MARCH.

5th. The court of directors of the Eaft-India company has confented to the wishes of government, and given up the point of recruiting for its own fervice. This puts a period to a very long controverly. Chatham-barracks is to be the depot for Eaft-India recruits, who are, in future, to be engaged for a period of ten years, leaving it to their option to enlift, after the expiration thereof, for a farther term of five years. The company are to defray the expenfe of their paffage home, after their difcharge in India.

13th. A meeting of the trustees of the British-museum having been held, to take into confideration a plan lately prefented to them by Mr. Defenfans, which had for its object to convert Montague-houfe into galleries of pictures and ftatues; they have refolved that no alteration fhall take place in Montague-house.

A fire broke out, on the 13th of March, in the fuburbs of Pera, at Conftantinople, and, notwithstanding every exertion to fupprefs it, nearly two-thirds of that quarter were burnt down. Among the buildings deftroyed are the houfes of the English ambaffador, the Auftrian internuncio, and of feve. ral other perfons of diftinction; the hotels of Spain and of Poland, the Roman catholic church, and the ftone magazine, which contained all the riches of Pera, as it was thought a place of perfect fafety. The damage is eftimated at twenty millions of florins.

Foth. By the finking of the pavement nearly oppofite the front gate

of the Royal Exchange, a very large deep well, of great antiquity, has been difcovered. The water is of excellent quality, and the ward of Cornhill propofe erecting a pump near the fpot. Upon examining Stow's Hiftory of London, it appears to have been covered over more than fix hundred years; for he notices, as ftanding there, a conduit and a watch-houfe, together with a place of confinement for diforderly perfons, at the top of which was placed the pillory for their punishment; all which, he fays, were removed in the year 1380. What is remarkable, the top of the well was not fecured by either arch or brick-work, but only covered with planks.

21ft. The houfe of Mr. Bowering, fchool-mafter, near Taunton, was burnt to the ground. The premifes were infured, and happily no lives were loft. The fire was occafioned by a maid-servant throwing fome afhes in the yard, which communicated to fome out-houses, and deftroyed the whole building. Providentially it was in the day-time, or the confequences must have been dreadful; the whole being deftroyed in a fhort time, and not a change of clothes left for the scholars.

22d. Plymouth. A melancholy accident happened yefterday evening at the gun-wharf in the dockyard at this place. Mr. Brace, with his fon, about 12 years old, G. Newman, R. Herden, and G. Searles, were employed in removing a quantity of bomb-fhells, landed from the different French prizes lately brought in here, and purchafed by Mr. Brace at public fale, when, by fome accident, one of the fhells took fire, which communica

ted

ted itself to feveral others, filled alfo with combustible matter, and caufed fuch a dreadful explofion, before any of the above perfons could get out of the reach of its deftructive influence, that Mr. Brace and his fon were killed on the fpot, G. Newman had his right thigh blown off, and the other two were dangeroufly wounded. Many others had left the fpot only a few minutes, by which providential circumftance their lives were faved. The explosion was diftinctly heard at Catlown, three miles and a half diftant from the spot. A young midshipman was alfo brought to the Royal Hofpital from the Caftor, dreadfully mangled in his face and hands, having been blown up by letting off fome loose powder from a priming powder-horn.

A vein of filver, tolerably rich, has been discovered in Hurlandmine, commonly called the Old Manor-mine, in Gwinear-parish, in the county of Cornwall, on which the miners are at present at work. 27th. A fubfcription was this day fet on foot at Lloyd's for the purpose of purchafing a piece of plate, value 500l. to be fent as a prefent to the gallant commodore Truxton, of the American frigate, Conftellation, who has captured the French frigate, L'Infurgente, captain Buroe, of 44 guns, and 411 men, after an hour's well-fought action. The Conftellation had 1 man killed and 3 wounded; L'Infurgente, 29 killed and died of their wounds and 29 wounded.

30th. Newcale. His grace the duke of Northumberland has given twenty guineas (exclufive of his annual contribution) to be diftributed to the crew of the Northumberland life-boat, at North Shields, as a teftimony of his approbation of their conduct, in going off, at imminent peril, through a vast quantity of floating ice and a very high fea, and thereby fafely bringing to thore a number of fhip wrecked feamen, as there were, at that time, four fhips upon the Herd-fand.

DIED. Found dead in his bed, at the Carpenter's Arms, a publichoufe, in the parifh of Wick, Gloucefterfire, about fix miles from Bath, James White, efq. a gentleman well known in the literary. world. He was educated at the university of Dublin, and was efteemed an admirable scholar, and poffeffed of brilliant parts. His conduct, for four or five years paft, has been marked by great wildness and eccentricity. He is faid to have conceived an ardent affection for a young lady, who, he fuppofed, was as warmly attached to him; but, (as he imagined) fome plot had been contrived to wean her regard, and to fruftrate all his future profpects in life. He attributed the failure of his application for patronage and employment from the great to the machinations of those plotters. and contrivers, and even fuppofed their influence upon the London bookfellers prevented his literary talents being more amply rewarded. The winters of 1797 and 1798 he paffed in the neighbourhood of Bath, and many perfons noticed in the pump-room, the fireets, or vicinity of the city, a thin, pale, emaciated man, (between 30 and 40) with

a wild, yet penetrating look, dressed in a light coat of Bath-coating. His means of fubfiftence were very fcanty, and he obliged the cravings of nature to keep within their limits: he has been known to debar himself of animal food for months, and to have given life a bare fubfiftence by a bifcuit, a piece of bread, or a cold potatoe, and a glafs of water. Unable to pay his lodgings, and too proud to afk relief, he would many nights wander about the fields, or feek repofe beneath a hay-ftack; almoft exhaufted, he once took refuge in an inn at Bath, where his extraordinary conduct, and his refufing every fuftenance, alarmed the miftrefs, and impelled her to apply to the magiftrates: they humanely ordered him to be put under the care of the parifh-officers. Inftead of appreciating thefe precautionary means, as he ought to have done, he, in letters to fome perfons in Bath, complained of "the undue interference of magifterial authority and this unconfiitutional infringement of the liberty of the fubject!" When his mind was more compofed, and his health partly recovered, he behaved with more moderation, and, though apparently fenfible of the good intended him, he ftrongly fufpected that his imaginary hoft of enemies had again been plotting, It was about this time that he publifhed his "Letters to Lord Camden on the State of Ireland;" the elegance and frength of his language, the frewdness of his remarks and the perfpicuity of his arguments were generally admired. A fmall fubfeription was privately raifed for his relief; and, though given to him with the utmoft delicacy, he could fcarcely be prevailed upon to take it but as a loan.

He

then left Bath, nor had the writer of this account heard of him till he learned that the coroner's inqueft had been called to determine on his premature death. This unhappy gentleman had refpectable relatives refiding in Bath; but who poffeffed no influence over his paffions, nor means of controviing his conduct. The following is as accurate a lift of his works, as we have been able to obtain: 1ft, "The Orations of Marcus Tullius Cicero against Caius Cornelius Verres, tra, flated, with annotations," 4to. 178

2d,

Conway-Caftle; Verfes to the Memory of the late Earl of Chatham; and The Moon, a mile," 4to. 1789. 3d, "Earl Stro igbow; or, The Hiftory of Richard de Clare and the beautiful Geralda,” 2 vol. 12mo. 1789. 4th, The Adventures of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster," 3 vol. 12mo. 1790. 5th, "The Adventures of King Richard Car de Lion;" to which is added, "The Death of Lord Falkland," a poem, 3 vol. 12mo. 1791 6th, "The Hiftory of the Revolution of France; tranf lated from the French of M. Rabaut de Saint Etienne," 8vo. 1792. 7th, "Speeches of M. De Mirabeau, the Elder, pronounced in the National Affembly of France; to which is prefixed, A Sketch of his Life and Character, tranflated from the French," 2 vol. 8vo. 1792. 8th, "The Letters to Lord Camden," already mentioned.

In her 102d year, Marguerite Corbie. Corbie. She retained her fenfes till within a few days of her death, but had been bed-ridden nearly two years. She was a native of Life, and was refident in that city when taken by the duke of Marlborough, in 1709, being then in

her

her 12th year. Her fingular attachment and unfhaken fidelity to a very diftreffed English woman, who died on the continent fixteen years since, recommended her to the protection of an English family quitting the continent; by whom her remains were interred in Abergavenny cemetery, in the evening of the 14th inftant.

APRIL.

1ft. The king's houfe at Weymouth has been materially damaged by the late tempeftuous weather; in one of the ftorms, a few days fince, it was ftruck by lightning, which split one of the main beams, and damaged the principal walls of the building; the railing about the houfe was entirely demolifhed, and other parts of the premiles materially injured. A floop Iving in the bay had its main-mait fivered by the lightning.

4th. This night, about eleven, a fire broke out at a carpenter's fhop, between Field-lane and Unioncourt, which burut furioufly for upwards of an hour and a half. Several engines were diftibuted in Field-lane and Holborn-hill, but the diftance was fo great that they could afford but little affiftance; and the aukward fituation of the place where the fire was would not admit of their coming nearer, in confequence, about fix houfes were fet fire to, and most of them confumed. Some hundreds of birds of paffage, Royfton-crows, apwings, grey plovers, woodcocks, &c. were caft on fhore on the Holderness coaft. They feemed to have been ftarved in croffing the fea, as the bills of many of them were placed under their wings.

6th. Such was the feverity of the form this day, that a number of crows dropped, in their flight, dead upon the earth, and others were taken up alive in the neighbourhood of Skipton-Craven.

In confequence of a heavy fall of fnow, on Thursday, many of

the mail-coaches did not reach town this morning till feveral hours after the accustomed time; and the Manchefter-coach had not arrived at a late hour on Saturday evening. So deep was the fnow in the neighbourhood of Congleton, that the Liverpool-coach was entirely buried in it, and the mail forwarded on horfe-back. Near Stone, like impediments prefented themselves, and the communication between Holyhead and Chefter has been wholly fufpended. Add to thefe, fo thick was the fog and fleet last night, for twenty or thirty miles round the metropolis, that the coachmen and guards were obliged to alight and lead their hories.

8th. The paffengers who arrived at the general poft-office by the Edinburgh-mail this morning fay, the fnow began falling about feven on Friday morning at Newcastle, and continued till fix at night. No carriage could proceed farther than Northallerton; they attempted with a chaife and fix, but in vain, and then, with the guard, took faddlehorfes at Eatingould, and chaife to York. They fay they never faw fnow fall fo faft, and that it was fix feet deep. The mail had not arrived at Newcafle from the North when they fet out, though many hours beyond its time. The fnow was fo deep between Nottingham and Leeds that no coach could travel on Friday night: the mail was fent by horle. The Li

verpool

verpool ftage-coaches and mails were dug out of the fnow at Talkon-the-Hill. The Whitby and Scarborough coaches were fet faft on the Woulds. The fnow was about fix feet deep about a mile from Garstang. The Manchester and Liverpool ftages and mail-coaches, on their way to Carlifle, were fet, and left till the next day, the passengers walking to the inn. Between Leek and Macclesfield, on the Chefhire hills, the Manchester-ftages that ought to have arrived on Friday night and Saturday morning were fluck faft, and did not reach London until Sunday.

9th. Laft week, the cabin of a boat at the canal-bafon at Chefterfield was discovered in flames, and two young men were taken thereout burnt to death, in a manner too fhocking to relate. It is fuppofed, from the feverity of the weather, they had made too large a fire in the cabin, which fet the boat on fire, and caufed them to be fuffocated.

Early this morning, a fire broke out in a factory, at the upper end of Salford, which fpread with fuch rapidity, that it was entirely deftroyed, together with five fmall houles adjoining, notwithstanding every poffible afliftance was render ed. The lofs is about 2,5001.

10th. Laft night, a factory, belonging to Mr. John Kay, at Mollineux, in the parish of Preftwich, was entirely destroyed by fire; no part of the property was infured.

11th. The recent feverity of the weather has been particularly felt by the inhabitants of Norwich, in confequence of the general scarcity of coals. Nor is the evil confined to that city, but extends to the country around; and at Yarmouth their ftores, both public and pri

vate, are fo exhaufted, that two guineas were given for half a chaldron, which were, with great difficulty, procured even at that price.

12th. A few days ago, two women in De-la-port-court, Hull, were fuddenly taken ill after drinking tea in the afternoon. As their illness feemed to be the effect of poison, the kettle was examined, and in the water were found spiders and other infects, which, it is fuppofed, had remained there fo long as to make it putrid, and to occȧfion the death of both mother and daughter. The former died fhortly after, and the latter on Tuesday laft.

16th. The following orders were yesterday iffued on the parade, in St. James's park :

Monday, April 15.

In confequence of communications from the adjutant-general, field-marfhal his royal highness the duke of Gloucefter orders the following letter to be inferted in the brigade-orders:

Horfe-Guards, April 8, 1799.

Sir,

I have received the commanderin-chief's directions to tranfmit to you the king's pleafure, in regard to the 5th, or royal Irish regiment of dragoons, which it is his royal highnefs, the commander-in-chief's defire that you fhall, without delay, carry into execution.

His majefty has taken into his moft ferious confideration the representation which has been made by his excellency the lord-lieutenant of Ireland of the conduct of this regiment, and is of opinion, that the infubordination and departure from the difcipline and principles which have ever diftinguished the British army, therein exhibited,

required,