The Sun.
London, England, 1844-12-03 00:00:00

ESCAPE FROM DROWNING.

COLMONELL, Nov. 21.—Our amiable and esteemed
pastor, Mr. Blair, had a very narrow escape from
drowning on Tuesday last. When in his study,
about three o'clock in the afternoon, he observed two

little girls, each with a burden of sticks, attempting
to cross the Stinchar, which was considerably swollen
at the time. In a minute or so they disappeared ;on
observing which, Mr. Blair, unknown to any of his
family, ran out to their assistance. The manse being
three or four hundred yards from the river, Mr.
Blair, with great presence of mind, instead of running
directly to the place at which he had lost sight of
them, to save time ran along the bank, and plunged
into the river below where they would most likely
appear. By this time the girls had lost hold of each
other—the one he observed making towards the side
from which they had entered, while the other was
floating in the middle of the stream. By great dex-
terity he seized the latter by the arm. The sudden-
ness, however, of the effort made him lose his balance,
and, in an instant, he was seen floating with the ob-
ject his humanity had prompted him to save. Fortu-
nately Mr. Blair's usual presence of mind did not
here forsake him, for he retained his hold, with the
one hand, and buoyed himself up
.with the other.
Hitherto he felt conscious that by swimming he could
save himself; but to drop his hold of the girl—who,
by this time, from exhaustion, was making but little
or no exertion, and who, if let go, must have sunk to
rise no more—was repugnant to his feelings. In a
short time they were out of the strictest of the river,
but his own strength was fast 'giving way. At this
critical moment, Miss Jane Findlay, of Craigifeil
Mill, attracted to the spot by the motions and cries of
another, who had seen the strugglers at a distance,
Grace Darling-like plunged into the water, and was
the happy means of saving both, to all appearance,
from a watery grave, Mr. Blair having now become
too much exhausted and benumbed with the cold to
make further exertions. From Mr. Findlay and
family they received every possible attention, and they
were soon so far restored as to be able to be conveyed
to their respective homes. Mr. Blair, we are happy
to state, is now completely recovered ; and it is the
sincere wish of all who know him, that he may be long
spared to manifest, as he has hitherto invariably done,
the best feelings of our nature.—Ayrshire Observer.

THE DUKE OF BUCCLEUCR AND THE BATH COM-
MITTEE.—A deputation of working men, members of the
above Committee, were received by his Grace at Dal-
keith Palace, on Wednesday. The Duke conversed
with the intelligent men for an hour and a half, and took
full notes from the information they gave him upon the
details of the sanitary, or rather unsanitary state of Old
Edinburgh. They dwelt particularly on that hotbed of
fever, the West Port ; and expressed a hope to see it
bodily removed, and replaced by wholesome dwellings
for the working-classes, with gardens where there are
now tanneries, slaughter-houses, and piggeries, infecting
the air all around, and endangering even the troops of
the Castle. The deputation were invited to a lunch, and
left the Palace much gratified with their reception.—
Scotsman.

NEWCASTLE AND DARLINGTON RAILWAY.—The
Directors of this railway have granted an allowance of
five shillings per week each to the widows of Mr. Brown
and Mr. Burrell, of South Shields, who were recently
killed on that line, between South Shields and Brockley
Whinns, by a collision, when on their way to attend
Newcastle cattle market.
SINGULAR CASE.—During the last week, a woman
named Mary Hewett, made application to the magis-
trates under the following peculiar circumstances :
She was the widow of the late Thomas Hewett, a pri-
vate in the 48th Regiment, to whom she had been mar-
ried 40 years, and had shared active service with him
for twenty-seven years. Whilst in the regiment she bore-
seven sons, five of whom are dead ; of the two survivors,
one is in the Coldstream Guards and the other in the
12th regiment, now lying in the Isle of France.
This female veteran accompanied her husband in all
his peninsular campaigns, sharing all his hardships,
and being present at ten general engagements, namely,
Talavera, Albuera, Rodrigo, Badajos, Salamanca,
Vittoria, Pyrenees, Neville, Orthes, and Thoulouse.
She had lived as servant to General Hamilton, and at the
battle of Albuera, when the Duke of Wellington had an
interview with that General, she had the honour of
handing his Grace a glass of water, being the only re-
freshment he would take. At that battle the mule on
which she rode was frightened by a shot striking close
to her, and she was thrown off. She took care of Col.
Minto when wounded at the battle of Vittoria. She
was taken prisoner by the French in the retreat OR Sala-
manca, and made her escape disguised in man's attire
By the death of her husband she was deprived of all
means of support, and having three daughters to main-
tain, she applied for relief; and wished to be forwarded
to London, to see the Duke of Wellington, who she
was confident would assist her. On Monday last, the
Deputy Mayor wrote a letter recommending her case to
the Noble Duke, and the guardians agreed to allow her
expenses to and from London, provided they were as-
sured of the Duke of Wellington's being in town before
she is sent there. We understand that, in consequence
of Mr. Freeman's letter, the Noble Duke has written to
the Rev. J. D. Borton to make inquiries on the subject ;
and in the meantime has, with :his characteristic kind-
ness, sent the poor woman a present of money. Mrs.
Hewett is a tall respectable-looking person; and Mr.
Wilde, the City Coroner, in whose parish
i she now re-
sides, has taken a great deal of interest n her case.—
Norfolk Chronicle.
HOUSE DRAINS.—The attention of the public being
now very much drawn to the subject of house drainage,
it would appear to be extremely desirable that clear
views of the elementary principles of the subject should
receive the utmost publicity, to the intent that a better
mode i,hould speedily succeed the present bad and in-
efficient system of building house-drains. They should
consist 'of thick strong clay pipes, of from four inches to
eight incises in diameter, well burnt and glazed inside,
made of an entire piece, nearly of a circular form, and
of a length convenient for use, so that the end of one pipe
could fit into the next without forming a protusion
within it. Drains thus formed, and carried in direct
lines with regular inclinations to sewers, with proper
curved junctions, all properly laid, and with an efficient
and well-regulated supply of water, would be effectual in
carrying off the sulliage and keeping themselves per-
fectly free from accumulations, for the calibre being
smaller, the stream would be more contracted, and in
consequence would have greater velocity. The smooth-
ness of surface produced by glazing would vastly facili-
tate passage through them. With proper apparatus they
could be cleansed, if required, at any time, precisely in
the same manner as chimneys are now swept ; conse-
quently breaking up floors and paving, with all the ac-
companiments of foul stench, and matter distributed
about, would be rendered unnecessary. The above method
would ensure the perfect cleanliness of drains ; and a
properly-constructed trap to every inlet would b e a pre-
ventive to any noxious and offensive exhalations ema-
nating from them. In laying the tubes, the ground
should be cut as near as possible to their form, and the
lower half should be thinly bedded with mortar to fill
up any little irregularities in the cutting of the ground;
the tubes would then have a solid foundation. The
Builder.
PICKERING.—CIIEAP RAILWAY TRAIN.—Tuesday
last was the day announced for the cheap train to start
from Pickering for Whitby. The morning was ushered
in by a keen, biting frost, notwithstanding which the
country lads and lasses congregated in strong muster at
the station. Ruddock's band was engaged for the day.
The train started with about 100 passengers.