that he was entirely innocent of the fact for which he was to die; that he had been repeatedly intimate with Mifs Bofs, with her own confent; and that all the reafon he could conjecture for her profecuting him was, that he had communicated this matter to Graves, the other bailiff's-follower, who availed himself of the fecret, and found means to get into the young lady's room, and really perpetrated the fact with which the accufed Lennard. In this story he perfifted all the time he afterwards remained in Newgate; but Mr. Temple, fufpecting his veracity, delivered a paper to Mr. Toll, and another perfon, who ufually adminifter fpiritual comfort to the malefactors in their last moments, in which he requested them to afk Lennard about those two affertious juft before he was turned off. This request Mr. Toll and his colleague punctually complied with; and the unhappy man acknowledged he had taken the facrament to an abfolute falfhood; that he was taught in Newgate to believe it might do him fervice; that he found his mistake too late, and all the amends he could make was, to acknowledge the truth before he left the world, and beg pardon of God for having acted in fo atrocious a manner. Stapleburft, near Cranbrock in Kent, Aug. 7. "A perfon of this place has arrived at perfection in the art of hatching ducks; he has raised this feafon near 500 ducks, by an ingenious method, from a very inconfiderable number of old ones, which laid fix or eight fetts of eggs: as they lay them he puts them under a hen; the fits on them for a week or ten days; he then places the eggs in a horse dunghill, and takes care

}

to turn them every twelve hours till they are hatched, which is generally in a month, but he can force them a week fooner if he thinks neceffary; he then puts fresh eggs to the hen, which is kept conftantly fitting for two or three months; he then mofly takes them from her at the time before mentioned; but in rainy or cold weather, he lays the eggs before a fire, which anfwers the fame purpose, by turning them every twelve hours; and by thefe means he raises every year from ten or twelve ducks, between five and fix hundred young ones."

Last night a most violent 14th. ftorm of thunder and lightning, accompanied by frequent gufts of wind, and torrents of rain, began between nine and ten o'clock and, with fome flight intermiffions, continued till near feven o'clock this morning: the two strongest, and moft alarming claps, were at 12 and 5 o'clock. The following are a few of the many inftances of hurt done in varions parts of the town and places adjacent: The church of St. Peter, Cornhill, was damaged; and a woman paffing near it loft an eye. The north-fide of the obelisk in St. George's-fields, was ftruck with fuch violence, that the crown itone of the base was opened about an inch, and the feventh ftone from the top of the fpire cracked. A houfe was fplit afunder at Limehoufe. A cottage, with a fhed adjoining to it, on Sydenham Common, was fet on fire, and burnt. At Low Layton, in Effex, two large ricks of hay were confumed. The horfes of two waggons coming to London ran away, and one was overfet at Barnet, and the other at Whetstone. The horfes of the

Gloucefler

Gloucefter ftage alfo ran away near Acton, and the carriage was overturned and broken to pieces. Mrs. Beech, of Tothill-fields, was ftruck down near her own door, and rendered fenfeless for fome time. The fon of Mr. Steelman, cheesemonger in Oxford-street, a youth about 17 years of age, landing at his father's door, was ftruck dead; his hat was fcorched, and his hair much burnt. A man coming from Ilington was killed. A waterman and his boy coming in a boat from Blackwall, the man was killed, but the boy elcaped.

Below bridge confiderable damage was done to the fhipping; many mafts being fhivered to pieces, and fome failors are faid to have loft their lives.

Dreadful as this account may appear, it is but a very fuperficial detail of the calamities occafioned by this ftorm, which, if we confider the length of its duration, and the amazing extent of its influence, being felt nearly at the fame time in diftant counties, we may venture to conclude, that the like has not happened for many years. Let us not, however, murmur at the decrees of the great Author of nature-The day preceding the tempeft, was fultry hot, and the air furcharged with fulphureous matter, which, had it not been rarefied and difperied by the fubfequent form, might have proved fatal to fome thousands of the inhabitants of this metropolis, and its environs.

In the courfe of the month, fince their meeting in July, the Society at the Thatch'd-Houfe have dif charged 40 debtors, (who had 23 wives, and 71 children) from the feveral prifons in this metropolis, and one of the county gaols.

Extract of a Letter from Newcastle, Aug. 11.

"This is a jubilee day here; the town is all in an uproar; our freemen have won their trial, and defeated the magiftrates entirely; nothing but Serjeant Glynn is to be heard in the streets. I with their kindness and gratitude may not hurt him; it was with the greatest difficulty he could get to or from court, and has been dragged along the streets in his coach by the freemen to his lodgings. He has done their business effectually, and they have agreed to have a print of him put in every company's meetinghoufe in the town."

Paris, July 24. The council of war held at Lifle has condemned 33 cfficers of a regiment, for refufing to ferve under a lieutenantcolonel placed over them. Some are to be broken, and fent to certain prifons for a number of years, and others for an indeterminate time. The major has been re-eftablifhed; but the lieutenant-colonel is ordered under an arreft for three months, for prefuming to compromife the authority which his Majefty has placed in him. The above judgment, which carries with it no mark of ignominy, was fent before its publication to the Marquis of Monteynard, who immediately returned orders to the colonel, to difpofe of the vacant employs, and particularly in favour of those who had not refufed obedience; and the 17th inftant judgment was executed, their employments given away in prefence of all the troops at Lile, and nineteen of the officers were immediately conducted to different prifons. Every one laments their hard fate, as they were all men of tried courage.

Paris,

Paris, July 30. The following humane action of the Archbishop of Bourdeaux, fhews us, that there are ftill perfons of the highest rank and fortune, who deign to look with compaffion upon the poor and miferable. His Grace being informed, that the greatest diftrefs reigned in Bourdeaux, on account of the fcarcity of corn, in order to obviate this calamity as much as poffible, he retrenched all the fuperfluities of his table, and has given an hundred crowns daily to the poor ever fince.

Edinburgh, Aug. 6. We are informed, that not less than ten veffels have either already failed, or are engaged to fail this feafon, with emigrants for America, from Sky, the Long-Island, Glengary, Sutherland, Rofs-fhire, &c. What a pity, that the induftrious poor, who are the real fupport of the ftate, fhould thus be obliged, by the indolence and inhumanity of their governors, to feek employment and luftenance in far diftant climes ! A chapter of the order of 18th. the Thistle was held at St. James's, with the ufual ceremonies, when the Right Hon. the Earl of Northington was invefted with the order of the green ribband, vacant by the death of the late Earl of Warwick.

The King of Pruffia has lately ftopped a confiderable quantity of planks, ftaves, &c. for which the British merchants at Dantzick had not only contracted, but even given earneft; nor have the warmeft remonftrances on the part of the factory, been able to obtain any redrefs. Application has been made, and a memorial prefented by the merchants of London to the miniitry, but we do not hear whether they met with fuccefs,

They write from the Hague, that the States of Holland, Utrecht, and Guelders, have each of them voted his Polish Majefly a prefent of 2500 ducats, as a fupport during the infractions in his dominions.

In the violent ftorm of

19th.

wind and rain last night and this morning, three large trees were torn up in Cold-bath-fields. The roof of a house was blown off in Shoe-lane, Fleet-ftreet, More than 53 feet of the new brick-wall at the bottom of the King's Bench walks, in the Temple, was deftroyed. Two cuftom houfe officers at Gravefend were drowned in endeavouring to board a fhip that was paffing by. An old boufe, the corner of Dobb'scourt, Southwark, was thrown down, and a poor woman and two small children were buried in the ruins. And a failing lighter being overfet below bridge, Mr. James Moorfbey, a lighterman at Rotherhith, and his apprentice, were drowned.

The waters were much out at Egham, and the people in general under great apprehenfions for the wheat. From Lee to the Crays, and round about thofe parts, they were as high as the horfes bellies in the road. Several ftage coaches, which were to have been in town laft night, did not arrive till this day at noon; and this morning moft of the ftages that go the north road, came back to their respective inns, being unable to proceed.

In Oxford, and its neighbourhood, the weather was fo tempeftuous, with a northerly wind, and the rains fo heavy, that fcarce any buildings were found to afford a fufficient fhelter.

His Excellency Baron de 21ft. Nolken, Envoy-extraordinary from the court of Stockholm,

was

was invested at St. James's with the enfigns of the Swedish order of the Polar Star, fent over for that purpose by the King his matter.

Authentic letters just received from Paris declare, that the Chevalier Grenier is going out with a finall fquadron from Breft to the Eaft-Indies upon a fecret expedition. The above officer is just returned to France from making a voyage into the Indian feas, in confequence of a propofal he made to the French miniftry about three years fince, the iffue of which was, that he discovered a new paffage from the ifle of France to the coaft of Coromandel and China, which fhortened the voyage near 1000 leagues. This important circumftance was a fhort time fince, by order of the French King, laid before the royal Academy of the Sciences at Paris, the members of which, after examining the Chevalier's journals, &c. gave it as their opinion, that his difcovery would be of great utility in the nautical world, as the new rout was not only practicable during the latter monfoon, or from October to April, but that it was free from any remarkable danger, even if a large fleet fhould attempt it.

Letters from Mofcow, of the 26th of July, brought the melancholy news of a dreadful fire which happened the day before in that city. By a violent torm of wind, the flames fpread a German mile round, and deftroyed the moft ftately buildings and palaces of the nobility: the merchants efcaped this calamity, the fire not extend. ing to the quarter they inhabit.

Advice has been received at Lisbon, of an earthquake at Caraccao, in the Brazils, which overthrew

forty houfes, and deftroyed upward. of 400 people, chiefly Indians. Extract of a letter from Dublin, August 10.

"All the evils which Dean Swift predicted now appear to have befallen this unhappy country: Aa empty treafury, a famished poor, and the ftaple manufactures of the kingdom declining apace. The fpirit of emigration hath feized our people, and the feveral counties hitherto famous for the refidence of the linen manufacturers, are now almost dwindled into dreary waftes. The land lies uncultivated, and notwithstanding the landholders have, by lowering the rents, tried to pacify the minds of the people, and induce them to continue at home, yet fcarcely a veffel fails from Ireland bound to any of the plantations, but what is filled with multitudes of useful artizans, their wives and children. It is to be hoped, that fome method may be taken to put a stop to fo alarming an evil; for if the number of inhabitants conftitute the riches of a ftate, Heaven knows, Ireland will foon be the poorest country under the canopy of heaven!"

At 35 minutes past ten in 24th. the evening, was determined a match between Thomas Walker, Efq; of Mickleham, in Surry, and Capt. Adam Hay, for 400 guineas, which was won by the latter. Mr. Walker rode his own Hackney, and Capt. Mulcafter rode for Capt. Hay. They fet out at fix on Monday morning from Portland-street, London, and the winner arrived at Oufebridge, York, in 40 hours 35 minutes. Mr. Walker's horse tired within 6 miles of Tadcaster, and it is fuppofed will die. They rode the first 90 miles in 6 hours. The

winning