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crew, and thrown overboard. During the night, the fore and main topfails were fhivered to pieces by the violence of the wind, and the fhip was left at the entire mercy of a moft tremendous fea, the dreadful profpect being rendered ftill more difmal by the thick, black, ftormy clouds, which appeared as if collected to hide our misfortunes from the compaffionate eye of Providence.

"The people till now had been kept unacquainted with the true ftate of the hip, which had hitherto been reported as favourable as poffible; when a little after fix o'clock, one of the carpenters who was ftationed to found the well, came up, and reported that the water was as high as the hallop deck, and gaining above a foot every half hour. The officers could not poffibly overrule the truth of this report, and many of the people, who were really unable to bear the exceffive fatigue of watch ing and labour any longer, immediately defponded, and gave themfelves up to perish with the fhip. A few of the more profligate efcaped the utmost vigi- ́ lance, and fecreted themfelves below, where they got intoxicated with liquor, and became infenfible of their danger. A part of thofe who had got a little ftrength left, feeing that their utmoft efforts to fave the fhip was in vain, applied to the officers for the boats, which were promifed to be got in readiness for them, and the boatswain was directly

"H. M. S. Guardian, Dec. 25, 1789. "If any part of the officers or crew of the Guardian fhould ever furvive to get home, I have only to fay, their conduct after the fatal ftroke againft an island of ice, was admirable and wonderful in every thing that relates to their duties, confidered either as private men or in his majesty's fervice.

"As there feems to be no poffibility of my remaining many hours in this world, I beg leave to recommend to the confideration of the Admiralty, a fifter, who, if my con duct or fervices fhould be found deferving any memory, their favour might be fhewn to, together with a widowed mother.

"I am, fir, remaining with great refpect,
"Your ever obedient fervant,
"(Signed) E. RIOU.

Phil. Stephens, eiq."

<< Sir, Table Bay, Feb. 22, 1790. "I hope this letter will reach you before any account can be given of the lofs of his

ordered to put the mafts, fails, and compafs into each. The cooper was alfo fet to work to fill a few quarter cafks of water out of fome of the butts on deck, and provifions and other neceffaries were got up from the hold. While thefe preparations were making, all hands were once more called to endeavour to fave the fhip from finking.

"The captain continued till the laft to exert his authority. He was as active in providing for the fafety of the boats, as if he intended to take the opportunity of providing for his own efcape. He was throughout as calm and collected as in the happier moments of his life, and was evidently refigned to his fate.

"At feven o'clock fhe had fettled confiderably abaft, and the water was coming in at the rudder cafe in great quantities. At about half past seven o'clock, the quantity of water in the hold obliged the people to break off from below, and come upon deck; the fhip was very foon after found to be in a finking ftate, and entirely given over for loft. At this time the water within board was nearly as high as the lower gun deck, and the fhip fettling bodily down, it was therefore almoft immediately agreed upon to have recourfe to the boats. While engaged in confultation on this melancholy bufinefs, Mr. Riou took a fheet of paper, and wrote a letter on his majesty's fervice, to the Admiralty, which he delivered to Mr. Clements*.

majefty's fhip Guardian. If it fhould, I am to beg you will make known to their lordships, that on the 23d of December the fhip ftruck on an island of ice, and that on the 25th, all hope of her fafety being ba nifhed, I confented to as many of the officers and people to take to the boats as thought proper. But it pleafed Almighty God to allift my endeavours, with the re maining part of the crew, to arrive with his majefty's fhip in this bay yesterday. A Dutch packet is now under fail for Europe, which prevents me from giving any further particulars, especially as at this inftant I find it more neceffary than ever to exert myself to preferve the fhip from sinking at her

anchors.

"I am, fir, most respectfully, "Ever your obedient fervant, "(Signed) E. RIOU." Received at the Admiralty, April 28, at 5 P. M.

water.

"The jolly boat, however, got neither provifion, water, compafs, or quadrant; the people on board were five in number; three feamen and two convicts.

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When the launch fet fail, about nine o'clock, the thip appeared funk down to her upper deck ports." From this time, the crew of this boat fuffered great hardships from inclement weather and want of provifions and water; when almoft exhaufted, however, on the 3d of January, the gunner at the helm, discovered a fhip at a little distance from us, laying under her bare poles. Our joy at this fight was great beyond expreffion; and, anxious to fecure fo favourable an occafion, we immediately made more fail, and between five and fix o'clock paffed clofe under her, and informed the people on board of our diftreffes. We then veered about, and put along-fide of her on the other tack.

"The people on board her crowded immediately to our affiftance, and received us in the moft friendly manner. As foon as we were along-fide, feveral of them jumped in, and assisted in keeping her from being stove to pieces.

"This fhip was named the Viscountess of Britannie, a French merchantman, Martin Doree, mafter, with part of Walth's or ninety-fifth regiment from the Ille of France to touch at the Cape of Good Hope for a fupply of water and provifions on her way to Europe. The officers of this corps were unbounded in their friendship and attention towards us, affording every poffible comfort, and even gave up their beds for our use.

"January 18. At noon anchored in Table Bay, Cape of Good Hope."

This boat is the only one known to have arrived fafe; three others left the hip at the fame time; and one was funk in the attempt.

1outherly latitude, fell in with her; and, by affording the utmoft affistance, the Guardian, under the efcort of this friendly packet, was enabled to reach the Cape of Good Hope, from which he was diftant four hundred leagues, where the accident happened. The crew confifted of one hundred and twenty-three perfons, including twentyfive convicts.

The purfer of the General Goddard, captain Foxal, from Bengal, arrived at the India-Houfe on the 24th, with the difagreeable news, that on the 23d, at two o'clock, that fhip unfortunately ran aground near Brifon, at the back of the Ifle of Wight. The paffengers, however, were all fafely landed. The cargo may probably be faved; but the hulk is irrecoverably loft.

The paffengers in her were, James Henry Caffamajor, efq. late a member of the Madrafs Council, and family; Meffrs. Maxton, Balfour, Bulman, Briggs, and Drake; captains Ruffell and Browne; lieutenants Norman and Muirfon lieutenant-colonel Elphinftone died in the paffage.

DUEL.

The 11th, a duel was fought on Blackheath, between Mr. William Rofs, of Upper Wimpole-ftreet, and Mr. David Reid, of Bedford-fquare, which terminated fatally to the former.

Major-general Bruce, brother to lord Elgin, fecond to Mr. Rofs, and a Mr. Hamilton, fecond to Mr. Reid, gave the following statement of this unfortunate rencounter.

"Mr. William Rofs, and lieutenant Reid, having called upon us to accompany them upon an affair of honour, the parties met at half paft fix o'clock this morning on Blackheath, when every endeavour in our power was made ufe of to make up the unhappy quarrel between them, but we found it impoffible:

Mr. Rofs's fire firft, when he likewife fired without effect.

"We again remonftrated with the gentlemen, and defied they fhould go no farther, both having acted as became men of honour. But Mr. Rofs, who could obtain no apology from Mr. Reid, infifted pofitively on firing once more, which they did, at the fame diftance by agreement as before; Mr. Rofs, however, received Mr. Reid's fire firft, upon which he fell without returning it.

"In juftice to Mr. Rofs we must declare, that before the first fire he folemnly afferted his innocence regarding the original caufe of the difpute. A charge of feduction is believed to be the cause.

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Mr. Rofs had acquired confiderable property in India; and his fortune was much increafed by the bequests of two brothers. Mr. Reid, by whofe hand he fell, was his coufin-german.

FIRE.

An extraordinary circumftance happened at a fire which lately broke out in the house of Mr. Steed, plumber, at Melford, Suffolk.-A perfon belonging to the Ram Inn, oppofite the endangered houfe, ran to afford all the affifiance in his power; and on going into a chamber, faw a bed lying on the floor, which he took into his arms, and brought into the street; when, to his great furprise, an infant fell upon the ground; laying the bed down, he difcovered another child; both of which were thus providentially preserved from the impending flames.

INNOCENCE.

A perfon of the name of Cross, being lately left at Gloucefter to be executed, Mr. Pacey, a very refpectable farmer of North Leach, from fome circumstances, imagined he was innocent. On this, without any interceffion, he fet out for London, which he reached without either eating or drinking on the road, sand immediately repaired to judge Wilfon; who was fo ftruck with the zeal and the reafons of Mr. Pacey, that he ordered a respite of a month. It has turned out, that the man was innocent, as the fellow who fwore against him, has fince confeffed that he himself committed the robbery, in company with another.

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DISCOVERY.

OF THE SOURCE OF THE NILE.

[By Mr. Bruce.]

TH HE difcovery of the Source of the Nile being the grand object of Mr. Bruce's extraordinary journey, we fhall-indeed we must pals over a thousand incidents which preceded and led to this event. On the 27th of October 1770, Mr. Bruce with his retinue left Gondar, the capital of Abyffinia; and on the 30th reached Bamba. On the 2d of November, they purfued their journey in a direction fouthward, and paffed the church of Bofkon Abbo. At three quarters after ten in the morning, they paffed the fmall river Arooffi, which either gives its name to, or receives it from, the diftrict through which it paffes: it falls into the Nile about four miles below; is a clear, fmall, brisk stream; its banks covered with verdure not to be described.

All the little territory of Arooffi is by much the most pleasant that our travellers had feen in Abyffinia; perhaps it is equal to any thing the east can produce; the whole is finely fhaded with acacia-trees, which, in. the fultry parts of Africa, produce the gum-arabic.

After paffing the Affar, and, feveral villages belonging to Goutto, they had, for the first time, a distinct view of the high mountain of Geefh, the long-wifhed-for end of their dangerous and troublesome journey. Under this mountain are the founVOL. II.

tains of the Nile; about thirty miles, as near as they could conjecture in a straight line, without counting the deviations or crookednefs of the road. At two o'clock in the afternoon of the 2d of November, they came to the banks of the Nile; the paffage is very diffi cult and dangerous, the bottom being full of holes made by confiderable fprings, light finking fand, and, at every little diftance, large rocky ftones; the eastern fide was muddy and full of pits, the ground of clay the Nile here is about two hundred and fixty feet broad, and very rapid; its depth about four feet in the middle of the river, and the fides not above two. Its banks are of a very gentle, eafy defcent; the western fide is chiefly ornamented with high trees of the falix, or willow tribe, growing straight, without joints or knots, and bearing long pointed pods full of a kind of cotton.

Thofe travellers having paffed the Nile, arrived at Goutto, (the village fo called) and took up their lodgings in the house of a confiderable perfon, who had abandoned it upon their approach.

As they heard diftinctly the noise of the cataract, and had ftill a full hour and a half of light, Mr. Bruce determined to vifit the water-fall, left he fhould be thereby detained the next morning. Being well armed, he fet out for the cataract; and, after riding through a plain, hard country, in fome parts very ftony, and thick-covered with trees, Bb

in

in fomething more than half an hour's eafy galloping all the way, they came ftraight to the cataract, conducted thereto by the noife of

the fall.

This, known by the name of the First Cataract of the Nile, did not by its appearance come up to the idea they had formed of it, being fcarce fifteen feet in height, and about fixty yards over; but in many places the fheet of water is interrupted, and leaves dry intervals of rock.

On the 3d of November, at eight o'clock in the morning, they left the village of Goutto, and continued, for the firft part of the day, through a plain country, full of acacia-trees. They continued their journey from thence, and at length arrived at a tripple ridge of mountains difpofed one range behind the other, nearly in form of three concentric circles, which feem to fuggeft an idea, that they are Mountains of the Moon, or the Montes Lune of antiquity, at the foot of which the Nile was faid to rife; in fact, there are no others. Being arrived at the top of the mountain, they had a diftinct view of all the remaining territory of Sacala, the mountain Geefh, and church of St. Michael Geefh, about a mile and a half diftant from St. Michael Sacala, where they then were. They faw, immediately below them, the Nile itself, ftrangely diminished in fize, and now only a brook that had fcarcely water to turn a mill. Mr. Bruce could not fatiate himself with the fight, revolving in his mind all thofe claffical prophecies that had given the Nile up to perpetual obfcurity and concealment.

The whole company next afcended a gently-rifing hill, near the top of which is St. Michael Geefh. The Nile here is not four yards over, and not above four inches deep where they croffed; it was indeed become

a very trifling brook, but ran fwiftly over a bottom of fmall ftones, with hard black rock appearing amidst them: it is at this place very easy to pafs, and very limpid, but, a little lower, full of inconfiderable falls; the ground rifes gently from the river to the fouthward, full of small hills and eminences, which you afcend and defcend almost imperceptibly. The whole company had halted on the north fide of St. Michael's church, and there Mr. Bruce reached them without affecting any hurry.

After fome altercation with one of his attendants who knew the fituation of the country, he took Mr. Bruce round to the fouth fide of the church, out of the grove of trees which furrounded it. "Look,' faid he, "at that hillock of green fod in the middle of that watery fpot; it is in that the two fountains of the Nile are to be found: Geefli is on the face of the rock where yon green trees are; if you go the length of the fountains, pull off your fhoes, for thefe people are all Pagans, and they believe in nothing that you be lieve, but only in this river, to which they pray every day as if it were God; but this perhaps you may do likewife." Half undreffed, Mr. Bruce throwing his fhoes off, ran down the hill towards the little ifland of green fods, which was about two hundred yards diftant; the whole fide of the hill was thick grown over with flowers, the large bulbous roots of which appearing above the furface of the ground, and their skins coming off on treading upon them, occafioned two very fevere falls before he reached the brink of the marsh. Mr. Bruce, after this, came to the island of green turf, which was in form of an altar, apparently the work of art, and he food in rapture over the principal fountain which rifes in the middle of it.

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