lick-hill, in which business he failed, and afterwards embarked in the linen-trade. Miss Jones, towards the latter end of 1793, performed the character of Imogen at Coventgarden theatre for one night only.

I ft.

SEPTEMBER.

Scarborough. On Sunday laft, three gentlemen from Horsforth, in the west-riding, went on the water in a pleasure-boat, rowed by a man named Laycock; and, in returning, the strength of the wind, and violence of the waves, driving them amongst the breakers, threw them ten yards from the vessel; and, unable to regain either the boat or shore, they all perished in fight of a great multitude of spectators, who exerted themselves in vain for their relief. The bodies of the three former have been found; the latter has left a wife and child.

2d.

At Cheveley, near Newmarket, one of the duke of Rutland's feats, a boy, named Tweed, employed in keeping birds off a field of corn, placed his gun againft a post with the muzzle upwards, which unhappily went off, and, lodging its contents in the boy's throat, instantly killed him.

A large box, containing a 4th. quantity of rope, of the thickness of two inches, spun by the convicts, has been brought to the fecretary of state's office from Botany Bay, being the first proof of their manufacture and production; it is as white as flax, and its fineness cannot be be excelled by the spinners in this country.

16th. A dreadful fire happened at a small village called Eaft Whitton, on the estate of the earl

of Aylesbury, in the north riding of the county of York. The flames broke out at the workhouse, in the middle of the day, when most of the inhabitants were in the fields reaping. The buildings being chiefly covered with thatch, and the wind strong at S. W. the fire burnt with fuch irrefiftible fury as in the course of a few hours totally ruined near a dozen families, burning fixteen dwelling-houses and out-buildings, with a large quantity of corn and farming-utenfils, all of which were uninfured.

16th.

This day John Sellers, William Footner, and Elizabeth Jones, were put to the bar at the Old Bailey; the former upon the charge of having wilfully and maliciously wounded Mr. Thomas Yates, with a pistol ball, of which wound he died, and the two latter for aiding and abetting in the faid murder. The evidence of the fervant, Mary Thompson, va ried from her former depofition before the magistrates, before whom she swore that Mr. Yates pushed away the piftol with his hand when presented by Sellers; but contradicted herself in this particular on the trial, that Mr. Yates did not touch the pistol, nor was it poffible for him to reach it, though on her first examination she had sworn that Mr. Yates had hold of it, and was struggling with it at the moment it went off. It came out in evidence that Mr. Yates bahaved in a vindictive quarrelsome manner in the house having threatened Miss Jones with perfonal violence. Sel lers in his defence, denied all intention of killing Mr. Yates, but said that the piftol went off, owing to Yates taking hold of it; and that he had defired to be furnished with the pistols for his personal defence, as Mr. Yates had repeatedly threatened to bring in several persons to turn them out by force. He had only been shut out for the purpose of keeping him out till the attorney, who had been fent for, should arrive, and that his taking the pistol was the impulse of the moment, and was only intended to have intimidated him; and that Mr. Yates himself seized hold of the pistol to wrest it from him. Miss Jones in her defence, went into the particulars of her first en

gagement with the late Mr. Richard Yates, and of her performing at the Birmingham Theatre; of the will in her favour, and of the turbulent behaviour of the deceased; disclaiming all idea of his murder, and that the would have willingly refigned every shilling of the property to have faved Mr. Yates's life. Footner faid little more than accounting for his being in the house in the way Sellers had previously related, merely calling as an acquaintance of Sellers. Evidence to character was only called in favour of Sellers; feveral persons proved him a quiet, humane, inoffenfive man. The learned judge, Rooke, then proceeded to fum up The evidence, and to point out the most striking parts to the jury. He thought Mifs Jones and Mr. Footner ought clearly to be acquitted of wilful murder, as they did not know that Sellers had the pistol, and it was not intended to keep Mr. Yates out by violence, With regard to Sellers, the jury should confider whether he fired he pistol wilfully; if he did, he was guilty of murder; if the pistol went off by accident it was only

manslaughter; short of that it could not be. The jury retired for a few minutes, and brought in their verdict, John Sellers, not guilty of the murder, but guilty of manflaughter; Elizabeth Jones and Richard Footner not guilty. Sellers was sentenced to pay a fine of one shilling, and be imprisoned fix months. There are five wills, or teftamentary papers, each of which are uniformly in favour of Mits Jones, one a regular drawn will in 1789.

17th.

Liverpool. This morning, a little before one o'clock, a most dreadful fire broke out in a large warehouse, belonging to Mr. Hervey in Cheapfide; which, notwithstanding every possible exertion, could not be got under till the whole warehouse, with all its valuable contents, were confumed. The top part was occupied by Mr. Middleton, as a cotton manufactory, when the fire broke out, occafioned, as is supposed, by the friction of one of the wheels employed in the works. In the lower part were eleven thousand mea fures of wheat, belonging to Meffrs. Corrie, Gladstone and co. which, with a large quantity of hides, rum, brandy and other spirits, were entirely destroyed. three o'clock, the front part of the warehouse fell into the street, directly upon one of the fireengines that was then working, which occafioned a scene of horror impossible to be described; three men were crushed to pieces on the spot; ten more were carried to the infirmary in a dreadful situation, two of whom died immediately; and it is thought that many will be found among the ruins.

About

It appeared that the prisoner was driving the mail coach at a very furious rate along Bishopsgatestreet, where he ran over a boy and killed him on the spot. The prifoner drove on not knowing of the accident, but was soon afterwards stopped. He alledged in his defence, that his employers were under contract to perform the journey within a certain period, and therefore he thought it his duty to drive so fast. The judge, in summing up the evidence, observed, "no contract could justify a man for driving in fuch a manner as to endanger the lives of others." The jury retired, and were absent two hours; when they returned, and found the prifoner, not guilty.

23d.

This afternoon the coroner's jury fat on the body of a lady in the neighbourhood of Holborn, who died in con

sequence of a wound from her daughter, the preceding day. While the family were preparing for dinner, the young lady, in a fit of infanity, seized a case knife lying on the table, and in a menacing manner pursued a little girl, her apprentice, round the room. On the eager calls of her helpless infirm mother, to forbear, she renounced her first object, and, with loud shrieks, approached her parent. The child, by her cries, quickly brought up the landlord of the house, but too late; the dreadful scene presented to him the mother lifeless on a chair, pierced to the heart; her daughter yet wildly standing over her with the fatal knife; and the venerable old man, her father, weeping by

the had been madly hurling about the room. For a few days prior to this, the family had discovered some symptoms of lunacy in her, which had so much increased on the Wednesday evening, that her brother, early the next morning, went in quest of Dr Pitcairn; had that gentleman been providentially met with the fatal catastrophe had, probably, been prevented. She had once before, in the earlier part of her life, been deranged, from the harraffing fatigues of too much business. As her carriage towards her mother had been ever affectionate in the extreme, it is believed, that to her increased attentiveness to her, as her infirmities called for it, is to be ascribed the lofs of her reason at this time. The jury without hesitation, brought in their verdict,Lunacy.

The melancholy account 24th. of the blowing up of the Amphion frigate, at Plymouth, was received at the Admiralty from Sir Richard King, by which it appears appears that Captain Pellew, the first lieutenant, and fifteen of the crew, out of 220, are the only furvivors left to relate the disma catastrophe; Captain Swaffield o the Dutch prize, is among the unfortunate victims. The accident happened at a quarter past four on Thursday afternoon, while the Captain and his friends were at dinner. Mr. Pellew is dangerously wounded. Every exertion that could be used was rendered by the ships boats in the harbour.

This morning a convocation was held at St. Paul's Cathedral. This is a ceremony D3 which

which takes place upon the meeting of every new parliament. His grace the archbishop of Canterbury, the bishop of London, the bishop of Rochefter, and several other dignitaries of the church, affifted. The proceffion confifted, first, of the chorifters and gentlemen of the cathedral, the archbishop and bifhops, the judges and civilians, of Doctors Commons, with the proctors in their full robes. The whole was conducted with great folemnity. Prayers (according to the usual custom) were read in Latin, by bp. Horiley, and a Latin fermon was preached by doctor Radcliffe. Two anthems were performed in English. The ceremony lafted about two hours, and was attended by a numerous and elegant company.

6th.

OCTOBER.

The cotton mills at Hunflet, near Leeds, belonging to Meffrs. Beverley, Cross, and co. were discovered to be on fire, which raged with fuch fury as to destroy the works and buildings in little more than 40 minutes. The damage is estimated at £100,000. The premises and stock were infured in the Sun and London insurance offices, for only 8000l.

Plymouth. The court mar

10th. tial which was held last Saturday on board the admiral's ship Cambridge, to enquire into the caufe of the lofs of his majesty's thip Amphion, which blew up on the 22d of last month, in this harbour, after an examination of all the furviving crew, very honourably acquitted both the captain and officers of every idea of remissness or neglect upon that occafion. It

must have been particularly gratifying to capt. Pellew, after the court martial was over, at the request made to him by the whole of the ship's company which survived this unhappy affair, that he would suffer them to be partners of his future fortune, when he should obtain a ship, having so long failed with him; one of the best testimonies this to the character of an officer. 12th.

About nine o'clock at night the house of Richard Timfon, of Halleton, Leicestershire, was discovered to be on fire, which, with four others, was entirely confumed before any assistance could be procured: but the fury of the flames was happily checked by the activity of the inhabitants, who stripped off the roofs of the two adjoining houses.

16th.

This evening a very melancholy accident happened at Ilfracombe: a ship called the London, from St. Kitt's, having on board a confiderable number of blacks, (French prisoners,) was driven on the rocks, near the entrance of the pier, during a violent gale of wind, by which about fifty of the prisoners were drowned; those who got on shore exhibited a most wretched spectacle; and the scene altogether was too shocking for description. The wind was blowing directly fair for the harbour. 20th.

Mr. Macpherson put an end to his existence on Enfield chace. Dragged by the rude hands of a runner and a conftable before a juftice of peace as a French spy, it appeared, on a short examination, that he had been an usher in several schools, which was confirmed by letters and bills found in

his