14 Should it have been NAPOLEON'S intention to send out his Scheldt fleet with an army on beard, either to -America, to assist in the threatened hostilities against us, or to attack some of our colonies, or retake his own ; it is a fortunate circumstance that the Orient squadron should, by sailing first, have exposed his probable designs, and pat us on our guard. By itself, it is not strong enough to effect any very important object. It is therefore not unreasonable to suppose, that it was intended to act in conj unction with another fleet, which the redoubled vigilance of our sailors will closely confine to its ports, ir their bravery capture if it dares to meet them openly. It is possible, however, I.lrit the Orient squadron was destined to lay in wait for tair rich and numerous East and West. India fleets, which sailed a day or two after. This was an end which it would have ' been fully competent to attain, had its escape remained undiscovered. But it was fallen in with, and accompanied for two days by one of our frigates, and afterward , - ac tively chased by two British men of war, so that should it reach its destination, it could not proceed to the execution of its orders without having to cootend with a force so su• perior in skill, experience, and 1. 0 - very, though inferior in 'lumbers, that if it escaped being taken, it could only be through flight. As:Admiral DURHAM sailed on Thursday from Portsmouth with four sail of •the line and a sloop, he would then meet the enemy on their return, and lead them safe to a British port. The following is the only official intelligence hitherto aeceived at the Admiralty, of the course and progress of the French squadron, and its pur uers. Advices have been received at the Admiralty that the enemy" squadron, of four sad of the lir.e and two corvettes, which escaped from Orient on the 9th hist. was seen and kept company with by his Majesty's ship Diana, of 36 guns Capt. FERRIS, on the 9 th and the whole of the 10th. Oa the latter day she fell in with his Majesty's ship Pempie, of 80 guns, and late in the evening she discovered two sail, apparently of the line, standing in punt& of the French squadron. O the morning of the 11th, the Diana, ht ing in lat. 48 . 1 5 . N. lo n g . 5. 58. W a firing was heard in the N. W. which Captain FERRIs calculated to he the French and the two ships that were in pursuit of them. " Sir RICHARD KINfl n-rtes on the 11th, in lat. 48. 18. N. long. 46. W. Ushatl, hearing E. 1); N. N. distant '2B miles, that he had fallen in with his Majesty's sloop Myrtle, who had communicated to him by telegraph, that the .rint squadron were seen on the 10th twenty leagues N.W. of Ushant, on the starboard tack, wind N. E. his Majesty's ships Trmendcus and Poictiers being to windward of chilli. 1 4 4 Sir RICHARD KING, with the Bulwark, Northumberland, and Colossus, was proceeding off &eft." There can be no douht, but that on the llth, the Tre mendous and Poickiers had (Tel - led t)leir fire upon the enemy, but as this was prohably at some distance, and the night being d.:l k, there being no moon, it is very pos sible that they may escape. Great activity prevails .in tOrwardiug reinforcements to our army in Portugal. An the ct:tachments at the differ ent depots belonging to regiments on service in the Iknin sula, are under orders f:n- embarkation. A considerable part of the reinforcrnents will consist of cavalry, which we understand is wanted to slipply the loss sustained in the late marche3, in which, owing to the badness of the roads, the horses snff,!red greatly. Admiral Sir R. Birr.FIITQN yesterday received his com mission as Commancicr of his Majesty's ships at Pc.n.ts mouth. German papers were received on Frhlay night to the Bth instant. They bring no corroboration of the reported march of the French army towards Russia, neith-n- do they contain any allusion to the recent occurrences.t. in Po rrerania. The depo , ed Kill ? : of SWPDFN, nlw Count conti:'nes to give signs of an alienated mind. lrv , lat. Iv, Nv'ithont any s.ittsi:zttery cause, repudiated wife, and in imitation of IIcoNAPARTE, obutt: - kvtd her -- MARCH 2?. consent to the divorce, as will be seen by the following ar• tide PA I r,, rrn. Is.—" In consequence of the steps t:Acen by Count COT. Ton r to obtain his divorce, the Court tif Baden, condescending to his wishes, sent here Baron BECICHLELM, accompanied by a Counsellor ; and. on the 17th of this mouth, at four o'clock, the divorce was proaoui:c ed. His August Spouse has thought it proper, although with much grief, to accede to the will of her husband, and return hint the ruptittl ring." The Paris Papers received to the 12th inst. contain a Decree, declaring all communication between Heligo. land and the H.rnse Towns treason, establishing a per. manent Military Commission for the trial of the off& n'.:crs a and subjecting the guilty to the punishment of death. .51ISCELL AA IES. The following report is given of what passed at the late interview et the Duke of Bedford with the Prince Regent : " His Grace stated respectfully, but firmly, that in any future discus skins ot. the Catholic claims, he considered himself bound to support them ; not only from his own conviction of the expediency of the meae sure of Catholic Emancipation, but from a sense of duty and resrrct towards the Prince Regent personally ; his Royal Highness having, in a letter written to his Graze while Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, held out, as his Graee conceived,, an idea that the sentiments entertained by his R oval lel Igiine‘s were favourable to the claims of the C•tholics. Acting under the impressions made upon his mind by this communication, his Grace, as Lord Lieutenant, had then given such assurances to the Catho lic,, as he thought were warranted by the sentiments expressed in his Royal Highness's letter. His Grace concluded, by requesting permk sien to leave a copy of this letter with his Royal Highness, lest till re should be any mi , apprehensinn oil the rot of his Royal Highness or his friends as to its contents. Before the Duke left the room, the Prince kindly took hint by the hatel. i and expressed an earnest wish that they should continue good friends. We copy the following paragraph from a morning paper, arel trust, that if the assertion it contains is false, Mr. Braham will hasten to cot , - tradict it, as it tends to lower him in the public estimation, by repre senting hint as the most interested of men We understand that an application has been made, upon the part of the proprietors, to engage Mr. Braham, to take the situation of the first vocal tenor at the Pantheon, but that he hag declined the overture alto gether, although be was offered fiely pounds per night fur his ssrvices! lVithout meaning to detract from the professional merit of Mr.l3i sham, which is certainly of the first order, we must be allowed to say, that he has earned to sing to some tune, as forty pounds is the annual sum urn which a tiled curate, in an adjoining county, is compelled to maintain his femily." .Bccorditu; to the laws of France, any marriage entered into here by a French prisoner, is null and void. A meeting of the Livery of London is convened for T hursda y next, the eeth instant, for the purpoo! of addressing the Prince Regent on the subject of an extended Administration. Hermanus Vets has been expunged from the list of subscri bers to Lloyd's Coffee-house, in consequence of the Grand Jury of Mel:lL:sex having found a true bill against him, for fabricating certain documents, with the view of defrauding the underwriters. The demarel for seamen is so great that the Impress Officers take nearly fro:, all protections. The indulgence which has hitherto hero granted by the Admiralty of discharging men on certain conditions, is suspended, aceording to report, during the present e xigency. he important Petition of Edward Be r ke l ey Portman, E ainst Esq. n 'he projected Cenal (proposed to be called the Regenee Canal, to run through his estalet in Maryle-hone parish), was heard before a Co:e rn:Lee of the House of I ommons last week, when it appeared dee the estate is of the value of eight millions sterling, the reversion of which , will come to the Portman family on the ex p iration of the tenants leases ; and that there are twenty-seven thousand inhabitants upon it who evil: be affected by the Canal. Spirit of tar ie strongly recommended as a certain remedy for destroy ing the insect termed eonericen blight in apple trees, &c. Wherev er tne insects's white efflorescence appear, t'*e spirit is to be ruht with a hair brush, awl also in the crevices; it may be applied at aey tin:e of the year. Spirit of on pentine used in the =ante manner, is the next best application, but it is nearly twic e as dear as the former, and not so effectuel. A new method of preserving pork has recently been discovered. A piece whit Is is re-;resented as having been at sea five mouths. and as tieing eaten by the ship's company in preference to pork salted after the usual method, has been sent to the Commissioners for victualling the navy, for their inspection. The pork, it is stated, is boiled fresh in large. pieces, then put into a tight cask, and filled up with vinegar, and c losetl quite securely, so as to prevent the admission of any air. The tiavon . r.is_ far from being so' unpleasant, or so sour, as might be expected; whr the pork cuts out quite firm , without bei n g at all hard, as is generwq the case with that which r. salted. THE NATIONAL. REC_ISTEII. ■ ,~-