. THE CHRONICLE. 4th. JANUARY. WA AR was proclaimed against Spain, at the ufual places, and with the usual folemnities. During laft year 521 fhips arrived at Cadiz, 87 of which were English, 13 of them men of war, and five English prizes carried in by the French; 99 Dutch, of which 16 were men of war; 41 Danish; 22 French, of which four were men of war; 195 Spanish, of which 32 were men of war; 19 Portuguese, 11 Im perial, eight Ruffian, four Maltese, two Genoefe, one Savoyard, and five Neapolitan. A lift of fhips taken by the French during the three laft months of the year 1761 *. October December 32 30 56 Total 118 Among which were 15 Virginia and Maryland fhips, outward and homeward bound; 11 Newfoundland men,outward and homeward bound; 6 Carolina men, outward and homeward bound; and 16 Jamaica and Leeward Island men, outward and homeward bound: exclufive of the North American illicit traders, &c. &c. Method to difcover alum in bread. Mix chalk with aqua-fortis ; pour them upon water in which the fufpected bread has been infufed, and well foaked if there be any aluminous acid, it will appear evidently foon after the mixture by a gypfeous or chalky concretion, forming a hard mafs at the bottom of the veffel. 6th. His majefty this day made the ufual offering at the chapel-royal, of gold, myrrh, and frankincenfe; but there was по playing at hazard, nor any ball at night. A letter to a nobleman from lieutenant colonel Elliot, who was miraculoufly preferved, after being fhipwrecked on the Island of Sable. Halifax, in Nova Scotia, May 9, 1761. "My Lord, "Soon after. I did myfelf the honour of writing to you laft September, I was ordered with a party to the bay Chaleur, to fee the French troops there comply with the articles of capitulation made at Montreal, and from thence was to join general Amherst at New York, where I propofed fpending the win ter. This induced me to take Mrs. Elliot along with me, which has led her into fuch diftreffes, that your lordship's humanity will more cafily * For those taken during the firft-nine months, fee cur laft volume, p. 161. VOL. V. [F] com conceive than I can paint. A few days after we failed from Chaleur, after a very great ftorm, we ftruck on the island of Sable, (about forty leagues to the eastward of this place) an island barren and uninhabited, with neither a ftick of wood upon it, a ftone, or a spot of earth, but one intire bank of fand. After we ftruck, the 15th of November, we were eight-and-forty hours before we durft venture on fhore, the fea being fo very high; though, at the fame time, we expected our veffel to fall to pieces every moment, our whole employ was toffing over board fuch provifions as we could come at, for our future fuftenance, in cafe we were any of us lucky enough to get on fhore, which I began to defpair of, as the only boat we had was loft in returning to the vcffel, after landing a man on fhore to fix a rope in doing this, two failors were drowned; however, it was the prefervation of the reft of our lives; for, finding it impoffible to stay any longer on board, we faftened an empty barrel to this rope, and fo, one by one, were drawn through a very great furf (for near the space of fourfcore yards) on fhore, without the loss even of one man of my party; and Providence was pleased even to preferve two little infants that were on board, the one brought on fhore upon the father's back, and the other on its mother's. We continued eight-and-forty hours more in our wet clothes upon the fand, without any thing to cover us: at last, we picked up fome fails, and next day luckily found the officer's tent that was with me. Much more provisions was drove upon the inland than expected; but the win* A prefbytery is a church affembly, confifting of fix or seven ministers or elders, and a moderator chofen from ainongst themselves. ter being fo far advanced, did not expect to fee a veffel till May, the time fishermen go upon that coast, therefore proportioned my allowance of provifions for that time; and all that we seventy persons had to live upon, was four ounces of flour a-day for each, with one gill of rum, or wine; and four pounds of pork between fix, for feven days. From this pinching allowance we were agreeably relieved by the fight of horses, which we fhot; and foon after we difcovered horned cattle: we now got more fails and yards of the veffel, with which we erected ourselves houfes, and thatched them with a long fedge that grows there. Notwithstanding I had given up all hopes of relief, we frequently faw veffels, who likewife faw us; but it was too dangerous for them to attempt any thing for our prefervation; however, they carried a report to Bofton of people's being wrecked here; and fome people being miffing from a fishing-town near that place, they fent a fmall veffel in fearch of them, which arrived the 8th of January: fhe could take on board but a few men. She returned again to me the 18th, and the 20th we all arrived here as naked as beggars; Mrs. Elliot and myfelf, and my lieutenant Dalton, lofing all our baggage." Cautions to perfons. going to Scotland, to be married. By the law of Scotland, the names of the parties intended to be married must be proclaimed in the parish church where the parties live, three feveral times. But by an act 21 of affembly, anno 1638, * Prefbyteries are in fome neceffary exigents exigents allowed to difpenfe with publication of bans, and the minifter and + kirk-feffion, upon grave and weighty confiderations, are in afe to difpenfe with part of the law, by proclaiming the parties twice in one day, and sometimes thrice, and they must be called by their name and furname. Thus ftands the law as to marriages in the kirk of Scotland. And by the act 10 Ann. ch. 7. for tolerating epifcopal meetinghoufes in Scotland, the epifcopal minifters, ordained by a proteftant bishop, are allowed to preach, to adminifter the facraments, and to marry. But it is provided, that no epifcopal minifter, or ministers, refiding within that part of the united kingdom called Scotland; prefume to marry any perfon; or perfons, but those whofe bans have been duly published three feveral Lord's days in the epifcopal congregation which the two parties frequent, and in the churches to which they belong as parishioners, by virtue of their refidence, and upon the fame pains and punishments as are already inflicted by the laws of Scotland, in cafes of clandeftine marriage; and the ministers of the parish churches are thereby obliged to publish the faid bans; and, in cafe of neglect or refusal, it shall be fufficient to publifh the fald bans in any episcopal congregation alone. From hence it appears, that no marriage can be lawfully had in the eftablished church of Scotland, but by publishing the bans three times; and in the epifcopal meeting-houfes the publication must be on three Lord's days, and in the epifcopal congregations, which the two parties frequent. Now most, if not all, the marriages had in Scotland, by perfons going down from England, to evade the marriage-act, have been celebrated (as I am credibly informed) in the epifcopal meeting-houses, and that without the publication of the bans on three Lord's days, and certainly not between parties frequenting that epifcopal congregation, fo that there can be no doubt but thefe marriages are irregular and clandeftine. And what an unhappy fituation muft the parties to fuch marriages be in, or their iffue, if, when the validity of these marriages come to be litigated in England, they fhould be deemed invalid, as not being had in pursuance of the laws in that country where they were celebrated! It is to be hoped, indeed, that thefe marriages will be allowed good, as were the Fleet-marriages, tho' very irregular ones; but what perfons of common prudence would run any hazard at all on fuch an occafion? + A kirk feffion is the loweft ecclefiaftical court, or parish confiftory, which is composed of the minifter, or miniffers, if more than one in the parish, and the elders and deacon, with a clerk or beadle. be in the parcel, which, being load ed, in a little time went off, and unfortunately fhot him dead.We mention accidents of this kind from time to time, to put people on their guard. One of the French king's guards, who had given himfelf feveral wounds in the belly, and pretended that he had received them from two affaffins, who would have forced their paffage into the royal prefence, in hopes of being promoted for his zeal and diligence, was lately hanged at Paris.- It was this affair gave rife to a late report, concerning a fresh attempt on the French king's life. A Swede has invented a machine for threshing corn, by which two men can do the work of 16; machine much wanted in England at this juncture, a The king went to the 19th. houfe of peers, and made a fpeech, on occafion of his majefty's having declared war against Spain, which fpeech, with his majeft's anfwers to the addreffes of both houfes, the reader may fee in our laft, Vol. IV. p. [303]. Extract of a letter from Bafque Road, dated Dec. 26, 1761. "Three fire-boats, of 50 tons each, were lately fet on float, under the command of the captain of the port's fon, affifted by four men of war's boats; but through precipitation, mistake, or accident, two of them blew up, and every foul perifhed. The explofion was terrible; they continued burning with great fury from one till day-light. - As the wind blew when they took fire, they were in the ftream of the Princefs Amelia, an 80 gun fhip, commanded by capt. Montague; but W. to N. W. aud drove them clear of the whole fquadron. They were chained together; and if they had been managed with that coolness and intrepidity, which such an enterprize requires, they might have done fatal execution The Breft fquadron, which has three battalions on board, are ready to fail; and four large transports are gone from Bourdeaux full of troops." The prince of Mecklenburg Strelitz, fecond brother 25th. to her majesty, arrived in London. During the course of this month, the town was grealy alarmed by fome uncommon noifes heard at a house in Cock-lane, Weft-Smithfield; and as the manner of making thefe noifes has not as yet been fufficiently ascertained, though feveral perfons have smarted feverely for pretending to affix a meaning to them, we think it our duty to give the reader a fummary of the whole affair. But as it is of fome length, we have placed it at the end of the Chronicle. Mr. Daniel Armstrong, who died lately at Bath, has left 500l. to the Foundling and Lying-in hofpitals. Mrs. Lawrence, of Bishopfgateftreet, was lately delivered of three fons. Died lately. William Maple, of Dublin, Efq; aged 101. Mr. John Rider, of Greenhill, near Dublin, aged 110. At Gratz in Vogtland, a man who had lived to the age of 135. without any illness. He had feen feven emperors of Germany. FEBRUARY. The parliament of Ire providentially the wind fhifted from land having taken under 3d. their confideration, the exceffive price of coals in the city of Dublin, it was, among other regulations, recommended by the committee appointed to enquire into the caufes of this complaint, that the government fhould appoint perfons to buy in a certain quantity of coals, when coals are at the cheapeft, and to retail them out again at a moderate profit, to fuch journeymen. tradefmen, manufacturers, and poor, as shall produce certificates from the minifters of their refpective parishes of their actual poverty; a regula tion that would be of vaft utility to this metropolis. 6th, An old man ftanding at the fire-fide of the 3 per cent. office at the Bank, was obferved to pick up the coals and put them in his pocket; and afterwards went to the books, and received his dividend upon 6ool, stock. He was carried before a magiftrate, where the coals were taken out of his pocket; but by reafon of his age, and his extreme penitence, he was releafed, An extraordinary inftance of avarice and peculation has lately been discovered in France. Monf. Folcue, one of the farmers-general of the province of Languedoc, who had amaffed confiderable wealth by grinding the faces of the poor with in his province, and every other means, however low, bafe, or cruel, by which he rendered himfelf univerfally hated, was one day ordered by the government to raise a confiderable fum: upon which, as an excufe for not complying with the demand, he pleaded extreme poverty; but fearing left fome of the inhabitants of Languedoc fhou'd give information to the contrary, left his house should be fearched, he refolved on hiding his treasure in fuch a manner, as to escape the moft strict examination. He dug a kind of a cave in his wine-cellar, which he made fo large and deep, that he used to go down to it with a ladder; at the entrance of it was a door with a fpring lock on it, which on fhutting would faften of itself. Very lately manf. Fofcue was miffing; diligent fearch was made after him in every place; the ponds were drawn, and every method which human imagination could fuggeft was taken for finding him, but all in vain. In a fhort time after his house was fold, and the purchafer beginning either to rebuild it, or make fome alterations in it, the workmen difcovered a door in the cellar with a key in the lock, which he ordered to be opened, and on going down they found mons. Fofcue lying dead on the ground, with a candlestick near him, but no candle in it, which he had eat: and on fearching farther they found the vaft wealth that he had amaffed. It is fuppofed, that when mons. Fofcue went into his cave, the door by fome accident fhut after h.m; and being out of the call of any perfon, he perished for want of food. He had gnawed the flesh off both his arms, as is fuppofed for fubfiftence. Thus did this mifer, die in the midst of his treafure, to the fcandal of himself, and to the prejudice of the flate. |