The Sun.
London, England, 1871-01-02 00:00:00

THE WEATHER AND THE PARKS.

Yesterday, from early morn till long after dark, the
parks were literally swarming with people. The banks of
the Serpentine, and the Long Water in Kensington-
gardens, were crowded throughout the day, and, indeed,
the same remark applies to the other parks. In St. James's
it is estimated that over 150,0000 people passed into the
inclosure during the day, and owing to the large number
of roughs present, the police had the utmost difficulty in
keeping anything like order. Some hundreds of men and
boys kept up a continual shower of snowballs, not only
upon each other, but upon persons who came in their way,
while the narrow bridge crossing the cent re of the Lake,
which was densely crowded all day, presented a good field
for the operations of gangs of thieves, who plied their oc-
cupation with considerable industry, and, judging from
the complaints made of lost watches, pins, handkerchiefs,
brooches, &c., must have reaped a rich harvest. So great
were the crowds in the inclosure, that the gates were
closed to ingress half an hour earlier than usual. It was
nearly six o'clock before the enclosure could be cleared
and then several thousands of those ejected, amongst
whom were numbers of respectable looking men and
youths ranged themselves outside the railings, hooting,
snowballing, and chaffing the police, who generally per-
formed their arduous and unpleasant duties with the
utmost good humour and forbearance. Numbers of lads
and kept scaling the railings and running into the inclo-
sure, laughing at the efforts of the police to catch them
and bring them back. This scene continued for almost an
hour, when the gates having been locked, and the police
withdrawn, the crowd gradually dispersed. The official
estimate of the numbers on the ice throughout yesterday
is given as 134,000, distributed as follows :—On the Ser-
pentine, 30,000, Long Water, 14,000, Round Pond,
10,000, Regent's-par k 22,000, St. James's-park 20,000,
Victoria-park 15,000, Battersea-park 15,000, and Fins-
bury-park 8,000. There were also 300 skaters on the
Crystal Palace Lake, all shareholders, no others being
admitted on Sundays. There were no immersions in any
of the parks, but about 50 cut heads and faces from falls.
At midnight on Saturday, the Receiving-house glass re-
gislered 24, at nine o'clock yesterday morning 24, at
noon 28, and at eight o'clock last night 25, the wind being
north-east.

(CENTRAL PRESS TELEGRAMS.)
DEATH OF LORD HENRY BENTINCK.

Lord Henry Bentinck, son of the late Duke of Portland,
and heir to the present duke, died suddenly at Sathwell,
near South Lincolnshire, on Saturday evening.

RAILWAY ACCIDENTS.

On Saturday night, as the express train from London
to Manchester and the North arrived at Barrow-on-Soar
(on the Midland Railway), where it was not to stop, it
ran into a coal train which had been allowed to precede
it. Several of the coal waggons were thrown on the top
of each other, and the line was blocked for a considerable
time. The passengers in the rear of the express train
suffered the most severely. Several of them were badly
cut and bruised, but were able to resume their
journey after medical attention. The express, which was

timed to reach Trent at 6.30 had left that station fourteen
minutes after its proper time. On the same night an
elderly woman received a severe spinal injury, besides
being much cut about the head through another accident
which took place near Leicester. In this case, the driver
of an empty waggon train, disregarding the signals, got on
to the line along which a passenger train was coming
Both engines were thrown off the linen, and greatly
damaged. A third accident is said to have occurred on
Saturday night near Bidford.

A LIVING CHILD IN ITS FATHER'S COFFIN.
On Saturday, as a coffin containing the bodies of a man
and a child was being conveyed from a hearse into Weaste
Cemetery, near Manchester, the bearers noticed home
movement inside. The lid was removed, and the child,
though in a state of coma, was found to be alive. Resto-
ratives were applied, and it regained consciousness, but
died on Sunday morning. The supposed death took place
on Saturday morning, and the body was plaeel in the
coffin a few hours afterwards.