The Sun.
London, England, 1865-07-05 00:00:00

The Queen of the Netherlands.

Her Majesty, accompanied by the Princess Helena,
and attended by the Duchess of Roxburgh, Major-
General Hon. A. Hood, and Colonel the Hon. A.
E. Hardinge, arrived at Claridge's Hotel from
Windsor Castle yesterday morning at a quarter
past ten. The Queen of the Netherlands, attended
by the ladies and gentlemen of her suite, received
her Majesty and the Princess most cordially at the
entrance to the hotel, and then conducted them to
the royal apartments occupied by her Netherlands
Majesty. After a visit of rather more than half an
hour's duration, the Queen and the Princess Helena
took an affectionate leave of her Majesty and re-
, turned to Windsor. The Queen of the' Nether-
lands, attended by Baroness Dedem, proceeded to
the deanery at Westminster at half-past one, and
took luncheon with the rev. dean and Lady Augusta
Stanley.
Her Majesty returned to Claridge's Hotel in the
afternoon in order to receive the Prince and Prin-
cess of Wales, who arrived shortly before 6 o'clock,
attended by the Countess of Macclesfield and
Major Grey. At the conclusion of their royal
highnesses' visit to the Queen, they left for
Windsor.
Her Majesty, attended by Count de Randwjk,
Baron de Weckherlin, Baroness Pabst, and Baroness
Dedem, honoured the Marquis and Marchioness of
Westminster with her company at a grand dinner
given in her honour, and afterwards was present
at an evening party given by the Austrian Am-
bassador and the Countess Apponyi at Chandos
House.

The Duchess of Marlborough was safely confined
yesterday morning of a daughter, at 10, St. James's-square.
The Earl and Countess of Belmore and the Misses
Gladstone have left Brown's Hotel.

The Earl of Bective, M.P., has left the Lodge,
Virginia, county Cavan, for Underly Hall, Kirkby Lons.
dale, Westmoreland.

The Countess of Lichfield has arrived at Cla-
ridge's Hotel from Shugborough, Staffordshire.
Lord and Lady Wenlock had a dinner party
yesterday at their residence in Berkeley-square.
Lord and Lady Lurgan have left the Alexandra
Hotel for Lurgan House.
THE AUSTRIAN EMBASSY.—His Excellency the
Austrian Ambassador and the Countess Apponyi enter-
tained his Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge at
dinner last evening at Chandos-house. There were pre-
sent to meet his Royal Highness their Serene Highnesses
Prince and Princess Edward of Saxe Weimar, the Prince
of 'reek, the Marquis and Marchioness of Lansdowne,
Maria Marchioness of Ailesbury, the Earl and Countess of
Derby, the Earl and Countess of Cork, the Earl and
Countess of Wilton, the Countess Cowley, Viscount and
Viscountess Stratford de Radcliffe, Lord and Lady Wharn-
eliffe, General Sir Hugh Rose, Count ICalnolky, and Baron
Hubner. The Countess after dinner received a small and
early party, expressly to meet the Duke of Cambridge.

Destructive Fires.

Last night about a quarter before 10 o'clock a fire burs
out in the cane warehouse of Messrs. Myers, Southwa rk
bridge-road. The premises comprised a block of buildings
five stories high, these being the warehouses of Messrs.
Myers, a store house on the east side, part unlet, and partly,
as it was understood, in. the occupation, as a storehouse, of
Messrs. Moses and Son ; that to the west which had not
been occupied, and still further to the west the " Metro-
politan" publichouse, in the occupation of Mr. Johnston,
which has escaped injury. About 12 o'clock the walls on
the south of the warehouse of Messrs Myers fell outwards
into Castle• street with a terrific crash, knocking in the
front portions of several of the houses opposite, and com-
pelling the inmates to make a precipitate retreat The
roadway was completely blocked by the falling masses of
brickwork and timber, and the work of the firemen was
for 1.1, time suspended. At one o'clock the fire was got well
under, and all fear of further damage was at an end. The
pile of warehouses destroyed was of very large extent,
being five stories high and a proportionate depth and width.
There is nothing but the bare shell of the buildings left
standing, and the loss of property must be very great. The
concourse of people that assembled was very large, and the
exertions of the police were severely taxed to procure the
necessary room for the firemen to pursue their operations.
Several persona were severely injured by the falling of de-
tached portions of the walls and burning timbers, and it is
stated that some of the inmates of the houses in Castle-
street were so much bruised by the falling of the back
wall of Messrs. Myers' warehouse as to necessitate their
removal to the hospital.
A fire took place yesterday morning on the premises of
Mrs. E. Geach, refreshment-house keeper, 434, West Strand,
Conductor George Elsden arrived with the Royal Society's
escape from St. Martin's Church, and hearing that some
persons were still in the building he pitched his machine,
and having entered the second floor, found Mrs. Geach
undressed, and insensible from the smoke. There was
in the same room Elizabeth Baylis, a servant, who was
also in her night-clothes. These two persons he placed in his
escape and brought down in safety. He next entered the
first floor, and found a Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and rescued them,
The flames were happily confined to the lower part of the
building, which is better known as the Lowther Hotel.
About the same time another fire took place in the
premises belonging to Mr. Nicolas, artificial flower maker,
52, Chiswell-street, Finsbury. The upper portion of the
building was filled with lodgers, including a Mr. and Mrs.
Thompson and throe children, who befor3 the escape had
time to arrive rushed down stairs, and the children's
clothes were literally burnt on their backs. The other in-
mates managed to effect their escape from a side door. A
large quantity of water was poured upon the flames, but
the roof fell in. Mr. Nicolas' premises were all but de-
stroyed, and serious damage was done to the adjoining pro-
perty.
Another fire broke out on the premises of Mr. Willson,
paperhanger and decorator, 8, Amherst-road, Hackney.
At the time of the outbreak there were a servant-girl, a
young man, and three children in the house. The latter
were got out, but a child was left in the second-floor back.
The servant-girl was running about the street in a state of
frenzy, when Conductor Thompson, after lowering his
escape to pass under the railway arch, raised it again and
entered the front room second floor. The smoke being in-
tense he was obliged to retreat, and taking his fly-ladder
to the back, pitched it against the leads and drew it after
him, and then placed it against the window. He entered,
and found the child in bed, almost suffocated. He took the
child in his arms and brought it down the ladder, for
which he was loudly applauded. ,

MONEY COINED.—In the year 1864 the large
number 8,656,352 sovereigns were coined at the
Mint, 1,758,490 half-sovereigns, 1,861,200 florins, 4,518,360
shillings, 4,253,040 sixpences, 4,158 fourpences, 1,335,048
threepences, 4,752 silver twopences, 7,920 silver pence,
3,440,640 copper pence, 537,600 halfpence, 2,508,800 far-
things. The gold coinage of the year amounted to
£9,535,597 ; the silver to £535,104, which was £14,191
over the cost of the metal; the copper to £18,069, which
was not very far from double the purchase money of the
copper. In the last ten years 52,696,355 sovereigns have
been coined at the Mint, 12,692,316 half-sovereigns, no
crowns or half-crowns, 14,380,157 florins, 24,154,339 shil-
lings, 20,200,444 sixpences, 741,081 groats, 41,580 four-
pences, 18,359,110 threepences, 133,445,760 pence, and
152,686,237 halfpence. Tho work of withdrawing worn
silver coin from circulation goes on constantly; it was done
in 1864 to the extent of £123,500 (nominal value of the
coin), and there was a loss of £16,693 by its recoinage.

DR. PRITCHARD.—This trial is now going on in
Edinburgh, and will form a pretty specimen of the phar•
maceutical poisons used in medicine, against which the
British College of Health, on behalf of the Society of
Hygeists, has protested for the last 40 years. Let the
public look to it !—British College of Health, Euston-road,
Loudon, July 4, 1865.