demand from me, upon oath, the particular circumftances of my private fituation. In obedience to the law, I am ready to attend them upon this degrading occafion, fo novel to Englifhmen; and to give them every explanation and fatif faction which they may be pleafed to require. I am, fir, "Your humble fervant, John Horne Tooke." 9th. At the fittings before lord Kenyon, a cafe was determined, Middleton qui tam, verfus Blake, which deferves the most serious attention of the clergy; an action was brought against the Rev. Mr. Blake, who is vicar of the parish of St. Leonard, Shoreditch, to recover eleven penalties for non-refidence. It appeared, that this gentleman had been vicar of that parifh for nineteen years, but had refided on his estate at South Molton, Devon, and never came up to London to vifit his parish but to receive their Eafter offerings. On the part of the reverend defendant, witneffes were produced, to fhew that he was in an extremely poor ftate of health; that he was very much afflicted with the gout; and, very generally after he had refided in London about a month, he was feized with illness, and fometimes was obliged to remain in town three months before he was able to return to the country. The jury found a verdict for the plaintiff for 110. This day was tried, in the court of King's Bench, an action for an affault, and for falfe imprisonment, wherein Mr. Dowding, a refpectable wine-merchant, was plaintiff, and general Watson, of the 3d regiment of guards, was defendant. The cafe made out by the plaintiff in evidence was fhortly thus: the plaintiff and his fifter had been dining at the house of a friend of theirs, a few miles from town, on the 22d of July laft, and were coming on horfeback through Knightsbridge, and as they came near to the gate of the barracks, a gentleman was coming towards them. They were only walking their horfes; the gentleman's horfe was going on a jog trot; they met, and the lady was frightened, as the horfes came nearer one another. They were on the left hand side, which was their proper fide of the road, and very near the foot-path. There was abundant room for this gentleman to pafs, the road being very wide, and not a carriage in it at that time, but the road was a little dirty. Mr. Dowding came up to the gentleman, and faid, "Sir, I hope you will never turn a lady out of the road;" upon which this gentleman made ufe of very abufive language, and immediately aimed a blow at Mr. Dowding's head, in which he loft his own hat for the moment. Mr. Dowding then rode off towards his fifter, to allay her fears, inftead of contending with this gentleman, who however followed, and gave him a very violent blow on his head, which cut through his hat, with what is called a crutch ftick. Upon this the gentleman who had thus conducted himself, immediately ordered out the foldiers that were at the barracks, who came with their fixed bayonets, and furrounded Mr. Dowding; he demanded Mr. Dowding's name, which he gave him; he ordered the foldiers to take Mr. Dowding into cuftody, and Mr. Dowding afked for his name, which he refused, and told the foldiers, on the peril of their lives, not to tell his name it foon appeared, however, that it was general Watfon. Not the leaft incivility or provocation was given to the general before he ftruck the blow, nor any return made to him of his own language by the plaintiff, fuch as fcoundrel, rafcal, &c. and after the general made the firft attempt, unfuccefsfully, to ftrike Mr. Dow ding, and after he was riding up to his fifter to help her, and to try to difpel her fears, the general turned his horfe round, and was going to ftrike with the small end of his ftick, but he changed its pofition, and laid hold of the small, and ftruck with the club end of the stick. The defendant's cafe was fupported by the evidence of three of the foldiers, who had acted in the fcene under his command, but to their evidence the jury paid no credit, as they gave a verdict for the plaintiff, damages 2501. 11th. A woman drawing water from a well at Surlingham, in Norfolk, was, by the breaking of the rope, precipitated to the bottom, a depth of 42 feet; the water was not more than 5 feet high; and in this condition The remained for fome hours, till, her long abfence from home inducing fearch, fhe was difcovered, and, a cord being lowered, the tied it round her waift, and was drawn up much bruised, and nearly exhaufted. 12th. Eight gentlemen belonging to the Walton affociation,. formed a party to go to Hounflow, to fee Haines, the highwayman; on their way home, they ftopped at the Flower Pot, at Sunbury, till ten at night; and, being flushed with what they had drank, in croffing the Thames at Walton, fome of them joftled the boat fo violently, that it overturned; by which accident three of the gentlemen were drowned. 15th. This morning were executed, pursuant to their fentence, in the Old Bailey, the following malefactors, viz. James Turnbull, for robbing the Mint, and Hugh Campbell, William Harper, and Jofeph Walker, for forgery. Their beha viour was ftrictly becoming their unhappy fituation. 16th. In an action for an affault, brought by a Mr. Humphries, againft lord Camelford, committed by the latter, in a very violent and unprovoked manner, at Drury-lane theatre; a jury this day gave the plaintiff 500l. damages. 29th. This morning a fire broke out at the houfe of Mr. Mofes Haman, in Cob-court, Petticoat-lane, which confumed the infide, with a great part of the furniture. A child, about three years of age, was burned fo fhockingly, as to be taken to the London infirmary without hopes of recovery. 30th. At half past ten this morning, Mr. Wakefield was brought up before the Court of King's Bench to receive judgement, when Mr. juftice Grofe, after an appropriate fpeech, pronounced the following fentence: "The court, having fully confidered the whole of your cafe, do order and adjudge, that you be committed to Dorchefter goal for the term of two years; that at the end of this term you give fecurity for your good behaviour for five years, yourself in 5001. and two fureties in 2501. each; and that you continue in the faid gaol until you have given fuch fecuri ty." The prifoner bowed, a withdrew. At the fame time the attorneygeneral prayed judgement of the court on Mr. John Perry, the editor; John Vint, the printer; and George Rofs, the publisher; of the Courier newspaper, for a paragraph which appeared in that paper, ftating " the emperor of Ruffia to be a tyrant among his own fubjects, and ridicu lous to the rest of Europe."Mr. juftice Grofe pronounced the judgement of the court, which was, "That Mr. John Perry do pay the fum of 100%. and be imprifoned in the King's Bench prifon for fix calendar months, and enter into fecurity for his good behaviour for five years, himself in 500l. and two fureties in 2501. each; and that John Vint and George Rofs be imprifoned in the fame prifon each for one calendar month." DIED. 26th. At Edinburgh, in his 85th year, James Burnet, of Monboddo, efq. commonly called lord Monboddo, one of the fenators of the college of juftice; promoted to the bench in 1767. His firft publication was "A Differtation on the Origin and Progrefs of Language, 1773," 6 vol. 8vo; 2d edit. 1774; afcribing the invention of alphabe tical writing to the Egyptians. When he was fo near the fountainhead, he might as well have fuppofed it an immediate communication from the Deity. He publifhed alfo a work in 5 vol. 4to. juft completed in a 6th, intituled, "Ancient Metaphyfics" a performance remarkable for a furprising mixture of penetration and genius with the meft abfurd whim and conceit. He ftrenuously maintains, that the Ourang Outan is a clafs of the human fpecies, and that his want of fpeech is merely accidental. We remember it was faid, that Maupertuis died juft as he was going to make monkeys talk. Lord Monboddo alfo endeavours to establish the real exist ence of fea nymphs or mermaids. JUNE. 4th. Being his majesty's birth-day, the several affociations of the metropolis and its neighbourhood, confifting of fixty-five well-equipped corps, and amounting to upwards of 8000 effective men, affembled in Hyde-Park, where they were reviewed by the king. The Temple affociation, commanded by captain Graham, was the first that entered the Park: it arrived at feven o'clock, during a heavy shower of rain, which continued inceffantly from the time it left the Temple-gardens. Several other corps followed foon after; and at half past eight the whole were on the ground. The neceffary difpofitions, agreeable to the official regulations were then made, and about ten minutes paft nine his majesty appeared, attended by the prince of Wales, the dukes of York, Kent, Cumberland, and Gloucester, a number of general officers, and a formidable detachment of the life guards. The line being formed, a cannon was fired, to announce the approach of the king: on which all the corps immediately fhouldered in perfect order, and the artillery then fired a royal falute of twenty-one guns. A fecond gun was fired on his majefty's arrival in front of the line, and each corps immediately prefented arms, with drums beating and mufic playing. A third cannon was fired, as the fignal for fhouldering, which was promptly obeyed. His majefty having paffed along the line, and returned by a central point in front, a fourth cannon was fired, as a fignal to load; and upon the fifth gun being fired, the different corps began to fire vollies in fucceffion from right to left. The fame loading and firing were repeated, upon the fixth and feventh cannons being fired: in all fifty-nine rounds. On the eighth cannon being fired, three cheers were given, and the mufic played, "God fave the King." The corps then paffed his majesty in grand divisions, in a moft excellent manner, under the direction of general Dundas, who headed them on horfeback; after which they filed off to the flations refpectively allotted for them. The whole of the evolutions pointed out to them in the general orders having been performed, and another royal falute of twenty-one guns fired, his majefty, after expreffing the highest fatisfaction at the martial appear ance and excellent conduct of this loyal and patriotic army, departed from the ground at a quarter before one, amidst the joyous fhouts and affectionate greetings of the people, who affembled on the occafion to the amount of upwards of 100,000, including all the beauty and fashion of the metropolis. The fight was truly grand and highly gratifying; and, notwithstanding the evolutions were confiderably impeded by the high wind and fome rain, the whole were performed in a manner that reflects much credit upon every corps prefent, whofe conduct fully entitles them to the very handfome compliment of his royal highness, the commander-in-chief, paid them by order of his majefy, in the Gazette of that evening. The ground was kept clear by the London and Weftminfter, and Southwark volunteer corps of cavalry, who preferved the lines from being infringed by the immenfe multitude who crowded the Park. 10th. Lord Thanet and Mr. Ferguffon, accompanied by the duke of Bedford, lord Derby, &c. being brought into the court of King's Bench. The attorney-general said, he had received his majefty's commands to enter a nolle profequi with refpect to the firft, fecond, and third counts. Mr. juftice Grofe then addreffed the defendants in a speech of confiderable length. After commenting upon the impartiality of the trial, and the juftice of the conviction, he obferved, that the rank and fituation of the defendants were fuch as ought to have made them the last men in the world to have been guilty of fuch conduct. He then proceeded to pafs the fentence of the court upon lord Thanet, which was, that he fhould be imprisoned for one year in the Tower of London; that, he should pay a fine of 10007.; that at the expiration of his imprisonment he fhould give fecurity for his good behaviour for feven years, himfelf in 10,000l. and two fureties in 5,000 each; and that he fhould be further imprifoned till the faid fecurity was given and the fine paid. The fentence upon Mr. Ferguffon was, that he fhould pay a fine of 100.; that he should be imprifoned for one year in the King's Bench prifon; that at the expiration of his imprisonment he fhould give fe curity for his good behaviour for feven years, himself in 5001. and two fureties in 2501. each; and that he should be imprisoned till the faid fecurity was given and the fine paid. On the fame day, about three o'clock, the duke de Sorentino, a Sicilian nobleman, who has refided C 4 in in this country fome years, went into Lowthorp's coffee-houfe, St. George's Fields, and fent the waiter with a note to count De Lambert, in Lambeth-road. He then defired to have a private room, and was fhewn into one up ftairs. A fhort time had only elapfed when the mistress thought fhe heard the report of a piftol; but, not being certain, fhe waited the arrival of the fervant before the fent up stairs, who, on entering the room, found the duke, in an arin-chair, dead, and the piftol with which he had flot himfelf laying at his feet. Count De Lambert arrived foon after, and obferved, that he had faved his life twice, at a former period, when he had attempted a fimilar act. The count made particular inquiry after a pocket-book, which he was certain would be found about the decealed, as, it contained fome fecret matter that he would never difclofe either to his wife or friend; but it could not be found. The duke refided in Charles-ftreet, Fitzroyfquare, and had been married to a refpectable English lady a few months. A coroner's inqueft was held on his body, which brought in a verdict of lunacy. 15th. This night, about ten o'clock, a fire broke out at the Horfe and Groom, public-house, in Curtain-row, Shoreditch; by which accident, the flames caught fire to Mrs. Tomlinfon's clothes, and the was burned in fo fhocking a manner as to caufe her immediate death. 21ft. This day, between eight and nine o'clock, his majefty, mounted on a beautiful white charger, and followed by the male branches of the royal family, a crowd of general-officers, &c. went from Buckinghamhoufe to inspect all the volunteer " corps in different streets of the metro polis. He pafled over Weftminfterbridge, and proceeded by the Obelifk to Blackfriars-bridge, on the centre of which he was met by the lordmayor and aldermen, who afterwards rode before him, the lordmayor carrying the fword of ftate." His majefty proceeded through Bridgc-ftreet, St. Paul's fquare, Cornhill, &c. in front of the different affociations, making a circle to the artillery-ground, where the prince of Wales, as colonel, appeared at the head of the artillerycompany, and thence to the lordchancellor's, in Upper Guilfordftreet, where all the royal family breakfafted; the king then reviewed the Bloomsbury and other corps in that neighbourhood, and, about fix o'clock, returned home. The number of volunteers vifited by the king were 12,200; and no fovereign ever experienced greater proofs of the loyalty of his fubjects than did his majefty on this day of parade and rejoicing. JULY. 4th. His majefty reviewed, on Wimbledon-common, the different volunteer-corps of the county of Surrey. The line, which was very extenfive, confifted of 12 cavalrycorps and 24 of infantry; the efective ftrength of the whole, 2300. 9th. As a waggon full of coals, with fix horses, was paffing over the bridge at Emfcole, near Warwick, one of the arches gave way, and waggon and horfes were precipitated into the river, where one of them was killed, and the rest so injured that they were not expected to recover, |