The Sun.
London, England, 1865-03-01 00:00:00

The Great Fire in Leicester-square.

This fire has unfortunately been attended with a greater
loss of property than was at first anticipated, for it has been
ascertained now that the whole of the wines and the costly
fittings in the Shades—the basement—have been destroyed,
and this morning the excitement was greatly increased,
owing to a report being circulated that four or five lives
had been sacrificed. Upon the Brigade instituting an in-
quiry it was found that all the people in Saville-house had
escaped by jumping out of windows at the back and front
of the premises, but a female was nowhere to be
found this morning (Wednesday), who had been seen
at one of the outlets, and strong fears were enter-
tained that she had been burnt to death, and
the body was lying among the debris of the Shades.
On the other hand, the neighbours and several of the police
are of opinion that the jeopardised female had been seen
to jump out of the front window on the first floor and then
run away. This seems hardly possible, considering the
height of the building, that she could have succeeded in
reaching the ground without at least serious personal in-
jury. A fireman named Percival, attached to Farringdon-
street station, had the misfortune of having his foot severely
injured by the falling of a piece of stone upon it, and in
running away from the supposed falling of a wall, owing
to the hand rail of the stairs being burnt away, he fell
from the top landing to the bottom, by so doing he got
greatly shaken. The other two firemen who were
injured, namely, Messrs. Penfold and Lilley, who
were removed to Charing-cross Hospital, are in a state
of great suffering, but the former, after being attended
to by the officers of the hospital, was enabled to return
home, but was pronounced unfit for duty. The same re-
marks nearly apply to Percival, as he is unable to put his
boots on. Over 100 valuable oil-paintings about Oft. by
3ft. were hanging to the walls of the Shades, and they have
been destroyed. It is stated they were not insured. It is
not to be wondered at that the Prince of Wales paid such
an early visit to the fire, when it is stated that Saville
House was long the dwelling of Frederick Prince of Wales,
the son of George 11. The Duke of Sutherland and the
other noblemen who attended upon his Royal Highness
also rendered essential service, by impressing the neigh-
bours with the fact that their houses were well protected.

The Flower of the Flock. By Pierce Egan, Author
of " The Poor Girl." 3 vols. W. S. Johnson
and Co.

This is a highly animated and, to a certain ex-
tent, interesting record of adventures and vicissi-
tudes, plots and counter-plots, awful perils and hair-
breadth escapes, love and folly and disappointment,
and ultimate happiness to everybody. In many re-
spects this novel is superior to the ordinaryrun of " sen-
sational " romance. We cannot, nowever, regard
the conduct of some of the characters as very
natural—as, for example, the refusal of Helen to
accept the offer of her lover, and her apparent igno-
rance of " the dreadful secret "—incidents which
are very certainly beyond the limits of possibility.
At first it appeared that the marvellously beautiful
Helen was to be regarded as " the flower of the
flock," but we are glad ultimately to discover that
peerless heroine in humble little Lotte, the hard-
toiling workwoman, as we learn from the following
just tribute to a very deserving class—
THE FLOWER OF THE FLOCK.
A path of rectitude is laid down in social life for all alike,
rich or poor, to pursue. It is beset with snares and pit-
falls ; with inducements, seductions, and temptations to
turn aside almost at every step.
To adhere, however, to the fixed principle of acting
rightly in every situation in life demands no common
powers. A peculiar strength of mind, a clearness of per-
ception to distinguish the real from the unreal, correct,
which is something more than common, sense, and even a
course of instruction, are deemed little else than essential
to achieve the difficult task of pursuing that path un-
swervingly.

" It is one thing to be tempted, Escalus,
Another thing to fall."
When those who have been borne in the lap of luxury,
have been nurtured with tenderness, instructed with care,
reared in plenty, surrounded by blessings, caressed With
kindred's holy affection, elevated above the incitements of
want, and gifted with that knowledge of good and evil,
which is imparted by the cultivation of the mind and the
aid of religion, yield to temptation, and fall away before
seductive arts—what shall be said of her who, unaided by
any of these advantages, passes through her path of fire
uncharred? What is she among her human sisters, who,
endowed alone with that fatal gift to the poor girl,—fair
looks, struggles with penury and starvation, toils from
dawn far, far into the long night, with dim and weary
eyelids and aching fingers, endures the severest straits of
destitution, arising from scantily remunerated labour, yet
faces her danger nobly—resists those fascinating tempta-
tions which are so terrible in their power to the beautiful
but penniless of her sex—wrestle, .bravely with her nar-
rowed means, and rising superior to all those allurements,
which are aided b, the urgings of grim want, preserves
her purity and self-respect unsullied, and her independence
unabased !
What is she among women who, being driven to so-
ciety itself—in its hunger on the one hand after wealth,
and on the other after cheapness—into the very corner of
desperation, comes from her crushing ordeal unbruised
and undefiled ?
Is she not a FLOWER OF THE FLOCK ?
Oh ! reader, look about you ; there are many Lette Clin-
tons in the throes of mortal agony nearer to you than you
suspect. If they are fainting under their burden, can you
not afford them a little aid to surmount their miserable
destitution, and lift them out of their despair ?
Remember the dreadful alternative !
The moral of the tale, it will be seen from the
above, is excellent, and throughout the whole narra-
tive is pervaded by a genial spirit of kindliness
and philanthropy.

The Author of " The Sinner's Friend;" An Auto.
biography. Edited by Newman Hall, LL.D
One vol., pp. 466. James*Nisbet and Co.

This volume contains the history of the tempts,

tions and indiscretions, and subsequent sins, con-
spicuous among which was a constant liability to
intemperance, which characterised the earlier portion
of the life of John Vine Hall, the well-known author
of " The Sinner's Friend," written by himself.
Being himself converted from the depravity of
his ways, the author was naturally anxi-
ous to preach to his fellow-sinners the good
tidings whereby even he had been rescued
from an apparently hopeless condition. On his
death, in 1860, at the advanced aged of 87,
John Vine Hall left to his son the charge of giving
his autobiography to the public. In turning over
the pages in which, in a spirit of very genuine
contrition the author records his own intemperance,
we find that on one occasion, being at the moment
sober, the almost habitual drunkard was startled by
reading a paragraph entitled " Dreadful Effects of
Intoxication," in The Sun of Oct. 15, 1818. This
paragraph,which recounted the suicide of a drunkard,
deeply impressed him for a time, and that same
year witnessed what he justly calls his " Victory,"
when his sinful propensity was for ever laid aside.
Although dissenting from many of the author's
opinions, we may commend his experiences as likely
to be beneficial to many, ,being, as they are, the
records of truth.

Our Tropical Possessions in Malayan India. By
John Cameron, Esq., F.R.G.S. One Vol., pp.
408. With Illustrations. Smith, Elder, and Co.
Believing that Singapore, and Penang, and Ma-
lacca, and the remainder of those Indian possessions
known as the Straits Settlement, are about to pass
under the direct control of the Imperial Govern-
ment, Mr. Cameron has very naturally imagined
that some particular account of thatpeculiar locality
would have an especial interest for the English
reader. "I do not think," he says, " that I have
claimed for my subject more attention than it de-
serves. In point of physical beauty it can have few
compeers ; its chief port ranks third in the com-
merce of India ; and its geographical position gives
it a political importance which must be measured by
the value to Great Britain of ascendancy through-
out the rapidly developing countries of the far
East." Although Mr. Cameron gives a few
judicious opinions upon the future administration
of the settlement, his volume is for the most part
descriptive, and very vigorous and life-like are his
descriptions. Mr. Cameron is evidently well ac-
quainted with his subject (he writes from Singapore),
and the narrative of his experiences is a labour of
love. By untravelled Englishmen, he admits, the
distant Indian station is often regarded as an exile
of the worst description, " but those who have en-
dured that exile," he adds, "can tell a far different
tale of the condition of life in the tropical garden."
The glowing pictures which are here given, how-
ever, of this—
. "Clime of the East—the land of the sun,"
have their drawbacks. Among these the tigers of
the jungle hold a conspicuous place. Some of the
most interesting chapters of this volume contain
records of the cowardice and cruelty of the
tiger. All Mr. Cameron's descriptions appear
truthful, and taken from actual occurrences.
He tells us that after inquiring into every death
from tigers for a number of years back, he had not
been able to find one case in which the victim had
not been come upon unawares from behind. The
tiger will stealthily watch for hours until a favour-
able moment occurs, and then with one deadly
spring he falls upon his prey. The death is appa-
rently instantaneous, for in every body discovered
the back of the head is generally smashed in, so
great is the violence of that deadly stroke. It is
dreadful to learn that in the island of Singapore alone
more than 200 deaths from tigers occur yearly—
nearly one a day. Until the jungle can be de-
stroyed the extirpation of the tigers appears hope-
less. Towards the attainment of this much to be de-
sired end Mr. Cameron offers some very reasonable
suggestions. We cannot now bestow more time upon
these very interesting reminiscences. The volume
is adorned with some coloured illustrations of Singa-
pore and its harbour, and Penang and Wellesley.

The Dobbs Family in America. By Our Own
Special Correspondent. One Vol., pp. 312.

Maxwell.

" Our Own Special Correspondent" does not
favour us with any particulars respecting his indi-
vidual ownership. His revelations of American
life are, as may be supposed, for the most part,
given in a humorous vein.

History and Cultivation of Cotton and Tobacco.
By Col. Robert L. de Corfi. One Vol., pp. 306.
Chapman and Hall.
This is a very practical treatise on the cultivation
of those two important necessaries of civilised life—
cotton and tobacco. The author is a Carolinian
himself, and is well acquainted with his theme.

Harrison

'ew Story.

" THE HOUSE WITH THE SEVEN CHIMNEYS."
Another instalment of Harrison Ainsworth'
new historical romance—commemorative (under
the whimsical title of " The House with the Seven
Chimneys") of the adventurous journey to Madrid
(in quest of a wife) undertaken by Charles the First
when Prince of Wales—lends a more than usual
charm to this month's number of Bentley's Miscellany.
And it does so for the simple reason that it shows that
one of the most popular of our romance meters"
and
famous years ago as the author of " Rookwood"
" Jack
.Shepherd," of " Windsor Castle" and
" The Tower of London," of " Old St. Paul
le,
'"ab
and " The Miser's Daughter"—is still
best
whenever he so pleases, of writing at his very
There are several among the singularly picturesque
scenes and incidents recounted by him in the dial'
ters of his new tale, but just now publishing, that
-
enable us confidently to assert, in regard to his liter
rary capabilities, what we have thus but a momen,
since been asserting. And we would merely. direev
the attention of any one who might feel alto
to question the accuracy of our statement,
examine cursorily—in proof that it is so—to the very
instalment we are now alluding to as notably adorn
ing the current number of Bentley's MiscellanY •
Proof positive, however, we may here at once giVe
cap '
by a casually selected quotation or two from the
pages of the magazine. Charles and Buckilighaul,
(the two Smiths !) have arrived in Chapter Vt'
Burgos, where, after nightfall, they loiter into til°
glorious old Cathedral.
"Prepared as they were for a wondrous spectacle, the
grand coup d'ceil offered by the interior of the cathedral
and
surpassed any expectations they had formed a it, an
struck them with reverential awe. Emerging from one °`
the aisles into the mighty nave, they stood still for a her`
time to contemplate the sublime picture. A large P°l4,,,ird
of the fane was plunged in gloom, but this obscurity aa",,)
to the effect of such parts as could be distinguished• rilu-
twinkling tapers attached to the long line of pillara,g
either side, though only serving to make darkness
visin the aisles, cast sufficient light on the nave to disclose
the numerous figures kneeling on the pavement. 11,
devotees were for the most part women, who, even Wi5
fns
their prayers, never ceased to agitate their f311.n
All, without exception, wore mantillas, and were attired Id
black. Scattered amongst them were a few men in vole
and picturesque costumes.
" The grand altar at which the priests were officiafit
was a blaze of light, and the splendour of this part of
the
scene was heightened by the surrounding gloom•
prince and Buckingham might have regretted that so tuan•cl
architectural beauties—so many exquisite sculpturese
an,
paintings—were hidden from their view ; that the glellv
of the gorgeous painted windows were not called fortil
external light, and the charming perspectives formed
the triple rows of pillars in the aisles were only rein) rfectu,
a its
revealed; but, such as it was, the picture was perfect
kind, and delighted them as much as if every detail had
s
been fully revealed.
"Moving slowly down the nave, ever and anon glaincili:t
if
between the pillars of the aisles at some lovely but wntii
seen chapel, or pausing to gaze at a painting or statae
attracted their attention, the prince and his corepani°a!";
proached the choir, where the light afforded by the g'ais..
altar candles was sufficiently strong to enable them °iv
cern the marvellous werkmanship of the stalls, the Basfiefild
rotablo, with its spiral pillars and consummately be3n,- the
statues, and overhead the glorious dome, storied -rfit'l
arms of kings and archbishops—a dome which Pll, of
pronounced to be so beautiful, that it seemed the -Or
angels rather than tho production of men.'
" Having examined all these marvels, so far as 'sr" 'OlOl
doable under the circumstances—the sacred rites weiriequcic-
being performed at the high altar—the Prince an —rod
ingham glided noiselessly away, and proceeded to th°
lf
Gothic chapel, called the Capilla del Condestable--ja i;ecea
a church—where they beheld a marvellous altar 6,,,c-035
and several tombs of extraordinary beauty--ellicf de
the latter being the tomb of Don Pedro lierriall'e-x,
Velasco, constable of Castille, and founder of the eh'l'ite.
Upon the following morning, the travellers, 31"ana
an enthralling adventure (leading to a dael!,,stie
what not), return to the same wondrously mak,to
edifice, of which our author writes thereupon I"-
eloquently : nod"
The full beauties of the superb Gothic fane were way
revealed to them—the tall twin spires cleaving their the
towards heaven, the three exquisitely carved portals lase,
grand entrance, the triple-shafted aisles, the majestic 31_0,
the vaulted roof, the numerous chapels with their 111','„ith
ments, statues, and paintings, the magnificent choir
~113
stalls,
its splendidly gilt gates, beautiful and &Iwo
canopy—all these, and a thousand beauties morel
.0,
displayed to their ravished gaze. To complete their sat' 5
faction, the grand notes of the organ were heard pea
along the roof, while sweet voices arose from the chointho
"As on the previous evening, the pavement °f .
1
mighty nave was peopled with female devotees, 0,1
ducing a singular and striking effect, from theirblacktittn
,er
their fans and mantillas; and many of them—the oan'o
at least—boasting magnificent eyes, jet-black locks;o3 5,
charming features. In the chapels also there wer
„the-
worshippers ; and though the hour was so early, the C"
dml might be said to be thronged. conia
"As Graham passed the chapel of Santa Ann he
the
not help casting a glance into it, and then Percei.rovions
beautiful creature he had seen there On , °c.o. of the
night. She was kneeling before the iniap-Duke de
Virgin, and not far from her stood the
Cea, so engrossed by the contemplation of ""
that ho had eyes for no other object. „re Will
" Charles remained within the cathedral for ta-0 otoi
an hour, chiefly employing himself in examining to
marvellous paintings which he had been unable to
n" the
or,
a
on the previous evening, and then, deeply' depl w
necessity of departure, he bade adieu to the glor iool:1)00d
in which he would willingly have tarried during till!, pars"
of the day, and returned with his companions to
dor, where breakfast awaited them." OCLSCS
Having given which mere taste of our rola
manner, as one of the most picturesque aln°,l3refer
ing narrators, we may content ourselves wit' f ivlt•
ring the reader to the current instalment poor
Ainsworth's new historical romance, as it Maviitiey's
be found in full in the March number of Bey
Miscellany.