Prince Henry of Pruffia, in the name of the Emprefs of Ruffia, made the demand of the Princefs of Wirtemberg Stutgard, in marriage for the Grand Duke; and the ceremony of the contract took place the fame day. On the 3d of Auguft, his Imperial Highnefs took leave of the Royal Family, when the King made him the following magnificent prefents: a defertfervice, and a coffee fervice, with ten vafes of China, of the manufacture of Berlin; a ring, with his Majefty's portrait, covered with a diamond valued at 30,000 crowns; a fet of Pruffian horfes; and four pieces of rich tapestry.

After this there was an extraordinary court, at which were prefent all the foreign minifters, and every person of diftinction, The whole auguft company fupped with the Queen in great magnificence, and the next day dined with her Majefty.

鬃

At night, fome rogues broke into the houfe of a gentleman in Great Ruffel-ftreet, Bloomfbury, all whofe family happened to be then in the country; and carried off plate to the amount of above 3001. We infert this by way of caution to fuch of our readers, as leave their town houfes for the fummer feafon, to lodge

23d.

At a court of common council held at Guildhall, the thanks of that court were una-. nimously voted to Sir Watkin Lewes, for his endeavours to fupport the rights and liberties of the freemen of Worcester in the laté election for reprefentatives for that city.

The body of a coach24th, man, found without any of the common figns of life, in a ftable at Fulham, to which he went a few days before, in a feeming ftate of good health, to put up his horfes, was buried at that place. But when the funeral was over, a perfon infifling that, du ring the performance of the fervice, he heard a rumbling and struggling in the coffin, the earth was removed, and the coffin taken out of the grave; when, on opening it, there appeared evident proofs, that the unhappy man, though then abfolutely dead, had come to himself, as his body was very much bruifed in feveral places, fome of which were ftill bleeding; and there appeared befides a quantity of blood in the coffin. Surely, it is high time to put the office of fearchers into better hands; and who fo fit for the purpose, as the gentlemen of the faculty belong

ing to the Society for the recovery of perfons apparently drowned, &c. who might be allowed a fuitable reward for their trouble, payable by the parish when the friends of the fuppofed deceased were too poor to pay it; and a still greater reward, in cafe they fhould bring to life any perfon given over as dead by thofe they belonged to.

Sir Bafil Keith, Governor of Jamaica, iffued a proclamation to put martial law in force in that iland, in order to prevent the Spreading of what the proclamation ftiles a rebellion of the negroes, in one of its parishes; and, next day, he iffued another proclamation, to stop the departure of the fhips bound for Europe, as it appeared that the negroes depended greatly on the island's being thereby thinned of whites, to carry their point. By this means, the infurrection was fuppreffed; and, the ringleaders being difcovered, thirty were executed; when, all things being made quiet and eafy again, both the martial-law and the embargo were taken off the 7th of August following. [For fome fine thoughts on the condition of the poor negroes in the Well-India illands, &c. and a fine poetical addrefs, to his wife, put into the mouth of one of them on the point of being burnt alive for aflerting the natural rights of mankind, we beg leave to refer our readers to the fecond part of this volume.]

Here, in the mean time, it is proper to remark, that, in these islands the whites themselves were now on the point of being ftarved, in confequence of their not receiving the ufual fupplies from NorthAmerica; fo that, perhaps, every

thing attempted by the flaves, on the above occafion, may be attributed to that almoft general innate defire of prolonging even the most wretched existence. The condition of the Weft India islands about this time, may be judged from the following picture of that of Barbadoes, as laid before his Majefty, last May, in an addrefs on the occafion from the inhabitants of that ifland:

"We have, Sir, near fourfcore thoufand black, and twelve thoufand white people daily to fupport. Our ground provifions (the internal refource) have failed for the want of feafonable rains; and the stock of falt provifions on hand will not last many weeks, and we are without the hope of future foreign refources."

Sir Thomas Rich, in his Majefty's fhip Enterprize, 25th. met with a French fleet, of two fhips of the line, and feveral frigates, commanded by the Duke of Chartres. The French bore down upon her, and the Admiral hailed the Enterprize, and defired the Captain to come on board im mediately; to which he replied, that, if the admiral had any thing to communicate to him, he might come on board the Enterprize, as he should not go out of his hip. The Duke infifted that he fhould, or he would fink him; and the French fhips accordingly pointed their guns at the Enterprize; but Sir Thomas Rich, regardlefs of their hoftile threats and preparations, declared, that he never received any orders but from his own Admiral, and that they were at liberty to fire whenever they pleased, as he pofitively would not go on board; upon which the Duke of [2] 4

Chartres,

Chartres, admiring his fpirited conduct, begged it as a favour that he would do him the honour of coming aboard, as he wifhed much to be acquainted with him. Sir Thomas immediately went, and was received with the utmoft refpect by the Duke and all his officers.

The magiftrates of the city and liberty of Weftminifter. met at their Guildhall, to hold the adjourn 'ment of their quarter feffion, received the picture of Lord Percy, which they had requested of his Grace the Duke of Northumberland, to place in the council chamber of their hall, as a teftimony of their respect towards that young nobleman, and as a juft fenfe of their approbation of his fpirit and perfeverance in the fervice of his King and Country in America. A poor widow, imme30th. diately after being cleared at St. Margaret's Hill, in the Borough, by the Infolvent Act, was arrested by a Borough-Clink Officer in her way home, and carried to the Borough jail. But, upon notice being fent to Sir Jofeph Mawbey, he gave orders for the woman to be again brought into court, discharged her from the arreft, and fent the officer, who arrefted her, to the above prifon for three months, as the act of parliament directs that no perfon, coming to be cleared, or going home when cleared, fhall be taken under arrest.

About ten minutes after ten at night, began one of the greateft eclipfes of the moon, that has happened thefe twenty-fix vears past; and a greater than will happen for many years to come. It was vifible to all Europe and Africa, the land of Madagascar, all the leffer islands of the Indian Seas, the Atlantic Ocean, Iceland, Greenland, Newfoundland, Cape Breton, the Caribbee Islands, Terra Firma,. South America; to every place, in fhort, above whofe horizon the moon then happened to be; and the weather here in London proved favourable enough to render it a moft grand and awful fpectacle; whereas out of fix total eclipfes of the moon, that could be vifible in this part of the globe for thirtynine years paft, three only are remembered to have been seen, the fight of the other three having been intercepted by clouds. At the time of the prefent eclipfe, the moon was computed to be upwards of 222,000 English miles from the earth's furface; the diameter of the earth's fhadow, in that part where the moon paffed through it, about 6000 miles; and the moon's motion through this fhadow, to have been at the rate of between thirty and forty miles a minute. The other particulars of this grand event in the hiftory of nature, were, for London, and all other places at no great distance from it, nearly as follows:

The 7th. Mr. Jeremiah Markland, fenior fellow of Peter-Houfe, Cambridge, and one of the most learned critics of his age, aged 82 years. See the fecond part of this volume, for a farther account of this gentleman.

Lately, Mr. James Afhley, aged 78, mafter of the punch-houfe on Ludgate-hill, which he had kept forty-five years. He was the first to introduce the felling of punch in fmall quanties, by which he not only made a large fortune, but greatly promoted the intereft of the

AUGUST.

A light was exhibited on ift.

a cluster of dangerous rocks between England and Ireland, called the Smalls; but on fuch an improved plan, as to be seen and diftinguished at nine leagues distance.

By the report of the committee directed to enquire into the city cash, and the probable expences attending the mayoralty, the receipts and payments of the laft five gentlemen who ferved that office, ftand, pursuant to accounts delivered in by themselves, as under, viz.

6

Payments.

4

7349 12 6685 10 11

7592 16 9

The committee having compared the faid accounts together, and having likewife had laid before them a fair copy of the account of monies received by the Mayors for twenty-fix years paft, viz. from 1750 to 1775, both inclufive, for the fale of offices, places, &c. came to the following refolutions, viz.

1. That it appeared to the committee, that the annual income of the office of Mayor of this city amounts to about 40001.

II. That the probable receipts arifing from the fale of offices, places, &c. for twenty-fix years paft amounted upon an average to 5311. 6s. 1d. per annum, and for the last ten years to 670l. per annum. And,

8

6

9292 10 0 8226 13 O 6896 19 10

III. That the probable expences attending the mayoralty of this city, amounted to 7600l. per annum.

The committee therefore recommended, that, in future, the fums arising from the fale of all officers places of this city whatever, fhould be paid into the chamber of London, and that the court do allow the future Mayors 1000l. per annum, in lieu of the faid places.

At a court of common council, Mr. Saxby having given notice, that he intended at the first court of common-council to be held after the recess, to revive the motion for the compliment of a piece of plate to be prefented to Sir Wat

kin

kin Lewes on the fame fcore that the thanks of the court had been lately voted him, Mr. Deputy Judd gave notice, that he fhould, at the jame time, make a motion for reducing the falary paid to the recorder to 7501. the fum which was paid to his predeceffor. From thefe bickerings, the political temper of the city of London may be pretty well estimated.

2d.

At Cuckfield in Suffolk, there happened in the afternoon, a violent ftorm of thunder and lightning, which threw the inhabitants into great confiernation. The new work belonging to the fpire of the church, which had been almoft deftroyed by a violent ftorm the beginning of the hard weather the laft winter, and was nearly repaired, was beat down, and the infide fet on fire at three or four different places; where it was, however, though with great difficulty, extinguifhed.

Baron, Deide Furttenftein, 3d. late Embaffador from Den mark, having received his letters of recal, and previously taken leave of their Majesties, fet out on his return home.

A fire broke out in the dwellinghoufe of Mr. Wallace, bifcuit-baker, in Cinnamon-street, Wapping, by which that and fix adjoining houfes were burnt to the ground. This morning, about fix 5th. o'clock, a melancholy accident happened on board his Majefty's fhip Marlborough, Capt. Hood, which had come into Portfmouth harbour the day before to be docked, by the explosion of fome gunpowder in the fore part of the fhip, which tore and much damaged her infide works, and

ripped up part of her decks; twelve feamen, three women, and three children, were killed; and upwards of fifty wounded, who were fent to the hofpital. And, on the 15th, at a court martial held on board the Centaur man of war, on the captain, officers, &c. of the Marlborough, to enquire into the caufe of the above unhappy accident, the Captain and Lieutenant were cleared of any breach of duty, but the gunner was fentenced to one year's imprisonment in the Marfhalfea, and rendered for ever incapable of ferving his Majefty; and one of the gunner's yeomen was condemned to receive three hundred lashes. It feems that the latter, on removing the powder, had, through the negligence of the former, made a reserve of fome powder unknown to the rest of the hip's crew. Two or three days after, another court-martial was held on two failors, for theft committed on board the faid fhip in the height of the confufion after the explofion; when they were both convicted, and fentenced to receive three hundred lathes each; which fentences, both on them and the gunner's yeoman, were the next morning carried into execution.

At Evercreech, in De- 6th. vonshire, a farmer and two of his men running under an oak for shelter during a thunderftorm, a flash of lightning Bruck the tree, killed the farmer dead upon the fpot, and greatly hurt the two labourers. We cannot too often put our readers on their guard against the danger of ftanding under trees during thunder-forms. It is feldom that perfons are much hurt in open fields.

There was growing in the gar

den