AMERSHAM, or AGMONDESHAM, a small but very ancient borough, in Buckinghamshire, situated in a vale between woody hills, 29 miles from London. This town does not come within the compass which we have prescribed round London, but our map of the environs not being a circle, the angles of it take in some few places at a greater distance than 20 miles; and these being inserted in our map, we thought we could not dispense with taking notice of them, as well as of those within the prescribed limits. The town consists of a long street, divided about the middle by a shorter cross street; in the intersection of which stands the church, said to be the best rectory in the county; it being well endowed by Geoffery de Mandeville, Earl of Essex, in the reign of King Stephen. There is here a handsome market-house, built with brick on arched pillars, about 80 years ago, by Sir William Drake, Knt. It has a free school founded in the reign of Queen Elizabeth; and here is also a fine seat called Shardelowes, the manor of which formerly belonged to the noble family of the Russels; but about the time of the restoration it was sold, with the borough, to Sir William Drake, Bart. in whose family it still remains. AMICABLE SOCIETY, in Serjeants-inn Fleet street, was incorporated by a charter granted by Queen Anne, in the year 1706, for a perpetual Assurance-office for the purpose of making a provision for their wives, children, and other relations, after an easy, certain and advantageous manner, with power to purchase lands, &c. and to have a seal, which is a dove standing upon a serpent, and above in a scroll the motto PRUDENS SIMPLICITAS. The number of persons to be incorporated was not to exceed 2000. After paying the charges of the policy, and 10_s._ entrance-money, each person was to pay 6_l._ 4_s._ _per annum_, which annual payments have since, by the increase of the Society’s stock, been reduced to 5_l._ a year, payable quarterly, and from these payments the dividends to claimants are to arise. That this Society has been greatly beneficial to the public, evidently appears from a state of their yearly dividends from Lady-day 1710, to Lady 1757, during which each claim amounted upon an average to 106_l._ 1_s._ 4_d._ but taking the computation only for these twenty-three years last past, _viz._ from the year 1734, (when by an order of the general court, a part of their yearly income was appropriated for augmenting their claims whenever they should happen to be under 100_l._) the quantum of such claims from the year 1734 to 1757, have amounted upon an average to 120_l._ 9_s._ 1_d._ and so considerable has been the increase of the dividends for these nine years last past, that each claim, during that period, has been advanced upon an average to 142_l._ 6_s._ 5_d._