shipped a sea which carried away bulwarks, boats, and everything movable, and broke hatches, causing her to take water in the hold, so that the crew commenced to throw cargo overboard. About 10.30 the Irish land was sighted, and all plain sail was made for the purpose of tacking the ship. After two days the wind died away, and the vessel drifted ashore on the rocks. Some of the crew jumped ashore with a rope, but the sea swept them away. The after part of the ship came round alongside of a rock when some of the men jumped on shore, leaving the master and several of the crew on the poop. The vessel then capsized, and broke up in a few minutes, whereby six of the crew were drowned, including the captain and two mates; the other seven were saved by scrambling up the rocks.

12. GREAT FIRE AT THE PANTECHNICON.-A fire, which in its results has caused the destruction of a greater quantity of valuable property than any which has occurred in London in modern times, has reduced to ruins a large building in Belgravia, known as the Pantechnicon. This establishment, which occupied about two acres of ground, was used as a repository for warehousing furniture, pictures, plate, and other valuable property. It consisted of five storeys, but only three stood above the level of the street, the remaining two being built underground, and used chiefly as silver closets and strong rooms for the storing of deeds. As to how many rooms there might have been, those who had charge of the vast building decline to commit themselves to a statement. They were of all sizes and shapes, having only one thing in common, and that was the iron sheeting, which was fondly supposed to make them fire-proof.

The outbreak was first noticed at about 4.30 P.M., in a warehouse on the second floor in the northern extremity of the building, where some goods were found to be on fire close to the wall. The foreman and the workpeople, twenty or thirty in number, at once got out their manual engine and tried to extinguish the flames; but they had difficulty in getting water, and were unable to make any visible effect. All the iron doors were shut except those by which the men could escape, and by way of further precaution heavy tarpaulins were thrown over all the goods on the ground floor. No time seems to have been lost by the Fire Brigade, for in less than a quarter of an hour several steam and manual engines, with a number of firemen under Captain Shaw, were on the spot. The fire at that time was not very large; but the place was very difficult of access, the smoke was overpowering, and the water supply, at first, was extremely short. All these circumstances prevented anything material being done to extinguish it; but the engines went speedily to work, and every effort was made, though without success, to subdue the flames. Soldiers were sent from the nearest barracks, and immediately set to work to remove the carriages in the front building. The result of their work was soon visible, for Belgrave Square, Wilton Crescent, and a number of

adjoining streets, were literally crowded with the vehicles extricated from the Pantechnicon. The horses, and those in an adjoining livery stable, belonging to Mr. Rice, about 150 in all, were also rescued in time, and taken to a place of safety. The books of Messrs. Smith and Radermacher, the proprietors of the burning building, were likewise removed to the offices of Messrs. Trollope, the builders, in Motcomb Street.

Meanwhile the fire was rapidly spreading from room to room and from warehouse to warehouse, iron doors and walls and laths notwithstanding; and the Fire Brigade-whose force was being largely increased every few minutes by the arrival of a fresh engine-had to retreat from their positions again and again as the flames and the smoke rushed upon them. An abundant water supply was eventually obtained; and the firemen, assisted by the soldiers, the Salvage Corps, and many volunteers, plied their hose from the roofs of adjacent houses and from every position from which the building could be reached.

From six o'clock until ten the fire raged with unabated fury, shortly after which hour a large portion of the roof of the south building fell in, and a party of about twenty men of the Fire Brigade who were working close by had a narrow escape. The force of the fall closed the iron door of the room in which they were at work and prevented their exit, but by a desperate effort they managed to force the door open and escape. At eleven o'clock the remaining portion of the building took fire, and it was then thought every minute that the surrounding houses in Motcomb Street would also be destroyed; but the wind happened to change and the danger was over. About half-past one o'clock the fire had gone down very much; and by four o'clock, or shortly afterwards, it was so much reduced that one-half of the brigade with their engines were sent back to their stations by Captain Shaw.

Throughout Saturday and Sunday seven steam-engines, and on Monday five engines, were kept steadily at work. As a spectacle the scene was one of the grandest order. The fire was visible for many miles round, and it required a large staff of police to keep back the crowd that quickly assembled.

Fortunately but one life was lost during the continuance of the fire, the victim being a lad named Scott. For some long time past this lad, with his two brothers, had been in the habit of appearing at fires, wearing a costume something like that of the brigade, and doing their best to help the regular men in their work. Scott had been warned not to go near a certain wall, which was evidently tottering; but, forgetting the caution, he turned his hose upon it, and almost immediately it fell on him. He was got out in an incredibly short time; but it was too late. He must have died instantaneously. It is stated that the Duke of Cambridge had a narrow escape. He had remarked to one of his suite, "That wall will be down in less than half-an-hour;" but he had scarcely uttered the words before the wall began to sway. His

B

Royal Highness, however, leaped back in time to avoid any injury. A fireman was injured by the fall of a wall, and two or three by the explosion of steam and the fall of a staircase. A trooper of the Life Guards also had his leg broken by some bricks falling on him.

The loss of property was enormous, and, as the proprietors of the building were not responsible for the safety of its contents, the private owners suffered heavily, but a small proportion of the whole having been insured. Sir Richard Wallace lost a very valuable collection of ancient armour, as well as a quantity of silver plate, a part of the Hertford property. Happily none of the fine old pictures of his collection were in the building. Sir Garnet Wolseley also lost his valuable collections made at various periods of his eventful career in the Crimea, India, China, and North America. They had been deposited in the Pantechnicon by the gallant owner in September last, before his departure for the Gold Coast.

15. FIRE AND LOSS OF LIFE.-Two lives were lost this morning at a fire in the shop of a seller of fried fish, in Carnaby Street, Golden Square. The people in the house, on being awakened, tried to escape by the staircase, but being driven back by the flames they rushed to the windows, and a young married woman named Lord jumped from the third floor and was killed on the spot. Several other persons jumped from the windows, and were picked up severely injured.

16. MEETING AT THE MANSION HOUSE.-A meeting was convened to-day by the Lord Mayor, in order to promote a public subscription for the relief of the sufferers in the famine which has long been anticipated in Bengal. A committee under the leadership of the Lord Mayor was appointed to manage the fund; and subscriptions have flowed in liberally, the Queen heading the list with 1,000l. The accounts received from India of the progress of the famine are of the most distressing character.

20. RAILWAY ACCIDENT.-Another of the frightful railway collisions which have become so frequent of late took place to-day at Euxton, near Wigan. Two or three trains were standing on the line, which was blocked in consequence of the breaking of the axle of a waggon, when the limited mail from London to the north came up. The morning was very foggy, and the driver of the mail did not perceive the coal train in front, or the red light of the signal, until he was within 150 yards. His train was running at a speed of about forty-five miles an hour, and although he shut off steam and partially reversed his engine a terrific collision ensued. The engine was thrown over upon its side against the bottom of a hedge, the tender was reared up almost straight behind it, and the rear waggons of the coal train and the front carriages of the mail were heaped up on their sides and ends, or wedged into one another in fearful confusion. Medical assistance was sent for to Wigan and Preston, and special trains were despatched from both places

with doctors. After the immediate wants of the sufferers had been attended to they were sent on to Wigan at five o'clock. The two men in charge of the engine of the limited mail were the most severely hurt, and died within a few hours.

23. INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL MATCH.-This important annual match between England and Scotland was played according to the Rugby rules at the Kennington Oval. The first match came off at Edinburgh in the spring of 1871, where the Scotchmen won by a goal and a try to a try. Next year a return visit was paid to London, and the South countrymen were victorious by two goals and a try to one goal; Freeman, of the Marlborough Nomads, then, as on the present occasion, dropping the winning goal with a wonderful left-footer. Last year the Englishmen again went North to Glasgow,and "honours were easy," though the renowned Freeman all but brought victory to this side of the Tweed by another of his clever drops. The weather was anything but inviting when Scotland kicked off from the Gasworks goal. A dull fog and Scotch mist hung over the scene, the latter increasing into a steady downpour for half an hour or so in the middle of the game. This made the ground terribly slippery and miry, the uniforms of the respective sides (white jerseys, with a rose, and dark brown stockings for England; blue jerseys with a thistle, and scarlet stockings for Scotland, with white knickerbockers in either case) being scarcely distinguishable after a little time had elapsed. Some 4,000 spectators were present. On commencing, the Scotch team made. all the play, and for the first half hour kept the ball in close proximity to the English goal, obtaining one try and a touch down. After this the play became pretty even, and the ball kept chiefly in the middle of the ground, abreast of the pavilion tent, till half time (three-quarters of an hour) was called, and goals were changed. From this time the play was as much in favour of England as it had previously been the reverse. Southerners fairly pinned the Scotchmen up under the western goal, and compelled them to touch down twice, besides Morse very nearly obtaining goals on two occasions by drop kicks. About a quarter of an hour before time was called Freeman secured a goal for England with a splendid drop kick. This now placed the Englishmen's victory beyond doubt, as, although the Scotch fought hard to reverse fortune, it was beyond their power to do so in the short period left for play. Time was called at 4 P.M., and thus the English were left masters of the field.

The

DEATH OF VOLTIGEUR.-This celebrated Derby and Leger winner died this week. His leg was broken by a kick from a mare, and he was shot in his stable at Aske. He was bred in 1847 by Mr. Robert Stephenson, of Hart, and was bought when a colt by the late Lord Zetland for 350l. The confidence felt by Lord Zetland and his trainer in the prowess of Voltigeur rendered him an immense favourite for the Derby. "The tenantry on the Zetland

estates backed him to a man-even the domestic servants anticipated their wages for months to come about him; ladies'-maids could not sleep for dreaming of his success, and a special train of North Riding farmers accompanied him to London." He won both the Derby and the St. Leger, following up this feat by defeating the hitherto unconquered Flying Dutchman for the Doncaster Cup. Next year, however, he was beaten by the older horse in a memorable two miles match for 1,000l. a side at York.

28. CLOSE OF THE TICHBORNE TRIAL.-The month ended to the intense relief of judges, jury, and the wearied public generally, with the termination of the great Tichborne, or rather Orton, trial, which had lasted throughout 188 days, spread over a period of above ten months-a longer time than that occupied by the former trial, for the possession of the estates, which took up 103 Court days, from May 10, 1871, to March 6, 1872. After the jury had given their verdict of "Guilty" on both counts of the indictment for perjury, and the sentence of fourteen years' penal servitude had been pronounced by Mr. Justice Mellor, the prisoner, henceforth to be known as Arthur Orton, was taken out of the court by the doors in Westminster Hall, nearly opposite the members' entrance to the House of Commons. He was in custody of Mr. Superintendent Mott, accompanied by Colonel Henderson, Colonel Pearson, and Inspector Denning. There were loungers about the hall and a crowd watching that entrance to the court where the public have hitherto sought for admission. When they caught sight of the prisoner's well-known form in custody they made a rush to the door of the House of Commons, but a strong body of police was stationed there and kept the crowd from following. The prisoner was taken through the corridors and lobbies of the House of Lords across the courtyard to the foot of the Victoria Tower, where he was placed in the police omnibus. The crowd lingered about the precincts of the hall and courts for more than an hour, apparently in the belief he was still in the building, but as the police were withdrawn it gradually melted away. From the Victoria Tower entrance the prisoner was driven over Lambeth Bridge, along Stamford Street, and finally lodged in Newgate about half-past one in the afternoon.

MARCH.

2. THE GRAND NATIONAL HUNT MEETING, which this year took place at Aylesbury, for the first time, was scarcely so successful as usual. This must be attributed partly to the recent heavy rains, which had made the ground so heavy and rotten that many owners sent their horses home again directly they had seen the course, and partly to the big, old-fashioned fences, which did not at all suit the ideas of some of the modern steeplechase horses, which