Produced by Chris Curnow, Barry Abrahamsen, and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net for
Emmy (This file was produced from images generously made
available by The Internet Archive)







Transcriber’s Note:

All captions for illustrations were created by the transcriber.




                       THE FOLLOWING PENNY BOOKS,

                            and many others,

                  Adorned with a great number of Cuts,

                     _Are just Printed and Sold by_

                         J. G. RUSHER, BANBURY.

                             --------------

           History of a Banbury Cake
           History of John Gilpin
           Good Farmer, or History of T. Wiseman
           Galloping Guide to the A B C
           Adventures of Sir Richard Whittington and his Cat
           Riddler’s RiddleBook, by Peter Puzzlecap
           The New House that Jack Built
           Short Stories, or Treasures of Truth
           Anecdotes for Good Children
           Adventures of a Birmingham Halfpenny
           Pretty Poems for young Folks
           Dr. Watts’s Divine Songs
           Dr. Watts’s Moral Songs
           The Children in the Wood, in verse
           Children in the Wood Restored, in prose
           The Trial of an Ox for killing a Man

           Also a variety of others, at ½, 1d, 2d,
           3d, 4d, 6d, 1s, 1s 6d, &c. for Sale.

           A quantity of entertaining 6d Pamphlets.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

    [ Illustration: The Camel]

                     Now each lad and each lass,
                       Both sister and brother,
                     May have books for each class,
                       For Father, or Mother.

                     And when, with much pleasure,
                       You’ve read ’em all-o’er,
                     Then hasten to RUSHER’S,
                       He’s printing some more.

                     Where each daughter and son,
                       And each nephew and niece;
                     Each good child may have one,
                       For a penny a piece.

    [ Illustration: The Porcupine]

------------------------------------------------------------------------

    [ Illustration: The Ox]

------------------------------------------------------------------------

                               THE TRIAL

                                   OF

                                 AN OX,

                             for Killing a

                                  MAN;

                                  WITH

                  _The Examination of the Witnesses_,

                           BEFORE JUDGE LION,

                  At Quadruped Court, near Beast Park.

                    --------------------------------

                                BANBURY:

                  _Printed and Sold by J. G. RUSHER_,

                             BRIDGE-STREET.

                       [Illustration: Decoration]

                            Price One Penny.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

    [ Illustration: The Lion]


                                 TRIAL

                               OF THE OX.

                             --------------

An Ox was seized by the Dogs, and brought to trial, for having gored his
Driver in such a brutal manner, in Smithfield Market, as caused his
death. His trial was held at Quadruped Court, Beast Park, near the
Pedestrian Hotel. The LION sat as Judge. The Dogs offered themselves as
witnesses, which the Judge refused, as they were thief-takers, and
interested. Here the council too began to ’arangue, which the Judge
would not admit of; he told them, indeed, if a point of law should
arise, they might speak to it, but he would have no witness brow-beaten
or misled in that court.

    [ Illustration: The Dog]

    [ Illustration: The Man and The Horse]

The Horse and Ass were then called up; who deposed, that they saw the Ox
go to a Man and gore him, near Smithfield, and that his life was
despaired of.

    [ Illustration: The Butcher]

To this the Ox pleaded ignorance, and said, that he had been ill-used
and deprived of his senses, and knew not what happened in consequence
thereof; but, provided that were not the case, he certainly would have
lost his life by the murdering Butcher, who deals death and destruction
to our race, to procure subsistence for himself and family, by the sale
of our carcases. So now, my Lord, I stand here, arraigned for the
accidental offence of goring an inhuman drover, whose only business it
was to dispose of me to the keeper of the slaughter house.

    [ Illustration: The Bee]

A Bee, that had been perched on the Oxes head, offered his
evidence,——and deposed, that he had been an eye witness of the whole
affair.

    [ Illustration: The Man and The Ox]

    [ Illustration: The Man Riding the Ox]

“This poor Ox, my Lord,” says he, “was taken from his friends and
relations in the country, where he led a peaceful innocent life, and put
under the care of a cruel and inhuman drover, who pricked him all the
way to London, with a nail at the end of a pole; and when he was lame,
and unable to walk so fast as the savage driver designed, he beat him
about the legs, with a stick, with a great knob at the end of it, which
still made him more lame. When he came to Smithfield, he stood, with his
head tied on the rails, from 4 o’clock on Monday morning, till 8 on
Monday night, which was sixteen hours, when the anguish he was in
affected his head so much, that he lost his senses, and committed the
act for which he stands indicted. Who is to blame, my Lord? It is true,
the Man lost his life, but the innocent Ox is not to suffer for it:
because from ill treatment the Ox had lost his senses, and therefore
could not be accountable for his actions. Those are to blame, my Lord,
who encourage drivers in such acts of inhumanity; and suffer a market
for wild and mad beasts, to be held in the middle of a large and opulent
city: do you think the queen of my hive would suffer us to bring home
what we make boot upon? No, in order to prevent mischief and confusion,
we prepare our meat before we are let into the city, and so would these
people, had they half the sense they pretend to have!”

    [ Illustration: The Bear]

Then the Judge interrogated several other witnesses, who corroborated
the fact of the former, and the Bear, as counsel, cross-examined them,
in a mild and friendly manner, so as not to confuse their evidence.

    [ Illustration: The Tiger]

Then the Tiger arose, and having commanded silence, spoke as follows:

                       “_Gentlemen of the Jury_,

You hear what a distinct and clear evidence the Bee has given, in behalf
of the prisoner, and you seem sensible of the truth of it. ’Tis amazing
that mankind should complain of cruelty in animals, when their own minds
are productive of such scenes of inhumanity: Are not the Ox and other
creatures murdered for their emolument? Are not we hunted to death for
their amusement, as well as the Stag and the Hare? Are not the Bees
burnt, and their houses plundered for their use? What have you Mr.
Horse, for carrying the boobies on your back, but stripes and ill
treatment? And what have you, Mr. Ass, who are their nurse and doctor,
but lashes and ill language? Man, the two legged Tiger man, is the most
ungrateful of beasts.”

    [ Illustration: The Deer]

    [ Illustration: The Boys and the Mule]

Then the Judge recapitulated the evidence, which appeared too clear to
admit of a doubt, that the poor Ox was pricked and beaten in a most
inhuman manner, by the drover, and that being driven to desperation by
the cruel treatment, he turned suddenly round, and gored the hardhearted
drover. Upon which, the Jury returned a _Verdict of Manslaughter_, and
the Judge _Fined him a Blade of Grass_, ordered him to be _Imprisoned an
Hour_, and then _Discharged him_, amid general acclamations.

    [ Illustration: The Sheep]

    [ Illustration: The Cock]

Upon which, the Cock clapped his wings, and crowed applause to the
verdict; and the spectators departed, perfectly satisfied with the
sentence.


                                THE END.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

                          THE FOLLOWING BOOKS,

                            and many others,

                       _Are Printed and Sold by_

                         J. G. RUSHER, BANBURY.

                             --------------

 ENGLISH PRIMER, or Child’s First Book, containing large and small
   Alphabets, easy Lessons, Tables of Spelling, &c. adorned with cuts,
   &c. _Price_ 6d

 The Filial Remembrancer, or Collection of the admired Poems, “My
   Father, Mother, Brother, My Sister, &c.” 4d

 Rusher’s Reading made most Easy 6d

 History of Belisa, Orsames, and Julia, with Frontispiece 6d

 History of Rustan and Mirza, &c. and Anna, with Frontispiece 6d

 Wit and Humour, or Collection of Jests, Witty Sayings, &c. Frontispiece
   6d

 History and Misfortunes of Fatyma, and of Olympia, with Inkle and
   Yarice, in Verse, with Frontispiece 6d

 The Gleaner, or new Selection of Songs, small size, with many
   Engravings 6d

 Arithmetical Tables, Spelling Books, &c.

 Many kinds of Children’s Battledores.

 School Books, Children’s Books, &c. of many kinds, instructive and
   amusing.

    [ Illustration: The Dog]

                   This Dog led the Ox to his trial,
                     For killing the man at the fair;
                   From duty he took no denial,
                     And bade him of mischief beware.

------------------------------------------------------------------------




 ● Transcriber’s Notes:
    ○ Missing or obscured punctuation and words were corrected.
    ○ Some typographical errors were silently corrected.
    ○ Corrected “arrangue” to “’arangue” as an “h” was dropped.