was visited by a tremendous thunder storm. The electric fluid struck the mansion of E. C. Lister, Esq. of that place, and threw down a stack of chimnies; it then passed through the dining-room, in which about thirty persons were assembled, many of whom were slightly struck. The only one seriously injured was a female servant, whose arm was considerably scorched. Most of the bell-wires were melted, and the walls of the dining-room still retain visible marks of the most alarming visitation.

24.-About three o'clock in the morning, some fishermen were found drowned in the Clyde, at Peat Bog, the bodies of a man and a woman, both young persons. They were tied together with a silk handkerchief; the woman reclining with one arm on the shoulder of the man, and the other round his waist. They had been missing since the Friday before. The woman's name is said to be M'Kenzie, or O'Neil, from Ayr. Whether he, in a frantic fit, went into the Clyde to swim over with the woman on his back, or whether they voluntarily went into the river to drown themselves, must remain a secret.

Same day, a man named Mortimer died at Collumpton, of voluntary starvation. He had a small property, by which he had been supported for some years; but finding he was likely to outlive it, as it was reduced to about 1501., and feeling the apprehension of want more than the natural love of life, he came to the resolution of ending his days by starvation. To effect this dreadful purpose he took nothing but water for a month before he died; at the end of three weeks his

body was wasted to a skeleton, and a medical gentleman was called in, who advised him to take some nourishment, but this he refused, and even discontinued the use of water. In this way he subsisted another week, when nature yielded the contest.

28.-Poisoning by Mistake.An inquisition was held before Thomas Higgs, Esq. coroner, on the body of Mr. Thomas Smith, a gentleman residing at No. 10, Queen-street, Grosvenor-square, who on Friday night having a pain in his head, was advised to take a dose of salts. He stated to one of the family that he had a quantity of salts by him in a box: he mixed about an ounce of it in some warm water, and went into his bed room and drank it. He was immediately seized with excruciating pains, and it was discovered upon the arrival of Mr, Fordham, surgeon, of North Audley-street, that he had taken oxalic acid (which is used for cleaning boot tops) by mistake. The unfortunate man died in a few minutes after the accident, in the greatest agony. The internal coat of his stomach was entirely destroyed. After hearing evidence, proving that the deleterious potion was taken by accident, the jury returned a verdict" died from taking a quantity of oxalic acid, by mistake for Epsom salts." The paper was produced in which the oxalic acid was wrapped; it was a piece of a newspaper. The jury recommended in future, that chemists should have the word "poison" printed on the paper in which such dangerous ingredients were enclosed.

31.-About half past eleven o'clock,

o'clock, his majesty left his palace in Pall-mall, on his way to Ireland. His majesty went in his plain dark travelling carriage, attended by lord Graves, as the lord in waiting, escorted by a party of the 14th light dragoons, The king proceeded as far as Kingston with his own horses, and from thence to Portsmouth with post horses. His majesty was to embark and dine on board the royal yacht.

-An invention has been made by a young man belonging to Mauchline; Mr. Andrew Smith of the Water of Air Stone manufactory. This is an instrument for copying drawings, &c., called by the learned who have seen it an apograph. It is so constructed, that drawings of any kind may be copied by it upon paper, copper, or any other substance capable of receiving an impression, upon a scale either extended, reduced, or the same as the original. The arts, we understand, furnish no instance of an instrument resembling this, either in its appearance or operation, save what is called the pantograph, and even from this machine it differs materially. The beam in the former is suspended vertically from an universal joint, whereas the beam of the latter is supported on an horizontal plane. There is also a counterpoise added to the apograph above the centre of motion, which relieves the hand almost entirely of the weight it would otherwise have to sustain when the beam is out of the vertical position.

-A gentleman at Ticktonbridge, near Beverley, has in his possession and on his premises, two curiosities; one is a bitch

fox with her four young cubs, and the other a wasp's nest, woven to and suspended from a gooseberry branch. The fox and her cubs were taken out of an earth not more than 300 yards from the gentleman's house, when the cubs were very young, and have been since suckled and supported by their mother. Though these animals have been much looked at and occasionally handled, they still retain much of that shyness which marks them in their wild state. As soon as they are considered old enough to provide for themselves, they are to be turned into Bentley-wood, in hopes of furnishing amusement in the winter to those who enjoy a foxchase. The wasp's nest at present resembles in colour a piece of unbleached cotton, and in size is as large as a boy's head; the entrance seems to be at the bottom.

-The iron-bar bridge, mea. suring 437 feet between the points of suspension, erected last summer over the Tweed, near Paxton Ford, about six miles above Berwick, by captain S. Brown, R. N. proves of such advantage to the country, that on ascertaining the expense of this bridge, the trustees and gentlemen of the country interested in the work, have, with proper liberality, voted the captain one thousand guineas over and above his estimate. Captain Brown is now far advanced in the erection of a Pier of Suspension, on the same principle, west from Newhaven, near Edinburgh, which is to extend 700 feet into the sea, and will admit of steam vessels and other craft coming alongside at low water. The difficulty, therefore, of landing

in the surf upon that rugged part of the coast will be avoided. The expense of this operation will be a mere trifle when compared with an erection of masonry.

-As an instance of the remarkable drought this season, Lochlomond has lately fallen seven feet perpendicularly from the water mark; and persons pass and repass between two of the islands on stepping stones, which have been placed there this week, and of which there is no former vestige. A great many old people in the neighbourhood have gone thither to have the gratification of walking across, and they all declare that they do not remember the loch ever having been so low.

-A goldfinch has built her nest in the same pear-tree, in the garden of Mr. Holliday, at Calderbridge, for a great number of years. This year the young were taken from the nest and put into a cage on the tree, where they were regularly fed by the old ones. It is worthy of remark, that the old birds have built again in the same tree; the young ones were taken as before, put into the cage, and are carefully attended to by their parents.

NETHERLANDS.

The important law introducing a new system of indirect taxes, has passed the second chamber of the states general. There have been few questions in which opinions have been so directly opposed to each other in the chamber, and at the same time so nearly balanced by the number of their advocates. It is a contest between the advocates of a free trade, and those of the prohibitive system. The members representing

the old dutch provinces were in favor of the free trade, and those of the southern (formerly Austrian) provinces in favour of the prohibitive system, fearing that a free trade will injure their manufactures. Both sides of the question were supported with great ability. Count Hogendorp, in favor of the law, developed at great length the advantages of a free trade, and the disadvantages of the prohibitive system. He quoted Great Britain as an example, and shewed that the prohibitive system was the cause of the great number of poor with which the kingdom was burthened; on the other hand, he ascribed the ancient prosperity of Holland to a free trade; he was confident that the proposed law would animate foreign commerce, which supports the internal trade; he did not fear that the duties on consumption would have the illconsequences apprehended, and was persuaded that the law would prove equally advantageous to both the great divisions of the kingdom. M. Von Alphen thought the prohibitive system could not be any longer maintained; that situated as the kingdom was, the whole land and sea forces of the state, if employed to prevent smuggling, would not do so without destroying commerce itself. He considered the abandonment of the old system as a return to sound sense. Among the members who spoke on the other side, M. Lecoq thought the new system could be of advantage only to. Amsterdam, and that the whole kingdom ought not to be sacrificed to one city. M. de Seurs said, that he preferred the most rigorous system of prohibition to a

free

The plains of Walachia, which I traversed from Bucharest to the frontiers, formerly so beautiful and fertile, now present the appearance of desolation and ruin: the dead bodies with which they are covered infect the air; nothing is to be heard but the mournful howlings with which the dogs, having lost their masters, fill the forests and fields: no more men, nor towns, nor villages-the barbarians have destroyed every thing, even the fruit-trees, to gratify their savage fury: more than 20,000 persons, the greater part of them women and children, have been dragged into slavery beyond the Danube. Aged men and women are massacred without mercy, and the lives of young women only are spared, who are destined for the Harem, and those of children to be brought up in the Mahometan religion: the convents and churches are every where razed from their foundations: in a convent of women, those who were advanced in years were put to the sword, and the young females carried into slavery.

The Walachian troops, who basely betrayed in battle the interests of their country, as well as the Greeks their companions in arms, are recovering from their error when too late, and rallying round Jordaki, a Greek of Thessaly, and formerly a commander in the militia of his country. Despair has given them fresh courage, and they have gained several partial advantages over the Turks, who have been repulsed at several points with the loss of upwards of 4,000 men.-Constitutionel.

AFRICA.

Isle of Bourbon.-On the 27th of February, at ten o'clock in

the morning, the weather being cloudy, a frightful noise was heard like that of a loud clap of thunder, produced by the explosion of a column of fire and smoke from the crater of the volcano. The clearness of the rest of the day prevented a full enjoyment of this brilliant horror; but on the arrival of night a pillar was perceived, formed of masses of fire and inflamed matter, shooting majestically to a prodigious height, and falling with a crash which inspired terror. The brightness which it diffused was such, that over all the extent of this quarter a letter could be read by the light of this prodigy. Towards the middle of the night three, rivers of fire were discovered opening a passage near the summit of the mountain, a little below the crater, and taking a direction perpendicular to the high road. On the 9th of March one of them had passed it, leaving a line of lava six feet high by twenty broad, and rolled to the sea over an extent of thirty poles, throwing up the water to such a height, that it fell down in the shape of rain.

At the moment of the eruption, a shower, composed of blackish ashes, of gold coloured glass, sulphurous particles, fell in the vicinity of the volcano. It rained thus for two hours. On the 9th of March we experienced an earthquake, which was of so short a duration, that we could not determine its direction. From the first moment of the eruption to the day on which I write, the volcano has not ceased to burn. On the 1st of this month, it threw out such a quantity of smoke, that the higher parts of the island were covered by it. On the 2nd the rain was so abundant, that the

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