The Pennsylvania packet, or, The general advertiser — Lancaster, Pa.;Philadelphia, Pa., 1783-02-22 00:00:00, page 2

From the UNivERsAL,M A c; azi N e, for Au
gust 1782.
Curious ANECDOTES, remarkable CUSTOMS,
&c. from Memoirs ot Peter Henry Bruce, Esq ;
IN the year 1706, Mr. Bruce lodged at Maellricht,
in th p fame house with the colonel of his regiment.
Here he was told a remarkable flor, of his landlady,
and her former hulband, who was a native of this
town. His name was Niepels, and he was a captain
of dragoons in the Dutch service ; he courted a young
girl at the Hague, who was the daughter of a mer
chant there, and after a solemn promise of marriage,
firfl seduced, and then left her pregnant; her father
was so incensed. that he turned her out of the house ;
but an aunt taking companion on her, kept her till
she was brought to bed, and afterwards supplied her
with a little money, with which, unknown to any
of her friends, she equiped herfeif in mens cloaths,
bought a horse, and went and offered herfeif as a
volunteer in captain Niepels's troop; her offer was
accepted, and she continued some time in the troop.
The captain used sometimes to tell his volunteer,
that he was very like an old mistress of his, but
never had the least suspicion that he was {peaking
to the very person : she flaid till the end of the cam
paign, when captain Niep If, being informed of his
father's death, left the service, and went home to
take possession of his estate. By this accident she
seemed to lose fight of any opportunity to call the
captain to an account, which was the sole motive of
her adventure ; however, file followed him, but laid
aside the cavalier, and re-assumed the female, and ar
riving at Maeßricht, the prevailed upon his maid
servant (for a little money) to allow her to deep in a
private room in the house for one night, as she was a
flranger, and did not chufe to lodge in any public inn.
Having thus broke the ground, and got admission,
she had an opportunity to reconnoitre the house, par
ticularly the captain's apartment, who was generally
abroad the whole day, and came home late at night.
She kept very close, till she thought every body in the
house was afl ep, and then proceeding with a candle
in one hand, and a poniard in the oth-r, to his bed
side, she awaked him, and aiked if he kn w her, and
upon his demanding what had wrought her there, she
told him, that he now mult resolve to perform his en
gagement to her, otherwise she was determined to put
him to death. The captin tnougnt proper to refute,
and, at tie fame time, called to his servants ; but,
before any of them could arrrive, file flruck him in the
breast : and, notwithfianding all tne defence he could
make, she give him several other wounds in different
parts of his body ; the servants at length cime to his
affiflance, and finding their matter streaming with
blood, they sent for a magistrate and guards to fe
cure her. In the mean time, the lady never off red
to move off, but continued upbraiding him with his
treachery, although he entreated her to save herfeif,
as he thought himfelf mortally wounded; at last the
magistrate came with a guard to conduct her to prison,
which the captain would not fuffer, but begged them
to fend for a pried, to whom, on his arrival, he con
feffed how much he had injured the young woman,
and desired the priest, in the presence of the ma
giftrate, to marry them without loss of time, which
accordingly he did: upon the surgeon's delating
that none of the wounds were mortal, the guard was
withdrawn, and by the careful attendance of the fur
geon, and the no less careful attendance of his now
spouse, the captain soon recovered of his wounds.
They lived afterwards in the greatest harmony for se
veral years, till an ill-fated accident put an end to his
life: one evening they were walking together, and
passing by an arsenal where a number of old useless
arms were lying, a gentlewoman in their neighbour
hood, with whom they lived in great intimacy, met
them, and taking up an old rusty pilol, said jocu
larly to captain Niepels, that it was decreed he
Ibould die by the hands of a womm, which he actu
ally did, for the pistol went off and (hot him dead on
the spot.
Mr. Bruce, who entered early into the Ruffian ser
vice, had all the opportunities, which an attendance
on the Czar's prfon, both at court and in his expe
ditions, could afford for procuring the mod minute
and nuerefting information. These memoirs, there
fore, abound with a variety of anecdotes and ex
traordinary details, which cannot fail to give ample
entertainment.
A Pretty remarkable occurrence happened to
Pr nee Eugene, during tie siege of Lisle. His hi h
nefs received a letter from some unknown hand, and
upon opening it, found it contained a greasy paper,
which he immediately and so tuna ely let fall on the
ground ; his ail de-cam p took it up and smelled at it,
and was direfUy f eized with a giddiness, insomuch,
that the. were obliged to give him an antidote: this
paper was then tied about a dog s neck for an experi
ment, and he died within twenty four hours, notwith
Landing a counter poison was given him.—The offi
cers about the prince expressed their concern at the
accident; he replied, without the least emotion, " you
need not wondr at it, gentlemen ; I have received fe
veral letters of this fort before now."
Remarkable circumflances during the Siege of
Lisle, in 1708.
Tme duke of Burgundy being desirous to know in
what condition the garrison was, one captain Dubois
undertook to get into the town, and having got undis
covered to the outworks of the place, he dripp-d nim
felf, and having hid his clothes, swam over seven ca
nals and ditches, and got fafe into the town, and re
turning the fame way brought the duke a letter from
mafia! Bouffl-rs, which he carried in his mouth, so
enveloped that it was preserved quite dry.
Anecdote of Prince Eugene.
Story of Captain Niepels.
In the night of the 28th of September, we were
alarmed (fays Mr, Bruce) with a loud crack, and in
half an hour another, and at midnight there was such
a thunder-clap that the earth was shaken under us:
this so alarmed the whole army, that we lay under
arms till day-light, when we were informed that 1200
of the enemy's cavalry, having each 50 pounds of pow
der in bags behind them, were endeavouring to get in
to the town, but being difeovered and fired upon, they
(purred hastily forwards, by which means some of the
bags got untied, and the powder pouring to the ground
caught the fire which flew from the horses feet, firik
ing on the cause way, and communicating with the
powder in the bags, the whole blew up; about sixty of
the men perished on entering the lines, and an hundred
near the gate; it wts a shocking fight next day, to fee
the road Brewed with half burnt heads, limbs, and
carcases of men and horses : the rest of the corps threw
away their powder and made off, but it was believed
about three hundred got into the town.
Some few days afterwards, fifty peasants were taken
endeavouring to convey powder into the town in their
wheel-barrows ; as they had the liberty to fell milk to
the army, they brought it in barrels, two on a barrow;
and on this occasion, one of the barres on every bar
row proved to be powder; and being all convifled,
they were every one hung up.
Mr. Grav, the elegant author of the Elegy in a
Country Churh-Ya d, being in London before his
promot ion to modern hiftor v, in the univeffity of Cam
bridge, and when his circumflances were so crampt, that
he could indulge himfe f in very few gratifications,
went with a friend to a private sale of books, in which
the lots were very large; amongst the rest, there was
a very elegant book case, filled with an excellent ho
fen collection of the bet French classics, handsomely
bound, the price one hundred guineas. Mr Grav had
a great longing for this lot, but could not afford to
buy it. The conve fation between him and his friend
was over heard by the dutches, who knowing theother
gentleman, took an opportunity to ask, who his friend
was. She was told it was the celebrated Gray. Upon
their retiring, she bought the book-case and its con
tents and sent it to Mr. Gray's lodgings, with a note,
importing, that she was ashamed of fending so small
an acknowledgment for the infinite pleasure she had re
ceived in reading the Elegy in a Church-Yard—of all
others her favourite poem.
A Have of Amrou Leris ran away, but being pursued
Was brought back ; and that the king's grand vizier,
who hated the Gave, solicited Amrou to put him to
death, fuggefled to him, it would be an instance to
deter others. Hereupon the slave cafling himfelf on
the ground before the king, said, " whatever your
ma jelly will be pleased to order as to my destiny, muff
be done; for a slave cannot find fault with his lord
and master; but because I have been brought up in
your palace, as a mark of my gratitude, I could wish
you might not answer for my blood at the day of
judgment ; and therefore if you desire I should be kill
ed let it be under pretence of justice." Amrou ask
ed him what he meant by that pretence ? " Suffer me
(answered the slave) to kill the vizier, and then you
will be in the right to take away my life to avenge his
death." Amrou laughed at the conceit, and asked
the vizier what he thought of it? The vizier answered,
I advise your majetty to forgive the wretch; hemight
draw some misfortune upon me : I have deferred that
answer ; not considering when we design to kill ano
ther, we expose ourselves to be killed, as much as him
whom we intend to murder.
Another.—A Mahometan consulted A ifeheh, one of
Mahomet's wives, asking her advice about the conduct
of his life: Aifcheh answered, " acknowledge God,
command your tongue, refrain your anger, get know
ledge, stand firm in your religion, abflain f om evil,
converse with good people, cover the faults of your
neighbours, assist the poor with your aims, and ex
pe& eternity for your reward."
Melancholy Accident at the Siege of Lisle.
In some of our late papers we have given an account of
a prosecution commenced against general Murray,
for surrendering Minorca to the forces of Spain.—
The following are some of the Charges exhibited by
lieutenant general fir William Draper, on that oc
casion.
Neglefling to withdraw the troops and flores from
Citadella and Tournelle in proper time, a though he
had received strong information from his majesty's
minister at Florence, and from others, that the ene
m> 's defeeot would f?eed ly take place, whereby those
troops and flores were intercepted and loft.
Neglecting on the defeent of the Spaniards, on the
19th of August, 1781, to order the naval and other
flores in the marine arsenal to be set on fire, whereby
those important and valuable magazines fe I into the
hands of the enemy; and omitting to flation vessels to
prevent their rapid approach to Mahon, so that even
his own goods, plans and papers were seized, and
the troops retir d into the fort with great confufion
Suffering the enemy's barbet battery at the Ruffian
hospital to stand undemo ifhed for weeks together, al
though it might have been demolished by the heavy
cannon and howitzers of the garrison.
Ordering several fllips and their contents, to a great
amount, to be funk ; among others the Minorca, a
n e w frigate, which might have escaped in fafety, with
REPAIRING the great road from Mahon to St.
Pslip's, by which the enemy's art llery was
brought up to their batteries with the greetedeafe,
and this after he had repeatedly told the garrison
that they would be attacked
ANECDOTE
Ofthe late Dutchefs of Northumberland.
BAD CON DUCT before the Siege.
AuEastern ANECDOTE.
Abandoning and blowing up all the places of arms,
and communication : of the inner covered way, the
ni^ht after he had given out, in public orders, that
jo case of alarm, he should be found in the part ofthe
inner covered w iy defended by the 51st regiment, and
be the last man to retreat from it; the enemy at that
time not being in any part within three hundred yards
o' the outer covered way, and no work having been
taken, or even attempted.
Ordering the officers in the. out-posts to invite the
enemy into them, with a view, as he said, to blow
them up with the works.
Surrendering the fortrefs and garrison, at a time
when the enemy, in the neared- point of approach to
wards the c^er d way of the Queen's redoubt, was
fbll at the distance of two • hundred and fiftv yards,
and had opened no battery nearer than five 'hundred
yards, when- no work had been taken or once affa alt
ed, except by cannon and fh-lls, and. not one of tne
numerous mines had been sprung, when the mortars
for throwing flones, and the fou^affes were prepared ;
and when there was no breach in any work Below the
Cordon, no r a possibility of it, uilefs the batteries of
th^ enemy had been advanced nearer.
Deering (with a view to magnify the sickness of his
garrison, which is admitted was sickly, and thereby
to juflify his surrender) that the refpeflive command
ing officers would march out their corps as weak as
possible, and also w;th the like view of juftification,
fuppreffirg, in his report to the secretary of Bate, the
mention of the marine corps, which alone Confined of
430 fit f°r duty, with 125 artillery men, besides Greeks,
Algerines, and Corsicans.
BAD CONDUCT after the Siege.
Suffering the Spanish general to turn him out of the
fortrefs, before the articles of capitulation were fig ti
ed, and not taking any hoflages for the security of
his garrison.
Shameful Profusion and Misapplication of the
PUBLC MONEY and STORES.
Misapplying the masons, artificers, and labourers,
by canting them to work on the offices of Stanhope's
tower, for his own emolument.
Buying or being concerned in several privateers, un
der the presence of establishing packet boats to go to
Italy for letters, the crews of which privateers were
chi By taken from the service of the fort, and paid
and victualled from the public money and flores, and
the garrison's ammunition sent and expended on board
the said privateers.
Unnecessarily bringing a considerable charge on the
public by making two colonels, four lieutenant-colo
nels, two majors, and a great number of other offi
cers, who received the pay of their new appointments,
although the four battalions in garrison were at low
numb r, and all their field officers prefect (one ex
cepted) besides several brevet majors.
RAPACITY and EXTORTION.
Obliging the troops anl inhabitants to receive in
payment, a guinea as four and twenty Killings, at
which rate the 50,000 b lent by government were i'ffu
ed, to the great difeontent and detriment of the troops
and inhabitants.'
OPPRESSION and CRUELTY.
Personally heating leveral of the Spanish ' prisoners
who were landing at the door of their prison breath
ing a purer air.
Imprisoning a man of good character, named Goya
for many weeks, without sufficient cause, and without
bringing him to any trial or examination, under
which confinement Goya destroyed himfelf.
T. TOWNSHEND.
only thirty-five hands, and the General Murray pri
vateer with twenty hands; which vessels might have
been ufefully employed for the king's service.
BAD CONDUCT during the Siege.
Giving out in public orders, on the Bth day of Ja
nuary last (being the 3d day of the siege) " that the
enemy's battering train wa s such as had never before
been brought against any place of the firft magnitude
since the invention of gun powder ; and that the gar
rison might be affuted that the defence of fort St. Phil
ip had little or no dependence upon its artillery;"
which order tended to augment the terror of the ene
my's attack, and to cool the zeal and ardour of the
artillery-men of the garrison ; and from the date of
which order the fire from the place became almost ex
tind in the day time, and the enemy redoubled their
efforts.
TH E Spectator has, in his usual happy manner,
pourtrayed the character of what he stiles the
Political Lion, or Court Spy, an animal which, at that
time of day, used to seek for prey in the different cof
fee-houfes in and about this metropolis • ,but I do not
recoiled that either Addison, or any other writer, has
turned his thoughts towards a news collector. There
are various ranks and gradations of this profeffion,
from lord B down to Jack S—o. I (hall however,
for the present pursue the middling path, and give the
outline of lieutenant G , a halt pay officer of ma
rines, who make a decent appearance, and of course is
admitted into decent company.
He is well known to most of the printers of the pub
lic papers, and contrives, by uncommon assiduity, to
pick up a tolerable livelihood.
At 'Change hours he visits both the Lloyds, dips in
at the New-England, takes a peep at Sam's, apd never
fails visiting the Chapter, before he closes the budget
for the evening papers. Tne weft end of the town
now becomes his object, and he has this inflant seated
himfelf in the dark corner, within ear-shot of the poli
tical group, with ^ pencil and paper, and mofl proba
bly to-morrow will produce all the reports that are
From the Town and Country Magazine, for Sep
tember, 1782.
The C OFFE E-H OUS E.