EXTRACTS FROM SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS's WILL. AS it is probable that I fhall foon be deprived of fight, and may not have an opportunity of making a formal will, I defire that the following memorandums may be confidered as my laft will and teftament. Sir Joshua gives to his niece, Mifs Palmer, all his property, real and perfonal, not otherwife difpofed of by his will; fpecifying, that this bequeft includes his houfe at Richmond, his house in Leicefter-fields, his money in the funds, and all his pictures, furniture, books, and plate. To Mrs. Gwatkin, 10,000l. 3 per cent. confols: To his fifter, Frances Reynolds, the interest of 2500l. to be placed in the funds; the principal to devolve on her decease to Mifs Palmer: To the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, 20001. befides the 20001. before lent him; the bond for which fum, and for the intereft, he defires may be null and void: To his old fervant, Ralph Kirkley, the fum of 10001.: To the Earl of Upper Offlory, the choice of any picture of his (Sir Joshua's) painting: To Lord Palmerfton, the fecond choice: To Sir Abraham Hume, Baronet, the choice of his Claude Lorraines: To Sir George Beaumont, "the Return of the Ark," by Sebaftian Bodourn. He appoints the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, Edmund Malone, Efq. and Philip Metcalfe, Efq. executors of this his laft will and teftament. To Mr. Metcalfe, Mr. Malone, Mr. Bofwell, and Sir William Scott, 2001. each, to be expended, if they think proper, in the pur chafe of a picture for each, at the fale of his paintings, to be kept for his fake: To Mr. Mafon, his miniature of Milton, by Cooper: His miniature of Oliver Cromwell, by Cooper, to another gentleman: To his nephew, William Johnfon, of Calcutta, his watch and feals: To the Duke of Portland his picture, the Angel Contemplation, the upper part of the nativity: To Mrs. Bunbury, the portrait of her fon: To Mrs. Gwynn, her own portrait with a turban. MARCH. 1ft. A duel was fought in a field near Marybone, between Mr. Kemble and Mr. Aikin, of Drury-lane theatre, in confeqence of a difpute refpecting certain dramatic arrangements, which Mr. Aikin conceived to be injurious to him. Mr. Aikin difcharged his piftol without effect, and the parties were happily recon. ciled without proceeding farther. They had no feconds; but Mr. Bannifter, fen. attended as their common friend. Dr. Willis, who is recently embarked from Falmouth for Lisbon, where he has been fent for to give his medical affiftance in a diforder which has lately attacked the Queen of Portugal, is to receive 20,0001. fterling, whether the Queen lives or not. The condition is, that he fhall remain in Lisbon one year, unlefs the Queen fhould die in the mean time. Befides this fum, he is to be reimburfed all his expences. He has taken his fon with him, and a female nurse to attend her Majefty. The admirable feries of pictures painted by Hogarth, under the title of Marriage-a-la-mode, were lately bought in at a fale at Chriftie's for 910 910 guineas. The former poffeffor bought them for 1301. Mr. Alderman Boydell bid 9001. for them. The fale of fuch part of the Prince of Wales's ftud as could be parted with confiftently with his prefent engagements, produced 3836 gui neas. 3d. Oxford. Yefterday a perfon difmounted in the entrance of the lane on the other fide of St. Clement's Field, about a mile from this city, on the Henley road, and having fastened his mare to a gatepoft in the fide of the lane, applied a piftol to his right temple, and fhot himself dead upon the fpot. A gentleman of All Souls college almoft inftantly came up, who made the utmoft fpeed to procure a furgeon, when it was found that the ball had paffed quite through his head. In his pockets were found a memorandum-book, a gold watch, a few guineas, with fome filver; and in his left-hand coatpocket another loaded piftol. Divers perfons foon after coming along the road, the body was known to be that of Mr. Thomas Turner, of this place, gold and filverfmith, against whom a commiffion of bankrupt was lately awarded, and who was to have appeared this day at the Crofs-Inn in this city, to undergo his firft examination before the commiffioners. 13th. The most horrid and diabolical piece of premeditated barbarity was perpetrated at the houfe of Mr. Vafey (called Rufhcomb Houfe) in the parish of Exford, near Exeter, that could enter into the mind of the moft malignant villain. The wretch (who is a near relation to Mrs. Vafey) went into the stable, and, after mixing a quantity of arfenic amongst the oats, gave it to a team of fine horfes, who all of them died the next day in excruciating agonies. Not content with this cruelty, the villain, on Saturday the 17th at midnight, fet fire to the house and ftables at four different places; and, had not the cries of an infant providentially awaked Mrs. Valey, it is more than probable the whole family muft have perifhed in the flames, which were fo extremely rapid, that Mr. and Mrs. Vafey, with their children and fervants, had but just time to make their efcape. The next morning Sir Thomas Ackland, with that humanity that ever marks his conduct, fent for Mr. Vafey and his family, to whom he adminiftered every comfort their melancholy fituation would admit of. The houfe, barns, and stables, are reduced to a heap of ruins.—A reward of 1001. is offered for apprehending the offender, who is faid to have been poffeffed formerly of 8000l. a year. The people of Shields have conftructed a boat, which will go out with fafety to the affiftance of diftreffed mariners, when no other conftructed veffel could poffibly live. It has already been the means of faving many lives. At Shrewsbury affizes came on to be tried a caufe of very confiderable importance to the tanners in every part of the kingdom. By the ftatute of the 1ft of James I. all perfons are prohibited, under very heavy penalties, from carrying on the trade of tanning, except fuch as have ferved regular apprenticeships to the fame, or are other wife qualfiied, as the act requires. Notwithstanding this, many adventurers have of late years taken upon upon themfelves the trade of tanning; fo that it became feriously requifite to bring the queftion to be folemnly decided in a court of judicature. For this purpose Zechariah Brown, a tanner at Wymondham, entered an action against Mr. Arnal Cooper Fayerman, of London, for having carried on and exercifed the trade of tanning leather, without being qualified as the act directs; when, after hearing the evidence of many refpectable witneffes, the jury gave a verdict for the plaintiff, with 51. damages. A mill has been invented in Yorkshire, by which the cordage is manufactured from fo fmall a fize as whip-cord up to the heaviest cable of a firft rate fhip of war (which to make in the common way will require eighty hands) and which, by this new machinery, may be completely managed by one man. 22d. An action was tried in the court of Common Pleas, to recover from the warden of the Fleet a debt due from the Count de Verteillac, whofe ingenious escape lately attracted public notice. Several actions depended on the event of this trial.-The jury gave a verdict againft the defendant, though he did not appear to have been criminally negligent; but Lord Loughborough ftated it as law, that nothing but irrefiftible force (fuch as the riots in 1780) could be pleaded in excufe for a gaoler, who is bound to keep his prifoners fafe. The hop-binds, which have hitherto been totally ufelefs, have been in one inftance, at Newbury in Berks, converted into a manufacture. Being dreffed in the manner of flax, coarfe bagging has been made of them, well adapted to inclofe their produce, A few days ago, on the Stanley eftate of Lord Lonfdale, near Whitehaven, the earth began to fink into an old coal-pit; the width of the aperture was at firft only fix or seven yards, but the land continuing gradually to fall in, whilft immenfe fpouts of water iffued out, in a few hours one acre one rood and twenty-four perches of ground difappeared. A fmall rivulet has fince been turned into the pit to prevent a further finking of the ground. This day the following bills received the royal affent by commitfion, viz. the Exchequer loan bills, the American intercourse bill, the Boroughbridge and Northallerton road bill; eight other public bills, and eight private ones. 19th. At the Worcester affizes, the claimants on the Halffhire and Penthore Hundreds in Worcesterfhire, refpecting the Birmingham riots, obtained verdicts as follows: French; of which the following is a literal translation: "SIR, "May it please your Majefty to listen to the warning of a man who is not in your fervice; afks no favour of you; does not flatter your errors, but wishes to avert the danger which threatens your life! There is, doubt not, a project to take away your life. People have been extremely forry that it could not be put in execution last week, when the mafked ball was countermanded-this day is refolved on to try the attempt. Stay at home, and avoid all future balls, at leaft for the prefent year. Keep alfo away from Haga. In a word, be upon your guard, at leaft for a month. Give yourself no trouble to find out the author of this letter; chance made him difcover the horrid plot which menaces your days. Believe me, he feels no intereft to ward off the blow prepared for you. Had your hired troops at Gefle committed acts of violence upon the people, the author of this letter would have fought against you fword in hand; but he abhors af. faffination." The King, having frequently received fimilar warnings, flighted this; and, notwithstanding the moft preffing folicitations of Baron Effen, his mafter of the horfe, he entered the ball-room; he was inftantly furrounded by a crowd of malks in black dreffes, and being preffed hard, felt himfelf wounded by the contents of a piftol which were lodged above his left hip, near the back-bone. His Majefty took the mask immediately off his face, and faid to Baron Effen," I am wounded—conduct me back to my apartment." Being arrived there, he fat down on a fopha; and, ttended by dif ferent foreign mbaffadors and courtiers, he converfed with much apparent cafe on the effects which this event would cause in Europe in the prefent crifis. He requested the former not to let their messengers fet off before it fhould be known whether there were hopes or apprehenfions of his recovery. The furgeons arrived, probed the wound, and dressed it for the first time. His Majefty was then carried to the Castle, and was let blood at four o'clock in the morning. When the pistol had been fired off at the opera-house, an officer of the guards ordered all the doors and gates to be fhut, and every body was obliged to pull off his mafk, and give his name. Two piftols were found in the hall, the one fired off, and the other loaded with feveral points and heads of nails, two flugs, and a dozen small fhots, befides a large carving knife, fharpened on both edges, and full of hacks to render the wound more dangerous. The mayor of the city having fummoned all the fwordcutlers and cutlers before him, the piftols and knife were recognized by two workmen, who declared to have mended them for Mr. John Jofeph Ankerftroem, at ten o'clock in the morning. The person who wrote the anonymous letter to his Majefty acknowledged the act of his own accord; it was LieutenantColonel Lilienhorn, of his Majefty's Life Guards. He is now in fafe cuftody. John Jofeph Ankerftroem, who wounded his Majefty, was formerly a captain in the Swedi fervice, but difmiffed, with prevented the peasants of Gothland fome others, in 1789, for having joining joining the Swedish standard against Ruffia. It appears from the confeffion of Ankerstroem, the affaffin, who, when threatened with the torture, disclosed many of the circumftances of the confpiracy, that feveral perfons were acceffary to it. Many have been taken up, and their examinations have commenced before the privy counsellor Lilienfparr. At the head of the confpiracy appears to have been the Baron Bielke, a nobleman formerly in the confidence of the King, Prefident of the Council of War, befides holding many other high offices. Finding his treachery difcovered, and that there was no chance of escape, he prepared a ftrong dofe of laudanum and arfenic; and when he faw the offiers of juftice furrounding his habitation, drank it off as a libation to his guilty and tormented confcience. On his Majefty's death the Prince Royal was immediately proclaimed King, by the name of Guftavus Adolphus; and the Duke of Sudermania, in compliance with his late Majefty's will, was declared fole regent and guardian of the young fovereign, until he attains his majority, which is fixed at the age of eighteen. The king of Sweden died in the forty-fifth year of his age, and the twentieth year of his reign. The reflection of dying ingloriously through the means of a vile affaffin, is faid to have embittered the last moments of the king's life much more than even the agonizing pains of his wounds. The late king retained all his mental faculties to the laft, which enabled him fo well to arrange the future goverment of his country. The wounds at first indicted the most prcmifing appearances of recovery, and the flugs were all extracted; but fome rufty pieces of iron had penetrated fo far into the body as to render any furgical operation immediate death. A mortification, therefore, took place, and his Majefty was apprized of his speedy diffolution. He lamented the youth of his fon, and, in his laft moments, prayed that Heaven would be fatis- · fied with the earthly retribution of his murderer. Robert Adam, Efq. architect, F. R. S. and F. S. A. by the bursting of a blood-veffel. Mr. Adam was born in the year 1728, at Kirkaldy, in the county of Fife, the fame place that gave birth to Dr. Adam Smith. He was fecond fon of William Adam of Maryburgh, Efq. an architect of diftinguifhed merit. He received his education at the University of Edinburgh, which is now rebuilding after his defigns. The friendfhips he formed were with men who have fince eminently diftinguifhed themselves by their literary productions; among whom were David Hume, Dr. Robertfon, Adam Smith, Adam Ferguson, and John Home. At a more advanced time of life he had the good fortune to enjoy the friendship and fociety of Archibald Duke of Argyle, the late Mr. Charles Townshend, the Earl of Mansfield, and feveral other of the most illuftrious men of the age. He was buried the 10th of March, in the south aisle of Westminster Abbey. |