difcredit with the public, and a diminution in the fale of their paper, brought the prefent action against the defendants as authors of fuch difcredit, lofs, &c. The cafe being made out, the jury gave a verdict with 100l. damages. The forged paper was printed in London. 10th. This day at noon, Mifs Mackenzie, of Salisburyftreet, in the Strand, accompanied by a Mr. Winders, of the exchequer, hired a boat, and proceeded from Blackfriars bridge to Greenwich; on their return to town the lady fell overboard, and was drowned. She was immediately dragged for, and every means made ufe of to recover the body, without effect. On Monday morning at the dropping of the tide, the body was difcovered lying on Duke's Shore, below Rotherhithe church. A coroner's jury was immediately fummoned; verdict accidental death. Weymouth. We had on 17th. Friday afternoon, the fevereft ftorm of wind, hail, rain, thunder, and lightning, that has been for many years. It lafted for a great length of time; and the hail-tones were of an immenfe fize, only a few miles diftance. Earl Digby was in his phaeton, in his park near Sherborne, at the time. The horses took fright and ran furioutly away; overfet the carriage, and his lordship had the misfortune to have one of his legs broke. A caufe of fome importance 18th. to the intereft of the eftablished church was on Monday decided in the court of Arches, Doctors Commons. The rev. W. Percy, a clergyman of the established church, had been accustomed to read prayers, preach, adminifter the facrament, and occafionally to church women, and baptize children, according to the rites of the church of England, in the parish of Woolwich, in a building (improperly called a chapel) neither confecrated nor licenfed for fuch purpofes, but originally appropriated to diffenters. Mr. Percy made no defence; but, being condemned in cofts, perfonally petitioned the court for a mitigation of the cofts, on the plea of not having baptized children privately in houfes, as fet forth in the 6th article, which was accordingly withdrawn; but, having by his own confeffion, incurred the penalty of the other five articles, the court rejected his petition. He was confequently condemned in the whole coits, amounting to about 15 guineas, and admonished, by the judge who prefided, to defift in future from fuch irregular and illegal practices as were a grofs abuse of the toleration-act. An erection is Ma gate. 20th. juft completed here, for the reception of 30 poor perfons from the hofpitals, whofe cafes render fea bathing neceffary The building is conftructed in a very commodious manner; it is fituated near the beach, between Margate and Dandelion, and the expence is defrayed by fubfcription. It will be fit to receive patients in a few days: they will have medical affiftance, and a bathing machine has been built for their fole use. At the affizes for Devon, 22d. an action of ejectment was tried, between one Battin, plaintiff, and one Arthur and his wife, defendants, for the recovery of lands in Devonshire, claimed by the plaintiff as heir of one John Noteworthy, an idiot from birth to his death, at the age of ixty-one years. The ence. At Bodmin affizes 16 perfons were tried, three of whom were capitally convicted, viz. William Sampfon and John Hofkin, for violently affaulting Samuel Phillips; and William Barnes, for ftealing out of the houfe of David Jones, in Truro, certain pieces of gold and filver, value 40s. and upwards; and they received fentence of death. 24th. At Leicefter aflizes, John Dawes Rois, jun, and Tho. Bankart, tried on a charge of manflaughter, on the body of Mr. Robert Hall, during the late contefted election, were both found guilty; the former to fuffer four and the latter ten months imprifonment. (The fentence of Rofs has been fince remitted.) The defendants claimed those lands of the court, and a crowded audiunder this idiot's will. In fupport of the plaintiff's cafe upwards of twenty witneffes clearly proved his idiotcy, from his not knowing the value of money, or any other article of life; and many inftances of grofs impofition on him; and among others, that he never received one fhilling of the rent of his lands; that he was exempted from all offices, and particularly from ferving in the militia, on account of his incapacity; and it was proved that he was taken from his fifter, the plaintiff's mother, and married to a woman whom he fearcely knew, and that a fortnight after his marriage he did not know he was married; that his wife often corrected him, when he would cry, and behave like a child. All the witneffes on the part of the plaintiff gave teftimony of the teftator's idiotcy. On the part of the defendants many witneffes were examined, who all proved, in the fame words, that he was a man of fenfe, without giving a fingle inftance of it, except that he could read, write his name, kept his church, remembered the texts, and other paffages of feripture. The curate of the parifh of Afhcombe, where the idiot lived and died, in fupport of the will, proved the idiot to be a great divine, philofopher, and hiftorian; that he was timid and shy to ftrangers at firft; yet, when he became acquainted, and any perfon had gained his confidence, he was very converfible and all perfons acquainted with him muit court his company. After a hearing of near-ters of captain, furgeon and magily ten hours, the jury, without a moment's hesitation, gave a verdict against the will, in favour of the plaintiff Baftin, to the fatisfaction Leeds. Laft Thurfday, as 25th. the w workmen at the new church at Halifax were erecting one of the main bindings of the roof, the temporary prop gave way; the balk thereof was broken by the weight of the fcaffolding, and the internal parts of the binding preffed upon it; in confequence of which the men fell down, and some of them were materially bruifed, but no lives were loft. At the Surrey affizes, Edwards, late of Pleafant place, and Doctor Gale, were tried for fraudulently figning and counterfeiting certain certificates, atteftations, &c. of recruits. Edwards kept a recruitinghoufe, which was burnt by the mob. The Doctor, being a good actor, occafionally played the charac firate. When a recruit was brought in, he ftripped and examined him as furgeon; approved of him in another place and drefs as captain; and and finally figned his atteftation as magiftrate. Of all thefe ingenious acts of his, and Mr. Edward's employing him, and giving currency to his impofitions, the jury found them both guilty. At the fame afsizes, an indi&ment was tried, which reflects no fmall degree of difcredit on the perfon indicted. Theophilus Bridges, a button-maker, of Temple-ftreet, St. George's-fields, was indicted for the murder of his apprentice, Elizabeth Monk, in January, 1795. The deceafed was one of feven apprentices, all taken from the Afyium; and, by the evidence of three of the furviving apprentices, it appeared that Bridges was a very paffionate and fevere man, and had frequently beat and kicked the deceafed; and that the died after an illness of fome continuance, caufed, as they conceived, by fuch ill ufage; together with fpare dict and hard work. A furgeon was called; but who having feen the deceafed only a few hours before her death, and being told the was ill of a confumption, and merely having felt her pulfe, as he perceived the was very near death, could not speak to any circumftance to criminate Bridges. He was therefore acquit Grindley, an attorney, had, by means of the bifhop being appointed deputy-regiftrar of the confiftorial court of his diocefe, his lordship's nephew being the principal regiftrar; that, on the 6th of January laft whilft the office was shut, the bishop fent for the key of it; which was refufed by order of Mr. Grindley; that on the 7th of January, by his lordship's order, the lock of the office was taken off and a new one put on, the key of which was delivered to the bishop, who the fame day informed Mr. Grindley thereof. That, on the 8th of January, Mr. Grindley with a blackfinith and four other perfons, broke open the office. That the defendants, being alarmed at this, went to the office unarmed (after Mr. Grindley had taken poffeflion of it) and expoftulated with him, and were excited to fhew fome marks of anger at this violent condu&t; for he was armed with piftols and had forced one perfon down the steps and threatened to fhoot another. It alfo appeared that the bishop fent for a magiftrate; and his lordfhip and the other defendants foon afterwards departed, leaving Mr. Grindley in the office. A pamphlet was produced in court to Mr. Grindley, containing fome confidential letters from the bithop to him during the time he had been his lordship's agent; which letters Mr. Grindley owned he had delivered into the hands of a Mr. Williams of Treffos. The defendant's counfel, faid they had many witneffes; but that their cafe ftood fo clear, even on the plaintiff's evidence, they did not think it neceffary to call a fingle witnefs on the part of the defendants; and the jury immediately, without leaving the court, '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 ftate of fervile dependence or degrading ignorance which the fituation might befpeak in this country. He had the common education of a Scotch peatant, 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, fiarting beyond the obftacles of poverty, and which would have diftingifhed itself 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 focial 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 refilefs activity, which is the peculiar characteristic of his countrymen, propofed to emigrate to Jamaica, in order to feek his fortune by the exertion of those ta lents of which he felt himself poffeffed. It was upon this occafion that one of his friends fuggefted to him the idea of publishing his poems, in order to raise a few pounds to defray the expences of his paffage. The idea was eagerly embraced. A coarse edition of his poems was first published at Ayr. They were foon noticed by the gentlemen 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 first characters of Scotland. The fubfcription lift contains a greater number of respectable 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 Exciseman, and an income of fomewhat lefs than 50l. a year. We know not 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 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 tenderness of paffion, the glowing touches of a defcriptive pencil a man who was the pupil of nature, the poet of infpiration, and who poffeffed 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 left moments of his life He has left behind him a wife, with fire infant children, and in the hourly expectation of a fixth, without any refource but what the may hope from public fympathy. In the 64th year of his age, David Rittenhoufe, the American philofopher. His hiftory is curious, from the admiration in which his character was held. Rittenhouse was a native of America; and, in the earlier part of his life, he min gled the purfuits of fcience with the active employments of a farmer and a watchmaker. In 1769 be was invited by the American philofophical fociety to join a number of gentlemen who were then occupied in making some aftronomical obfervations, when he particolarly diftinguished himself by the accuracy of his calculations and the comprehenfion of his mind. He afterwards conftructed an observatory, which he fuperintended in perfon, and which was the fource of many important difcoveries, as well as greatly tending to the general 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 treasurerofthe ftate of Pennsylvania, and director of the national mint, in both of which capacities he was alike diftinguished for ftrength of judgement and integrity of heart. He fucceeded the illuftrious 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 virtues as a man, while the world will applaud his talents as a philofopher. AUGUST. The count de Montmorin ar3d. rived in town, being charged with difpatches from Louis XVIIIth to the count d'Artois, at Edinburgh. This nobleman brings advice, that on Wednesday 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 |