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 NINETEENTH CENTURY.

877

1820, April 3. Died, Richard Gdwabd Mebcieh, many yean bookseller to the univer- sity of Dublin, in which city he died, aged sixty years. He was of an ancient and highly res- pectable hugonot family. The perfect simplicity of his character, his sincere piety, combined with bis many amiable and exalted qualities, will long endear his memory to all who enjoyed his acquaintance ; and his death was a loss to the booksellers of Ireland that could not be easily repaired.

1820, April 16. Died, John Ware, printer, pioprietor, and editor of the Cumberland Pacquet (published at Whitehaven) since its commence- ment, in October, 1774. He died at Whitehaven, aged sixty-six years.

1830. Died, Sampson Perry, many years connected with the London press, as proprietor, editor, and author. He had just received his discharge from the insolvent debtor's court, and returned home in exceeding good spirits. Mis. Perry had prepared dinner, to wnich he sat down, laughing and making some humorous observations ; but just as he was conveying some food to his mouth, he fell back in his chair, ex- claiming " Lord have mercy upon us !" and in- stantly expired. Surgeons were sent for, but the vital spark had fled. He was born at Aston, near Birmingham. His life had been full of vicissitudes, and he had many narrow escapes with his life, in situations of great danger. He was for some time surgeon of the Middlesex mi- litia, and a vendor of a nostrum for the cure of the stone and gravel, but devoting himself to political pursuits he became, in 1792, editor of a scandalous paper, called the Argui, or General Observer of the Moral, Political, and Commercial World. This publication, at the commeiice- of the French revolution, was distinguished for its virulence and industry in disseminating re- publican doctrines. For a libel in this journal ne was prosecuted and convicted, on which he withdrew to Paris, where he contracted an inti- macy with Thomas Paine, and others. He was imprisoned nine times in French prisons, and daring the reign of M. Robespierre he was confined with Thomas Paine, and condemned to death, without the then thought unneces- sary form of trial. He escaped his dreadful doom by the following singular Tortunate circum- stance : — his prison or cell door was hung upon a swivel, and by the least notion would turn round any way. The custom was to mark with red chalit the doors of the cells of those who were condemned to death, and his door was marked, but the turnkey leaving the cjH in the morning appointed for execution, accidentally let the door turn round, not observing by this motion the door was reversed, the " mark of death " was inside instead of out. Before he noticed the circumstance, the oflicers of execu- tion arrived, and took from every cell marked with red chalk the victims of revolutionary fury ; and perceiving Mr. Perry's cell not marked, they passed it, and when the gaoler again came round and opened the door, he was thunderstruck on

finding Mr. Perry and Paine alive ; but ere the gaoler had time to apprise any person, he was shot by the mob who had just burst open the prison, and who liberated the captives as the monster Robespierre* was led bleeding to the scaffold. After this he returned to England, where he was titken up on the outlawry which he had incurred by not appearing for judgment on his former conviction. He remained in Newgate till a change of ministry, and then was liberated. He afterwards purchased the Statesman, which he edited for two or three yearn, and then resold it.

1820, April 28. Died, William Davies, of the respectable firm of Cadell and Davies, book- sellers, in the Strand, London. He was a gen- tleman of liberal principles and unsullied purity in all his dealings.

1820. Richard Watts took out a patent for improvements in inking printing types with rollers, and in placing and conveying the paper; and giving the pressure by a cylinder.

1820. Daniel Tbeadwell, of America, took out a patent for certain improvements in the con- struction of printing presses, which were manu- factured by Mr. Napier. The power necessary for giving the impression is obtained by means of a lever or treadlet worked by the feet, instead of horizontal levers as applied to that purpose in the Stanhope and other presses.

1820. Robert Winch, of Shoe-lane, London, took out a patent for certain improvements on machines, or presses, chiefly applicable to print- ing. These were for the purpose of self-inking the types, supplying the paper, and printing the sheet at one operation.

1820. Thomas Parkin took out a patent for an ink apparatus, for the purpose of enabling one man to perform all the operations of press- work.

1820, April 28. The proprietor of the Observer, London newspaper, was fined £600 for inserting the proceedings on the trial of Thistlewood and others for high treason. The court of king's bench bad interdicted the publication of any of the evidence, in any of the public prints, until a specified time. The proprietor of the Observer, however, refused to obey -this order, and published a full report of the proceedings in his next number. For this contempt he was brought before the court, and fined in the sum of £600: but such was the demand for the paper that contained matter so interesting, that he was enabled, from the profits of his extra sale alone,

poor family, in 1759. Od the breakinc oat of the revolu- tion he became a member of the National Aaiembly, and commenced a newspaper called L*Union, ou Journal de la Liberti, condacted with extreme violence. He became the chief of the Jacobins, and at lengtb obtained the so. preme command in France. To maintain his power he had recourse to the most cruel expedients. The prisons were crowded with unfortunate victims of all ages and of both sexes. Numbers were daily put to death, and the streets were delneed with blood. At length a conspiracy was formed against the tyrant, and he was led to the guillotine with twenty-two of his accomplices, J oly as, 171M.
 * MaximiUan Mdore Robespierre was bora at Anatof «

t Querg. Did the name introduce the invention, or the ' invention the name, Hansard.

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