"The firm conduct of our Government in refusing any longer to make advances for the maintenance of French Prisoners, has had the good effect of obliging the Executive Directory to come forward with the necessary supplies, and as the French agents have now the whole management of this concern, we shall no longer be subject to their odious calumnies against the humanity of this country.

The number of French prisoners in England, amounts to about 22,000; the Dutch prisoners are about 2,500. The daily cost of these men, since the French agents had the charge of them, has been £1,370 sterling a day (about 1s. 1d. each): and their annual expence is upwards of One Million sterling. The number of English prisoners in France does not exceed 4000."—(Times, Feb. 27, 1798.)

"Southampton was thrown into consternation on Saturday morning, by an event which was variously reported by different narrators in the course of the day; but, 'ere night, all ideas of French spies, false Emigrants, &c., subsided, and the event turned out to be 'that three French prisoners from Porchester, had made their escape to Southampton.' A party of pleasure had engaged Wassell's vessel to go to the Isle of Wight. At an early hour on Saturday morning, on repairing to the Quay, the man could not discover his pleasure boat. Every one was concerned for his loss, and many hours elapsed before any tidings could be heard of her, when some fishing boats gave information that they had met her near Calshot Castle, about three o'clock in the morning, but had no suspicion she had been run away with. In the evening, news arrived, that in steering, to keep as far from Spithead as possible, the Frenchmen were near running on shore at Ride. This circumstance convinced the pilots that Wassell was not on board when they went to her assistance, secured the three French men, and saved the vessel for the owner."—(Times, July 2, 1799.)

"'To which university,' said a lady, some time since, to the late sagacious Dr. Warren, 'shall I send my Son?'—'Madam,' replied he, 'they drink, I believe, near the same quantity of port in each of them.'"—(Times, Feb. 19, 1798.)

"Memento narare multis officium alterius.—Mr. W. Holt, Surgeon, of the parish of Tottenham High Cross, has generously undertaken (within the last two months) to inoculate the poorer part of the inhabitants of the parish, for the small pox, which he has done (and that gratis) to the amount of some hundreds, the whole of which number have done well, not one patient excepted. The above act is praiseworthy, and will redound much to Mr. Holt's honour. It is to be hoped the above example will be followed by other Medical Gentlemen, if so, in a few years we shall not see, as we now daily do, the ill-effects of that dreadful disease, the small pox, in the natural way."—(Times, March 28, 1798.)

"Previous to the Humane Society's Procession (at the London Tavern, next Tuesday) of those who have been restored to life this year, an Introductory Dialogue, written after the manner of Virgil's pathetic and beautiful pastorals, by John Gretton Esqre, will be spoken by two young Gentlemen. Rising genius was fully experienced at the last Anniversary. What then must not be the gratification to a British heart, where to the solemn scene of our resuscitated brethren,[25] is superadded the efforts of these able advocates in the cause of humanity, and the sublime views of this most excellent Institution?"—(Times, April 14, 1798.)

"ANECDOTE.

"It is a fact of which we can assure our readers, that the following extraordinary Letter was sent to a worthy Baronet not a hundred miles from Whitehall. It was tied round the neck of an unfortunate animal, who, we are sorry to say, appears to have been made the victim of party malice, and the unfeeling passions of men:

"THE RATS LETTER.

("Health and Fraternity.)

"Sir,—I am a desperate Rat, gratified indeed in the present opportunity of congratulating you, though lately separated from my family and connexions, having been caught in the grating of Mr. Pitt's cage, in Downing St., prostrate at his feet, I escaped death, and even castration, in the consideration that I belong to your worthy fraternity, and upon condition that I should inform you of certain truths, however grating. Since the discovery of the conspirators, your orations have not been underated, for they have not been rational. If your treaty with them has been ratified, you will be well scratched, and so forbear prating for the present. Besides it is a desideratum that you should have nothing to say to Mr. Grattan, and that you should not Co-operate with the Irish-Marats. Let your narrations concerning Ratisbon, or Ratstadt, be moderate, and endeavour to make reparation for all the nonsense you have talked, and the mischief you have not operated. Sequestrate yourself with your venerated old Aunts, and deal out rations of oatmeal, and cheese, to your prating brats, whom everybody commiserates, and arbitrate between cowherds, and bullock drivers. Demonstrate that you are a wise man in your generation: Exempli gratia, this year, having been beat blind by the bulk of bullocks, try next to run down your successor in a race of ameliorated Rats. Full of admiration, and great gratitude, I give you the fraternal hug, and rate myself, with great consideration, without alteration. Your grateful Frater (Gratis)

"Democrat."

—(Times, June 4, 1798.)

"We are sorry to hear that the Rat that wrote the famous letter, was cruelly murdered by the enraged servants. The Rat is now said to have been over-driven, and made mad in Downing St., in order that he might scratch the Knight into the Cat-aphobia. He anxiously expects the cat-astrophe. The Rat's letter has very much exasperated the Worthy Baronet to whom he addressed it."—(Times, June 8, 1798.)

"Colonel Twiss, and other officers of the engineers, have been employed by government to examine a proposition made by a Mr. Dodd, for forming a tunnel under the River Thames, from Gravesend, to Tilbury."—(Times, July 16, 1798.)

"Tower Hill is soon to lose that name, and, in compliment to the Trinity House, it is in future to be called Trinity Square."—(Times, July 16, 1798.)

"Advt.—Thirty Thousand Pounds gained for Five shillings, without a Lottery. A Gentleman of the Navy had, for some time, been paying his addresses to a Lady of Fortune, and gained her affections: being suddenly ordered off to the West Indies, the marriage was deferred until his return. On arriving at St. Domingo, he was attacked by the Yellow Fever, which appeared externally in scabby eruptions, arising from living in too free a manner in that destructive climate, which disfigured his face so much, that, on his return to England, the Lady was disgusted, and broke off the match. This turn so affected the Gentleman that a slow nervous fever resulted, which reduced him so low that his recovery was despaired of. Fortunately, an officer of the Guards, his intimate friend, calling on him, told him he thought the perusal of Dr. Brodum's Guide to Old Age would be of service: and, in consequence, purchased a Guide for five shillings, which, with the aid of the Dr.'s Botanical Syrup, completely restored him, and on calling on the Lady after his recovery, she was so well-pleased at his healthy appearance, as to immediately consent to unite herself with him, and make over a fortune of £30,000."—(Times, Nov. 20, 1798.)

"A story is told at Brighton of a certain Baronet having been most cruelly imposed upon by some young Bucks, at that place, who sent him a pretended letter from the wife of a Dentist, requesting a tender interview. The Baronet flew to her lodgings on the wings of love, but the first person he met was her husband. The Baronet, with a ready attention to professional circumstances, said he came to ask advice for the toothache: the operator rejoined, that an extraction was the most certain cure, and the unfortunate Baronet actually submitted to an incision in his jaw, to save the rest of it from being broken."—(Times, Nov. 30, 1798.)

"This being the first day of May, Mrs. Montague will give her annual entertainment of roast beef, and plum-pudding, to the Chimney-sweepers of the Metropolis, in the court yard of her house in Portman Square, in commemoration of discovering her child among them, long after it had been trepanned away."—(Times, May 1, 1799.)

"The donations given by Mrs. Montague, of Portman Square, every May-day, proceed from pure benevolence towards the distressed poor. The story, which has been generally believed, of her having once lost a child, who was trepanned from her house, is wholly unfounded."—(Times, May 2, 1799.)

"The Lady Mayoress is in the straw, and the Bambino, according to the customs of the City, is to be rocked in a cradle of solid silver. This is a very ancient privilege, and, as it costs the City about Five Hundred Pounds, the Aldermen will probably look twice, before they elect family men again with their wives in the family way."—(Times, July 1, 1799.)

"Such senseless extravagance as eating Bank notes has not been known since the French Courtezan, who curled her hair with them: or the days of Cleopatra, who swallowed a jewel as a rich repast."—(Times, Aug. 22, 1799.)

"By some mistake, or omission, in the report of the Smithfield Market, we have not learned the average price of wives for the last week.

"The increasing value of the fair sex is esteemed by several eminent writers as the certain criterion of increasing civilization. Smithfield has, on this ground, strong pretensions to refined improvement, as the price of Wives has risen in that market from half a guinea, to three guineas and a half."—(Times, July 22, 1797.)

"An Hostler's wife, in the country, lately fetched twenty-five guineas. We hear there is to be a sale of wives soon at Christie's. We have no doubt they will soon go off well."—(Times, Sept. 19, 1797.)

"On Friday a butcher exposed his wife to sale in Smithfield Market, near the Ram Inn, with a halter about her neck, and one about her waist, which tied her to a railing, when a hog-driver was the happy purchaser, who gave the husband three guineas, and a crown, for his departed rib. Pity it is, there is no stop put to such depraved conduct in the lower order of people."—(Times, July 18, 1797.)

"On Saturday evening last, John Lees, steel-burner, sold his wife for the small sum of 6d. to Samuel Hall, fell-monger, both of Sheffield. Lees gave Hall one guinea immediately, to have her taken off to Manchester the day following by the coach: she was delivered up with a halter round her neck, and the clerk of the market received 4d. for toll. It would be well if some law was inforced to put a stop to such degrading traffic!! (Sheffield Register)"—(Times, March 30, 1796.)

"At the last sale of wives there was but a poor show though there were plenty of bidders. One alone went off well, being bought by a Taylor, who outbid eight of his competitors."—(Times, Dec. 2, 1797.)

Advt. "To the Curious. J. Harrison begs leave to inform his Friends, and the Public, that he has, for sale, a great variety of grafted Gooseberry Plants, in pots, with red, white, and black Currants growing on each, the fruit of the finest flavour: and handsome standard Currant Trees, 5 feet high, with red, white, and black, fruit on each, likewise dwarf Apple Trees, handsome plants, suitable for the borders of pleasure gardens, being full of fine fruit. Gentlemen and Ladies are invited to come and view his plants, now the fruits are on them, at his Nursery, opposite the Turks Head, half-way to Deptford Upper Road."—(Times, Aug. 9, 1799.)

"When the order for the embargo was received at Gravesend, two hoys, the one for Margate, the other for Ramsgate, lay off the town, and were immediately subjected to the restriction. One had nearly 200 persons on board, the other, upwards of 150; they were obliged to land, and the place not affording accommodation for so large, and unexpected, an influx of company, a whimsical scene of confusion, disorder, and embarrassment, ensued: some in carts, &c., got on to Rochester, and Canterbury: but, owing to the march, and embarkation of troops, all the carriages, and horses, on the road were engaged, and several days elapsed before these unfortunate people reached the place of their destination."—(Times, Aug. 19, 1799.)

"Lately died at Lynn, in her 78th year Miss Mary Breese. She never lived out of the parish she was born in, was a remarkable sportswoman, regularly took out her shooting license, kept as good greyhounds, and was as sure a shot, as was in the county. At her desire, her dogs, and her favourite mare, were killed at her death, and buried in one grave."—(Times, Oct. 8, 1799.)

"Late on Sunday evening last a beautiful Circassian arrived at the Turkish Ambassador's Hotel. She was brought from Smyrna in the 'Princess,' Capt. W. Lee, as a present from the Grand Seignior to his Excellency the Ambassador. She is peculiarly elegant, and beautiful, and was escorted hither by six black eunuchs. The Ambassador showed great attention to Capt. Lee on account of the care he had taken of his mistress."—(Times, Dec. 19, 1799.)

"The fair Circassian has not yet made her appearance in public. A very splendid equipage is now building in Long Acre for her. Several of our dashing young men of fashion have offered themselves as drivers to the Eastern beauty."—(Times, Dec. 24, 1799.)