Infirmary, without hopes of re covery, that have fallen into the hands of the gang. Within the last fortnight, upwards of 50 persons have been robbed, and cruelly beaten, and one of the gang was seen one day last week to produce, amongst some of his associates, nearly half-a-hat-full of watches. In consequence of these outrages, the right hon. Secretary gave orders, that a reinforcement of forty men, most of them mounted, should be stationed in different parts of the parish, and that they should be relieved every three hours, with instructions, to patrole the disturbed parts day and night, which is now the case. In addition to these measures, a magistrate was in attendance yesterday (Sunday) at the Police-office, in order to hear cases against any of the marauders, should they be brought before him, and the hon. Secretary has further ordered, that for the future the magistrates shall sit every morning at ten instead of eleven o'clock. The Secretary of State on Saturday last had an interview with the magistrates of the district, respecting the state of that part of the metropolis, and anxiously inquired if the robbers were distressed weavers? An answer was given in the negative; but that they were a set of idle and disorderly fellows, who have been long known to the police as reputed thieves.

EXPLOSION AT OSTEND. The new magazine at Ostend which contained upwards of 1,400 barrels of powder, exploded at ten o'clock in the morning. About forty persons, chiefly soldiers, were killed; the wounded were almost innumerable. Stones and bricks were thrown to a distance of three miles; one man in a boat had his

head completely taken off; and another his arm, at a mile distant. A woman, who was making her bed, had her chamber door driven from the hinges and thrown across the bed; the ceilings fell down, and the windows were broken, but she escaped without injury, except a few slight bruises. A priest performing mass was knocked down in the church, the windows of which were broken, but no lives were lost. Several poor men fishing near the magazine were killed instantly; and the captain of one of the barges coming up with passengers, was so alarmed at the explosion, that he jumped overboard. Every house was partially or altogether unroofed-locks, bolts, and bars, literally flew asunder-the window frames and the glass were scattered to the winds the ceilings of the Houses in and near the quay, were as if strained from the joists -the walls yawned from their perpendiculars, and the very foundations were shaken to their centre. Nor was this the case merely at the quay; the whole line of street, on the road to Bruges, exhibited a still more melancholy spectacle, inasmuch as the houses presented not only an equally desolate appearance, but their owners also were involved in instantaneous ruin. The houses on the quay, some of the best built and most substantial in Ostend, were shaken to their foundation. In ne house of Mr. R- anninent banker, the joists were wrenched from the walls of the building the main side wall of the hall door entrance quite removed from its perpendicular-and the drawing-room tables studded over with pieces of broken window-glass, driven into the tables by the force of the concussion. Another individual, look

ing over a bulky ledger, had it whirled from him into the street, while he himself, with difficulty, kept on his legs. The force of the concussion is illustrated by this single fact that two fishing boats, lying in several feet water at the quay, were absolutely driven into, and are now bedded in, the muddy bottom. The wife of the chevalier de Bossay, accompanied by her two daughters, were driving in their cabriolet, within half a mile of the arsenal at the moment of the explosion, when madame de Bossay was violently struck on the right temple with a large piece of timber, supposed to be part of the ruins of the powder magazine, and killed instantaneously. The noise of the explosion set off the horse, a fine spirited animal, at full speed down the hill of Fermois. Dragging the vehicle against a heap of rubbish by the road side, the two young ladies were dashed out with considerable violence, and the footman, who was riding behind, was thrown under the wheels of a diligence passing at the time, by which he had both his legs broken, and was otherwise considerably injured. On the mademoiselles Bossay being taken up, in the youngest life was found entirely extinct, and the arm of the other was broken in two places, besides being dreadfully bruised, particularly about the head, so as to render her recovery extremely doubtful. On the news of this dreadful occurrence reaching the ears of a young student, who had arrived at Ostend the evening before, from Frankfort, and who was just on the eve of leading to the altar the youngest daughter of this ill-fated family, he immediately rushed into his apartment at his hotel, and blew out his brains with one of

his travelling pistols. On his toilet was found the following, written on the back of a letter received from his betrothed wife : I cannot survive this dreadful event; I go to meet my Rosabelle in the realms of bliss. Adieu, adieu, my friends! I cannot live without my adored.' Rumour has ascribed this event, first to a man having walked into the arsenal with nails in his shoes, and thereby igniting the powder-then again, to a man being allowed to smoke a pipe in the arsenal, and the fire being communicated in that manner- -while there are others who attribute it to some malicious incendiary.

20. THE FRENCH PRESS.-A person of the name of Tonquet has been condemned by the Court of Correctional Police at Paris, to nine months' imprisonment, and a fine of 100 francs, for having published what he called the historical and moral portion of the Gospels, without the miracles or supernatural occurrences which afford the evidence of the Saviour's divine mission. No charge of perversion or blasphemy was brought against him. He was accused only of mutilating the sacred volume, on which the religion of the state is grounded, by suppressing that part of it which relates to the supernatural events which signalized the birth, the life, the death, and resurrection of the author of Christianity, and thus, by implication, denying his divine mission. That the facts alleged were not of that negative kind of which the penal laws refuse to take notice, was proved, it was said, by the circumstance that the defendant published his book as the complete Gospel, while it really omitted its most important doctrines and narratives.

21. WRESTLING.An interesting match has been played between the Cornish and Devonshire men in London, which was decided at the Eagle tavern, City-road. The Devonshire men won the first prize, by bringing up Abraham Cann, their champion; the Cornish men won the second, third, and fourth prizes, and made a good struggle against Cann. The wrestlers on the Cornish side were mechanics living in London; and, but for the bringing up of Cann, the very best man to be found in Devonshire, they must have won the three first prizes. Warren, the Cornishman, who contended with Cann for the first prize, is a miner, and was a passenger bound for South America, on board the brig which saved so many of the crew and passengers of the Kent Indiaman, when on fire in the Bay of Biscay. When the sailors, who arrived in the first boat from the Kent, refused to return on account of the weather, he seized the principal of them with a lion's grasp, and told him either to go back into the boat or into the sea; the sailor finding resistance vain, preferred the former, and re-entered the boat with the whole of its crew, by which means upwards of 150 souls were saved. Nor was this all; he afterwards placed himself in the main chains, at the imminent peril of his life, and by the muscular strength of his arm, when tackle could not be used, lifted into the brig children and women, half dead with fear, and incapable of any exertion, one of whom was major M'Gregor's wife, for which he received the thanks of the family, and a present of 150l. He is a very prominent-featured man, about five feet nine or ten inches high, very powerful, and 40 years of age,

and is father of ten children. The Cornish committee, in token of their approbation of his conduct, have made up his prize equal to that won by Cann.

22. STONE PULPIT.-The Rev. P. Proudfoot, minister of Arrochar, has occasionally, in the summer season, preached at the head of his parish, for the benefit of those whose great distance from church rendered their attendance very irregular. On the days, however, fixed for this purpose, the weather often proved unfavourable; and though no complaint was, on this account, ever made by the preacher, he being uniformly willing, along with his people, to suit himself to circumstances, the parishioners chiefly concerned were every now and then speculating about the possibility of converting a large rock, in the neighbourhood of which they were wont to assemble, into a kind of tent or pulpit, under the covering of which the minister would be able to address them with increased comfort. A subscription was accordingly set on foot, in which most, if not all, of the parishioners cordially came forward, according to their ability. The work, though attended with considerable trouble and expense, has at last been finished, and, on Sunday last, Mr. Proudfoot was requested to preach, for the first time, from Clach au Taubh, or the Bull Rock, converted into a pulpit. The rock is situated on the west side of Loch Lomond, about 71⁄2 miles above Tarbet, and about 9 miles distant from Arrochar. Towards the back of it, westward, rocks are piled above rocks, "like fragments of a former world" for nearly a mile upward. On the north, the beautiful green hills of Glenfalloch terminate the

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view. Looking to the east, the front of the pulpit, there is a small plot of green; then the public road; a few yards further, Loch Lomond, about a mile broad, with a fine rocky and wooded bank; and on the opposite side, a splendid green hill, rising almost a mile perpendicular from the Loch.

23. A MODERN ROBINSON CRUSOE The Thetis transport, which arrived a few days ago from the Pacific Ocean, had occasion to touch at the island of Mocho, for water, the only inhabitant on which was an English seaman, of the name of Joseph Richardson, a native of Aldington, near Ashford, in Kent, who had made choice of that solitary houseless spot, upwards of three years ago, for a residence, when he was landed, at his own urgent desire, from the Patriot ship of war, commanded by captain Robertson. The island is about sixty miles in circumference, and about sixty miles from the coast of Chili, in lat. 39. S. It is very seldom visited by ships, as it does not afford supplies of wood. It is remarkably fertile, and abounds with hogs and horses. Richardson has cultivated two gardens, on the vegetable produce of which, with pork, young horse-flesh, and wild pigeons, he lives. He hunts the former animals with dogs, a fine breed of which he has broken in; the pigeons are so numerous, that he has little difficulty in obtaining them, as well as other kinds of birds, though the only fire-arms he possesses is an old musket, with a broken lock, which he discharges by means of a match; but by patient watching under the trees, he contrives, with such defective means, to vary his diet as often as he wishes. About nine months since, the Indians, hearing of his desolate

situation, though not at all disposed to join in community, landed two of their native girls on the island. Richardson instantly made choice of one of them as his consort, and proclaimed her queen of the island, and the other he calls his cook. The distinction between these two individuals was quite perceptible on the present visit. Richardson having no means of amusement beside the necessary employment of obtaining subsistence, at his own request, lieutenant Hopkins supplied him with a Bible and prayer book. Lieutenant H. offered to take him off the island, but he refused to leave it, declaring his determination of passing his life in his own government. He had commenced erecting a fort, to protect himself from the Indians. There was no present appearance of any increase of his subjects.

thus

ST. PETERSBURGH.-The emperor Nicolas has bestowed an additional annual grant of 5,000 rubles to the Society for the Encouragement of Artists, doubling the funds assigned it by his predecessor. This institution, which has now existed some years, sends pupils to Italy at its own expense; and facilitates to artists the means of disposing of their productions. It has lately opened a gallery for the exhibition of works of art, which has attracted the attention of the public very considerably; and nearly all the principal paintings have found purchasers.

STEAM-NAVIGATION IN INDIA. -A society has been formed at Singapore for the establishment of a direct intercourse between the various ports of the Indian seas, by means of steam-vessels. For this purpose, one is to be built and fitted out in England, which will

sail to Batavia, Malacca, Penang, and Calcutta ; and, in the course of time, this communication will extend to Rangoon and Madras. It is expected that the passage from Singapore to Calcutta, which at present occupies about five weeks, may be accomplished in eight days. The author of the project is Mr. Morris, who has already procured to be constructed for the Dutch government, a steam-boat intended to make cruises against the pirates on the coast of Java.

OCTOBER.

1. ROYAL LIBRARY, BRITISH MUSEUM.-The building, lately erected in the garden of the British Museum, for the reception of the library presented by his majesty, is nearly in a finished state. The west front is faced with stone, and is ornamented in the centre with four half columns of the Ionic order, fluted, and two antæ, which support a pediment. The entablature of the order is continued along the whole front. The entrance is at the end of Montague-place. The first apartment on the right is of very great length, extending to the projection in the centre of the building into which it leads. That part of the room, which is the centre division of the exterior of the building, is ornamented on each side with two superb Corinthian columns of marble, very highly polished. The adjoining room is nearly equal in dimensions to the first, beyond which there are two other rooms. The whole of this noble suite of apartments, which are very lofty, are of an equal height, and decorated with an enriched cornice, frieze, &c. The ceilings are of a VOL LXVIII.

magnificent description, and richly ornamented. The frame work, which supports the ceiling, is entirely of iron, which renders the building fire-proof; very strong iron girders are placed at intervals across the walls to support the work. The rooms are lighted by a row of windows on both sides, of equal dimensions, and extend the whole length of the building. The party walls, which divide the apartments, are decorated at the angles with double-faced pilasters of highly polished marble. A broad stone staircase in the entrance-hall, leads to a corresponding suite of rooms above of the same extent as those beneath, though much lower; the ceilings are ornamented in a very chaste style, and light is admitted into these rooms by skylights in the roof. The roof, which is principally of cast iron, is covered with copper, and has so slight a rise, that it is not seen from the ground.

NAVIGABLE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC OCEANS.-A contract was concluded, on the 17th June last, between the Federal Republic of central America, and a company, formed in New York, for the purpose of effecting a navigable communication between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, through Nicaragua, one of the States of central America. The contemplated route is by the river St. John, into the lake of Nicaragua, whence, from its western extremity, a canal will be cut for about seventeen miles to the Pacific. The company with whom the contract is now made are to have the right of toll, and certain exclusive privileges.

2. NEW MODE OF WORKING BOAT GUNS.-All the naval captains of the ships at the port, L