The Sun.
London, England, 1844-06-29 00:00:00

MELANCHOLY ACCIDENT AT THE FALLS OF CLYDE

—Oa Saturday last, a most melancholy accident took
place near the Valls of Clyde. On the morning of that
day a small party of friends left Glasgow for the pur-
pose of visiting the Falls , and spending a holiday,
among whom were Mr. and Mrs. Walter Baxter, of
Buchanan-street. After having seen the two lower
Falls, the party separated, one portion proceeding up-
wards to visit the Bonnington Fall, while Mr. and Mrs.
Baxter and a friend remained behind. They seated
thenileffeTT—m-tee a_the river, waiting the return
of their friends, when Mrs. Baxter expressegrirwtstr-va
see Wallace's cave, which was below, and in the imme-
diate vicinity. She accordingly went to the spot, accom-
panied by the friend already alluded to, and having sur-
veyed the locality, requested that he would call her hus-
band to participate in the sight. Leaving Mrs. Baxter
seated by the river's brink, the gentleman retired a few
paces to call her husband, and, on his return, ho found
that in the very brief interval that had elapsed, Mrs.
Baxter had disappeared. Whether the unfortunate lady
had fainted and unconsciously fallen from the top of the
rock, or whether she had risen and approached too near
the brink and fallen into the flood, must for ever remain
a mystery—for the only trace left behind her was
her handkerchief, lying upon the rocky seat which
she had occupied when her friend proceeded to call her
husband. A search was immediately made for the body
which was not, however, discovered till early the follow-
ing (Sunday) morning, and within a few yards of the
place where the accident happened. Mr. Baxter had
been married only nine months before.
THE LATE MR. BECKFORD.—The curious and
highly interesting personal reminiscences of the cele-
brated author of " Vathek," which appeared in the June
number of the New Monthly Magazine, will, we under-
stand, be continued in the forthcoming number fur July,
and will include topics of a still more attractive and ex-
citing character ; such, for example, as Mr. Beckford's
own personal recollections, given in his own words, of
the great Lord Chatham, of Lord Camden, of Mr.
Wilkes, of William Pitt, of " Anastasius" Hope, of
Horace Walpole, of Strawberry-hill, of Beckford's own
father, the celebrated Alderman Beckford, of the
"bonny" Duchess of Gordon, of Madam de Stael in her
early youth, and, among more modern people, of Bul-
wer, Lockhart, Theodore Hook, Sir Robert Peel, &c.
A number of fowls are kept in the stable-yard of
the Royal Hotel, the hens depositing their eggs in
various Pests upon the premises. It is customary, when-
ever eggs are found, to take them out of each nest, except
one which is left behind. Some weeks ago, two of the
hens who were accustomed to lay their begs in the same
nest, became what is called broody, and alternately sat upon
the only egg that was in the nest ; whenever one left
the nest the other regularly took her place, and in the due
time forincubation the solitary chicken was hatched. Both
hens kindly and carefully perform the duties of a mother,
without any animosity appearinz between them, and
whenever one broods over the chicken, the other lays
herself clown close by her side, and spreads her wing
over the back of the other hen. It is an old saying that
a consequential person " struts about like a hen with
one chick," but there may be seen a petted chicken strut-
ting about between two mothers, showing no decided
pteterence to either.—Plymouth Journal.