The Sun.
London, England, 1864-01-09 00:00:00

THE WEATHER,

Yesterday morning the thermometer at the Hu•
mane Society's receiving house in Hyde-park re

gistered 25 deg., a temperature 5 deg. higher than
that of Wednesday at the same hour. At noon the
mercury had risen to 27 deg. The wind was from
the N.E., and the atmosphere was hazy.
The scene in the parks was quite as animated
as it has been on the previous day. It is estimated
that not less than 30,000 persons assembled on the
walks which surround the Serpentine, and that
8,000 sliders and skaters went upon the ice. The
great attraction oa the ice was a novel performance
named " hurdle racing." The ground ice was swept
up and piled some 12 or 18 inches high. A number
of persons, including ladies, then started at a given
signal from one end of the pond, and skated along
with great rapidity until they reached the piles of
ice, which they cleared, alighting upon the ice on
the opposite side, and again darting off at full speed,

After turning round the same performances were
gone through. At Hyde Park during the day
10,000 persons met upon the ice. A novel game
was introduced—that of skaters pushing in front of

them wicker baskets with ladies seated inside. The
Long Water in Kensington-gardens had 2,000
sliders and skaters, including a large number of
ladies and members of the Skating Club. Long
skating and fancy skating were carried on with
great spirit throughout the day. After dark the
grand railway match was commenced. Each person
who took part in the proeeedicgs, and there were
several hundreds in each race, carried either a lighted
flambeaux iu his or her hand, or else a lamp oa the
head. Of a sudden the railway whistle was sounded
and then the skaters started off at a furious pace,
coloured fires being occasionally thrown up. All
the sheets of ornamental water in the other parks
and the canals, in most of which the ice is now
three inches thick, were visited yesterday by large
crowds, and on all of them sliding and skating were
kept up with great spirit.
Yesterday immense quantities of floating ice were
drifting in the river, rendering the passage of
paddle steamers hazardous. Their plying was
consequently partially suspended. The entrance
and basins at the various docks being frozen up,
the laden barges and lighters are prevented from
moving. This has caused serious inconvenience to
merchants, and great privations and sufferings to
the dock and wharf labourers, who cannot obtain
their usual employment.
The river Lime, above Lancaster, has been for
some days covered with a thick crust of ice, upon
which crowds of skaters have amused themselves
since Monday. In some places the ice was thick,
but in others, and especially in the rapid parts of
the river, it was very thin and treacherous. On
Wednesday morning last a young man of 20, named
James William Mason, with another young man
named Dunnerdale, went to skate upon one of the
reaches of the river known as Haltorawater, and as
the river is some seven feet deep in this spot, and
there is ordinarily a pretty strong current, it is con-
sidered a dangerous place to commence skating upon
untilthe frost has been both long and severe. How-
ever, Mason and his companion began to skate over
the river, and Dunnerdale, in approaching a certain
portion, felt the ice crack beneath him, so he got
away as quickly as he could, and warned Mason
from going near the unsafe place. Mason, how-
ever, immediately made for the spot where the ice
was thinnest, and when he had got about four or

five yards further than Dunnerdale had been the
ice suddenly broke, and he fell into the water. He
sank to the bottom but immediately rose again, and
clutched convulsively at the ice round him. At
length be got his elbows upon the ice, and tried to
raise his body out of the water, but again the ice
broke, and he sank. By this time some spectators
threw a couple of poles towards him, but he could
not see them, as when he rose a second time only
the top of his head and forehead were visible above
water. He then sank again, and was seen no more.
Drags were procured, the ice broken, and a search
made for the body, but nearly two hours elapsed
before it was recovered. It had drifted under the
ice to about three yards from where deceased fell in.
An inquest was held on Thursday on the body of
the deceased. The coroner, Mr. Holden, in sum-
ming up the case, said it was a great pity that
greater precautions were not, adopted at this season
to prevent accidente of this description, which were
unfortunately so common, from terminating fatally.
In London, although such accidents were of almost
daily occurrence during the skating season upon the
ornamental waters in the parks, they were seldom
attended by loss of life, because there were means
at hand, and people employed exprcss:y to render
immediate assistance in case of accident. Life was
quite as valuable in Lancaster as in London, and
yet one would hardly think so from the way in
which the simplest precautions were neglected.
Had ropes and ladders been at hand in this case,
with some one to use them promptly, in all proba-
bility the deceased's life might have been saved.
The jury retu:ned a verdict of " Accidental Death."
The Scotsman of yesterday says :—" The keen
frosty weather which has prevailed for some days
past continued with unabated severity, and great

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umbers of persons turned out from Eibub,. J,lpar,:sl\,
the lochs to enjoy the exhilarating exerc. lila ti- ' 'Zik Vo."!:,
ing. Unlike the previous day, the atm 404'-4:-- :1:1-27,
free from• raist; and a clear blue sky imp kitjr ' ."4- 4.4v/44
t.
of geniality to the day, which added z t.'l4-liti4l,; "7:_,."'"7'e
pastime of the pleasure.seekers who throngedMio a s
frozen water s of Duddingston. The number of
people on the loch during the day was fully larger rf
than on previous days, and there were a great many
ladies, most of whom entered into the sport -with
much spirit. The ice was in very good condition,
considering the immense crowds of skaters that
had ploughed up its surface during the past few
days; but as might have been expectad,
considerable annoyance was caused to those
enjoying the recreation which the expanse of th©
loch afforded by the large quantity of reeds and
foreign substances of all kinds that was strewed
upon it in every dieection. liis Royal Highness
Prince Alfred again visited Duddingston Loch yes-
terday forencon, and spent some time in skating.

METROPOLITAN BOARD OF WORKS.

-4.---

The usual weekly meeting was held yeEterday at
the offices of the board, Spring-gardens— Mr. ,
Thwaites in the chair.
The cash statemEnt showed that the balences in
the hands of the treasurer on current accounts
amounted to £71,243 2s. Sd., on deposit accounts to
£35,122 10s. DI, and in Government securities to
£86,729 Bs. Id.

A deputation from the Hackney District Board of
Works presented a memorial on the subject of the
proposed new railways within the hackney dis-
trict, and calling the attention of the Board to the
fact that if the lines proposed were sanctioned, it
would very much injure and cut up the district.
The CHAIRMAN said the subject was of great im.
portance, and had given him some anxiety. The
engineer was preparing a report on the new rail-
ways, which would soon he presented, when they,
would go into the question. However, the interests
of the ratepayers would be carefully watched over
by the Board.
A report from the finance committee was brought
up, to the effect that they were in negotiation for
a loan of £50,000, for the purposes of the Finsbury
Palk Act, 1857, at 4,1 per cent. per annum, for 20
years.

After some discussion the report was adopted,
with an amendment that the money was to be bori
rowed for 30 years, instead of 20; but if it could
not be obtained for 30 years, then the money was
to be raised for 20 year 3.
The meeting then went into a committee of the
whole Board on the Thames Embankment, with
reference to the inquiries for Messrs. Ritson and
Co.'s contract, strangers being excluded.
The committee having deliberated about an hour,
the public were admitted, and a report of the pro-
ceedings of the committee was submitted, to the
effect that the Board had considered a report from
the solicitor as to the substitution of other securi-
ties for Messrs. Ritson and Co.'s contract for the

Thames Embankment from Waterloo-bridge to the
east end of the Inner Temple, than those proposed
by that firm, and the competency of the securities
proposed, and of Messrp. Ritson's competency to
carry out the work, had been made out to the
complete satisfaction of the board. It was therefore
recommended that the securities be accepted.

After the transaction of some routine business the
Board adjourned.

Daring Escape of a Female Prisoner.

A young woman, named Margaret Godfrey,
escaped from the Town-hall on Tuesday, by extra.
ordinary agility and daring. She was in the women's
yard attached to the cells, along with another
woman. The constable who has charge of the cells
was busy swilling the floors of the parade ground
which adjoins, only divided from the women's yard
by a short passage, The officer had to go into the
women's yard for water, and missed Godfrey, whom
he had seen a few minutes before. The other women
said she was in the water-closet; the officer never sup-
posed for a moment she could possibly have got out
of the yard. On going again to the yard, some
time afterwards, the officer became suspicious, and
called to Godfrey, without receiving any answer.
Further inquiry proved that she had escaped. The
walls round the yard are surmounted by sharp.
pointed palisades, the height of both being more
than 20ft. A water pipe runs down the side of the
wall next to the men's yard, and affords the only
possible chance of climbing the walls of the women's
yard. To prevent escape by this mode, two rows
of long spikes have been fixed at the junction of this
wall with the more lofty cross wall, which adjoins
a passage leading into Castle green. For anybody
~vearing petticoats to climb over these spikes seems
to be impossible ; it is a feat which only a daring
and agile man would attempt. From an examina-
tion of the wall, however, it was clear that the pri-
soner had escaped that way. For difficulties did
not end when she reached the top of the wall ad-
joining the Castle-green•passa;e, and climbed over
the high and sharply-pointed palisades fixed on the

top of it. She had then to throw herself down the
other side, a depth of at least 16ft or 17ft, there
being no prejeccions by the aid of which she could
descend any part of the way before releasing her
hold. She had taken the risk of so deep a fall and
had got away. Feeling sure she could not have ac•
complished the feat without sustaining severe in-
juries, the chief constable directed inquiries to be
made, which resulted in the speedy discovery of the
woman at the Infirmary, where she was under
treatment for severe injury to the spine. She had
been taken there in a cab by a man with whom
she is connected, and it is conjectured that she had
become aware that he was on the other side
of the wall before she attempted to escape.
Possibly the " young gentleman " resorted to
the trick celebrated in so many old stories of
serenading his lady-love, in order to inform her that
he was waiting to receive her. He would probably
try to catch her when she dropped down, but if so
his services were of small avail, Curiously enough,
the dangerous feat was undertaken to secure a very
inadequate object. Men who escape from prison
are generally daring thieves, who have the chance
or certainty of long transportation or penal servi-
tude before them, but Godfrey had been committed
to prison for a month only, as a disorderly prosti-
tute—a punishment which does not generally inspire
much dread in persons of her class.—Sheffield Inde-
pendent.