LON 
without infcription, oil the reverie the initial letters F. W. 
with three oak-leaves, and below the date of the year, 
1813. Both crofles are to be worn at the button-hole, 
fufpended by a black ribbon, with a white edge, if the 
cHftinftion is obtained in an aftion with the enemy ; but, 
if on another account, with a black edge. Commanding 
officers ear. only obtain the grand crofs for gaining a de- 
cifive battle, by which the enemy has been driven from 
his pofition ; the taking of a fortrefs; or the fuccefsfnl 
defence of fome important place. The foldier who obtains 
the iron crofs of the fir(1 clafs, receives immediately the 
gratifications annexed to it, but which afterwards cannot 
be increafed. 
About this time the citizens of London were highly de¬ 
lighted with a fight of one of the terrible Cofacs of whom 
they had heard fo much.—On the 18th of April, the Ruf¬ 
fian officer, captain Bock, and the Don Cofac, who arrived 
in this country a few days before, came to the Manfion-houl'e 
Ihortly after one o’clock. They were greeted with loud and 
repeated acclamations, and conducted by the city-marfhals 
to the anti-chamber, where the lord-mayor, attended by 
Several of the aldermen, received them. A very handfome 
cold collation was prepared, of which captain Bock and 
the Cofac partook. Mr. Grant kindly undertook to be the 
interpreter between bis lordfliip and the veteran warrior. 
ILis lordfliip allured the Cofac, that, as chief magiftrate 
of the city of London, he was proud and happy to offer 
his hand to fo diftinguifhed a foldier, although he was not 
decorated with title and rank. The anfwer of the Cofac 
v/as fliort, but emphatic; he thanked the lord-mayor, and 
was ready to die for the good of his fovereign and his coun¬ 
try. His lordfliip then took the veteran by the hand, and a 
hearty fliake took place on both Tides. Captain Bock was 
in full uniform ; and a jewel, the reward of his valour in 
the battle of Borodino, was pendent from his neck. The 
name of the Cofac is Alexander Wittifchendft; lie is in 
his 54th year, and had been allowed to retire on a penfion, 
the reward of his courage and good conduct. When he 
heard of the invafion of his country by the French, he 
quitted his retirement, and voluntarily enrolled himfelf 
and his two Tons in defence of native independence. He 
was dreffed in the Cofac coftume, with a large piftol ftuck 
on his left fide in a belt, a mufket flung behind him, and a 
pike upwards often feet long, fhod with lharp iron. At 
half paff one the lord-mayor and attendants, with the Don 
Cofac and captain Bock, proceeded to the Royal Exchange. 
•—The rufh into ’Change was irrefiltible, and a very nar¬ 
row lane was formed with great difficulty, through which 
they proceeded up to Lloyd’s, and placed themfelves in 
the gallery on the weft fide, where the Cofac could be 
iliftinftly feen from every part. The huzzas were cordial 
and repeated. Silence being at length obtained, the lord- 
mayor faid that he was defired by the noble warrior, and 
the Don Cofac, to return their beft acknowledgments 
for the gratifying reception he had experienced. He 
then propofed a falute of three times three to the gallant 
vifitors; and, his lordfliip giving the word, it was com¬ 
plied with by acclamations as cheerful and loud as ever 
were heard in that place. His lordfliip added, that the 
Cofac had with the inltrument in his hand killed thirty- 
nine of the enemy. An univerfal burft of acclamation 
fucceeded, and the vifitors withdrew.—The following is 
a defcription of . the perfon of the Don Cofac : His Ma¬ 
ture is about fix feet; his make robuft and manly; his 
carriage and demeanor very eafy, and even graceful; his 
motions and geltures being entirely free from that an¬ 
gular ftiffnefs which civilized etiquette has attached to 
the foldier. His features and countenance, though rough 
and military, are at the fame time expreffive of exceed¬ 
ing good nature and honelty. His beard is long and 
bufhy, adding much to the power of his eyes, which, 
though light in colour, beam forth with much fire. His 
hair, lefs grey than his beard, flowing unconfined, is combed 
back over his neck about the length of fix inches ; on the 
forehead, it is cut fhort and ftraight. His drefs confiits 
DON. *63 
of a bluejacket and loofe trowfers of coarfe cloth, with 
fiioes very broad and round at the toes, as if to allow free 
adtion to the feet, on which lie ltands remarkably flraight 
and firm. His hand is remarkably broad in its fpread, 
though his fingers are not long ; and he manages his arms, 
confiding of a piftol, a mufket, a fabre, and a long pike, 
with wonderful addrefs and eafe, carrying them with¬ 
out the lead appearance of being encumbered by their 
weight, or inconvenienced by the length of the mufket or 
pike. He was exhibited on the following Sunday in Hyde 
Park, on a wdiite charger lent him by the lord-mayor. 
We have now to record another dreadful murder, fnni- 
lar in its general character—in its mydery, its remorfe- 
lefs determination, and the apparent acknowledgment of 
the perpetrator by means of an attempt at filicide—to thole 
of the Marrsand Williamfons.—Mr. and Mrs. Bonaru'ere 
an aged and refpeftable couple, refiding at a manfion called 
Camden Place, in the village of Chiflehurd, where they 
had lived about eight or nine years. On Sunday night. 
May 30, Mr. Bonar retired to red at his ufual hour of 
twelve, and was followed at two by his wife, who was in 
the habit of going to bed later. There appears to have 
been no noife during the whole of the night ; but, when 
the fervants were riling in the morning, they Rented a 
ftrange and bad fmell towards the bed-chamber, and on 
going into the room found their mader on the floor, dead 
and weltering in his blood, and their miftrefs in bed in 
the fame fhocking condition, dying. Mr. Attley Cooper 
was Tent for, and came with all poflible difpatch, but it 
was too late; and, after remaining infenfliile for fome 
hours, and only uttering the exclamation “ O dear!” Mrs.. 
Bonar expired at eleven minutes pad one. The follow¬ 
ing obfervations of an eye-witnefs are taken from an ex¬ 
cellent account in the Times newfpaper : “ We never wit- 
neffed fuch a fcene of horror as the bed-room prefented. 
Almod the fil’d object which met the eye on entering, 
was the dead body of Mr. Bonar, with the head and hands 
deeped in blood : the fkull was literally broken into frag¬ 
ments, in two or three places; and there was a dreadful 
laceration acrofs the nofe, as if effected by the edge of a 
poker. ITis hands were mangled in feveral places, appa¬ 
rently by the fame inltrument: there was alfo a fevcre 
wound on the right knee. From the numerous wounds 
on the body of Mr. Bonar, from the fwoln date of his 
mouth, and the convulli ve adhefion of his hands and knees, 
it is clear that lie had draggled with all his force againlt 
liis horrid murderer. The mod fhocking circumltance 
connected with this fpedtacle was the appearance of the 
night-cap, which lay a few paces from his head, drenched 
in blood, with a lock of grey hair (ticking to it, which 
feemed to have been ftruck from the fkull by the violence 
of the blow of the poker. The pillow of his bed lay at 
his feet completely dyed in blood. The manly athletic 
perfon of Mr. Bonar—for, though advanceil in life, he 
Teems to have been a powerful man—gave an increafe of 
horror to this afflifting fight. The viewr of Mrs. Bonar, 
though equally diftrefling, excited more pity than terror j 
though her head had been fradtured in a dreadful manner, 
yet there was a calm foftnefs in lic-r countenance, more 
relernbling a healthy fleep than a violent death: it might 
have been fuppofed that her life had parted from her with¬ 
out one painful effort. The linen and pillow of the bed 
in which die lay were covered with blood, as was alio the 
bed of Mr. Bonar. They flept in final 1 feparate beds, but 
placed fo clofe together that there was fcarcely room for 
a perfon to pafs between them. The interval of floor be¬ 
tween the beds was almofl a Itream of blood. No flight 
additional horror arofe from the contrafl: of the lpacious 
handfome apartment in which this fcene of death was ex¬ 
hibited. The molt heart-moving fpedtacle yet remained. 
About feven o’clock in the evening, Mr. Bonar, jun. ar¬ 
rived from Feverfham, where he was on duty as colonel of. 
the Kent local militia. In fpite of the efforts of Mr. An- 
gerftein, jun. and fome other gentlemen, he rufhed upftairs, 
exclaiming, “ Let me fee my father; indeed I muft fee him.” 
It 
