The Press.
London, England, 1858-10-16 00:00:00

gtrtibtnts anb Offencts.

A RAILWAY COLLISION, by which Titmarsh, a
guard, was killed on the spot, and Dickerson, another
guard, so seriously injured that his life is despaired
of, took place at Six-mile Bottom Station of the New-
market branch of the Eastern Counties line, at a few
minutes before twelve o'clock on Saturday night.
The injured men were the guards of a train of empty
horse-boxes, which was returning to London, and
they were sitting in the break at the rear of the train,
when a goods train which left Newmarket a few
minutes after the first ran into it, smashing up the
break and killing Titmarsh on the spot.
As THE COUNTESS OF MOUNT EDGECUMBE Was
driving along the beach at Cretnille towards the yacht
belonging to the earl, lying off the point, on Tuesday,
some clothes-lines, extending from the cottages
across the road, caught the front of the open car-
riage in which her ladyship was sitting, forced the
staple from the wall, which struck her ladyship's
forehead with great force, causing the blood to flow
very freely. She was taken in a fainting state to the
residence of Mr. Chappell, where every attention was
paid her. She was afterwards conveyed in a very
weak state to the mansion, where she is now doing
well.

THE BURNING OF THE " AUSTRIA," with the loss of
five hundred lives, appears to have been one of the
most fearful in the annals of similar calamities. At
a little after two o'clock on the 13th dense volumes
of smoke burst from the after entrance of the
steerage. The ship was instantly put at half speed,
at which she continued until the magazine exploded.
The engineers, it is inferred, were instantly suffo-
cated. Fire was next seen breaking through the
lights amidships, and it travelled aft with fearful
rapidity. Some persons let down a boat from the
port side of the quarter-deck, and she was thought to
be crushed under the screw. An attempt was made
to launch a boat on the starboard side, but it was
swamped by the number who rushed into it, and all
were lost. All the first-cabin passengers were un the
poop, except a few gentlemen, who must have been
mothered in the smoking-room. Many second-
cabin passengers were also on the poop, but a num-
ber of them got shut into the cabin by fire. Some
of them were pulled up through the ventilator, but
the greater number could not be extricated. The
last woman drawn up said there were six already
suffocated. The ladies and gentlemen on the
poop jumped into the sea by twos and threes,
some of the ladies in flames. Several hesitated,
but were driven to it at the last moment. In
half an hour not a soul was to be seen on the poop.
The fire is known to have arisen from very culpable
negligence. The captain and surgeon considered it
expedient to fumigate the steerage with burning tar.
The operation was to be performed by the boatswain,
under the superintendence of the fourth officer. The
boatswain heated the end of a chain to dip it in tar
to produce smoke; the end became too hot to hold,
and he let it drop upon the deck, to which it. set fire.
The tar upset, and immediately all about was in
flames. A feeble attempt was made to extinguish
it, but without effect. There was nothing at hand to
meet such an emergency. Mr. C. Brew, one of the
survivors, who saved himself by swimming to a boat,
has written a graphic description of the awful scene.
We extract the following passage :
The scene on the quarter-deck was indescribable and
heartrending. Passengers were rushing frantically to and
fro ; husbands seeking their *ices, wives in search of their
husbands, relatives looking after relatives, mothers la-
menting the loss of their children, some wholly paralyzed
by fear, others madly crying to be saved, but a few per-
fectly calm and collected. The flames pressed so closely

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upon them that many jumped into the sea; relatives,
clasped in each other's arms, leaped over and met a watt ry
grave. Two girls, supposed to be sisters, jumped over
and sank kissing each other. A missionary and wife
leaped into the sea together, and the stewardess and
assistant steward, arm in arm, followed. One Hungarian
gentleman, with seven fine children, four of them girls,
made his wife jump in, then blessed his six eldest children,
made them jump in one after the other, and followed them
with an infant in his own arms.