three fons, Jofeph, John, and Benjamin, which happened after the following manner, viz. Mr. R. Stewart having a well near his houfe, about 30 feet deep, that in fummer was ufually dry, he employed a well-digger, on the 22d ult. to fink it deeper, who, after working in it fome time, told his employer it was fo damp and unwholefome, that he could not continue to work. Upon this objection, a fire was kindled at the bottom, in order to prepare it for another trial on Monday. Whether this fire continued burning appears uncertain; but on Monday morning, about fun-rife, Mr. Stewart, accompanied by feveral of his children, fons and daughters, went to the well, when Jofeph, a young lad, was fent down (by a ladder) to fee if the fire was perfectly extinguished. The unhappy youth had fcarcely reached the bottom before he was ftruck motionless by a noxious vapour, and as it was imagined by thofe above, that he had fallen by a mifsftep, John went immediately to his affiftance, and taking his then lifeless body in his arms, in order to carry him up, he was himself ftruck in like manner, and had not the power to fave either his brother or himself. The father, thinking that Jofeph was hurt by a fall, and that John was unable to get him up, went haftily down to them, and taking hold of the former, then clafped in the arms of the latter, he was likewife inftantaneously affected; and, in a fhort fpace, they all fell dead together. Benjamin (who, with his five fifters above, was beholding the distressful fcene, and judging the true caufe) in his anxiety of mind, re

folved to go to the relief of his father and brothers. His filial and fraternal affection was fo great, that no entreaties could fwerve him from his purpofe. He told his mother and fifters that he would take a bottle of camphire, which was given him to make use of as occafion fhould require, and that the moment he felt any thing unufual from the place, he would leave it. The unfortunate young man defcended, and foon met with the fame deplorable fate. The bodies were foon after taken up, and all poffible means ufed to revive them, but in vain."

This melancholy affair has been the means of difcovering the following effectual remedy.

"Draw a quantity of water out of the well, and pour it back again, repeating the fame about an hour; the next day let down. a candle into it, and, if it burns bright, any perfon may go down to the bottom of the well with fafety; if it does not, repeat the former operation till it does."

11th.

A caufe came on to be tried in Doctors Commons, between an eminent tradefman in Piccadilly and his wife, for re. peated acts of cruelty, adultery, and giving her the foul difeafe, and other ill ufage, when, after many learned arguments, (the innocence of the wife not being in the leaft impeached) the judge pronounced the man to have been guilty both of the cruelty and adultery, and divorced the woman from her husband, and condemned him in full costs, to the fatisfaction of the whole court.

On Thursday laft was tried at Guildhall, a caufe wherein a pawnbroker of this city was fued upón

the ftatute of ufury, for taking more than legal intereft for the loan of a large fum of money upon a parcel of jewels, &c. The plaintiff plainly proving fifty pounds had been fo lent by the pawnbroker, a verdict for that fum was given for the plaintiff; and as the above ftatute fubjects the lender of money upon illegal intereft to pay treble the fum lent, the pawnbroker must pay the plaintiff 150l. befides cofts of fuit.

On Saturday laft the wife of Thomas Upton, coachman, near Red-lion-fquare, who on Thurfday laft was delivered of two fons and a daughter, was fafely delivered of a fourth child.

2000

In the courfe of laft week up. wards of 20,00p quarters of oats, 7000 quarters of wheat, 4000 quarters of barley, and quarters of rye, were imported into the river from foreign parts; the greatest quantity that has been known for fome years in one week.

Wednesday night, about 400 weavers, armed with cutlaffes, hatchets, &c. affembled in Brick lane, in order to deftroy the looms of a worsted lace wever there. Mr. Hurford, high conftable of the divifion, attended with a number of officers in order to oppofe them; but being overpowered, he was obliged to take refuge, with his afliftants, in the neighbouring houfes. A party of the guards, however, being fent for from the Tower, the rioters were foon difperfed; and upwards of 40 of them taken, and conveyed to NewPrifon, Clerkenwell, and Clerkenwell-Bride well; and yesterday they were examined at Hicks's Hall,

14th.

and after being reprehended, and admonished to behave peaceably for the future, were difcharged. The feffions ended at the Old Bailey, when three received fentence of death; forty. two were fentenced to be tranfported for feven years, and three for fourteen years, fix were branded in the hand, two ordered to be whipped, and thirty-three dif charged by proclamation.

Among thofe capitally convicted, was one Henry Domine for forging a promiffory note, payable to himfelt, with intent to defraud John Reid, victualler, in Clerkenwell. He had the impudence to arrest the man by virtue of the faid note.

Province of Maffachufett-Bay. Council Chamber, Oct. 15. 1767. Prefent his excellency the go. vernor in council.

His excellency having communicated to the council a letter from the right hon. the earl of Shelburne, one of his majefty's principal fecretaries of ftate, inclofing an order of his majesty in privy council, by which his majefty has been pleafed to difallow and reject an act paffed by the great and general court or affembly of this province, in December 1766, intituled, "An act for granting compenfation to the fufferers, and of free and general pardon, indemnity, and oblivion, to the offenders in the late times:"

Advised and ordered. That notion be given in the Maffachufett's gazette, that the faid act is dif. allowed and rejected, that every perfon concerned therein may go vern themfelves accordingly.

By order of his excellency the

go.

at

An order of council was the fame time iffued, for putting the laws in force against artificers leaving their country, and exereifing their refpecting callings in foreign countries; for which purpofes thofe laws are recited in the London gazette.

The fociety of arts came to a refolution to give the gold medal of the fociety to Charles Dingley, Efq. for his public fpirit, in erect. ing at a very confiderable expence a faw-mill at Limehouse.

A mot fhocking murder was committed at Portfmouth on a marine, by a foldier who came to his quarters and decoyed him out. The next morning the man was found with his head beat almolt to pieces, the fcalp almoft torn off, ftabbed in feveral parts of the face and eyes, fuppofed with a bayonet. He came home in the Montreal man of war, and had just received the money due to him. The murderer has fince been apprehended, aud committed to Winchefter gaol.

Came on in the court of King'sbench, Guildhall, a trial between a captain of an Eaft-Indiaman, and a furgeon of the fame fhip, for the former beating and confining the latter fome time during the voyage; when a verdict was found for the furgeon, with gol. damages, and cofts of fuit.

At a court of common council zool. a year additional falary was voted to the recorder of London; and 150l. a year to the common ferjeant.

They write from Bridgewater, that a moft extraordinary phæno menon has lately appeared in the villages of Limpefham, Burnham, Brent, and feveral other parishes near this place, the fields of which are over-run with an incredible number of mice, which do infinite damage; the dogs and cats have killed great numbers, but are cloyed with them: The cattle will not touch the grafs where thefe vermin are, and we expect no relief but from a fevere froft, which, it is hoped, will deftroy them. A fimilar circumftance is not remembered by the oldeft' perfon in these parts.

A poor woman in Kingswood near Bristol hanged herfelf in a ftable, and was not difcovered till he was quite dead. It seems the caufe of her committing this rafh action was owing to her huf. band, who is a collier, having loft feveral of his horfes by the prefent epidemical distemper, which occafioned his going behindhand to the amount of four pounds to the coal-pit: She had with great difficulty that morning raifed two guineas, in order to help to dif charge the debt, but the creditor declared his refolution not to take lefs than the whole, and arrest her husband immediately, unless it was paid. Struck with the impoffibility of raifing the fum wanted, and dreading the confequence of her husband's confine. ment, having three very fmall children to fupport, fhe returned home, and after weeping over,

and embracing her infants, too inconfiderately gave way to her defpondency.

The following fact may be worth the knowledge of the public. In pumping one of his majefty's thips in the Weft Indies, the chain broke; upon which, a man was ordered down to repair it; but, on his entrance into the well, he dropped down dead, (as did fix more to all appearance) and fo would others, had not the commanding officer put a stop to them. An old feaman ftanding by, and unwilling to let his comrades fuffer without attempting fomething for their fafety, put his hand into a bucket of tar, with which he rubbed his noftrils, upper lip and mouth, flung himfelf in a rope, and went down without meeting with any annoyance from the ftagnant water, and fent them all up; when one was found quite dead, and three of the others were with the greatest difficulty faved.

zoth. Prayers were publicly read in all the popish mafs-houses throughout Ireland for his majefty king George III. queen Charlotte, the prince of Wales, and all the royal family; being the first time the royal famil of England have been prayed for in this public manner by the papifts in Ireland fince the rerevolution.

His majefty went to the 21ft. houfe of peers, attended by the duke of Ancafter, and the earl of Orford, and gave the royal af fent to,

The bill for granting an aid to his majefty by a land-tax, to be raifed in Great Britain, for the fervice of the year 1768.

The bill to continue the duties on malt, mum, cyder, and perry, for the fervice of the enfuing year.

The bill to punish mutiny and defertion, and for the better payment of the army, and their quar

ters.

The bill to indemnify perfons who have omitted to qualify themfelves for offices or employments within the times limited by law; and for allowing a further time for that purpose.

The bill to allow the importation of Indian corn, or maize, from the American colonies, for a limited time, free of duty.

And alfo to feveral private bills. The house of peers adjourned to the 20th, and the houfe of Commons to the 14th of Janu

ary.

Extract of a letter from Cambridge, Dec. 18.

"On Tuesday night laft, a moft fhocking murder was committed on the body of Bridget Burling, an aged woman, who kept a little fhop in St. Giles's parish in this town. She was firft difcovered about two o'clock on Wednesday morning, by one John Bell, who feeing her door open, went in, and found the old woman dead on the floor, with a pair of fcales and a piece of cheese lying by her. She had a large wound on the right fide of her head, a little above her ear, by which the skull was beat in; three more on her forehead, a stab in her throat, which penetrated into the cavity of her lungs; and another large wound that went under her fhoulder-bone. About nine o'clock on Tuesday evening one Sarah Collins, a girl about

thirteen years old, was fent by her mother to Burling's, who, feeing a light, called at her door feveral times, and was anfwered by a voice, which he took to be a man's,

Bridget is gone to bed.' The coroner's inqueft brought in their verdict wilful murder by fome perfon or perfons unknown."

His majefty, in compaffion to fuch manufacturers and people in trade, as, by the length of courtmournings, are, in this time of general fcarcity and dearnefs of provifions, deprived, in a great meafure, of the means of getting bread, hath been pleafed to give directions for fhortening all fuch mournings for the future: and the lord chamberlain's orders for court-mournings will be iffued here. after conformably thereto.

A chapter of the most noble order of the garter having been fummoned to meet this day, his royal highnefs Henry duke of Cumberland was, by his majefty's command, declared duly elected; and was invested with the enfigns of the order, with the ufual ceremony.

By a lift of the abfentees from Ireland, lately published there, it appears, that there is paid annual

ly,

1.

70,275 0

To penfioners who never refide three, Noblemen and gentlemen of great eftates, who gene. rally live abroad, 247,400 o Occafional abfentees, 134,500 o

Thofe who have employments and never refide, Merchants and trad

143,000 O

8,000 a

A fevere froft fet in from the E. S. E. which was followed by a deep fnow, by which the navigation of the river Thames has been obftructed, and the pofts retarded. all over the kingdom.

At a meeting of the corporation of Windfor, it was unanimoufly agreed, to prefent the dukes of Gloucester and Cumberland with the freedom of that ancient borough.

A letter from Vienna fays, Our court hath received from that of Madrid fome difpatches relative to the choice which the catho-lic king was defired to make of one of the archdutcheffes to be queen of Naples; this choice hath fallen on the archdutchefs Caroline, who is a year and fome months younger than the late archdutchefs Jofepha was. The formality of demanding her royal highnefs in marriage for his Sicilian majetty has just been made, and the portrait of that monarch hath been prefented to the princefs. The departure of the prin [2]

cefs