court, acquitted all the defendants. Mr. Adam from London, as leading counsel for the plaintiff, had a fee of 300 guineas; and Mr. Erfkine the like for the defendants.

DIED. 21.-At Dumfries after a lingering illness, Robert Burns, who excited fo much intereft by the peculiarity of the circumftances under which he came forward to public notice, and the genius difcovered in his poetical compofitions. Burns was literally a ploughman, but neither in that fate of fervile dependence or degrading ignorance which the fituation might befpeak in this country. He had the common education of a Scotch peafant, perhaps fomething more, and that fpirit of independence, which in that country is fometimes to be found in a high degree in the 'humbleft claffes in fociety. He had genius, ftarting beyond the obftacles of poverty, and which would have diftingifhed itfelf in any fituation. His early days were occupied in procuring bread by the labour of his own hands, in the honourable task of cultivating the earth; but his nights were devoted to books and the mufe, except when they were wafted in thofe haunts of village feftivity, and the indulgencies of the social bowl, to which the poet was but too immoderately attached in every period of his life.

He wrote, not with a view to encounter the public eye, or in the hope to procure fame by his productions, but to give vent to the feelings of his own genius-to indulge the impulfe of an ardent and poetical mind. Burns from that reftlefs activity, which is the peculiar characteristic of his countrymen, proposed to emigrate, to Jamaica, in order to feek his

fortune by the exertion of those talents, of which he felt himself poffeffed. It was upon this occafion that one of his friends fuggefted to him the idea of publifhing his poems, in order to raife a few pounds to defray the expences of his paffage. The idea was eagerly embraced. A coarfe edition of his poems was firit published at Ayr. They were foon noticed by the gen tlemen in the neighbourhood. Proofs of fuch uncommon genius in a fituation fo humble made the acquaintance of the author eagerly fought after. His poems found their way to Edinburgh; fome extracts and an account of the author were inferted in a periodical paper, The Lounger, which was at that time in the course of publication. The voyage of the author was delayed in the hope that a fuitable provifion would be made for him by the generofity of the public. A fubfcription was fet on foot for a new edition of his works, and was forwarded by the exertions of fome of the firft characters of Scotland. The fubfcription lift contains a greater number of refpectable names than almoft have ever appeared to any fimilar production; but, as the book was at a low price, the return to the author was inconfiderable. Burns was brought to Edinburgh for a few months, every where invited and careffed; and at laft one of his patrons procured him the fituation of an Excifeman, and an income of fomewhat lefs than 50l. a year. whether any fteps were taken to better this humble income: Probably he was not qualified to fill a fuperior fituation to that which was afligned him. We know that his manners refused to partake the

We know not

polish

-a

polish of genteel fociety, that his talents were often obfcured and finally impaired by excefs, and that his private circumftances were embittered by pecuniary diftrefs. Such, we believe, is the candid account of a man, who, in his > compofitions, has difcovered the force of native humour, the warmth and tendernefs of paffion, the glowing touches of a descriptive pencil man who was the pupil of nature, the poet of infpiration, and who poffetfed in an extraordinary degree the powers and failings of genius. Of the former, his works will remain a lafting monument; of the latter, we are afraid that his conduct and his fate afford but too melancholy proofs. Though he died at an early age, his mind was previously exhaufted; and the apprehenfions of a diftempered imagination concurred with indigence and fickness to embitter the latt moments of his life. He has left behind him a wife, with five infant children, and in the hourly expectation of a fixth, without any refouree but what the may hope from public fympathy.

comprehenfion of his mind. He afterwards conftructed an obfervatory, which he fuperintended in perfon, and which was the source of many important difcoveries, as well as greatly tending to the ge-' neral diffufion of fcience in the western world. During the American war, he was an active affertor of the caufe of independence. Since the conclufion of the peace, he fucceffively filled the offices of treafurerof the fate of Pennsylvania, and director of the national mint, in both of which capacities he was alike diftinguifhed for ftrength of judgement and integrity of heart. He fucceeded the illustrious Franklin in the office of prefident of the philofophical fociety; a fituation which the bent of his mind and the courfe of his ftudies had rendered him eminently calculated to fill; and towards the clofe of his days he retired from public life to the enjoyment of domeftic happinefs, when he formed a circle of private friends, who will continue to admire his vir-, tues as a man, while the world will applaud his talents as a philofopher.

AUGUST.

The count de Montmorin arrived in town, being charged with difpatches from Louis XVIIIth to the count d'Artois, at Edinburgh. This nobleman brings advice, that on Wedneiday the 19th of July, at ten o'clock at night, as the king of France was looking out of the window of an inn, at a town belonging to the elector of Treves, called Dillingen, near Ulm, on the Danube, he was wounded in the

upper

elevén more than those with one arm. Next morning the match was played out, and the men with one leg beat the one arms by 103 runnings. After the match was finished, the eleven one-legged men run a fweepstakes of one hundred yards diftance, for twenty guineas, and the three first had prizes. On Wednesday morning, roth. about eleven o'clock, one of the Dartford powder mills, about half a mile diftant from the place, blew up with a dreadful explofion. Four perfons loft their lives. This afternoon, a gentleIith. man going down Gray'-innlane in a whiskey, the horfe took fright and set off full fpeed; his fervant, feeing his mafter in fuch a fituation, unfortunately for him, came up to the horfe, and feized the bridle, but was not capable of ftopping him. The beaft turned up a narrow paffage by Chads Wells; the fervant ftill running and holding. In turning round the paffage the near fhaft caught the man in the body, which it clearly run through, and was stopt by the wall. The gentleman was thrown violently from the carriage, but not much hurt. The fervant was killed. 12th. A dreadful earthquake has

nearly destroyed the city of Lattaique in Syria. The firft fhock was May 16th, which lafted about eighty-fix feconds. Upwards of three thousand perfons were buried in the ruins of the houses. A great part of the mofques are deftroyed. The small town of Gibellet is also totally destroyed, and feveral houfes thrown down at Tortofa and Tripoli.

tween Mr. William Carpenter and Mr. John Pride, both Americans, in which Mr. Carpenter received his antagonist's ball in the fide, which penetrated nearly through his body; and, notwithstanding it was immediately extracted, he died on Monday morning. The coroner's jury fat on the body, and brought in their verdict wilful murder.

Nantz. A fire took place 27th. in our fuperb theatre during the third act of Zemire et Azor; which caught the tranfparency in the apartments of Zemire, at the moment when the mechanist and his affiftants were bufy repairing the buft of Azor, which had met with an accident in coming up a trap not fufficiently open. The flames fpread with fuch aftonithing rapidity, that in five minutes the whole theatre was in flames, and this fuperb monument of the decorative talents of Cruci, the town architect, was soon a heap of deplorable ruins. The walls alone remain. The wardrobe and other decorations were totally confumed, and fome perfons loft their lives. Among the audience, however, a few bruises, inevitable from the confufion, were all the damage, except a pregnant woman, who is ftated to have been borne down by the crowd, and shockingly trampled upon. Thofe behind the scenes were in a dreadful condition. Three perfons much burnt, have been drawn out from the flames. The tocfin was founding at the moment of the account departing, the interior part ftill burning, and the fight of new victims was perpetually feared.

This morning about four o'clock, fome villains got into a house in Fludyer-street, occupied by fir RichD

ard

ard Glode, who was out of town, and had packed up every article of value that was portable. The theriff's drefs clothes, liveries, &c. were ready for removal; when the thieves were fortunately heard by Mrs. Johnfon, the proprietor of the houfe; who, with great fpirit, went up ftairs, where he met one of them. She gave an alarm; but no watchman or patrole was to be found. At length fhe fucceeded in getting down fairs, in fpite of the oppofition made by the thief, and opened the ftreet door. Part of the neighbours, were by this time alarmed and at the door; they had found out a patrole and watchman, to whom Mrs. Johnfon delivered her prifoner. A number of picklock keys were found, and every lock in the houfe had been opened. On attending at the Public-office, Queen-fquare, to profecute, the prifoner was of courfe called for; but the watchman and patrole had been overpowered by him, in fome way or other, and he had escaped.

DIED.Thomas Yates, efq. a lieutenant in the navy (to which rank he was admitted June 24, 1782) and an artist of fome merit, having published prints from drawings by himself of two celebrated naval actions. He was great nephew to the late celebrated comedian, but by whom he had for fome years been unaccountably neglect ed; and he has now loft his life in confequence of a difpute with Mifs Jones relative to the poffeffion of the theatrical veteran's houfe in Stafford-row, which Mifs Jones confidered to be her property; and in which, for fome little time, they both refided. On the 18th of Auguft, Mr. John Sellers was brought

One

into the house, to protect Miss Jones and her property; and, on the 21st, Richard Footner was introduced for the fame purpose. On the 22d, the wife of Mr. Yates being abfent, he dined alone about three o'clock; and, walked after dinner into the garden at the back of the house. On his return, the door being faftened, his fervant, Mary Thompfon, attempted to get him in at the kitchen window. of the perfons who had fastened him out, finding that he was likely to gain admittance, fed a pistol, the ball from which entered the right fide of Mr. Yates. The noise giving an alarm, fome neighbours climbed over the garden-wall,where they found Mr. Yates bleeding. Dr. Cruikshanks attended him twice the fame evening, and had great hopes; but next morning, at nine, pronouncing the wound mortal, Mr. Yates made his will, and expired about noon, leaving five children, and a widow pregnant with a fixth. (Mrs. Yates is very elegant in her perfon, and made her appearance laft feafon at Covent garden theatre, in the character of the Grecian daughter.) In confequence of the coroner's inqueft, Sellers, Footner, and Elizabeth Jones, after a regular examination at the public-office in Bow-ftreet, have been committed on a charge of wilful murder. Two gentlemen of great refpectability, who had never before feen Mifs Jones, offered bail for her to any amount; which the magiftrates refufed. On a fecond examination, August 29, the idea of premeditated guilt was in a great degree removed; but the prifoners were again fully committed. Mr. Sellers formerly kept a Staffordshire warehouse on Gar