The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-05-29 00:00:00

our fo6ort Corrtspmbtut.

We deem it right to state that we do not at s U tiMOll
identify ourselves with our Correspondent's opinions.]

Often as the heading "Fires in London "appears in
the columns of the Metropolitan press the comparative
immunity of the capital from serious conflagrations is
a fact no less gratifying than it is remarkable. This is
in a great degree attributable to the wonderful
efficiency of the Fire Brigade. Its head quarters are
at Watling-street, in the very heart and centre of the
city; and its chief, Captain Shaw, looks upon his pout
t
as one of so much importance and responsibility, t I
he makes the chief fire engine station his residence. t 1
has long gone out of fashion for people who hold any
position at "all to sleep in the city of London; they,
not unnaturally, prefer the suburbs, and while
running into the city by train or by omnibus every
morning to transact their business, returnto the country
air at night. But it would not do for the _
Metropolitan Fire Brigade to be at Wandsworth, or at
Highgate, or at Snrbiton in the middle of the night,
with a big blaze threatening the existence of a con-
siderable portion of the capital. So lie is always to be
found at Watling-street, which
,is in direct tele-
graphic- communication with every part of London.
And yet there have been times when fire, which
is so useful a servant, but so terrible a master, has
long defied the most strenuous exertions of the entire
brigade, and when there has been something awful in
the roar of the flames, as rejoicing in their strength
and in their might, they have seized upon warehouse
after warehouse, and street after street, spreading con-
sternation right and left, dancing, hissing, crackling,
and leaping high up into the air. That which carried
the greatest terror in its train was the great conflagra-
tion of June, 1861, which broke out amongst the store-
houses in Tooley-street, and destroyed property worth
two millions sterling. The Thames then literally ran
with fire, for as the inflammable oils in the ware-
houses took flame, they poured out all ablaze upen the
broad surface, and it was with the greatest difficulty
that the shipping was preserved from the destruction
which was raging on the land. But for a fortunate
change of wind, it was computed at the time that the
whole borough of Southwark would have been laid in
ashes. Mr. Braidwood, the chief of the metropolitan
brigade, was killed in that tremendous struggle, the
memory of which is still fresh in the minds of the
London firemen. A waterside fire here at night is a
most impressive spectacle. The great public build-
ings stand out in bold relief against the lurid
glare in the sky, and upon the bridges tens
s
, of thousands of dusky forms may be seen
a swarming on the pavements, clustering on the
s parapets, sitting on the railways, clambering over the
abutments, the multitudinous hum of their voices
rising high above the roaring of the fire. In our
national institutions the most extraordinary precau-
tions are taken to guard against this merciless agent.
Watchmen never cease to patrol such places as the
Houses of Parliament, the National Gallery, the
British Museum, the Tower, and St. Paul's Cathedral.
The insurances on some of these are enormous, that
upon St. Paul's alone being a million and a half
sterling. . -. : 4 .lirvists ih.er 1
The favour into which the Alexandra Palace has
suddenly leaped will surprise no one who knows that
the Londoner is, of all things, fond of novelty. A
little, too, must be allowed as admiration of the
spirited course pursued by the Directors, who,
undismayed by the destruction of their palace by
Ire on the 9th of June, 1873, after it had been opened
only sixteen days, at once set to work to construct a
new one, which has risen, Phcenix-like, from the ashes
of its predecessor. Certainly the grounds are now
looking their best, the recent warm and genial showers
having had a wonderfully vivifying effect upon the
verdure. The view from the topmost heights of
Muswell Hill is also a grand one. That from
the Palace at Sylenham is very pretty, but
the scenery is entirely rural, embracing a wide
sweep of the counties of Surrey and Kent,
But from the heights of Muswell Hill you may look
down upon a considerable portion of London, which
lies outstretched at the feet of the spectator like a
gigantic map. There it is spread out far away in the
distance— too far, indeed, for even the faintest sound
to be heard, telling of the presence of its vast popula-1
tion. But for the presence of a thin veil of 1 smoke' i
great which of itself tells of the existence of a eat and busy
l
people, you may almost fancy yourself gazing upon a
veritable City of the Dead, whose innumerable hosts
had long since been gathered to their fathers—another i
Herculaneum, whose streets, although untrodden byt
Its inhabitants for eighteen hundred years, still beani
the marks of heavy chariot-wheels, as though made but!
yesterday; whose walls are covered with election 1
notices affixed in the year 79 of the Christian era; and
Its refreshment bars still bearing the marks of the
drinking vessels which left their impression there
when the known world was under tribute to the ,
Romans. The popularity of the Alexandra Palace
will increase with the additional railway facilities
which era afforded for reaching it. At present it is
accessible only by one line—the Great Northern—
while its southern rival at Sydenham is served by the
Brighton and the Chatham and Dover. The more
easily people can get at a place, the more likely they
are to go there; and the public as well as the under-
taking itself, is sure to reap the benefit of competition
between two powerful railway corporations.
The rapid extension of the Aquarium as an institu-
tion, impelled in a great degree by the attractive and
spirited project at Brighton, testifies to the interest
which great numbers of the people take in the habits •
of those creatures whose lot is cast either in the run- '
ning stream or the deep sea. The partiality of some 1
kinds of fish for certain rivers is well known. For
instance, a salmon or a trout is never caught in the
neighbourhood of London, the produce of Metropo-
litan waters consisting for the most part of roach and
gudgeon, with an occasional dace, perch, or chub. The
fishing match seems to grow in favour as a recreation.
Critics are, however, inclined to question the value of
the test of merit, which is a very simple one. The
palm of victory is awarded to the angler who catches
the greatest weight of fish, without any regard to the
science he displays. A portion of a stream or canal
having been secured, the bank is divided by pegs-into
so many Parts as there happen to be competitors.
These are technically called "swims, and great is the
excitement when a lucky angler hooks and lands a fish
of more than ordinary size or weight.
The date fixed for the celebration of her Majesty's
birthday fortunately occurs at a period of the year
when out-door display and recreation are more than
possible. In the metropolis the time seldom varies,
and it is this year the same as in 1874, viz., the last
Saturday in May. It must be either on a Wednesday
or on a Saturday, for on every other working day the
Houses of Parliament are sitting; and Ministers, Peers,
and Commoners must devote their energies to legisla-
tion. But on Wednesday the Lords meet not at all,
and the Commons rise at six, allowing ample time for
dinners, balls, receptions, and the like afterwards. On
Saturday—better still—neither House assembles, and
that is why this day is selected for the banquets by the
Queen's Ministers in celebration of the event which is
to be commemorated. After nine o'clock in the even-
ing, Whitehall, Pall Mall, and Regent-street are a
blaze of light, owing to the illuminations. The streets
are crammed with people, who, with fine weather, find
much enjoyment in the spectacle. There are similar
displays on the birthday of the Prince of Wales, on
the 9th November, but the time of year is not always
favourable for them. Tom Hood, in one of his raciest
poems, gave a graphic description of London in No-
vember, and those who know the British capital in
that month of fog and gloom would tell you that the
picture is by no means an exaggerated one.
Speaking of the Queen's Birthday reminds us of the
changes which the hand of Time has wrought only
during one reign. One of the most attractive pictures
in the National Portrait Gallery, at outh Ken-
sington, is the meeting of the Fine Arts Commission
in 1846, containing the likenesses of twenty-eight of
our public men. And yet only three are with us now
—Earl Russell, Earl Stanhope, and Viscount Eversley.
All the rest have passed away as the morning mist
fades in the valley when it is smitten with the sun-
beam. The Prince Consort, the Duke of Sutherland,
Lord Melbourne, Sir James Graham, the Earl of
Aberdeen, the Marquis of Lansdowne, Lord Pal-
merston, Sir Robert Peel, Lord Lyndhurst, Lord ,
Ashburton, Mr. Hallam, the Earl of Carlisle, Lord
Macaulay, Lord Colborne, Mr. Samuel Rogers, Sir
Charles Barry, Sir Charles Eastlake, the Duke of
Newcastle, Viscount Canning, Sir Thomas Wyse, Sir
Robert Inglis, and Lord Willoughby d'Eresby—all
are gone. Many of them have left names which will i
be imperishable in the splendour of their renown—
some as statesmen, others as historians, architects,
philosophers, and poets. To Sir Charles Barry,
for instance, we owe the stately pile upon the
banks of the Thames which constitute the Palace
of the I.egislature. When the lineaments of those
whom I have mentioned were transferred to the canvas,
not thirty years ago, the portraits were the shadows,
and the men were the substance. Leas than a genera-
tion rolls by—the men are the Shadows, and their
painted figures are the substance. The Queen herself
has had one relative after another, and many a faithful
servant, removed from her side. Thirteen Administra-
tions have been called to her Councils, and nine Parlia-
ments have been summoned to assemble at West-
minster. There are very sew, in either Lords or
Commons, who were members of the Legislature when
Her Majesty came to the Throne in 1837. A host of
causes is constantly in operation to produce alterations
in the personnel of our lawgivers, more particularly in
the Commons, where electoral vicissitudes tell fsr a
great deal in working the leaven of change. On an
averages 290 Wir Members are returned to the House

j