land, Alexander Kilpatrick, Efq. aged 116 years and fome months; he was formerly a colonel of an Irith regiment of foot, and ferved under the Duke of Marlborough. At St. Lucar de Barrameda, Donna Anna Keyna, aged 100 years and 25 days: fhe had eleven children, 59 grand-children, and 25 great-grand-children. She enjoyed, through her whole life, perfect health, and preferved her ftrength until within two years of her death, when the fuffered by the confequences of a fall from a horfe. Her hair, which was black, turned white at the age of forty. At ninety fhe cut it off, and when it grew again, it was of the original colour, which never afterwards changed. She died without having known infirmities, and with the tranquil ufe of her reafon, declaring that she felt no pain. AUGUST. Edinburgh, Aug. 1ft. There was prefented to the Right Honourable the Lord Provoft of Edinburgh, a memorial from a number of gentlemen and merchants refiding in that city and Leith, fetting forth in fubftance, " That the order of council in the Gazette for a quarantine of forty days being obferved by all veffels from Dantzick, Royal and Ducal Prufia, and Pomerania, while it evinced the attention of government to prevent the dreadful confequences of peftilence, at the fame time would be productive of direful effects, relative to cargoes of foreign graip; that fuch was the fituation of the city of Edinburgh and neighbourhood, that there was not a fufficient fupply of corn in granaries to ferve three weeks; that all dependence was laid on the expected arrivals, the utility of which would be defeated, if the quarantine was rigidly enforced." Thefe facts were fubmitted, and left with his lordship. The Lord Provoft, the 4th. Lord Advocate, and a numerous and refpectable meeting, convened at the Goldfmith's-hall. Dr. Cullen and Dr. Black attended, and gave it as their opinion, that there was very little danger of the peftilence being conveyed in grain. A very ample opinion was afterwards fubfcribed by these physicians. A letter was immediately prepared, to be figned by the Lord Provost, ftating the facts already mentioned, and accompanying the memorial from the merchants, and opinion of the profeffors, to be tranfmitted by exprefs to the Right Hon. Lord North, Secretary of State for the home department, to be by him prefented to his Majefty and Privy Council, praying that fuch relaxation might be allowed in the discharge of all cargoes of foreign grain, as the diftreffed fituation of the country fo loudly called for. Peterburgh, August 7th. The court received difpatches from prince Potemkin, general in chief, dated from Karas-Baffar, in Cri mea. He published in that peninfula, as alfo in Taman and Cuban, a manifefto, in which the emprefs difclofes her intention of annexing these countries to her dominions. Every where the oaths were taken to the emprefs; and that that her fovereignty was eftablishing there in a manner fo folid, that it would be a very difficult matter for the Turks to break through thefe new engage ments. Hanover, Aug. 8th. His royal highness prince William Henry, third fon of the king of England, arrived here from London on Sunday laft. Naples, Aug. 9th. On the 29th paft, at one in the morning, a violent thock of an earthquake happened again at Calabria, which threw the whole country into an alarm. At fix the fame morning, they had another more violent and longer than any that had happened before, infomuch that the barracks now feemed not fafe, and every body fled into the fields. Four villages, which had been spared before, were overturned. Cotona alfo fuffered confiderably, and the new buildings begun at Cozenza are fo fhattered, that they muft be pulled down. It is not faid whether any perfons have perifhed, but the commotion was felt fo ftrongly at Meffina, that it again did confiderable damage there. Frankfort on the Maine, Aug. 11th. A fire broke out at Querfurt, which reduced 80 houfes to afhes, and almost as many granaries filled with the produce of the last harvest. Sheerness. This morning four of the feamen who belonged to his majesty's fhip Raifonable, and who were condemned to die, by the fentence of a court-martial held on them at Chatham in the month of July laft, were disposed of in the following manner, in order for execution: the Scipio, This being the birth-day 12th. of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, who enters into the 2zd year of his age, their ma jefties and the heir apparent received the congratulations of the nobility, &c. at Windfor. York. An action was tried, brought by qui tam, on the ftatute of ufury, for discounting bills, and receiving a larger rate of intereft than the law allows. The witness, upon whofe fingle teftimony this action was fupported, was a young tradefman of family and character, but went through a long and fevere crossexamination by the counsel for the defendant. The rate of intereft was near fixteen per cent. and as bills were commonly difcounted here about that premium, it was become a caufe of great expectation. The jury gave a verdict for treble of the whole discounted, viz. 3600l. When the jury delivered this judgment, the judge faid, he applauded the fpirit of the witnefs for bringing the caufe into court; at the fame time he thought the verdict too fevere, for it might be the entire ruin of the defendant and his family. He therefore fubmitted to the jury, whether it would not be right to [0] 3 recon reconfider their verdict, 17th. One of the king's mef which Between each ball, a luminous ferrated body extended, and at the laft a blaze iffued, and terminated in a point. Minute particles dilated from the whole. While this luminary was paffing, the atmofphere was exceedingly bright; but immediately after it became dark, though the moon was up. The phenomenon which appeared in 1716, and continued from eight in the evening till three in the morning, was, like the prefent, not local; for it has been seen in moft parts of the kingdom, notwithstanding it was not fubject to the great vibrations of the former. The balls were partially bright, as imagination can fuggeft; the intermediate fpaces, not fo exquifite in their colourings. The balls were tinted first by a pure bright light, then followed a tender yellow, mixed with azure, red, green, &c. which, with a coalition of bolder tints, and a reflection from the other balls, gave the most beautiful rotundity and variation of colours, that the human eye could be charmed with, The fudden illumination of the atmofphere, the form, and fingular tranfition of this bright luminary, rendered much to make it awful; nevertheless the amazing vivid appearance of the different balls, and other rich, connective parts, not very eafy to delineate, gave an effect equal to the rainbow, in the full zenith of its glory. It appeared also almost all over the island of Great Britain nearly at the fame time, as well as in France, Flanders. &c. At 11 minutes after nine 18th. in the evening, a very fingular phenomenon was feen at Greenwith, It being rather dark, a fudden and uncommon light appeared, without any caufe then vifible, for full two minutes; then appeared this phenomenon, coming from the N. N. W. perfectly horizontal in its courfe, and without any vibration, continued to the S.S.E. It paffed over Greenwich, and near the Royal Obfervatory, till the elevated trees in the park took it from the fight, Though it was tranfitory, the motion was not rapid, for you could diftinctly discover its form, colour, &c. Its duration was near two minutes, during which there was no variation in its luftre. Its magnitude and animated effect, made it appear near our earth. Two bright balls parallel to each other, led the way, the apparent diameter of which appeared to be about two feet, and were followed by an expulfion of eight others, not elliptical, feeming gradually to mutilate, for the lait was finall. 21ft. This being the birth-day of his Royal Highness Prince William Henry, his majesty's third fon, who now enters the 19th year of his age, there being no levee nor court at St. James's, their majefties received the compliments of the nobility on the occafion at Windfor. The first air ballon was 27th. let up at Paris by M. Mongolfier. 30th. An action was brought against the corporation of Carlisle, for having a ftell across the river Eden at Ringarth, by the proprietors of the water above the ftell. After a fhort hearing, Judge Buller obferved, it was unneceffary to proceed, as thère was an exprefs act of parliament to prevent any river in Great Britain having ftells acrofs, and the jury gave their verdict accordingly. The corporation let the fishery the last three years for 8451. that were left armed themselves, one with a poker, another with a fhovel, and the third with a claspknife, and the word was with one voice, "Cut away, we shall be hanged if taken, and we will die on the spot rather than fubmit." On which, a bloody conteft commenced. One of the conftables had the fore-part of his head laid open, and received three deep wounds from the right eye down to the cheek; another of the conftables received a terrible wound a little above the temple from a large poker, after which he clofed with the villain, and got him down; the third conftable had better fuccefs with the villain he encountered, for, by ftriking him on the right hand with his cutlafs, he dropped his weapon, and then they all faid they would fubmit. The above prifoners, namzd. ed Middleton, Godby, and Bird, were examined before Wil. liam Blackborow, Efq. when Lee and Townsend, fervants to Mr. Akerman, depofed, that they, with many other prifoners, were on the 14th of last month taken from Newgate, and put on board of a veffel, in order for tranfportation to America. Being asked by the magiftrate, by what means they had procured their liberty, they acknowledged that they had run the ship aground, having confined the captain and the crew, and got on fhore in the two longboats; that no cruelty was exercifed, nor any property flolen, except that fome of the convicts obliged part of the failors to change cloaths with them; that they concealed themfelves in hedges and ditches till night, and then [0] 4 took took different routs; that they which notwithstanding proved (the prifoners), and a few others, collected half a crown among themselves, which they gave to a countryman, for conducting them to Rye, whence they walked to London, where they had arrived but a very short time when they were apprehended and committed to Newgate. Konig fberg, Sep. 3d. The wife of a merchant in this city exhibits an uncommon example of fecundity. She was brought to bed of five children, three fons and two daughters, all likely to do well, and the mother fuffered no more than is natural to expect in fuch a labour. At fix this morning the 4th. honourable Colonel Cofmo Gordon and Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas met at the ring at HydePark, to fight a duel. It was agreed upon by their feconds, that after receiving their piftols they fhould advance, and fire when they pleafed. On arriving within about eight yards of each other they prefented, and drew their triggers nearly at the fame time, when only the colonel's piftol went off. The lieutenantcolonel having adjusted his piftol, fired at the colonel, who received a fevere contufion on his thigh. Their fecond piftols were fired without effect, and their friends called to reload them; after which they again advanced to nearly the fame distance, and fired, when the lieutenant-colonel fell, having received a ball in his body. He received immediate affiftance from a furgeon, who attended the colonel in cafe of need, and who extracted the ball on the field, mortal. It was this day ordered by his majefty in council, 5th. that the embargo at prefent fubfifting upon fhips and veffels laden, and to be laden, in the ports of Great Britain and Ireland with provifions, be taken off, An order of council was likewife iffued, for regulating the trade to America, in pursuance of an act of last feffion of parliament. Letters from Liverpool, 8th, give an account of a violent hurricane there, which lafted four hours, during which, nothing was able to withstand its fury; the largest trees were torn up by the roots, many houfes unroofed, and almost all the ships driven from their moorings, but none, except one from Newfoundland, loft. Fortunately the storm hap, pened in the night, or many perfons must have been killed by the falling of chimnies, tiles, &c, As fome men were empty ing the lead mills, at Tem- gth. ple Mills, Hackney, which were repairing, they found an urn full of Roman coins, fome of them in high prefervation, with the impreffion of Julius Cæfar and Conftantine the Great, together with feveral medals; likewise a stone coffin, with the skeleton entire, meafuring feven feet nine inches long; the infcription on the coffin is unintelligible: in removing the old foundation a vault was difcovered, in which were feveral urns, but quite imperfect: what is very remarkable, the vaults, for centuries paft, are fuppofed to have been fixteen feet under water. |