A sorry tale from Dover, reported in two installments by a London correspondent. A vessel from France struck the Mole rocks and started to sink on the 27th day of December, leaving three passengers on board. “They are ftill crying out, and will no doubt perifh.” A moment of bravery and hope was reported in an update of two days later, when it transpired that shortly after the first report the boatmen, “at the peril of their lives”, had launched a rescue mission. Sadly, only two of the three passengers survived. Mrs Wood, who had been visiting London to see her children, passed away in the arms of her rescuers. “In the night the veffel went to pieces.”

How to follow in type this tale of tragedy? Apparently by confirming that, on the 29th day of December, there had been no business in Stocks.

Excerpt taken from: Caledonian Mercury, 2 Jan. 1800. British Library Newspapers, accessed via National Library of Scotland membership.