The Virginia Gazette

Extract of a letter from Kilkenny, in Ireland, December 3.

"On the 25th ult. departed this life, at Athy, in the county of Kildare, in the 80th year of his age, 36 whereof he had been seated in the president's chair of the ancient society of porter drinkers in the above town, James Purcell, commonly known by the name of Baron Purcell of Loakman. His death was occasioned (as his last breath declared) by the opposition given him by a young foreigner, whom he had introduced into the above society, who had for some time past been endeavouring to supplant him in the chair; and so anxious was the poor man to disappoint the ungrateful attempts of the foreigner, that in his last moments he had most of the members summoned in order to choose a successor; and to render the poor creature's departure as easy as possible, they rejected the foreigner, and chose a person of his recommendation, and he shortly after expired in great composure. On opening his will, the following humourous bequest was found in it: 'And I do hereby direct that my body shall be preceded to the grave by twelve of the best performers on the small pipes which can conveniently be had, to whom I will one crown each for playing my favourite tune of Granuaile: and I do solemnly exclude Stephen the tinker out of the number, as a base musician.' He also bequeathed a butt of porter to be drank over his grave, or (if the clergyman would not allow that) on the market cross; the greatest concourse of people, that ever was known at a funeral in these parts, appeared at his. The pipers attended in pursuance of his will, but would not accept the crown bequeathed them as above, as the Baron in his lifetime had been a capital performer in their way; 45 members of the porter society, with the chairman at their head, marched in the uniforms of their body before the corpse. The whole of this melancholy ceremony was concluded with that decency and propriety for which this ancient society was ever remarkable."