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CHRONICLE.

JANUARY.

THE

HERE was a great court at St. James's, to compliment their majefties on the new year, as ufual, but no ode ; an omiffion, which, as there was no apparent reafon for it, occafioned fome furprise, confidering how religiously that cuftom used to be obferved in times when there were neither the fame materials for panegyric, nor the fame genius to work them up. As to the ancient cuftom of public hazard playing at court on twelfth night, it now seems to be entirely laid afide.

4th.

A comet was difcovered by M. de Haan, at Harlem, in the conftellation of the Dragon, about 30 deg. from the Arctic Pole. It was as large as a ftar of the third magnitude, but its tail, which was about 20 min. was very feeble. Next day it was obferved at Tewksbury, Gloucefterfhire, near two small stars in the hand of Bootes.

His moft ferene highness 12th. the hereditary prince of Brunfwick Lunenburgh landed at Harwich from on board his majelty's yacht the princefs Augufta; and on the evening of the next day arrived at Somerfet-houfe, in the king's equipages, attended by feveral noblemen who went to wait his arrival at Harwich.

The next morning his ferene highnefs waited on their majetties' and the reft of the royal family; and on the 16th at feven in the evening the ceremony of the marriage of her royal highness the princefs Augufta with his moft ferene highness was performed in the great council chamber by his grace the archbishop of Canterbury. None but peers and peereffes, peers eldeft fons and peers daughters, privy counfellors and their wives, and foreign minifters, were admitted to be prefent at the ceremony. Their ferene and royal highneffes remained at St. James's till nine, and then repaired to Leicester houfe, where a grand fupper was prepared; at which were prefent their majefties, the princefs dowager, princes William and Henry, and the reft of the royal family. Their majefties about twelve.

went away

The next day their majefties, her royal highnefs the princefs dowager of Wales, and their royal and ferene highneffes the prince and princefs of Brunswick, received the complimens of the nobi lity and gentry, which were followed by moft dutiful and affectionate addreffes from both houfes of parliament and the city of London.

On the 26th, at three in the afternoon, their highneffes fet out for Harwich, loaded with prefents

from

from their majefties, and the reft of the royal family, and attended by the tears of many, and the good wishes of all, which the prince returned by his prayers for the fuccefs of this nation, for which he faid, he had already bled, and would again, with pleasure, on any future occafion. The princefs, in á German travelling habit, and attended by Lady Sufan Stuart and two noblemen, went in one coach, and the prince with fome of the noblemen of his court, followed in another. The princes William and Henry Frederick, and two noblemen, went next in poft-chaifes and four attended by many fervants on horseback, but no guards. By eight, they arrived at the feat of lord Abercorn, at Witham in Effex, where a grand entertainment was provided for their highneffes, and they were met by many of the nobility of both fexes, who had fet out before to fpend the evening with their highneffes.

On the 27th their highneffes fet out for Miftley-hall, and from thence, the next day, arrived at Harwich, where the corporation waited upon them with their compliments of congratulation, and had the honour of kiffing the princefs's hand.

ftay in London, was fumptuoufly entertained by his royal highnes the duke of Cumberland, and many of the principal nobility and gentry, vifited 'every place worth the attention of a traveller, confirming all ranks in thofe fentiments of love and efteem which his behaviour in the British army in Germany had already fo juftly infpired. But no part of his highnefs's behaviour feemed to give so much pleafure as his paying a vifit, in a free and friendly manner worthy of himfelf, to Mr. Pitt, then confined by the gout at his country feat.

Their highneffes, at their fetting out, were pleased to order 500l. each for the relief of poor prifoners for debt.

The mafter of a circulat14th. ing library was tried for felling a fpurious pamphlet, called an Essay on Woman, for that faid to be printed for Mr. W. when a verdict was given against the defendant, who was ordered to pay cofts, and return the purchase money.

In the morning a violent ftorm blew from W. S. W. which did great damage throughout these kingdoms. During the ftorm, two dreadful fires broke out, one near Hyde Park corner, and another On the 29th they embarked in in Ratcliff Highway, but they different yachts, and failed the were both happily extinguifhed, 30th, but did not reach Helvoet-after confuming feven or eight fluys till the 2d of February, hav- houfes each; a small number, con ing been overtaken by very bad fidering how fiercely they burned, weather, in which there was the and how faft they spread, the roofs greatest reafon to fear their high- of the houses being all in a flame neffes had perifhed, as it was fe- before any of the floors were daveral days before any certain and maged. agreeable account of them reached London.

His ferene highness, during his

Laft week the driver of a stage machine going to Newbury, fell dead from his box within three

with

miles of that place, but was not
miffed by the paffengers till after
their arrival, the horfes having
brought them to their inn
out any ftop or accident; a re-
markable inftance of the great
fagacity and tractableness of that

noble animal.

17th.
Ended the feffions at the
Old Bailey, when nine male-
factors received fentence of death;
viz. five for burglary; one for for-
gery; one for a footpad robbery;
and two women for privately steal-
ing; but, except two for burglary,
and the criminal for forgery, they
were afterwards pardoned, on con-
dition of tranfportation. Thirty-
fix were fentenced to be tranfport-
ed for seven years, one for fourteen
years; two were branded, and one
was whipped.

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18th. A furprizing meteor was obferved at St. Neot's, 36 min. after five in the evening; its appearance was a pale red, in contact with a condenfed cloud, and in one min. 34 fec. formed a femicircle oppofite. the moon, and by the refraction of its rays was a bright rainbow, a thing rarely, if ever, obferved after fun-fet.

At the adjourned fellions of the peace for the city of London, at Guildhall, the court was pleafed to order, that journeymen taylors fhall be allowed 2s. 7d. half-penny per day, the whole year, and their hours of working to be from fix in the morning to eight at night: but in cafe of the earl marihal's order for a general mourning, they are to be allowed five fhillings perday for a limited time. 25th. His majesty went to the houfe of peers, and gave

ferene highness the prince of Brunswick.

The bill for punishing mutiny and defertion.

And to fome private bills. At a general court of the gover nors of the bank, it appeared, that they had obtained a renewal of their charter, which was almost expired, for 21 years, from 1765, on confideration of their paying toward the fupplies 110,0001. and lending the government a million on exchequer bills, to the year 1766, at 3 per cent. and then to be paid off.

There was obferved at St. 31ft. Neot's, 42 minutes after fix o'clock in the evening, 6 min. to the east of Rigel, a ftar of the first magnitude in the left foot of Orion, and in eight deg. 29 min. 24 fec. fouth declination, a globe of fire; its apparent diameter was about two thirds of the moon's, with a long tail of five times its diameter. As the moon was not above the horizon, and the sky very clear, it appeared very luminous, and enlightened the whole atmosphere, which reflected the rays of light, as if the fun had been above the horizon. This phænomenon moved with great velocity, for it was near the top of the terreftrial atmosphere, which perhaps was raifed to a pyramid, 15 or 16 miles higher than when the balance is in equilibrio, caufed by the preffure of the atmosphere on the nadir; in its motion, it croffed the meridian inclining to the weft, in an angle of 15 degrees; it was about 39 fec. falling to the earth.

The following extract from a letter of Mr. Bart. Rocque of Waldam-Green, dated the 6th of The bill for naturalizing his last month, cannot fail of giving

the royal affent to

great

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great pleasure to all thofe who are zealous for the happiness of mankind, and thefe countries in particular, and know how much that happiness is promoted by every improvement in agriculture.

"Tis true I have forty acres of land, but have but about ten in lucern. As to what they fay of my making thirty-five pounds per acre, I will tell you how that was.

"I fold the firft, fecond, third, and fourth mowings at a fhilling per rod, which came to thirtytwo pounds per acre: Then I mowed it a fifth time, fo fuppofe they computed the fifth to come to three pounds. Which certainly made thirty-five pounds, which it did. But I don't approve mowing it fo often; for it bleeds it too much, and gives too much air to the natural grafs the ground is inclined to bear.

"If your foil is very good, you can make feven or eight loads per

acre."

In confideration of this furprifing improvement, the fociety of arts foon after adjudged Mr. Rocque a bounty of fifty guineas; and we hope they will foon have occafion to grant more bounties of the like kind to others, in proportion as the practice recommended by the ingenious Mr. Stillingfleet, and enforced by the offer of premiums on the part of the fociety, of cultivating graffes, apart, in the foils and after the manner, most agreeable to their refpective natures, extends itself.

In the courfe of this month there fell fuch heavy rains in these kingdoms, in Germany, Holland, Flanders, and the northern provinces of France, that most of their low lands were overflowed by

the breaking of banks and rifing of rivers, &c. and vaft numbers of cattle were drowned, or perished for want of fodder. Many people likewife loft their lives. In fome places, even where no banks had been destroyed, the waters remained till the year was far advanced.

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Edinburgh, January 25. At a meeting of our prefbytery this day, upon a motion made by a member, that a paragraph in the London news-papers, dated Thursday, Jan. 12, to Saturday, Jan. 14, fhould be read; it was read accordingly, and is as follows: "They write from Edinburgh, that fince the 24th of September laft, 29 couples, from different parts of England, have been married in that city, according to the church of Scotland." The presbytery of Edinburgh think it their duty, in juftification of themselves, and the rest of their brethren of the established church of Scotland, to fay and declare, that not one of these marriages, nor any marriage of that kind, has been performed by any minifter of this prefbytery, nor, fo far as they know, by any minifter of this establifhed church. What forms the celebrators of fuch marriages have obferved, whether those of the church of England, or of the church of Scotland, this prefbytery knows not.

Paris, Jan. 15th. The duke of Fitz-James's affair is just settled to his honour, after three meetings of the dukes and peers at the palace royal, in which there were warm debates. The chief fubject of thefe debates was, whether the parliament of Thouloufe had a power to take him into cuftody. The

prince of Conti fpoke a full hour, with great eloquence, in favour of Fitz-James, but was answered by the duke of Orleans, and the prince of Condé, who both vindicated the parliament of Thouloufe; who, on the whole, have no reafon to be difpleased with the arret on this fubject, fince it confirms their rights and privileges, and thereby thofe of all the other parliaments, who are, thereupon, beginning to enter on the exercise of their functions; fo that the diforders occafioned by the two edicts, and the declaration of April last, must foon give place to order, concord, and tranquillity. The joy occafioned by this profpect of peace is not a little heightened by that of plenty, the king having iffued an edict for the free commerce of grain; in confequence of which, it is to be hoped we fhall no longer fee our beft lands lying fallow in the moft favourable feafons; or our poor perifhing for want of bread in one part of the kingdom, whilst the corn is rotting in the granaries of another.

The inhabitants of Sta. Lucia have discovered an animal flower. In

a cavern of that ifle, near the fea, is a large bafon, from twelve to fifteen feet deep, the water of which is very brackish, and the bottom compofed of rocks, from whence at all times proceed certain fubftances, which prefent at first fight beautiful flowers, of a bright fhining colour, and pretty nearly refembling our fingle marigolds; only that their tint is more lively. These feeming flowers, on the approach of a hand or inftrument, retire, like a fnail, out of fight. On examining this fubfance clofely, there appears in VOL. VII.

the middle of the disk' four brown filaments, refembling fpiders legs, which move round a kind of yellow petals, with a pretty brifk and fpontaneous motion. Thefe legs re-unite like pincers to feize their prey; and the yellow petals immediately clofe to fhut up that prey, fo that it cannot escape. Under this appearance of a flower is a brown ftalk of the bigness of a raven's quill, and which appears to be the body of fome animal. It is probable that this ftrange animal lives on the spawn of fifh, and the fmall infects which the fea throws up into the bafon.

Mrs. Jordan, of Southwark, was lately delivered of three boys.

Died lately. The celebrated Dr. King, principal of St. Maryhall, Oxford.

Mary Blafgrave, at Oxford, aged 106. She lived a widow 85 years. Mr. Lane, of Norton, Glouceftershire, aged 107.

FEBRUARY.

Mr. Blake, to whofe laudable endeavours, under the pa- lft. tronage of the fociety for the encouragement of arts, manufactures, and commerce, to fupply the markets of this great city with fifh by land carriage, the public is fo much indebted, was this day almoft unanimoufly releafed from his obligation of 1,5001. advanced to him by that fociety, on his pledged fecurity, over and above the 2,0001. configned to his difcretionary ufe in that undertaking. And, foon af ter,, the parliament, thoroughly convinced of the great ufefulnefs of this fcheme, and his great [E]

zeal

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