followed him; the Spaniard, inftead of treating him with the defired hofpitality, meanly threw him into prison as a spy, and there kept him in a dark damp dungeon for fome months, without either pen, ink, or paper. Being thus deftitute of every means of making his cafe known to his countrymen, he at length bethought himself of writing with a piece of charcoal on a biscuit, which was allowed him for his fubfiftence, to a captain of an English man of war then lying in the harbour; who, though with much difficulty, and after being previously fent to prifon himself, at length effected the captain's release. Here he continued for fome time, till his wife and daughter, a beautiful girl about eleven years old, came to him from home; and from the Canaries they all joyfully embarked for England on board the Sandwich, Captain Cockeran, commander. Glas now fuppofed that all his dangers were over; for the ship had come within fight of his native country, when a part of the crew mutinied, and fecretly refolved to murder all the reft. The names of the confpirators were George Gidley, cook, a native of the west of England, Peter Mackinley, the boatswain, a native of Ireland, Andrew Zekerman, a Dutchman, and Richard St. Quintin, an Englishman. Thefe villains entered into a confpiracy to murder the captain and all the other perfons, and to poffefs themselves of the treasure on board the fhip, which amounted to above an hundred thoufand pounds. This defign on their paffage they attempted three different nights to

At

accomplish; but were prevented more by Captain Glas, than Captain Cockeran's vigilance. length, on Saturday the thirtieth of November 1765, at eleven o'clock at night, the four affaffins being ftationed on the night-watch, and Captain Cockeran being come on the quarter-deck to fee every thing properly fettled, upon returning to his cabin, Peter Mackinley the boatfwain feized him and held him faft till Gidley knocked him down with an iron bar; and repeating the blows till he was dead, they then threw him overboard. The captain's groans having alarmed two other feamen who were not in the confpiracy, they coming upon deck were difpatched in the fame manner. As this horrid scene was not performed without noife, it awakened Captain Glas, who was at that time in bed; upon his coming upon deck, he there perceived what they were about, and flying back with the utmost precipitation to get his fword, as he was unarmed, Mackinley imagining the caufe of his going back, went down to the fteps leading to the cabin, and there ftood in the dark at the foot of them, expecting Glas's return. He fucceeded but too well in his defign; for the captain going up, Mackinley behind his back feized him in his arms, and strove to hold him faft. Glas, who had great strength, had in fome meafure difengaged one of his hands, when the other three ruffians came up to attack him. Mackinley fill kept calling out to his affociates; but Zekerman rufhing on before the reft received the captain's fword in his arm, where the weapon was enG 4

tangled,

tangled, and at length wrefted it out of the captain's gripe. When they got the fword, they gave him feveral stabs, while his groans and refiftance were all this time diftinctly heard by his unfortunate wife and daughter. It is a circumftance that adds fomething pathetic to this relation, that the poor child had but that very day finished a fampler which fhe was working, in which the records her name and her age. The two poor trembling creatures had by this time come upon deck, wading through the blood of the hufband and the father. Upon coming in fight of the murderers, they threw themfelves down, and implored for mercy; but this they were not difpofed to grant, but Zekerman bid them immediately prepare for death, The ladies now feeing that no entreaties could avail, clasped each other with a laft embrace, refolving to die in each other's arms, while Mackinley and Zekerman taking them both together, flung them into the fea, where they foon funk together to the bottom.

the moft diligent; in debates, the moft eloquent; in enterprises, the moft active; in devotion, the most fanatic; in misfortune, the most firm; in an affembly of divines, the most learned; in a conspiracy, the most factious. He never made any mistake, never let flip an opportunity, never left an advantage incomplete, never contented himself with being great when he had it in his power to be very great. Chance and natural temper, which determine the conduct of other men, did not influence the most inconfiderable of his actions.

Born with an abfolute indifference to all that is praise-worthy or blameable, honest or dishoneft, he never confidered virtue as virtue, crimes as crimes; he regarded only the relation which the one or the other might have to his elevation. This was his idol; he facrificed to it his king, his country, his religion; which he would have defended with the fame zeal, had he had the fame intereft in protecting, as in deftroying them. The fyftem of his ambition was conducted with an art, an order, a boldness, a fubtlety, and a firmnefs, of which I believe hiftory can fhew no example.

All fects, all ranks, all nations; peace, war, negotiations, revolutions, miracles, prophecies; all advanced the fortune of this hypocritical ufurper. He was a man born to decide the fate of nations, empires, and ages. The fplendor of his talents hath almost made the horror of his outrages to be forgot; pofterity at least will queftion, whether Oliver Cromwell deserved execration or admiration.

4

A comparison between Montrofe and Cromwell.

These celebrated men fixed the eyes of all Europe upon them. Montrofe had an integrity of heart, which always fixed him in the intereft of his king and country; Cromwell a fuperiority of genius, which gave an air of equity to the moft criminal actions. Vanity properly made the character of the firft, ambition was the only ruling paffion of the fecond.

With the firft, one had great

hopes of conquering; with the fecond, one was fure not to be beat: if the crown could have been kept on Charles's head, it was by Montrofe; if it muft fall from it, it must be by Cromwell. The républican was as much fuperior to the royalift in depth of judgment, as he was inferior to him in goodness of heart. In a word, Cromwell was an illuftrious villain, who cannot be praised without horror, nor defpifed without injuftice, whom we are at once forced to admire and to deteft.

NATURAL

HISTORY.

The following natural history of cold was wrote by one of the most ingenious naturalifts in Europe; and we believe, there are few of our readers but will find in it Something both to inform and entertain them.

A natural history of cold, with Jeveral curious experiments.

NOLD is a quality whofe nature, like that of fire, is beft known by its effects. Whatever are the properties of fire, thofe of cold feem to be directly oppofite; fire increases the bulk of all bodies, cold contracts them; fire tends to diffipate their fubftance, cold condenfes them and ftrengthens their mutual cohesion. But though cold thus feems, by fome of its effects, to be nothing more than the abfence and privation of heat, as darkness is only the privation of light, yet cold is feemingly poffeffed of another property that has induced many to think it a diftinct fubftance from heat, and of a peculiar nature. It is univerfally known, that when cold, by being continued, contracts and condenfes fubftances to a certain degree, if then its power be increafed, inftead of continuing to contract and leffen their bulk, it enlarges and expands them, fo that extreme cold, like heat, fwells

the fubftance into which it enters. Thus in fluids, they contract senfibly with cold till the moment they begin to freeze, from thence forward they dilate, and take up more space than they poffeffed while in a state of fluidity. When liquor turns to ice in a close cask, it is often known to burft the vessel. When ice is broke upon a pond, it fwims upon the furface; a certain proof of its being of a larger bulk than fo much water.

But though this dilatation of fluids by froft feems at first fight to be the refult of exceffive cold only, yet it very probably proceeds from a different caufe, and the power of freezing may be increafed while the intenseness of the cold receives no confiderable addition; on the contrary, a subftance which fhall melt ice will increafe the degree of its coldness. To prove this, mix fal ammoniac with pounded ice, or with fnow; the falt fhall thus melt either of them into water, and, what is most extraordinary, it fhall increase their cold to a furprifing degree, as we find by the effects of this water in finking the thermometer. This experiment has induced many therefore to confider the freezing of fluids as not being entirely the refult of cold, but of fome unknown property either in the air or water which thus mixes with

the