London, William Pickering, 1844. 8vo (16.8 x 10.7 cm). [iv], 209 pp. Contemporary green cloth with paper label on the spine. = A very little known work by the reverend, writer, translator, and murderer John Selby Watson (1804-1884). The work is dedicated to Charles Lyell "with feelings of the highest respect". Watson, who was cheated out of his pension and fell to poverty, became notorious for killing his wife and then succesfully escaped from being hanged, pleading "temporary insanity", which was a novum in 19th-century England. Otherwise, Watson is known for his translations of Cicero and other classics, and his Reasoning Power in Animals (1867). He died in prison. Fore edge uncut. Boards rubbed at edges, top edge of title page with paper replacement, old newspaper clipping pasted on verso, otherwise a very good, clean copy. Rare. Not in Cat. BM(NH).