The month of January and the beginning of February were distinguished, the first day by a very remarkable Aurora Borealis appearing at night to the north-east, of a deep and dusky red colour, like the reflection of some great fire, for which it was by many people mistaken; and the coruscations, unlike those that are generally observed, did not meet in the zenith, but in a point some degrees to the southward. February was ushered in by terrible peals of thunder, flashes of lightning, and such a tempest of wind, hail, and rain, as overwhelmed with fear and consternation the inhabitants of Bristol, where it chiefly raged. On the eighth day of the same month, between twelve and one in the afternoon, the people of London were still more dreadfully alarmed by the shock of an earthquake, which shook all the houses with such violence, that the furniture rocked on the floors, the pewter and porcelain rattled on the shelves, the chamber-bells rang, and the whole of this commotion was attended by a clap of noise resembling that produced by the fall of some heavy piece of furniture. The shock extended through the cities of London and Westminster, and was felt on both sides of the river Thames, from Greenwich to the westward of London; but not perceptible at a considerable distance. On the very same day of the next month, between five and six o’clock in the morning, the inhabitants of the metropolis were again affrighted by a second shock, more violent than the first, and abundantly more alarming, as it waked the greater part of the people from their repose. It was preceded by a succession of thick low flashes of lightning, and a rumbling noise, like that of a heavy carriage rolling over a hollow pavement. The shock itself consisted of repeated vibrations, which lasted some seconds, and violently shook every house from top to bottom. Again the chairs rocked, the shelves clattered, the small bells rang, and in some places public clocks were heard to strike. Many persons, roused by this terrible visitation, started naked from their beds, and ran to their doors and windows in distraction; yet no life was lost, and no house overthrown by this concussion, though it was so dreadful as to threaten an immediate dissolution of the globe. The circumstance, however, did not fail to make a deep impression upon ignorant, weak, and superstitious minds, which were the more affected by the consideration that the two shocks were periodical; that the second, which happened exactly one month after the first, had been the more violent; and that the next, increasing in proportion, might be attended with the most dismal consequences. This general notion was confirmed, and indeed propagated, among all ranks of people, by the admonitions of a fanatic soldier, who publicly preached up repentance, and boldly prophesied that the next shock would happen on the same day of April, and totally destroy the cities of London and Westminster. Considering the infectious nature of fear and superstition, and the emphatic manner in which the imagination had been prepared and prepossessed, it was no wonder that the prediction of this illiterate enthusiast should have contributed, in a great measure, to augment the general terror. The churches were crowded with penitent sinners; the sons of riot and profligacy were overawed into sobriety and decorum. The streets no longer resounded with execrations, or the noise of brutal licentiousness; and the iand of charity was liberally opened. Those whom fortune had enabled to retire from the devoted city, fled to the country with hurry and precipitation, insomuch that the highways were encumbered with horses and carriages. Many who had in the beginning combated these groundless fears with the weapons of reason and ridicule, began insensibly to imbibe the contagion, and felt their hearts fail in proportion as the hour of probation approached; even science and philosophy were not proof against the unaccountable effects of this communication. In after ages it will hardly be believed, that on the evening of the eighth day of April, the open fields that skirt the metropolis were filled with an incredible number of people assembled in chairs, in chaises, and coaches, as well as on foot, who waited in the most fearful suspense until morning, and the return of day disproved the truth of the dreaded prophecy. Then their fears vanished; they returned to their respective habitations in a transport of joy; and were soon reconciled to their abandoned vices, which they seemed to resume with redoubled affection, and once more bade defiance to the vengeance of heaven.
PESTILENTIAL FEVER AT THE SESSION IN THE OLD BAILEY.
By this time all the gaols in England were filled with the refuse of the army and navy, which having been dismissed at the peace, and either averse to labour or excluded from employment, had naturally preyed upon the commonwealth. Great numbers of those wretches who, by proper regulations, might have been rendered serviceable to the community, were executed as examples; and the rest perished miserably, amidst the stench and horrors of noisome dungeons. Even the prison of Newgate was rendered so infectious by the uncommon crowds of confined felons stowed together in close apartments, that the very air they breathed acquired a pestilential degree of putrefaction. It was this putrefied air, which, adhering to the clothes of the malefactors brought to trial at the bar of the Old Bailey, in May, produced among the audience a pestilential fever, which infected and proved fatal to the lord mayor of London, to one alderman, two of the judges, divers lawyers who attended the session, the greatest part of the jury, and a considerable number of the spectators. In order to prevent such disasters for the future, the gaols were cleansed, and accommodated with ventilators, which exhaust the foul and supply a circulation of fresh air; and other humane precautions were taken for the benefit of the prisoners.
DISPUTES BETWEEN RUSSIA AND SWEDEN.
The affairs of the continent underwent no remarkable alteration. An ambassador-extraordinary being sent to Petersburgh from the court of London, declared to the czarina’s minister, that, in case of a rupture between Russia and Sweden, occasioned by the hostilities committed by the former power, his Britannic majesty would consider Russia as the aggressor, and the czarina could not expect that he would supply her with the succours which he was engaged by treaty to furnish for her defence, in case she should be attacked. A declaration of the same nature was made by the ambassador of her Imperial majesty the queen of Hungary, while the ministers of France and Prussia, who were in strict alliance with Sweden, gave her to understand that they would punctually fulfil their engagements with the court of Stockholm, should she actually invade the Swedish territories of Finland. The spirit with which the king of Prussia exerted himself on this occasion, gave infinite umbrage to the czarina, who, indeed, expressed her resentment, by treating the minister of Brandenburgh with contemptuous neglect, and even refused to favour him with an audience till he should be vested with the character of ambassador. Thus were sewn the seeds of misunderstanding between those two powers, which, in the sequel, grew up to the most bitter animosity, and served to inflame those dissensions which have desolated the fairest provinces of Germany. The remonstrance of his Prussian majesty, with respect to the troubles of the North, was couched in such terms as gave dissatisfaction to the court of Petersburgh. The Russian minister retired from Berlin without the ceremony of taking leave, and the Prussian ambassador Warendorf was recalled from the court of the czarina.
PLAN FOR ELECTING THE ARCHDUKE JOSEPH KING OF THE ROMANS.
The attention of his Britannic majesty was not wholly engrossed by the disputes between Russia and Sweden. He had another object in view, which more nearly concerned the interests of his German dominions; and had set on foot two negotiations of the utmost importance to the commerce and advantage of Great Britain. His first and principal aim was, in conjunction with the court of Vienna, to take such measures as would secure the succession of the Imperial dignity to the archduke Joseph, eldest son and heir to the reigning emperor. As the previous step to that elevation, it was proposed to elect this young prince king of the Romans; and for this purpose it was necessary to procure a majority not only of the electors, but also in the diet of the empire, through which the proposal must have passed. No stone was left unturned to reconcile this expedient to the German princes. Subsidies were offered by the maritime powers of England and the states-general to the electors of Mentz and Cologn; and a treaty of the same nature was concluded with the elector of Bavaria, who, in consideration of an annual subsidy, amounting to forty thousand pounds sterling, two-thirds to be paid by Britain, and the rest by the states-general, engaged to keep in readiness a body of six thousand infantry, as auxiliaries to the maritime powers, though not to act against the emperor or empire; and to join the interest of his Britannic majesty in the diet, as well as in the electoral college. In order to render the king of Poland, elector of Saxony, propitious to this design, he was accommodated with the loan of a very considerable sum, upon the mortgage of certain bailiwicks and lordships belonging to the Saxon dominions. Thus a majority of the electors was secured, and such foundations were laid for the success of this project, that it was generally believed it would be accomplished in his Britannic majesty’s next visit to his German dominions. Hopes, it was said, were given to the king of Sweden, that his concurrence would be gratified by erecting the house of Hesse-Cassel, of which he was head, into a tenth electorate. Arguments of an interesting nature were used with the king of Prussia, and the elector-palatine, that if possible, the diet might unanimously approve of this measure, so necessary for establishing the peace of the empire, and preventing such troubles as arose from a disputed succession at the death of Charles the Sixth. These endeavours, however, did not succeed in their full extent. The king of Prussia, as elector of Brandenburgh, opposed the election as unnecessary and improper, on account of the health and vigour of the reigning emperor, and the tender years of the archduke. This monarch had set himself up as a balance to the power of the house of Austria, which had long aspired to absolute dominion over its co-estates, and endeavoured to establish an hereditary right of succession to the empire; he therefore employed all his influence to frustrate the measure proposed, either actuated by a spirit of pure patriotism, or inspired with designs which he had not yet thought proper to declare. The opposition was joined by the elector-palatine, and countenanced by the French king; who protested, that, for the sake of peace, he would not oppose this election, though contrary to the Golden Bull, provided it should be confirmed by the unanimous consent of the electoral college; but should any one member signify his dissent, and he or any state of the empire claim the protection and assistance of his most christian majesty, he could not dispense with granting both, in consequence of his being guarantee of the treaty of Westphalia; an engagement by which he was obliged to succour those princes and states of the empire who might have recourse to him, in case of any grievance they suffered contrary to what was stipulated in that constitution. This declaration co-operating with the known character of his Prussian majesty, whose great army over-awed Hanover and Bohemia, in all probability damped that vigour with which the courts of Vienna and Herenhausen had hitherto prosecuted this important negotiation.