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DECEMBER.

1st. This morning, about eight, a bear, belonging to Mr. Bradbury, clown at the Circus, got loose in the yard adjoining the theatre, and immediately seized a fine boy, son of a Mr. Wilson who keeps the billiard rooms close by. The boy was much hurt; but is recovered. The animal, which had been considered as altogether harmless, had become ferocious from hunger, which impelled him to tear up the stake to which he was fastened. The bear's throat was cut.

5th. John Andrew Nardi, and Sebastian Grandi, were indicted at the Old Bailey, for the wilful murder of William Broad, on the 5th of November last. The two pri soners were Italians, one a feather maker, and the other a preparer of colours. They had gone out fantastically dressed, in the evening of the 5th, during the Westminser election, and at length got a mob around them in Long Acre. Nardi being provoked, and hard-pressed, drew a knife, and cut the deceased, who had assaulted him, in the arm; the repeated bleeding of which occasioned his death, in St. Bartholomew's hospital. Upon the whole of the evidence it appeared that the prisoners had been more sinned against than sinning. The jury found them both not guilty, but that Nardi was insane. The court ordered him to be kept in prison until his majesty's pleasure should be known, under the provisions of a late act of parliament.

At the Queen-square office, eight boys, the oldest not 15 years of age, part of a gang of 50, were examined for stealing a great number of arti

cles of brass, iron, lead, &c. A constable stated, that a woman of the name of Davison, in Swan-yard, Drury-lane, kept a lodging-house for the reception of such boys, without any other accommodation than straw to lie upon. Such of them as brought home no stolen property, were turned out of doors. A woman of the name of Horn, in Short's Gardens, Drury-lane, used to buy the stolen goods from Davison, which she re-sold to a man of the name of Fisher, in St. Giles's. These three persons are in custody. While the constable, with two other officers, were in the shop of Fisher, a bricklayer's labourer entered, offered three picces of lead for sale to one of the officers, conceiving him to be the master of the shop, and told where he had filched them; when he was likewise taken into custody. The boys are to be sent to the Marine Society.

In the court of king's bench, a man of the name of Rich was indicted, at the instance of the Society for the Suppression of Vice, for circulating and vending indecent prints. He was found guilty on the clearest evidence. All good men will join in supporting them, whilst they keep to their proper line of duty and activity.

13th. Last night the neighbourhood of Plymouth experienced a severe tempest. It was with great difficulty the mail and other coaches proceeded, as the horses refused to face the storm on Haldown Heath, and often retrograded for some distance, ere they could be controlled. A small vessel, laden with tobacco and wine, drove from her anchors in harbour, and was lost, with every one on board.

14th. A few day's since a respect

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able farmer, of Rowfant, Sussex, on his return from shooting, proceeded to draw the charge; and, having returned to his pouch such of the shot as came casily out, pursued the practice common in such cases, of knocking the butt end of his gun against the cieling, in order to dislodge the rest, whilst his right hand was employed at the muzzle to catch them. By this the cock was forced down, the powder discharged, and the hand dreadfully lacerated. A surgeon extracted a portion of felt from the wound; but some fragments remaining, they brought on a mortification. The unfortu, nate man refusing to submit to amputation, expired under great agony, leaving a widow and six children.

This night, about half past seven, a fire broke out in the elaboratory of Mr. Maud, in St. Paul's-alley, Hare-court, Aldersgate-street. The conflagration was dreadful. The flames spread with the greatest rapidity, and the poor unfortunate inhabitants who lived adjoining, had scarcely time to save even their lives. Their furniture and other effects are completely destroyed. The whole of Paul's-alley, up to Barbican, in three quarters of an hour became a heap of ruins.

15th. Owing to the wet and tempestuous state of the weather, the Cliff to the east of Brighton, between the Steine and the Crescent, has been undermined by the tide, and a great piece of it fell down this day. The road to Rottingdean is completely severed. Ten unfinished houses were blown down,

16th. A correspondence has taken place between the deputy high bailiff of Westminster, and Mr. Paull, in which the latter refuses to pay any part of the expences incurred by the

high bailiff, in taking the poll at the late election,, except his proportion for erecting the hustings.

17th. Mr. William Ludlam, with whom the philanthropic annuity plan originated, called a meeting this day at the London Tavern, and, on being opposed by some of the stock-holders, he grew outrageous, and proposed to such of the gentle. men as were dissatisfied with his management, to purchase their shares at a guinea premium. Many of them acceded to the proposal. As soon as the proceedings were over, he ordered dinner for himself and his clerk, in the front parlour; and, on the waiter bringing in a dish of mutton chops, he threw them at him, and before he could quit the room, discharged at him the rest of the dishes, with their contents, besides a decanter, and the wine it contained. One of the dishes perforated a valuable painting in the room. On the waiter turning round, he saw a horse pistol presented at him, and, before he could utter a word, Mr. L. snapped it at him, but no powder being in the pan, the pistol missed fire. These outrageous proceedings alarmed the whole tavern, and no person could be found to enter the room. L. kept ringing the bell violently, but to no purpose. At length Mr. Peacock, one of the masters of the tavern, entered the room, when Mr. L. after making him drink a glass of wine, got between him and the door, and, snatching up two pistols, threatened to shoot him dead if he stirred. The lord-mayor, who was dining at the tavern with a select party, made out a warrant for his apprehension; but Mr. L. by this time aware that measures were tak ing to seize him, sent his clerk to

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his coachman, to order him to drive the carriage as close as possible to the windows of the room in which he was to keep on his box-the step was to be ready let down, and the two footmen placed up behind. All this the clerk had done, according to direction. Mr. L. then ordered Mr. Peacock to open the parlour windows, and at this moment a waiter, unapprized of the transaction, entering the room, he fired a pistol at him, loaded with three balls, which lodged in the wall; then, throwing some wine, and the contents of a butter-boat, in Mr. P.'s face, he jumped out of the window into his carriage, which drove furiously off, and he has not since been heard of. A commission of lunacy against him has been taken out.

The Termagant, which arrived at Portsmouth this day, brought the melancholy intelligence of the total loss of the Athenienne, of 64 guns, on her passage to Malta, by striking on the Esquerries rocks, near Tunis, in a gale, on the 20th of October last. The following are the names of the persons, above the rank of sailors, who lost their lives: Capt. Rainsford; lieutenants Swinburne, M'Millan, and Salter; capt. Stains, and lieutenants Moss and Minden, of the marines; Mr. Griffin, surgeon; the boatswain, carpenter, and gunner; Messrs. Hennell, Rome, Morrison, Newman, Fitzgerald, and Blackburn, midshipmen. Passengers: Lieutenant Barker, of the Melpomene; ensign Banker, of the 37th regiment; and the car. penter of La Bergere sloop. Persons saved: Liutenants John and James Little, and Pym; Mr Goodwin, purser; Messrs. ManBing and Francis, midshipmen; Mr.

Parker, master; Mr. Cannon, master's mate. Passengers Brigadier general Campbell; Mr. Byron, surgeon of the Endymion; Mr. Dyer, to join the Juno; Messrs. G. Thorn, J. M'Lean, and S. Wells, of La Bergere. Seamen saved, 121; women, ditto, 2-123. Officers and seamen lost, 347.-The conduct of captain Rainsford is spoken of in the highest terms. When the ship struck, he declared he would be the last to quit her. It was owing to his presence of mind, and the autho rity he employed, that so many lives were saved. The ship had on-board 10,000l. in specie.

19th. A widow woman, of Southwick, near Oundle, had three horses poisoned a few days ago, in consequence of their eating the fibres of a yew tree.

20th. This morning about ten, a violent storm of wind, thunder, lightning, and hail, came on at Alnewick. The hail-stones, which were driven by the gust with uncommon force, consisted of pieces of complete ice, three quarters of an inch square. Very great damage was done to the windows and glasswork, at Alnewick; and at Swansfield, Mr. Sealey had 260 squares of glass broken; and others sustained similar losses. The skirts of the storm reached Newcastle. It was very severe to the westward. The flag-staff, on the new quay at Whitehaven, was shattered by the lightning, and several panes the light-house were broken. Liverpool, between twelve and one, the wind was so tremendous, as to blow down a new built house in Nile-street, unroof several houses, and upset a boat on the river, in which there were three men return

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ing from a vessel lying at the Rock, who were all drowned.

A notice appeared in the Gazette of this evening, for carrying into effect the act for abolishing all fees and holidays in the Custom-house department; excepting only the following holidays, viz. Sundays, Christmas-day, Good Friday, the anniversaries of the restoration of king Charles the second, of the coronation of the king, and of the birth-days of their majesties, and the prince of Wales

A gentleman who had lost 301. to a fashionable lady at play, presented the amount in Bank notes. This drew from the lady an affected remark," that at the great houses she frequented, nothing but gold was used."" In the little houses I frequent, madam,” replied the gentleman, nothing but paper is used."- Honi soit, &c.

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It was decided lately in the court of king's bench, in a cause, The King v. Wilson, that all foreign letters to English merchants, although brought by their own ships, must go through the Post-office.

Last week a malster of Wherwell, near Andover, Hants, was fined in the penalty of 2001. for making a quantity of malt in an unentered room. And an inhabitant of Chilbolton, in the same neigh bourhood, was informed against, for having in his possession a supply of malt, the duty on which had not been paid.

John Tasker, ostler at the George Inn, at Spilsby, and Rebecca Smith, of that place, lately went on foot 240 miles together, to Gretna Green, to be married. Having made this experiment of their fitness to tug through the rugged road of life together, to their mutual satis.

faction, the Vulcan of the Borders riveted them into one, and, turning their faces homewards, they re-trod their steps-whether with the same harmony as they went, this deponent saith not.”

In a late report made to the Central Vaccine Committee, at Paris, it is stated, that by the exertions made throughout France, for propagating the vaccine inoculation, the number of individuals who underwent the operation in the 42 departments, during the last twelve months, amounts to 125,992, which gives a total of near 400,000 for all France; and by supposing, as in the last year, that number to be 1,088,157, it will appear, that onethird of the infants born last year, have been vaccinated. From a number of experiments which have lately been made in France, it has uniformly resulted, that the small pox has never had any effect upon those who have regularly gone through the vaccine infection.

22d. A fire broke out in the Dock-yard, at Portsmouth, which threatened alarming consequences. Between four and five o'clock the flames were seen to burst from the house in which the rope is baked, and the twine tarred, for the use of the sail-makers. The wind was high, and blew directly towards the rigging and sail lofts, between which and the fire was a quantity of light dry timber. Lieutenant Smith of the Audacious, hastened on shore with a party of sailors, to assist in extinguishing it; but no buckets were at hand: a supply was immediately procured from the Audacious; and, by the exertions of the seamen, the fire was prevented from spreading farther.

The same night the following dreadful

dreadful accident happened to the driver of the mail coach from, Bristol to Birmingham, within a few miles of Thornbury : The coach was going at a brisk rate, when the guard observed the driver to fall off his seat, between the horses; he got down, and endeavoured to stop them, but in vain. He then succeeded in regaining his scat behind the coach, till the animals slackened their pace, when he drove the coach in safety to Thornbury, where he procured a horse, and returned to the man, whom he conveyed back. Surgical assistance was instantly procured; but it was fruitless, as one of the wheels had passed over his neck, and, it is supposed, killed him on the spot. He has left a wife and two children.

25th. Nine dwellings, with numerous out-houses, corn stacks, &c. were destroyed by accidental fire at Acomb, near Hexham.

In consequence of a heavy swell in the river Conway, the boat which carried the Irish mail was unfortunately lost, with the following persons on board: Peter Allison, of Liverpool; John Godwin, of Cowbridge; John flunt, esq. his address at J. Heard's, Ballast-office, Dublin; Thomas Tipton, the guard; Carpenter, a son of the guard of that name, coming from school from Yorkshire; Richard Edwards, smith, Holyhead; `Charles Harrison, Limerick, not yet found-his trunk picked up; Francis Rouse, Conway; Thomas Hughes, Thomas Roberts, Owen Jones, and John Reynold's, boatmen, Conway. Roberts, tanner, Holyhead, by the assistance of the mail bag, and a boatman, by the assistance of a trunk, were saved.

four arches, over the river Crae, at Newton Stewart, was carried away by the floods.

26th. The tide rose to such a height in Ipswich, that most of the streets were inundated. The water was two feet deep, near St. Peter's church, and the common quay was nearly overflowed. At Hampton, Sunbury, Chertsey, and similar places, mear the banks of the Thames, the whole of the country was under water; and Kingstou and Putney bridges were for a time nearly impassable.

The whole of the Scotch coast has suffered much during the last and preceding week, from the unusual height of the tide, both of the sea and rivers. On the 20th inst. the river Stinchar, at the town of Ballantrae, rose to a prodigious height, and overflowed the highway for nearly 200 yards. About eleven, while the 9th troop of the 1st dragoons, on their route from Hamil.. ton for Ireland, attempted to pass the water, five of the horses, with their riders, were borne down by the rapidity of the current. The men, from the weight of their accoutrements, were some time before they could disengage themselves from the animals. The inhabitants plunged in to their assistance, and, at the risk of their own lives, succceded in saving those of the soldiers.-At Rothsay, the tide lately rose so high, that both the quays were covered with water, and many barrels of herrings washed over. The water in the houses at this port was 48 inches deep.

This afternoon, about half past one, was one of the highest tides ever remembered. Boats were rowed into Palace and Little ScotThe same day a stone bridge of land Yards; and the water filled

most

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