of 100, drew together a numerous and genteel fet of people from great distances, who, in regard to his good character, &c. made an handfome collection. The younger part of the company chofe generally to dance with the bridegroom, who herein behaved in a very brifk and lively manner, giving to all the highest fatisfaction. Ile is ftrongHe built, middle fized, his looks as extraordinary as his performances, being frefher than moft men at feventy.

Mr. Merchet, of St. Anne's, Weftminster, aged 97, was lately married to Mrs. Jourdain, aged 67. Mrs. Roe, in Spital-fields, was lately delivered of two girls and a boy.

Died. Captain Richard Aylmer, at Chapel Izod, near Dublin, aged 102. He ferved in the armies of king Charles and king James..

Mr. Ifaac Thornton, of Southwark, aged 102.

Henry Fleet, of Ely, aged 106. Died lately, John Williamfon, of Pennybridge, in Lancashire, aged 101.

tainment in a feparate article after the Chronicle.]

His majelty was pleafed to confer the honour of knighthood on John Fielding, Efq.

One of the fmaileft horfes ever feen, is brought over in the Latham, Moffat, lately arrived from the EastIndies; he is only two feet ten inches high, and belongs to a gentleman who came paffenger in the fhip from Bengal. It is faid there are as fmall horfes in the Highlands and western islands of Scotland, particularly the island of Terie, belonging to the duke of Argyle.

3d.

The Almirante and Capitana with fome other fhips under their convoy, lately arrived at Cadiz, with 7,500,000 dollars on board. A dollar is worth about 4s. 9d.

They write from, Beziers, in Languedoc, that at the laft affembly of the academy of fciences there, the fieur de Rouviere, one of the members, communicated an obfervation on a kind of caterpillar found on pine trees, in the country of Gex; the cocoons of which yield a filver-coloured filk. According to him thefe infects do not fix on any other trees but pines. From whence he infers, that a great quantity of very fine filk might be produced by planting pines in uncultivated lands, and tranfporting thither a number of these caterpillars. Rouviere affirms, that he has feen in the villages of Farges, ftockings, manufactured with the filk produced from the cocoons of thofe infects.

Gurnet and Campbell were 5th. executed at Tyburn; the former for house-breaking, the latter for forgery. Haynes was reprieved. [M] 2 6th. His

His excellency the earl of 6th. Hallifax, lord lieutenant of Ireland, arrived at Dublin, where he was received with all the honours ufual upon fuch occafions.

The right hon. William Gerrard Hamilton, principal fecretary of ftate to his excellency, was fworn of his majefty's molt hon. privy council, and took his feat at the board accordingly.

We are informed that Mr. Robt. Waddington, who accompanied the rev. Mr. Nevil Mafkelyne, F.R.S. to St. Helena, in the Prince Henry Indiaman, capt. Hoggis, is returned in the Oxford Indiaman, capt. Webber, and relates as follows: That they failed from the road of St. He len, near Portsmouth, the 17th of Jan. 1761, and arrived at St. Helena the 6th of April, with their inftruments in good condition; they had an obfervatory made upon a hill about half a mile higher than the furface of the fea, wherein they had their inftruments for obferving the tranfit of Venus over the fun: they made feveral obfervations of the tranfit of Venus over the fun's difk, but could not fee the contacts, the day being very rainy and cloudy. Their obfervations of fundry kinds will be laid before the royal fociety at their meetings; alfo the refults of their obfervations made on their voyage of finding the longitude of the fhip at fea, and, when made, the island; likewife of the obfervations made on their return in the Oxford; which obfervations we fhall take the firft opportunity of laying before our readers.

St. James's. The right hon. 9th. William Pitt, having refigned the feals into the king's hands, his majesty was this day pleafed to appoint the earl of Egremont to be

one of his majesty's principal fecretaries of ftate. And in confideration of the great and important fervices of the faid Mr. Pitt, his majesty has been graciously pleased to direct, that a warrant be prepared for granting to the lady Hefter Pitt, his wife, a barony of Great Britain, by the name, ftile, and title, of baronefs of Chatham, to herself, and of baron of Chatham, to her heirs male; and alfo to confer upon the faid William Pitt, Efq; an annuity of three thousand pounds fterling, during his own life, and that of lady Hefter Pitt, and their fon John Pitt, Efq.

St. James's. Earl Temple, keeper of the king's privy-feal, refigned the faid feal into his majesty's hands.

At the quarter feffions of 10th. the peace, held at Kingston upon Thames, for the county of Surry, which ended this day, near five hundred prifoners were difcharged from the King's bench prifon, New-gaol, and Marfhalfea, on the compulfive claufe, in the late act for the relief of infolvent debtors; when fathers compelled their fons; fons compelled their fathers; brothers and fifters compelled brothers and fifters; and bailiffs compelled thofe that employed them, &c. &c. there being no power given by the act to fwear the compelling creditor to the juftness of his debt, or to make him attend to answer any questions. But it appearing to the court in four or five instances, that there were frauds, the prifoners were remanded back. One inftance was very remarkable: a perfon in the Borough had undertaken, for a fum of money, to get a. prifoner difcharged; for which purpose he lent a man a bank note

of

of 201. which man immediately lent the fame to the prifoner in cuftody, and which note the prifoner immediately returned to the firft lender; yet the middle man, who only paffed the note from the lender to the prifoner, compelled him to appear to a debt for 201. though the bank note was returned at the time, pretended to be borrowed. One prifoner, whilft waiting in court to be difcharged, had his pocket picked of feven guineas. Thefe practifes, which have been too general, have occafioned great difcontent amongft fuffering creditors.

There lately arrived in the port of London, within the fpace of eight days, no less than 196 fhips in the foreign trade, befides 207 colliers, and 68 coafting veffels; which are the greatest number of fhips that have arrived in the river Thames in fo fhort a time fince the beginning of the prefent war.

The right honourable James 12th. Grenville,brother to earl Temple, refigned the office of cofferer to his majefty, 40001. a year.

14th.

At an occafional fermon preached at Gloucefter cathedral, on the day of the coronation, a collection was made of 891. 11s 4d. for portioning out young women of good characters; which being left to the difpofal of the ladies, fubfcribers to the county infirmary, the faid ladies met this day at the infirmary, and chofe four maids to partake of that bounty, to each of whom the following letter was delivered :

"You have been clected this day by ballot to receive a marriage portion of five pounds, which will be paid you by Mr. Arnold, the fecretary of the infirmary, as foon as you fhall produce a certificate of

your marriage. You will likewife be entitled to a benefaction of five pounds more at the end of the twelve months after your marriage, provided you and your husband fhall be found to deferve good characters during that time. And, in order that you may begin the world properly, without running into unneceffary expence of any fort, the ladies do require, that you be married by banns, and not by licence: and that you do conduct yourselves in all refpects in fuch a manner, as to do credit to their choice, and to become patterns of induftry; fobriety, and good management, to thofe of your rank and station.

"As to the notion which has been spread all over the country, concerning the children of fuch marriages, as if the fons would be taken away to ferve as foldiers, affure yourself, that this is a very great untruth, invented by wicked perfons, who, not willing to do good themfelves, are defirous of preventing any good being done by others. Your children, whether fons or daughters, will be as much the freeborn fubjects of the realm, as the children of the greateft perfon in it."

During a vifit which his royal highnefs the duke of York yefterday paid to admiral Rodney, on board the Marlborough, at Spithead, a common failor got upon the very top of the vane of the main-maft, and ftood there upon his head, waving his hat with his foot feveral times round, to the admiration of his royal highnefs, who made the fellow a handfome prefent for his extraordinary dexterity.

The fociety at Haerlem for pro moting commerce, agriculture, arts and fciences, and whatever tenda [M] 3

to

to the welfare of mankind, has, at its laft annual meeting, declared, that having received little fatisfaction from the feveral memoirs tranf mitted to it, "On the phyfical causes of the prefent much longer continuance of the mortality among the horned cattle than formerly:" that fubject, which has been twice propofed, will be difcontinued; but for the enfuing year, it again propofes another fubject, in which it has received as little fatisfaction, viz. "How women's milk may be increased, leffened, or fuppreffed; the diforders moft commonly arifing from it, with the prevention or cure of them." At the fame time the fociety propofes two new fubjects; the firft, The beft method for long life and health, to be obferved in the cloathing, food, and exercifes of children, from the birth to the age of puberty:" the fecond, "The beft improvements or ufes to be made of the feveral grounds in that country, high and low, according to the different nature of them." The memoirs of the two first fubjects to be fent before the firft of March 1762, to M C C. H. Vander Aa, fecretary to the fociety; and thofe on the third, before the firft of March 1763. They may be written in Dutch, French, or Latin, but very legibly.

Stockholm, Sept. 22. Letters from Nouillis, a town near Abo, mention the following remarkable accident: On the 26th of the laft month, fome minutes before funrifing, all the houfes in the village of Sandamala were heard to give a very loud crack. The inhabitants, being greatly terrified, immediately ran out of their houses, and foon after, to their great aftonishment, faw above half the

houfes fink twelve feet into the earth for the space of fixty-four fathoms. This accident did little damage to the houses, except to the chimneys, and hardly altered the furface of the earth round about them. At the diftance of twentyfour fathoms from thefe houfes there is a little brook, the bed of which is not fo deep as before this accident, but the ground between the houfes and the brook is neither higher nor lower than before. At the time the houfes were finking the perfons prefent heard but little noife; but thofe at a greater diftance thought they heard a loud clap of thunder. A crack was per

ceived in the earth, near the village, the evening before this event, and tho' it is not grown wider fince, the inhabitants are not without apprehenfions of fome accident of the fame nature, frequent cracks being heard in the neighbourhood.

Mr. L

-, a young 15th. woollen draper, in Cornhill, flood on the pillory there for a fodomitical attempt, committed on a boy in a court in Lombard-ftreet, and, notwithstanding advertifements were previously published in the papers to intimidate the populace, and that a greater number of peace-officers were got together to prevent his being pelted, than ever were known on the like occafion; yet the refentment of the people was fo great against him, that in returning to Newgate, they fell furioufly upon the coach that was carrying him, and the officers that had the care of him were obliged to lodge him in the compter, till the mob difperfed.

New fifh warehouses were 16th. opened for the fale of fish brought by land-carriage from fea

ports