CHRONICLE. 



27 



which burnt with such violence, 

 that in less than two hours 568 

 houses, the Lutheran church, and 

 the post-house, were consumed ; 

 not more than 50 houses were left 

 standing; two women, two chil- 

 dren, and a Jew, lost their lives ; 

 and the whole damage is estimated 

 at 900,000 florins. 



14th. This evening, two ap- 

 prentices in Fleet-street, about six- 

 teen years of age, went into the 

 river to bathe from the steps of 

 Blackfriars-bridge, on the city side. 

 The. tide running very strong, they 

 were carried away. One of them, 

 on rising, caught hold of a chain 

 for securing barges, but tlie other 

 was sucked under, and all attempts 

 to save him were of no effect. 



At nine o'clock, a gun was 

 fired on board the Braakel, captain 

 George Clarke, in Portsmouth-har- 

 bour, and the yellow flag hoisted, 

 as a signal for executing James Al- 

 len, who had been condemned by a 

 court-martial with John Watson, 

 as being concerned in the mutiny 

 on board the Hermione. The lat- 

 ter had been executed early the 

 same morning, on board the Puis- 

 sant sheer-hulk, at Spithead. 

 Armed boats, from all the ships in 

 harbour attended the dreadful scene. 

 James Allen came in an armed boat 

 on board the Braakel, attended by 

 Mr. Howell, chaplain of the Royal 

 William, about half-past eight. 

 The principal witness against Allen 

 was Parrot, late butcher on board 

 the Kermione, who deposed, " That 

 on the night the mutiny took place, 

 he was seated on a chest in the gun- 

 room. He then observed a band 

 of murderers dragging the second 

 lieutenant across the deck, who re- 

 peatedly stretched out his hand, 

 crying, " Mercy ! Mercy !'' He 



was drawn up the ladder by the hair 

 of his head, after receiving many 

 wounds. Parrot declared, that at 

 this moment he saw the second lieu- 

 tenant's servant, James Allen, with 

 a tomahawk or hatchet in his hand, 

 and that he exclaimed, " Let nie 

 have a cut at him:" on saying which, 

 he dreadfully wounded his own mas- 

 ter. On receiving this deposition 

 from Parrot, a general groan of hor- 

 ror was heard in court. Every 

 thing, however, that naval justice 

 could devise, was exercised on be- 

 half of the prisoner ; but the very 

 witnesses called by him ultimately 

 proved of disadvantage to him ! 

 Both Allen and Watson came home 

 to England in the Piince of Wales, 

 but were not recognised till their 

 arrival. Allen, to the last, denied 

 having struck his master. As to the 

 particulars of the murder of captain 

 Pigot, of the Hermione, it appear- 

 ed, " That hearing a noise upon 

 deck, he immediately ran out of his 

 cabin, when, being badly and re- 

 peatedly wounded, he was at length 

 obliged to return. He had reached 

 his cabin, and was sitting on a couch, 

 faint with the loss of blood, when 

 four men entered with bayonets fix- 

 ed. Crawley headed them. Cap- 

 tain Pigot, weak as he was, held 

 out his dirk, and kept them off". 

 They seemed for a moment appalled 

 at the sight of their commander, 

 when Crawley exclaimed, " What, 

 four against one, and yet afraid ? 

 Here goes then," and buried his 

 bayonet in the body of captain Pi- 

 got. He was followed by the others, 

 who with their bayonets thrust 

 him through the port, and he was 

 heard to speak as he went astern. 



1 6th. About a fortnight ago, a 

 refractory spirit discovered itself 

 among the felons confined in the 



