The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1883-03-20 00:00:00

SERIOUS FIRE.
r • Canvas iimmirs.")

On ftioday evening, about 6.30, the stilloges which
prevailed in oor quiet little town wee sod den ly disturbed,
and the inhabitsrits thrown into greet excitement by
the alarming m, of " Firs l" It w. soon asoertained
In whet direction the scene of die...ter lay by the
crowds of men. women. and children flocking and rush-
ing towords the sp .1. The 011Wil sprawl rapidly. and
in • few minute, hundreds hal aisembled t witness
the conflagration, which consisted of a stack of wheaten
straw, dry its tinder, •11,1 situate I in the rink yarl of
'sutler Otani., being In el.. proximity to othsrh
ricks and the bare. A line of men was quickly formed,
and newsroom baskets; were kindly lent by the neigh-
boo, to ad to passing the wst ,r from the well, which
was conveniently el- anted near at hand. A line of
boys was also formed It pees back the empty buckets.
Two young and comely maidens alto nobly rendered
assistance, with several energetic women. In this
way • constant supply of water wee amed In quick
sucess-ion to those who were laboriously battling with
the sagciting smoke and flames. Lad thus, after an
hoar and a half had been spent, the fire was at last
subdued, and eventually extioguished. All were will.
leg workers, and manfully exerted themselves, crown.
leg their endeavours with success. Great praise is
due to all for their untiring efforts in thus wasting in
such • case of dire necessity.
Having enquired bow the fire origlaat.d, it was
ascertained that • young arobia.

"Butcher," Befog aloes by, had wantoele Ignited ate
straw, and then proved hie horror and contrition by
jumping in the midst of the burning material, endea-
vouring to extinguish it. The little scapegrace, aged
between seven and eight years, was discover,' by •
man who lived in one of the houses situated above the
road, and, on observing the extremely dangerous
position of this touthful sinew, quickly went and
extricated him from his perilous and scorching
situation. Luckily, the air was still, or the cones-
quenots might have been more disastrous. As it was.
mane Ins of straw were burnt and spited. The most
conspicuous put in this tragical drama woe *mantel on
the arrival of the notorious fire Nuke, which was
"lin", waited for, being *imposed that it would soon
succeed in extinguishing the tire. At the comment's.
mint the Local Board Surveyor en i his assistant&
appeared confuerd eh at the working of lII* despicable
parish toy It was exasperating to the utmost degree
to witness the fruitless endeavour' to rectify this con-
temptible engine of deception. It was apparently Is
• mut shameful data of diaor, ler, and needed a
thorough repair. When it appeared on the scene the
spirits of the bard-working volunteers were consider-
ably fortified, and hopes were unisninion.ly expressed
that the tire would soon be entirely suppressed. But,
oh I how dreadfully crushing it was to be compelled to
stand sad observe the frantic but tard's attempts of
the non-plowed surveyor t rvgulatr this darnegle tad
d almret unbent takedn. After repeated but dl.-
appointed at...simian to get the engine t draw, the
'rev dejected charged' efairs sadly cave orders for the
return of thi. worse than uselese imposition. D inbts
lately it would have been in the same predicament
had the m et valuable prop-rty been in peril, or if
human life had been depending upon its aid. The
parish authorities are 'Patty to blame for baring in
their possession such • despicable and disappointing
encumbrance. The wretched mass .4 cooglom..ratiou
ought to be pub' icly burned on the quay, and • yearly
festival kept in commemoration .4 the event A medal
ought ale" to be coined, hewing the itu,dew of the
so-called fire-engine upon the fro., with the following
sapersoriptlou engraved upon the reverse side :--
Presented to each member of the prerat Local
Board fr their laudable exertions in connection with
maintaleing the Town Fire-engine in a state of
thorough and complete repair." We sincerely regret
to have to cal public attention to the surprisingly
neglected at it. of parish pr 'party, and sincerely hope
that in the future public property will be always In •
fit state of c nspkte ran Suss for immediate me.

WTMIIO 111 ff.
'Fitnerllctetel.—Mr. Freak William.' company have
been giving entertainments in the Corn Exchoig•
during the pest week, and very large audienose
weemhied to witness the monstrodtles of "Sinbad the
Saar."
ZeltLT BreDa.—la • paddock, dimpled by Mr. G.
Ward, on the little estate, c .11,d " Lewis.," near Dr.
Graham's residence, • thrush's nest warn discovered
last week containing four young birds, nearly fledged.
0111TUallY.—Duriog the past week death has taken
from us three old men, whose united ages would
smonnt to 254 year*, Mr. Robert Hone, and Mr.
Robert Ridout were next door neighbours at "St.
Margaret's" Alueshowiee for several years pest. Mr.
R. House (late of Bere) did Mareh 6.h, aged 83
years, and Mr. R. RI loot died March 11th, aced 91.
The following day (Monday) a owl oocurrenoe tot
place at Pamp-hill. M. John Lawrence, cementer and
wheelwright (aged 77 years), who bed been engaged to
make the coffin for Mr. It. Ridout, went out after par-
taking his dinner to finish it off. Hi. h ,u.ekeeper.
thinking there was something unusual In his manner,
followed him into the workshop, when to her great
horror he suddenly expired with the tools in hie
hands. As deceased was subject to an affection of the '
heart, it WM considered by the medical man that an
Inquest would not he neceesary.
Arcllnist to Homo Arlo Wrioncie.—On Filday
afternoon about two o'clock an accident a met
serious and alarming nature occurred at St. John'. hill,
to a very valosble hone, the property of Mr. H.
Pond, a intractor, of Corte Mullen, but was happly
unattended by any fatal personal injury. Great is the
wonder that no one was killed, for at the very time
the children were on their way to Si, John's "hello ,i.
Through some (at present) unknown cause, the
animal on the top of the hill became unmanageable.
The waggon to which it was attached bong loaded
with bricks for Mr. D. Ridont, bonier quite tat
advantage of the caprice of the 110111111, and accelerated
It. speed down the hill to such • degree that if any
person had attempted ti retard its progrees. death
would have been inevitable. Foil 'wing it. very
perilous route, the p or creature knew it. whereabouts,
and instinctively endeavoured to turn the corner, at
St. John's Church so se to m .ke for its homew.ril
journey. The sped at wh oh it was going was too
greet to ace .mplish li, and the poor beast was forcibly
driven against the corner pier of he wall of Mr.
Henshaw's preinda., in the Avenue. So violent was
the collision that the hone partly jumped and was
pertly forced ;afoot and imer the debria into the shrub-
bery. The waggon was very much damaged, one side
Wog completely store io ; sod sus einel other
injuries, which for tile proant makes it tpeless. The
wall preeents a most dilapidated appearance. The
i juries sustained by the hone, were of such • serious
nature, se to render it necessary to convey it home in
a o.ttla van, used generally for fat beast. ,r tattle to
or from tales and markets.