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THE

CH R O

JANUARY.

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T

HE London bill of mortality for laft year, by the fociety of parish-clerks, comes pretty near the calculation of thirteen males to twelve females, the numbers being 7778 males, and 7173 females; an obfervation long fince made by Dr. Davenant, Sir William Petty, and other political arithmeticians.

Chriftenings in Stockholm laft year, 2120. Burials, 3378. Weddings, 804.

Births in the city of Caffel laft year, 567. Burials, 8c6.

Christenings at Francfort laft year, 816. Burials, 1781. Weddings, 240.

Births at Koningberg last year, 1649. Burials, 2014. Marriages, 726. Ships arrived there, 478. Ships failed from thence, 515.

It has been computed by the French that the number of their fhips taken by us laft year, amount ed to 944; and the number of our fhips taken by them,to 2539.

war ;

During last year the following fhips arrived at Cadiz, viz. 157 Spanish, 26 of which were men of 11 Neapolitan; 9 French; 19 Portugueze; 29 Swedes, 13 of which were hips of war; 6 Genoefe; 8 Imperial; 2 Venetian ; 6 Ragufan; 6 Maltese; 42 Danes;

NICLE.

103 Dutch, 16 of which were men of war; 100 English, 18 of which were hips of war, and 3 English prizes.

During last year 370 fail of fhips of feveral nations arrived at Gottenburg, and 355 failed from thence carrying away 8866 fhip-pound of iron. 1118 hip pound of steel, 1436 barrels of tar, 320 barrels of pitch, 102, 525 barrels of herrings; and goods, the product of the Eaft Indies, to the value of 2, 554, 961 dollars.

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According to an account taken in Holland, the number of veffels which were loft by ftorms from Michaelmas laft, to the first of Jan. amounted to upwards of 300.

There are now in and near London, a breed of bulls and cows, brought from fome of the countries bordering on the gulph of Perfia, whofe ftature, although at their full growth, is inferior to a Lincolnshire theep. They have a large camel-like protuberance of fat on the top of their fhoulders.

5th.

The learned and ingenions Stephen Hales, D.D. F. R. .S. clerk of the closet to the princess dowager of Wales, departed this life. See a fhort character of this excellent man in our article under that title for this year, p. 46.

Letters from the East Indies, by the way of Holland, advise

that

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6th.

His majefty went to the chapel royal, and offered gold, myrrh, and frankincenfe, as ufual On account of the mourning, there was no playing at hazard at night, nor any ball.

The wind having fhifted to the east, upwards of 450 fail of hips, outward bound, which had been detained by the wefterly winds many weeks, failed from the Downs.

Sailed from Spithead, the -8th. Sea-horfe frigate, capt. Smith

for Bencoolen, with the aftronomers, named by the Royal Society, to obferve the tranfit of Venus over the fun. See our last volume, P.[143.

Leeds. Jan. 6. On Thursday night laft the wind blew a perfect hurricane at N. N. E. by which a great number of our chimnies, corn and hay-ftacks, were blown down, and flates torn off houfes; but the greatest damage was done to ftraw

thatch'd buildings. A poor man at Holbeck in this parish, finding his houfe ready to fall, immediately ftept out of bed, and fetting his fhoulder to the beam that folely fupported the roof, held up the houfe till his wife and children crept out between his legs (having no other way) and he had but just time to get off himself before the whole fabrick fell to the ground.

This day died the right roth. hon. Edward Boscawen, a lord of the admiralty, admiral of the blue, general of marines, &c.

A man being lately detected in cutting people's cloaths in the gal lery of Covent-garden playhouse, was taken before a magiftrate, and obliged to pay feventeen guineas for the damage he had done feveral women, who appeared against him.

1

The following inftance of a feries of repeated acts of compaffion and benevolence reflects great honour on every perfon concerned in it. The wife of an honeft tar, whofe hufband was on board the late intended expedition, being obliged to take her leave of him at Portsmouth, on the fuppofition of their immediate failing, (no woman being allowed to go with them) came up to London, in order to proceed from thence to Northamptonfhire, where her friends refided.

Being reduced very low, and not in a condition to walk it, the applied to the master of the Northampton ftage, which fets out from the Bull in Bifhopfgate-street, intreating him to give her credit for an outfide paflage, till fhe could get down to her friends, and be enabled to repay him. Perceiving her to be very big with child, he made her an of fer of an infide place in the coach,

gratis,

gratis, which was to fet out the next day. That very night, however, the poor woman, who lay at the inn, was delivered of a fine child. Thus difappointed of her paffage, and in this critical circumftance, her diftrefs was much greater than before: but the affair coming to the ears of fome gentlemen who happened then to be in the inn, they formed a collection among them to the amount of between 13 and 141. Not fatisfied with this, they fent for the churchwardens of the parish, who contribused 40 s. towards conveying the mother and child home. Added to this; two worthy failors, who happened to come into the inn, hearing that the wife of a brother tar was in diftrefs, threw in their mite of all they had about them.. which amounted to about 3 s. 6 d. This money having been depofited in the landlord's hands, every neceffary both for the woman and infant were with difcretion and @conomy purchafed out of it; her lodging for the whole time was beflowed on her by the houfe; the master of the coach fcorned to withdraw his former promife; and with a fum of money in her pocket, the and her child fet out on Monday morning laft at free coft for her own country.

*

The regulations that have been lately made in that miferable manfion of mifery, Newgate in Bristol, muft fenfibly affect every breaft with pleasure that has the leaft fpark of humanity unextinguifhed in it. Filth, ftench, and wickedness, that have fo long infested thefe doleful regions, have, by the unprecedented diligence of the prefent keeper, been entirely eradicated; even the very pit, where the felons are con

fined at night, may vie with the decency and cleanlinefs that is preferved in a gentleman's houfe; no fighting or brawling, no lewdness or drunkennefs is now permitted to add to the crimes of the unfortunate inhabitants; nay, idleness itself, the ufual concomitant of thefe vices, is likewife banished, nor is the want of tools or materials made any excufe to indulge it, as they are provided partly by the keeper at a very moderate profit; partly by the alms occafionally given, and which are divided with che utmoft prudence and impartiality; the greatest care is alfo taken in their religious concerns, nor are they ever permitted to infringe the duties of the fabbath.

In an addrefs lately préfented to the king of Sweden, by the fpeaker of the house of Peasants, affembled in diet, we find the following paffage: A fincere and fubftantial proof of your majefty's love to your fubjects, and of your majefty's zeal to promote their happinefs, for which we cannot fuffi. ciently exprefs our gratitude, is to fee the northern countries, which have lain hitherto wild, unçultivated, and uninhabited, known by the name of the Lappmarcken, wear at prefent a quite different face. They are now covered with dwellings, the lands are cultivated, and, for the firft time fince the creation of the world, this new people appear in the diet with us by their reprefentatives. How agreeable would it be to us, how would it rejoice our hearts to fee our dear country extend its bounds more and more, by the draining off moraffes and other lands covered with water, and the peopling of deserts."

The

The young prince, fon to 13th. the prince of Naffau Weilbourg, was baptized with the ut moft magnificence in the great church at the Hague, by the name of George William Belgicus. The fpo fors were, Gen. Yorke for the king, and count Bentinck for the princefs dowager of Orange; the prince Stadholder and the prince of Naffau Weilbourg were reprefented by the deputies of Guelderland, Holland, Zealand, and Groninguen.

The committee of city 14th. lands contracted with Mr. Blagden, the carpenter, (who lately purchased feveral of the city gates) for the ground from Moorgate, on the fouth fide of Fore-street, to Cripplegate, 100o feet in length, at 7. per foot, on which he is to build an uniform row of houses, the fronts to ftand 9 feet backwarder than the fronts of the prefent houfes, and he is to give 10,000 /. fecurity, to complete the fame in four years from Midfummer

next.

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Imagine you fee the unfortunate. fufferers all plunging in a deep and rapid river, calling out for help, and ftruggling for life. It was all horror and confufion; and during this fituation the first account was difpatched, which affured us, that out of eighty fouls, only five or fix were faved. By a fecond account we are told, that there were only thirty on board, but that out of thofe above twenty had been drowned. This was for fome time believed to be the trueft account; but I have the pleasure to hear by a third account, that many of thofe who were fuppofed to be loft, have been taken up alive; fome of them at a great diftance from the ferry, and that no more than fix are miffing, though numbers were brought to life with difficulty. It was happy for them that fo many horfes were on board, as all who had time to lay hold of a firrup, or a horfe's tail, were brought fafe to fhore. A poor man, who had a large bafket of fowls on his arm, was providentillay buoyed up till affiftance could be had, and he, after many fruitless attempts, was at laft taken up alive, though fenfelefs, at the distance of four hundred yards from the ferry. A poor woman who had bought a pig, and had tied one end of a firing round its foot, and the other round her wrift, was dragged to land in this providential manner.

All countries have their empiricks, who vend their pernicious. noftrums under fwelling titles.In Holland, a perfon of condition, about the age of forty, and griev oufly tormented with the gout, had recourfe to what is called the duke of Mirandola's powder, and escaped having any fit, for more than a

year.

year. He then was feized with a difficulty in breathing, with other fymptoms, which induced the profeffor Gaubius to think he had a dropfy in the ftomach, or breaft: but the gentleman dying fuddenly, the profeffor caufed his body to be opened, when it appeared two thirds of his lungs were vitiated, and full of little tubercles, of the fize of fmall peas, filled with a glutinous fubftance, which was in fome converted into kind a of lime, or chaik; which plainly fhewed, that the gout being repelled, had feated itfelf

there.

Mr. Richard Dixon, and 15th. Mr. John Spencer, agreed with the committee for building the bridge from Black-Friars to perform the carpenter's work for 21,6121. 55. 7d.

About one this morning a fire broke out at Mr. Baker's, book feller, at Tunbridge-Wells, which confumed the house, furniture, and circulating library.

In a letter from Scotland, we have the agreeable news, that there is the greatest herring fishing that ever was feen in the highlands fince the memory of man, in a loch called Lock-Slapan, near Kilmorie, in Strath, in the isle of Sky; but that there were not veffels, falt, or cafk to cure them, which would be a general lofs to the country.

The right hon. Robert 16th. Henly, baron of Grange, lord keeper of the great feal of Great Britain, having this day de. livered to his majesty, in council, the great feal of Great-Britain, his majefty was graciously pleased to reftore the faid feal to him again, with the title of lord high chancellor of Great-Britain; whereupon

his lordship took the oaths appointed to be taken, instead of the oaths of allegiance and fupremacy, as alfo the oath of lord high chancellor of Great-Britain.

His majefty has been pleafed by an order in counfel to declare and fignify his pleasure, that his fervants fhall have and enjoy all ancient liberties, rights, and privileges; and that none of his fervants in ordinary, with fee, fhall be obliged to bear any publick office, ferve on juries or inquefts, or be fubjected to any mulet or fine for not fubmitting thereunto; agreeable to the prac tice of his majefty's royal predeceffors.

"Tis faid, that by the death of a Scot's nobleman, who died lately a Roman Catholick prieft, the title defcends to a man cock, that lived with a general officer in England, who, in regard to his cook's prefent dignity, could not think of employing him any longer in that ftation, but very generously raised a fubfcription for his fupport; and that on the affair being reprefented to his majesty, he had ordered him a penfion of 2001. per annum.

Laft Wednesday the following threat'ning letter was fent to the mafter of the Red Cow, in Cowlane, Weft-Smithfield, viz.

• Mr. Bray,

London, Jan. 16, 1761. You are hereby defired to dif patch yourfelf; I have heard a very good character of you, and therefore leave it to yourself whether you will die by dagger, fword, of poifon; if you outlive this order above one hour, I have given directions to put you to death by tor ture. From your friend,

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J. LANGDON."

Newcastle,

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