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17th.

The triennial Eton feftival was celebrated with great fplendor. Their majefties and the princeffes, accompanied by the prince of Wales, went to the college at half paft one, when the proceffion of the young gentlemen began, preceded by the prince of Wales's band of mufic. Their captain, Mr. Whitfield, being the fenior fcholar, led the van, with their ferjeants, ferjeants-major, colonels, corporals, enfign, lieutenant, polemen, muficians, &c. Meffrs. Polehampton and Halifax, with twelve fervitors, acted as falt-bearers, and by their legal depredations on the public gained a liberal supply towards fending their captain into the world with a good grace. When they came to Salthill, they were met by the king and prince of Wales on horseback, attended by general Gwyn and colonels Garth and Greville her majefty and the princeffes, with lady Har rington and her fon, were in the royal coaches. The king took on himself the ordering and marshaling the multitude in fuch a manner, as the proceffion might pafs freely round the carriages of the royal family; many, however, notwithtanding, preffed to clofe, that his majefty was obliged to call them to order, and asked thofe he thought were Londoners, if they were members of Eton, as he could not recognize their perfons fufficiently to recollect them." At the clofe of the proceffion, enfign Hatch went to the top of the hill, and difplayed the flag in a very mafterly ftyle, to the fatisfaction of every perfon prefent. When the Montem was over, the king requested, that or their return home from the Windmill-inn, where an elegant dinner

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was provided, they might appear on Windfor terrace, which they did in the evening. The royal family, after having given their ufual donations, returned to the lodge to dinner. The fineness of the day alfo drew an immenfe concourfe of perfons on foot and horfeback to view the fight, which afforded, according to Mr. Halifax the faltbearer's account, on being asked the queftion by his majefty, a very profitable harveft.

20th.

This day came on the trial of John Reeves, efq. for a libel, before lord Kenyon and a fpecial jury, at Guildhall. This profecution was inftituted, in con-, fequence of a refolution of the houfe of commons, on account of a pamphlet publithed by Mr. R. entitled, "Thoughts on the English Government;" and in which were the expreflions, "that the kingly government might go on, if lords and commons were lopped off;" and fuch other expreflions as were deemed a libel by the house.

The attorney general ftated the cafe on the part of the crown, and left it to the jury to confider, whether the expreffions alluded to were merely unadvised and erroneous; or whether, confidering the whole context of the pamphlet, they were, as charged, libellous, and tending to villify the constitution.

Mr. Plumer, in behalf of Mr. Reeves, admitted the fact of publication; and contended, from the whole tenor of the work, and the known character of Mr. Reeves, and his enthufiaftic admiration, and fupport against democracy, of the British conftitution, that no imputation of libel could be fixed on him.

Lord Kenyon delivered an admirable

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mirable charge to the jury, who retired, and remained out of court for upwards of an hour. When they returned, the foreman faid, My lord, the jury are of opinion, "that the pamphlet, which has "been proved to have been writ"ten by John Reeves, efq. is a very improper publication: but "being of opinion, that his mo"tives were not fuch as laid in the "information, find him Not Guilty."

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27th.

A very melancholy and extraordinary tranfaction took place. Lord Charles Townshend, andhis brotherlord Frederick Townfhend, fons to the marquis Townthend, had been to Great Yarmouth, for which place lord Charles had been juft chofen reprefentative; they arrived in town yefterday morning about fix o'clock, and when they had reached Oxfordstreet, near the Pantheon, the poft boys ftopped to enquire where the bishop of Bristol, to whofe houfe they had been ordered to drive, lived; when lord Frederick jumped out of the chaife, and ftruck one of the boys, which gave rife to an altercation, that drew together feveral perfons who were paffing by.. Among thefe was a coachman, to whom lord Frederick particularly addreffed himself; infifting upon it that he knew where the bishop lived; and on the man protesting that he did not, his lordship abufed him with great violence; and, with the most deplorable marks of infanity, threw off his coat waistcoat, and thirt, and challenged him to fight. Unable to provoke the man to a conteft, he walked leifurely away towards Hanover-fquare,when fome perfons who had been at tentive to the whole fcene, looked

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into the carriage, and faw a lifeless body on the feat, which proved to be the corpfe of lord Charles. Lord Frederick was immediately purfued, and being taken near the end of Swallow-ftreet, was conducted to a neighbouring watchhoufe, whither the body of his brother was alfo conveyed. foon as the magiftrates at the police-office in Marlborough - street were apprized of the circumstance, they ordered lord Frederick to be brought before them, together with the poftillions who drove him to town. His lordship, when interrogated on the melancholy fubject, betrayed the most unequivocal fymptoms of mental derangement, and it became neceffary for the magiftrates to apply to the poftillions for the information they wanted. From their evidence it appeared, that about feven miles from town, in the vicinity of Ilford, one of them had heard the report of a piftol, when, looking round, he faw lord Frederick throw a pistol out of the chaife window; but he did not stop to inquire the cause of it. This was all that could be collected till the evening, when the agitation of lord Frederick had fubfided, and he had recovered a confiderable degree of compofure. Lord Fre-. derick then, on being asked concerning his brother's death, faid, they had been difcuffing a religious fubject, and lord Charles took a piftol and blew out his own brains, and that he had endeavoured to deftroy himfelf, but his pistol failed. The mayor of Yarmouth was prefent, and declared that their lordfhips' conduct at that place appeared that of madmen, which induced him to follow them to town, being fearful fome accident might happen.

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The evidence of the fervants, refpecting the conduct of their lordships, was fimilar to the above. A pifiol was found unloaded in the carriage, which appeared to have been juft fired. The piftol which had put an end to the life of lord Charles had been placed in his mouth, and loaded with two flugs or bal's, one of which perforated the fkull, and the other was extracted from the mouth. Neither the teeth nor tongue were injured, fo that it is evident that no violence had been used in the introduction of the fatal inftrument, and the death of lord Charles might not improbably be an act of his own, committed in a paroxyfm of phrenzy. Laft night the coroner's inqueft fat on the body; when, after along examination, the jury brought in a verdict-" That the deceafed had been killed by a piftol-ball, but from whofe hands unknown." Yefterday and this day 30th. there was a very heavy gale of wind from the fouth-weft, which blew in gufts with uncommon violence. Much damage was fuftained in many parts of the metropolis by the blowing down of chimneys, untiling houfes; and in fome of the environs of the town many trees were torn up by the roots. In Dean's yard, Weftminfter, part of the old ruinous buildings came down by the violence of the wind with a great crath. Luckily it had been fome time fince railed and paled in, so that no perfon was near enough to receive any damage. In St. James's Park more than a dozen large trees were torn up by the roots, and the foliage of others were fcattered in every direction. The paffage to Spring Gardens was was as thickly

frewed with leaves as any orchard in autumn. A part of one of the ftands, erected in Covent-Garden for the accommodation of the spectators of the election, was blown down: there were, however, no perfons on it at the time, as from its elevation it was not confidered fafe. Part of the roof of a house at the corner of College-hill, Dowgate, was thrown down; which, falling upon a poor woman patling at the time, bruifed her fo feverely, that the was carried to St. Bartholomew's hofpital, without hopes of recovery. Several buildings in the neighbourhood of Houndíditch, Bithopfgate-ftreet, &c. were also unroofed, and fome trees in the quarter of Moorfields were torn up by the roots. In Lambeth-marsh, an empty houfe, condemned by the commiflioners of the road, was blown down; as were the roofs from fome of the buildings in the fame quarter.

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2819 Andrew Robinfon Bowes, who was committed for an affault upon lady Strathmore, and who as been in prifon eleven years, was brought up, and in confequence of the fign manual produced in court, containing his majefty's moft gracious pardon, was ditcharged upon his own recognizance.

Lord Kenyon, in fumming up to the jury on a little wretched play debt, said, it is to be lamented, that gaming is fo prevalent among the highest ranks of fociety, which have fet the example to their inferiors, and who, it feems, are too great for the law. I wish they could be punished. "If any profecutions are fairly brought before me and the parties are juftly convicted, whatever may be their rank or ftation in the country, though they be the first ladies in the land, they fhall certainly exhibit themfelves in the pillory."

Charlestown. On the 13th of June a moft alarming fire broke out in Lodge-alley, which baffled all the exertions of a numerous

concourfe of citizens, who fpeedily

affembled to extinguifh the devouring flames, till Tuefday morning, when a confiderable part of the city was laid in afhes. Thofe acquainted with the city will conceive the damage done, on being told, that every houfe in Queenftreet, from the bay to the corner of Church-ftreet; all Union-ftreet continued-two-thirds of Unionftreet-Church-ftreet, from Broadftreet, to St. Phillip's church, with only two exceptions-Chalmers's & Beresford's alleys-Kinloch's court -- and the north fide of Broad-ftreet, from the ftate houfe to Mr. Jacks's, four doors below. Church-ftreet; and five houfes on the Bay, from the corner of Queen-ftreet, were burnt to the ground. The public buildings deftroyed, are the French church, and everal adjoining buildings. Phillip's church was on fire at different times, and ultimately muft have been destroyed, if a fpirited negro man had uot afcended to the top of the cupola, next to the vane, and tore off the fhingles. The private buildings deftroyed, and the property they contained, are of immenfe amount. Five hundred chimmies, it is faid, have been counted, from which the buildings are burnt; and 150,000l. fterling, is fuppofed to be a fum far fhort of the value of those buildings. The goods and furniture deftroyed, are probably nearly equal to this fum.

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prietors acknowledge immenfe fums have been expended in building, and for which more than

twice the fum it now fetched had been refused, and the fate of the inftitution itself, affords a ftriking proof that the people of this country are not difpofed to encourage the modern philofophers in their attempts to undermine the conftitution. That feminary was inftituted under the most favourable aufpices. The moft wealthy and refpectable part of the diffenters were difpofed to fupport the inftitution; but, that fupport having been withdrawn, the building is brought to the hammer. Whether it thall be converted into barracks, being not farther from the eaft than those in Hyde-park from the western extretremity of the capital, or into a country fettlement of any capital public and more conftitutional fchool in London, or ferve as a fupplement to Bedlam, already too crowded to receive more inhabitants, time muft fhew.

The following melancho

27th. ly accident happened yefterday morning in Houghtou-ftreet, Clare-market-Two houfes fuddenly gave way, and buried in their ruins fixteen unfortunate inhabi

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pected to recognize, in every individual who was brought in, a relative of a friend.

The landlord of one of the houfes, it is reported, received notice of the infecurity of his house two days ago, but did not apprife the lodgers of their danger for fear of lofing them.

28th.

A duel was fought in a field within three miles of Hamburgh, between lord Valentia and Henry Gawler, efq. They left England with their, feconds and furgeons for the exprefs purpose of fighting. They fired together. Mr. Gawler's ball took place; it entered his lordship's breast-bone, and lodged near the neck; it was extracted on the field, and he is confidered to be out of danger. Lord Valentia's ball paffed through Mr. Gawler's hat. The affair between Mr. Gawler and lady Valentia was the subject of the dispute.

DIED.-At Bedwell-park, Herts, in his 76th year, Samuel Whitbread, efq.; whofe abilities, integrity, benevolence, and public fpirit, will tranfmit his character with respect to pofterity. His father was a yeoman of Bedfordshire, who lived at the Barns at Cardington, in that country, on an estate of about 2001. per annum, which devolved to his eldest fon, who much improved it by building, and fpent much of his time at it after he purchafed Bedwell-park. He is faid to have died worth a million at leaft; the bulk of which he has bequeathed to his fon. He was half-brother to Ive Whitbread, efq. hardwareman, of Cannon-freet, and theriff of London with Mr. Beckford, in 1755. By his first wife, Harriet, daughter of Haytor, an eminent attorney, of Lon

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