ship here, (Tisiphone.) Sir Harford Jones was on board on his return from Persia, via the Mediterranean. One of the pilot-boats was on board in an hour after she struck. She is within a few yards of one of those stupendous rocks, and providentially no wind: if there had been so much as there was the night before, every soul would have perished.

EXTRAORDINARY ROBBERY.-The following are the particulars of a late robbery at Portsmouth, which, for audacity and effrontery, exceeds all parallel in the history of thieving within our knowledge. It was committed by a man whose first offence this is supposed to be, and who has thereby brought disgrace upon a family of consequence and the highest respectability. On Sunday evening se'nnight, the Hon. Mr Crof ton, the person accused, who had been lodging at the Crown Inn, at Portsmouth, for about a fortnight, previous to his sailing for India, where he was going out as an aide-de-camp to a general, joined the company of Mr Bradbury, the celebrated clown, who had lately arrived at Portsmouth from Plymouth, and two gentlemen, to supper in the coffee-room. Mr Bradbury is in possession of a very curious and valuable snuff-box, which is made in the shape of a large hunting watch, which Mr Bradbury is not a little vain of, and always takes care to sport it in company, and his vanity is not a little flattered by strangers noticing and admiring it: he accordingly handed it round to this party, by whom it was as usual admired. Mr C. particularly noticed it. They broke up about twelve o'clock, when Bradbury left the house, and went to the Blue Posts Inn, where he lodged. In a short time after he missed his box, and went back to the Crown to enquire for it. He saw the porter, who told him he had not heard of such an article being found; if he had left it there, it

would be taken care of; and also told him that all the gentlemen whom he had supped with were gone to bed. With this account Bradbury left the house, entertaining no doubt he should have his box in the morning. The first thing in the morning, he set off for the Crown Inn, to recover his box; in his way there, he met Mr C., to whom he communicated the loss of his box.-Mr C. denied any knowledge of it, and at the same time informed Bradbury, as an extraordinary circumstance, that his bed-room had been robbed of his gold watch, chain, and seals, in the course of the night, and he was then on his way to a Jew's in that town, a silversmith and a watchmaker, to desire him, in case such ar ticles were offered to him for sale, to stop the person, and give notice to him. Bradbury was much astonished at this account, and began to entertain doubts as to the safety of his box, he having hitherto concluded that he had either left it on the supper-table, or some of the gentlemen whom he was in company with having put it into their pockets out of frolic to tease him; however, when he got to the Crown Inn, the gentlemen he had supped with pledged their honour they did not know any thing of the box; the same pledge was given by Mr C. when he met him. All the servants declared most solemnly they had not seen it. As soon as this enquiry had finished, it was discovered that Lieut. Lloyd's room had been robbed of bank-notes to the amount of 321.; Lieut. Prowis, of his Majesty ship Hamadryad, of a gold watch chain, and two gold seals; the purser of the Regulus, of a silver watch, gold chain, and two gold seals. All these gentlemen's rooms were on the second floor, where Mr C.'s room was. These discoveries excited considerable alarm throughout the house, and in some degree in the town. A proposition was made for the parties to

stand search; but the purser of the Regulus, who had been robbed, declared that no man should search him or his trunks ; in consequence no searching took place. Mr C. took advantage of this, and had the audacity to charge him in the public room with being the robber. The purser repented of this rash refusal to be searched, but accounted for it at the moment, feeling extremely indignant at being robbed of his property, and then to be suspected of being the robber. The house was a scene of confusion the whole day. On the Monday, printed bills were issued, offering rewards for the recovery of the property, and the detection of the thieves. Mr C. was the most violent about the loss of his watch, and insinuating suspicions against respectable characters. NoNothing being discovered during that day, on the Tuesday Mr Hanmer, the landlord of the Crown Inn, being greatly alarmed for the character and respectability of his house, on hearing that Mr Graham the magistrate, belonging to the Bow-street Office, was in the town, applied to him, who wrote off for Rivett, the officer, to come down. The officer arrived there on Thursday morning, and on seeing Bradbury at the door of the Crown Inn, hailed him as an old acquaintance, and asked if he had been done; he acknowledged that he had. Rivett proceeded into the bar with Bradbury to Mr Hanmer, the landlord, when Rivett was put in possession of every particular respecting the business; Bradbury expressing his suspicion of Mr C. At that instant they saw Mr C. walking in the street, and called him in : the landlord introduced Rivett to him, and told him the officer was come to investigate the alarming robberies that had been committed in his house. Mr C. however knew Rivett had been sent for, therefore expressed no surprise, but on the contrary appeared glad to see him, and

hoped he would be able to detect the thief, and recover him his valuable watch again. Rivett proposed that he should search the trunks and the house generally, which was agreed to most cordially by all; the officer then observed, that as Mr C. appeared to be going further in a hurry, he would begin with him first, which would prevent his being detained, which Mr C. immediately assented to without any hesitation, and instantly delivered up the keys of his trunks and boxes which he was going to take with him to India: he accompanied the officer to his room, Bradbury and others being admitted as spectators. Rivett made a particular search, without being able to find any thing of a suspicious nature; he then addressed Mr C. in a respectful manner, observing that the most unpleasant part of his duty to be performed was to search his person. Till this he had appeared as unconcerned and in as high spirits as any other person; he then, however, appeared much confused, and changed colour. Rivett was proceeding to search him as a matter of course, when he requested that every body would leave the room except the officer and Bradbury, which request was complied with; he then slipped Bradbury's box into his hand, asking forgiveness, begging him to spare his life, and went down on his knees and entreated for mercy: this was all done in an instant. Rivett did not allow Bradbury to keep his box, called Mr C. the thief, and proceeded to search him by force, and found the whole of the property that had been stolen in the house. Rivett not conceiving he had got the whole of the bank-notes, asked him where the remainder was, when he pointed to a pocket-book which was under the foot of the bed, and while Rivett loosened him and was in the act of stooping down to pick it up, Mr C. caught up a penknife and was detected in the act of

cutting his throat, with as much force as is used with an unsharpened knife. Rivett and Bradbury seized an arm each, and forced the knife from him, but he appeared so determined on his own destruction, that he twisted his head about in different ways to make the wound larger. He bled most profusely; a shirt and other linen was applied to stop the bleeding. An alarm was given, doctors called for, and there were about a dozen ships' surgeons, in the course of a few minutes, in the room, who, after taking a slight view of the wound, said the jugular vein was cut, and he would die in a short time. This, however, proved to be an erroneous opinion. To prevent Mr C. from making the wound larger, by twisting his head about, he was braced up with linen round his neck so tight, that he could not move it. A surgeon of the town, with two assistants, came afterwards, and after seeing the wound, gave it as their opinion it was possible for him to recover, and by the assistance of some soldiers holding him, they dressed the wound. His clothes were then cut off, and he was carried down stairs into a larger room. During this operation, he coughed violently, but whether naturally, or by design to make his wound worse, was not ascertained; however, it had the effect of setting it a bleeding again, and the dressing was obliged to be repeated.

The circumstance of Mr C. being guilty of such acts, his brother Capt. Č. and respectable family being known at the house and in the town, collected a considerable mob about the house, so much so, that the military were called out to regulate them.-Two men sat up with Mr C. all night.

On Friday morning the depositions of the witnesses were taken before the mayor, and Mr C. was committed.

16th.--CAMBRIDGE.Yesterday morning, between three and four o'.

clock, a fire was discovered in some, apartments in the centre of the south side of Emmanuel College. The gentleman in whose rooms the fire is supposed to have originated was awoke by a strong smell of burning, and upon opening his bed-room door, the flames burst in upon him, and he with difficulty saved his life by jumping out of the window into the garden; his face and hands were dreadfully burnt. All his furniture, books, and money, amounting to upwards of 1201. in notes, were instantly consumed. The alarm was immediately given, and several engines speedily arrived, but the flames had proceeded considerably in their devastating progress ere they could be got to play with effect. Happily there was no wind, or in all probability the whole of the college must have been destroyed. The picture gallery, master's lodge, and library, remain uninjured. The fire, after having spread from the centre of the building to both extremities, was, by the great exertion used, got under by about nine o'clock. We are sorry to state, that nearly the whole of the south building has been consumed, and exhibits a most melancholy appearance, being the mere shell of 12 sets of elegant apartments, chiefly the residence of Fellows and Fellow-Commoners. Some of the furniture was luckily rescued, together with the papers belonging to the University in the possession of the Registrary, whose apartments were in that part of the college. No lives were lost during the dreadful confusion occasioned by the fire, though several persons were much hurt.—The loss sustained by this calamitous event is estimated at little short of 20,000l.

Sunday se'nnight, Peter Sherring, a pilot, from Cowes, in the Isle of Wight, came as a passenger by the Deal coach, on his way to London, and stopped at the Chest Arms Tavern, Chatham, where he was persuaded to remain till

the morning, that he might recover from the effects of a blow he had received on the head in consequence of a fall on Chatham-hill, whilst jumping from off the coach, being alarmed at the fall of one of the horses. He went to bed apparently composed, but at about three o'clock in the morning, a gentleman sleeping in the next room awoke on hearing a strange noise, and going to the window of his room, saw the pilot hanging by his hands on the sill of the window, and heard him "She's sinking, she's sinking; now, my boys!" when he let go his hold, and fell into the street. An alarm was instantly given, when the landlord, Mr Chany, arose, and sent for surgical assistance; but the unfortunate man was too much injured to be relieved, his skull was fractured, and he died in about two hours after the accident.

say,

Miss Esther Smith, the daughter of the late Mr Charles Smith, boat-builder, of Greenwich, who, after the decease of her parents, went to reside with a relation, Mrs Symmonds, at Bexley, in Kent, and came to Greenwich on Wednesday, the 16th ult., where she stayed with her relatives for two days, till the Friday morning following, when she took her leave to return to Bexley, has not been since heard of. It is much feared she was murdered in her way home by some gypsies who frequented a neighbouring wood, the skirts of which she was obliged to pass. She was abused by some of them as she was going to Greenwich, but being a little deaf, could not distinctly hear what they said. The wood has been searched, but nothing found that could lead to discovery; but the gypsies decamped the next day.

Monday morning a serious mischief had nearly taken place at Chelmsford gaol. As the head turnkey was attending his duty in the debtor's yard, delivering allowances of bread, he was

attacked by one of the debtors from behind with a fork, and stabbed first in the shoulder, and then under the left breast, and would, from the suddenness of the attack, in all probability have been killed, if assistance had not been immediately at hand. This unfortunate debtor has been confined near eight years for an original debt of sixty pounds, and for the last two or three years has shewn symptoms of mental derangement.

Monday se'nnight, at night, a smuggling vessel, laden with 600 tubs of spirits, and a large quantity of lace, ran ashore on the end of the beach of Landguard Fort, which they could not get off again. They then threw the liquor overboard and made their escape. The soldiers at the garrison fell in with it, and four of them drank to such excess that they are since dead. The Viper, Excise cutter, Captain Morgan, has secured half the liquor, and also succeeded in getting the vessel off, and is in pursuit of the remain. ing part of the cargo. It seems the smugglers mistook the Harwich lights for the Oxfordness lights.

A man who holds a small farm near St Alban's, and who has ever been looked upon as a most eccentric being, made his entrée into the latter place, on Saturday last, in the following manner, viz. mounted on a small car, which was actually drawn by four large hogs. He entered the town at a brisk trot, amidst the acclamations of hundreds, who were soon drawn together to witness this strange spectacle. After making the tour of the market-place three or four times, he came into the Woolpack-yard, had his swinish cattle regularly unharnessed, and taken into a stable together, where they were regaled with a trough full of beans and wash. They remained about two hours in the town, during which time he dispatched his business as usual at the market, when they were again put

to, and driven home again, multitudes cheering him to the very end of the place. This man has only had these animals under training six months, and it is surprising to what a high state of docility he has brought them. A gentlemen on the spot offered him 501. for the concern as it stood, but it was refused.

Lieutenant Perceval, of the 5th West India regiment, lately met with his death at Fort Augusta barracks, Jamaica, in the following singular manner :-While going into his bed-room, he fell through extreme weakness, and his head striking on a bottle which stood on the floor and was broken by the fall, cut him so dreadfully about the temples as to render all the efforts of the regimental surgeons to staunch the blood ineffectual. He died in a few minutes.

Mr J, on whose premises a very valuable collection of Roman antiquities was a short time since discovered, died on Sunday last with the gout in his stomach. His property, which amounts to between three and four hundred thousand pounds, he gained many years since by some very successful contracts in saltpetre. Never having been married, he has bequeathed the whole of his immense fortune, with the exception of a few trifling legacies, to his nephew, but upon this sole and express condition, that he shall cause his body, after being inclosed in a leaden coffin, to be deposited in a small room, built by the deceased during his life-time, on the top of a melting-house. In failure of this injunction, the whole property is willed to be added to the funds of Rowland Hill's chapel. His nephew does not intend losing the bequest on the score of non-compliance. He has already caused the chamber to be fitted up with black cloth, and the funeral is to take place on Monday next, when the

body will be deposited agreeably to the injunctions of his uncle's will.

18th. CURIOUS CASE.-At the Quarter Sessions for the borough of Leeds, on Monday last, John Burnley, weaver, of Beeston, was brought before the court on a charge of deserting his family, and leaving them chargeable to the township. When he was placed at the bar, he was interrogated in the following terms :

Court.-What reason have you to assign for deserting your family, and leaving them chargeable to the township?

Prisoner. I was called by the Word of God so to do.

Court.-Where have you lived since, and what have you done?

Prisoner.-I have lived at Potovens, near Wakefield, and have worked at my business as a weaver.

Court.-What can you earn a week upon an average?

Prisoner. From 18 to 20 shillings per week.

Court.-And how do you dispose of it?

Prisoner.-After supplying my own necessities, I distribute the rest among my poor neighbours.

Court.-But should not your wife and children be the first objects of your care and bounty?

Prisoner.-No; unless they are in greater distress than all others.

Court. The Scripture, which you profess to follow, says, speaking of the relation of man and wife, that they shall be one flesh; of course you are under as great an obligation to maintain her as yourself.

Prisoner.The Scripture saith, Whom God hath joined together let no man put asunder; but God never joined me and my wife together.

Court.-Who then did?

Prisoner. I have told you who did not, you may easily judge who did.