The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1818-01-02 00:00:00

FIRE;

•BERDEEN, DEC. 27.
Ou Christmas-day, just as the communion tier-
vice had begun, one of the most alarming fires
took place in St. Andrew's Chapel, King-street,
which we have almo.t ever seen. At one time,
there was not the smallest doubt but that this beau-
tiful building would, in the course of a few hours,
have been a pile of ruins. The fire was occasioned
by the over-heating of the stoves, the flues of which
having got red, communicated with the outer-
casiug, and from thence to the pipes which pass
under the organ gallery for the heating of the
chapel.
Oa the first alarm, the congregation retired in a
very orderly manner, without any accident ; and
by the time the fire-engines were brought, the
flames had burst out from under the organ plat-
form, and ascended more than half the height of
the instrument. By the great exertions of those
who had the charge of the fire-engines, and of the
incalculable multitude that formed lines !Or the
conveying of water from the various fire-cocks and
wells in the neighbourhood, as well as from the
harbour, the Barrack-yard, and even from the
further extremity of North-street, very fortunately
the fire was checked, and, by perseverance and the
must judicious management of the water, it was
ultimately subdued, without extending further than
the gallery, in which it originally began. The
damage is but trifling, in comparison to what was
apprehended ; and, what is very singular, although
the organ appears to have been surrounded with
five, yet no tart of the instrument has been touched
by it, and the only injury it has received was from
the water, whit 4 was discharged in torrents from
the engines, the pipes of which were conveyed to
the roof.

rooTrADs.—On Monday ►sight, between eleven
moil twelve o'clock, as the Rev. Wst.taa WREN
DIIIFFIELD, in his way Nome from Kelvedot► to
Freering, he was stopped on the road leading from
Gore, Pit, and near the village of Freering,- by two
men, who, after robbing I of considemble pro.
Iwrty, knocked him down with great violence.
They rubbed him of a gold watch, chain, and two
seal►, three gold rings, Bank of England notes,
and Colchester Bank notes and cash, to a consider-
able amount.

Between seven and eight o'clock on Thursday evening,
the Itith ultimo, a must barbarous and inhuman murder
was committed at the village of Alvaston, ■bout three sulks
south of Derby, upon the body ides. elderly woman, of the
a me of Gra•totex, wife of a man, also far advanced in
life, who uccippies ■ few neves of land, nail keeps three
or roar cow.. The poor woman had just been to the
cuw.shrol, which is very near the house, to milk, ■nd
sint retarning so soon as expected, the old Mail "Id
to ascertain what had became of her, wheu he found her
stretched to. the ground in • apeechless state. Her hemd airs
found, upon examination, to be lacerated and smashed in
a manner too shucking to describe. She died soon after
bring removed to the Impose, without being enabled to
give the least I.int of her murderer. Suspicion falling upon
Iwo 44444 men, 51w 'masa her Mu+band by a former ow-
rine, no the ground of their having been at variance with
their half mothere, they were apprehended forthwith, and
iinderieent a strict examination, the result of which induced
the Macuitrates to set 'lwo' at liberty without airy hesitation.
It appears, Newry( r, that a man of the name of Jackson, a
cation ur calico weaver, with whims one of She young
tlrsiiiirex's worked, at Abrasion, is io custody, being
•iisperied oil* having committed the horrid deed, to ns'•.nd
of . .... e snooty winch he owed to the old couple, a.
a prunsco.ry note, or memorandum of the &hi, was fussild
"pun him, whirls Ihe old woman genes ally carried its her
Ice t, and did suet intrust it its her husband's care, bcclusa
Ur ha* very sufirui state of health.

11•1111.

-- - ~ .

FIELD SPORTS.

[From "British Field Sports," Part 111. filler pk6l4lled

On the approacl► of the shooting season, it is
co 11111 l on, both in town and country, to are staunch
pointers advertised at the price of ten guineas ; but
in a country like ours, high qualification will ever
command a high price, a thing perfectly ►n the
natural course. An eminent example of this, was
the ►ale of Colonel Thornton's.pointer. Dash, which
h:►d in him, a dose crass of the fix hound, to the
lute Sir Iticluird Symons, fur one hundred and
sixty pOunds worth of Cla►mpaign and Burgundy,
purchased at the salt of the French Ambassador t
one hogshead of claret, an elegant gun, and au-
other pointer; with the condition annexed, that. in
case of any accident befalling the dog, rendering
hint unfit for service, he should be returned to the
seller, at the price of fifty guineas. This really
happened : Dash accidentally breaking his leg, was
returned to his former master, who considered him,
in that state, a great acquisition as a stallion.—
Dash was the Eclipse of pointers, his natural in-
stinct being so superior. and his scent so fine, that
without any necessity of quartering or hunting
over his ground, he was it► the constant habit of
marching direct up to his birds ! He was besides
wonderfully steady iu backing tither dogs. As •
proof too, of the high perfection of training of which
the pointer is susceptible in Ale hands, Plato
sod Juno, the property of Colonel Thornton, were
sketched in the field for their portraits, whilst
pointing, by the late Mr. Gilpin. both of them
steadily keeping their point, during upwards of un
lour and a quarter, until the sketcher were finished.
The French double-Nosed roister has not yet fallen
under my observation, but I cannot find that the
apparent channel which divides the nostrils of the
animal, has been intentionally imposed by any
breeding contrivance.

The spaniel is • dog of high antiquity, ■nd
I►as ever been applied to his present purposes,
namely, those of finding and bringing game,
when killed, to his ►vaster, whether by land or
water ; and although there is • regular variety of
spaniels, the province of which is the water, spa-
niels in general, have no aversion to it, of which
their coats is an indication; and perh.►ps all smooth
coated spaniels are such, in consequence of some
mixture of breed. There is a sort of symmetry
and delicacy proper to the true-bred spaniel, which
is particularly discoverable in the head and ear, and
fineness of the flew; yet he ought to have great
substance, and by no means to stand high upon the
leg. The coat of the water-spaniel is more harsh
and curled. Our land-spaniels seem to have no
other material division at present. than into the
great or springers, and the small, among which
last are the cocking spaniels, and King Charles's
breed, dercended from the favourites of Charles.
the Second, and distinguished by the roof of time
mouth being black, and certain other characteris-
tics. The royal variety is much tiii ii iaa hiked, and
fast wearing out ::rod, indeed, the sinalitst and most
delicate breed of -priniels, is far snore fit for time
carpet than the thicket, I►eing the most elegant and
attractive comforters. lu Spain and Italy, their
spaniels are naturally excellent, and the Kings of
Spain and Naples were formerly wont to keep them
in great pract►ce.

The cringing and fawning of the spaniel, have
always been proverbial ; bait his affection and fide-
-1 lity are equally so. Of this, Mr. Daniel, whose
high-valued spaniels, 1 remember to have seen the
crack of the county of Essex, has given us various
anecdotal proofs, part of which, I shall trespass
on hias yet further, to transcribe from his rural
sports. In an early period of our history, a mur-
derer was discovered to the King, by the sagacity
and attachment of a spaniel to his dead master ;
sad doting the late Irish Insurrection one of the
Gaited Irishmen, shut at Vinegar Hill, left for dead,
and his supposed corpse covered with earth sand
stones, was actually scratched said digged up by
his faithfulsipaniel, which finding him, cleaned the
earth and blaod from his face, by licking it, until
a resuscitation ensued, and the manfully recovered,
and was seen seven years afterwards in perfect
health ! Another truly impressive and authentic
story we have, of the game-keeper and Ins dog,
of a most respectable and convivial octogenarian
sportsman, who the present writer wishes may be
flaw in the usual enjoyment of his bottle and his
friend. .4 The game• keeper of the Rev. Mr. Car-
sellis (of Wirenlioe, Essex) had reared a spaniel,
and which was his constant attendant, both by
night and day : whenever old Daniel appeared,
Dash was close behind him ; and the dug was of
infinite use in his nocturnal excursions. The
game, at that season, lie never regarded, although
in the day time no spaniel could find it in a bet-
ter style, or in greater quasetity ; but at night, if a
strange foot had entered slay of the coverts, Dash,
by a significant whine, itiforined his master that the
enemy were abroad ; and many poachers have beets
detected and caught from this MI ugu ler intelligence.
After mislay years friendly connexion, old Daniel
was seized with a disease, winch terminated iii a
consumption and his death. While the slow but
fatal progress of his disorder allowed bins to crawl
about, Dash as usual followell his footsteps; and
when nature was stall further exhausted, and lie
took to his bed, at the foot of it, unwearily attend-
ed the faithful animal; and when lie died, the dog
would out quit the body, but lay upon the bed by
its side. It was with difficulty he was tempted to
eat alit' food; and old gh after the burial, he was 1
taken to the hall, sand caressed with all the tender-
ness which so fond an attachment naturally called
forth, lie tovk a very opportu.sity to steal hack to
the room in the collage, where his old master
breathed his lust: there lie would remain for hours;
from whence lie daily visited Isis grave, and at the
end of 11 days, notwithstaudiag every kitidoess and
attention iliewu him, lie literally died broken-
lo iii ted ! I

51,81.1014 es well as to spring all winged game
for the gun, are used in coursing, to find hare and
rabbit.

Between one am! four o'clock, Monday morning.
the Slop .411(1 Styr public-bootie wog broke nitro and
'sobbed of AU!. in tilers', Bank note", and copper,
twelve bottles of runs, and other anodes.

Yesterti.ty—fißcumetstox.—liuliday at the Bank, Ex
simper, East India, and South Sea Holism