The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-01-02 00:00:00

• .

SHIPTOA RAILWAY ACCIDENT.

We glean from several sources the- following particulars
a and incidents of the dreadful railway accident which oc-
curred on the morning of the 24th, on the Great Western
Railway line,a few hundred yards from the village cf Hampton
Gay, and close to Shipton-on-Cherwell, near Oxford, in
Which upwards of thirty persons- were—killed, cud more
than seventy persons were seriously injured. ' Tile train,
like indst of those despatched at this season, contained a
large number of passengers, most of whom were visiting
friends for the Christmik. They were being conveyed in
13 carriages, with two engines, from, the Great Western
station at Oxford at 11.40 to Birmingham and the north.
The train, which was half an hour late, proceeded safely
for about six miles, when thetire of a wheel of a third-class
carriage broke, and immediately left the metals, and for at
least 300 yards plunged along over the sleepers, many of
Which were cut in two, and rushed over a wooden bridge
across the River Cherwell. Between this bridge and a similar
bridge over the Oxford and Birmingham Canal the carriage
'was thrown down the embankment, as was evident from a
deep sear cut in the ground, and dragged after it several
Others . It was here that the accident occurred. The train
was travelling at the rate of 40 miles an hour, and the impetus
given to the carriages as they left the rails carried them with
terrible farce for a long distance until they were finally-
dashed to pieces in the meadows below. Three carriages
and a luggage-van were deposited beyond the canaL One
. carriage carried away one of the stone. abutments of the
bridges and fell in splinters into the water. The fragments of
two carliages, tuined wheels upwards, were literally strewn
about the embanisraent, and one carriage was hurled right
across the up line on to the bank. The front part of the
train continued its course for some distance. There can be
LO doubt whatever that in the case -of the majority of the
victims death was instantaneous. The overturned carriages,
the heartrending shrieks of the injured, the dead bodies seen
irl all directions, and the scattered luggage combined to
render the spectacle horribie in the extreme. Themore slightly
Injured at once set to a-ork with praiseworthy alacrity to help
their distressed fellow-travellers. Large fires were lighted
along the embankment from the broken carriages, and thither
the woundatLwent in diswal groups, while others sat discon-
solately lii:tfle'snow, apparently.overconie wiiji ,tlie magni-
tude of the disasterfld their own piovidential escape from
a fearfunleath. The sad occurrence was witnessed from the
Hampton Gay paper-mill by the workmen, who apprised their
Master, atv.•-ia.-Langton Pearson, of it, and the nilll was inime-
diately _stopped and they proceeded to the spot, about a
' quarter of a. mile from the mill. Mr. Pearson and his men at
Once proceeded to rescue the sufferers, some of whom they
conveyed as fast as possible to the manor-house at Hampton
Gay; but owing to the distance, however, from this place,
great difficulty was experienced by Mr. Pearson in removing
them. - .
At the earliest opportunity telegrams were despatched to
Oxford and other places for medical assistance ; but here,
again, there was considerable delay, and it was about an
hour and a half before a doctor appeared, Mr. Mallam, sur-
geon, of Oxford, being the first on the spot. He was followed
DY Mr. Parry, of Kidlington, Mr. F. Symonds and Mr. G.
}Etchings, of Oxford, &c., who were most unremitting in
their attentions upon the unfortunate sufferers, whom they
caused to be conveyed in a special train as quickly as possi
b.'e to the Radcliffe Infirmary at Oxford, &c. 'rho scene at
pae Oxford station was most exciting, as it had by this time
had
known throughout the city that a dreadful accident
happened, and hundreds of yersons presented them-
selvesnthe arr in the fear that relatives and friends had been victims.
O
Yal of the train it was discovered that four of the
Wounded had succumbed, three men and a child. Most of
the
wounded and dying were conveyed without loss of time
to
. at-
excellent institution the Radcliffe Infirmary, while
• others were sent to New College, Jones's Railway hotel, the
Randolpht_n Hotel, the King's Arms Hotel, &a., where they
received the best medical assistance.

The following narrative of the accident, by one of
the survivors, has been published :
_, "After leaving Oxford, accompanied by two of my
...',
uaughters, I left Landport station, Portsmouth, at eight
oclock a.m,
booking for Reading, en route for Frodsham
v icarage, Cheshire. On reaching Basingstoke we changed
for Reading. The porter observed that we ought to have
booked to Basingstoke and then booked for Warrington,
that when we reached Reading we should have so little
tune we could not do better than retain our Reading tickets
and go on to Warrington, and then explain to the railway
9fficials what we had done, and pay. In the meantime
wotild label our few boxes Reading and Warrington.
Plan would save us from confusion. On arriving
at Reading we found a very long train going north
and the station much crowded. We asked for the War-
Vngton train, and one of the railway officials put us
Into a first-class carriage, where we only remained a
ew minutes, the railway guard telling us to be quick
in setting our tickets for Warrington. My eldest daughter
went to the booking-office for tickets, while I passed down
nearly the whole length of the train, accompanied by the
Obliging porter, who made several attempts in vain to
get a third-class carriage which would accommodate us,
an being fated. Almost despairing of getting a carriage,
as we reached nearly the end of the train room was found
.lor one of my daughters and myself, my daughter who
'lad gone for the tickets being lost in the crowd, so that in
pour hurry we left without her, or should have been left
hthind. My daughter who was with me became very un-
aPpy at her Sister not being, with us, and urged upoe me
,0 get down at Oxford, which I declined doing, supposing the
only plan now best for her was to come on in an after
train. Our stay at Oxford was short, and we appeared to
ge on very comfortably so far as I remember, no parti-
cular motion indicating danger till just before our carriage
stopped. There was an oscillating movement very sudden
and railway wire seemed to fall on the glass of the carriage
Orhe the left side, and we came to a dead stand. We opened
winliowandlooked out, And one of the passengers•in.pur.
arriage:gaid there had been an accident. We saW a carriage
pg on flssid inclining down the bank and off the line;
first we siipbosed this to be 'some other train, not ours,
eat thereality. now became. apparent, and all said, "Let Us
get out? We had an invalid gentleman with his lady, who
maintained great presence of mind, getting down without
aepPearing to be perturbed. The scene that presented itself
b`eiT..llB was most extraordinary. Our carriage and two. others
t ''d Iti and the luggage van, with our boxes for W. arring-
°,l, all seemed to be intact. We who were thus miraculously
Preserved gathered round each other on the snow-clad
ogrth.°ll/Id, terror-stricken at the awful desolation before
p—r„nelek , A. Miss litilubard was one of the first injured
om we saw. Next a mother and father and
lag es' boys were got out of oite of the crushed car-
/ aPParently uninjured, but, becoming much alarmed,
went forward, leaving my daughter in charge of Miss
al;Libbard, and as I walked forward I was horrified to see the
to way 'strewed with broken carriages. 1 nerved myself
Chift? l'ilvard, and the scene became all but unbearable.
Covered ren and woe in various forms of suffering, their faces
_.• mn
with blood, and piteously moaning for help. Two
eawithlieads bhndaged walked about as if nerving them-
blood.,help Others. An officer lay dying and his mouth
~„v!rea with blood. Ile had been kindly strt tched in the
4tion most easy for him. One child seemed in danger of
rn'ung from her own bonnet. I cleared her mouth and
ii.fis_e.d her head. A lady and child imploringly asked to be
amitn 11P, but as soon as I took hold of her she shrieked in agony
her implored a lidy severely cut in the forehead to sit
at , but the other replied her leg was so severely injured
vrro
Ole could not sit down. Altogether, it was a scene of
r indescribable."

..4 ,4.c.i.;4,, ..r.,...
te2ce ef the killed wa's 'Mr. Harry Ernest van Tromp, only
At-.4,,(3,1 Air. and lsTrs. B H. van Tromp, of 21, Inverness-
i''''°, uYde Park and Essex. street, Strand, London, solicitor.
chreisclteceased was on his way to Shrewsbury to spend the
and as holydays with his uncle. He was between 2l
cnr., 22 Years of age, and was travelling in a first-class
o;"Zpartrnent of a congposite carriage, which was thrown
bi. 4., the bridge into the canal. The body was much
„ ed and the face cut in several places, but it is suppos,d
4.nat death
When was almost instantaneous. He was quite dead
toun extricated from the water; and in his pockets were
arta 4 a gOld watch an chain, the watch engraved with
e.„,, s and monogram "11. E. V. T.," £4 7s. 6d, in money.
tg,as. ticket of admission to the Heading...nom of . the
eaTlf!! Museum. His parents first knew of their only child t
the a4c‘c.' en Christmas morning on reading the account of fo.„ cident in the newspapers, when they at. once started
7ne scene of the accident and identified their son. They.
trave atuong the first to arrive at the Mill house, having
Wh4leled from London to Didcot by first morningning train,
()facial a special train was placed at their disposal by the
air., Sof the Company, who showed every possible kindness
' courtesy.
ea°
,Oxiford Times publishes the following account
,ii
...eo i
rrv, given by a passenger :
abontaill a Private in the Marines and came from Gosport
Class
_stght o'clock this morning. I was riding in a second-
bat „,ekarriage. We went all right until we get to Oxford,
ri"uen We
twelvene got a little way beyond there I felt a great
the rat and a shaking And then we seemed to wheel if
and went down. the embankment. I.should think
ct the or.fifteen carriages went down. 1 was in the middle
taan.. train, and
out my carriage was all smashed to pines. I
this,-!_t ul screarnin
fri,led to get but I don't know how. There was
g a, but
groaning. I helped to get some of
' givvYoPle out.of the broken carriages, but I was obliged to .
. wil<7; reer, for the
to feel that I was hurt. The peol)le
lo w
:
ti UJured helped to get the others out. It watstae
csrriage, e!ery•avy assistance came. One or two ofl
away dead s'ent into the water. I saw fourteen people carriede
anythin .. The sight was dreadfuL I never want to s.
illy f,,, g like it again. I Was coming to Birmingham to visit
did :leuds• They didn't know I was coming. The engine
uot fall
_ down the embankment It was left on the line.'

______... _. ....._
So----
at thil:e. most affecting dents were witnessed on Saturday
arriv
of
~* for the
Air. Barker, of Wrexham, waitin,, thal infirmary.
of his two daughters at Wrexham, received intimation
trav %accident which had happened to the train they were
surtZ lag bY• Ile set off' accompanied by a neighbouring
an
kiron, to see them, d found the younger of the two
rno ed. but could discover no trace of the other. Seeing the
aborlWnA Papers, however, and finding a young woman of
at the • Years of age Mentioned, who was lying insensible
Other _;.n.firrnary, he directed his steps there, dfound
an
A fine girl,
live ve'-'tighter, who is not likely to recover,
with
eond'„„ of age, who was brought into the infirmarycone.
ness7s..!on of the brain, has never yet recovered cons t
C,.„,„ tvery search was made for the parents, but none
tt'e;,'.!.,l. be
.found till Saturday afternoon, when the father,
4,l"rimolloted. by some fritnds, arrived at the infirmary. -
d just
before for
his child, who could not be found. He ha J
child, tthono,N.e.yed his wife among the killed, and his youngestpeople
at Thrupp ' 17
months old, in the care of some kind,
informed
_aathe scene of the accident. He was
went in
and tow,. a chill lying insensible in the wards., lie we
m.
Cons 'lid the lost one The child mils utterly 1
le poor
eious of h• .
is presence.
Was that
Senle won uI derf
of escapes were mentioned --Amon"ttbeme
hi, kw._ a gentle sitting with his nephew bwen
e
, la a eoct:"
, wh man o was unhurt, while the young man waskilled.
-.i I•elativexPartment containing 11 persons, five of whom were
6t the on to
t g six floe survived Two ladies were thrown
re, the latter are said to have escaned totally, while
h:lainflin. sh3,ttere4lo) line out of a carriage, which .was immediately
Piece 4 ..

TI,
rulihrzbwol:k of. extricating the dead and wounded from the
were th ‘‘as a most difficult and painful one.
fours,
only
underagtr
sellt one by one,.but by threes. and
gdreoattbendier. ne fragments of one carriage, no less than 13
. Were found. One man was jammed into the
a-,eress the loins by the buffer of a third-class car-
was three h.urs before the fragments
wer ue raised sufficiently to extricate him. As they.
of th:rioved from the wreck they were placed on the side
leTizteruliolnrie;eadnAel'serteo tahaehnedcoandrotutedngonthheurdles and other
mill. Here
h-eyaoln,
ahodnerseorf ttwtoonlay a row of dead bodies;
d of tender
Years. The dead Were from the old man to the c
which
above alluclt asiLmr-e mutilated
memo
et ead were carried across a ditch, over
carriage served as a bridge, and in the shed
ing th,s b Pd to the shocking task was performed of
sear,clL-
rzeNte,ehnre,euilzt_;!edies with a view th identification. Here Captain
ehoiextCdo,nstable of the county, General
rem Oxford and Mr. Majoribanks, a resident
about a e"glthourhood, rendered invaluable aid, and it was
pitzhea. (nlir Pie of hours before the painful duty was accom-
Blenheim...4°rd Itandolpli Churchill, andsevcralladies from
then, to ,tpalace, with a Christian feeling which entitles
and atim;,,ne heartiest gratitude, administered nourishment
''allta to tl:ose who stood in need of them.
The
afi arilc II ra--------------',--- a
at Oxford,
orded an _ ° Lay, as it was generally
observe
ileene ,31 v.,uPPertunity to the Oxford people to visit the
cillrit)a the “de calamity, and thousands proceeded thither
Y and illSPeetedjhe line, whicli was acceki
P,.1.,0 filleuet gener
Of n public aldli the hotels in Oxf 9
trA,Ze city 40verflowing,. but the lod,ing li-use reisoi7ces.
Y. tdotat ahlgood ed vi-itort, now. the 'University niew.e

accommodation.

NIT%
thn,
ieleP.l?rZides
g,1.?•111,11,4i18ton.
131,1,
ZZt

maining dead body, that of Mr. Ctesar, of Egharn, lies at
the Radcliffe Infirmary.
"01 the wounded at Tones's Railway Hotel, there ar
three remaining. Mrs. E.oxby and Miss Thompson are pro-
gressing favourably, but in the case of the Rev. Mr. Free-
man, there are more serious symptoms. He has become
seriously affected in his mind, so much so that a keeper has
to be constantly with him. His friends have been tele-
graphed for to Enutsford, where it is supposed his relatives
live. Mr. Taunton, Mr. Hitchings, and Mr. Thompson are
in attemiance on these sufferers. Mr. Freeman was formerly
a member of Christ Church, in this University, where he is
well known. Miss Thompson is suffering from the shock,
but from Mr. Thompson's report is doing well.

"At the Randolph Hotel there are four patients, who
from inquiries are going on well. They are the Rev. Mr.
Hook, late son of the Dean of Chichester, who is suffering from
dislocation of the collar bone and fracture of one rib ;
Mr. P. Ayrton, butler to a family near Wrexham, who is
suffering from comminuted fracture of the left arm ; and
Mr. Field, a former member of Wadham College, a friend
of Mr. Davenport, a clerk of the peace. Mr. Field, who
Is a young man, of 25, is suffering from lacerated scalp and
injury to the chest, causing spitting of blood ; there were
dangerous symptoms at the first, but we are pleased to
learn lie is going on all right. These first three cases have
been attended by Messrs. Symonds and Taunton. Miss
Taylor, who is suffering from a scalp wound and
injury to the back, is still ill, but doing yvell. Messrs.
Symonds and Taunton are also attending the Rev. C. Deane
at the "Clarendon' Hotel for a severely fractured leg,
which will require six or seven weeks' rest. Mr. Deane, too,
was formerly an Oxford man, having been educated at
Queen's. We learnt on Sunday 'light that he was going on
very well, a remark that will also apply to Mr Farring-
ton, who issat the same hotel, and is suffering from con-
siderable injuries to the head, and is attended by Mr.
Malham, who will be remembered as rendering such in-
valuable assistance at the accident.

"Mr: Butler, an old Queen's-man, who had been under Mr.
3laHam's care, has gone home, having two scalp wounds;
and two others who were attended by Mr. Thompson were
enabled to leave Oxford yesterday—viz, Taff Bellairs, who
sustained injury to the right 'leg and shock; Mr. T. Roth-
well, shock ; and C. Reilly, shock and injury to right arm.
Mr. Itching's ten patients are all reported this evening as
going mrwelL They are Mr. L Simpson, of Reading, scalp
wound, slight; Mr. S. Simpson, scalp wound, no other
injuries; Mr. Hawley Lloyd, Birmingham, fractured arm
and other injuries; Mrs. Sellers, Stepney, contusion (gone
home); Mrs. Attree, Ditchlings, Sussex, scalp wound, very
severe ; Miss Attree, Ditchlings, Sussex, fractured arm;
Miss Hubbard, Aston, near Birmingham, injury to leg, chest,
and other parts; Mrs. Rosby, Leamington, fractured scapula;
Mrs Ozlan, Leamington, shock (gone home) ; Mrs. nay,
Norfolk-street, severe ; Mr. It. M. Freeman, Cheshire, shock,
severe.

"On visiting the scene of the accident to-day we found
the rubbish removed, and the fears entertaine4 that some
other victims were beneath it have been dispelled. Nothing
was found beyond a sovereign and a few trinkets of little
value.

"We learn that the Norwich and London Accident Associa-
tion have numerous insurers in the accident, and that a
representative of the Company" will attend the public in-
vestigation to be made at Oxford on Monday.
"We may mention that at the various places of worship
Isere, both on Christmas-day and to-day, touching allusion
was made by the preachers to the accident, particularly by
the Very Rev. the Dean of Christ Church, in his address at
the Cathedral on Friday.
"11 P.M.
"We are enabled, through the kindness of Mr. Ilallewell,
the secretary of the Radcliffe Infirmary, to furnish a late
bulletin of the progress of the sufferers now lying at that
institution, from which generally we can draw a rather
favourable inference, although it is feared some of the cases
will terminate fatally:—

"1, Jane Weal, Finsbury, London, contusion, left this
afternoon-recovered. 2, Mary Griffiths, wife of the Duke
of Edinburgh's steward, St. George's-row, London, severe
laceration of lips and other injuries-better; 3, Mrs. Banks,
Swindon, lacerated scalp-better; 4, Alice Wilder, of Wil-
den, Birmingham, contused side and face-better; 5, Char-
lotte Falconer, Beckley, severe injury to elbow-joint-
better; 6, Mrs, Danby, Egham, compound fracture right
radius and ulna and severe laceration of cheek-critical;
7, Mrs. Lillie, Barking, severe abrasion-slightly better;
8, girl named Yeates, father keeps "Dog Inn," ilannington,
Wiltshire, concussion-critical ; 9, Mrs. Turner, Barking,
both legs broken-rather better; 10, Virginia West, Cla-
rence-square, Regent's-park, injury to hips-nearly well ; Ti,
Zillah Fryer, scalp wounds, wound to right arm-critical;
12, Minnie Ctesar,-child unhurt; 13, Mrs. Danby's child,
slight concussion of brain-much better; 14, F. Lillie, a
-child, Barking, laceration of eye and contusion of thigh
-much better; 15, Mary Ann Boyce, injury to scalp-better;
16, Jane Wood, Shrivenham, lacerated chin and severe con-
tusions-no better; 17, Annie Barker, Wrexham, fractured
base of skull-rather better ; 18, Phillip Wedmore, Staf-
fordshire, compound fractured radius and ulna-better;
19, Joseph Clark, ditto, laceration of scalp and face-better ;
20, John Phillips, Shrewsbury, bruised and shaken-better;
21, lie. Turner, Barking, bruised and much shaken-
better ; 22 Charles King, Edinburgh, lacerated eye-
brow, and scalp much bruised-much better ; 23,
Alfred Gibbs, Reading, severely shaken-no worse ; 24,
George Dee, Nottingham, injury to back-better; 25,
F. Lilly, severely contused leg, lacerath•n over eyebrow, and
injury to back and shoulders-no worse; 26, George Barr,
Windsor, contused knee severely shaken-better; 27, Charles'
Lewis, general merchant, Wolverhampton, compound frac-
ture of ankle joints-very comfortable; 28, William Cham-
berlain, Wolverhampton, contused back and thighs-better;
29, *Loseph.E. Kidd, Leamington, compound fracture of left
radius, severe abrasion of arm and back, laceration of face-
critical 30, William Hopkinson, High Barnet, severely
shaken and contusions-better ; 31, Joseph Simmons, Water-
perry, amputation of right arm, severe lace ration of head, •
• and other inj uriesbetter ; '32 John Muller,Wolverhampton,
scalp wounds-better ; 33, Edward Higgins, Shepton Mallet,
dislocation of shoulder and contusions-no worse ; 34, William
Hill (guard). Birkenhead, severe laceration of scalp-no worse ;
35, George Tongue, Poole, lacerated eyelid and forearm-
comfortable ; 36, George West, London, injury to shoulder-
gone home; 37, George Hemley, Wootton-Bassett, contusions
.--very comfortable ; 33, John Woodhouse, Wimborne, frac-
tured ribs-no worse; 39, Thomas Pearce, Wolverhampton,
severely shaken ; nearly well : 40, George Love, Wolver-
hamptom, contused ribs and back-better; 41, William
Harling, ditto, fractured ribs-no worse; 42, John Banks,
Swindon, shaken-better; 43, George Garner, Gooch-street,
Birmingham, fractured base of skull-cntical ; 44, Wilmer
Reed, Rotherham, concus.ion-critical ; 45, George Ward,
Rotherham, fractured femur and pelvis-rather better ; 46,
V. Turner, Oxford, fractured collar-bone and badly bruised-
very bad."

"Sir,—l was a passenger in the smoking compartment of
a second-class carriage (No., I think, 326), which was about
the seventh or eighth from the engine, by the 10 a.m.
train from Paddington on the 24th inst. I noticed that
this carriage, which jiad not been running at all evenly
between London and -Oxford, began immediately on leaving
that station to jar and jolt very uncomfortably, and I think
it not improbable—an opinion shared by one of my fellow-
travellers—that the seat of the mischief may be traced to
such carriage. At any rate, I found the motion so un-
pleasant that I lost no time in transferring my heavily-
laden hat-box from the rack overhead to a more secure
position under the seat, at the same time mentally re-
solving that if we got to Banbury I would have our wheels
examined. I was not, therefore, uni.di surprised to find
our carriage some eight or ten minutes afterwards off the
line, though the 40 seconds or so during which the nine
occupants of my compartment were subjecteibto a sort of
" churning " movement, with the expectatmn of being
ground up by the wheels were molt unpleasant. For-
tunately for us, the couplings at both ends of our carriage
parted, and it turned over quietly on its side, just clear of
the down rails. We were, of course, all thrown together
in a confused mass at the bPttom side of the compartment
and among a bagful of workman's tools, which had broken
loose, but, beyond a cut or two, I do not think one of us
was at all hurt. We probably escaped some cut heads
owing to the presence of mind of a yonng gentleman by the
window on the top side, who flung down the window just
as we went over. In a very few minutes, by making use
of the supports of the umbrella rack as a ladder, we had all
climbed out through the window and were on the embank-
ment. Our attention was first directed to a little boy who
was jammed fast between the side of our carriage and the
embankment. In about ten minutes the carrißge was
raised by means of a screw-jack, and he was extricated,
apparently not ranch the worse, as, although he had been
quite unable to move, there had been no pressure upon
him. When the boy had been extricated I saw that,
although the carriage in front of us had been overturned,
the engine and front carriages had escaped, so I turned to
visit the carriages behind us. The next carriage in the
rear was a first-class which had its end knocked out, and
a gentleman who had been one of its occupants was just
breathing his last as I came up. He had been attended to
by a young medical man who happened to be in the
train, and had had his own head badly cut, but his services
were, in this instance, of no avail. The next carriage
behind this was-turned over on its side, but its occupants
were not, I think, much hurt. The next three or four
carriages, however, which had gone over at the bridge over
the canal, were totally wrecked, and scarcely any of their
occupants escaped death or serious injury. In what seemed
to me an incredibly short time a train arrived from Oxford
with the breakdown gang and a large staff of medial men,
In ludinrs, Mr. Symondb, of Alm d, who were soon briskly em-
ployed. Fdrthose of us who were not medical men there was
plent y.to do for the next two hours in carrying the wounded
from the wrecks of the carriages by the canal-side up the slip-
pery embankment to the special train which had been pro-
vided for them. I observed that one poor fellow, whom I
helped to carry on a door and to place in the brake-van, had
lost his arm, and Ldoubt very much if he reached .Oxford•
alive. I counted 26 'dead, but many more were subse-
quently discovered under the wreck of the carriages and
in the canal, in which no doubt many of the injured were
drowned, so that the killed must have amounted to near
40. Every one behaved well. No cries, except a few from
the injured, and so far as I could see, no plundering,
though every one left his luggage to take care of itself. The
cottager's' wives from the neighbouring village of Shipton-
on-4. herwell were most kind and attentive in bringing milk
and tea, which were most acceptable to some of the
wounded. I was almost amused by one poor fellow whose
arm was broken, and who in reply to my inquiry after I
helped him into a first-class carriage of the "special," as
to whether I could do anything more for him, said, "Yes,
if you would only strike a match and light my cigar for me."
I would have done so gladly, but I pointed out that there
were injured ladies in his compartment, and he, of course,
gave up this solace without a murmur. After the injured
had been sent off in the train to Oxford, we, the fortunate
and unhurt, followed them to the same place in another
train, and by five p.m. traffic was resumed over the up line
at the scene of the accident. —I am, Sir, yours faithfully,
JOIIN ELTIIAM MYLNF.."
Stratford-on-Avon, Christmas-Day.

2,1 ". csi Atis,

The Correspondent of the Daily New; writing from
Oxford on Friday night, gives the following descrip-
tion of the scene :

It was a wild and wintry scene indeed which greeted us
this morning, and to the natural wildness must be added
the desolation of destruction. Iron axle-bars, thick as a
man's arm, twisted, snapped, and bent like thread; massive
beams splintered into shreds ; upholstery and window panes,
strong framework and delicate details, were all mixed in inex-
tricable wreck, and hurled to distances. The final smash must
have been instantaneous, although coupling chains parted
and the carriages were separated. Said a man belonging to
the Hampton Gay Paper Mill to me, "We were at.work, and I
hears a whistle. "Hark ye, what's that ?" I says to my
neighbour, and away we runs to the window, and there was
the train all of a heap, except the engines puffing and
screaming on the rails." Towards the evening the country
folks, having eaten their Christmas dinner, came across the
meadow paths on foot, on horseback, or in vehicles, to see
the destroyed carriages, but throughout the morning
spectators were not numerous. A few rural police-
men drafted from various stations by Captain
Ow en kept them all aloof from the remnants
of the train. A fire, built up from time to time
by small fragments of splintered wood-work, blazed in the
centre of the permanent way. Looking over the bridge into •
the canal we could see great iron carriage wheels and sec-
tions half buried in the mud. The water was drawn off
yesterday as soon as the accident occurred, and the thick ice
collapsing in the centre, left the bottom bare, setting at rest
the minds of those who feared that it contained drowned
passengers. Upon a post by the water side still
hangs a bonnet with battered ribbons and drenched
flowers, and there were other such indications yesterday
along the banks. Many poor creatures were precipitated
with the carriages into the water; some crawled out ; others
were taken out either alive or dead. The snow on the
bank shows the desperate footprints of the rescued and
rescuer. Here,lurther along ie line, is a pile of luggage,
and a few yards in advance the; ppuderous van from which •
the gp.urd had so miraculous an escape lies completely
overturned, and warped out of all semblance of its
former shaper The luggage is unowned like many of its.,
owners There 'are Costly portmanteaus, boxes of
tin and wood, hampers and casks, and all the odds and ends
which may be expected in a luggage van at Christmastide.
Many sad witnesses lie around of what has gone before. The
brbken toy, and lady's umbrella snapped in twain, the well-
worn rusty little reticule, the sportsman's grincase, the half-
exposed Forester's framed certificate and its damaged deal
covering, the soldier's kit, the sailor's clothes-bag, the
crushed bonnet-box, have their own history; and in-
voluntarily the eye wanders from them across the white field
to the buildings where the police allow no idler to satisfy,
his curiosity upon the silent inmates down the embank-
ment. Beyond the up line stands a first-class carriage
of four compaTtments, and around it the rustics are
irresistibly attracted and are spell-bound. The
reddened snow at the brow teaches us what to expect before

the
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