. Brodie performed trachaeotomy on the unfortunate gentleman,
but without avail; so they waited until he had somewhat recovered, and
again hung him up by his heels. This was on 13 May, and, after a few
gentle thumps, the half-sovereign quitted its place, and dropped out of
his mouth, without causing him any pain or inconvenience.

In these days, millionaires, and multi-millionaires are exceedingly
common, but not so in the time of which I write, and much astonishment
was created at the sum of money which Mr. Richard Arkwright, son of Sir
Richard, the inventor of the spinning jinny, left behind him. His will
was proved, on 24 May, in Canterbury Prerogative Court, and his personal
property was sworn to exceed 1,000,000 pounds; the stamp duty on the
probate of which was 15,000 pounds, which was the highest duty then
payable, when the testator's personal estate was 1,000,000 pounds or
upwards. In this case the deceased left behind him a fortune of nearly
3,000,000 pounds.

The 18th of May is memorable in the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, for
the great secession of its members, and the foundation of the Free
Church. This was the day appointed for the opening of the General
Assembly, and Dr. Welsh, the Moderator of the former Assembly, took the
Chair. As soon as business commenced, he read a protest from those who
were dissatisfied with the then state of the Church. It was a very long
document, and having read it, the Doctor, and those who were of the same
opinion, quietly left the Hall, forming a procession and marching four
abreast, to a Hall in Canon-mills, where they elected Dr. Chalmers as
their Moderator.

A contemporary account of this movement is given in the _Observer_ of 29
May: "The number of clergymen who have seceded from the Church of
Scotland, is now 450; and it cannot be a question that, by the middle of
the week, the number will be close on 500. This is nearly the half of
the entire clergy, the number being under 1,200. Among the leaders will
be found the name of almost every minister distinguished for talent,
moral worth, or weight of character. Nearly the whole of the people have
left the Establishment with their ministers--so that the Free
Presbyterian Church, instituted by those who have left the Establishment,
may be considered the Church of Scotland. The general impression in
Scotland is, that the residuary church cannot long exist. About 240,000
pounds have been raised in less than ten