On the 23d of November I arrived in England, on board of his majesty's fhip Portland.I cannot conclude, without expreffing my obligations to vice-admiral Campbell, for his great. humanity and attention to me, and my miferable furviving fellow fufferers: to that I muft, in a great measure, attribute the recovery of my health; for when reached Newfoundland, I was fo emaciated that my life could fcarcely be expected; and I cannot be fufficiently thankful to providence, for fupporting and preferving me through fuch diftreffes, with the addition of several wounds, from which my right arm is, I fear, rendered useless. JOHN BOURCHIER. ACCOUNT of the LOSS of the DARTMOUTH EASTINDIAMAN. Written by an intelligent Seaman, who was on board her. WE failed from Madras the 8th of June, with a very fair wind, which continued 'till the 16th, when the weather began to change, and continued very unfettled and fqually 'till the 16th. The day before the accident happened, it had occafionally blown very hard; but as we were not more than three days diftant from the land, there could not be the least suspicion of any danger. Towards the close of the day, the wind rather encreased, and the currents running at the fame time very strong, carried us infenfibly upon the island which is called Car Nicabar. No language can defcribe the dreadful confufion which prevailed on board, when we had the first notice of our fituation. The night was uncommonly dark; the raging of the wind, and dafhing of the furges against the rocks, were truly horrible. Every effort was exerted for a confiderable time to fave us the mafts were attempted to be cut down and cleared away, but all in vain; for about three o'clock in the morning the ship ftruck, and in less than an hour after was broken fairly in two. There were feveral paffengers on board, among whom were two ladies : one had been brought-to-bed only a week before. The cries, the prayers, the imprecations, of the different people on board, cannot be painted; fome of the men breaking open the chefts of liquor, others plunging into the ocean. One feaman, who had broke both his arms, hung by his teeth for a confiderable time, and then dropped into the fea; another was jammed between two chefts, and remained for feveral hours in that state, without receiving the leaft affiftance. Almost all who trufted to their fwimming were loft, while thofe who remained on the two broken partitions of the wrecks were faved. For the honour of the two ladies, they difplayed uncommon courage and collectednefs during the whole scene, and were both got fafe on shore. As foon as day-light began to appear, the horrors of our fituation were clearly discovered; rocks around us on every fide! before us a favage island! dead bodies scattered upon the beach in great numbers, and goods of every kind laying as far as the eye could travel on the shore. It was near three in the afternoon before we were all landed. Most of us were naked, and all the fupplies we could procure to cover us, were fome filks and mullins which we picked up on the fhore. About forty of us, men and women together, lay for a confiderable time under a few trees on the beach, whose foliage was not fufficiently thick to fhelter us from the fcorching rays of the fun. Thofe, however, who had received no injury, were foon enabled to walk over to the other fide of the island, where the Chapman lay at anchor; but the remainder of us, who had been bruifed and wounded by the wreck, were compelled to remain there three days in that most dreadful fituation. Our only fubfiftence were a few cocoa nuts, which grew near us. To defcribe the island itfelf, it might be near twenty miles round, but thinly inhabited with favages, who went naked, except about the waist, and lived in huts raised upon pillars, which they afcended by a kind of ladder. The men carried cutlaffes in their hands, without handles; which inftruments they employed in cutting their cocoas. There were geefe in the island, and the largest hogs I ever remember to have seen, being nearly as large as the fmall bullocks at Madras. The natives are tributary to the king of Pigou, who annually receives from them a certain number of fhips, laden with the produce of the island. The land was very flat, and occafionally overflowed, but inter. fperfed with fmall clumps of beautiful trees, which give it a romantic and picturefque appearance. Too much commendation cannot be given to captain Walker, for his politeness, attention, and humanity, on every occafion. Every poffible provifion was made on board his fhip for the paffengers, together with the fick and wounded, after we were got on board the Chapínan. I believe there never was a more valuable fhip came to Europe than the Dartmouth. The lofs may be fairly estimated at 200,000l. fterling. There was a confiderable quantity of dia. monds on board, befides bags of gold to a very great amount. The captain of the Dartmouth, and all the officers, made every poffible poffible exertion to fave the fhip; neither was there the minutest want of good feamanship, or good conduct, in the whole affair. ANECDOTES of the COURT of BRUSSELS. SIR, To the PRINTER. HOUGH the court of Bruffels is not graced with a fovereign prince and princefs, yet I may venture to affirm, that no court in Europe is conducted with more elegance or true politeness. Prince Charles (of refpectable memory) had no princefs; and of course, in his time, ladies did not go to court: but the prefent arch-dutchess (who, you know, is fifter to the emperor,) dines conftantly in public, and does the honours of her table with the fame munificence and elegance with which it is covered. A few days fince, twenty-eight perfons (eighteen of whom were English) had the honour of dining with her royal highnefs; and, what is very fingular, is, her highness, in the old English ftyle, ferved every perfon at table. The dinner confifted of two courfes, of infinite variety, and a defert. They fit down at table about a quarter after two, and rife from it about half after three; but, before they retire, tokay and punch is ferved round, the latter in particular to the English, as her royal highness conceives punch to be their favourite liquor; which punch, however, may be called, more properly, by the plain name of good shrub, for I have reason to believe the pure element is quite omitted. During dinner, the converfation is rather general than otherwife; after which, the company retire to another apartment, and fit in a circle, when the arch-dutchefs (to avoid the appearance of too much form) takes out her knitting; during which time, coffee is ferved, and about five the company retire. Thefe dinners are given twice a week, during the winter feafon; for in the fummer their royal highneffes have a more rational amusement-for then they converfe with nature in all her beauty on a spot in which they are erecting a moft magnificem palace. The arch-dutchefs is very handfome, of rather small ftature, between thirty and forty years of age; but, what is ftill more pleafing to behold, is, (follow it ye other princes of the earth,) their highneffes live in the most affectionate intimacy, and are scarce ever seen asunder. There is certainly fomething in fuperior breeding, or an eafe which conscious high birth and rank is accompanied with, incon ceivably ceivably captivating. The first time I faw the arch-dutchess, was at her entree into the theatre; and when the audience gave a plaudit, fhe rapped her fan on the fide of her box, and looked fo captivatingly well-bred, that, had fhe been an equal, I should inftantly have fallen in love with her. In her prefent high ftation. I must be content with bearing only respect and efteem to the fifter of the firft man upon this terreftrial globe, and the highest-bred lady in Europe. The arch-dutchefs never curtfeys, but fhews her attention by bending the body. The English gentlemen approached her royal highness by bowing, the native gentlemen by a kind of curtfey. Your's, &c. A WANDERER. HOSPITALITY of the English Princes and Barons, in the 13th and 14th Centuries. N almost unlimited hofpitality reigned in the palaces of A princes, and the caftles of great barons, in the times we are now delineating. The courts of fome of the kings of England, in this period, are faid to have been fplendid and numerous to a degree that is hardly credible, and of which no examples have been feen for feveral centuries. That of Richard the Second is thus defcribed by an hiftorian of the greatest integrity: "His royalty was fuch, that wherefoever he lay, his perfon was guarded by 200 Cheshire men: he had about him thirteen bishops, befides barons, knights, efquires, and others more than needed; infomuch, that to the houfehoid there came every day to meat 10,000 people, as appeared by the messes told out of the kitchen by 300 fervants, ." We may form fome idea of the magnificence and hofpitality of the opulent and powerful barons of these times, from an account of the household expences of Thomas, earl of Lancaster, for A. D. 1313. From that account, it appears that this great earl expended in houfe keeping that year no less than 73091. containing as much filver as 21,9271. equal in efficacy to 109,6351. of our money at prefent. The furprising cheapness of fome of the articles in that account, gives us reafon to think that it would even require a much greater fum than 139,6351. to purchase an equal quantity of provifions at this time. The pipe of French wine coft only 175. which, according to the above computation, was equivalent to 41. 15s. of our money; a very inconfiderable part of its price at prefent. An An Account of a new Order about to be inftituted in AMERICA, called The ORDER of FREEDOM. N the next anniversary of the declaration of American in Odependence (the 4th of July) a new order of knighthood, called The Order of Freedom, will be established, and the installation take place in Philadelphia. Patron of the order-St. Louis. Chief of the order-prefident of Congress for the time being. Chancellor Prelate Dr. Witherspoon, Gentleman-Ufher Mr. Thompson. Herald Mr. Hutchins. Twenty-four knights companions; confifting of the gover nor of each ftate for the time being, which they reckon nineteen, and General Lincoln, General Green, General Wayne, Colonel Washington, and Colonel Lee. The robe is to be fcarlet and blue, with ermine. The ribbon a broad fattin, with thirteen alternate ftripes of red and white, to which will be fufpended an emboffed medal of gold and enamel, on the front of which will be reprefented virtue, the genius of the United States, dreffed like an Amazon, refting on a fpear with one hand, and holding a fword with the other, and treading on tyranny, reprefented by a man proftrate, a crown fallen from his head, a broken chain in his left hand, and a fcourge in his right. In the exergue," Sic femper tyrannis.” On the reverfe is a groupe-Libertas with her wand, and Pileus; on one fide of her, Ceres with a cornucopia in one hand, and an ear of wheat on the other; on the other fide, eternity, with the globe and phoenix. In the exergue," Deus nobis hæc atia fecit. The loop of the medal is to be formed by the hgure of a rattle-fnake, with the tail in its mouth, as an emblem of eternity: an erect ftaff of liberty, terminated by the cap at top, will be fixed to the body of the fnake, and under it the "In recto decus." motto A's Sailor coming lately to London in a poft-chaife, was ac cofted at Guildford by a marine, who begged he would VOL. I. 10. 2 G give |