The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-05-26 00:00:00

SELECT EXTRACTS.

A METHOD OF SECURING MONEY IN LETTERS.—Take a
card such as are played with, split it half-way through, put
in your money, then wet the split part with yeast and press
it together again, let it dry, and no person can take it out by
fair means.

YANKEE DISCIPLINE.—GeneraI Howe's army running
rather short of fresh provisions previous to their descent on
Long Island, a foraging party was sent out one night to
drive off, if possible, some Of the rebels' cattle. The pro-
vincial watchword for that guard was Cambridge, and pass-
word Swamp. It happened the foragers stumbled unawares
on one of the advance provincial sentinels, who hearing them
approach, bawled out in the true Yankee dialect, " Cam-
bridge !" To which no answer being given, he repeated it
again—" Cambridge, I say once more ; if you don't say
Swamp I'll shoot."—Upon which the British party instantly.
cried—" Swamp"—" Pass," was the reply. In consequence
of which, without the least interruption, they drove oft a very
large herd of fat black cattle, with which the army and navy
were regaled for some days, enjoying at the same time the
ludicrous circumstance to which they were indebted for their
extraordinary treat.
-

EATING--Every animal eats as much as it can procure,
and as much as it can hold. A cow eats but to sleep, and
sleeps but to eat, and not content with eating all day long,
" twice it slays the slain," and eats its dinner o'er again.
A whale swallows 10,000,000 of living shrimps at a draught ;
a nursling Canary bird eats its own bulk in a day, and a
caterpillar eats 500 times its own weight, before it lies down
to rise a butterfly. The mite and the maggot eat the very
world in which they live ; they nestle and build in their roast
beef ; and the hyena, for want of better, eats himself. Yet
a maggot has not the gout, and the whale is not subject to
sciatica. Nor does Captain Lyon inform us that an Exqui-
maux is troubled with a toothache, dyspepsia, or hysterics,
though he eats ten pounds of seal, :and drinks a gallon of
oil at a meal, and though his meal last as long as his meat.
ROYAL WIVES IN THE EAST.—" His four wives, all
very handsome, burnt themselves with his body, as did five
of his Cachemirian slave girls, one of whom who was called
the Lotus, or Lily, I often saw last year in my first visit to
Lahore. Every thing was done to prevent it, but in vain.
They were guaranteed in their rank, and in all their posses-
sions, but they insisted upon it ; and the account from the
Eurokan officers who were present, describes it as a most
horrible sight. The four wives seated themselves on the
pile with Runjeet Sing's head on their laps ; and his princi-
pal wife desired Kurruck Sing, Runjeet's son and heir, and
Dheean Sing, the late prime minister, to come to her on the
pile and made the former take the Maharajah's dead hand
in his own, and swear to protect and favour Dheean Sing as
Runjeet Sing had done ; and she made the latter swear to
bear the same true allegiance to the son which he had faith.
fully borne to the father. She then set tire to the pile with
her own hands, and they are dead—nine living beings having
perished together without a shriek or a groan. Dheean Sing
threw himself twice on the pile, and said he could not sur-
vive his master, but was dragged away by main force."—
Osborne's Court and Camp of Runjeet Sing.
WHO AND WHAT WERE THE CELEBRATED WOMEN
OF GREECE ?—But who were these gifted and powerful
women, these priestesses of a rtligion and sentiment, these
destinies of fren states (whose smiles and frowns decided the
fate of despot empires), these adored companions of heroes,
these trusted friends of legislators, these disciples of philoso-
phers, and associates of sages, these models of wit and themes
of poetry, these professors of abstruse sciences, and enlight-
ened lovers of all the refined arts, which tend to soften and
cheer society, and to convert man from barbarism to civili-
zation ? Were they the honest mothers and virtuous wives
of the free and noble citzens of the Greek states—the women
of the Demos of Athens, or of the soldier patriots of Sparta ?
Was their knowledge acquired, were their talents developed
under institutions peculiarly favourable to the cultivation of
female intellect? Were such accomplishments united to
those moral qualities which give to wise maternity the cha-
racter and influence of a wholesome legislation? Gifted as
such women must have been by nature, gifted as they noto-
riously were with that personal beauty peculiar to their
climes and races, and with those fine perceptions of the beau-
tiful and the true in works of art and literature were they
themselves ennobled by that sense of rights to lie enjoyed,
and of duties to be performed, which creates the crowning
perfection of all characters in either sex ? No ; these wo-
men, whose names ate linked with those of the greatest and
wisest men of antiquity, were the outcasts of society—its
admiration, its pride, and its shame—the agents of its refined
civilization, the instruments of its rapid moral corruption.
Born in slavery, or sold to it, infant captives taken in war,
or of a class too lowly to be recognised as citizens by the
state, these victims of civil combinations, foredoomed by the
accidents of their birth, or of their lives, to an inevitable
social degredation, had one privilege, incidental to their sin-
gular lot ; and of that they availed themselves, to the triumph
of mind over station, and of usurping acquirement over es-
tablished ignorance. They were not under the ban of that
intellectual proscription which was reserved by the law for
the virtuous and the chaste. Chartered libertines, of their
minds as of their actions, they were left free to pursue the
bent of their natural talents, to sip at the fountain of every
science, to cull the flowers of rhetoric, to rifle the whole hive
of knowledge, and to possess themselves of the treasures of
philosophy. Thus gifted, they Obtained a mastery over all
that was eminent 4-1 the male population ; and, possessing
the hearts of statesmen, orators, and philosophers, became
influential on the destinies of the people. Standing half
way between virtue and vice, a class apart, in the social dis-
tinctions of the sex, the Hetterre, or fair friends," fre-
quently exhibited the qualities of honest men, though they
wanted the purer virtues of honest women. Such estimable
qualities, however, were but happy accidents, an anomaly,
not a general rule. The position of these women was a false
one, dangerous to the best interests of society; and their
privileges and their influence .(for rights they had none),
though uncontrolled by the lawgiver, and freely permitted
by the conventional manners of the times and country, be-
came a deteriorating principle, which worked out the political
rein of Greece, through its moral depravity.—Lady Morgan's
Woman and her Master.

MIGRATION OF HERRINGS.—The great winter rendezvous
of the herring is within the arctic circle, and there they spend
many months in the year. In the spring this mighty army
begins to put itself in motion. We distinguish the united
shoals by that name, because the word comes from the Ger-
man heer, an army, and expresses their number. They be-
gin to appear off the Shetland Isles in April and May : these
are only the forerunners of the great shoal which comes in
June ; and their appearance is marked by the number of
birds, as gannet, and other sea-fowl, which come to prey on
them. When the main body appears, its breadth and depth
are such as to alter the very appearance of the ocean. It is
divided into distinct columns of five or six miles in length,
and three or four in breadth, and they drive the water before
them with a kind of rippling ; sometimes they . sink for the
space of ten or fifteen minutes, and then rise again to the sur-
face • and in fine weather reflect a variety of splendid colours
--like a field of the most precious gems ; in which light this
gift of Providence ought in very truth to be viewed. The
first check this army meets with, in its journey from the
Shetland Islands, which divides it into two parts ; one wing
takes to the eastern, the other to the western shores of Great
Britain, and fill every bay and creek with their numbers ;
others pass on towards Yarmouth. the great and ancient
mart for herrings; then they pass through the British Chan-
nel, and after that disappear. The other wing, which takes
the westerly direction, after presenting themselves at the
Hebrides, where the great stationary fishery is, proceed to
the north of Ireland, where they meet with a second inter-
ruption, and are obliged to divide again ; one party takes
the west of Ireland, and is soon imperceptible in the immen-
sity of the Atlantic ; but the other shoal, passing into the
Irish sea, feeds the inhabitants of its coasts—(this is the
shoal visited by fishermen of the Isle of Man). These last
are often capricious in their motions, and do not, like the
grand body, show an invariable • attachment to their old
haunts. The object which induces this yearly migration is
the spawning, or depositing of their eggs. Herrings are
found also in shoals, on the coasts of America, as low down
as Carolina. Chesapeak Bay is inundated with them. We
find them also in Kamtschatka, and they probably visit
Japan.

SIGNS OF THE TatEs.,--An aristocracy does not expire,
a man, in a single day ; the aristocratic principle is
slowly undermined, in men's opinion, before it is attacked in
their laws. Long before open war is declared against it, the
tie which had hitherto united the higher classes to the lower
may be seen to be gradually relaxed. Indifference and con-
tempt are betrayed by one class, jealousy and hatred by the
other; the intercourse between rich and poor becomes less
frequent and less kind, and rents are raised. This is not the
consequence of a democratic revolution, but its certain har-
binger; for an aristocracy which has lost the affections of
the people, once and for ever, is like a tree dead at the root,
Which is the more easily torn up by the winds, the higher its
branches have spread. In the course of the last fifty years,
the rents of farms have amazingly increased, not only in
France, but throughout the greater part of Europe. The
remarkable improvements which have taken place in agricul-
ture and manufactures within the same period do not suffice,
in my opinion, to explain this fact : recourse must be had to
another course more powerful and more concealed. I believe
that cause is to be found in'the democratic institutions which
several European nations have adopted, and in the demo-
cratic passions which more or less agitate all the rest. 1
have frequently heard great English landowners congratulate
themselves, that, at the present day, they derive a much
larger income from their estates than their fathers did. They
have perhaps good reason to be glad ; but most assuredly
their know not what they are glad of. They think they are
making a clear gain, when it is in reality only an exchange .
their influence is what they are parting with fur cash, and
what they gain in money will ere long be lost in power.--De
Tocqueville's Democracy in America.

The following appeared in a Second Edition of the STAN-
DARD of Friday last. We copied it from a second edition
of the Bradford Observer of Thursday, with which we had
been politely favoured :--
At an early hour this morning, a report reached the town,
that that noble and venerable ecclesiastical edifice, York
Minster, the pride of Yorkshire and the admiration of Eng-
land, was destroyed by fire. This report was not however
credited. People are not generally ready to believe bad news.
But as the day advanced, parties who arrived from Leeds
confirmed the sad story, and at length on the arrival of
the York mail at eleven o'clock, all doubt was set at rest.
A great number of letters have come into the town from
York, but all of them necessarily short. One lying before
us says, " Our beautiful Minster has been on fire. The
whole of the tower which contains the bells, and from
thence to the great tower is one mass of ruins. It is
still burning (one o'clock, A. at.)• but we hope soon to
stop the devastating element." Our correspondent writes
us word that he will send further particulars by ex-
press, but they have not reached us. In the absence of pre-
cise information, it is of course impossible to tell how far the
reports in circulation are to be believed, but all seem to con-
cur in stating that the fire originated through the careless-
ness of some workmen, plumbers, who neglected to put
out their fire and candles. The fire originated in the
tower at the west end. It was first observed about ten
o'clock last night ; the wind being high the flames spread ra-
pidly, and before any effective assistance could be rendered
the beautiful roof of the nave, constructed of carved oak,
ignited and communicated with the great tower. So quickly
did the devouring element accomplish its work, that in
little better than an hour and a half after the fire
was discovered, one of the towers at the west front fell
with a tremendous crash. We hear that several individuals
were buried in the ruins, but have no authentic intelligence
that the calamity, great as it is, is aggravated by loss of life.

(From a second edition of the York Courant of yesterday.)
It appears that about a quarter before nine o'clock on
Wednesday night several persons observed a small light in
the south-west tower of this magnificent pile, but did not
take any particular notice of the circumstance, being aware
that the works connected with the clock had been undergoing
repair. In a short time, however, it appeared that the tower
was in flames. The alarm was given, and two powerful
engines were soon on the spot ; but, unfortunately, full
twenty minutes elapsed before a supply of water could be
obtained. The flames spread with astonishing rapidity, and
by about eleven o'clock nearly the whole of the roof of the
nave had fallen in. The Lantern tower was, with great
difficulty, preserved. About half-past twelve, the whole of
the roof having fallen, and two additional engines having
arrived by railway from Leeds, the flames were gradu-
ally surmounted, and between one and two the danger was
over. The south-western tower, with the noble nave are,
however, a mass of ruins. Every pillar in the nave is
more or less injured, and one of the windows near the west-
ern entrance was partially destroyed. The great western win-
dow was, however, entirely preserved, and the others sus-
tained but trifling damage. No injury was done to the screen
or organ. though they were at one time in imminent danger.
The belfry was reduced to a mere shell, and thefine peal of ten
bells fell to the ground. No estimate is given as to the amount
of damage, and nothing is known as to the cause of the fire.
It is supposed to have originated in the carelessness of the
persons employed in repairing the clock. By a singular co-
incidence the south-western tower is that on which the in-
cendiary Martin made his first and unsuccessful attempt to
fire the cathedral on the 2d of February, 1829.

FURTHER PARTICULARS.
(From the Leeds Inteiligeneer of Saturday.)
It is again our painful duty as public journalists to record
the partial destruction of York Minster by fire.
This disastrous event occurred on the night of Wednesday
last. The flames were first observed about nine o'clock,
bursting forth from the belfry tower at the South Western
corner of the Cathedral. The alarm was rapidly spread
throughout the city, but the citizens were to a great extent
incredulous of the fact, considering the rumour as a mere
invention to impose upon them. A glance at the sky, how-
ever, quickly dispelled their doubts, for a bright red glare
soon overspread the firmament.
The Minster engine was speedily got out, and the engines
of the Yorkshire Insurance Company and of the North of
England Assurance Company were promptly brought to the
spot, and put into full play by the firemen attached to those
establishments, the engines being supplied with water froM
the neighbouring pumps and cisterns until the engine at the
York Waterworks was got into operation to furnish a supply
from the river Ouse.
The Lord Mayor of York (Wm. S. Clarke, Esq.), Sir
John Simpson, James Barber, Esq., and other city func-
tionaries, with Sir John Lister Lister Kaye, Bart., the Rev.
D. R. Currie, B. Hague, Esq., and others of the County
Magistracy, were early in their attendance, and by their ju-
dicious arrangements contributed much to the preservation of
order, and the prevention of danger from the over-pressure of
the crowd. Expresses were immediately sent off to the Bar-
racks for a detachment of the military, and for the Barrack
engine : also for the engine kept by Lord Wenlock at Es-
crick Park. A special train was also sent off by the York
and North Midland Railway Company, as soon as the steam
could be got up in one of their locomotive engines, to fetch
the fire engines from Leeds.
As the night advanced, the streets and eminences com-
manding a view of the conflagration became densely crowded
by spectators, many of whom had been spending the evening
in the Festival Concert Room, at a tea meeting, given by the
York Operative Conservative Society.
The fire burnt with great rapidity, notwithstanding the ef-
forts of the firemen to arrest its destructive progress. Long
before ten o'clock, though the precise time has not been
stated, the bells in the tower began to fa11..-The descent of
each was indicated by a hollow sounding crash, and the stir-
ring of the burning embers, which sent forth volumes of
sparks, presenting an appearance to the spectators almost at
alarming as it was grand.
By this time the flames had communicated through one of
the lower windows on the north side of the tower to the roof
of the nave, which burnt with astonishing rapidity, the tim-
ber forming the principal part of the roof being extremely dry,
having stood there upwards of five hundred years.
The wind, which in the morning was rather high, had be-
come calmer as the evening approached, blowing chiefly from
the north-north-west, from which about midnight it veered
a little to the southward. This peculiar direction of the wind
was at one time thought to endanger the safety of the lantern
tower and the choir, but providentially both escaped.
The rapidity with which the fire spread through the roof of
the nave was really terrific. The height was so considerable
that it was with difficulty the water could be thrown upon it;
but as all the engines were in excellent order, and were very
energetically worked, they succeeded in forcing up a consi-
derable volume of water, though their operations were occa-
sionally delayed by the bursting of the pipes.
A little before twelve o'clock, the roof of the western end
of the nave began to fall in, and as one wooden arch after
another succumbed to the devouring element, the increased
volumes of flame, augmented by myriads of sparks, presented
appearances which may be not inaptly described as awfully
sublime. The stained glass windows' many of which escaped
almost scathless from the threatened destruction, displayed
their bright and variegated transparencies to great advantage,
and formed a melancholy contrast to the destruction that was
going on around. •
By the time that the roof began to fall in, the fire in the
tower appeared to have almost exhausted itself, yet at inter-
vals it exhibited something of its pristine force, especially
when the heavy beams from which the bells had been sus-
pended, were burnt out in the centre, and the ends fell down
upon the promiscuous mass beneath. These were followed
soon afterwards by the mullions and other Darts of the stone
frame work of the windows, portions of which fell outwards
and carried along with them in their descent various orna-
mental or projecting parts of the tower.
To many of the spectators it was not a little interesting to
witness the bewildered gyrations of the jackdaws and other
birds that have long made the two western towers their rest-
ing places; scared from their nests by the light and heat they
flitted round the burning temple, ever and anon disappearing
amongst the clouds of sparks.
When a portion of the roof of the nave had fallen in, two
of the smaller engines were conveyed into the interior of the
edifice, and continued at work, in the northern aisle of the
nave, in the hope of staying the further progress of the de-
vouring element ; but one by one the several arches gave way,
until the entire length of the nave, from the western end to
the lantern tower, was open to the skies. As the fire thus
progressed from arch to arch, and from window to window,
great fears were entertained that it would extend beyond the
central tower to the choir, and thus reduce the entire edifice
to one common mass of ruin. Fortunately, those fears were
not realised. The firemen, many of whom had mounted the
lower roofs over the northern and southern aisles of the nave,
exerted themselves diligently, often placing themselves in
positions of imminent peril, and towards one o'clock their
efforts seemed to be attended with success, for the falling of
the last burning arch of the nave, appeared to cut off the
chance of any further danger to the eastward of the transept.
Considerable apprehensions of mischief in another direction
were, however, felt. Most of our readers who may have
visited the Minster will remember the huge figure of a dragon
that projected over the fifth arch of the nave, on the northern
side, opposite the statue of St. George. That figure was con-
structed of wood ; and the immense volume of flame which
arose from the burning embers after they had been precipi-
tated from the roof to the floor of the nave, communicated
to the celebrated dragon, and as it was known to be attacked
to the woodwork of the side aisles and galleries, it was feared
that if its destruction was not stayed the side aisles would be
the next to suffer. The efforts made to extinguish the flames
around it were successful, and the dragon's head still re-
mains, as erect as ever, though somewhat shorn of its fair
proportions.
Near one o'clock, as we have said, the last beam or arch
of the nave fell in, but upwards of an hour further elapsed,
re-
turnededbnnoeefgoilre the fire could be considered as effectually subdued.
The railway express for the fire engines, arrived at Leeds
about half-past eleven ; and within seven minutes after the
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nave had then fallen in, they rendered efficient service in ex-
tinguishing the fire amongst the burning embers.
Soon after two o'clock, the fire was considered to be ex-
tinguished, and the numerous assemblage of persons who had
been watching with anxiety to learn the utmost extent of the
damage, began to depart to their homes, deeply grateful that
the conflagration had not been more extensive, and that the
principal portion of the edifice had been preserved.
Thus far we have confined our observations to the progress
of the fire through the several portions of the Cathedral that
have fallen a prey to its ravages. Before we proceed to de-
scribe more particularly the nature and extent of the damage
sustained, we must notice two or three incidents that occurred
during the conflagration.
We have already mentioned that on the first alarm the mi-
litary were sent for from York
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till three in the morning, when the crowd having dispersed,
the major part of them were marched back to their barracks.
In a convenient apartment on the south side of the Cathe-
dral, between the southern entrance and the south western
tower, the wills proved in the Exchequer and Prerogative
Court of York are kept, and when it was discovered that the
flames had communicated with the roof of the nave, appre-
hensions began to be entertained for the safety of those do-
cuments, and measures were immediately taken for their re-
moval to more secure custody. Carts were provided, into
which the immense mass of papers were hurriedly thrown,
but the burning embers fell so thickly around that it was
found necessary to protect them by covering them with a wet
blanket. Even this was not thought sufficiently safe, and the
carts gave place to covered i cabs, in which the remaining
portion of the wills, &c. was ' removed to the residence of
Joseph Buckle, Esq., the deputy registrar and keeper of the
records. .

During the progress of the fire, also, as a matter of pre-
caution, the vergers removed the books, cushions, and other
valuable articles from the choir, and the music books from
the organ loft, into the vestry.
When the bells had fallen, and the rafters from which they
had been suspended were also precipitated almost reduced to
charcoal, followed by the mullions of the upper windows of
the tower, great fears were entertained for the safety of that
corner of the edifice. The space on the south, between the
Minster and the Church of St. Michael-le-pelfroy, was kept
clear of persons, and many of the residents in Petergate were

so apprehensive of its falling in that direction that they te-
moved their families to places of greater security. Fortu-
nately, however, their precautions were unnecessary ; the
tower still stands, and though it now presents a desolate and
shattered appearance, it seems likely to stand for a long time
yet to come.
When the steam engine at the York Water Works was put
in motion, it furnished a very adequate supply of water. All
the drain grates to the south of the Minster were dammed
up, and soon after all the water plugs had been removed, a
large pool of water was obtained and kept up, in which the
engines stood to play. It is stated that during the night no
less than 240,000 gallons of water were furnished by the Wa-
ter Works Company.
It is exceedingly satisfactory to be able to state that, not-
withstanding the length of time the conflagration lasted, the
great number of persons who witnessed it and took part in
its suppression, the daring efforts of many of the firemen,
and the streams of molten lead that occasionally shot forth
unexpectedly from different parts of the building, not a single
accident of serious moment was sustained by any person
whatever.
We are rejoiced to be able to state, in the commencement
of our description of the nature of the damage sustained, that
the splendid organ presented by the late Right Hon. and
Rev. John Lumley, Earl of Scarborough, and built by Messrs.
Elliot and Hill, of London, has escaped uninjured, as like-
wise has the elegant stone screen on which the organ stands,
and which contains the statues of fifteen of the earlier Eng-
lish kings, beginning at the Norman conquest.
The massy pillars which support the central tower, or lan-
tern steeple, as it is sometimes called, from its having been
used as a beacon to warn the surrounding country during
periods of public danger, is also free from damage, though
great fears were at one time entertained for its safety.
Most singular also is it to relate, that although the massive
great doors at the western end of the nave were burnt to so
thin a substance as to bend inwards like a lath, the large
stained window above them, which is said to be unrivalled
for the beauty and lightness of its ramified tracery, has like-
wise escaped without a single piece of glass having been bro-
ken, so far as we could observe. In the upper compartments
of this window, it will be remembered, are delineated the
figures of eight saints of the church, and below them are re-
presentations of the first eight archbishops of the see, as large
as life.
In like manner the grand window over each side portal at
the west end has been preserved intact ; and this is the more
remarkable, as that on the south side is but a short distance
from the belfry tower, beneath which the bells and burning
materials principally fell.
In the south-western tower there was a peal of ten bells,
erected in 1765. Not long after the fire commenced, they
were precipitated to the ground, and a quantity of other ma-
terials fell upon them. When our reporter left York yester-
day, the superincumbent mass, which was still hot and smok-
ing, had not been removed from them, so that, although
considerable anxiety was felt on the subject, it had not been
ascertainel whether the bells were incited or broken. In
either case, it is understood that the cost of re-casting them
would reach about a thousand pounds. It may, perhaps, be
interesting to observe, that previous to the year 1765, there
was a peal of twelve bells, which being then found to be un-
tuneable, they were taken down by Dr. Fountayne, then
dean, the five trebles of which were exchanged for the three
bells in St. Michael's, Spurriergate, in which church they
now hang. They were replaced the same year by a set of ten
new bells, cast by Messrs. Lester and Pack, of London (the
same weight and dimensions of those in Bow Church, Lon-
don), and are allowed to be as complete a peal as any in the
kingdom. The following is an account of their weight and
description : •
The first weighs 8 cwt. 3 qrs. 7 lb., and its diameter 2 feet
8 inches 1-4th.
The second, 9 cwt. 1 qr. 5 lb., its diameter 2 feet 9 inches
3-Bths.
The third, 10 cwt. 1 qr. 22 lbs., its diameter 3 feet.
The fourth, 12 cwt. 2 qrs. 21 lbs., its diameter 3 feet 2
inches 3-4ths.
The fifth, 13 cwt. 2 qrs., 22 lbs., its diameter 3 feet 5
inches.
The sixth, 16 cwt. 4 lbs., its diameter 3 feet 7 inches 3-4ths.
The seventh, 21 cwt. 23 lbs., its diameter 4 feet 1-Bth of
an inch.
The eighth, 26 cwt. 13 lbs., its diameter 4 feet 3 inches
1-Bth.
The ninth, 33 cwt. 2 qrs. 16 lbs., its diameter 4 feet 9
inches 1-Bth.
The tenth, 53 cwt. 25 lb., its diameter 5 feet 5 inches.
_On Nos. 1,2, 3, and 4 there are no other inscriptions than
he founders names Lester and Pack.
On the sth, Music is medicine to the mind.
On the 6th, Our voices shall with joyful sound,
Make hills and vallies echo round.
On the 7th, In wedlock bands
All ye who join with heart and hands,
Your hearts unite ;
So shall our tuneful tongues combine to laud
The nuptial rite.
On the Bth, Ye ringers all, that prize your health and
happiness,
Be sober, merry, wise, and you'll the same
possess.
On the 9th, To honour both of God and King
Our voices shall in concert ring.
On the 10th, J. Fountaine, Dean ; W. Cowper, W. Berd-
more, W. Cayley, W. Mason, Residen-

tiaries.
The belfry presents the appearance of a shell, the interior
frame work being completely destroyed, and nothing remain-
ing but the skeleton of its former beauty. At intervals, small
fragments still continue to fall, and the soldiers and police-
men in the building strongly caution those who are admitted
that. danger is still to be apprehended.
From the western entrance to the great lantern tower there
are seven pillars on each side, which form eight arches.
Those pillars are plain, and formed of a solid piece, to which
are attached three quarter columns, alternately larger and
smaller. The capitals and bases are simple, though the
foliage of the former was diversified, each capital being of a
different design ; but now the capitals as well as the groined
roof, are destroyed, and the lower portions of most of the
columns are much injured, as well by the burning timbers
falling against them, as by the columns themselves, which
are of limestone, having become partly calcined by the sur-
rounding heat, and in that state subjected to the action of
the water employed to extinguish the fire.
The clerestorial windows, adorned with imagery and coats
of arms, are all of them more or less injured, particularly
those towards the western end of the nave, but those near the
central tower are not much damaged. The windows of the
side aisles, sixteen in number, and all of them, with two ex-
ceptions, of painted glass, have escaped in much better con-
dition than might have been expected. The window in that
part of the south aisle, immediately under the belfry tower,
is almost wholly destroyed, but, fortunately, it is one of the
two that was glazed with common glass.
The roof of the nave which being of wood, was wholly con-
sumed, was adorned with large carved knots, above a yard
and a half in circumference, that were formerly ornamented
with gold, but in many cases these have been wholly destroyed,
and not one has escaped injury. We were much struck with
the highly carbonized state of the timber that lay about on
the floor : even those which might have been called the
heaviest timbers, were burnt to extremely small dimensions.
The nave, from the west end to the door of the choir, in-
cluding, of course, the breadth of the tower, is 261 feet long,
109 feet broad, and was 99 feet high. The side aisles are 18
feet broad, and the side arches, north and south, 42 feet high.
The foundation of the nave was laid on the 7th April, 1291,
by John le Romaine, then Archbishop, in the presence of
Henry de Newark, Dean, and Peter de Ross, Precentor of
the Church, and the rest of the Canons in their richest copes.
Archbishop de Melton finished the west end with the steeples,
about the year 1330. In this work he is said to have ex-
pended seven hundred pounds (a large sum in those days,)
of his own money. Contributions from the nobility, clergy,
and religious devotees of the age, furnished the remainder of
the funds required. It will be remembered that the Musical
Festivals of 1823, 1825, 1828, 1835, have been celebrated, in
this nave and the transepts. On those occasions the centre
aisle of the nave was filled with seats, backed and covered
with crimson cloth, capable of accommodating sixteen hun-
dred persons. In the side aisle were placed seats for four-
teen hundred persons, covered with green cloth. A gal-
lery was raised from the second pillars to the grand west
window, containing thirty-three tiers of seats, covered with
crimson cloth. The front was adorned with a species of
of gothic work, which added greatly to the magnificence of
the gallery, whilst the manner of its execution exactly com-
ported with the style of architecture pursued in the building.
In 1825 and 1828 galleries were also erected in the side aisles,
which were fitted up to correspond with the decorations of
the other part of the edifice; and in 1835, in addition to the
former arrangements, there was a gallery erected for the es-
pecial accommodation of the royal visitors who were present.
Only two or three weeks ago we announced that the inten-
tion to hold another Musical Festival during the present year
had been abandoned, and that arrangements were in progress
for holding a Festival on a grand scale during the next year.
'We fear, however, that unless the subscriptions for the re-
storation of the nave and tower are unusually prompt, the
repairs will not be sufficiently advanced to admit of the hold-
ing of a Musical Festival there next year.
With respect to the actual pecuniary amount of the da-
mage to the edifice, it is exceedingly difficult to speak. Much
will depend upon whether it becomes necessary to take down
the belfry tower, which is certainly very much shattered and
shaken. if that step should not be necessary, the expense
may not exceed from £20,000 to £31,000 ; but if the tower
be taken down the sum may be doubled. Perhaps it may be
in the recollection of some of our readers that for the repairs
consequent upon the last conflagration, the suns of from
£50,000 to £70,000 was subscribed, and that sum proved
insufficient, although government presented a large supply of
teak wood for the roof of the choir.
The last is the fifth occasion on which the cathedral church
of York has been wholly or partially destroyed by fire. The
first time was in the year of Christ 741, when the'church of
stone erected on the site of the wooden oratory built for the
baptism of Edwin, the Saxon Monarch of Northumbria, and
his whole court, at Easter, 627, was greatly damaged by fire.
In 1069, the cathedral was again reduced nearly to the ground
by an accidental fire during the siege of the garrisons in the
Norman castles. In 1137, the structure which had been re-
built in a superior style by Thomas, the 25th Archbishop,
was destroyed by a casual fire. For nearly seven hundred
years it escaped a similar calamity; but on Sunday, the 2nd
of February, 1829, as our readers will remember, the interior
of the choir and chancel, with the roof, were destroyed by the
act of the lunatic incendiary, Jonathan Martin. The repairs
which that event rendered necessary occupied upwards of
three years and a quarter, and the cathedral was formally
re-opened for divine worship on the 6th May, 1832. Exactly
eight years and a fortnight afterwards occurred the fifth con-
flagration of this noble edifice, which it is now our painful
duty to record.
The most difficult part of our duty remains still to be per-
formed that of tracing out the precise cause of this lamentable
occurrence. At present the affair is still involved in mystery.
Various were the rumours that prevailed on Thursday
morning, with regard to this painful subject.
The animated controversy which has recently taken place
between the friends of the York Operative Protestant So-
ciety, and the Roman Catholic body, coupled with the fact
a
that the friends of the Protestant Society had appointed
Wednesday evening for a public tea party in the Festival
Concert Room, and which was actually met at the time that
he fi r
had
e
was
e discovered,en
occasioned gav e
by
y the
revengeful
i s e t o repor
t that
spiritth f m
e confla-
grationso some
Roman Catholic ; but we have some satisfaction in being
able to state that according to the best information that can
at
Ipresent
the
fe
forenoon
e obtaineden
e f
hneo t the.es least
w efoundation
minutely
hau
Mayor,
Canons
ue
rn s
Johnß es isdieenvt Thursdayisaor
Simpson, and Dixon and ter .
Lord
in-
specteduocram r
Haw-
kins, with other members of ihe Harcourt,
Chapter, and also b} the
and by Sir john L. L. Kaye, 13other city magistrates,
Bart., HenryHPreston, Esq.,
Colonel Markham, and several county magistrates.y
At one o'clock on Thursday afternoon, mosto the gentle-
men we have just named assembled in the Magistrates'
at the Guildhall, for the purpose of inquiring into
t room
circum-
stances attending the origin of the fire. The sitting lasted
from one till half-past five o'clock, a great dumber of wit-
nesses having been examined. As the investigation was a
private one, we are unable to give an outline of the proceed-
ings ; but we understand that the principal person examined
was Mr. Williatn Groves, turret clock-maker, of Leeds.
Mr. Groves had been employed to repair the Minster clock
which stood in the south-western tower, and also the time-
piece (or dumb clock) which is fixed above the southern
entrance. He stated that he had been employed on this
business on the Wednesday, and for that purpose had as-
cended the belfry tower. The only other person engaged
there was a carpenter who had assisted in fixing some new
apparatus to the striking machinery of the chick. b For that
purpose they had ascended above the ringing c iam er into a
sort of attic or low room below the chamber in which the
bells were suspended. This place was seldom entered, per-
haps never, except for the purpose of repairing the clock, at

long intervals. It *as therefore a favourite resort of th e
jackdaws, who had carried up into it large quantities of sh ort
dried sticks, coarse wool, and other 'ingredients suitable for
their nests. There was also in the room a large quantity of
hempen chafings from the bell-ropes. Mr. Groves stat ed.
that to go into this room he used a lighted candle, which ht
carried in a lantern, having lighted the candle with a lucifei
match when he wanted to use it. He admitted having taker.
the candle out of the lantern and put it into a sort of w oodet
candlestick, for the purpose of examining the work a mort
minutely ; and on being questioned on the subject, he stated
that he had once snuffed the candle with his finge rs, but that
he had put the snuff into the lantern. This was sometime
before he left the belfry for the night, which he did a few
minutes, before 'six, in order to examine the clock externally
during the striking of that hour. He stated that on leaving
the place he locked the door after him with a key which had
been furnished to him for the purpose of attending to his
work.

This portion of his statement was confirmed by another
witness, who on the first alarm of the fire ran with a bucket
of water to the belfry door, which he found locked. It is,
therefore, pretty clear that no person had been in the belfry
after six, though that is not quite certain, as the key which
Mr. Groves had is not the only key of the belfry-door. It
goes far, however, to show that the fire could not have been
the work of an incendiary ; unless such a person had pos-
sessed himself of a false key, which there is no reason to
suppose was the case.
It may not be amiss, perhaps, to state that there is no
truth in the reports which have been extensively circulated,
that the Cathedral was insured for a very considerabie sum
of money, or that it was usually watched throughout the
night by a person inside. The Minster was not at all in-
sured; though we understand that some years ago overtures
were made to effect an insurance for £lO,OOO, at the rate of
4s per cent., but that the negociation did not succeed.
No service was performed in the Minster on Thursday and
yesterday ; and we believe that it will not be re-opened for
divine service till after all the rubbish has been cleared away,
and the dangerous parts of the standing walls of the nave
removed. In the afternoon of Thursday the public were
admitted to view the smoking ruins in the interior of the
Minster, a detatchment of soldiers being posted so as to
prevent them being led by curiosity into places of danger.
We may here take the opportunity of stating that the con-
duct of the military on this occasion gave great satisfaction
to all ; it was firm, yet forbearing, and the orders they re-
ceived were executed with a degree of considerateness which
did them much credit.
On Thursday afternoon and yesterday, great numbers of
persons left Leeds by the railway to view the ruins of this
venerable pile, and after staying a few hours in York, re-
turned to their respective homes. There was also a consi-
derable influx of strangers from other towns who had gone
to gratify their curiosity.
It may be remarked, as a somewhat curious coincidence,
that the very tower, in which Jonathan Martin made his
first attempt to destroy the Minster, on the night of the 2nd
of February, 1829, but which he could not there accomplish,
is the one in which the present direful calamity commenced.