24 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1816. 



with two men, friends of the 

 woman. When they got to her 

 reaulence, the two men proposed 

 to the gentleman to play for a 

 dozen of champai^ne to treat the 

 lady with, which the gentleman 

 declined. They, however, after 

 a great deal of persuasion, pre- 

 vailed on him to play for small 

 sums, and, according to the usual 

 trick of gamblers, allowed him to 

 win at first, till they began to 

 play for double, when tliere is no 

 doubt that the fcUows produced 

 loaded dice, and the gentleman 

 lost to the amount of l,S00l. 

 which brought him to his retlec- 

 tion and senses. He then in- 

 vented an excuse for not paying 

 that sum, by saying he was under 

 an agreement with his partner 

 not to draw foi- a larger amount 

 than 3001. for his private account, 

 and gave them a draft for that 

 amount, promising the remainder 

 at a future day. This promise, 

 however, he did not attend to, 

 not feeling himself boimd by such 

 a villainous tnuisaction. But the 

 robbers foimd out who he was, 

 and his residence, and had the 

 audacity to go yesterday morning, 

 armed with bludgeons, and attack 

 him publicly on liisown premises, 

 in tiie jircsencc of those emjiloyed 

 tliere, demanding payment of their 

 ncfaiious debt of honour, and 

 threatening him, if he <lid nol 

 pay, that he shouhi fight. This 

 exposure had such an eifect on his 

 feelings, that he made an excu-^e 

 to retire, when he destroyed him- 

 self by blowirig out his brains 

 witii a pistol. This rash act is 

 adilitionally to ije lamented, as it 

 prevents the bringing to condign 

 punislnuent the plundering vil- 

 lains who were the cause of it. 



there being no evidence to con- 

 vict them. 



8. Extract of a Letter from 

 Madeira. — " There happened a 

 dreadful earthciuake here early on 

 the 2d inst. it was very -violent, 

 and continued from three to five 

 minutes, according to different 

 opinions : it has thrown down the 

 cross from one of the parish 

 churches, rent its walls, and other 

 churches and houses are damaged 

 throughout the island ; but what 

 1 think is more alarming, an 

 American ship arrived here on 

 the .5th inst. : the master of her 

 reports, that on the 2d inst. be- 

 tween the hours of twelve and 

 one in the morning, then being 

 about 300 miles from the Azores 

 and 700 from hence, his ship got 

 almost on end, and appeared as 

 if run agroimd ; the crew were 

 dreadfully alarmed, and sounded, 

 but could find no bottom. They 

 could not account for so extraor- 

 dinary a circumstance xuitil their 

 arrival here ; therefore there is 

 cause to believe some accident has 

 happened to ihe Azore isUmds, or 

 somewhei'e." 



'i'he Alccste, captain jMuiray 

 Maxwell ; li) ra, captain Basil 

 Hall; and the Hon. Company's 

 ship General Hewett, captain 

 Campbell, sailed with a fair wind 

 for China, from IVirtsmouth, with 

 the anibassailor, Lord Amheist, 

 and suite. The magnificent pre- 

 sents, whidi are intended to give 

 weight to the assurances of con- 

 sideration and esteem for the Em- 

 peror, consist wholly of British 

 manufactures ; elegantly cut glass 

 vases, dishes, and bottles, have 

 been selected as likely to be the 

 articles he would most acceptably 

 receive. The ships will proceed 



to 



