69th reg. of foot: Lt-Col. John Naim, from halfpay, to be Major, vice Philip Baggs, who exchanges.

Ditto Enf. Archibald Campbell to be Lieutenant, vice Thomas Lloyd; by purchafe.

Ditto: Owen Lloyd, Gent. to be Enfign, vice Archibald Campbell; by purchase.

Maj. Gen. James Provoft to be LieutenantGeneral in America only.

Lt-Col. Charles Gray, of the late 98th reg. of foot, to be Aid-de-Camp to his Majefty. Lt-Col. Sir Thomas Spencer Wilson, Bt, of the Coldstream reg. of foot guards, to be Aid-de-Camp to his Majefty.

Lt-Col. George Morrifon to be Quartermafter-General of all his Majesty's forces, with the rank of Colonel in the army.

Capt. John Garden, of the 66th reg. of foot, to be Major in the army.

From other papers, &c.

Lord Edgecumbe, Captain of the band of Gentlemen-Penfioners, in the room of the Earl of Litchfield, deceased.

Horace St Paul, Efq; Secretary to the Embafly to the court of France, in the room of John Blaquier, Efq; Secretary to the Earl of Harcourt, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, appointed by his Excellency.

Mr Serjeant Glynn, Recorder of London, in the room of Sir James Eyre. [xxxiv. 578] Dr Richmond, domeftic chaplain to the Duke and Duchefs of Athol, and vicar of Walton, appointed by their Graces Bishop of Sodor and Man, in the room of Dr Hildefley, deceased.

William Mackenzie, Efq; of Balmaduthy, Advocate, Sheriff depute of the counties of Rofs and Cromartie, in the room of Mr Rofe of Kilravock, deceased.

42

In the hofpital, Jan. 1.1773. Ordinary patients Supernumeraries

Servants Soldiers

for fale in Scotland. [xxxiv. 55.]

From Nov. 1. 1770. to Nov. 1. 1771. Quantity 13,466,274 1 half yards. Value L. 620,322: 6:23. Medium Price 11 d.

From Nov. 1. 1771. to Nov. 1. 1772.

Quantity 13,089,006 half.

to and difmiffed from the Aberdeen infirmary from Nov. 1771, to Nov. 1772. [xxxiv. 55.] Patients in the hofpital Nov. 1. 1771.80] Admitted from Nov. 1. 1771, to

954

874

614

14

140 868

66

34)

86

Remaining in the hospital Nov. 1. 1772.

N. B. Befides the above number received into the hofpital, there are 2151 out-patients, who have had the benefit of advice and medicines.

O DUELLING. A letter from the Bishop
et C. to Lord Bellamont 57.
Voltaire's view of the ENGLISH CONSTI
TUTION 60.

On the expedition against the Caribbs in ST VINCENT. Report of the Commif. fioners for the fale of lands 62. Depofion of John Quinland 64.

NEW BOOKS, with remarks and extracts. Verclft's view of the rife, progrefs, and prefent ftate of the English government in Bengal, including a reply to Mr Belts 72. Dr Beattie's fentinents of Rouffeau's writings 78. Select works of Mr Abraham | Cowley 80. La Chapelle's Ventriloquist

concluded 81. POSTAY. The tears of Hygeia, on Dr Gregory's death 90. Greenfield on the fane fubject 91. Epilogue by Mrs Yates on her first appearance on the Edinburgh | theatre ib. Prologue when Mr Nich. Stewart performed there ib. Lord C-le in praife of his fchool-fellows 92. progress of Love 15.

The

ENT S.

Proceedings and Debates in PARLIAMENT. On the motion for taking into confideration the ftate of the Eaft-India company 65. On the high price of provisions

66.

A method of raising the powers of natal
NUMBERS by ADDITION Only 69.
On impofing SUBSCRIPTION to articles of
religion 70.

HISTORICAL AFFAIRS. Turky and Poe
land 93-
Ruffia and Sweden 95. Ger-

many and United Provinces 96. France, Italy, Spain, and North America 97. Gov. Hutchinfon's fpeech to the affembly of Malachufets-bay ib. Engled 102. London addrefs on the birth of a prince ib. Scotland 103. A dreadful ftorm ib. Edinburgh bridge 104. Plays, marked ball, &c. ib. Trial of A. Watfon for housebreaking ib. and of A. Murdifon and J. Millar for fheep-ftealing 105. Extracts from the informations on the import of the verdict in their cafe ib. LISTS, &c. 159. — 112.

܀܀

of Bellamont, on his late duel with Lord Teonfpend. [29.] My LORD,

T

Hough I prefume to addrefs myself to your Lordship on a fubject in which you are unfortunately but too much interested, it is not my intention by any means to wound the fenfibility of your temper, or to question the benevolence of your heart. I am fare you are a brave man and I hear you are as good a man as any to be found among the youth of condition in this kingdom; yet pardon me, my Lord, if I fay, that our youth of condition do not want advice upon any point fo much as upon the point of YOL. XXXV.

felves fo intimately acquainted; and let me inform you, a Father of the Church now begs your moft ferious attention, that, through your Lordship, he may communicate a few obfervations to the world, no lefs neceffary to maintain the laws of his country, than to enforce the commandments of his God.

Be not, however, terrified, my Lord, though an old man, and that man of fome ecclefiaftical confequence too, breaks thus abruptly on your retirement: He will talk to you as fashionably as if he did not think religioufly, an make (the better to answer his purp f) a fer ous question in morals, an object of polite inveftigation.—To drop the third perfon, my Lord, I know experimentally what

H.

the

the paffions are at your time of life; young men prefer any criminality with which meannefs is not connected, to the flighteft idea of difhonour; they do not fear to commit a flagitious action fo much as to be concerned in a foolish one; and there are particular crimes, fuch as duelling, for instance, in which cuftom has made it glory, not only to facrifice every dictate of our reafon, but every impulie of our humanity.

I have faid, my Lord, that I know experimentally with what a vehemence the paffions, especially where the point of honour is concerned, rage in the bofom of a young man. In the early part of life, I received an infult which I thought myself indifpenfably bound to refent; and of courfe, either a fubmiflion, or a meeting in the field, became the only alternative I could propofe to the party by whom I fuppofed myself injured. He chofe the latter; and your Lordship can easily conceive my affliction. My own perfonal fafety was no more than an atom in the fcale of confideration; but I agonized at the fuppofition of the ruin which I was probably going to pull down upon my own family, as well as upon the family of my antagonist. I was an only fon, the fole heir of an ancient houfe, and in a fortnight to marry a woman on whom I doated to diftraction.-The man whom I challenged, befides, was circumitanced almoft fimilarly, and had lived with me in an uninterrupted courfe of friendship for years. These reflections occurred to me inceffantly: yet my pride (your LordThip will excufe me) heeled me againft the falutary counfel they fuggefted. Reafon, no lefs than religion, pointed out the various horrors of my fituation, in the most forcible light: my pride, however, taught me to oppose the influence of both; and I determined to act like a man of firit, let the confequences be never fo fatal either to my temporal peace, or to my eternal felicity.

Not to trefpafs unneceffarily on your Lordthip's patience, I repai ed with a "heavy heart to the place of appointment; and waited fearce a fecond for the appearance of my enemy. His looks fufficiently befpoke the anguifh of his mind; but he was equally bigotted with myfeif to the herefy of that Moloch, Modern Honour, and equally refolved to worlip him with blood. We could both of us, I am confident, have embraced with the utmoft cordiality; yet, to behave fpirit

edly, it was indifpenfably requifite to attack each other's lives: our courage might be fufpected, if we hesitated, even a moment, at a fashionable murder; and we therefore fired, to purchase the good opinion of the world, though at the abfolute expence of our own. My ball, thanks to the mercy of God, did no mifchief; my antagonife's was more elitetual; I received to violent a wound in the breaft as to be in aftate of the greatelt danger for three months; and, in leis than twelve, faw the father whom I reverenced, and the woman whom I adored, carried to the grave, in confequence of what they fuffered during the ailing interval of my cure. Oh, my Lord, the fcorn of a thoufand worlds would have been clyfium to what I felt on that dreadful occafion! How often did I wifh, that Nature had formed me with a difpofition the moit daftardly that ever fell to the lot of her meaneft fons! If I flew to Reafon for comfort, fhe told me that I had defpited her best advice; if I turned to Religion, the bid me remember how I had trampled on her graveft admonitions. - Pride only appeared with a gleam of feeming confolation; fhe told that I had acted as became a man of Honour, and had fpiritedly demanded fatisfaction for an unpardonable affront. It was true, I had demanded fatisfaction; yet what fatisfaction had I received? If I was grofsly infulted at firft, I was now irreparably injured; and clearly faw, that though I might have behaved very gallantly, the behaviour was nevertheles madnels, which could think lafting mifery an effec tual remedy for imaginary difgrace.

In the fuperftitious ages of the world, my Lord, when men abfurdly believed that Providence interpofed immediately in favour of the party injured, a decifion of a dispute by perfonal combat was not altogether ridiculous: but in thefe more enlightened times, when the fun of Science has happily difpelled the clouds of En thufiam, a continuation of fo Gothic cuftom is a fcandal upon the human un derftanding. No preternatural interpo fition is now expected to give a certain triumph to the pet fon wronged; no, my Lord, the aggreffor and the aggrieved are upon equal terms; and, as in your own cafe, no less than mine, the latter has often the moft melancholy caufe to be datisfied, where he is even indulged with the most honourable fatisfaction. It is jufly oblerved by a very celebrated wri

ter

ter, that though men may live fools, they cannot die fools [v. 279.]: Your Lordfhip and I have been both upon the verge of eternity; and therefore, with refpect to the point of honour at leaft, we may be fuppofed to poffefs a little share of understanding. Give me leave, therefore, to ask you feriously, whether any thing can be fo abfurd as the fashionable practice of duelling? We receive an affront, and we endanger our lives; we expofe the long lift of our friends to diftrefs; we hazard all the glowing expectations of our tendereft focial ties, all our deareft profjects in this world, and all our greateft in the next, to-to do what?-I blush, my Lord, at my own queftion-to punish fome act of incivility that should excite our contempt, or fome disrespect which is wholly below our indignation.-The man who is not ready to apologize for any offence he offers another, does not deferve to be confidered as a gentleman. Yet, fuppofing the cale otherwife, the pence ought indeed to be deadly which induces us to take away a life. If it is of fach magnitude as to require a bloody expation, it fhould be left to the laws; and if it is not, we furely rebel against the majefty of our own hearts where we endeavour to wipe it away with blood. In whatever light we look upon duelling, my Lord, I am perfuaded you will Concur with me in thinking that it is founded no lefs in folly than in barbarity. Where we are even the victors, what is our triumph? A triumph over humanity, a triumph over juftice, a triumph over our families, our country, and our God. If our reafon, therefore, is not alarmed at the various dangers attending this horrible cuftom, our pride thould be roufed at the charge of weakness to which it expofes our characters. Few who go into the field have any wifh to deftroy the life of an adverfary; yet all muft unavoidably expofe their own. Our univerfal ftudy is, to fet a juft value upon this bleffing; yet our univerfal practice is, to treat it as an object of the flighteft confideration. A four look, a haughty accent, or an abrupt reply, are with us motives enough to lofe or take a life at any time. In fact, the life of an English gentleman is the only thing in which he feems to have the leaft property: Make an attempt upon his eftate, and he feeks a judicial remedy; fet fire to his houfe, and he feeks a judicial remedy alfo; but if you tread upon his toe, or doubt his

veracity, no law can give him redress; his life muft be inftantly hazarded to procure fatisfaction; and the moment another becomes rude, he is obliged to be desperate: Thus fituated, he meets his adverfary (as every feeling man muft meet an adverfary) with an infinitely greater fhare of apprehenfion for confequences, than of a paffion for revenge: Though he wants fortitude to do what he wishes, yet he mufters up courage to do what he abhors, and is brave enough to kill perhaps his deareft friend, because his cowardice is too exceffive to oppofe the ridiculous tyranny of a defpicable cuftom.

Seriously, my Lord, is the good opinion of the world worth enjoying upon conditions like thefe? In my opinion, it is not; and if Honour is fomething that muft be gratified at the expence either of justice or humanity, I am convinced that it is not very honourable. We all acknowledge the propriety of this reafoning, yet we all continue the abject flaves of a custom we deteft. What a glory would it, therefore, be to your Lordship, whofe character for perfonal bravery is fo thoroughly eftablished, if you affociated with a few fenfible young men of quality, to refcue us from a tyranny fo barbarous ! You owe your country much for rifking fo valuable a life as your own, and this would be an exaited method of discharging the obligation.

I know, my Lord, that many elegant writers are apprehentive, that if duelling was once abolished, a custom additionally dangerous would be immediately adopted in its room. - The judicious author, particularly, who has obliged the world with the Principles of Penal Law, afks, in his chapter upon Duelling, "Whether it is not to be feared, that the propenfity of our natures to revenge would fubftitute the more fatal, and the more odious, practice of affaffination?"" For my part, I think not: and for the very reafon which he himself afligns to fhew the inefficacy of declaiming against duelling. "Of little avail (fays he) is it to object, that true Honour depends not on the prejudices of the people, but hath its fource in the heart; that it is more courageous to refit the abfurd tyranny of cuftom, than to fubmit to it; that the defence of Honour is not placed in occafional appeals to the fword and piftol, but in a life of integrity and vir