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themselves by their boat. A few barrels of flour have been taken up which were found floating. The Peggy, Fisher, from Virginia for this port, laden with near 400 hegheads of tobacco, lumber and hemp, is flanded near Lancaster, and full of water; the chief mate, pilot, and feven others were drowned, amongit whom was Mrs. Rathell, a lady, paifenger. The Favourite, capt. Jope, and the Betty, capt. Barber, both froin Leghorn, lying at Hoyle lake, perform ng quarantine, were driven on fhore from their moorings; the veffels are bulged, and the cargoes damaged. Some flats employed in airing the good, were dafhed to pieces against the thore, and entirely deftioyed. The lots is fuppofed to amount to feveral thousand pounds. All the velfels in Hoyle lake (about eight or nine) were driven on shore. At Dawpool, the Robert, captain Worrall, laden with cheese for London, lying at her moorings, being much damaged at the beginning of the ftorm, fprung a lake, which by the violence of the hurricane greatly increafed, and the funk in the mud, but the crew elcaped. At Parkgate, the Sally, cap. Byrne, lying at her mooring (outward bound to Dublin) with a cargo of wrought filk, haberdashery, and merchandize, to the amount of 4000l. was driven upon her anchor, with fuch violence that the immediately lunk and greatly damaged her cargo, but no lives were loit, and the veffel will be repaired as fast as pfible, About half a mile below Pak which are the Eliza beth, capt. Trattles, from Memel, was driven on shore, as were alfo feveral mail craft, and fome funk. Two brigs were loft about two miles to the fouthward of that place, and all on board perished. One brig, one loop, and two pilot boats loft in the bay. The Sufannah, Parker, from Corke for this port, is loft near Prefton; the cargo faved, the capt. and one man drowned; capt. Tottie, and the Nonpareil packet, failed from Pakgate for Dublin on the day the form began; the former foundered at tea, and only one man faved by jumping on board a brig bound from Chetter to Newry, who ran foul of capt. Tottie's volíel, and carried away her forc-topmaft. The Nonpareil has not fince been heard of; the had a great many paffengers on board, amongst whom were major Caulfield and taimily, and feveral other perfons of note. Capt. Tottie had on board to the amount of 15,00cl. in filk, cash, &c. a great part of the former is caft up and ftored.

Further Particulars of the lofs of the hip Friendship, Capt. Mullay, bound from this Port to Bourdeaux, in a Letter from the Mafier to a Merchant of this City, Owner of fard Veffel, dated Langfvant in Anglefea, Oct. 22, 1775.

"I would have wrote to you earlier on this melancholy fubject, but was prevented by the fevere bruiles 1 received, of which, thank God, I am mending; I failed on the afternoon tide of laft Wednesday, with the wind at N. W. but had not got the length of Wicklow head, before it veered to the weftward. fix or leven on Thurday morning made the

Barfey islands, bearing S. E. the wind then blew ftrong at W. S. W. I bore away, and at one or two, faw Bray-head, bearing N. by W. the gale encreasing at W. by N. did not think it prudent to attempt the land, as I found we fhould draw nigh the Codling-bank: then wore under courfes to the fouthward; the gale encreafing plt the fore top-iail; food to the fouthward until Thurday night at fix o'clock, when we wore to the northward, but at clear day found I could not weather the land either way; fplit the fore-fail, which, with the mizen stay, blew to pieces. In attempting to wear at eight o'clock, by fetting the fore-topfail, it alfo blew to pieces. At twelve, lying. to, under a reefed main-fail, diftant about four miles from thore, the jack, and thief of the main-fail, broke and blew top eces. We now looked out for the most probable place to fave our lives, though di mal and horrid was the profpect; about one, we bore for the land, where we ftruck on a parcel of rocks and beat to the thore, when all perifhed but the boatfwain, James Rice, an apprentice, and the cook, who followed me on the main-mait.

The following is the beft account we have,' as yet, been able to collect, of the unfortunate paffengers that were on board the two ships, which failed from Parkgate the 19th of Oct.

On board the Trever, Mr. Swift, Surgeon, of Dublin, his wife and lifter; Mr. John Binns, jun. merchant of Dublin; Licut. Arnold, his wife and two daughters; Mrs. Crowe of Dublin; three gentlemen of the army, names unknown; feveral gentlemens fervants and common paffengers; it is fuppofed that Mr. John Welch of Dublin was alfo on board, as his trunk was found funk in a marl-pit near Bipham, every thing of value had been taken out, and the trunk filled with ftones, in order to fink it ; it is feared that Mr. Fisher, fteward to a nobleman in Ireland, was likewife on board, as his trunk, with papers, &c. come on there.

On board the Nonpareil, major Czelfeld, his lady, and two daughters, a governels and four fervants; J. and R. French, Elqrs. of Frenchpark; capt. Elliot; capt. Sleen, his wife and chill; capt. Duffield; Mr. Wheeler; Mrs. and Mits Donnadieu; Mr. Tho, Heaton; two foreigners, fuppofed to be Turks; and many other paifengers.

of

Extract of a Letter from Linden. "There is at prefent a violent epidemical cold here, which hardly any one escapes; it is attended with a conftant fever, frequent ineezing, a viclent cough, and a head-ach. I have not, however, as yet heard of its having poved fatal to many. It is certainly owing to fomething noxious or corrupted in the air, as has been proved by an experiment of a piece raw meat being fixed to the tail of a paper kite, which after having been up in the air for 4? minutes, and brought down again, was found perfectly corrupted and in a state of putrefaction, and in fome places holes aimoft through it. It is faid to rage ftill more violently in the country than in town. I hope you have no fuch thing on your fide the water."

At The Irish Lifts in our next.

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THE

HIBERNIAN

MAGAZINE:

O R,

Compendium of Entertaining Knowledge,

For DECEMBER, 1775.

A plain and circumftantial Account of the Transactions between Capt. Roche and Lieut. Ferguson, from their first Meeting to the Death of Lieut. Ferguson. To which are added the Trial and Depofitions at the Cape of Good Hope, where Capt. Roche was acquitted: alfo his fecond Appre henfion; and the Judicial Proceedings of the Governor and Council of Bombay; with his Speech to the Privy Council when under Examination here: with every other Circumftance attending this remarkable Cafe. Duly authenticated.

T

With an elegant Likeness of Capt. ROCHE.

Introduction.

HE man who is fo tenacious of his honour as to fight with every perfon who thinks proper to asperse his character, and the Idiot who is callous to accufation and dead to unjust reproof, are cowards of the rankett clafs. He that fights with every body, and he that won't fight at all, proceed upon the fame principle, and are daftards in their natures; but wide is the difference between the man of honour and the poltroon, the Idiot and the man of fenfibility. Perhaps ever fince the repairing of injured honour by the dint of the fword, never was fo clear a diftinction between the man who gives and the man who receives affronts; as in the cafe of Captain Roche and Lieutenant Ferguson; the latter of whom fell a victim to the envy of his heart and the rancour of his difpofition. We are forry in this to depart from that humane admonition De mortuis nil nifi bonum; but in the juftification of innocence, truth must be divefted of difguife; and if the failings of Lieutenant Ferguson could be hid from the eyes of the world, with out departing from the first great law of

December, 1775.

nature, Self-preservation, we should have charity enough to fmother, not only the reprehenfible part of his conduct, but even what would rende: Captain Roche as amiable, as hither, by the fallity, malice, and wickedness of his enemies, he has been painted black and inhuman.

Before we enter upon a detail of facts, it will be neceffary to premife one thing to remove that prejudice which the wife entertain against the custom of duelling in general, and which the weak and fcrupulous adopt with refpect to duelling in particular.

By the laws of France, a duel is death to both parties, even the deceased muft fuffer the indignity of being tied to a horfe and trampled upon in the public ftreets; 'tis certain death to the furvivor. But that nation which entertains the niceft notions of honour, that very nation has thought proper to permit what is univerfally called a rencontre. A rencontre is no more than an accidental meeting, on which spot the parties are fuppofed to have given each other an immediate affront, fuch as the lie, calling one another coward, fcoundrel, &c, which are Uuu

terms

terms of indignity one cannot give with impunity, nor the other receive tamely and maintain the character of a gentleman. Such affronts are confidered there, as tantamount to the detection of a wife's infidelity here; in both which cafes both nations have very wifely confidered the provocation; not but the victorious, even in a rencontre, is amenable to the law, but the police winks at the offence there, the legislature make allowance for aggravation and the frailty of human nature here. Such an epithet from a man, and fuch an aggravation in a woman, no man of feeling can withstand; and all countries coincide either in the absolute pardon, or at leaft confider the crime as inherent to human nature.

In the days of ignorance and barbarifm, when the rays of reason and religon were obfcured by Monkish fuperftition, virtue and honour were fupported by a moft ridiculous appeal to heaven. The ordeal trial was established; accident crown'd the character of the most guilty and vicious; accident doom'd the moft angelic innocence to a moft cruel and ignominious death; the innocent and the guilty were confounded, and punishment often fell upon his head who had the most title to pity when fcience was in her infancy, and the understanding of man became a little more enlightened, reputation was maintained by ftrength in fingle combat, and the conqueror was received with acclamations according to his brawny arm and the herculean power of his body; but when arts began to flourish, appeals to heaven were difregarded, Goliahs trembled at a David, and dexterity drew that applaufe which flings and ftones, fiery bars, tilts and tournaments for ages in vain wifhed for: carte and tierce

were established, and all men were upon a level; each had a fair chance for victory, and the whole world fanctified the measure by their approbation. So much for duelling in general.

Though every fenfible perfon muft condemn a fpirit of duelling, yet I will be bold enough to affert that there are particulars, who cannot with any degree of manhood refuse a challenge when given, or even avoid giving one upon particular occafions; and no fociety of men in the world can fo juftly lay a claim to it as the gentlemen of the military.

The idea of cowardice is a contamination to the effence of a foldier, it is his peculiar province neither to give or take an affront, in either cafe he is difregarded by his employers, he is defpifed by his brother officers, and treated with con

tempt even by the common foldiery. His life, his being, his very fosi exilts but in the maintenance of his honour; that once forfeited, adieu to the character of the gentleman, the man, and the foldier; a character too nice to be the sport of laziness, and too honourable to be the jeft of the upftart. It is well for that officer whofe line of conduct is not to offend, but at any rate his life is not to be coveted; he is every moment on a precipice, and the leaft falfe frep is fure to fhatter his fame and fortune, and often his life. Only one thing can fave him from abfolute shame, and that is for an offence committed, an honourable conceffion; and we trust in God the candid reader, in the course of this narrative, will perceive fuch a confiftency of conduct, fuch an irreproachable behaviour in Captain Roche, as will convince him that that unfortunate gentleman has acted a most worthy part. He was not the aggreffor, he made a conceffion without committing an offence, and at laft, in his own defence, fairly and honourably took the life of a rath man, who had long concerted and pre-determined the death of Captain Roche.

Before we put an end to this fhort introduction, we beg leave to obferve, that as in the cafe of Captain Roche, there is no need of either art to palliate, or fophiftry to confound the understandings of our readers, they are therefore to expect plain narrative and matter of fact only, and this in a language fimple and unadorned. To fubtle cafuifts and philofophical difputants, we leave the glory of perplexing the fenfes; the graces a florid ftile and refined fentiment, to more elegant and accomplished writers; and to mercenaries and stabbers of re

of

putation, the merit of calumny and mifinterpretation. We difdain the idea of impofing upon the impartiality of the public, confcious that a good caufe needs no flimfy veil to cover its defects. All the honour we hope to acquire, is the character of the ingenuous Hiftorian, whose business is to relate what actually happened, and to flick inviolably to truth. To 'truth only we fhall adhere, and if the enemies of Captain Roche had purfued that line of conduct, the injuries he has received, the cruel imprisonment he has endured, and the dangerous diforders he has encountered in his prefent confinement, would have been avoided, as well as the eternal infamy that muft fall on the heads of his adverfaries, those firangers to truth, juftice, and virtue.

The

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