harbour; from which circumstance he entertained the reasonable expectation that a very great commercial advantages would be derived.

The Captain now returned to England, and communicated his discovery to the administration, who granted him an exclusive trade to the harbour for the space of twenty years. That he might be enabled to pursue his project with the greater advantage, he engaged in partnership with two or three gentlemen of fortune and a vessel, furnished with all necessary articles, being prepared, he sailed for the harbour, where he arrived without meeting with any occurrences worthy of recording.

He sent one of his men on shore with orders for offering proposals for a commercial intercourse with the natives: but the messenger had no sooner landed, than he was cruelly murdered by the barbarians. The Captain now suggested a plan for informing the king of the country, that by opening a trade his subjects would derive great advantages. The King affected the utmost willingness to comply with his proposals; but, under the appearance of friendship, endeavoured to effect his destruction. Having failed in other treacherous schemes, he sent poisoned provisions to Captain Glass, who prudently made experiments upon them, and thus preserved his life.

Being in great distress for the necessaries of life, Captain Glass and three or four of his men ventured to sea in an open boat, intending to direct their course towards the Canaries, for the purpose of purchasing provisions. The natives, being apprized of their departure, attempted to plunder the ship: but they were effectually repulsed by the remaining part of the crew.

The men who continued in the vessel being extremely distressed, judging that it would be dangerous to remain longer in the harbour, and despairing of their Captain's return so early as was expected, they sailed for England, where they arrived after encountering a variety of dangers, difficulties, and distresses.

Captain Glass arrived at one of the Canary Islands, and presented a petition to the governor, supplicating permission to purchase provisions: but the inhuman Spaniard caused him to be apprehended as a spy, and ordered him to be confined in a noisome dungeon, where he was allowed no other sustenance than bread and water, and, to aggravate his distress, the barbarous tyrant denied him the use of pen, ink, and paper.

In this unhappy situation the Captain remained upwards of six months. At length be climbed up to the iron bars that were across the space for admitting light to the dungeon, and perceived an English vessel in the harbour. The sight of a vessel belonging to his native country inspired him with hopes of regaining his liberty; but his despair was renewed upon considering the apparent impossibility of making his miserable fate known to those who would be inclined to afford him relief.

At length he adopted the following expedient: by means of a piece of charcoal he wrote his name and some words intimating his distress upon a biscuit, which he fortunately dropped from the grate of the dungeon at the moment when an English sailor was passing beneath. The man, observing the Captain's name upon the buiscuit, carried it to his commander, who immediately made application to the governor for the relief of his countryman. In consequence of this humane intercession, the cruel and tyrannical Spaniard subjected the petitioner to severity of treatment equal to that sustained by Captain Glass.

A ship that soon afterwards sailed for England, conveyed news to our ministry of the arbitrary and barbarous conduct of the governor; and speedy

application being made to the King of Spain, he issued an order for the release of the two Captains.

About the time that Captain Glass recovered his liberty, his wife, and daughter, a young lady about twelve years old, remarkable for her beauty and fine accomplishments, arrived at the Canaries, on board the ship from London; and their first meeting afforded a scene truly affecting.

Captain Glass now embarked, with his wife and daughter, on board a ship bound for London, under the command of Captain Cockeran.

While the ship remained at the Canaries, a plot was concerted between Peter M'Kinlie, the boatswain, a native of Ireland, George Gidley, the cook, and Richard St. Quintin, for murdering all the other persons on board, and seizing the treasure, which, including what Captain Glass had shipped in behalf of himself and his partners, amounted to £100,000 in dollars.

The villains made three attempts on different nights to carry their horrid plan into execution, but were prevented through the circumspection of their commander. The conspirators were appointed to the night watch of the 13th of November, when the ship had reached the British Channel; and about midnight, the captain going upon the 2nd deck, to see that all things were disposed of in proper order, he, upon his return was seized by the boatswain, who held him while Gidley struck him with an iron bar and fractured his skull, after which they threw him into the sea. Two of the seamen, who were not concerned in the conspiracy, hearing the Captain's groans, came upon deck, and were immediately murdered and thrown over board.

Captain Glass being alarmed, went up the gangway, and, judging that a mutiny had happened returned to fetch his sword. M'Kinlie guessing his design, followed him down the steps leading to the cabin, and waited in the dark till he returned with a drawn sword in his hand when getting unperceived behind him, he seized both his arms and called to his accomplices to murder him. Captain Glass being a very powerful man, had nearly disengaged himself from the ruffian, when Zekerman came up, whom the Captain wounded in the arm; but before he could recover his sword he was overpowerd, the other villains soon joining their associates. The unhappy man was no sooner disarmed than he was many times run through the body; after which he was thrown overboard.

Mrs. Glass and her daughter now came on deck, and falling on their knees supplicated for mercy; but they found the villains utterly destitute of the tender feelings of humanity and Zekerman telling them to prepare for death, they embraced each other in a most affectionate manner, and were then forced from each other's arms, and thrown into the sea.

Having put all the crew to death, excepting a boy who had attended Captain Glass, and another boy who was an apprentice on board the ship, the murderers steered towards the Irish coast; and on the 3rd found themselves within ten leagues of the harbour of Ross. They hoisted out the long-boat, and put into it dollars to the amount of two tons; and, after knocking out the windows of the ballast-ports, rowed towards shore, leaving the two boys to sink with the vessel.

Captain Glass's boy could not swim, and he was therefore soon drowned; but the other lad swam to the boat, when Zekerman struck him a violent blow on the breast, which occasioned him immediately to sink.

Having thus massacred eight innocent persons, the villains proceeded to the mouth of the river Ross; but thinking it would be dangerous to go up the river with so much riches, they buried two hundred and fifty bags of dollars in the

sand, and conveyed as much treasure as they could possibly bear about their persons to a village called Fisher-town, where they stopped for refreshment; and, during their regale, an Irishman privately robbed them of a bag containing twelve hundred dollars.

On the following day they went to Ross, and there sold twelve hundred dollars. Having purchased each a pair of pistols, and hired horses for themselves and two guides, they rode to Dublin, and took up their residence at the Black Bull in Thomas-street.

The wreck of the ship was driven on shore on the night of their leaving Ross; and the manner in which the villains had lived at Fisher-town and Ross, their general behaviour, and other circumstances, being understood as grounds for suspicion of their being pirates, an express was dispatched by two gentlemen to the lords of the regency at Dublin, exhibiting the several causes of suspicion, and giving a particular description of the supposed delinquents.

On board the wreck was found a sampler worked by Miss Glass, from which it appeared that a part of the work was done on her birth day, which afterwards proved to be the day preceding that on which the murders were perpetrated; and this sampler proved a principal means of leading to a discovery of the guilt of these abominable wretches.

The gentlemen who were commissioned to attend the lords of the regency had no sooner communicated their business than the lord-mayor and sheriff's were sent for; and proper instructions being given them, they on the same night caused M'Kinlie, and Zekerman to be taken into custody.

The prisoners were separately examined, and they both confessed the particulars of their guilt, and that their accomplices had that morning hired a post-chaise for Cork, where they meant to embark on board a vessel bound for England.

Gidley and St. Quintin were the next day taken into custody at an inn on the road to Cork; and they followed their accomplices, in acknowledging themselves guilty. The sheriff of Ross took possession of the effects found in the wreck, and the bags of dollars that the villains had buried in the sand, and deposited the whole in the treasury of Dublin, for the benefit of the proprietors.

The prisoners being brought to trial, they confessed themselves guilty of the charges alledged in the indictment; and they were condemned to suffer death, and their bodies to be hung in chains in the neighbourhood of Dublin.

The above malefactors were executed near Dublin, on the 19th of December, 1765.

CATHERINE DE MEDICIS.

With all the faults of this execrable woman, we cannot help admiring her courage; for when at the siege of Rouen, in 1562, she exposed herself like a common soldier to the cannonading of the town, and was reproved by the duke of Guise and the Cardinal of Lorraine for thus risking the sacred person of a Queen, she nobly replied, "Why should I spare my person more than you do? Is it because I have less interest in what is doing, or less courage than you? It is true I am not so strong as you are; but I am, I trust as bold." A gold medal was struck of her with the same inscription as that of some of the coins of the Roman Empresses: "Catherine de Medicis Mater Castorum." When one day she overheard some of the soldiers abusing her extremely, the Cardinal of Lorraine said he would order them immediately to be hung. "By no means," exclaimed the Princess: "I wish posterity to know, that a woman, a queen, and an Italian, has once in her life got the better of her anger."

THE great concourse of foreigners who resort to London on various affairs, joined to the liberty of England, which permits all manner of persons, who conform to its laws in other respects, to follow their own private pursuits, and to live just in what manner they think proper, render the inhabitants in general less curious about the arrival and sojourn of strangers amongst them, than those of any other country. The singular circumstances of the following history, which are literally true, are striking proofs of this observation.

In the year 1724, a gentleman frequented the Royal Exchange, who called himself Mr. Herby; and, passing for a Turkey merchant, took a large countryhouse, about three miles from London, in a retired place, in the neighbourhood of Chelsea were he constantly resided, and scarce ever made his appearance abroad, except on change, and at the coffee-houses in the neighbourhood, where his chief intercourse seemed to be with foreign Jews, and it was imagined to be on the subject of exchange of money. He embellished his seat with every decoration of art and nature, sparing no cost or pains upon it; but so secret was he with respect to the internal affairs of his household, that no person out of doors knew the manner of life he led for some years; as he did not visit any neighbour, and was chiefly waited on by Turkish servants he had brought with him to England. His gardener, his cook, his steward, and in short all his domestics whose employments made it necessary for them to be familiar in the house, were Turks; and the few English servants he employed were lodged in out-houses and had certain bounds which they durst not pass on pain of being dismissed; and so amiable was his character as a good master, that none of them chose to disobey him; in short his liberality acquired him the reputation of being immensely rich.

The only remarkable circumstance that transpired, was his keeping a number of mistresses; but as there was the strictest order and decorum observed,

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none of them ever appearing abroad to give offence to the neighbourhood, and that he had engaged all the lower people about him in his interest, by his generosity, he was suffered to enjoy his private pleasures without any molestation whatever; nor was it till after his death that the public was informed of the following adventures.

From the time of his settling in this country, he had formed the resolution of having a seraglio in the same manner as if he had lived at Constantinople ; and with this view he took no thought about the birth or accomplishments of his mistresses, but chose them as they pleased his eye, and possessed personal charms calculated to gratify his sensual inclinations. His first prize was a very handsome seampstress, to whom he had given some work; and forming an acquaintance with her by these means, he at length seduced her by presents to consent to live with him. The great pains he took to make her situation happy, could not prevent her expressing some uneasiness at leading so solitary a life, which in a short time made her enter into Mr. Herby's views of forming his seraglio for the sake of company. The fear of dividing his affections had less power over her, than the chagrin of being debarred from all female society. She therefore consented to write to three young girls of her acquaintance, inviting them to pay her a visit; and she gave them such an advantageous account of her situation, as could not fail to excite their curiosity; which was heightened by another circumstance—they were told in the letter that the servant, who was the bearer, would attend them on any day they should appoint, with her coach, to conduct them to her; but that for particular reasons she was obliged to conceal from them the names of persons, or any description of the place of her residence. After a short consultation, the desire of seeing their old acquaintance, whom they had given over, conceiving she had met with some fatal accident, joined to the enchanting account she had given of herself, engaged them to consent, and in a few days Mr. Herby's servant conducted them safe in his coach to his house. Great preparations had been made for their reception; all the apartments were thrown open; the most costly furniture was displayed; jewels, and valuable curiosities were carelessly placed in the different rooms, and every art made use of that could serve to convey the idea of immense riches. The seampstress herself was dressed magnificently, and seemed to be covered with diamonds. The three girls, who perhaps had never seen any thing finer than the shops, were thunderstruck; envy, it is probable, succeeded to admiration, and doubtless secretly cursed their own hard fortune; but the seampstress did not suffer them to give way to these reflections longer than was necessary for their design. After a superb entertainment, at which she presided, and during the course of which Mr. Herby treated her with every mark of affection, and then with uncommon politeness purposely withdrew; she told the girls-that she should be very happy if they would consent to be partners with her in her good fortune; that she had sent for them with that view; and that they had only to signify their assent to become as absolute mistresses of the house, and all the riches they saw in it, as herself. She then expatiated on the amiable qualities of Mr. Herby, who in fact was a well made, genteel man. At this instant he returned enforcing the ladies arguments by a thousand civilities and some rich presents; he made them promise to take the first opportunity of eloping from their friends, and sent them back under the conduct of the same servant, who was provided with money, and ordered to attend their orders till their flight was accomplished.

By such sort of stratagems he gained in the end eight more, and he made