The Sun.
London, England, 1849-12-29 00:00:00

ANTICIPATED HIGH TIDES.

PORTSMOUTH, FRIDAY. - The anticipated high
spring tides a hich are expected to take place to-
morrow, have occasioned the greatest commotion in
this locality, and the people inhabiting the streets at
Point, and the lower parts of High-street and the
lower parts of Purtsea, have been busy for the last
two or three days in removing all their parishable
goods from the cellars and basement floors to the
upper rooms. Should the wind, however, that now
blows hard from the north, continue, there will be
little to be dreaded, for it is directly out of the har-
bour, and will prevent the tide rising to any injurious
height. Some necessary precautions have been taken
in the dockyard to prevent accident ; the Sidon steam-
frigate and Sprightly tender have been additionally
secured, and warps run out to prevent their rubbing
and chafing against the edge of the jetty. From the
Stirling Castle, convict-ship, two anchors have been
run out—one from the bow, the other from the
quarter, to prevent her surging against the wharf;
and the lighters and boats have all been addi-
tionally secured. At various intervals high
spring tides at Portsmouth have done very much
damage. The highest on record, we believe, touk
place in 1819, when the whole of the streets
at Point and nearly all High street were under water.
The people at Point communicated by boats, the
cellars and basement floors were under water, and
a vast quantity of property of various kinds was
destroyed. The water overflowed the whole of
Southsea Beach, from the town to Southsea Castle.
The whole of the common was one vast sheet of
water, that overflowed Hambrook- street, the terraces,
and Wish-street, filling all the cellars, washing down
walls and fences, and doing much damage. At the
tavern, called (then as it is now) the Wheelbarrow
Castle, and at the lodging houses adjoining, the people
had to escape from the upper story windows in boats,
as it was then supposed the houses would be washed
down. A vessel, of considerable burden, was drifted
and partly fluated over the beach at Southsea, near
Mr. Hollingsworth's rooms, and was left there by the
receding tide, and a canal had to be cut, to get her
afloat again. This spring tide was accompanied by
a strong south-westerly gale, which no doubt con-
tributed much to the high rise of the tide. At the
present time Southsea Beach, that part extending
from Portsmouth to some distance outside Southsea
Castle, forms a better barrier against the sea than
formerly. For many years past the shingle has
been gaining on the sea. The shingle has been
thrown higher up, and the new esplanade forms now a
sort of dam or sea- wall. On the other hand, from
Lumps Fort to Cumberland Fort, the sea has been
continually encroaching on the land. Lumps Fort,
formerly occupied as a coast-guard station, is now so
near the influence of the sea that the buildings are
considered unsafe, and they have consequently been
abandoned. For the last twelve years Southsea
Common has not been overflowed by the tide, but
before that period it was a thing of common occur-
rence. To-morrow will be another test, but should
the northerly wind continue we have no fear for the
result. Should the strong northerly gale continue to
blow, the tide cannot be very high on the coast of the
English Channel, but the reverse will take place on
the French coast, where it will probably rise to a
fearful height. The Portsmouth pilots are of opinion
that the strong wind today decreased the height of
the morning nue (at the least) two feet.
The following are the respective heights of the tide
during the present and last springs, as gauged by the
dockyard authorities :
Height of tide. Increase.
Date. Ft. in. Ft. in.
Dec. 11 17 9 ...
12 ... ... 18 0
27 ... - 18 2 1 0
28 ... ... ... 19 10 ... ... 110
The northerly gales have caused much damage to
property at this port and neighbourhood. Many
chimneys have been blown down, and numerous
houses unroofed. Numerous windows in the dock-
yard have been blown in, and similar damage done to
private dwellings.

UNIVERSIT Y INTELLIGENCE.
CAMBRIDGE, DEC. 28.—A grace having passed the
Senate to the fiillowing eff,ct :—That Alicia() to whom
the Sunday afternoon turns at St. Mary's and the turns
for Christmas-day and Good Friday are assigned, shall,
from the beginning of October, 1849, to the end of May,
1850, provide no other substitute than such as are ap-
pointekin conformity with that grace,

The follossing persons have been elected, each for the
month to which his name is affixed :

.849. October The Hulsean Lecturer.
November Proft.sior Blunt,
December The Bor. Theyre Smith, Queens'.
.830. January The Rev. F. W. Collip.on, Sr. John's.
February... The Rev. J. A. Jeremie, Trinity.
March The Rev. Daniel Moore,St.Catherine's
April The Hulsean Lecturer.
May The Rev. W. Selwyn, Trinity.

DEATH OF A. CENTENARIAN.—Yesterday an in-
quest was held by Mr. Membury Wakley, at the
Coopers' Arms, Hampden street, Somers-town, on view
of the, body of Ellen Limmer, a widow, aged 100 years,
who died at No. 8, Brill-terrace, Somers-town, where
she was living on a small annuity. It appeared from
the evidence that the deceased was for many years in the
family of the late Lord Ventry, an Irish peer, as lady's
maid, her husband, who died about seven years ago,
having been valet to his Lordship. They were left a
considerable sum of money by the Noble Lord, and she
received 14s. a week through the hands of Mr. Sergeant
Shee. She died on Plionday morning last, and up to the
last moment of her life was in the possession of all her
faculties, her last words being responses to the prayers
which were being offered up for her. Her chief support
latterly was wine and sags•. The cause of her death was
inflammation of the right lung, as found upon the post
mortem examination. Verdict—" Natural Death."
A LADY BURNT TO DEATII.—We have to record
this week a shocking accident, which occurred to Lady
Pynn, a well-known resident of this town, and by
which her ladyship suffered so severely as to cause her
death in a few hours. The deceased lady was the
daughter of the late Mrs. Bruce Jackson, one of the
loaders of the fashionable world in Cheltenham twenty
years ago, and had been for many years married to Sir
Henry Pynn, who at the time of the accident was in
Paris. It appears that on Thursday se'nnight Lady
Pynn lied met with an accident while walking up the
Promenade. Her foot having slipped, she fell down
and sustained a fracture of one of the bones of the
arm, was conveyed to her residence in the Promenade,
and was still under surgical treatment for the fracture
when the more serious event occurred which caused
her death. On Monday last, being Christmas eve,
the deceased was in her private sitting-room, and about
three o'clock she partook of lunch, being habited at
the time in a morning dress of light muslin. Her ser-
vant had only left the room for a few moments when her
ladyship threw up the window to change the air of the
apartment, and it is supposed that the draught of air
from the window drew her dress into the fire, for in a
moment afterwards the most piercing screams were
heard to issue from her apartment, and on one of the
men servants rnnning up to ascertain the cause, the un-
fortunate lady was found enveloped in flames. The man,
with great promptitude, took off his coat and wrapped it
round her, by which means the fire was speedily extin-
guished ; but it was at once evident that her ladyship
had sustained very serious injuries. She remained per-
fectly conscious of what had taken place up to a late hour
in the evening, and had again a brief interval of reason
on the following morning, but shortly afterwards nature
gave way under the intensi'y of the injuries, and about
nine o'clock the unfortunate sufferer breathed her last.—
Cheltenham Examiner.

TRADE OF ARBROATH.—TO all appearance trade
never was brisker nor carried on with more spirit in this
place than it is at present. Nothing is to be heard but
the busy clank of machinery in almost every quarter of
the town. The power-loom has taken the place of the
poor hand-loom weaver; and, with two or three ex-
ceptions, the whole of our manufacturers have got
machinery introduced into their works, not in one
department, but in all.—Brechin Advertiser. _

We understand that the purchaser of the bed on
which Sarah Thorcas murdered her mistress, in Tr.>n-
chard-street, Bristol, by a bidding of 2s. 6d., has dis-
covered 700 f, stowed away therein.— Sherborne Journal.