The Sun.
London, England, 1859-12-21 00:00:00

THE WEATHER AND THE PARKS.

The weather continued yesterday as on the pre-
ceding day, fair and open, with a fresh breeze,
which increased towards evening, with a good deal
of dust flying about. The temperature, which
during the night had been as low as 17 deg., rose
at 9 a.m. to 25 deg., when the barometer stood at
29.35, and at noon the temperature further rose to
33, and in the evening stood at 34, with a fall of
snow. Skating continued during the day with
unabated spirit. On the Serpentine the ice was
about five inches thick, and of a uniform glassy
smoothness. During the forenoon it was calculated
that there were about 6,000 on the ice, in-
cluding several members of the Skating Club,
who had a marque erected on the bank in Kensing-
ton-gardens for their accommodation. A racecourse
was made below the bridge, and several matches
run by skaters, which tended to increase the excit-
ing character of the amusement, and tended also to
test the strength of the ice by the large number
who congregated arcund the winning-post, whom
certain ominous noises from beneath could not deter
from collecting together. Fortunately nothing Ee-
-1 rious occurred. Several persons were, however,
brought to the Receiving-house with severe cuts
and bruises, which were attended to by Dr. Chris-
tian. One lad received a severe cut on the eye-
brow ; another had his arm broken, and was re-
moved to St. George's Hospital. About half.past
three o'clock a lady met with a severe accident in
crossing the ice from a gentleman skating with a
stick in his hand, which struck her in the eye. She
was taken to the Receiving-house and afterwards
removed to her residence. Two foreign ladies, said
to be from Holland, excited considerable attention
during the forenoon by their graceful skating. In
St: James's-park the ice was about four inches
thick, bat from its having been broken daring the
early period of the frost the surface was in ge-
neral very irregular, yet it was densely
crowded, principally by juveniles sliding. There
was only one accident, and of a trivial nature.
It was calculated there were about 4,000
in the Regent's-park, where the day's amuse-
ment was also unmarked by any accident. Several
enthusiastic skaters even continued the sport by
torchlight, but the great majority proceeded home-
wards when evening set in. One gentleman from
the country, who was tempted to indulge a little
too long, found himself minus his coat, in return for
which he had a pair of skates left him, and in his
endeavours to find the possessor of the former had
recourse to the good graces of Mr. Williams, super-
intendent of the Humane Society.

FATAL EXPOLSION OF KITCHEN

BOILERS.

Owing to the recent severe and frosty weather
several explosions of kitchen boilers have taken place
near Liverpool. On Saturday the boiler in the kit-
chen of Mr. Arnold Baruchson's house, at Bootle,
suddenly exploded with a loud noise, but fortu-
nately no persons were injured. About moon on
Sunday a most frightful explosion took place at the
residence of Mr. Sharpe (of the firm of R. S. Sharpe
and Sons, coffee-roasters), Woburn-hill, Green-lane,
near Liverpool, which it is feared will result in the
loss of life to one of the inmates of the house. It
appears that about the hour named above a domestic
servant named Shaw had just come down stairs and
was in the kitchen, in the act of preparing dinner
for the family, when the boiler attached to the
kitchen range exploded with a fearfully tremendous
report, which was heard for a considerable distance
around the neighbourhood. The only persons in
the house at the time, in addition to the unfortu-
nate young woman Shaw, were Mrs. Sharpe, and
an invalid daughter, who were in an upper apart-
ment, the latter being confined to her bed. The
shock to Mrs. Sharpe and her daughter may be
imagined when we state that the explosion had the
effect of lifting the chairs and the bed on which
Miss Sharpe was lying almost a foot above the level
of the room floor. Mrs. Sharpe ran down stairs in
a frightful state of alarm, and on looking into the
kitchen was horrified on seeing the whole of the
kitchen range blown out, and in fragments scat-
tered about in various places. All the furniture and
other articles in the apartment were also destroyed,
and the walls, from the floor to the ceiling, were
covered with the liberation of steam consequent
upon the explosion. The whole of the kitchen
window, including the framework, had also been
blown out, and forced to a considerable distance
from the house ; and, as a further proof of the extent
of the explosion, the drawing-room window was
shivered to pieces. In a corner of the kitchen the
poor girl Shaw was lying in a shockingly mutilated
state. She was frightfuly scalded and burnt, and
her face was one mass of blood. Large pieces of
the boiler and other parts of the range were also
resting upon her, as well as portions of the debris,
so that it may be said she was almost buried
beneath them. Mr. Pritchard, surgeon, of Fair-
field, and two other medical gentlemen, were in
immediate attendance, but we regret to say that
they considered her recovery impossible, and at the
time our parcel was despatched her death was
momentarily looked for.-11fanchester Examiner.

THE ICEBERGS IN THE RlVER.—Yesterday, the
traffic on the river, particularly below bridge, where large
accumulations of immense blocks of frozen snow and ice had
been driven, was greatly impeded, few of the below bridge
steamboats plying, whilst the traffic of those above bridge
was altogether suspended. In consequence of the severe
weather and the difficult navigation through the ice, an in-
crease of pay is given to lightermon who convey goods and
coals to and from the docks and the various wharves on the
river. The large Continental, Scotch, and Irish paddle
steam vessels are obliged to be very cautious, and much
delay and inconvenience is occasioned in endeavouring to
avoid the large blocks and fields of ice, which are of unusual
thickness, and the tugs, which are of great strength and
power, find considerable difileuity itt making headway
against the ileittiAg MUNN,