The Sun.
London, England, 1861-02-06 00:00:00

EIRE AT BLENBEIM PALACE.

OXFORD, FEB. 5.
Great excitement was caused in this city early this morn-
ing from a report that the magnificent palace of Blenheim
was being destroyed by fire, and that the many and valu-
able curiosities that were known to be located in the vari-
ous rooms were irretrievably lost. Of course rumour with
her busy tongue had considerably increased the damage
that was done. and we were not a little gratified on visitinc,
tke spot to find that the fire had wholly been confined tob
the north-east portion of the building, containing part of the
porter's lodge, the bakehouse, the land clerk's room, the
steward's room, and the Titian room, this portion of the
buildings being separated from the palace by a fireproof room
and an open space used as a yard. About half-past 5 this
morning the porter was alarmed by the smell of smoke and
wood burning, and, upon arousing himself, saw from the re-
flection that the bakehouse roof was on fire. He gave the alarm
by ringing the visitors' bell, and, with the butler, proceeded
to ascertain in what quarter the fire was raging, and dis-
csvered the roof of the offices and Titianroom in flames. Their
first thought was about the accounts and papers that were
deposited in the rooms of the steward's and clerk's offices,
and the whole of them were rescued. Their next thought
was bestowed upon the valuable paintings of the Titian
room, and efforts were made to rescue them, but the molten
lead was pouring down so fast from the roof that it was out
of the question to stay even for a moment in the room. The
loss of these pictures will be much regretted by all admirers
of this celebrated master. They were a present from Victor
Amadeus, King of Sardinia, to John, Duke of Marlborough,
and remained unhung and hidden from the public view till
the visit of Sir Joshua Reynolds to Blenheim in 1788 ; he
was so forcibly struck with their beauty, and value that he
recommended their being placed in the room they occupied.
The following is a list of the pictures destroyed : Mars
and Venus, Cupid and Psyche, Apollo and Daphne, Pluto
and Proserpine, Hercules and Dejanira, Vulcan and Ceres,
Bacchus and Ariadne, Jupiter, Juno, and 10, Neptune and
Amphitrite, all painted on leather, by Titian. The only
other painting is one by Peter Paul Rubens—the Rape of
Proserpine, 8 feet 8 inches in height, and 2 feet one inch
wide, and was considered one of Rubens' masterpieces.
The origin of the fire was not known.

AUSTRIAN PREPARATIONS IN

VENETIA.

A letter from Venice, dated Jan. 30th, has the
following :
At the end of his tour of inspection in Venetia, the Tyrol
and Illyria, the Feldzeugmeister von Benedek has just ad -
dressed his report to the Emperor on the state of the troops,
fortifications, and magazines. Lieut.. General the Baron
Alfred von llenickstein was the bearer of it to Vienna for
the purpose of giving any supplementary information re-
quisite concerning the plans of defence to be adopted in
case of invasion by an enemy, whether on the side of the
Mincio and the Po, or on that of the Adriatic. I do not
pretend to be able to send you positive details. What op-
pears probable, judging by the frequent excursions of offi-
cers charged with local surveys, is this, that the plain en-
closed by the Tagliamenfo and the Livenza is selected for
the formation of a camp of observation, which will ex-
tend from the mountain-slopes on the Aviano side and
descend to the level lands of the Caorlo. Although this
long tract is here and there intersected by streams and
rivulets, such as the Lemena, Meduna, Noncello,
&c., it nevertheless commands the principal cause-
ways that serve as highways between Venetia and
Illyria, and at the same time the coast line tendinc, to the
lagunes of Venice. I should be inclined to say that the
small towns of Pordenone, Portogauaro, Motta, Portobuffole,
and San Dona, will be selected as headquarters for the com-
mands of brigades. For the rest, nothing is settled as yet,
and I am alluding to the matter to let you know the
rumours current. Besides, the army has not received any
fresh reinforcements. We may accordingly set down its
strength at 136,000 men stationed en echelons from Briton
and Labach to Bergoforte and Pole.
The fortifications, notwithstanding the cold, are carried
on with considerable activity. What an outlay! When we
think on all that 4ustria did in their waste for the defence
of Pavia and Piacenza, there is no occason to be alarmed at
what she is now doing here.
The news from Hungary has raised the excitement
of the public to a very high pitch. A copy of the
address from the Comitat of Gran has been sent to
the central congregation with the proper commen-
tary for bringing into full relief the contrast that
e xists between the civic courage of the Hungarians
and the complaisant suppleness of those who style
th emselves the representatives of Venetia,