of the prifoner's anfwers to his repeated interrogatories, gave him, the counfel, if not a perfeci conviction, at leaft a ftrong belief that Henderfon was truly innocent. He therefore requefted their lordships not to be hafty to embrace, nor refolute to conclude, decided opinion of Henderson's guilt; for, that even procraftination was not a fault, when the life of a man was at ftake; and he entreated their lordships to poftpene promuncing fentence on a man of whofe innocence he fill entertained a strong perfuaf. In confequence of this animated addres, which made a forcible impreffion on the court, their lordships delayed the caufe the winter feffion.

During the vacation a fingular coincidence of circumstances occurred, which was the means of vindicating Henderson's innocence, and of detecting a profound fcheme of fraud, leis ingeniously contrived than dexterously aecuted.

The Lord Advocate, when going to his ufe of Culloden, paid a vifit to Mr. Rofe, of Kiravock.-Mr. Rofe fhewed his lordip a houfe he was building; and happenng to mifs one of the carpenters whom he ought an expert workman, he afked the werker what was become of him? The erfeer taking Mr. Rofe afide, bid him take to farther notice of this; for the young man, pon hearing that the Lord Advocate was to at Kilravock, declared it was high time fram to leave the country; and that he would immediately go to Aberdeen, and the fhipping for London. This Mr. Rofe communicated to his lordship, who afked the overfeer the carpenter's name, and if he knew of any crime he had committed? The verfeer anfwered, that the man's name was David Houthold, and he fufpected the crime was being acceflary to fome forgery. The Lard Advocate immediately dispatched a tenger to Aberdeen, who apprehended Hufehold, and carried him prifoner to Edinhungh.

Upon the commencement of the winter on, Household being brought before their rdfhips and examined, depofed that at defire of Mrs. Macleod, he wrote the produced in procefs, which the dictated m: that he wrote the name of George aderfon, both as drawer and indorfer: the word Gordon" he did not write: another time Mrs. Macleod carried him a gardener's houfe without the Waterde, after putting on him a coat of her hufbad's, and a black knotted perriwig, and told him, that he was to bring him into the Company of two honest men, before whom uft perfonate George Henderfon. The ponent did as the defired, and in the gartener's house she dictated to him part of the Ligation produced in proecfs.-Thereafter

35

fhe took him to a wright's houfe, in the Canongate, and there in the prefence of the wright, and of a boy called Dempfter, dictated, and the deponent wrote the remainder of the obligation, and fubfcribed it with the name of George Henderson, the wright and Dempfter fubfcribing as witneffes. He farther depofed, that the letter from George Henderfon to Petrie was dictated by Mrs. Macleod, and written by him the deponent. That after Mrs. Macleod's imprisonment a highlandman came to him, and said he was fent by Mr. Macleod to perfuade him to abfcond on account of the papers he had written. This he thought unneceflary, as he wrote them at the defire of another, and was altogether "ignorant of the import of fuch writings." But adviting with his friends, he was convinced of his danger, and he abfconded and fled.

John Winchefter, clerk to the comptroller of the cuftos at Leith, depofed. that he was intimately acquainted with Household; that he confeffed to him his having wrote out a bill for Mrs. Macleod for about 50 or 60l. in prefence of two witnesses, but does not remember what he faid about fubfcribing the bill. That the deponent asked him if it was on account of this bill that Mrs. Macleod was imprifoned? To which he anfwered, "that it was the fame." The bill, letter and obligation being fhewn him, he depofed, that he was well acquainted with Houfehold's hand-writing, and he believed the faid deeds to be written by him.

Archibald Demp er, a preceding witnefs, being confronted with Henderfon and Houfehold, and being defired to look earnestly upon them both, in order to declare upon oath which of the two was the perfon who wrote and fubfcribed the obligation in the house of John Gibfon, deponed, "That he did believe that the faid perfon was faid David Household, and not George Henderson.

This profound plot being thus detected, it now only remained for public juftice to bring the matter to a catastrophe: upon the 8th of December therefore the Lord Advocate reprefented to the court, that it was manifeft that the bill was a forgery; that it was evident from the proof that Henderson was innocent of the forgery, who therefore ought to be acquitted; and that Mrs. Macleod was guilty art and part of the fame: that she had formed a malicious intention to hang her neighbour, and it was but juft fhe thould fall into her own fare.

After hearing an able defence by Mrs. Macleod's counfel refpecting the nature of her crime and the evidence of her guilt, the court found, that Mrs. Macleod was guilty art and part of the faid forgeries. They reduced the deeds, remitted Mrs. Macleod to the court of jufticiary, acquitted Mr.

Henderfon,

Henderson and difmiffed him from the bar.

Mrs. Macleod was then ferved with a criminal indictment, at the inftance of his Majefty's Advocate, Counsel were heard on both fides, and the jury returned a verdict unanimously finding the indictment proved, and the prifoner " guilty, art and part of the crimes libelled.' The court adjudged the prifoner to be hanged on the 8th of March.

If Mrs. Macleod fhewed art in the contri vance, and dexterity in the execution of this fraud, the difplayed no lefs fortitude in undergoing the punishment which refulted from a perverted application of fo much ingenuis ty. She went to the place of execution dreffed in a black robe and petticoat, with a large hoop, and white fan in her hand, and a white farfenet hood on her head, according to the fashion of the times. When the came upon the scaffold, the put off the ornamental parts of her attire, pinned a handkerchief over her breaft, and put the fatal cord about her neck with her own hands. She perfifted to the laft moment in the denial of her guilt, and died with the greatest in trepidity.

Memoirs of the Life and Writings of Mr. James Ferguson, F. R. S. the celebrated Mechanic, Aftronomer, and Philojopher,

R. James Fergufon, a moft extraordi

kind, was born in the year 1710, a few miles from Keith, a little village in Bamfffhire, in the North of Scotland. The hiftory of his life though it abounds with no viciffitudes of moment, is particularly interefting; for it exhibits the firft ideas of a powerful, but untutored genius, and the gradual, but irrefiftible exertions, by which, under fuch great disadvantages, it arrived at laft to no common excellence and fame.

His parents, though in very narrow circumftances, were religious and honeft, and lived and died refpected, His father had nothing to fupport a large family but his daily labour, and the profits arifing from a few acres of land which he rented. In this humble fituation it was not to be expected that he could beflow much on the education of his children. However, they were not neglected; for, at his leifure hours, he taught them himself to read and write. And it was while he was teaching his eldeft fon to read the Scotch catechifm, that our afpiring infant acquired his reading. Afhamed to af his father to inftruct him, he used to watch the opportunity of his being abroad with this brother; and in their abfence he would take the catechifm, and study the lesson which the latter had been learning. When any diffi

culty occurred, he went to an old woman in the neighboured, who afforded him fuch af fiftance, as enabled him to read tolerably well, before his father had a thought of teaching him.

His father was agreeably furprised, fome time after, to find him reading by himself. He immediately took care to give him further inftruction, and alfo taught him to write; which, with about three months he afterwards had, at the grammar-school at Keith, was all the education he ever recei ved,

His firft tafte for mechanics arose from a very odd incident, which is thus related by himself: "When about feven or eight years of age, a part of the roof of the house being decayed, my father, defirous of mending it, applied a prop and lever to an upright fpar, to raise it to its former fituation; and to my great aftonishment, I faw him, without confidering the reafon, lift up the ponderous roof, as if it had been a small weight. I attri buted this at firft, to a degree of ftrength, that excited my terror as well as wonder; but thinking further of the matter, I recol lected that he had appled his strength to that end of the lever which was furtheft from the prop; and finding, on enquiry, that this was the means by which the feeming wonder was effected, I began making levers (which I then called bars); and by applying weights to them different ways, I found the power gained by my bar was juft in propor

lit

bar on either fide of the prop. I then thought it was a great pity that, by means of this bar, a weight could be raised bur a very tle way. On this, I foon imagined that, by pulling round a wheel, the weight might be raised to any height by tying a rope to the weight, and winding a rope round the axle of the wheel; and that the power gained muft be juft as great as the wheel was broader than the axle was thick; and found it to be exactly fo, by hanging one weight to a rope put round the wheel, and another to the rope that coiled round the axle. So that, in thefe two machines, it appeared very plain, that their advantage was as great as the space gone through by the working power exceeded the space gone through by the weight: and this property I also thought mult take place in a wedge for cleaving wood; but then I happened not to think of the forew. By means of a turning lathe (which my fa ther had, and fometimes ufed) and a little knife, I was enabled to make wheels and other things neceffary for my purpofe." Elate with this new difcovery, ed it, our young philofopher wrote a fhort account of thefe machines, and sketched out figures of them with a pen; imagining it to be the first treatife of the kind that

as he deem

ever was

written

But, as his father could not afford to maintain him, while he was in purfuit of fuch objects only, and he was rather too young and weak for hard labour, he was fent to a neighbour to keep theep, which he continued to do for fome years and in that time he began to ftudy the stars in the night. In the day time he amufed himself by making models of mills, fpinning-wheels, and fuch other things as he happened to fee.

:

He afterwards went into the fervice of Mr. James Glafham, a confiderable farmer in the neighbourhood, who proved to be a very kind and indulgent mafter. It was foon oblerved, that in the evenings, when his work was over, young Ferguson went into held with a blanket about him; that he lay down on his back, and stretched a thread with fmall beads upon it, at arms length between his eye and the ftars; fliding the heads upon it till they hid fuch and fuch ftars hon his eye, in order to take their apparent Citances from one another; and that then, aring the thread down on a paper, he marked the ftars thereon by the beads, ac tording to their refpective pofitions, having ade by him for that purpose. His mafter, at firit, laughed at him; but, when the lad explained his meaning to him, encouraged him to go on; and, that the latter might make fair copies in the day time of what he had done in the night, he often worked for him himself.

37

Being one day fent on a meffage to the Rev. Mr. John Gilchrift, minifter at Keith, our youthful aftronomer carried his ftar papers to fhew them to him, and found him kking over a large parcel of maps. Thefe he furveyed with great pleasure, as they were the firft he had ever feen. Mr. Gilchrift then told him that the earth was round xe a ball, and explained the map of it to m. He alfo lent him that map, to take a copy of it in the evenings, and gave him a pair of compaffes, a ruler, pens, ink and paper. For this pleafing employment, his and mafter gave him more time than he uld reafonably expect; frequently taking the flail out of his hands, and working himfelf, while the lad fat by him in the hara, bufy with his pen, compaffes and ru

This incident paved the way for his intro

Mr. Cantley had made him a present of Gordon's geographical grammar, which, at that time he thought a great treasure. There was no figure of a globe in that book, although it contained a tolerable defcription of the globes and of their ufe. From this defcription he made a globe in three weeks time, having turned the ball thereof out of a piece of wood. This ball he covered with paper, and delineated a map of the world upon it: made the meridian ring and horizon of wood; covered them with paper, and graduated them; and was happy to find that by this globe, the first he had ever seen, he could refolve the problems.

He next engaged in the fervice of a miller, in the idea of not being a burthen to his father, and that his attendance upon the mill would be fo eafy, as to allow him to purfue his study of decimal arithmetic and geometry; but he was not only disappointed in this refpect, but fuch was his feanty allowance of victuals, that he was often glad to eat a little oatmeal mixed with cold water. engaged to this man for a year, at the expiration of which he returned, in a very weak ftate, to his father's house.

He was

He was not more happy in a fubfequent engagement, for half a year, with a neighbouring farmer, who practifed as a phyfician; who allured him into his fervice by the promife of inftructing him in the medical art; but who treated him with such a degree of injuftice, and even cruelty, that he was obliged to leave him before the conclufion of his engagement, and to return again to his father's, very much emaciated and reduced.

To amufe himfelf in this low condition, he made a wooden clock, which kept time pretty well. The bell on which the hammer ftruck the hours, was the neck of a broken bottle. Having no idea how any time-keeper could go but by a weight and a line, he wondered how a watch could go in all pofitions. But one day happening to fee a gentleman ride by his father's houfe, he asked him what o'clock it was. As the gentleman

anfwere

anfwered him with great good-nature, he was encouraged to beg leave to fee the infide of the watch, which the gentleman opened, and put into his hands. He faw the fpringbox, with part of the chain round it, and afked what it was that made the box turn round. The gentleman told him that it was turned round by a fteel fpring within it. Having never seen any other fpring than that of his father's gun-lock, he afked him how a fpring within a box could turn the box fo of ten round, as to wind all the chain upon it. The gentlemanfwered, that the fpring was long and thin; that one end of it was faftened to the axis of the box, and the other end to the infide of the box; that the axis was fixed, and the box was loofe upon it. Take, my lad," continued the gentleman, obferving that Ferguson did not yet underftand him, "take a long thin piece of whalebone; hold one end of it between your finger and thumb, and wind it round your finger; it will then endeavour to unwind itfelf; and if you fix the other end of it to the infide of a fmall hoop, and leave it to itself, it will turn the hoop round and round, and wind up a thread tied to the outfide of the hoop." Thus inftructed, young Ferguson tried to make a watch with wooden wheels, and a fpring of whalebone: but he found that he could not make the watch go when the balance was put on, because the teeth of the wheels were rather too weak to bear the force of a spring fufficient to move the balance; although the wheels would run fast enough when the balance was taken off. He inclofed the whole in a wooden cafe, very little bigger than a breakfast tea-cup. But this watch being demolished by a clumfy neighbour, who happened not only to let it fall, but to tread upon it, Ferguson was fo much dilcouraged, that he never attempted to make another; being convinced, moreover, that he never could make one, that would be of any real use.

Our ingenious youth was now kindly noticed by the late Sir J. Dunbar of Durn, who defired him to make his home; and being employed by his patron to clean his clocks, he began, for the first time, to pick up fome money that way about the country.

On the gate of Sir James's manfion flood two large globular ftones On one of thefe Ferguson painted, with oil colours, a map of the terreftrial globe, and on the other a map of the celtitial, from a planisphere of the ftars, which he copied on paper from a celeiual globe. The poles of the painted globes food toward the poles of the Heavens: on cach, the twenty-four hours were placed around the equinoctial, so as to fhew the time of the day when the fun fhone out, by the boundary where the half of the globe, at any are culightened by the fun, was parted

from the other half in the fhade: the en lightened parts of the terreftriai globe an fwering to the like enlightened parts of the earth at all times. So that, whenever the fun fhone upon the globe, one might fee to what places the fun was then rifing, to what places it was then fetting, and all the places where it was then day or night, throughout the earth.

While young Ferguson was in this hofpitable houfe, he found an occupation that was lefs philofophical. He was employed by Lady Dipple, Sir James's fifter, to draw patterns for needle-work on aprons and gowns. Some of thefe he copied from her patterns, and the reft he did according to his own fancy. On this he was fent for by other ladies in the country: and from the produce of these drawings, he had the pleafure of occafionally supplying his poor father.

He likewife employed himself in copying, with pen and ink, feveral pictures and prints in Sir James's houfe; and Dr Baird, Lady Dipple's fon-in-law, afterwards furnished him with implements for drawing, and taught him the ufe of pencils and Indian ink. Dr. Baird, moreover, conceived the design of fending him to a painter at Edinburgh; but the collection which he fet on foot for that purpose failed, and he himself could not do what was neceffary, as he had but a finall eftate to fupport a numerous family. Unaffifted, however, by inftruction in the principles of the art, the youth began to draw portraits from the life, and was fo fuccefsful, as foon to find as much bufincis as he could manage; a business, which in the fequel, he followed for fix and twenty years. In the mean time, Lady Dipple gave him bed and board at her houte in Edinburgh for two years. Being a woman of the ftricteft piety, fhe kept a watchful eye over him at firft, and made him give her an exact account at night of what families he had been in throughout the day, and of the money he had received. She took the money each night, telling him, that he should duly have out of it, what he wanted for clothes, and to fend to his father. But, in lets than half a year, he told him that the would truft him with being his own banker; for she had made a good deal of enquiry how he had behaved. when out of her fight, through the day, and was fatisfied with his conduct.

During his two years ftay at Edinburgh, he conceived a violent inclination to ftudy anatomy, furgery and phyfic. This inclination, which was infpired by the reading of books, and converfing with gentlemen on thofe fubjects, ban fhed, for that time, all thoughts of aftronomy from his mind; and he quite neglected to cultivate the acquaintance of any one converfant in mathematis

and

and aftronomy; a neglect which he afterwards much regretted. At the end of the fecond year's refidence at Edinburgh, he returned to his father's houfe, thinking himfelf pretty well qualified to be a phyfician in that part of the country; and he carried a quantity of medicines, plaifters, &c. with him. But to his great mortification, he foon found, that his medical theories were of litte ule in practice, he abandoned the flattering idea of being a doctor, and returned to the more lucrative profeffion of drawing pictures.

In the year 1739, Mr. Ferguson married; to whom we are not informed, but he died before him. About this time, he contrived, 2nd finished a scheme on paper (the refulten-, trdy of his own reasonings and calculations) for fhewing the motions and places of the fun and moon in the ecliptic, on each day of the year, perpetually and confequently the days of all the new and full moons: with a method for fhewing the eclipfes of the fun and moon. This fcheme, which he called The Aftronoinical Rotula," introduced E to the friendship of Mr. Maclaurin, profor of mathematics, at Edinburgh, who

red him a handfore fubfcription to dey the expence of engraving it on copperpares. This was accordingly done at Edinargh, by Mr. Cooper, the mafter of the celebrated Mr. Robert Strange. It went ugh feveral impreffons, and always ed well 'till the year 1752, when the altera on of the ftile rendered it quite ufelefs. This had neceffarily brought Mr. Fergufon to Edinburgh, on a fight of Mr. Maclaua's orrery, he was greatly delighted with the motions of the earth and moon in it, and would gladly have feen the wheel work, which was concealed in a brafs box. But as this could not be opened without the affiftof fome ingenious clock-maker, Mr. Tergufon's curiolity could not be gratified. However, after much thinking and calculathe found that he could contrive the wheel-work for turning the planets in fuch machine, and giving them their progrefemotions. He then employed a turner to ake a fufficient number of wheels and axles, cording to patterns which he gave him in wing; and after having cut the teeth in wheels by a knife, and put the whole ther, he found that this orrery anfwer his expectations. It fhewed the fun's tion round his axis; the diurnal and anal motion of the earth on its inclined axis, ich kept its parallelifm in its whole courfe and the fun the motions and phafes of moon, with the retrograde motion of the de of her orbit; and confequently, all the ariety of feafons, the different lengths of ys and nights, the days of the new and moons and coliples. He afterwards

:

39

were

made a neater one, the wheels of which w all of ivory, and the teeth in them were cut by a file. He brought it with him to London in May 1743, and fold it soon after to the late Lord Chief Juftice Rider.

He

In London, Mr. Ferguson published some curious aftronomical tables and calculations; and afterwards gave public lectures in expe rimental philofophy, which he repeated, by fubfcription in the principal towns in England, with the higheft approbation. was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, and, on the reprefentation of his low circumftances, without paying the admiffion fee. Our gracious fovereign, who had frequentlyheard lectures from him, and converfed with him on curious topics, was pleased, at his acceffion to the throne, to grant him a penfion of fifty pounds out of his privy purse; befo received feverai penions from his majefty, who is ever happy to diftinguish real merit; and he was honoured with the friendship and protection of feveral perfons of high rank, the lovers and patrons of genius, learning and fcience.

The Irish Theatre. (Continued from p. 562, of last Nov. Mag.} Thursday, November 1.

TERE performed the Opera of the WERI Duenna, with the Farce of Bon Ton. As it is not our intention to take any particular notice of characters played this feafon by the fame performers as reprefented them the laft, we fhall remark, fuch as were changed. On this night Mr. Duffey performed. Lorenzo----well fung, ill acted. That is the young man's misfortune, not his fault; for he ftrives to do better. Don Pedro by Mr. Mois. The acknowledged merit of this actor in the old man renders any farther obfervation unneceffary. He alío performed Davy in the farce, well played, but rather too loud. Lord Minikin, by Mr. Betterton, decent, but wanted the ease of a modern man of fashion.

Thurfday, 3d, The Carmelite. The principal characters by the fame perfons as fo juftly gained applaufe in that tragedy laft feafon at the Fifhamble-ftreet Theatre. Mr. Fotteral was now in the character of Hildebrand. The afterpiece was the The Agiceable Surprise, the parts as formerly.

Saturday 5th. Mr. Colman, junior's, new Comedy of Two to One. How this piece could have fucceeded in London, even by the affiftance of good acting, and the advantage of the author's father being the manager of the Theatre, is really furprifing. Here, though not unadvantageously caft, it gave no fatisfaction, but was received as coolly as it deferved.The Farce, The Old Maid, as before.

Monda