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the man at the time of the marriage. He was asserted to have been 45 years of age; and that he should remain ignorant of his own bodily defect-a defect, apparent upon inspection, was next to incredible; or if it was not absolutely incredible, his knowledge of the defect was strongly to be presumed, while his ignorance of it, on the other hand, was a matter incapable of proof. But besides this, there was a third objection-a subsequent cohabitation of seven years before any suit was brought. It could not be supposed, but that at all events he must have discovered his own incapacity then, long before the institution of the cause, and the rule was to be applied here which was laid down in all the text authorities, and in the spirit of which the Court was accustomed to inquire

"Cur tamdiu, antequam petitur ?" Now, the lapse of time might not be a fatal bar to the prosecution of many suits. Where the woman was the complainant, the modesty of her sex might account for her forbearance, for it was very well known that the delay of the wife was always accepted as in her favour, even in cases of adultery. But a delay of more than seven years, where the man was the complainant, was by no means an immaterial subject of presumption as against him, when he came forward, as now, alleging his own incapacity. Not only had he defrauded his wife by this long possession of her large property, which the celebration of the marriage had entitled him to, but he had injured her by this long cohabitation of several years; and yet he now appeared before

the Court, anxious to get rid of the burthen and duty of supporting her, and alleging her subsequent misconduct. There was another circumstance occurring in the libel not wholly to be passed over that this was a marriage by licence, and as it was usual for the man to obtain it, the Court was obliged further to presume, that he had done so in this instance upon his own affidavit. In this affidavit he must have sworn that he knew of no impediment, whereas he now avoided the impediment in his affidavit before the Court; and, as had been already observed, his ignorance of this defect was next to incredible. The learned judge then alluded to one or two judgments at common law; but there was one broad principle of our laws, which, in its own view of the case, was especially applicable here" that no person should take advantage of his own wrong to avoid his own contract ;" and the Court could hardly suppose the party not conscious, at the time of marriage, of the impediment. The learned judge concluded by declaring, that, on the whole view of the case, he was not satisfied, either by the facts pleaded, or by the arguments advanced by counsel, or after very material consideration which he had given to this subject himself, that from any facts stated in this libel (so far as they were capable of proof), the husband was entitled to the remedy which he prayed; and he therefore felt himself bound to reject the libel, and to dismiss the suit.

Another curious case has been decided in the Consistory Court. A Mrs. Mortimer, wife of John Mortimer, esq. residing at Blackheath, gave birth to a male child

in August, 1811; and being alarmingly ill, she, in the belief of her approaching dissolution, told her husband that she could not die

happy, without relieving her mind, by confessing to him that she had long carried on an adulterous intercourse with a Mr. Young. Mrs. Mortimer the same evening having received the sacrament, and supposing her death to be inevitable, made a similar confession to Mrs. Maria Mortimer, by whose husband it had been administered. In consequence of this confession, various circum stances recurred to the mind of Mr. John Mortimer, in which he had to complain of indecent familiarities observed to have passed between his wife and Mr. Young; and upon Mrs. Mortimer's unexpected recovery from her dangerous illness, he determined, in consequence of her confession, no longer to live with her. Accordingly, he acquainted her soon after with his determination; but being unable to obtain any clear and specific proofs of the adulterous intercourse in question, except those which resulted from her own unsolicited declaration, he did not institute any criminal proceedings. Upon consulting with her father, therefore, how best to provide for Mrs. Mortimer's future support and condition, they mutually agreed that she should go to her father's house and reside with him, Mr. John Mortimer agreeing to allow her a maintenance of 100l. a year. The lady, however, now applied to the Court for restitution of her conjugal rights, on the ground that no legal proof of adultery exists against her-her own confession not being admitted as such. It was given against her.

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this case.

tion to restrain the earl of CovenIt was a motion for an injunctry from encouraging the marriage of his daughter, who is only 17 years of age, with Mr. Gresley, who is not 20 years of age, a student of the University of Oxford, and son of sir George Gresley; and also to restrain the young people from having any communication or correspondence with each other, during the minority of the young lady. It ap peared that the earl of Coventry and sir George Gresley approved of the intended marriage of their children, but that the plaintiff, who is joint guardian with the noble earl of the young lady, disapproves of it, and has made this application to the Court for the purpose of preventing it.

The Lord Chancellor postponed giving his decision to a future day.

THE KING'S DEATH. LONDON GAZETTE EXTRAORDINARY.-SUNDAY, JAN. 30.

Whitehall, Jan. 30.

A letter and inclosure, of which the following are copies, have been this morning received from his royal highness the duke of York, by the lord viscount Sidmouth, one of his late majesty's principal secretaries of state:

Windsor, Jan. 29.

My lord;-It becomes my painful duty to acquaint your lordship, that it has pleased Al

mighty God to take unto himself lord, your lordship's most obethe king, my beloved father, and dient humble servant, our most gracious and excellent SIDMOUTH. sovereign. He expired at 35 minutes past 8 o'clock, p. m.

I inclose the certificate of all the physicians in attendance at this melancholy period. I am, my lord, ever your's, most sincerely, (Signed) The right hon. viscount Sidmouth, &c.

FREDERICK.

Windsor Castle, Jan. 29.

It has pleased the Almighty
to release his majesty from all
further suffering. His majesty
expired, without pain, at 35 mi-
nutes past 8 o'clock this evening.
(Signed) HENRY Halford,
M. BAILLIE,
W. HEBERDEN,
ROBT. WILLIS,
DAVID DUNDAS.

For his Royal Highness
the Duke of York.
A letter was also sent to the
lord
mayor, which was placarded
at the Mansion-house, of which
the following is a copy:-

Whitehall, Jan. 30, 1820.
My lord-It is my painful
duty to inform your lordship of
the demise of his majesty king
George III.
This melancholy
event took place, without the
least apparent suffering at Wind-
sor-castle, at thirty-five minutes
past eight o'clock yesterday af-
ternoon, to the great grief of his
present majesty and the royal
family. I have to request that
your lordship will give the direc-
tion usual on such occasions for
the to.ling of the great bell at St.
Paul's Cathedral.

I have the honour to be, my

To the right hon.
the Lord Mayor.

31. His majesty George the Third was born on the 24th of May, 1738; which, since the alteration of the style, has become the 4th of June. At his death, therefore, he had reached the advanced age of eighty-one years, seven months, and twenty-six days. He was proclaimed king on the 25th of October, 1760, and crowned on the 22nd September, 1761. On September 8th, 1761, he was married to her late majesty, and had issue seven sons and five daughters, of whom six of the former and four of the latter survive him. His royal highness the prince of Wales was appointed regent on the 6th of February, 1811; and from that time he has been virtual sovereign, acting in the name and on the behalf of his majesty. A few months ago his majesty's constitution seemed quite unimpaired, and it was remarked that few lives promised a surer duration for several years, notwithstanding his majesty's advanced age; but about three months since a gradual loss of strength and flesh were perceptible, and since which time the medical gentlemen attendant on him considered themselves bound to prepare the public mind by alluding to the infirmity of his age in the monthly bulletin. A slight bowel attack about six weeks ago gave his medical attendants considerable alarm, and although it lasted but two days, it left his majesty much debilitated. No actual bodily malady, however, existed from that time

until the early part of last week, when the renewal of the bowel complaint, which showed that the bodily functions had lost their power, announced a probability that the king's dissolution could not be very far distant. Every thing that he took passed through him as he received it, so that nature had become entirely exhausted and refused her office. In this state it is not surprising that the decay should be rapid; the retentive powers only a short time before his dissolution lost their command-the royal patient sunk without a struggle, and nothing like a lucid interval took place as has been erroneously supposed. From the beginning of this month, lords Henley and St. Helens have been the two lords in waiting, and they were noticed to remain longer at their post and to quit their charge for shorter periods than usual. His majesty, in the early access of his second attack, rejected animal food. The most nourishing and tempting diet, in every form that could be devised, was prepared for him, but seemed to fail in its purpose of sustaining or recruiting exhausted nature. A few days before his death he became reduced to a complete skeleton. The general decay to which his constitution was now subjected show ed itself in the usual symptoms. It was evident that his blood was becoming torpid and chilly; for though artificial means were used to raise the temperature of his apartments, yet he continued to manifest increasing pain from cold. Among other distressing proofs of his debility and approaching dissolution, he lost his remaining teeth: he also lost his appetite, which had previously been so

hearty, that it had been usual to medicate his food in order to procure digestion and prevent any injury from the tendency to excessive indulgence. It was not, however, till within two days of his decease that he kept his bed entirely, though for several days past he had not risen at his accustomed early hour. On the night of Friday, the 29th, the symptoms became so alarming, that sir Henry Halford came express to town very early on Saturday morning, and had an immediate audience with the duke of York.-The consequence was, that his royal highness's carriage was immediately ordered, and without a moment's delay he set forward with post horses for Windsor-castle. His royal highness appeared agitated as he got into the coach; and there was an air of mystery and hurry in the whole affair, which gave but too much reason to anticipate the distressing nature of sir Henry Halford's communication. The rapid movements of official personages throughout Saturday and the preceding day strengthened the accounts of the alarming crisis which his majesty's indisposition had attained. At a late hour on Friday evening, the earl of Liverpool set off to Windsor, where he remained the whole of the night. All the messengers of the House of Lords had been in hourly attendance upon sir Thomas Tyrwhitt, the usher of the Black Rod, during the last two days. The fires in the House of Lords were kept regularly lighted as if the Peers were sitting; and Mr. Cowper, the deputy clerk of parliament, through whom the summonses for the immediate convocation of parliament should

issue on the demise of his majesty, arrived at three o'clock on Saturday, rather unexpectedly. Soon after his arrival he communicated with sir T. Tyrwhitt, and Mr. Quarme, the deputy usher of the Black Rod. The archbishop of Canterbury was at Lambethpalace on Saturday, having specially arrived from the country. At ten o'clock on Saturday morning, the medical attendants, and the lords in waiting, felt assured that the last hour of the venerable sufferer was approaching, and that the day must terminate his mortal career. As the evening advanced, his majesty became gradually weaker and weaker, but apparently without the slightest pain, till nature was quite exhausted; and, at 35 minutes past eight o'clock, he breathed his last without suffering even a struggle. The strength of the king's recollection remained unimpaired almost to the last, but the aberration of his reason was never in any considerable degree diminished. In the earlier stages of his malady an experiment had been made to recall to his recollection and direct his attention to public affairs; but it was soon laid aside, as it was found to create that irritation which is the lead ing symptom of mental derangement. His majesty's recollection of past events was extremely exact, and the occasional sketches of persons and characters, which formed great part of his soliloquies, afforded the strongest proof of the activity of his mental powers, which were most strik ingly exemplified in a particular instance when the conversation turned upon the merits of the earl of Sandwich, whom his majesty designated by the term of

Jemmy Twitcher, a nick-name with which the whole of our readers will be well acquainted. At the moment of his dissolution there were present, besides the usual attendants, his royal highness the duke of York, lord Henley, lord Winchelsea, all the physicians, and general Taylor. In the palace were the duchess of Gloucester, the princesses Augusta and Sophia, and some re ports add the duchess of York. Immediately after the decease, the duke of York retired and dispatched general Cartwright with the mournful and important intelligence to the prince regent. The general arrived at Carltonhouse about half-past eleven, and soon after, in consequence of dispatches being sent off to summon the lord chancellor and the rest of the cabinet ministers, the news began slowly to spread itself through the metropolis. In the course of Sunday, the Gazette Extraordinary (given above) was published.

St. Paul's bell commenced tolling at midnight. It was preceded by the tolling of all the other church bells in London. Pursuant to orders from the dean, the great bell of the abbey began to toll at one o'clock, and con tinued to do so during the day, in consequence of the demise of his late majesty; the great bell of St. Margaret's was also tolling during the whole of the afternoon.

The total blindness and increasing deafness of his majesty gave great facility to his medical and other attendants in the performance of their duties. Until very lately it has been his usual custom to dress and undress himself without any assistance; indeed, he had a particular aversion

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