The Magistrates of Berne lately prohibited the "New Gazette of
Zurich," because of an article in which some seditious hand- bills, posted up and down the town, were insinuated to be the work of the Government itself. The ordinance prohibiting the Gazette had hardly been posted up, when the copies were, torn down or defaced ; others were posted, and shared the same fate ; 'at length, on the night of the 27th of September, a petard, ex- ploded near the library, spread alarm throughout the whole city. The soldiers were called out, ball-cartridges were distributed, guards were mounted, and even the Avoyer was compelled to leave his bed on the occasion. The terror continued to " operate when the last letter (of the 2d of October) came away. It was sup- posed in the town, that the whole affair had been the work of some wag, who sought to divert himself by exciting the fears of his fel- low townsmen.
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