The National Register. — London, England, 1809-04-02 00:00:00

4 70 saw it, and have been repeatedly occupied in the Greenland fi'dlery, allege it to be a young one, not more than a year old ; yet its dimensions art' as follow : Its extreme length from the lower jaw to the end of its tail, 16 feet ti inches ; from lower jaw to the end of the holy at the tail, 89 feet ; lower jaw longer than the upper jaw, 1 foot 4 inches ; end of upper jaw to its eye, 14 fret'; from upper.jaw to its dorsal fin, 4S feet 2 inches ; It-ngth of dorsal fin at the base. 4 feet ; height of the dorsal fin, 2 feet ; from body to the end of the tail, feet 6 inches ; extremity of the tail, 15 feet ; eircum, femme of the body at the dorsal fiu, 21 feet ; eye placed from the spiracle, 5 feet ; length of its mouth from the lower jaw 16 feet 6 inches; length of pectoral fin, 6 feet ; breadth of pectoral tin, 2 feet ; longitudinal lines, (almost straight), beginning under the mouth to the middle of the fish ; length of its eye, 5 inches; colour of its lamina', whitish forward, black behind ; distance of the eve to its mouth, inches; 6 feet to the pectoral tin ert'im back-bone ; outer skin peeled off, thickness of tine writing pa per; from one eye to the other, 9 feet 9 inches ; breadth of the lines on its belly, 3 inches ; orifice of its ear, 3 inches ; from its eye to the ear, 3 feet 2 inches. From which proportion, in a sucking fish of only a year old, those not skilled in the Natural History of such creatures, or ac: customed to see them in great variety, may form some concep tion of what a whale must he at its years of maturity. It is pronounced by judges to he the Balena Boops, or pike-headed Species. It completely tills the cavity of the West-country barge, on board of which it is exhibited, and its tail projects sear fo ur yards outside the stern of the vessel. It was killed on the 25th inst. in the river Thames, at Sea Reach, some miles below Gravesend, by Mr. John Barnes, a Pilot of the latter place, who was going in his boat down to the Tore, and observing the water agitated unusually by the motions of the fish, he approached it within swivel shot, and fired at it three different times ; the second shot passed through the fish's tail, and the third mortally wounded it in the body, when by a sudden and violent plunge a-head, it run upon a shoal near the beach, and was left nearly dry at low water. Four hours elapsed between the time the fish was wounded, until it was completely dead. It was towed the next title to the beach off Gravesend, where it was exhibited during four days. It was brought up to London, as we understand, by the order of the Lord Mayor, under the direction of the Water Bailiff; and the contrivance for its conveyance was rather curious. The barge on board of which it now is, was brought along-side the fish at high-water, scuttled and sunk ; the next title of flood the fish was towed to a position directly over the barge, and gradually sunk into her, as the title ebbed. The barge , ting on shore at low water, was of course soon drained through hr.r scuttle holes, and the plugs be ing then replaced, she floated v. ith her unwieldy cargo the next tide, and was twought up to her preseut moorings on Wednesday Afternoon. The appearance of whales in the Thames, though rare, is by tin means umistial. Grainpn=es, indeed, have been often teen so high as Black wall, and even Lowlon Bridge. In the memory of many per-on- resiEng near the fo,-mer place, four have been seen there at one time, sporting am: spontinz up the water to a considerable height and in the year 1780, a whale of 90 feet in length was killed near the same place as that now exhibiting. It may he well, as a matter of curiosity, to gratify the public of the metropolis, ever in,atiable after ranee shows, with the ex of this wonder of the marine k ingdom. lint the pro t••tis e of bringing into the centre or a popidnit- city, for the mere y - ,iziti , :ntion of gazers, a monster of &itch bulk, in a state of putre tar! i,;n, is quite another consideration. The stench is intolerable. z is the constant usage of the inhabitants nit the coasts of t hose i:ens where whal..s abound, winreever a dtNtd one drifts near the shore, immediatc:y to man their boats or canoes, and tow it out a considerable distance to sea, in order to avem the formidable danger of infection from its putrescence, it be thrown high on their bench by the tide. flow fir less necessary such a caution may be in the centr , • Of the City of London is worthy of attention. In all event?, those who visit the whale will do well In use t he:ex pedient of holding to their month. and n o ses !mod kerchiefs well moistened with strong vinegar, to guard ng:aiust iiihaling the putrid of it emits, that which few things can be move noxious to health, and even life. A contest has aris:ot between the Lord 7,Tavor and the Ad irt:ratty w ith respect to the riglit of property in this ti.it. The firmer claims it as Conservator of the River ; ani the Tatter consider it as :t Droit: and accordingly the Marshal of the Admiralty seised it 4):1 l'hursnay, inavritastandint the Lord Mayor's protest asaiwo such a proceeding... lEri Intel! and Publil-hc(l by and for .1, B. BELL an* .1. DE CAMP, at the Office of Le Bean Monde ; or, Literary and FashivtaT , vi!: , . 1 1 q;:z:i ;. '•'n ('ioherine•critet ) `,:trattti; a.nd oia) br had of ail the Newsmen in the United Kingdom. THE NATIONAL REGISTER. APRIL 2. ACCIDENT'S, OFFENCES, Ec. MARY BATEMAV, THE SORCER ESS.—This devoted and profligate creature, was a follower of the principles of Joanna; —only improvieg deception into robbstry, barbarity, and mur der ! She affected the visions—the trances—the second-sight of that wretched sect ;—large bodies of w horn from Leeds attended the execution ; the more simple part of whom really imagined that some miracle would be worked in her favour, and that she would fly off the scaffold in a cloud or on a broom, and be saved by the interposition of Ilebven! Jack Ketch, however, was of a different opinion, and his opinion prevailed ; his tether was too tightly tied against any attempts of her supposed assisting Angels. Notwithstanding all the prayers and exhortations of the Clergyman, she obstinately persisted in denying that she had poisoned the woman for whom she suffered, and died extremely hardened and unrepenting ; thus quitting, after foul and delibe.. rate murder, the last brink of time, with au obdurate lie hang ing on her quivering and distorted lips ! It is a curious matter to state, that so ingrained and assimi lated to her disposition had become Ahoy Bateman's taste for plunder and witchcraft, that from the poor woman who had attended on herself and child in prison, she contrived to steal a guinea, by telling the woman's fortune and making the stars favourable to her in a sweetheart. She carried on this religi ous mummery to the last, and the gallows only stopped her taste and her insight into futurity. When it is considered that this wretch by the same means and by a complete knowledge of poisons, had before destroyed the lives of two innocent women, whom she robbed of every thing they had, and that had Perigo died as well as his wife, this would have been the fourth life a victim to her infernal arts, we trust it will prove a salutary and dreadful lesson to those who are attempting to mislead the un derstandings of the poor by these fanatical flights—by visions— second-sight—trances and stealings—and all the mummery of such abandoned schools as those of Joanna, &c. who are march. ing through piety into the pocket, and making religion a stalk.. ing-horse for plunder. The child which had been sucking for a year past, at her breast was taken from her, some little time before her exectbs tion. Dreadful to tell ! she gave it up, without a pang !! she parted from it, without one emotion !!! A F racTIN C ssir ASTRO oft E.—We have a mnst painful duty to discharge in recording the very dreadful transaction which has involved the family of Sir Steukley Shuckburg, Bart. of Upper Shuckb in the county of Warwick, and the family of Lieut. Sharpe, of the Bedford Militia, in the deepest distress. Lieut. Sharpe having paid his addresses to M iss Shuckhurg, which were disapproved by the family, formed (if he should be disappointed in obtaining the object of his affections), the horrid detertnina. lion of putting a period to his own, and her existence, which he carried into etrect on Sunday morning last, in the plantations of Shuckhurg Park. They were overheard in earnest discourse by the butler, as if l.ieut. Sharpe was persuading her to elope with him ; and, as Miss Shnckburg uttered the words " No, no, no !" he immediately heard the report of a pistol, which, in" a feiv .4.conds was succeeded by another, and they were instantly life less ! !—After a most deliberate investigation of all the circum-, stances of this most adecting and ass fu; event, before John Tomes, Esq. and a respectable Jury, and the Rev. Mr. Brona s field, a :Magistrate of the county, a verdict of Lunacy was given respecting Lieut. Sharpe, and that Miss Shockburg died b.v his hand. Lieut. Sharpe had been occasionally for some weeks preceding in a state of mental derangement, and in coutinement- DIED. Thursday last, at her house in Upper W 4111)01e-street, Lady Dorothy The 21st inst. at Monk wearmouth, Mrs. Llizabcth Middle ton, late of Stockton, aged 94. _ _ _ The '2sth lilt. at Lartington,:near Barnard Castle, Mr. Thomas Parkin, aged 95, a faithful servant to the family at Lartington durimr, more than 80 years. Wednezday se'nnight, in his 99th year, Mr. WI11;am Clough. commonly called Dr. Clough, of Kirkgate, Leeds. 11is death was occasioned bye attending the trial of Mary mime, at York, as a witness, being obliged to stand in a crowded Atuation for 12 slice s:ive hour. I ESTERO %Vs PRICE OF STOCKS. 3 per Cont. Cm - Fol.; 67 : -5 per Cent. Navy 98i—Arm. 25 years . Imperial 11-16--LNehequer Bills 5, 8 pm.--lndia Bond:, 1.9 mn.—l,ottery Tickets .1::'22 4—Cons. for Account 674.