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is their quality. From the extended state of the British navy, it is impracticable to man our fleets with seamen. About six-sevenths of every ship's company are landmen; and thus, in a seventy-four, there are seldom more than seventy hands that can be put upon the forecastle or rated Able. Now the Americans, having but few national vessels, are able to man their ships, not only entirely with sailors, but with picked, choice sailors, and they have been but too successful in enticing some of our ablest hands to become their petty offi

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DREADFUL FIRES.

10. On Wednesday night, about half past twelve, (or rather Thursday morning,) a most distressing scene presented itself to the inhabitants of Aldgate, by the discovery of a most alarming fire. There is no certainty as to the origin of this catastrophe ; but from the course the flames had ravaged when first it was discovered, there can be but little doubt of its commencing in some part of the shop. A providential circumstance of a most singular nature led to the first discovery. The young man was sitting up for Mr. Coats, who had gone out to spend the evening (being twelfth night) among some friends, and in the interim he slept on his chair, from which situation he was awoke almost in suffocation. He immediately discovered his situation, and the first step he took was to alarm the watchman: he next proceeded to Mr. Evans's bed-room door, and alarmed him. The unfo: ate female servant was by this apprized of her situation, and had been awaked through the perseverance of some butcher boys, who flung

sheep- and calves feet at her window. There was still a young man asleep in his bed, in an adjoining apartment, whom she apprized. Their situation was by this time become most desperate. Mr. Evans with much difficulty made good his retreat, by jumping into a back court adjoining the premises, out of the kitchen window on a first floor, together with the young man who first discovered' the fire. The other young man, with the poor servant, were now the only inhabitants of this fiery scene; they were situated in a third story, surrounded by flames. No hopes of retreat, the only refuge left was jumping out of a window a height of about twenty feet, on some leads, a space of about a foot and a half, adjoining which was a sky-light belonging to Mr. Smith. The young man, urging the woman to follow his example, first made good his landing; he again waved his hand to her to follow, but to no effect. Her shrieks were distressing, and her heart now began to fail her. She shook her head, and before his sight disappeared, and was seen no more. This forlorn young man had still to make good his way from this perilous situation, which he effected by jumping through the sky-light into the adjoining premises, which he accomplished in a most wonderful manner, and with very trifling injury except that of fatigue and fright. It was half past eleven when Mr. Evans retired to bed, which was immediately after the departure of a Mr. Langdon, a friend of his, who had sup ped there that night, at which time every thing appeared to be quite safe, and no smell of fire was discovered at that time by any person in the house.

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Another alarming fire broke out the same night, about twelve o'clock, in the premises of a biscuit baker, at King Edward's stairs, Wapping, which for some time burned very, rapidly, and threatened destruction to the row of houses on that side. Notwithstanding the extreme activity displayed by the fire-men in attempting to subdue the devouring element, the premises were levelled to the ground in about an hour. The inhabitants had scarcely time to escape with their lives.

SHOCKING MURDER.

12. The following are the particulars of a late murder committed at North Shields:-The wife of John Thoburné, in the employ of Mr. Crawford, miller, having died on the Friday, was buried on the Saturday, when a report was prevalent that she had been murdered. Her body was in consequence taken up on the Monday, and a warrant granted for the apprehension of the husband, who had absconded; but his sister, who had resided in the house, and a young man her sweetheart, were secured. Thoburne was, however, apprehended at South Shields on the Monday night, and the parties, with a number of witnessess, were examined by the magistrates on Tuesday. It appeared that a fortnight before the time of the wife's death, her husband had come into the house and struck her, and in the scuffle a looking-glass was broken. The sister, who had been out, on her return perceiving the broken glass, charged the wife with having done it went to a publichouse where Thoburne was, and urged him to go home and correct her; which he did; and the blows

which she received must have been deadful, as both her arms, and from her shoulder to her knee on one side, were shockingly man. gled, and one part below her arm seemed to be in a state of mortification: the surgeons were also of opinion that she had received little or no sustenance during that fortnight.-The jury again met on Wednesday morning, and found a verdict of Wilful murder against the husband and his sister. When the body was interred, Thoburne had, in registering his wife's death, mentioned an earlier day, as was proved by the church books. She was the daughter of a very respectable farmer, was at times a little deranged, but quite inoffensive, and had brought him a genteel fortune.

PRESENCE OF MIND.

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Lately, a poor woman, of Siddlesham, near Chichester, having occasion to quit her cottage (which was a lonely one) for some er rands, left her three children at home; but during her absence, one of them, a boy about four of age, took the red hot poker from the fire, and applied it to a part of the habitation, which soon kindled into a flame, and burnt so rapidly, that the little incendiary and one of his sisters, apprized of their danger, quitted it: but, extraordinary to relate, the girl, not more than six years of age, had not long remained a spectator of the conflagration, before she recollected the helpless infant they had left asleep in the cradle, and, with a most wonderful presence of mind and resolution, returned to the devouring element, and rescued the little innocent from certain death, as the cottage was shortly after totally consumed.

LONDON

LONDON CAZETTE EXTRAORDINARY.

Foreign-office, Jan. 17. Dispatches of which the following are copies and an extract, have been received by viscount Castlereagh from lord Cathcart, K. T.

My lord,

St. Petersburg, Dec. 12.

I now avail myself of a Swedish courier to forward translations of two bulletins, viz. one from majorgeneral Kutusoff, aid-de-camp general, of 2d Dec. and one from general count Wittgenstein of 4th Dec. Your lordship will perceive by their reports, that the passage of the Berezyna has cost the French upwards of 20,000 men, killed, wounded, drowned, and prisoners, and that the remains of Bonaparte's army, with which he is still present, are endeavouring to proceed towards Veleika, while general Wittgenstein's corps is moving upon his right, and with every expectation of getting before it. The Moldavian army upon the left is moving upon Molodetchno; and the main army, under count Tormazoff, is moving in a parallel direction to that of the Moldavian army, at no great distance from it; while count Platoff, with a strong detachment of Cossacks, light cavalry and light artillery, with the infantry under general Ermaloff, is understood to be in front of the French, in the very line they are pursuing. The French force, as stated by the admiral, is evidently much over-rated. The last place named by count Wittgenstein (Nementchina) is one or two stages north from Wilna. The Russian patriotic levies continue to come forward with unabated zeal; and a new army of 50,000 infantry and 20,000 cavalry, from some of the southern provinces, is reported

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ready for service and assembled. The French march at night, and halt during the day, in hollow squares: surrounded as they are by Cossacks, their supplies must be very precarious, and numbers are said to be found dead of cold and famine on every ground their army quits. The field marshal is with the Moldavian army. Marshal Macdonald is reported, by the commandant at Riga, to occupy an arc, cutting off the angle formed by the Dwina with the Baltic; his right at Fredericksham, his left at Tukuma, and his centre at Eskay. He menaces Riga, but probably with the intention to prevent interruption to the supplies he wishes to send to meet the French army. I have, &c. CATHCART.

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Aid-de-camp gen. Gobetnitschoff Kutusoff's report to his imperial majesty, dated Berezyna, Dec. 2. By my last report, I had the satisfaction to acquaint your imperial majesty of my arrival, together with my corps, at Babinowitseby. there received the first intelligence which reached me of count Wittgenstein's corps, who was establishing the communication between himself and our grand army. In the mean time, I not only did not cease to act on the enemy's flank during his retreat, but obliged his advanced guard to keep on a regular defensive from Orsha to Boryssoff. On account of the continued attacks on my detachments, the enemy every where met the Cossacks on his road; and the corps under my command took, in the different skirmishes I had with him, three generals, 73 staff and other officers, and 5929 privates. At least as many more have been killed. Not far from Boryssoff [ united myself to the corps under

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count Wittgenstein, in conformity to whose orders I am directed to protect his right flank; and in order that there may be no obstacle in the passage of the Berezyna, and to get the start of the enemy on the road to Wileyka, I wheeled my corps to the right towards Berezyna, from whence I am in hopes to be the better enabled to cut him off. Arrived at Lepel, I was there informed by the inhabitants, that a considerable corps of the enemy, under gen. Wrede, was at Doktschitze. I immediately ordered there a strong advanced guard, under the command of lieut. col. Tetsenborn, who has reported to me, that no sooner had he been perceived by the enemy, than they retreated by the Wileyka road, probably in the intention of uniting with their main body. I am now going in pursuit of the enemy, and shall continue to remain under the command of count Wittgenstein, conformably to the orders I received to that effect from the commander in chief.

Report from the general of cavalry, count Wittgenstein, to his imperial majesty, dated (en bivouac) near Kamen, Dec. 4.

Immediately after Napoleon had effected his passage over the Berezyna, near Stoudenzie, I sent off the aid-de-camp-gen. Kutusoff, who had just arived with the whole of his corps of light cayairy, to Lepel, in order that, after having crossed the river, he might be enabled to act on the enemy's flank, and at the same time keep observing the remains of the Bavarians, under gen. Wrede, and who were at Doktschitze. Arrived at Lepel, he learned that these Bavarians had already quitted the place, and were marching by Dolginoff and Wi

leyka, and endeavouring to unite themselves with the main body of the army at Smorgonie. In consequence of this information, he sent after them a detachment under lieut..col. Tetsenborn. The latter reports to me, on the 2d inst. that having overtaken their rear-guard at Dolginoff, it had been beaten, and 26 officers and 1000 privates had been taken prisoners; and that in consequence of the occupation of Dolginoff by our troops, the intended junction of this corps had been entirely prevented. Admiral Tschitschagoff being in pursuit of the enemy, by the road to Molodetschno, and in order that our troops should not press one another on the same road, and by that means retard our movements, I am taking the direction of Koste newitsch, Narotsch, and Nesta wischky; thus acting on the flank of the enemy, and endeavouring, particularly with my Cossacks, even to cut him off entirely. At Nomentschin I shall be enabled to act in concert with admiral Tschits keep in check Macdonald's army. chagoff; and at the same time to The enemy's loss, during the three days I have pursued him, and from difficulties I opposed to him in crossing the Berezyna, must be above 20,000 men; as I have already sent off as prisoners 13,000, and his loss in killed, wounded, and drowned, must amount to more than 7,000. Independently of the 12 pieces of cannon taken from the enemy, and of which I have already most humbly made my report, he has lost three others, be sides one eagle, which I have hereby the honour to lay at the feet of your imperial majesty.

St. Petersburg, Dec. 17. - My lord,-In my dispatch of the 12th inst. your lordship would find

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bulletins containing reports of major-general Kutusoff of the 2d of December, and of count Wittgenstein of the 4th of Dec. These reports described Bonaparte, with the remains of his army, as marching from Zembine upon Wilna, through Vileika; the admiral and general count Wittgenstein moving upon the same point of Wilna, the former through Molodetschno, the latter by Narotsch and Nementchina. In this part of the pursuit, the Russian corps have stuck very close to the enemy; but the light troops which got before him were not of sufficient force to stop him. His course was altered in conse. quence of some of the flank at tacks, and he arrived at Molodetschno instead of Vileika; and having gained some time by destroying the bridge, he continued his march through Smorgonie to Wilna, which place he appears to have reached on the 10th of December. The advanced guards of the several Russian columns arrived in the immediate neighbourhood of Wilna nearly at the same time, and the retiring army was compelled to continue its retreat from that town, almost without a halt. It is said that an aid-de-camp of marshal Davoust was sent to order the rearguard to defend itself before Wilna as long as possible; but instead of the French rear-guard this officer found the Russian advanced guard, which made him prisoner, having already demolished, or sent to the rear, the whole of the French rearguard. Thanksgiving and Te Deum will form part of the church service te-morrow, (being the festival of St. Nicholas,) for the defeat of the French army, the capture of 150 pieces of ordnance, and several ge. neral officers, together with the occupation of Wilna. I have the

honour to inclose three reports, being the journal of military operations from the 20th to the 26th of November old style. Marshal prince Kutusoff's report of the 25th of November from Badaschkewich, and his intermediate report of the occupation of Wilna, and continuation of the pursuit of the enemy. The further report is not yet arrived; but I understand the magazines of all sorts to have been well stored, the quantity of ordnance to have been considerable, and that among the prisoners (not less than 20,000, many of whom are sick or wounded, there are se veral general officers, or officers of distinction, who were under cure, and could not be moved. Two general officers were taken in activity. The one I understand to be general Le Fevre, who was a prisoner of war in England on parole, the other an old Polish general. The apparent direction of the enemy's retreat is towards Kovno; perhaps a column may take the road of Olita. From the state of the weather, it is possible the Nicmen may not be passable, in consequence of floating ice. The commanding officer at Riga reports on the 12th of December that marshal Macdonald has made no variation in his position. I am not sure that the number of pieces of ordnance, mentioned in the notiication of the Te Deum to foreign ministers, refers to what was taken at Wilna exclusively, or whether it does not include what has been taken since the last general statement that was published. CATHCART.

Report of field-marshal prince Kutusoff Smolensko to his imperial majesty, dated Radaschkewitsch, Dec. 7.

The French army having passed

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