The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1878-05-21 00:00:00

BOURNEKOUTH.

AT the Christchurch County Court there were roversl
cause for bearing before the .1u Ige, hut the only one of
any importance we, an amino lirought by • London
gentleman riarmd .1 he Arthur Sole against • Bourne-
rnooth helginc how* keelier named Henry 11. wore, to
recover .C 25 for ittnarertes allego.l to have heen sustained I.g
an atomic, the detention of certain goods, and unlawful
imprisonment in hie h•iivo. On lieh ii! it its.
stet"' that he took lodg;naa at defendant's home for his
children, whom he left in charge of a nurse. He was to
par two guineas • week. A lever Writ NMt to him cow.
plainim: of damage done to the furniture by his children.
and later the same day the nurse sent • telegram saying
one of the children wso da • ugly ill. He went down
and said he should be happy to pay for any damage his
children had done, but defendant's wife sail the children
had done M, damage, but might hare done if not
prevented. lie told her he rex .reloil that I line excuee so
equivalent to asking 'lira to quit the room., and that as
soon ma the child was well he should do so; that he should
pay her up to the time he took the children away, hut
should Per' no Mallef in lieu of notice. Defendant • wife
said she did not expect him to do six When he went to
take the children away defendant said he should not go
till he paid two guineas—• week's rent in lieu of notice.
This he reflisel to do, and defendant, after letting the
Children go, ticked the door, attempt,' ti to take his bag
from his hand, and said be should not go till he had paid
two guineas. After • time he was liberated, and on the
advice of • friend went hack and paid the two guineas
under pr•t at. The dolga suggeeted ion amirsble settle-
ment between the parties, which IVY acted upon and
ultiinately the jury gave a verdict by consent for £7 10a,
without costa.

TERRIBLE EXPLOSION IN PARIS.
It is long mince anything occurred in Paris which has
caused such deep and wide-spread sensation as the ex.
plosion in the Rue Beranger. All day long thousands
of people have flocked from all parts to the scene of
the castaatrophe in the hope of seeing the ruins, which
are still smoking, but the public are very wisely kept
some distance off by the police and the troop,, who
have been drawn up in a cordon round the Quarter.
The explosion took place at five minutes to eight
o'clock, that is to say, at the Paris dinner time. This
detonation was not very loud, and the shock felt in the
Quarter was more like that of an earthquake than
anything else. This fact will be explained by the way
In which the explosion occurred,
At first the inhabitants, on rushing out of their
houses, thought that the Prince Eugene Barracks had
been blown up, but as the smoke and dust cleared off
flames were seen shooting up from the Rue Beringer,
which lies at the angle of the Rue 'nubbin and the
Place du Chateau d'Eau. It was at No. 22 in this
street where the catastrophe had happened. The
house, which was several storeys in height, was found
blown to the ground, a &moot ruins. It was inhabited
by several tradesmen and a number of private
families, among them a M. Blanchon, a manufacturer
of toy cartridges, who had his premises on the ground
floor.

As soon as the tirst panic was over the work of
putting out the fire and relating the victims was
begun, but it was some time before proper memures
could be organised owing to the alarm and confusion
that prevailed.
The explosion had broken nearly all the windows
in the Quarter, and one large linen drapery firm,
known as the Pastore Jacques. which stands at the
corner, was much damaged, and many of toe essoloyEa
were wounded. The neighbours, fearing another
explosion, began to move their chattels. People
rushed about the crowd in search of missing friends
whom they feared were among the victims. In short,
the scene was one of the wildest dismay and excite-
ment; but as the troops of the barracks turned out
and the police arrived, somethirg like order was
restored. and the steam and hand fire-engines were set
playing, while • body of troops and firemen were told
off to.reeFtic the victims from the ruins.
. .

This dL;g3rous task was rendered all the more
dangerous and difficult by the suspicion that further
explosions would follow; but the men set to work
most nobly, as the poor creatures were recovered—
some dead, others dying, all fearfully mutilated—they
were conveyed to the nearest chemists and hospitals,
accompanied by their weeping and despairing families.
About hallimat nine the suspicion of the authorities
was verified, and a second explosion occurred, bringing
down the walls of the contiguous houses This
another panic for the mom-nt. The rescuers left the
ruins of No. 22 and devoted themselves to the inmates
of the neighbouring buildings, who were happily
saved. Many of the women had fainted from fright,
and were brought down in the arms of the firemen.
Others tore up their sheets and blankets and made
ropes to descend with. One poor old man who had
been paralysed for years was rescued just as tlse floor
of his room was about to fall in. Three little girls,
who had been locked up while the mother went out to
fetch some bread for dinner. were found in an attic
unconscious of the danger which surrounded them.
Many other striking escapes occurred.
At length, as soon as the neighbouring property had
been nodose,' secure, the troops and firemen returned
to the ruin below, but the work of rescuing bodies;
was now interrupted by the MIMS which broke out
afresh towards midnight. However, in spite of the
danger, the pewees s were true to their traditional
courage, and coolly accomplished their duty. Many
of them were wounded and burned, hat as far as at
present known none of them lost their lives. The fire
was not extinguished till the early hours of the
morta( Wednesday.
All night the rescuer, worked at the ruins, beneath I
which and shrieks of human beings were I
audible. ftc difficulty of getting at them 1/114 great,
and most of them died from fright or suffocation
before help could reach them.
How the accident occurred will perhaps never
precisely be known, as those capable f throwing any
light on the matter were killed outright. It is said,
however, that M. Blanchon had just received a large
quantity of fulminating powder for the manufacture of
his toy cartridges". It was the custom to store the
explosive matter in the cellar, and it is surmised that
the servant, in fetching some wine for dinner, dropped
her Woo
A bus subscription, headed_ by the az-Quoin
Isabella of fipatn, hes been nit on loot