18 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1814. 



stitution took place, in the follow- 

 in"^ Older : — 



Eight females, dressed in white, with 



long white veiU. 



The coffin, carried by eight Nuns, in the 



full dress of their order, and wearing 



long black veils. 



Twelve Nuns, with lighted tapers, 



chaunting a funeral dirge. 



The nuns accompanied the remains 

 of their late superior no further 

 than tlie church-jard ; when the 

 corpse was borne to the grave by 

 the ladies who had preceded it, 

 the nuns returning immediately to 

 the Nunnery. A considerable num- 

 ber of spectators assembled to wit- 

 ness the novel exhibition. 



20. An action was lately tried 

 in the Court of Session, Edin- 

 burgh, brought by John Cooper, 

 schoolmaster of the parish of Dal- 

 tiieny, against the Rev. J. Greig, 

 minister of the same. The libel 

 stated, that " the defendant hav- 

 ing conceived causeless ill-will 

 against the prosecutor, did, on 

 Sunday, March 17, 1811, read 

 from the pulpit of the parish 

 church of Dalmeny, in the hear- 

 ing of the congregation, a written 

 paper, containing many false and 

 scandalous charges against the pro- 

 secutor, concluding with a decla- 

 ration that he was no longer tlie 

 schoolmaster of the parish, and 

 that the office was vacant. The 

 court having declared the libel 

 proved, the prosecutor said he had 

 brought the action to clear his cha- 

 racter, and had no desire to make 

 it a source of personal emolument, 

 and therefore out of motives of 

 compassion to the defendant and 

 his family, did not wish for jiecu- 

 niary reparation. The court, in 

 pronouncing judgment, declared 

 the libel to be malicious and un- 

 provoked ; the censure therein 



contained unjust and unfounded ; 

 out of the due course of ecclesiasti- 

 cal discipline, and therefore highly 

 illegal ; that they would have 

 awarded damages to a large 

 amount; but in consideration of 

 the request of the prosecutor him- 

 self, they modified the damages 

 to twenty-two guineas, with full 

 costs. The expenses were after- 

 wards taxed at 407 pounds, for 

 which a decree was pronounced 

 against the defendant. 



21. A letter from Heligoland 

 mentions that the intense frost 

 there had, as in England, been 

 preceded by thick fogs and heavy 

 falls of snow. The latter was ten 

 and twelve feet deep. The frost, 

 which had lasted six weeks, had 

 on the 8th every appearance of 

 continuance. There had been 

 scarcely any arrivals on the island, 

 which was unusually gloomy. 

 Few people ventured out. Within 

 doors they were apprehensive of 

 the house being blown down, and 

 without of being blown away or 

 buried in the snow. Even the vi- 

 sits of neighbours were not unat- 

 tended with hazard ; for if length- 

 ened to a few hours, the door- 

 ways became blocked up, and re- 

 turn for that night impossible, un- 

 less the party chose to walk out of 

 a one-pair of stairs window, and 

 proceed upon broad plunks pre- 

 viously laid upon the surface of the 

 snow. 



22. Inundations — From the 

 recent thaw, the waters in the 

 river Witham have broken the 

 banks in many places, and flooded 

 all the lands west of Lincoln, 

 on towards Gainsborough ; the 

 strength of the current has been so 

 great as to carry away Boultham- 

 bridge, which was erected last 



