Newcale, January 10. Tuef day a boy, about fix years old, fell off a key in the clofe into the Fiver, and was got out without any hopes of recovery; but on laying him upon a barrel, and rolling it, a great quantity of water ran from him, and fome figns of life appeared; on which further affifftance was got, and he happily re. covered. Admiralty-Office, Lieut. 17th. John Symons, of his majefty's fhip the Unicorn, of 28 guns and 200 men, gives an account in a letter dated at Plymouth the 11th in ftant, that on the 8th. Captain Hunt, his (predeceffor in the command of that ship) being cruizing off the Penmarks, difcovered, at eight in the morning, a fail to the northward; to which he gave chace, and found to be a French frigate. At half paft ten, the Unicorn came up with, and begun to engage her, and continued in clofe action with her, till near half past twelve: at which time the enemy truck, and proved to be the Vestal, a frigate of the French king's, commanded by M. Boisbertelot, mounting 26 twelve and nine pounders upon her lower deck, and 4 fix pounders on the quarter deck and forecastle, with 220 men. She escaped (as the prifoners declared) from the river Villaine on the ad inftant, under cover of a very thick fog, in company with two thips of 64, le Grand of 34, and Calypfo of 16 guns, and was bound to Breft. Capt. Hunt received a gun-fhot wound the third broadfide, in his right thigh, of which he died an hour after the action was over, "The Vestal had many killed and wounded; aud among the latter M. Boilbertelot, who loft his leg, and died of the wound next day. The Unicorn had five men killed and ten wounded, fix of whom dangerously. Lieut. Symons adds, that the day after the action, he faw a fail to windward, which had greatly the appearance of a French fhip, and bore down upon him for about half an hour, then hauled her wind, and ftood in for the land. That on the 10th in the morning, he faw two fhips engaging, which proved to be his majefty's fhip Sea-horfe and the le Grand frigate above mentioned, the latter of which made all the fail fhe could from the other, upon the Unicorn's coming within two gun-fhot of them, and efcaped, notwithstanding he chafed her till evening, having greatly the advantage in failing, the Unicorn having got a mizen top-maft up for a foretop-maft, to ease the fore-maft; and a main-top-gallant-mast for a mizen top-maft, and her fails and rigging much damaged in the action with the Veftal. Capt. James Smith, of his majefty's fhip Sea-horfe, of 20 guns and 160 men, by letter dated at Plymouth the 11th inftant, gives the following account of the above. mentioned action with the le Grand frigate, which happened 34 leagues S. W. from the Start, viz. That he faw her in the morning, about eight o'clock, in the S. W. quarter, crowding down upon him; that he continued his courfe and prepared to engage. At a quarter before eleven. the enemy came within piftol fhot, and an action began, which lasted an hour and quarter, with great warmth, during which the hips were board and board three different times, which occafioned great flaughter Baughter on both fides. The enemy then left the Sea-horfe (as beforementioned in Mr. Symon's letter) notwithstanding his utmoft endeavours to bring her to action a second. time. The Sea-horse had 11 men klled, and 38 wounded, many of the latter, Capt. Smith fears, cannot re cover. Lieut. Symons is preferred to the command of the Mortar floop. And another captain is appointed to the Sea-horse (which is to prodeed, the moment fhe is refitted, on her outward-bound voyage) that Capt. Smith may be at home, in the way to be preferred the firft opportunity, Both thefe gentlemen give the officers and Seamen of their refpec. tive fhips the greatest encomiums for their bravery during the above engagements. The arch-duke Charles, 18th. fecond fon of their imperial majesties, died at Vienna, aged fixteen years. Ended the feffions at the By the above beer act, which takes place the 24th inftant, an additional duty of 35. per barrel is laid on all beer or ale, above 6s. the barrel brewed for fale in England. A proportionable duty is to be paid for every barrel of two-penny ale brewed for fale in Scotland. Beer brewed before the faid 24th instant, if any time thereafter mixed with any fresh guile or brewing, is to pay the additional duty. A drawback of 8s a barrel is to be allowed by the commiffioners of excife, on all beer and ale brewed after the faid. 24th inftant, and exported to foreign parts; deducting 3d. a ton for charges of the officers. Even a bounty of Is a barrel is to be paid by the commiffioners of excife, on all ftrong beer and ale exported, for which duties have been paid, brewed after the faid 24th inftant, from malted corn, when barley is at 245. a quarter or under. The profits arifing from this act, fuppofing the confumption to be (which is a very moderate computation, if the number of people in 19th. Old-Bailey, when two per- England and Wales is confidered) 2,000,000 quarts per diem, will be as follows. fons convicted of forgery, and one of a highway robbery, received fentence of death: twenty-one were fentenced to feven years tranfportation, one for fourteen years, two were burnt in the hand, and three ordered to be whipped. His majefty went to the 20th. houfe of peers, and gave the royal affent to An act for granting to his majefty an additional duty upon ftrong beer and ale, and for raifing 12 millions by way of annuities, and a lottery to be charged on the faid duty; and for further encouraging the exportation of ftrong beer and ale. An act for regulating his majesty's marine forces while on fhore. Admiralty-office. His majefty's fhip the Venus, of 36 guns, and 240 men, commanded by captain Harrison, arrived the 16th inftant at Plymouth, and brought in thither the Brune, a French frigate of 32 guns and 316 men, and a French privateer of St. Maloes, of fix carriage and fix fwivel guns and 39 men. The Venus was in company with the Juno, of 32 guns and 220 men, commanded by captain Philips, when they fell in with the Brune, on the 10th inftant, 50 leagues to the weftward of Scilly. After a chace for fome hours, the Venus came up with her, and engaged her upwards of two hours, when the Juno coming up, and firing a few guns, the Brune truck. The Venus had 4 men killed and 18 wounded; among the latter were Capt. Harrison, his firft lieutenant, and master; and the Juno had 2 men wounded. The Brune had 19 killed and 39 wounded. An elderly gentlewoman, at Newington Green, being left a lone, fell into the fire, and was fo terribly burnt that fhe foon expired. 25th. This day the kingdom went into fecond mourning for his late majefty of bleffed memory; his prefent majefty out of his tender regard to the working and trading part of his fubjects, having been graciously pleased to abridge the usual duration of that ceremony. The following melancholy accident happened lately in Gracechurch-street an officer who had come to the Crofs-Keys, in a ftage coach, and had brought with him a gun loaded with flugs, for his fecurity on the road, having ordered a coach to carry him from thence home, bid one of the porters of the inn put his gun into the hackney coach, in doing which the gun went off, and shattered the leg of a Camberwell ftagecoachman, who was on the oppofite fide of the ftreet, waiting to turn into the inn. Another flug is lodged in the poor man's thigh, and two in the buttock of one of the horses. The man was carried to St. Thomas's hofpital. The late earl Marthal of Scotland, took the oaths at the court of King's-bench. 26th. He Died at Verfailles, the marshal de Belleifle, minifter and secretary of state to the French king for the war department, aged 78. was knight of the orders of the Holy Ghoft, and Golden Fleece, prince of the empire, and governor of the bishopricks of Metz, Toul, and Verdun. It is faid he has left to the French king his whole fortune, about 600,000 livres a year, except 40,000 livres to his domefticks; a large fum to the royal military fchool; and to his fucceffors in the war department, his magnificent houfe in the Reu de Bourbon, near Pont-Royal, which for the future is to be named the hotel of the minifter at war: the king hath given leave to bury his body at St. Dennis, where the royal family are interred. Fowey, January 20. The feans are all taken out of the water, and it is generally thought, that the pilchards taken out of them is about 8000 hogfheads; the num ber of hogfheads taken out of the Fowey alone exceeds 2000, and it is thought would have turned out much greater, had they not loft a good deal of fish out of her during the ftrong easterly winds, which blow directly upon Our our coafts, and are very prejudicial to the feans in general. An ordonance was iffued at Copenhagen, on the laft day of December, prohibiting the importation of foreign tobacco or fnuff of any fort; and the ufe of tobacco in fmoaking is forbid throughout the whole kingdom. The following letter hath been received from Weyloe, in the diocese of Copenhagen. "On the 26th of December laft, about ten at night, there arofe a great storm. I did not go to bed, and about four minutes past two in the morning, I observed a fudden light across my windows, which I took for lightning: the ftorm at this time increased not a little. I kept my eye fixed at my window; and at four o'clock I perceived a ray of light which feemed to come in a horizontal direction from the moon, to appearance about a toife and half (nine feet) in length, and about the thickness of a man's arm. Rays darted from it on each fide. Running into my garden, I faw a ball of fire, about the fize of a common ball, running gently from fouth to north. At first the ball was of a pale colour, like the fun covered with clouds, and threw out many rays. It grew more and more red, and smaller, and in two minutes difappeared without noife or fmoke. My astonishment was the greater, as the tempeft ceafed foon after, though it had been accompanied with such violent blasts of wind, that many imagine they felt the fhock of an earthquake. I have spoken to a dozen of people who alfo faw it. Of all the phænomena I have seen in Norway, I remember none equal to this, nor attended with like circumftances." Drefden, 3d. The Jews having clandeftinely fent away a large quantity of effects, which were ftolen during the late bombardment of this place, one of their rabbis has been fent for, who is to fwear all the Jews in this city, in presence of the magiftrates, to make reftitution of thofe effects, on pain of being excommunicated. Madrid, Dec. 16th. The king has thought proper to adopt in his troops the evolutions brought from Germany, by a Spanish officer, who hath ferved under M. Daun. The duke d'Alva hath refigned the place of fteward of the household, as too fatiguing. The Jefuits have obtained leave to fend a fupply of fixty miffionaries to Paraguay, which fhews that the Catholick king thinks differently of them, from his most faithful majefty. Hague, Dec. 10. M. Berkenrode, our ambaffador at Paris, has informed the States-general, that he had a long conference with the duke de Choifeuil, who declared to him, in the king his mafter's name, in relation to the 10,000l. fterling, found on board the English packet boat lately taken, which money their high mightineffes had ftopt, "That if they did not immediately restore the money to the captors, his majefty would make reprisals, by ftopping the intereft of the money placed by the Dutch in the French funds." This menace hath had the defired effect. The affair is terminated to the fatisfaction of the moft Chriftian king; and we are fince told from Dunkirk, that the gold and other valuable effects taken on board the faid packet-boat, have [F] 2. been been re-purchased by one of the head-clerks of Mr. H. an eminent merchant at Rotterdam, who went thither for that end. Thefe effects, or at least the money, actually belonged to Dutch merchants; but being taken on board an enemy's fhip, the French infifted upon its being a lawful prize; and yet they feize all English manufactures found on board Dutch fhips, or at leaft they have by their edict declared that they will. His majesty has been pleased to renew the patents of the twelve judges. Admiralty-Office, January 30th. Captain Elphinston, commander of his majesty's fhip the Richmond, of 32 guns and 220 men, being on a cruife upon the coaft of Flanders, received intelligence, the 23d inftant, of a French frigate, which had, the day before, taken and ranfomed the Dorothy and Efther, William Benfon, mafter. Captain Elphinstone immediately went in queft of her, and fell in with her about eleven o'clock the fame night. She bore down upon the Richmond for a fhort time after being in fight, but then, fuddenly hauling her wind, endeavoured to get away. Captain Elphinston pursued, and came up with her about half past ten o'clock the next morning, when they began to engage, ftanding towards the land; and at half past twelve both ships run afhore, along fide of each other, ftill continuing the engagement for a fhort time, when the enemy fled from their quarters. The Richmond foon afterwards got on float; and being drove by the tide a little to leeward, the enemy quitted their hip, and escaped; but the fhip is entirely defroyed. The French frigate was called the Felicite, and carried 32 guns; was bound to Martinico, with a cargo valued at 30,000 l. fterling. Her confort the Hermionie, another French frigate, of the fame force and value, was loft coming out of Dunkirk. Capt. Donell, commander of the Felicite, was killed in the engagement; and near 100 others of the enemy were killed or wounded. The Richmond had only three men killed, and 13 wounded. This brave action was near S' Gravefande, about eight miles from the Hague, the young prince of Orange, Gen: Yorke, Count d'Affry, and great numbers of other perfons, were fpectators of a fight which added fuch reputation to our arms. See the memorial prefented by the count d'Affry, on the above occafion, to the States-general, in our article of State Papers. Seventy-two English feamen, prifoners of war in France, on their being lately removed from Cherbourg, (where another vifit from the English was lately expected) to St. Maloes, overcame their guard, efcaped to the fea-coaft, and at a place called D'Ell Santz, feized a fmall fishing veffel, and arrived fafe upon the coaft of Wales, near Milford-haven, near which place the pilot was bred and lived. The feafon is fo forward, that on the 14th inftant there was in Comb-wood, between Wimbledon and Streatham, in Surry, a thrush's neft with four eggs in it, fome of which were laid ten days before, and the hen thrush fitting very clofe upon it. Primrofes and daifies have appeared in great plenty, and at a place near Ryegate, a plate of ftrawberries were produced a few days |