The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1858-04-06 00:00:00

Mllltibtre.

TOTAL DESTRUCTION OF THE SOUTH

WESTERN RAILWAY STATION,

On Saturday night week the Salisbury Station of
the South Modern Railway, wee destroyed by fir*
The last train for Portsmouth WM barely out of
sight, when an alarm wee raised that the station was
on fire ; and the majority of the officials having left
for the night, it wee at onoe perceived that there was
little chance of suppressing the outbreak. The
offices and covering of the platform adjoining
extended over a distance of about 125 yards, and
being chiefly of wood, the Ignition was so ripid that
In less than a quarter of an hour wreathe of flame
shot high into the air along a considerable portion of
the building ; and even had there been a plentiful
supply of water, any attempt to arrest the progress
of the devouring element would have proved utterly
abortive. The building having been erected nine or
ten years, the materials had become very dry, and
the the ran along the sides and leapt from rafter to
rafter with astonishing rapidity. Hundreds of small
jets of flame forced themselves through the inter-
stices of the tiles, and gave to the whole the ap-
pearance of a monster display of fireworks. The
roof of the ticket offioe and waiting rooms lint fell
in, then followed that of the Superintendent's office,
the framework, of which, however, stood for some
time and sent forth so intense an heat that it was
difficult for parties to remain in the yard. A por-
tion of the roof of the passenger station having
fallen in, the heavy framework of the side fell out-
wards from the lower end with almost the regularity
of grass before a mower's scythe. There were thou-
sands of persons present, and so brilliant was the
light, that their features could be distinguished at a
long distance, The station being situated on a ele-
vated spot, the conflagration wax witnessed for miles
around, and so furiously did it rage that in little
more than an hoar the whole extent of building was
reduced to a bed of smouldering embers. Attention
was accordingly directed to the preservation of the
goods shed, at • distance of 15 or 20 yards, in which
property of considerable value are stored. The

station being without the boundary of the Borough,
and there being no water hydrant within thirty or
forty yards of the gates, sonic difficulty was felt in
obtaining a supply of water, and even when the hose
was connected the pressure was found to be in-
sufficient, owing to the elevation, to force the water
to the spot where it was most required. The
Borough engine was ultimately placed midway, and
the hose was brought to bear upon some fencing
which had just ignited at no great distance from the
goods shed. Shortly before midnight Mr. Haywood,
the station master, proceeded to Bishopstoke by
special train, and coniinunicated with the authorities
in London; and on Sunday, Mr. Crombic, Secre-
tory; Mr. A. Scott, Traffic Manager; Mr. Godson,
Chief Superintendent; and Mr. Strapp, Chief
Engineer to he Company, visited Salisbury, and
gave instructions for the speedy removal of the
debris, and for the adoption of other arrangements to
prevent any interruption to the traffic. The loss
may be set down at from £6OO to £BOO, and will be
provided for out of a sinking fund set apart by the
company. The cause of the fire cannot be stated,
but from the fact of its having been first discovered
in the ceiling of the sentletuen'e waiting room it is
supposed to have originated in one of the chimneys.
In addition to the property of the company we must
mention the destruction of the book-stall and stock
of Messrs. Smith and Son. Mr. Figea, too, of the
Three Swans' Hotel, who had a refreshment room at
the station sustained a considerable loss, which, we
understand, is not covered by insurance. The beat
was so intense that gold and silver left in the clerk's
desk were found amongst the ruins on Sunday com-
pletely fused. Several iron pipes were also melted;
and it was stated that some bank notes deposited
in an iron safe were destroyed, and that the books
which it likewise contained were found to be of little
or no service. Workmen are now engaged in erect-
ing a temporary station, tickets being issued mean-
while from a small shed on the platform. The
Omployes of the Telegraph Company have secured
quarters ins snug horse-box at the end of the line.

CITY QUARTER SESSIONB.—The General Quarter
Sessions of the Peace for the city of Salisbury were
held at the Council-house on Monday week, before
John David Chambers, Esq., Recorder. At the ter-
mination of the business the Grand Jury made this
presentment :—" That on consideration of the table
of fees placed before them, they consider the allow-
ance for parties prosecuting, and witnesses unpro-
fessional, are too low to reimburse them for their
actual outlay, and ought to be increased."
" D'WONTE WALLOP 1 !"—The remarkably broad
dialect of the peasantry in Wiltshire, like their
physical aspect, preserves much of Saxon
character: v is generally substituted for f, and z for
s, as in veather for father, and sun for son, thease
for these; for the plural s, en is often substituted, as
in houzen for houses, peszen for pease, &a. This,
thezen, thuc, and themmen, for this, thew, that, and
those. Some words in frequent use are peculiar,
such as woebird for a mischievous person, meaning
perhaps 'a woe's bird,' or bird of evil omen;
coddle' for confusion; dtunmel,' stupid; sprack,'
the opposite of lively; 'leer,' empty; !lunch,'
deaf; ' frome,' growing, &c. That excellent Wilt.
shireman and antiquary, Mr. J. Y. Akerman, has
' printed some amusing specimens of the provincial
dialect. They hardly bear transcribing, however—
the intonation making a full half of their oddity,
These provincialisms are now, of course, fast disap-
pearing under the influence of Her Majesty's inspec-
tors of schools, national and other. Boys and girls
who have gone through Pinnock's catechisms are not
likely to retain any of them, though we do now and
then hear a phrase addressed, by new corners espe-
cially, to the schoolmaster, as "Oh, cur, our,
d'wonte wallop l."—Derizes Gazelle.

RAILSBURY. —Shocking death from drinking hot
water out of a tea kettle.—An inquest was held at
the Crown Inn, Raznabury, on the 26th ult., by W.
B. Wh.itmarsh, Esq., coroner, on the body of Ellen
Wootton, aged one year and ten months, daughter of
John Wootton, widower. It appears that on Mon-
day week the deceased was left in the care of Jane
Williams, a girl of about 8 years of age, and about
12 o'clock on that day, while they were at play
near the house with some other children, the
deceased went into the house and drank some hot
water out of the tea kettle hanging by the side of
the fire, and which had boiled shortly before.
Medical attendance was immediately sought for and
obtained, and every means was used to alleviate the
poor child's sufterings, but without avail. She lin-
gered till about five o'clock the same evening, when
death terminated her aufferings. The jury returned
a verdict of accidental death from drinking hot
water out of a tea kettle.

MARLBOROUGH. - Testimonial to the Rev. Sir
E. H. G. Williams, Bart.—On Tuesday afternoon
a vestry meeting was held at St Peter's for the pur-
pose of taking steps towards presenting a testimo-
nial to the rector, the Rev. Sir Erasmus Williams,
who has recently resigned the ministerial charge of
this parish on his appointment as Chancellor and
Canon Residentiary of the Cathedral Churoh of St.
David's, Wales. Dr. Fergus (churchwarden) was
called to the chair. After speaking of the long resi-
dence of Sir Erasmus, his great kindness to his
parishioners, the poor in particular, and the interest
he took in everything calculated to promote the good
of the pariah, Dr. Fergus called on R. E. Price,
Esq., to propose the first resolution. This resolu-
tion was ably and warmly seconded by John Hal-
combe, Esq., who remarked that Sir Erasmus had
resided amongst them now nearly 30 years, that dur-
ing that time he had frequent opportunities of ob-
serving the condudt of Sir Erasmus both in the
capacity of • clergyman and !magistrate, and found
him filling both offices with judgment and justice.
Mr. Halcomb also referred to the fact of Sir Eras-
mus having built such a beautiful residence as the
Rectory, and purchased the meadow adjoining ; as
also the part he took, at a sacrifice of much time and
money, in promoting the erection of the schools,
which had been pronounced the most perfect
building of the sort in the county, remarking that
it was mainly owing to his untiring exertions that the
Quarter Sessions were not removed from this town.
A committee having been appointed to carry out the
object, a subscription was at once entered into, when
the sum of .827- Os. Bd. was speedily contributed.
A vote of thanks te the Chairman brought the meet-
ing to a close.
- -

MUTUAL IMPROVIIMZNT SOCIETY.-011 Wednes-
day week a lecture was delivered at the assembly
room, by Mrs. Balfour. This lady, always a
favourite here as elsewhere, has lost none of her
pleasing and inimitable powers since we last had the
pleasure of a visit from her. The subject of her
lecture on this occasion, "Charlotte Bronte, " author
of" Jane Eyre" and "Shirley, "afforded interesting
information relating to this talented and extraoroli•
nary authoress.