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REMARKABLE DOMESTIC EVENTS.

OCTOBER, 1790.

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The whole of the guards which are going abroad were affembled in Hyde Park on the 27th in the morning, about ten o'clock; they were drawn up in a line two deep, which extended from the corner of the Serpentine River, to the wall of the Park, near the Gravel Pits, which is upwards of half a mile; the horfe guards attended to keep off the people; they formed a ring of near two miles in circumference: notwithstand ing this amazing length, the concourfe of people was fo great, that they formed a line ten or twelve deep completely round, and without these was a train of carriages, which extended nearly round the whole. His majefty arrived from Windfor in a chaife and four, about eleven o'clock; he alighted near the bottom of the Serpentine River, and mounted a cream-coloured horfe; he was joined at the bottom of the ranks by their royal highneffes the prince of Wales, duke of York and duke of Gloucefter, the dukes of Argyle and Richmond, general Garth, fir William Fawcitt, colonel Tuffnell, and several other officers, the duke of Gloucester's carriage with feveral ladies, his majetty's chaife, and a party of light horfe: the whole proceeded up before the ranks to the other end; his majesty viewing the men as he rode along, the bands continued playing all the time; they returned in the fame manner on the other fide the line, and the foldiers being faced about, his majefty had an

opportunity of minutely viewing every individual; after this his majesty, and his attendants, took their stand before the line, which then filed off into columns, and marched twice round before his majefty; after this they were again drawn up into the fame line as at firft; his majefty got into his chaife, and fet off for St. James's; as the chaife moved along, the whole line advanced a few yards; his majesty was followed by their royal highneffes the prince of Wales and duke of York, the duke of Richmond, &c. &c.

His majefty appeared in the field, dreffed in fcarlet and gold, in the most perfect health and fpirits; and notwithstanding the feverity of the wea➡ ther, had his hat off almoft the whole time he was in the Park, which was near an hour.

ASSASSINATION.

The 19th of September, a man, at Conftantinople, found means to elude the vigilance of the principal eunuch of the grand vizir, and, as is fuppofed, his plan having been laid fome time, he entered and fecreted himself in his feraglio. At the ufual hour, his highness repaired to his apartments; he was, as is cuftomary, faluted by a band of fingers and dancers, and just as he had mingled in the little throng, the villain in an inftant left his hiding-place, plunged a poignard into his back, between the shoulders, and then attempted to destroy himfelf; he was however prevented and fecured. His name is Carlowitz Torocki, a native of Morocco. The vizir is out of danger, but much hurt.

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taking care of the ftores, to the amount of twelve hundred tons, which he means to put on board the first homeward-bound Indiaman. Captain Riou is expected to come by the fame conveyance. Mr. Quinton, together with these brave men, have already made a voluntary offer of their future services.

FIRE.

The 6th, about seven in the morning, a fire broke out in the house of Mr. Bird, hair-merchant, in New Bridgeftreet, Blackfriars, which confumed that and the corner houfe, and three others in Fleet-ftreet.

Mifs Bird threw herfelf out of a three pair of ftairs window, fell upon a lamp. iron, and from thence on the spikes of the railing before the houfe, which ran into her thigh, and wounded her in a fhocking manner: however, fhe is in a fair way of recovery. Her fervant unfortunately perished in the flames. They were informed by a boy that the premifes were on fire; but the flames had increased to fuch a degree by the time they had put on their clothes, that they could not get down ftairs. The maid-fervant refused to follow her young mistress; adding, that she might as well be burnt to death as dafhed to pieces.

SWINDLER.

The 5th, at the Public Office in Bow-ftreet, Thomas Tyler and Ofwald Trueford were brought up for re-examination.

The various characters Tyler hath affumed, and the number of lodgings and houfes he has taken, are inconceivable. At one time he has had fourteen different places of abode, kept a chariot, and affumed as many different characters.

The number of persons that attended, who have been defrauded, was too. great for the office to contain.

Tea-dealers, bakers, fhip-brokers, butchers, horfe-dealers, filk-mercers, taylors, filversmiths, farmers, landlords of houses, &c. in all about fifty perfons, appeared, who have been defrauded, many of whom fwore pofitively to Tyler's perfon. In short, Tyler every one knew, and gave an account how they had been defrauded by him, not only of goods, but ready.

money, and produced the falfe notes and bills of exchange which they had taken of him for various fums.

This noted fwindler was tried on the 29th at the Old Bailey, and convicted on the clearest evidence.

LAW.

At the laft Jufticiary Court held at Perth, a fingular circumftance occurred. A perfon was indicted for murder, and found guilty. The counsel for the prifoner, after the verdict, discovered that one of the jury was a minor; the verdict is therefore invalid: but the jet of the affair is, whether the prisoner can be legally tried again; and this queftion is referred to the High Court. of Seffion at Edinburgh.

LONGEVITY OF A HORSE.

There is at prefent in a village to the fouth of Haddington a very small black galloway, not exceeding eleven hands high, of the Shetland breed, which was foaled in the year 1743, and in the year 1745 was rode at the battle of Prestonpans by a young gentleman, who afterwards fold it to a farmer near Dunbar, from whom it came to the prefent proprietor. This galloway, which is now. forty-feven years of age, looks remarkably fresh, and can trot above eight miles an hour for feveral hours together, has a very good set of teeth, eats corn and hay well, is able to go a good journey, and has not to appearance undergone the leaft alteration whatever either in galloping, trotting, walking, or in body, for these twenty years paft.

CRUELTY.

The beginning of this month, a man was examined at the Public Office in Bow-ftreet, charged with an offence of the most cruel nature we have ever heard related, viz.-For forcibly tearing out the tongue of a horfe. The prifoner's name is John Shepherd. The evidence was as follows: William Short depofed, that he was at work on the top of a hay-rick, in the grounds of Mr. Bond, a farmer, when he faw the prifoner driving Mr. Bond's team into an adjoining field, where he shot the dung with which it was loaded. The pri foner, who was the fervant of Mr. Bond, then went to the fore-horfe of

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the team, and, with his left hand, tore its tongue out of the poor beaft's mouth, while, with his right, he beat it for up. wards of ten minutes over the head with the butt end of his whip. He faw him drive the team away, and obferved the horfe's tongue hanging a confiderable way out of his mouth, and ftreaming with blood..

James Long faid, that he was a far rier, and was fent for, by Mr. Bond, to look at his horfe: he found the tongue had been torn several inches out of the mouth, and that in confequence of the tongue being mortified, (which he fuppofed to have arifen from fomething having been tied tight round it, or from its being cut, which he was convinced had been done, previous to its being pulled out) he was repeatedly under the neceffity of cutting pieces away: he faid, that he was fure fome noftrum had been applied to eat the tongue off where it had been tied, or cut.

The prifoner was committed to take his trial for this offence.

INCONTINENCY.

A fuit is inftituted in Doctors Commons by a lady against her husband, to obtain a divorce for cruelty and adultery. The lady among other things ftates, that her behaviour to her husband has been very exemplary, never having contradicted him but once fince the celebration of their nuptials; notwithstanding which, he has treated her with great cruelty, and cohabited with feveral other women. The gentleman has had three wives before, and is only twentyfive years of age. The lady is fortyfeven.

SUICIDE. I

The 15th, captain S, of the Surrey militia, and brother to a once celebrated dancer of that name, put an end to his existence at Twickenham. Nothing could have been more unexpected than fuch an event. He was at the house of his brother, wher ehe paffed the evening cheerfully. On retiring, at half past eleven o'clock, he particularly requested of the maid-fervant who attended him to his room, to awaken him the next morning at nine. Before the reached the bottom of the ftairs, the heard the report of a piftol, and her fcreams alarming the family, they flew to captain S's room, and found

him lifelefs. He had placed the loaded piftol in his mouth, and the contents, paffing through the upper part of the head, had fhattered the skull in a moft ́ ́dreadful manner. No motive whatever can be affigned for this defperate act.

CONVICTS.

ceived by a gentleman of Lincoln's-inn, A very affecting letter has been refrom Samuel Burt, a perfon convicted of forgery, but pardoned on condition of going to New South Wales, dated from the Scarborough tranfport, Falle Bay, of Good Hope, April 18, which contains the following account of the intended mutiny and maffacre of the crew by the convicts:

The convicts having laid a plot to furprise the crew, murder the officers, and to feize the veffel, only waited for figns into execution. The substance an opportunity to put their horrid de

of his letter is as follows:

"On the 12th of February, our fhip having feparated from the Surprize tranfport, the Neptune being a great way a-head, and the fea perfectly calm, thefe unhappy wretches began to whifper from one to the other their mutinous intentions; the plot being communicated to myself, I readily agreed to the fcheme, affenting to every propofal of plunder and murder, until fuch time as I became completely master of the confpiracy, and the ringleaders of it. I then apprifed the captain of the ship, and the military officers, of the danger they were likely to encounter; and fo thoroughly did my information prepare them for the business, that with little or no trouble the ringleaders were fecured, and the fcheme entirely fruftrated. The parties being examined, they made fuch confeffion that human nature would almost fhudder at the thoughts of."

The circumftances of Burt's cafe were fomewhat remarkable; being rejected by a woman whom he wished to marry, he committed a forgery, and im mediately afterwards furrendered himfelf at Bow-ftreet, declaring to his friends he had done it for the purpose of getting hanged. Being confidered as an object of compaffion, he was of fered his majefty's most gracious pardon, which he twice or thrice refufed.

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The lady at length confented to marry him; he then became as folicitous to live as he had before been anxious for death: but during her repeated vifits to him in Newgate, fhe caught the gaol fever and died.

ACCIDENTS.

A very melancholy and fatal circumftance lately happened at Groppenhall, near Warrington, Lancashire: Mr. John Rowson, a confiderable farmer at that place, feeling himself indifpofed on the morning of the 19th ult. got up, intending to take a few falts; but having in his bureau a fmall quantity of corrofive fublimate, he innocently took it, and fell a lamentable facrifice to his mistake on the 6th inft. when he expired, after languishing feventeen days in extreme torture. He was only in his 29th year.

The 12th, at four o'clock in the afternoon, the inhabitants of Dartford and of the country for feveral miles around, were alarmed by a dreadful concuffion, occafioned by the explofion of feventy barrels of gunpowder at the works of Meffrs. Pigou and Andrews, situated about a fhoi. mile to the southward of Dartford.

No certain account can be given of the manner by which the fatal spark was communicated to the gunpowder in the corning houfe, which was the firft building that blew up. No work was carrying on in that place at the time on which the accident happened; it is therefore fuppofed that fome electric fire had entered the building, and ignited the loofe gunpowder. From hence the explosion inftantly communicated itself to the ftoves, to five pow. der mills, and to a clofe magazine containing twenty-five barrels of gunpowder, which from their confined state Ipread dreadful devaftation around. The ftoves, corning-houfe, and magazines, were inftantly levelled with the earth. The strong beams were shivered in pieces, and thrown every where around to a considerable distance; and broken bricks, tiles, and pieces of wood, fhowered ruin on the neighbouring fields.

The doors of a magazine which stands at a small distance from the works to the S. W. up the river, and

which contains near two hundred bar. rels of gunpowder, were forced open by the explosion, but the wind blowing with great violence from that quarter, providentially prevented the flash from reaching it: for had it communicated with this laft, the whole town of Dartford would probably have been laid in ruins.

Six men were deftroyed in the dreadful havoc, most of whom have left wives and families behind them. The foreman of the works has left a wife and feven children.

It is remarkable that the runners, axletrees, and the wheels of the mills, have received very little damage, fo that it is thought fome of them will be in a condition to be worked in about a fortnight.

Independent of the buildings, the damage is computed not to exceed between three and four hundred pounds.

The 25th, a young gentleman, fon to a merchant in the city, loft his pocket-book, which contained value to the amount of four hundred and thirty pounds. He had been to receive monies at the weft end of the town, and had been paid in drafts on bankers and bank notes, but took no account of the number of the notes, nor where the drafts were made payable at. Immediately he miffed his book he went to the perfons of whom he had received the monies, to get intelligence, but before he could arrive at the places where the drawers refide, they were paid. The whole fum must be totally loft, owirg to neglect of taking the particulars of the paper.

DEATH.

The 9th, at his feat in Hereford fhire, in the 65th year of his age, the right hon. Edward Harley, earl of Oxford and earl Mortimer, lord Harley, a lord of the bedchamber to his majesty, lord lieutenant of the county of Radnor, a trustee of the British Museum, LL.D. and F. R. S.

The late lord was born Sept. 2, 1726, and was married in 1751 to Mifs Sufanna Archer, who is now living. His lord fhip, not having any iffue, will be fucceeded in his titles and eftates by Ed. ward Harley, efq. fon to the late bishop of Hereford, who was brother to the deceafed earl.

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