The following accounts come from Florence. We learn from Finizzano, a territory of this grand duchy, that between the zift of laft month, and the 4th of the prefent, they had felt thirty-fix fhocks of the earth, which has damaged a great number of public edifices, and destroyed many country. houfes. The mines of copper and filver lately difcovered at Angliari, will bring in 40 per cent. The following account is 14th. given of Mr. Higgins, who was lately committed to the caftle of Gloucefter. That he was born at Cradley, near Bromsgrove, in Worcestershire. He lived for fome years at Knutsford, in Cheshire, where he married a woman of a very good family; that in October 1765, he had fome bufinefs at Bristol, for which place he fet out on foot; that he put up at an eatinghouse near the market, and there received of different people feveral confiderable fums. He then returned to Gloucester on foot, and in paffing on to Upton, he was benighted, and lay under a hedge; that when he came to Upton he took a poft-chaife home, whither he was purfued by Mr. Bloxain, who lived with Mr. Wilfon of this city, and apprehended on fufpicion of breaking open Mr. Wilfon's houfe; that whilt he was in the conftable's hands at Knutsford, he made his efcape, and having ordered his wife to difpofe of the goods there, fettled at French Hay. His efcape from the conftable, he fays, induced him to change his name from Edw. Higgins to George Hickfon. He defired to be excufed mentioning the names of the perfons of whom he received the money at Bristol, or from giving any information whence he drew his refources for the maintenance of himfelf and family. His wife is a genteel woman, and he bas five children, fome of whom are grown up. A large party of gentlemen from Bristol were to have dined with him the day after he was taken up. Two perfons from Birmingham, one of whom is the gaoler, came on Friday laft, and gave information, on oath, before Nicholas Hyett, Efq. that Edward Higgins, lately apprehended at Bristol, was tranfported in 1754 from Worcefter, and that they faw him again in England in 1756. Died lately at Corfe Caftle, Mary Symmonds, aged 106 years. At Corke, Mr. Thaddeus Hynes, aged 105 years. In Yorhire, John Wood, aged account of the above fhip being loft off Boulogne. Two of the crew were drowned. The grand jury of the city of London prefented a memorial relating to the keeper of the houfe in Chancery-lane for lodging recurits for the Eaft-India company's fervice. Tuesday laft a caufe was tried in Weftminster-hall, between a gentleman in Surry and a phyfician; The action was brought against the latter for criminal converfation with the plaintiff's lady, and a verdict was given with 500l. damages. The following inftance of the prefervation of animal life is the moft extraordinary we remember to have heard of, and is alfo well .attefted: viz. In the late ftorm, a gentleman at Dufton near Apple. by, had two ewe fheep that lay ander the fnow from Monday the 18th of January till Sunday the 15th of laft month, being thirty. four days, when they got out of it themfelves without any help; although they had nothing to live upon but fnow all that time; they could run as fwift as a child of eight or ten years old; they had ftood at about five yards diftance from each other. There is now in the poffeffion of Mr. Barber, of Handley, near Worcefter, a fow which has had no lefs than 345 pigs. In the fpace of one year, in particular, the farrowed three times, had feventeen pigs in the first litter, eighteen in the fecond, and nineteen in the third; and this prolific creature is now in pig again. The amount of the toll of the foot-paffage over the new bridge at Black-Friars, from Nov. 19th, 1766, to Feb, 10th, 1767, amounted to 7581. 1s. 6d. 6th. Mr. Thomas, the principal fupercargo on board the Lord. Clive Indiaman, ftays in France to take care of fuch of the company's effects as may be preferved out of the wreck. The two fupercargoes who arrived on Sunday, were ordered on Monday afternoon to the Downs, to proceed to China on board the Vanfittart. On Tuesday evening a great number of farmers were obferved going along Pall-mall with cockades in their hats: On enquiring the reafon, it appeared they all lived in or near the parish of Stanwell, in the county of Middlesex, and that they were returning to their wives and families, to carry them the agreeable news of a bill being rejected for inclofing the faid common, which, if cafried into execution, might have been the ruin of a great number of families. Wednesday last were tried, by a fpecial jury, two caufes, in both which the chamberlain of London was plaintiff; was plaintiff; one againft TJ, and the other against J. S, for buying and felling government fecurities for their friends, not being brokers: In both which caufes verdicts were given for the defendants; by which it is now fettled, that every perfon is at liberty to employ his friend to buy or fell government fecurities, without being obliged to be at the expence of employing a broker; which will be a great in- ducement for people to lay out their money in the funds, and confequently a great addition to pub lic credit. On Tuesday night as Charles Whitworth, Efq. member for Bletchingley in Surry, was returning to his houfe at Greenwich, a footpad ftopped his carriage at the end of Peckham-lane, and demanded his money; but inftead of complying, Mr. Whit. worth let down the glafs of the carriage, and fired at him with a blunderbufs; after which the coachman drove on. The man was a few days afterwards found dead a few fields distant, and proved to be an oftler on Blackheath. 10th. John Wynne, otherwife Power, was executed purfuant to his fentence at ExecutionDock. About one o'clock in the afternoon, the right hon. the lordmayor, feveral aldermen, and the committees of common-council and of the skinners company, went from the manfion-houfe, in a cavalcade of about thirty coaches, to prefent the freedom of the city of London to his Royal Highnefs the Duke of Cumberland; and on their return they were elegantly entertained at dinner by his lordship at the manfion-house. On Tuesday evening, one of the deputy bearers of St. Bride's, who had been turned out of his poft with two others and a grave-digger, for being concerned in bringing a corpfe from a lock-up houfe, to the church-yard of the faid parish, at Fleet-ditch, late at night, came to the committee of poor, then fitting in the veftry, and defired to be heard in his vin dication; accordingly he was admitted, when he declared that the grave.digger came, on the 29th of laft September, about nine at night, juft after he had done fupper, and told him he must go with him and two others, to fetch a body to Mr. the undertaker. Accordingly he went with him to the undertaker's houfe, where his fervant immediately took a coffin, and went along with them: On coming near Temple-bar, he asked the grave-digger (who was the principal in the affair) where he was going to, who told him to Hyde-park hofpital; but when they came into the Butcher-row, they stopped at a certain house, and as the grave-digger proceeded in with the perfon who had the coffin, he declared he would not go in, for he did not like the house; but, after fome altercation, he went with the reft, and, with fome difficulty, they perfuaded him up ftairs; at the top of the houfe they found a poor wretch laying dead, which they put into the coffin, but that the corpfe and the house ftunk fo much, that it made him bring up his fupper, for he believed the body had been dead five or fix days; however, they brought the corpfe down ftairs, and refted it in the paffage, where the perfon of the house gave them two pots of beer to drink, which were fo bad that they could not drink it; on which they defired the perfon of the houfe to let them have a penny. worth of gin each, and they would pay for it; but he, rapping out an oath, told them he would give it them; on drinking which, the door, which was locked all the while they were in the paffage, was opened, and they brought the corpfe away inftead of carrying it to the undertaker's, as the grave-digger had told him at first; when they came to Fleet-market, he then told them the undertaker would not be at home, and they [E] 3 might might as well carry it to the churchyard, which was done accordingly; that they then went to the undertaker's, next morning, for their pay, who gave them a fhilling a piece; on which one of the bearers told him it was a very hard jobb, and hoped he would give them fomething to drink; the under taker then faid he had but fourteen fhillings for the burial, feven of which he had paid the parish, and four to them, fo they might judge of the fmallnefs of his profit; however he gave them a pot of purl, and they departed. 12th. Was held at Merchant Taylors hall, a general court of the East-India company, when, it appearing, by the report of the directors, that the late terms of. fered by them to government were inadmiffible, therefore a motion was made by George Dempfter, Efq. that the court fhould be ad. journed to next Wednesday, in order that fome farther propofitions might be propofed to accommodate the prefent differences between the company and the miniftry; and after a debate of near four hours, Sir James Hodges moved that the court fhould be adjourned to next Monday, which motion was unanimously approved of by the whole proprietors. They write from Edinborough, that on Thursday, the 26th of February, between five and fix in the afternoon, the ferry-boat on the water of Garry, at Invergarry, near the pafs of Killicrankie, containing thirty paffengers, was carried down the river by the rapidity of the current, and was overfet; by which melancholy accident, no less than twenty-feven perfons have moft unfortunately loft their lives. Thefe unhappy fufferers were returning from Mouline market, where they had been difpofing of their linen yarn. Six farmers, with their wives, perished on this occafion. This paffage, though the only access to a populous country, is very rapid and dangerous; and this is the third time, within thefe twelve months, that this boat has been forced down the river by the immenfe rapidity of the current, though on the two former occafions, happily, no lives were loft. As fome workmen were lately digging down King Barrow at the fouth end of Stoborough, near Wareham, in Dorsetshire, to make the turnpike road in the centre, at the bottom of the Barrow, and even with the furface of the earth, in the natural fandy ground, was difcovered a very large hollow trunk of an oak, rudely excavated, ten feet long, four in diameter, much decayed; on opening it were found many bones of an human body, wrapped up in a large covering of feveral deer-fkins, neatly fewed together. On unfolding the covering was found a fmall veffel of oak, of a very dark colour, in the fhape of an urn. On the outfide was cut a great number of lines, but nothing was found in it. There were the remains feemingly of a piece of gold lace, four inches long, and two and a half broad, found ftuck on a deer fkin covering, which was very much decayed. A weft-country barge, laden with feven hundred facks of flour, and three hundred quarters of malt, is funk in the river a little above Windfor. About eight in the even13thing, the Dauphinefs died at Verfailles. Her highnefs was born at Drefden, the 4th of November, 1731, of Frederick Auguftus III. king of Poland, and elector of Saxony, and Mary Jofepha Benedict, arch-duchefs of Auftria, eldest daughter to the emperor Jofeph. She was married the 9th of November, 1747, to Louis, Dauphin of France, who died at Fontainbleau the 20th of December, 1765. By this prince he has left five children, three fons and two daughters. Upon this melancholy occafion, his moft christian majesty and all the royal family retired immediately to Marli. Laft night the prifoners in the Gatehoufe rofe in the abfence of the head turnkey, rufhed upon the deputy turnkey, and knocked him down, then took the keys and opened the door, and fix made their efcape, but by timely affiftance the reft were all fecured.. We hear from Richards-caftle, (a populous parish of feveral miles extent, famous for the falubrity of its air, and celebrated by Cambden and other hiftorians, for that ftrong and pure fpring, called Bonewell) that only one perfon died there in the last year: an inftance scarce to be paralleled in the whole nation.-It is remarkable alfo that this parifh divides the counties of Hereford and Salop; that the church ftands in the former, and the parsonage-house in the latter county. Between nine and ten o'clock in the morning, a moft dreadful fire broke out at Ottery St. Mary, in the county of Devon, which continued till fix in the evening, and confumed the better part of the houfes in the town. Upwards of fifty dwelling-houfes, with fhops, backhoufes, and the fhambles, are reduced to afhes, the wind being very high, it was with the greatest difficulty prevented from deftroy ing the whole town. 18th. Was held a general court of the Eaft India company, at Merchant-Taylors-hall, Threadneedie ftreet, which confifted of a very numerous meeting of the proprietors: the court was opened with a fpeech from a very reputable proprietor, calling to mind the great fervices and merits of lord Clive; and concluded with the following motions, viz. That it is the opinion of this court, that the important fervices rendered to the company by lord Clive merit a grateful acknowledgment and return; and that a grant to his lordship, and his perfonal reprefentatives, of an additional term in the jaghire of ten years, commencing from the determination of his lordship's prefent right therein, would be a proper acknowledgment and return for fuch important fervices; and that it be recommended to the court of directors, that upon any future propofitions being made either to parliament, or to his majefty's minifters, this refolution of the general court he humbly reprefented. This motion being feconded, a debate enfued, which concluded in a motion of adjournment made by Mr. Dempfter; upon which the court divided, and it was carried againft the adjournment, by a majority of 73, viz. 243 againft 170: then the main queftion being put, a ballot for the decifion of the fame demanded by two different [E] 4 fets was |