plain and fair statement of the facts, a profound and accurate exposition of the law, and very acute and solid reasonings on both; but there was an entire absence of every thing merely ornamental, and especially of those little arts by which a speaker often tries to turn the attention of his auditors on himself. He seemed full of the cause in which he was engaged, and not a word escaped which could lead any one to imagine that the thoughts of the orator were ever turned to his own performance.

Though his reputation continued always to increase, he practised at the bar without obtaining any preferment till the beginning of the year 1806, when, on the death of the late Lord Methven, he was appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court, by the ministry of which Mr Fox was a member, and was the only judge in the Court of Session appointed while that great statesman was in power; a distinction on which he always pro. fessed to set a high value.

Lord Newton's talents never appeared to greater advantage than after he took his seat on the bench, As a lawyer, the opinions he gave were probably never surpassed for their acuteness, discrimination, and solidity; and, as a judge, he now shewed that all this was the result of such a rapid and easy application of the principles of law, as appeared more like the effect of intuition than of study and laborious exertion. The clearest and most comprehensive view of every question seemed naturally to present itself, and his opinions, at the same time that they were readily and decisively formed, were considered, by professional men, as being perhaps less liable to error than those of any other judge who has appeared in our time. He was unremitting in

his exertions, and it is certain that, for his dispatch of business, and the correctness of his judgment, Lord Newton has been rarely excelled.

In his political sentiments, Lord Newton was an ardent and steady Whig. Owing to the great openness and sincerity of his character, and the entire absence of the least approach to art or duplicity, he passed through a period remarkable for the hostility which political opinions engendered, with fewer personal enemies than any other man equally unreserved in condemning the measures which he thought wrong, and equally inflexible in supporting those which he thought right.

In private life he was extremely amiable, and his social qualities, as well as his great worth, endeared him to his friends. He possessed an extraordinary fund of good humour, a disposition extremely playful, great simplicity of character, with the entire absence of vanity and affectation. A few peculiarities or little eccentricities, which he possessed, appeared with so good a grace, and in the company of so many estimable qualities, that they only tended to render him more interesting to his friends.

Lord Newton appeared to possess two characters that are but rarely united together. Those who saw him only on the bench were naturally led to think that his whole time and thoughts had, for his whole life, been voted to the laborious study of the law. Those, on the other hand, who saw him in the circle of his friends, when form and austerity were laid aside, could not easily conceive that he had not passed his life in the intercourse of society. With great gentleness and kindness of heart, he had a manly and firm mind. He had hardly any feeling of personal danger,

and he seemed to despise pain, to which he was a good deal exposed in the last years of his life. He was a man of great bodily strength, and, till the latter years of his life, when he became very corpulent, of great activity. He was never married, and the large fortune which he left is inherited by his only sister, Mrs Hay Mudie, for whom he always entertained the greatest esteem and affection.

AGRICULTURAL REPORT.The dry weather through the month has proved very favourable; the young plants of wheat, in most counties, hold a good colour, and wear, in other respects, a promising appearance. A considerable extent of broad beans have already been got by the drill and dibble in Kent, Essex, and Suffolk. The markets for bread corn have been fortunately kept down from the large importa tions of foreign flour, of which there i a considerable supply on hand. The potatoe crops turn out abundant, and, from the mildness of the winter, have kept better than has been known for several years past. The turnip counties continue to abound in seed. The hay markets have experienced but little variation-Smithfield, and most of the principal cattle marts, have been well supplied through the month, but, in some, advances in price, particularly for veal, house lamb, and pig-pork, have taken place. Some droves of lean beasts have come up from the north into Leicestershire and other central counties, and, from the openness of the weather, have sold high.

FASHIONS. Half-Dress.-A high Roman round robe of stone colour, or pale olive cloth, embroidered in a variegated chenille border; long sleeves finished at the wrist to corres

pond, and lined with pink sarsnet. Pomeranian mantle of silk, the colour of the robe, and finished with deep Chinese silk fringe. Cap of black or coloured velvet, ornamented with a rich silk tassel, and curled ostrich feathers, placed towards the left side. High standing collar of muslin or net, edged with lace or needle-work, rising above the robe at the throat.Pink embroidered ridicule. Gloves a pale lemon colour, and half-boots of pink kid, trimmed with narrow sable fur.

Carriage or Polish walking Costume.--A plain cambric morning robe, with high collar, trimmed with lace.-A polish demi-pelisse, of fine Lama or Merino cloth, richly embroidered up the front, on the bottom, collar, and cuffs. Pelerine to correspond, finished with a long silk

cap

tassel. Canonical of sable, oppenoch, or other tastefully contrasted fur, embellished and finished with gold band and tassel. Ridicule of rose-coloured velvet, with gold lion snap. Gloves of pale Limerick or York tan. Roman half-boots of buffcoloured kid.

Promenade Costume -An high dress of tartan plaid, made of sarsenet or Merino crape, trimmed round the bottom with white swansdown, and two rows of the same down the front, alternately relieved by a narrow silk cord in loops, and buttons of a bright nakara colour with a belt to correspond. A mantle of dark Clarence blue Merino cloth, made with half sleeves of sarsenet, lined with amber sarsenet, and trimmed with swansdown; Scottish cap of the same, with a trimming of swansdown next the face, and a full puffing of plaid ribband, to answer the dress above it. A plume of Clarence blue feathers tipped with amber. Gloves

of York tan, and half boots of Clarence blue kid, faced with nakara.

Evening Costume.-A white or pearl colour gossamer satin gown, with a demi-train; fancy apron of the same; the bottom of the gown and round the apron trimmed with a rich gold fringe of the Brandenburgh kind. A cap in the Persian form, of white satin, with ornaments of gold to correspond with the dress; two gold tassels depending over the left ear, on the same side the head is adorned with a plume of white ostrich fea. thers, and one light gold sprig. Small ear-rings of pearl, with a solitaire neck. lace of the same; the sleeves very short, fastened up in front, with gold button and loop; the belt the same colour as the gown, with a superb gold ornament in front. White and gold fan; kid gloves; and white satin Italian slippers, fringed with gold.

1st.

FEBRUARY.

EDINBURGH.-To the list of recent robberies, we have to add the following:

On Wednesday evening, betwixt six and seven o'clock, a young gentleman, at the Mews-lane, end of Rose-street, near St Andrew's Square, was attacked by a man, who came suddenly behind him, and stabbed him with a sharp instrument in the breast, which slanted down upon the bone, and thereby providentially did not injure him greatly. The man then robbed him of his pocket book, containing a ten pound note. His coat, vest, and shirt, were cut through on the left side, under the arm, but his person, we are glad to hear, was not injured.

On the same night, between eight

VOL. V. PART II.

and ten o'clock, a parcel, containing about ten pounds of tobacco, was sto len from off a counter in a shop in the Grass-market, by some boys who had been lurking about the door and waiting the opportunity of the shopkeeper going backward.

A gentleman's house, in Hope Street, was attacked on Sunday night, betwixt eleven and twelve o'clock. The servant, hearing some person trying to open the back-door, went out, when he was knocked down by a man. After a severe struggle, the robber, hearing the other servants coming out to the assistance of their fellow-servant, made his escape over the wall, where another man was waiting for him.

On Tuesday last, Grace Comrie, a servant girl from Edinburgh, on her way, after the decease of her mistress, to her friends in Aberdeen, was stopped between the Crossgates and the Bridge of Earn, by a man and woman, who robbed her of her wages, amounting to 41. 15s. and also of a bundle containing some clothes. The man by his dialect appeared to be Irish, and had a horse to carry himself and his companion. The girl applied for assistance at the first house she came to, but the state of the road prevented any attempt at pursuit.

On Wednesday se'nnight, as Mr William Berry of Perth was returning from Dunning, after receiving some money, he was overtaken by two men near Pithcaveless, and ha ving been passed by one of them, immediately received a blow on the hinder part of his head, and heard the person before him call to his associate, "Knock him down." This was instantly done, and at the same time a cut made across his breast, which laying his breast pocket open,

B

his pocket-book fell out, and was seized by the robbers, who afterwards took his watch, and the silver which he had in his pockets. He lost about 71. Though stunned for a time, he soon recovered from the effects of this atrocious assault, the authors of which, we trust, will not escape the vigilance of justice.

By a vessel arrived at Liverpool from Baltimore, American papers have been received to the 1st of January. They contain an account of a most terrible fire which happened at the theatre of Richmond, (Virginia), on the 26th of December. The theatre was remarkably crowded, and the accident was occasioned by some sparks of fire communicating to the scenery. The catastrophe was most dreadful.-A list of more than seventy persons is given whose names are ascertained, and it is supposed that above sixty others have lost their lives who have not yet been recognized. All these unfortunate persons were burnt alive, or pressed to death in the crowd! The whole city was in the greatest alarm and consternation. Amongst the names of the sufferers are, C. W. Smith, Governor ; A. B. Venable, President of the Bank; Miss Gwathmey, Miss Gatewood, Miss Clay, (daughter of Mr Clay, Member of Congress); and Mr John Welsh, nephew to Sir A. Pigott, late from England.

3d. On Wednesday the Thais, of 20 guns, Captain Scorel, arrived at Portsmouth, from the coast of Africa, of which she has taken an extensive range, and where she captured several vessels trading for slaves, in violation of the Portuguese treaty :thereby circumscribing that inhuman traffic, which, we are sorry to hear, continues to exist on a considerable scale, under the Portuguese and Spa

-

nish flags. The Thais brings certain information respecting the fate of Mungo Parke, who, it appears, after the whole of his retinue, excepting one person, had died, was proceeding up a branch of the Niger, when, having given an unintentional offence to a native chief, he was assailed whilst in a canoe, passing a narrow arm of the river, and, leaping overboard with his European companion, to swim to shore, was drowned with him. The canoe upset, and nothing belonging to the travellers was preserved, nor did any one escape but some of the hired attendants. Colonel Maxwell, commanding at Goree, being desirous to ascertain the fate of this enterprising traveller, engaged a native, possessing more than ordinary intelligence, to trace his route; and he returned, after being a long time absent, with the lamented result, just before the Thais sailed. Mr Parke's object, it will be remembered, was to visit the city of Tombuctoo, in the interior of Africa, from which, when he met his death, he was within 500 miles.

The country seat of General Moreau, near Trenton, America, was burnt down on the 24th of December. All the furniture was destroyed, and the general and his family escaped the flames with some difficulty. The fire is supposed to have originated in the hot-house.

CORONER'S INQUEST-Yesterday evening an inquest was held, at the Golden Anchor public-house, Leadenhall-street, before Thomas Shelton, Esq. Coroner, upon the body of Mrs May, the wife of an ironmonger in Oxford-street, who was run over by a waggon on Tuesday afternoon, and killed on the spot. The circumstances of this melancholy event were briefly as follow:-Mr May had

stopped in his gig at the door of the house lately occupied by the celebrated Dirty Dick, the ironmonger, to speak about some business with the present occupant. He left Mrs May in the vehicle, holding the reins until his return. Before, however, he completed his business, a stage-coach coming quickly by, caught the off wheel of the gig, overturned it, and threw Mrs May into the middle of the street, where a heavy waggon, which was passing at the same instant, went over her head and crushed out her brains. Her distracted husband came out of the house just time enough to be a spectator of the horrible scene. The lifeless body was immediately conveyed to the Golden Anchor publichouse, for the inquest of a jury. Mr and Mrs May were a young married couple, the latter not yet 20, and in the seventh month of her pregnancy. The jury, after a patient and minute enquiry into the circumstances of the case, returned a verdict of-Accidental Death.

5th.—THE ST GEORGE AND THE DEFENCE. From a Paris Paper of the 30th ult.—The Journals of Jutland are full of details, in part contradictory, relative to the shipwrecks of the St George and Defence. It is natural that these dreadful scenes, having only for witnesses the sailors and fishermen, inhabitants of the coasts, should be related in different ways. It is known that the St George carried 98 guns, 552 sailors, and 300 marines. The crew of the Defence was 500 men in the whole; ten men from the St George, and six from the Defence, are all that were saved; 1295 individuals perished in the waves. The Defence, which was very old, struck the ground the first; she made signals with blue lights, that she was lost without resource, and in a mo

ment afterwards she went to pieces; what remained of her, however, continued still visible, and lying bottom upwards, had at a distance the appearance of a church. Capt. Atkins got alive to land, with six sailors, but expired a few moments after. The St George let go her anchors, but the violence of the wind drove her on the shore, and the furious waves rolled over her without being able to break her, as she was of a very strong construction. This circumstance served only to prolong the sufferings of this unhappy crew. During the whole day of the 25th, from four to five hundred men were seen clinging to the lofty deck of the vessel. It was impossible to come to their assistance, on account of the storm and unexampled agitation of the sea. On a sudden these men disappeared, and it was thought they had been carried away by a wave; but, according to the account of one of the ten sailors, Admiral Reynolds, conceiving all succour impossible, had thrown himself in despair into the sea, and been followed by the greater part. of the crew. Those who remained endeavoured to tie one another to pieces of wood, masts, and yards; at length they threw themselves into the sea, and attempted to gain the shore, distant 300 toises, but, with the exception of ten, they were all drowned, or crushed to death by the beating fragments of the wreck. The secretary of Admiral Reynolds got to land, but expired immediately from fatigue and cold. There was found on him the portrait of his wife, with her address in London, and a note, requesting those who might find his body to inform her of his unhappy fate. A child, eight years old, got on shore safe, fastened to a large piece of timber. His father and mo