The Express.
London, England, 1867-12-07 00:00:00

ANOTHER EARTHQUAKE AT THE ISLAND

OF ST. THOMAS.

The directors of the Royal West India Mail
Company received yesterday morning a telegram
from their agent at Havannah, yid the Atlantic
Cable, stating that on the 2nd of December there
was another earthquake at St. Thomas. The sea
rose forty feet. Many lives were lost and property
destroyed. The company's steamer La Plata would
not leave with the homeward mails till the 2nd
instant.

QUM/MOWN, Dec. 6.—The National Steam
Navization Company's steamship Denmark, from New
York, arrived here at 11 a.m. to-day, with 58,000 dollars
in specie. She landed passengers and proceeded for Liver-
pooL

CROOKHAVIN, Day. 6, 12.30 P.M.—The Cunard
steamer Scotia, from New York, is now poising Browhead
signal station, en route for Queenstown.
CaLcurra, CHINA, AND AUSTRALIAN MAILS.—
ALELteueu, Dec. s.—The Pem left at 1 p.m. yesterday,
and the Delta at 4.30 p.m. to-day. The former may be
expected at Marseilles on the 10th, and the latter at
Southampton about the 18th inst.
Foarialt Orrice, Dec. 6.—The Queen ban been
graciously pleased to appoint Edward Thornton, Esq.,
C. 8., now her Majesty's Euro, Extraordinary and Minister
Plenipotentiary to the King of Portugal, to be her Ma.
*sty • Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
to she United States of tics.—Gazette.

DESTRUCTION
OF
HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE
BY FIRE.

Another metropolitan theatre last night suc-
cumbed to that fate to which all theatres are

sooner or later

by fire.

about 15 minutes to o'clock the passengers in the
Haymarket, Pall-mall, and Regent-street were
startled by an immense body of flames darting oat
from the roof of Her Majesty's Theatre, said it at
once became apparent that the theatre was on tire.
The alarm spread in a moment in all directions and
a rush was made for the stage door in the Hay-
market, when it was found that the hall keeper
was in entire ignorance of anything of an
unusual occurrence having taken place. In less
than ten minutes from the flames being first dis-
covered the whole body of the theatre was one
masa of fire, the roof being in flames from end to
end. The wind was blowing strong from the
north-east, and the immense body of fire poured
forth from the burning theatre like a volcano,
emitting a thiok shower of fiery flakes that
completely covered the roadways and pavements
of the adjacent streets. It was past 11 o'clock
before any of the engines arrived at the scene,
after which they arrived in quick snooesaion, but
the extent of the fire, and the theatre being sur-
rounded with houses on every side, rendered it a
matter of difficulty for the firemen to decide at
what point to begin operations. By this time the
flames had taken possesaion of the houses on each
side of the Opera Arcade, and the houses in Pall-
mall, opposite the United Service Club, and
at these points the firemen, mounting the colon-
nade in front of the houses, began to pour great
bodies of water on to the fire, but for some time,
owing to the strength of the wind, with little
apparent effect. At this time, half-past 11, the
scene was impressively grand, the great height of
the theatre causing the flames to be visible at a
long distance, and by their light masses of people
could be plainly seen, completely blocking up the
whole of the approaches to the theatre, while
every window, house-top, and available spew was
also filled with spectators. The whole of the south
end of the theatre and arcade was soon a heap
of burning ruins, and the efforts of the firemen were
directed to save, if possible, the houses in
Pall-mall, behind which the theatre stood, and the
back portions of which were already on fire. These
houses were built on a large scale, and were occu-
pied by Mews. Ludlow, hatters; Boucher, tobacco-
nist ; Brooks, wine merchant ; Egg, gunmakers, and
Graves, the eminent printseller and engraver. At
this establishment the extensive suite of rooms
were filled with valuable paintings, many of them
full-length portraits, deposited for safety with the
proprietor. A body of men were set to work to
remove these paintings, and the majority of them
were taken in safety to the United Service Club. By
this time (1 o'clock) the fire in the *oath portion of
the theatre had burnt itself out, and the firemen were
enabled to direct the whole of their efforts to the
houses in Pall-mall, and by this means the further
spread of the tire in that direction was prevented.
Soon after one o'clock the wind moderated, and an
alarm was given that the flames had taken hold of
the northern portion of the theatre, in which are
situated the store rooms and other offices. This
was found to be the case, and a body of firemen
were at once detached to that part of the
premises. Before, however, they could bring
the hose into play, the place was one
body of fire, and the flames bad caught
the back part of the Grand United Hotel, at the
corner of St. Alban's-street and the Haymarket.
After half an hour's unremitting exertion the
flames were stopped in this direction also, but this
part of the theatre was also destroyed, and nothing
was now left standing of the building but the
bare walls and the colonnade in the Haymarket,
which was made use of by the firemen to play the
hose on to the burning mass.
A moat distressing scene took place in the Opera-
arcade, running at the back of the theatre. The
occupants of shops and houses in the Arcade had
succeeded in getting their goods and furniture out
into the Arcade, but such was the intense heat and
the rapidity of the fire, that they were obliged to
leave them there and make their own escape, and
in a very short time the whole length of the Arcade
was one mass of fire, every particle of the goods
and furniture being destroyed.
Such was the concourse of people assembled that
the police available were utterly unable to keep
back the crowds, and at 12 o'clock several strong
detachments of Foot Guards were marched down
from the barracks in the Birdcage-walk, and with
fixed bayonets formed a most effective cordon
round the burning pile.
Fortunately there was no performance in the
theatre last night, or there must have been a great
sacrifice of life, the audience portion of the theatre
being in flames within ten minutes of the fire being
discovered. No certain information could be ob-
tained as to how the fire originated, but it is
thought to have arisen in the carpenters' work-
shops. Nothing whatever was saved from the
theatre ; the costly wardrobes, the valuable music,
and the orchestral instruments, were all destroyed,
and the amount of loss must be very great.
By two o'clock the fire was got completely under,
and all apprehension of its spreading any further
was at an end. In the confusion and excitement
which prevailed it was impossible to ascertain any
details, or the amount of damage done to the Bur-
rounding buildings. Several of the engines were
worked bya detachment of Life Guards from Albany
Barracks.