Star.
London, England, 1825-01-27 00:00:00

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PROM J. S. KNowLIZS'a Tltikt;CDT Or CAICfS
GRACCEICS.

--- Remember you "Messina, Mother?
Once from its promontory we beheld
A galley in a storm ; and as the bark
Approached the fatal shore, could well discern
The features of the crew with horror all
Aghast, save One ! Alone he strove to guide
The prow, erect amidst t! L: horrid war
Of winds and waters raging—with one hand
Ile ruled the hopeless helm—the other strained
The fragment of a shivred sail—his brow,
The while, bent proudly on the scowling surge,
At which he scowrd again.—The vessel struck !
One man alone bestrode the wave, and rode
• The foaming courser safe! 'Twas he—the same !
Tau clasped your Cains in your arms, and cried,
"" Look, look, my son! the brave man neer despairs ;
And lives when cowards die

FALL OF THE. FLOOR OF THE LONG ROOM
41T THE CiISTOKHOUSE.

TURTFIRR PARTICULARS.
Yesterday morning, at half-past, nine o'clock, the
Gentlemen employed in the Long Room at the Cu,tom-
house, were suddenly alarmed by nearly the whole of
the centre part of the room, from the fire-place at the
east end to the clock, giving way, and leaving a space
of sixteen yards by ten completely open. As it occurred
so early, it fortunately happened that very few of the
Agents, or persons upon business, were present. All
the Clerks belonging to the Establishment were in the
room, but their desks being placed at the sides, they

escaped injury. •
On the floor giving way, the consternation became
general, and each person seized his books and securi-
ties, and conveyed them to the lobbies adjoining. Two
Gentlemen had a very narrow escape from destruction.
Mr. Clark, of the Warrant Office, finding -the floor
going from under him, made a spring, and seized hold
of his desk, just in time to prevent his falling in with
the rubbish ; another Gentleman was thrown upon his
hands and knees, and had to scramble for his life. The
Secretary to the Customs was present, and promptly
issued orders for the different entrances to be imme-
diately closed, and adopted arrangements for the secu-
rity of all the official documents. A large party of the
police soon attended, and kept the accumulating crowd
from interfering with the property. Between three
and four hundred tons of stories, bricks, and rubbish,
fell upon the top of the King's Warehouse, which in-
stantly gave way, and the whole went through to the
foundation of the building. In the King's Warehouse
and the • cellaring, from forty to fifty clerks and la-
bourers were employed; and so sudden and unexpected
was the fall of the flooring, &c. that they had scarcely
time to escape; but the only injury sustained was by
one of the labourers, who received a severe blow from
a brick on the head. The force and weight of the
rubbish were so great, that two of the principal pillars
in the east cellar were completely forced away from
their position.
Only one of the round desks in the centreof the Long
Room, where the Cii,toms Agents transact their busi-
ness, fell in with the ruins.
The Commissioners instantly issued an order for the
suspension of all business for the present, and the con-
fusion and disaprointment evinced by the merchants,
on hearing of the accident, were beyond description.
The outer walls of the building appear to be very
grin, but the foundation having given way some time
since, preparations had been made for securing it. An
immense quantity of timber has been lately brought to
the Custom-house Wharf for the purpose, and in a few
days the alterations were to have commenced. It is a
providential circumstance that the accident occurred so
early in the morning; forbad it happened in the mid-
dle of the day, when the Loog Room is frequently
crowded with men of business, tire loss of lives would,
no doubt, have been very great. Every•measure will
be, doubtless, taken to prevent, as much as possible,
inconvenience arising to the mercantile interest in con-
sequence of this very serious accident. Proper inquiries
will also, we are persuaded, take place, in order to see
where the blame, if any, rests—whether from the mal-
construction of the building itself, cu the badness of the
ground for its foundation, which is likely to produce so
• large au additional expense to the nation.
As soon as the Commissioners arrived, they con-
stituted a Beard, at which Mr. Smirke, the archi-
tect, attended, .when the necessary orders for the secu-
rity of other -parts of the building were given, and
nearly one hundred men were instantly set to work in
shoring up the remaining arches.
The pier in the cellars, underneath the King's Ware.
house, it is said, has sunk nearly three feet. The King's
Warehouse contained no goods of value, they having
been removed when the repairs were first thought ne-
cessary ; for the same reason the cellars (the receptacle
for the wet goods) were also empty.

Accounts from Ceylon state, that the season there
had been very bad, and a great deal of sickness had
ptivailed. Many of the inhabitants h.td died of fever,
and the native population had suffered considerably.
The comineice of the place had been rather impeded
by this event.
General MILLER, whose name is mentioned in the
accounts respecting the battle or sitppo,.ed action be-
tween Bolivar's army and the Spanish force-, was a
native of Witigham, about six miles from Canterbury,
where his father was a respectable baker. He sonie
time since entered as a volunteer into the service of Co-
lombia, in. which his skill and bravery rapidly raised
him to the rank of A General. The report of his death
is certainly unfounded, -the battle in which he is stated
to have been killed, never having been fought.
The follow ing alliterative Acrostic,' written a short
time since, on heating Miss STEPHENS Sing, is a most
determined attempt at this species of composition:
She sings so soft, so sweet, so soothing still,
That to the tone ten thousand thoughts there thrill;
El) sian wash* encluint each ear;
Pleasure's pure pinions poise Prince, peasant, Peer ;
Hushing high hymns' lleav'n hears her harmony;
• Earth's envy ends ; erithraird—arch ear, each eye ;
Numbers need nine-fold nerve, "or nearly name
.Soul-stirringltephens' skill! sure Seraphs sing the same.
Goss ow COTTON MAXIM, Jan. 24.-*-We have bad but a mo-
. Berate demand for Cotton this week; prices keep steady. The
sales amount to 753 tales, as follow : 41 Sea Islands, Rid• good
fair, to 93.1*.g00d.: 31 ditto stained, 13d. fair to. 1641. fine; 28
ditto Bowed; .1441. fair tO 1331. good; 319 Bowed', ll3d. to
i 4 gaptki. 641. interi-ar tie ; 12 New
Orlepop„,11 fairk 120 rgyptians, 144 good; 107 Demerara*,
120. tad ; 10 Surat; GO. common ; 50 Hengals, Std.
ilitolrred per Leonora, from Demerari,*7o ; per Mar-
garet, from Barbadoes, 60 bales.