BLACK ASSIZE, a pestilence which raged in Oxford follow ing the conclusion of the assizes on July 6, 15 7 7. In five weeks some 30o persons are said to have succumbed to the sickness. Among them were the sheriff and a number of the jurors and court officials, which lent support to the theory that the pestilence was a manifestation of Divine indignation at an unjust sentence of the court. It was also noticed that the plague passed by the women and children, the poor and the doctors—a further reason for fastening the blame on the assizes.