. On the fecond head the roebuck has two or three antlers at each fide; on the third, he has three or four; on the fourth, four or five,; it is rare to find roebucks with more; and they are then known to be old, by the thickness of the root, the breadth of the burr, and the largeness of the curlings. As long as their head is foft, it is extremely fenfible. A roebuck, having received a musket-ball that cut off clean one of the fides of his horns that began to bud, was so stunned by the shot that he fell down as dead. The huntsman threw himself upon him in this ftate, laying hold of one of his legs; but the roebuck, having fuddenly recovered both fenfe and strength, dragged him atong upwards of thirty paces into the wood, though the man was very strong; then difpatched by being ftabbed with a knife, it was feen that he had no other wound but in his budding hom. It is likewife well known that flies are great plagues to the ftag. When his head is beginning to be repaired, he then withdraws into the thickets of the woods where there are few flies, being infupportable to him when they faften upon his budding horns. There is thus an intimate communication between the foft parts of the live horns and the whole nervous fyftem of the animal's body. The roebuck, who has nothing to apprehend from flies, his head being repaired in the winter, does not feek out a retreat, but he goes about with precaution, and carries his head low, not to touch the branches.

In the ftag, the fallow-deer, and the roebuck, the frontal bone has two eminences, on which the horns bear; these two bony eminences begin to appear in five or fix months, and in a fhort time affume their intire growth; and, far from continuing to rife farther as the animal advances in age, they become lower and diminish in height every year; fo that

the burs, in an old ftag, or roebuck, lean pretty near on the frontal bone, whose emi nences are become very large, and very fhort: This is the fureft indication for know ing advanced age in all thefe animals. It feems, that a reafon may be easily affigned for this effect, which at first appears fingu lar, but which ceafes being to, upon confi dering, that the horns which bear upon this eminence prefs it down, during the whole time of their growth; that, consequently, they compress it with a great force every year for feveral months together; and, as this bone, though hard, is not harder than other bones, it cannot help yielding a little to the compreffing force, fo as to be conftantly broader, lower, and flatter by the forming of every pair of horns: And this is the caufe, (though the burs and roots always grow larger in proportion to the animal's age) that the height of the horns and the number of the antlers diminish to fuch a degree, that at length, when they attain to great age, they have but two large brochets.

The female going with young but five months and a half, and the growth of the young roebuck being more rapid than that of the stag, the duration of his life is fhorter, extending to twelve or fifteen years at most. They are very delicate in the choice of their food; they require a deal of motion, a free circulating air, a large extent of ground; and this is the reafon that they cannot refitt beyond their first youthful years the inconveniencies of tame life. They ftand in need of a female, and a park of 100 acres, to be at their eafe.

They may be tamed, but not made obedient, or familiar; they always retain fomething of their favage nature; they are easily frightened, and they precipitate themfelves againft walls with fo much force, that they often break their legs. How tame foever they may be, they fhould be guarded againft; the males, especially, are fubject to dangerous caprices; they conceive an averfion for fome perfons, and then they dart and butt at them with their head, and with force enough to knock down a man, whom they afterwards trample upon, on being thrown down. The roebucks do not bray fo frequently, nor with fo ftrong a cry as the Rag; the young have a final voice, short and plaintive, as mi.... mi, by which they express their want of food. That found is catily imitated, and the dam, deceived by it, comes quickly within the huntfinan's fhot.

In winter, the roebucks abide in the clo feft copfe, and live upon brambles, broom, heath, the catkins of the hazel, and the like. In fpring, they repair to more open

cop

copfes, and there broufe upon the buds, and tender leaves of almost all trees: This warm nourishment ferments in their stomach, and intoxicates them fo as to then make it very eafy to furprise them. They do not know where they go often they proceed out of the wood, and sometimes they approach cattle and inhabited places. In fummer, they remain among the higher copfes, and feldom leave them but for drinking at fome fpring in a great drought; for, if the dew is in any plenty, or the leaves of trees are wetted by rain, they do without drinking. They feek after the niceft food; they do not eat greedily as the tag; they do not broufe indiffe rently on all forts of herbs; they eat delicately, and go but rarely to standing crops, preferring brambles and the tender thoots of trees and their buds to grain and pulle.

The flesh of these animals is well known to be excellent eating, yet great choice is to be made; the quality depends principally on the country they inhabit, and in the best countries bad and good are equally met with. The flesh of the brown is finer than that of the red. All the male roebucks that exceed two years are hard, and in fome meafure ill-tafted; the females, though of the fame age, or older, are more tender in their fch. The flesh of the fawns, when they

are too young, is flabby, but perfect when they are a year or eighteen months old. The roebucks of moist grounds are ftill worfe; thofe reared in parks have little taste; in fine, there are no very good roebucks but thofe of dry and high countries, interfected with hills, woods, ploughed lands, and fallow, where they have as much air, room, food, and even folitude, as they require; for thofe which are often difturbed, are lean; and the flesh of others, that have been hunted by dogs, is infipid and will not keep.

This fpecies, which is lefs numerous than that of the ftag, and which is alfo very rare in fome parts of Europe, feems to abound more in America. Here we know but two vari eties, the red, which are the larger; and the brown, that have a white spot behind; and, as they are found in the northern as well as the fouthern countries of America, it may be prefumed that they differ from one an other perhaps more than they differ from thofe of Europe: For instance, they are extremely common in Louisiana; and they' are larger there than in Europe. They are found again in the Brafils; for the animal, called Cujuacu-apara, is no more different from our roebuck, than the Canada ftag is from ours; and the fole difference is in the form of their horns.

A

T the laft feffions held at Juftice-Hall, in the Old-Bailey, from Wednesday the 21ft to Monday the 26th of February, included, Mathew Kennedy was indicted for giving John Bigby on the hinder part of his head, with a certain iron poker, one mortal bruife, wound, and fracture; where of the faid John Bigby did inftantly die; and the other three prifoners were alfo indicted, together with one Stephen Grant, not taken, for being prefent, aiding, abetting, and maintaining him the faid Mathew, in the faid wilful murder.They all food charged on the Coroner's inqueft for the fame.-The witnesses were examined apart.

By the depofition of George Mallard, who kept a public-houfe in Wood-ftreet, Woft minfter, it appeared, that on Sunday, the 24th of December, the four prifoners, with one Grant, came together to his houfe, where they drank two half pints of brandy, a pot of beer, and four half-crown bowls of punch; that, when they had drank their liquor, they came out of the room where they had been into the tap-room, where they began a fort of riot by wrestling with one another, and,

in the fcuffle, the landlord, Mallard, re, ceived fome knocks, as he faid; a Black, by the name of Robert Wadefon, had his fhirt tore off his back by them; and Thomas Blifs, a brewer's fervant, had a tooth knocked out of his head, received feveral blows with fticks, and one terrible blow on his head, which bled much. The landlord owned them to be in liquor, and faid that, on leaving his houfe, one of them, but he could not tell which, took away his kitchen poker, This circumftance of taking away the poker was confirmed by Ann Cotterel, the fervant maid of the houfe; alfo the beating of the Black and their being very much in liquor, though, the faid, they had fenfe enough not to ftrike one another. As to the ill-uting of Thomas Blifs, it was confirmed by the evidence of John Atkinfon, who faw him fall from a blow he received, as he paffed by Mallard's door in Wood-street, about nine in the evening; and, for endeavouring to relieve the faid Thomas Bliss, he, Atkinson, was likewise ill-treated in his turn, and struck at acrofs his fhoulders; and, running away, was followed by a man in a green coat and

red waistcoat, trimmed with gold or filver, who d-d his blood twice and faid, Where is my hat? This man he believed to be Patrick Kennedy, but could not fwear it was. So far for what was tranfacted in or near George Mallard's house. The next fcene opened in Old Palace-yard, where Samuel Vincent faw the two prisoners Patrick and Mathew Kennedy, about nine o'clock at night, facing the Ship alehoufe, and with them fome others, to the amount in all of feven or eight perfons. This deponent ferved the King's Plaifterer and was acquainted with Grant, who worked for his Mafter. He faid that one of the rioters in a brown coat asked if he wanted to rob him? To which he answered, No; and another in blue, with a laced waistcoat faid, Let the lad alone. No, faid he, and, holding up a piece of iron, made a stroke at him, which he evaded by flipping towards the Ship alehoufe, the landlord of which pulled him into the paffage. This deponent further faid, that, a coachman having expoftulated with the rioters on their behaviour, one of them ftruck him, and another in a blue coat and laced waistcoat knocked down a stone mafon at the door, and then they all made off towards the bridge.

This evidence was corroborated by that of George Lucas, the coachman, who wore to the identity of Patrick Kennedy. A groom, in company with him, was ftruck at with a stick; another man was knocked down coming out of the Ship alehoufe; and himfelf was cut to the skull with a stick.. After thefe feats they ran away, and the coachman, having his head washed at the Ship alehouse, went out, and, by that time, a bout a quarter of an hour after, two of them were taken. The Conftable or watchman was, he faid, leading them down Weftminfter-bridge, and he faw one of them knock the man down, and his lanthorn fly out of his hand.

Another collateral evidence was that of James Rawlinfon, a ftone-mafon. He faid that, going out of the Ship alehouse to know the cause of the outcry, he faw the four prifoners at the bar, who had been beating two boys; that he was inftantly knocked down by Mathew Kennedy, and lay for fome time as dead n the street. (He fhewed the mark on his forehead.) That, Samuel Pierce, another ftone-mafon, coming out of the fame houfe to take him up, he also was struck at, but catched the blow with his hand; that then, Pierce going into the houfe to get fomething to defend himself, he, Rawlinfon, be ing recovered, ran with him up towards Weftminster-bridge, where they met the two Ken

nedy's coming down, upon which this depa nent made a push to catch one of them, but miffed him. Then the two Kennedy's ran down the bridge and they after them. As the Kennedy's ran along, they knocked another man down that was just at the foot of the bridge; but, being till closely purfued, Pierce knocked Patrick Kennedy down in Channel-row, and the deponent took Mathew Kennedy in Darby-court. They tied them both together and had them to the watch-houfe by St. Margaret's church. They had nothing in their hands, when they took them; and, as to the other men, they did not fee them any more that night.

Samuel Pierce depofed much to the fame effect, with this further circumftance, that Patrick Kennedy faid he had loft his watch and twenty guineas; and when in the watchhoufe he faid he had loft his watch and two guineas-John Quick, keeper of the Ship agreed with them as to what was done before his door, and fwore that he knew the two Kennedy's particularly, and that the taller, Patrick, had knocked down two men at his door, viz. Rawlinfon and Lucas. Being defired to point them out in Court, he pointed to Patrick, but for Mathew laid his hand on Evans. This mistake he excufed from being short-fighted.

We are now come to the moft material part of this trial, which is the evidence against the prifoners for the murder of John Bigby.

George Bracegirdle, a lighterman, depofed, that John Bigby, the deceafed, a bricklayer's labourer, was, on Sunday the 24th of December in the evening, on Westminfter-bridge, he having taken upon him to ferve that night as a watchman in the room of one Goodchild; that this deponent came to him on the bridge a quarter after nine, and walked up the bridge with him, when two men came, and ran against him, one of them having a cane in his hand, with which he ftruck the deponent, and the other beginning to beat Bigby with his hands, Bigby ran backwards and faid YO-I! and called for help a good while; that hereupon, two other men coming up, one of them with fomething in his hand, Mathew Kennedy (pointing to Mathew Kennedy) took it out of his hand, ftruck Bighty with it, and knocked him down.- [Here he defcribed this fomething, which looked like iron, the end fquare, the other part round, and about a yard long]

That the other of the men laying hold of him the deponent, to wreft the cane out of his hands with which he was firft ftruck, he threw it through the balustrades of the bridge, and, hoping to rife Bigby, who lay flat on his back with his arms expanded near him,

one of the men gave him fuch a defperate blow over the back with fomething, that he had not power to help Bigby up; upon which all of them made their efcape.-The rest of this man's evidence, except his helping Bigby to the hofpital, and knowing the Kennedy's afterwards in the Round-house, tallies pretty exactly with the circumstances of the following.

William Shillitoe, Conftable of Weftminfter-bridge, depofed, that, on the 24th of December, he came from the watch-house about twenty minutes after nine, down the South fide of the bridge, where the unfortunate Bigby was knocked down; that he helped to take him up, and, when he was conveyed from thence, in about a minute after, one of the Kennedy's, who had been over towards the other end of the bridge, and was returning, came and ftood by him: (I his was the elder, Patrick, with boots on and a green coat;) that fome people coming over the bridge faid to him, this is one of the men that knocked the man down; to which he answered, Are you fure of that ? and they faying they were, and would take their oath of it, he called to two watchmen to lay hold of him, and, as they were taking him to the watch-house, about two yards from the Bear, there was a fort of refcue; he, the Conftable, was knocked down, and was three weeks under the furgeon's hands from the confequences of the blow he received (fhewing a diagonal fear about the middle of his forehead, about an inch and a half long.).

Ralph Hewfon depofed, that he was one of the watchmen that affifted to take Patrick Kennedy to the watch-house, in which attempt he was knocked down with the Constable; but that this Kennedy was again taken in Channel-row.

John Pyle, a furgeon, depofed (as to the condition of Bigby's wound, who died in a bout two hours after he was brought to the Weftminster-infirmary) that he law the deceafed the next day, and, on examining his head, found a large contufed wound on the back-part, and round about much fwelled; that, on dividing the fcalp, the pericranium was covered with extravafated blood, and there was an oblique fracture which extended from the bottom of the os occipitis to the fagittal future, of near feven inches in length; that, on dividing the skull, he found the fracture had penetrated both tables, and went down as far as the foramen magnum of the os occipitis; that there was a large quantity of coagulated blood covering the whole furface of the brain; and that part of the dura mater, which covers and contains the cerebellum, was almost fuli; and that

this wound came most likely from a blow, and not by a fall.

Jofeph Bigby, the deceased's brother, produced the poker in Court: It was a very heavy kitchen poker; Mallard owned it to be his, and it was brought to Sir John Fielding's by the father of the two Kennedy's.

Prifoners Defence.

Mathew Kennedy faid, in his defence, that he knew nothing at all about the affair.

Patrick Kennedy, in his defence, acknowledged what had happened as to the wrestling in Mallard's houfe, and that, the people there interfering, they had ftruck at one another; that he went out, and M'Mahon went in again for his cane; but that himfelf had neither cane nor any thing else in his hand; that, as foon as he came out of Pa lace-yard, he ran on the Surry fide of the bridge, and, coming back again, heard murder cried out; that, as he was walking along, he was purfued into Palace-yard, and there knocked down, and robbed of his hat, four guineas, fome half pence and filver, and his watch; that, getting up to run after the robbers, and not knowing his way, he got into a place, where he was taken; that his brother cried murder, and was taken along with him; that neither stick nor any other weapon were found upon them; that, when he was in Tothill-fields Bridewell, they brought a chairman with them, and wanted him to give them money, and they would not appear against him; and that he took down directions to a man that ufed the Ship in Old-Palace-yard, and those men could not be found.

M Mahon, in his defence, related the circumftances of the things that paffed at Mallard's, and that afterwards he and his company were twice attacked by four ruffians, whose design, he thought, was to rob them, firft, in Old Palace-yard, where he was knocked down and loft his cane; and, fecondiy, at the foot of Westminster-bridge, where he was knocked down again; that, recovering himself, another blow was made at him, which he avoided by an inclination of his body, and the weapon, having no fupport in the fellow's hand, fell to the ground, and proved to be the poker produced in Court, which he taking up, waved it over his head, and fo extricated himself from a croud of fifty or fixty people, and escaped without making a blow; that he went directly to the Globe-alehouse in the Strand, with the poker in his hand, and, being atked where he got it, faid in Bridge-ftreet; that Jolm Evans came in and told him Kennedy

and