The Sun.
London, England, 1864-01-29 00:00:00

TERRIBLE CALAMITY IN CHILL

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)
2,000 LADIES BURNED TO DEATH.

SOUTHAMPTON, JAN. 29.

The mail steamship Atrato, which arrived here
this morning, brings intelligence of a most terrible
calamity at Santiago, the capital of Chili.
On the evening of the Bth December, over three
thousand ladies and several hundred men had
crowded into the Cathedral of La Campania. The
ladies were mostly young and belonged to the
higher classes of the capital. 20,000 lights in long
festoons filled the church, which was also hung
with drapery of every description, the entire
building, more especially about the altar, being a
perfect sea of muslin dresses and illumination. The
service had hardly commenced when the crescent of
lights at the foot of the image of the Virgin over the
altar communicated fire to the drapery. The fire
spread rapidly to all parts of the building, and a
terrible scene of horror ensued. .

The congregation endeavoured to escape by the
door, which was blocked up by the multitude out-
side. Most of the men escaped, but the ladies fell
in all directions, their arms were wrenched from
their bodies, and the passage became a crushed heap
9f mangled bodies. From the roof a rain of liquid
fire poured on the people below, and in 15 minutes
upwards of 2,000 ladies were blackened corpses,
mostly of the richest families in Santiago.
Upwards of two hundred cartloads of burned
corpses were removed from the ruins.

Shakspere Tercentenary, Stratford-

on-Avon.

-410-
On Wedtinsday, at the meeting of the committee, in the
absence of !Ir. plower, the radial the Rev. Granville
Granville, the vicar, took the chair.
It was resolved that arrangements should imniediately
be made for advertising in London on a large scale, for col-
lecting subscriptions, and for opening in a central part of
London an office for the sale of tickets.
Report was made of the progress of the pavilion. It is
a large and substantial building of wood and iron, covering
an acre of ground, and raised on a foundation of solid
masonry. Its diameter Is 170 feet. Fourteen thousand
cubic feet of timber, braced with upwards of 10 tons of iron,
have been used in its construction. It is capable of seating
5,000 people.
It was further reported that Mr. Alfred Tennyson,
Poet Laureate, has consented to join the Coulniittee of
Taste.
The following gentlemen have been added to the list of
vice-presidents 1--Me, Torn Taylor, Mr. Shirley Brooks,
the Duke of Manchester', the Earl of Lichfield, Professor
Nicol, Glasgow; the Right lion. Thomas O'Hagan, (LC.
M.P.Mr. J. 0. jaffray, Rev. H. W. Croskey, Glasgow;
Mr. J. Herbert Stank, and Mr. Joseph Ellis, Brighton.

MADEMOISELLE TITIENS.—This accomplished
singer has lately been charming the citizens of
Hanibhire, *ho Clalin her as a iiatiVe tif the city; and on
Saturday evening last she took farewell of her townsmen in
the character of Xernmi precious to Atatting fdr Paris and
AlthoughTitiehs;s voice as
Bdine-
what affected by the recent severely cold weather at llarn-
burg, the performance was in every respect most satisfac-
tory, and an ovettiosting aiidientej brimful of enthusiasm,
loudly expressed the delight they experienced.

THE NEGRO'S ACCOUNT OF THE ORIGIN OF
THE WHITE MAN,
according to Mr. Wingrove
Iteade's " Savage Africa" :—"' My breddren,' said a
native preacher, `you see white man bad too much, ugly
too much, no good. You want sabby how man like dat
come to lib in the world. Well, I tell you. Adam and
Eve, dey coloured people, very hansum, lib in one beautifulyou.Eve,
garden. Dere dey hab all dogs dat be good. Plantains,
yams, sweet potatoes, foo-foopahn wine—ho too much I
Den dey hab two shildrum, Cain and Abel. Cain no like
Abel's palaver ; one day he kill'm. Den God angry, and
he say, ' Cain 1' Cain go hide himself ; he' ink him berry
claber. Heigh—heigh I God say again, "Cain, you
I no see you, you bush-nigger—eh?' Den Cain come out,
and he say, 'Yes, massa, I lib here—what de matter
massa?' Den God say in one big voice, like de tunder in
de sky, ' Whare'm broder Abel?' Den Cain turn white all
ober tofthfear—clat dc first white man, bream r_