If there were no God, we should have a cruel pations, he hath his diversions also, and parstepmother, called Nature.

There is no great harm in flattering dedica-cards his old companions, or treats them with tions; because they always expose the writer, and never impose upon the reader.

EARLY NAVIGATORS.-Arngrim Jonas tells us, that when Flok, a famous Norwegian navigator, was going to set out from Shetland for Iceland, then called Gardarlsbolm, he took on board some crows, because the mariner's compass was not yet in use. When he though

he had made a considerable part of his way, he threw up one of his crows, which, seeing laud astern, flew to it; whence Fiok, conclud ing that he was nearer to Shetland (perhaps rather Faroe) than any other land, kept on his course for some time, and then sent out another crow, which, seeing no land at all, returned to the vessel. At last, having run the greatest part of his way, another crow was sent out by him, which, seeing land a head, immediately flew for it; and Folk, following his guide, fell in with the east end of the island. Such was the simple mode of steering their course, practised by those bold navigators of the stormy ocean. The ancient natives of Taprobaue (Ceylon) used the same expedient when skimming along the tranquil surface of the Indian Ocean.

MATRIMONY.-A hint to young females how to exercise their judgment when called upon to determine on the important subject of matrimony. An old gentlemau chatting with his daughter on the subject of matrimony,|| informed her he had received application from three suitors of different descriptions, for leave to pay their addresses in order to obtain her hard. The first was old, rich, inclined to jealousy, and rather troublesome, but enabled to support an alluring equipage. The second was neither handsome nor ugly, nor rich nor poor, nor too indifferent, but civil, attentive, and agreeable. The third was young and handsome, rather poor, but excessively fond, tender, and sympathising. The young lady thanked her honourable sire for his judicious discrimination, and decidedly preferred the character of the second gentleman; who was introduced accordingly, and upon acquain tance, they became mutually enamoured.

CURIOUS BILL.-An itinerant show-man, some years ago, stuck up the following bill on his booth at Bartholomew fair, by which means he collected a considerable sum of money:"To be seen here, without loss of time, for

ixpence only, a most wonderful prophet; who is not the wandering Jew, nor the son of Noah, nor an old Levite, nor St. John, as some people think; for, before they were, he was. The holy Scriptures frequently make mention of him; he is no impostor, for he knew not his parents, nor did he ever suck his mother's breast. His beard is as red as vermilion; he goes bare-footed like a grey friar; and he wears no hat. His coat is neither dyed, knit, woven, nor spun; it is neither silk, hair, linen, nor woollen, yet it is of a very fine and beautiful colour. He drinks no wine or beer, but pure water only; his diet is moderate; he takes no money if any is offered to him, he careth not for the pomp and vanity of this wicked world, for he had rather dwell in a barn than in a King's palace; he walks with neither stick, staff, nor sword, yet he marcheth boldly on in the face of his enemy, and can, if he pleases, encounter the strongest man; he is often abused by wicked men, yet he taketh it patiently. He lets all men alone with their religion, though Protestants are his greatest enemies, and the Papists use him kindly.— There are some persons now in town who have been in company with him, and are ready to make oath of the same. He is an excellent pattern for all mankind, for he is always ou the watch. Men of all nations understand his

language. He calleth upon men, declaring that the day of the Lord is at hand, and the doors and windows fly open as he prophesies. Poor women have reason to rejoice that such a prophet is come into the world, to set before their sottish husbands a pattern of sobriety. Both men and women who follow his example live to a great age. He was with Noah in the ark, and with Christ when he was crucified. He is neither Whig nor Tory, conformist nor nonconformist, and yet he does not deny the articles of the Christian faith, neither doth he hold with any of them. His voice is shrill and powerful, and he once preached a sermon that convinced a very good man of his sins, and drew tears from his eyes. People flock daily to see him, and are so fully satisfiel that he is not an impostor, that they send their friends and relations, that they may also view him before he returns to his own country."

1

WORKS IN THE PRESS.

The Rev. T. Raffles is preparing for the press, in an octavo volume, Memoirs of the Life and Ministry of the late Rev. T. Spencer, of Liverpool; including occasional extracts from his papers, &c.

Henry Meredith, Esq. Governor of Winnebah Fort, will shortly publish an Account of the Gold Coast of Africa, and of the Manners, &c. of the Natives.

The Rev. James Hall has in the press, in two volumes, Remarks on Ireland, particularly the interior and least known parts, during a late tour through that country.

The Rev. Charles Latrobe intends to publish Letters on the Nicobar Islands, written to the Editor by L. G. Hoensel, seven years a Missionary of the United Brethren at that station.

Mr. Jackson is printing at Oxford a Grammar of the Eolo-Doric, or modern Greek Tongue, vulgarly called the Romaic; in which the pecuharities of the Eolo-Doric will be traced to the respective dialects of which the modern Greek is composed.

Mr. John Brady will shortly publish a compendious Analysis of the Calendar; illustrated by ecclesiastical, historical, and classical anecdotes.

329

Mr. B. Smart is preparing for the press a small School Book, by which teachers will be enabled to prevent or remove all defects of utterance, and train young persons, systematically to a distinct, forcible, and polite pronunciation.

Mr. Henry Mill is preparing a Genealogical Account of the Barclays of Urie, for upwards of seven hundred years; including Memoirs of Col. De Barclay, and his son Robert Barclay, author of the Apology, with Letters that passed between him and the Duke of York, afterwards James II. and other distinguished characters.

The Rev. Alexander Smith, of Keith Hall, has in the press, a translation of Michaelis's celebrated work on the Mosaic Law, in two parts, the first of which will soon appear.

Mr. Stephens is preparing a Life of the late John Horne Tooke, with whom he lived in considerabe intimacy for many years, and has been furnished with several important documents by his executrix.

Mr. Ogle, of Edinburgh, intends to publish an additional Volume of Troill's Works, from his manuscripts, left in the hands of an Evangelical Minister.

Lucien Bonaparte's Poem of Charlemagne has been published on the Continent under a feigned

INCIDENTS

OCCURRING IN AND NEAR LONDON, INTERESTING MARRIAGES, &c.

the shop, having described it as being loaded, and walked by the side of the canal, whilst his

HORRID ATTEMPT AT ASSASSINATION.The following are the particulars of this case, according to depositions taken before Mr. Co-grandson led his horse about the road. The canal nant, of Marlborough-street Police Office, on Saturday evening, May 30, the day on which it happened:-Mr. Burrows, a hay salesman, residing at Appleton, was suddenly attacked in his chaise, near his residence, by Bowler, a neighbouring farmer, who discharged a blunderbuss at him, and lodged the contents (slugs) in bis neck and body. The following testimony of a blacksmith at Appleton, gives the whole case. The assassin, who is a man seventy years of age, called at the smith's shop, on horseback, at five o'clock on Saturday morning, accompanied by his grandson, and produced a blunderbuss, which he asked leave to make the lock secure to go off, as he wanted to shoot a mad dog. After he had done something to the lock, he left it in No. XXXIII. Vol. V.―N; S.

path commanded a view of Burrows's residence, and after walking there nearly two hours, he returned to the smith's shop, when Burrows was approaching it, and having taken up the blunderbuss, he met him and presented it, when Burrows called out, "For God's sake don't shoot me," and inclining his head upon his legs. The assassin, however, pulled the trigger, and Burrow's fell, when the former mounted his horse, rode off, and was not secured on that day. The situation of the wounded man is very precarious; four slugs have been extracted from his neck and head, but there are others in the body, one of which is supposed to have lodged near the blade bone. There are favourable symptoms, and some hopes are entertained that his life will be Tt

saved. The cause of this diabolical act is said to
have arisen from some family jealousies. The
parties had a litigation a short time since, when
high words arose, but they had since been ap-
parent good friends.-Bowler has since been ap-
prehended at his own house. It appears he rode
his horse on the day of the attempted assassina-
tion to Weddesdon, five miles from Aylesbury,
where he arrived at three b'clock in the afternoon,
and remained till six the next morning. He gave
a man of the name of Griffiths a one pound note
to take his horse back to Harrow. Foy and Craig,
Officers of Marlborough-street, traced him from
public-house to public-house, between the two
turnpike roads, for several days, and they at
length followed him back to Prince Risborough,
the place of his birth, where he had stated his||
case to a female relation, in whose house he in-
tended to sleep that night. The woman, how-
ever, had hinted the matter to some neighbour,
and the villagers turned out, men, women, and
children, and scoured the woods in vain. The
Officers returned, after an unsuccessful pursuit,
and soon afterwards an express arrived that
Bowler had returned to his own house, where he
was taken by his neighbours. The officers
brought him to London, and he underwent an
examination before Mr. Conant.

He con

fessed discharging the blunderbuss at Mr. Burrows, but said he was mad at the time; and to strengthen his assertion, he asked if a man in his senses would do such a thing, to be obliged afterwards to lie about in the fields, and to drink ditch water. He pressed strongly to be admitted to bail, and offered £10,000 deposit to be allowed to return home. He was committed to Clerkenwell prison. It appears he has been acting the part of a madman in New Prison, his conduct having been so violently obstreperous as to cause a removal from the room where he was first confined, to another part of the prison, where coercion has been resorted to as necessary to restrain his violence.

to follow him. He proceeded to York House, and knocked at the door; the porter observing his very strange appearance, did not open the door; however, he repeated his knocks with a degree of consequence, which induced the porter to open the door. He then presented a letter for the Duke of York, observing, that it was upon State affairs, and it must be given him directly. The porter told him it was impossible to deliver the letter to his Royal Highness immediately, but he should haveit very shortly, with which he appeared satisfied, observing the contents was of the utmost concern for the Duke to know, and said he should call again at about ten o'clock. He then left York House, and proceeded along the Park.

CHILD MURDER.-An adjourned Coroner's Inquest sat at a public-house in Pall-Mall, on Wednesday morning, May 27, on the view of the body of a newly born infant child. It was stated in evidence, that the mother of the infant was cook in a gentleman's family in Pall-Mall, and her pregnancy was a secret to all but another maid-servant. The mother delivered herself secretly in the privy on the preceding Monday, and on the other servant hearing an infant cry, she ran into the yard and inquired what was the matter. The unnatural mother had put the infant down the privy, but it did not admit of secreting it; and she next deposited it in the dust-hole. The other servant followed her thither with a candle, which the mother put out, and whilst the former ran up stairs to give an alarm, she lastly concealed the infant in the coal-hole, where it was found much bruised, and it survived only a few hours. The Jury adjourned to get farther professional evidence as to the cause of death and after Mr. Morris, a surgeon, had been examined, they returned a verdictKilling and Slaying.-The mother was conveyed to St James's Workhouse.

ATTEMPTED SUICIDE.-A respectable young woman, the daughter of industrious tradespeople, in Mary-le-Bone-lane, who was nurserymaid in a family in Alpha-road, Mary-le-bone, lately threw herself from a second floor back window into a paved yard; but miraculously without fracturing a bone. After recovering from the sudden effects of the fall, she attempted to cut her throat. The motive which induced the rash attempt is not known. The

STRANGE OCCURRENCE.-Tuesday morning, June 2, a little before eight o'clock, a man of a very genteel appearance, dressed in black silk stockings, black small clothes, marcella waistcoat, and dressing-gown, a white night-cap on his head, and carrying a small poker on his left arm, walked through St. James's Park, his unCommon appearance attracted a number of people | young woman is restored to her relations.

PROVINCIALS,

INCLUDING REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES, DEATHS AND MARRIAGES, &c. IN THE SEVERAL COUNTIES OF GREAT BRITAIN.

CORNWALL.

DREADFUL MURDER.-William Bowden, labourer, has lately been committed to Bodmin gaol, charged with the most diabolical murder of his wife. He lived in a cottage near Redruth: a neighbour called at his house on some business, and finding him in a state of great confusion, suspected something unusual had occurred, when he presently found that he was burning the dead corpse of his wife with turf, whom he had previously stabbed to death with many wounds; and there can be no doubt but he meant to have consumed her ashes to prevent discovery.

DEVONSHIRE.

devouring element, although there was a plenti

ful supply of water from a pipe of six inches bore, issuing from the grand reservoir of one thousand three hundred tons. The Commanderin-Chief, Lord Keith, Admiral Buller, Generals Stephens, England, Thomas, and a great number of Naval and Military Officers attended.-It is but justice to the artificers of the Dock-yard to say, that their exertions were never exceeded, and that the seamen and soldiers did their duty.It is consolatory to reflect that the Western Ropehouse did not take fire, as in it are contained immense quantities of combustible matter, and particularly such a quantity of tar as would have threatened destruction to the whole of this magnificent arsenal. The windows of the latter

building were several times on fire, but it was preserved by the activity of the artificers.

DERBYSHIRE.

DARING ROBBERY.-A most wanton and wick ed outrage was committed in the night of Thursday, May 7, on the property of Mr. John Drinkwater, a respectable farmer, of Bugsworth, in the

FIRE IN PLYMOUTH DOCK-YARD.-At halfpast four on Monday morning, June 6, the watchman stationed on Bunker's-hill perceived smoke issuing from a part of one of the Rope Houses, and on going to the spot, the flames burst from various parts of the roof. He instantly returned to his station, directed the soldier on duty to fire his piece, and rang the bell on the station, which was repeated by all the Dock-yard bells in succession, by the Salva-parish of Glossop. His wife, who occasionally dor del Mundo, the flag-ship in Hamoaze, and by all the shipping. The bell at the Dock-yard gates also rang to alarm the people belonging to the Dock-yard, who, with their usual alacrity, repaired to the scene of action. The boats of the men of war were also dispatched full of men to 'assist in extinguishing the fire, and the whole of the military in garrison were also marched into the Dock-yard, the drums having previously beat to arms. The flames raged with a violence which completely baffled the efforts of all present to subdue them: the artizans, however, of the Dock-yard, with their characteristic activity, saved the valuable machinery of the Rope-house, by cutting down a part of the building at each of its ends, the middle being irremediably wrapped in flames. The scene was singularly awful.-The Rope-house, perhaps the finest and longest in Europe, and nearly one thousand two hundred feet in length, exhibited at one time, with the exception of an inconsiderable quantity at each end, one tremendous line of flame. The engines of the Dock-yard, of the largest bore made, the Gun-wharf engine, of immense size, the engines of the Laboratory, &c. in vain played upon the

acts as a midwife, was called up at midnight, to attend a woman who was named to her; but she had no sooner opened the door than she was beset by a number of ruffians who presented pistols and demanded a hundred pounds of her. She said there was very little money in the house, but what there was they might take. Upon this they rushed in, having their faces disfigured, and she opened to them all the drawers and cupboards, from which they took what they liked, including twenty pounds in money, ten cheeses, twenty sheets, blankets, pillow-cases, &c. for six beds, besides all her husband's and children's clothes. The ale and liquors in the cellars they drank or spilled in the place, broke pickle and preserve pots, scattering and trampling their contents, together with a quantity of butter, cream, and other provisions, on the floor. All this time a fellow stood over her husband as he lay in bed, brandishing a sword, and threatening him with instant death if he stirred. The honest man lay still, and he had a good reason for so doing, besides the sword that glittered over his head, for under it was a case containing two hundred pounds in money, and the writings of his little