The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-01-16 00:00:00

. L
; a

FEATHERS ROYAL MAIL AND UNIVER
COACH OFFICE.
No. I; JAMES'S-STY:Eh:T. LI VE HPOI
r-pliE Public are re.pectridly
Alai:s itnd Patent Saf•et~, well-refit
this iltEce •

a.jest%'S Roca(
Coat:lies depart

I/NOON 1 ROYAt, MAIL, Every Nrnroing, at a (barter
in 21 boors, i before Eight o'clock.
NORTHAMPTON,
lillY A L M AIL, Evely Morning', at
11,III:tiaA. Seven o'clock.
ATLIERSTONE f ItoYAt. MAIL. Every Morning, at a
Quarter before Eight o'clock.
HENCKLEY' t RoYAt. MAIL, !:very Morning, at half-past
N„. Seven o'clock.
LICH FIELD, II ovAL M Alt, Every Morninr., at Eirlit o'clock.
BRISTOL.', ROYAL MAIL, Every Evening at a Quarter
in 18 11,iors,S before hive o'clock.

WEIFXHA-Al,
ELLEsm Env ?ltoyAt. MAIL, every Evening, at Fitli
51.11( EWsBlni.Y,S . o'clock: •
LUOLOW and i no vAL MAIL, Every Evening, at a (,iaarter
II Eli VFOR D. 5 before Five o'ciork.
MONA' OU 11-I,•and ? !torsi. MA IL, Eery Evening, at Five
CH EPsTow, S - o'clock.
BATH, , •'
Pri
ExE.1.,,,,n,.
and ItOYAL MAIL, Every Evening, at ;-
FA LMOU I'll, S o'clock. es
MILFORD, and! Rorta, MAIL. Every ECenir2g, at, Eire
SWANSEA, C c'clock.
( ROYAL MAIL, Every Evening, at a Quarter
befiqe Seven o'Ctock. through Chester,
HOLY READ, sHolywell5Holywell St. Asaph, Attergele, Conway,
Bengor, &c.
) L'llatoN DELI E, Splendid Coach, Every
_ . .
CUELTENIIAM, I Morning, at a ;Quarter before Seven
}- o'clock, through Chester, 'Wrexham,
in 12 "us' i Ellestnere. -Salop, Bridgnm•th, Kidder-
) minster, Worcester, and Tet.kestitirv.
BRIDGEWATER, t,
TAUN TON, c.xclutslTE, every Morning at a Quay
-
EXETER, ter before Seven o'clock.
OSWESTR Y. ORIGINAL NETTLE, every Morning At
WE I.SIIPOOL, and, a Quarter-past Seven o'clock. through
NEWTOWN, ) Chester, Wrexham. Ruahon, & Ch ilk.
w RExuAm, ) The St!xt.t.ow, evety Evening at a Quarter
5 _ before Three o'clock. - •
_ _

'
BANGOR LOIID Ditiottakri, evety Mornitiz, at a
tnt Quarter past Seven n'el.ek, thinugh Ches-
u
CARNA.R.VON, ter, HoI) well, St: Asaph, Abergele, Con-
way' ancl-Batignr.
) Httao. every Mtaiting, at a Quarter to
SHREWSBURY,C( Ten, through Chester, Whitchuta, and
) Went.
GA LLOPAPR eve' y Morning. at a QUM,
SU REWSBUII Y, ter to Seven, till thigh Chester, 'Wrexham.
(heron, and Ellesmere.
CHESTER ••
At Seven o'clock, Half-past Seven. Eight. and
Coaches Ten A.M., and at One, 'Hirer, Five, and Seven
n'eloek P.M.

• Perrortne,i by JONES and HERBERT.
N.B.—OBSERVE. This is the °threat which Parcels can
be 134,ked, oy direct conveyance, to the West of
.England and
North and Stith Wales. Ali for London sent by 'Her
m,,j,st).B Royal it, r,Olll this Otli,•e, which is the only direct
conveyance, will tie delivered by r]ight o'clock the following
Morning, and on the most teas:unable terms.

ESSRS. PEIIItIr and Co., SURGEONS, may he cone
ill stilted from Nine in the Morning till Tea at Night, acid
on Sittelas from Nine till Two, at
No. 23, SLATER-Sill EFT, near Duke street, Liverpool,
(lirivp
9larota.itieels'teertriaitil(lll/4-.°1114:fi01."14.15..t. sGh'ileef:::;t:' en' let hst::s eleB)4!;:aßlig)i'ea.ti g2IC. Rate-
anl, of
falil""V"1:1):OetYt. lie
hadt.ii(!ler,atGt):).ritihtim'aa,eh(l;ile:ltit:t:.l::)l,lls Si lurltra'iiii.rree,t!ii'nse.
(I,l,t,iinliitetg ,t,lyPractical Observations on Sentinel WeAknesso
almses. s, that all persons can obtain,ati immediate
Cure, with ease, secreeV, and .safety.
It is a meta tichol.y fact, that Moo:ands fal‘tims to the Vi-
nereal Disease. owing to the . of illiterate men,
who, by the rase of that deadly poiso ercurv, 'nil, the con-
stitiition, and cause ti al tons, wit itches on the head, face,
and body, dimness in the -sieht,• use iii the ra,s, deafness,
obstinate glerts, and nodes on the shin bones, till at length a
general debility and decay of the cons•itiitital comet. and a
inelatich&v death outs a period t" their 111 e:olini sufferings.
PEII ItY'S PUlt IFYIN (I SPECIFIC P I 1.1,5. price 2.. 9if.
and 11s. per biox. A certain, sale, and infest speedy remedy
ever discovered for the permanetoi and effeettial cure of vette' eat
disease, gioniorrlicea, gleets, striettires, seminal weakness, paint
in the loins. affections of the k,lneYs, lulnhag",
i-ritatiolo of the bladder or urethra, and ether diseases
of the urinary passages. frequently performing a pet fect ewe
in the short space of three days. by one small pill for a dose,
with pase,-ser resv, and safety. The certainty unit which they
are ronfinita'.lv a''ininistered can be attested by many thousands.
The Specific Pills rout out every particle of insidious poison,
purifying
i
reprove the
e(lits"oZen,Tiiitt tilt.
ren‘toli"v(:7 Niece
"r
their time
it ehd ffne(t
ri -
ent functions of the holy, expelling the grittier Ilion intl. and
111 a in-inner an wet inneore..nittole a. to convince the 'Mist
sceptical of their astonish.n: nn l uneopi ollad powers. They
l any other mineral, and lea% be
takentertn
wit‘bot i u
bout h s"Itc
i e Z.slt'"s":l :pie ion of rli.covety They require
11, restraint of dirt. Its of time, or himlratice of Inistness. -.ut
el-feet a coalpleie cure. without the least expostne to the patient.
At any period when the slighteSt suspicion eaay exist, it will he
well to have reentirse to the Specific fills, for when taken
before the di•ease has made its appearance it acts as a certain
preventative, by inhving the complaint effectualiy and securely.
Messrs. PVI( it V, Soil genus, continue to direct their studies
to those dreailfui deloilities arising front the too( free and indis.
criminate indulgence of the passions, which not only iiecasuint
a ntonernits train of nervous iitNections; OA 'entail on its votaries
all the enervating imbecilities nt' old itoe, but' weaken and
destroy all the bodily senses, ore-,'suiting los4 (if imagination,
judgment, mind Meteor), indifference and aversion for all plea-
sures, the idea of their own unhapPiness, and despair, which
arises Irma .considering theniselores as the authors of their OV.II
misery, and the neces,ity of renouncing the felicities of inarri-
ag-e, are the thictuatin ideas of those who have given way to
this delusive and destructive habit. In that distressing. state of
-debility or deficieucv, whet het the consequenceofs;elirbaiiiii:rfului,
practices, exeessive m drinking or any other emote., by whieh the
powers of the constitution become enfeebled, they'
safe: and speedy restoration to shoo:! and 44219'1'4 health.
P S EG ETA B PI I. S :ore well ktu.wn for thn
certain and effectual remedy of secondary syir photo:. erne,oo
eruptions, pains in the bones, ulcerated sore th.c.it, disVHS'ell
nose, chronic rheumatism, scrofula, scorbutic :4711 danditlrir
ariertiorns, local and general debility, noettirna I pains in the
bend awl limbs. depression of spirits, and niscases arising
from an impure statc of the blond.
'These Pills are worthy a place in the cabinets of masters trnc
captains of ships, the more so, as they will keep good 'in ail
climates any length of time.
Letters from the country, post-raid, containing & remit:tine& for
titedici., will be immediately antteered.
lii 2i, SL,ATIiIt-STlll.:ET,,tiear Dttlie-street, Liverpna:
.(I'l4,eate Nett/Rove firat Dwur op the lia„mite:t

:

BURNING OF THE ROYAL EXCHANGE.

(From the Morning Herald of Thursday)

An event which may be regarded as a national calamity. oc-
furred last night. The Royal Exchange is a heap of ruins; a
destructive fire has laid waste this extensive commercial build-
ing. one of the most magnificent in Europe. Soon after ten
o'clock last night the fire broke out in Lloyd's Coffee-room, at
the north-east corner of the edifice, opposite the Bank of Eng-
• land. It was first discovered by one of the bank watchmen,
who gay: the alarm at the gates, and the hank engines were
immediately brought. A strong body of the city police and
night watchmen, and the soldiers on duty in the Hank, imme-
diately repaired to the spot, and expresses were sent off in all
directions to the fire-engine stati,ms, at which period oo signs
of any fire could be seen from the street. Considerable diffi-
culty was experienced in obtaining any entrance to the build•
ine, and when this was accomplished the flames broke through
the windows with great fury, and drove the people back. The
scene which ensued was a most extraordinary one—the whole
neighbourhood was alarmed, and the tradesmen who held the
small shops around the exterior of the building instantly com-
menced the removal of their goods. It was at once predicted
that the whole building would be destroyed, and this foreboding
was realised too correctly. The Jefferies-square, Whitecross,
street, Farringdon-street, Southwark-bridge-road, Holborn,
Chandos-street, School House-lane, and Wellclose-square en.
gines, with those belonging to the West of England, the County
office, and several others, were all ou the spot, with 63 of the
fire brigade men, within au hour alter the file was discovered.
Before any water could be thrown on the building, it was neces-
sary' to thaw the hose and works of the engines. bv pouring
bot water upon them,. and this caused some delay: -For some
time afterwards, owing to the intense frost, there was great dif-
ficulty in working the engines, and the fire continued extending
in a south-west direction, consuming the whole of the It ng
range of offices belonging to the Royal Exchange As-
surance Company. At twelve o'clock these and Lloyd's
establishment, the coffee-room, the captains'-room, and the
offices of the Underwriters, presented one body of flame,
which shot up to a fearful height, illuminating the Bank, St.
Bartholomew's, St. Michael's and St. Mary's churches.—
Every object was as visible as at noon-day, and the people had
assemble,/ in such large numbers, that the police awl .ititary
were engaged in keeping' them beyond the reach of danger,
which was very great, owing to the /urge quantities of burning
timber falling every minute into' the_ street. At ttkis period tt
was found necessary to clear the interior of the area of the
Exchange, where for centuries our merchants have daily !net,
of the 'people collected there ; but many could not be induced
to leave the covered walk until they were half suffocated, and
not a few were expelled by force for their own safety. The
gates had been forcedopen with crow-oars at the commencement
of the fire.

At one o'clock the north and west sides of the Exchange were
consumed, and the fire was rapidly approaching the new tower,
which was erected about 20 years ago. The efforts of the fire-
men apoeared nut to have toe least effect—the flames ran over
the building, mocking their exertions, although not less than
20 engines were at work; indeed for what good they seemed to
do, they might as well have been unemployed. The lord mayor
and a great number of commercial gentlemen urged Mr. Braid-
wood to cut ofYthe communication, and save the remaining por-
tion of the edifice. He explained that it was impossible; the
building was so connected together with one continuous roof,
and there was such an immense volume of flame, that it would
be fatal to any man who ascended the building. No one could
doubt the accuracy of Mr. Braidwood's opinion, and the fire
continued to work its destruction, proceeding from floor to floor,
and running along the corridors with the greatest rapidity. At
two o'clock the flames reached the tower, and the terror and
excitemeut of the assembled multitudes in Cornhill, Mansion
House-Street, and the,Poultry, was extreme. A hundred thou-
sand voices murmured, "!t has reached the tower, it's all over."
The appearance of the frightful conflagration at this period was
awful in the extreme; the whole of the Exchange lay complete-
ly in one mass of flames, and the beat was so great that the
firemen and auxiliaries could scarcely pursue their labours near
the burning mass. The splendid tower, nearly 150 feet high,
was reduced to ashes; the musical peal of eight bells, wit a
tenor, about 18 cwt., and weighing about three tuns, tell one
after the other, carrying away everything in their progress to-
wards the pavement, including the roof and stone work, and the
arch over the central entrance. The clock had a very singular
effect while the tower was burning, which Was, no doubt, visible
at some considerable distance. The plates of the dials became
red-hot, and the hands pointed to the hour, 25 minutes past
one, when the works took fire, melting the chime barrels and
the machinery in a few minutes. It is utterly impossible to de-
scribe the scene which presented itself to the eyes of the spec-
tators, for although the sky was unclouded, and the moon shone
bright with all its splendour, yet its celestial tit ig,htness was to-
tally obscured by the dense volumes of smoke anti flames which
issued from the ruins. A shower of fire wai seen towering over
the houses to the south of the Exchange. On the tower being
discovered to take fire, the lord mayor sent a messenger to the
Tower for more troops to assist the civil power, and in a very
short time a large body of soldiers arrived, some of whom
took up a position on the south side of Cornhill, while others
were ordered to assist the inhabitants in removing their pro-
perty to places of safety. Cornhill was immediately cleared
of the people, who, it is but justice to state, behaved in a
very decorous and becoming manner, and but one feeling, that
of regret, seemed to prevail. Every body viewed the fire with
astonishment and dismay, and the greatest fears were enter-
tained for the safety of the bank and the adjoining church of
St. Bartholomew's, abutting on the north east-corner of the
Exchange. The multitude frequently gave vent to their feel-
ings by exclamations of " I hope the bank will he saved ; they
must preserve the old church !" Fortunately the wind blew
front the north, and both edifices remained untouched, and
were made the repositories of large quantities of goods, which
were carried there. At half past two o'clock a general opinion
seemed to prevail that the offices of the Royal Naval Hospital
at the side of the exchange would not be reached. Under a
suggestion by some gentleman present, several engines were
ordered to be drawn up opposite Sweeting's alley. On this
being done, the hose were couveyed On to the roofs of the
houses on the east side of the alley, which is a very marrow
one, by which means the firemen bad a perfect command over
that portion of the Exchange, and torrents of water were dis-
charged into the interior of the building; but notwithstanding
all those efforts, the flames rapidly extended, and the firemen
were obliged to retreat in consequence of the great heat. The
persons employed at the engines worked to their utmost, many
of them up to their knees in water and ice, and they were en-
couraged in their efforts by the lord mayor and aldermen pre-
sent, but unfortunately, no one thought of obtaining any re-
freshment for the poor fellows. The firemen's coats were
covered with ice, and the whole of Mansion House-street,
Walbrook, Bucklersbury, and every thoroughfare in the vici-
nity of the Exchange, was covered with water, which soon
became frozen. The Gresham lecture-room was totally con-
sumed. At half-past three, the north, west, and south sides of
of the immense building were burned down, and the flames had
reached the east side, threatening the entire destruction of the
range of shops and dwelling houses counected with the Ex-
change, and forming the west side of Sweeting's-alley. The
inhabitants on both sides of this narrow court succeeded in
removine the greatest portion of their furniture and stocks in
trade before the flames reached the alley, and goods to the
amount of at least £50.000 were deposited in places of safety ;
but a good deal of heavy furniture could not he got out of the
houses, and was sacrificed.
At four o'clock the fire was still raging with unabated fury.
The wind, which was blowing fresh all the night, had increased
almost to a tempest, and the immense area was one body of
flame. The remaining wing, the east, shared the fate of the
others, and with it the houses in Sweetiag's-alley, forming part
of the building. The firemen again got on the roofs of the
houses on the opposite side of Sweeting's-alley with their hose
and branch pipes connected with eight powerful engines, and
directed a plentiful supply of water over the shops and houses
below them. by which they were kept cool, and prevented from
igniting. The eastern wing of the Exchange, like the other,
was soon reduced to a heap of ruins; the flames spreading from
flour to floor, and from one story to the other. The roaring of
the elements, the falling of large timbers, and the noise of the
engines, occasionally intermingled with the shouts of the firemen
and assistants, was almost deafening. The firemen never flagged
ip their efforts from the cmntnencenient of the fire, but in 'vain ;
the Exchange uo longer exists; it is entirely destroyed.

The walls in the interior of the Exchange fell with a tremen-
dous crash; carrying away with them the numerous statues of
the Kings and Queens who have reigned in England front the
time of \Villiaw the Conqueror. The shell of the lofty tower
still remains, but it is feared that it will fall; and should it come
down in the direction of the houses opposite in Cornhill. the de-
struction of property will be fearful. It is but right to state
that every precaution has alre.ady been taken by the city au-
thorities, and no one is allowed to pass along Coruhilt. At
five o'clock the fire was still raging,, but all apprehension of
danger to the surrounding,bnildiogs was at an end. The works
of several engines at this hour were so contracted by the frost
that it was 'impossible to work them. Crowds of persons ate
assembled in all parts of the city, and nothing eke is talked of
but the destruction of the Royat Exchange. The shops of the
news-agents and booksellets, and the officers of the stock-brok-
ers are iusured.

Several accidents occurred during, the fire, and one man, who
received very severe injuries by the falling of a chimney at' the
south-west angle of the building, was conveyed to the hospital.
Serious as the loss of this noble building must be to our mer-
chants and citizens, and the nation at large, the serious inter-
ruption the dreadful calarnity -must occasion to husiCess
ten times more so. All the books and papers connected with
Lloyds, the Royal Exchange Assurance, and other mercantile
companies, are with few exceptions. destroyed. The thorough-
fare through Cornhill and Threadneedle-street must necessarily
be closed, and a great many business transactions will he sus-
pended. There is no calculating the great inconvenience which
must be the result of this event, as far as business is concerned,
and the merchants and traders will, for a time, he deprived of
their old meeting place; but there is too much enterprise and
liberality among the citizens and the mercantile community
to suffer the inconvenience to exist long; and although the
destruction of the Royal Exchange will ever be regretted, we
hone that a new exchange more comuiodious than the last: and
with greater facilities for the transaction of business will be
erected. It is, of course. well known that the Gresham com-
mittee, named after the founder of the building, Sir T. Gresham,
are the trustees of the properly, and to them will the public
look with the greatest anxiety fur the erection of a new exchange,
worthy of our great metropolis: and the nation at large.

ADDITIONAL PARTICULARS.
(Front the Standard.)
It is a melancholy fact, that, in the papers which derail 16e
destruction of this fine budding, appeals the usual advertise-
ment, announcing the Gresham lectures for the present term,
which were fixed as follows:

"THE GRESHAM LECT;IES.—Jan. 11, 12, and 13—H. H.
Southey nn Physic. Jan. 15, 16, and 17-11ev. Jos. Pullen
on Astronomy. Jan. 18, 19, and 20—Rev. Henry J. Parker mu
Divinity. Jan. 22, 23, and 21 —William Palmer, Esq. on Law.
Jan. 25. 26, and 27—Rev. Samuel Birch on Geometry. Jan.
29 and 31—Rev. Edw. Owen on Rhetoric; and Jan. 29 and 31
—Edw. Taylor, Esq. on Music."
It will be recollected, that, some time ago, it was debated in
the common council whether it would not be right to remove the
lecture room from this building to a more public place. Mani
of the professors objected. and the thing was allowed to proceed
in its previous course. Under the present circumstances, how-
ever, this advantage will not of course, be lost sight of, and
these lectures will become, what their founder, no doubt. in-
tended them to be, of real utility to the children of his fellow-
citizens.

With as little delay as possible after the fire had broken out,
maw/ persons residing in the immediate neighbourhood of the
Exchange, who were acquainted with persons to,ving oitices or
shops under
,the piazzas, set off in cabs to their houses to order
to give. them the earliest information of the calamity, and to
afford then, the chance of saving their most important hooka mid
papers, if not their popertv. In several instances these kind
offices were the means of valuatile property, and documents of
still greater value, being rescued from roe names.
Men (Sall kinds of professions have, 4owever, been deprived
at one of their books, papers, and pla...'s of 1.14/Sinf•Ss. Ship
brokers, insurance brokers, stock brikers, merchants. atm
•notaries, so many of whom were assembied together under this
one immense roof, will he pot to the InITIOSt incotiveniance; and
must, from the all bill-suspension of their business, suffer con-
siderable kises.-...A11. the Waco., of the newp-vandets, wkict.

studded the front of the building, have, with one single exced-
tion, been totally destroyed. The shops of the watch and chro-
nometer makers, on the east side, in Sweeting's Alley, have
shared a similar fate. The property of this kind lost must be
also considerable.
The appearance of the building is this (Thursday) morning
of the must desolate description. The four noble walls are
standing entire, at least externally ; bat every window is out,
and nothing to be seen through their vacant frames but the
smoke arising from the mass of burning ruins, and here and
there a beam or a rafter stilt in flames. The towel, although so
high above the rest of the building, did not escape the all-de-
vouring flames, and every thing consumable in it has been
burned ; the cluck is destroyed, and the face is no longer to be
seen, which for so many years has been the monitor of all en-
gaged in that heart of England's commerce, the vicinity of the
Royal Exchange. The great gates, both north and south, are
also reduced to ashes, and nothing is left but the massive hinges
and iron flame work whit h surrounded them.

A peep in at•the principal entrances where these gates stood
tells a more dreary.tale of the awful destructon which has been
effected by the ravages of the flames, if possible, than a survey
Of the exterior. No longer is there any appearance of the
arcnitectural and sculptural beauties which every quadrangle
of this fine building before presented. All the effigies of loyalty
which adorned the walls have been reduced to blackened masses,
or have fallen from their niches, and been dashed to pieces.
The whole space within the quadrangle is covered wi'h smoking
ruins, and looks like a spot visited by a shock of an earthquake.
The fine statue of King Charles, standing on a marble
pedestal, and surrounded by an iron railing, remains, however,
uninjured.
The effect of the scene altogether presented is certainly rely
picturesque, the streams of water coining down from tti.•
of the fire-engines in every direction—the beams stilt b;.,21:1.:,
and the water frozen into long icicles on the very walls of the
burning pile. Ladders have ben placed across all the principal
thoroughfares leading► to the Exchange, and none but those
having business on the spot are allowed to pass these barriers,
The consternation of parties who did not'know of the calamity
until they arrived in town this morning, and were told, " You
can't pass here, sir" on their way to business, can scarcely be
desciibed; and those who- had heard of the tire had little con-
ception of its extent until they arrived on the scene of condo.-
gration.

GUILDHALL.—The lord mayor has issued a notice offering
the Guildhall for the accommodation of the merchants who
usually assembled on the Royal Exchange.
he tire originated, be% Ond a doubt, in the coffee-room of
Lloyd's, and is supposed to have been burning for more than
two hours and a hair before it was discovered from without.—

This fact, with the age and dryness of the timbers, accounts for
the great ascendancy the fire had gained before the engines
were brought to bear upon it.
Eleven stockbrokers, seven attorneys, five news-venders,
five booksellers, besides insurance-brokers, stationers, and
watchmakers, have had their various offices and shops destroyed ;
and in the cases of the shops, mcist of the property therein con-
tained has been lost. _

It was an unfortunate occurrence that the man who had the
key of the Royal Exchange gate resided at Greenwich, so that
some time elapsed before the firemen could effect an entrance.
Had the key been in charge of scone one in the neighbourhood,
so as to have permitted a ready access, the tire probably would
not have committed such direful ravages.
( From the Sun.)
. . .

We are happy in being enabled to state to our readers con-
nected with the shipping interest, that the whole of the papers
and memoranda connected'with the policies of insurance effected'
at Lloyd's during the last year have been saved—the underwrit-
ers' drawers in the different Wiles have been secured, and de-
posited in St, Bartholomew's Church and the Bank of England,
where they are kept till claimed by their respective owners.

(From Me Morning Herald qf Friday.)

Our account of yesterday left the fire CarningatSve o'clock
and front that hour until noon the flames continued their ra-
vages, while the firemen turned their attention to the preserva-
tion of the adjoining buildings; in which they fortunately suc-
ceeded. If the destructive element had once reached the east
side of Sweeling's-alley, every house from that place to Finch-
lane, containing,• numerous mercantile establishments, would
have shared the fate of the Exchange. The houses between
Sweeting's-allev and Finch-lane are closely. connected, and se-
veral narrow courts and covered ways exist, and it is a lucky
crrcumstance the fire was prevented extending in that direction,
for it is not at all improbable that the conflagration. wotild.not
have ceased until every. buildit4, between Sweet ing's-alley and
Gracechurch-street had been involved in the general wreck.
The firemen, alter a night of the most arduous exertion' were
quite exhausted, and many of them were obliged to go borne
and obtain refreshment and rest. Their coats were a mass of
ice, and some of them dropped down from fatigue and the effects
or cold. The ruins of the Exchange emitted a dense volume of
black smoke, intermingled with fiery particles, during the day,
which was carried by the wind over Loinbard-street and the
southern part of the city, darkening the atmosphere to a consi-
derable extent. The Royal Exchange is entirely gutted, the
bare walls and the shell of the tower are all that remain of the
noble edifice, and every apartment and office is a heap of smok-
ing ruins. The burning pile presented a wide scene of desola-
tion, viewed. from Cornhill, and the principal entrance to the
inner court, or quadrangle, is blocked up with •iubbish The
statue of King Charles the Second, in the centre of the hand-
some quadrangle, might occasionally be seen partially obscured
by the smoke, and, we believe, shat amidst the general ruin it
has not sustained much injury.
The weather was very severe, and the large icicles hanging
from the lofty tower, and on the exterior walls, excited consider-
able attention. The first battalion of the grenadier guards,
whose good conduct during the night deserves great praise, re-
mained on the spot until nine o'clock yesterday morning, when
they were relieved by a number of special constables, the wart!
officers of the city, who hart not been on duty during the night,
and nearly the entire force of that efficient body of men, the
city claY police, under t he direction of Mr. Whithair, their super-
intendant. Barriers were placed across Cornhill and Thread- •
needle-street, and strongly guarded, no one being allowed ex-
cept on business with the houses in the neighbourhood, to pass
them.

During the fire, the bridges over the Thames were crowded
with people, and the flames were distinctly visible at Windsor
Castle, a distance of twenty-four miles from Cornhill. An
Essex farmer states that the fire was seen at Thoydcm Mount,
near Eppiog, a distance of eighteen miles from Loudon. On
the high lands of Surrey, within twenty miles of the metropolis,
the progress of the conflagration was observed by the astonished
country people, who watched the destruction of the tower, when
the flames ascended that part of the edifice. It was a grand
awl awful sight, and will not soon be forgotten by those who
viewed it.

The water from the numerous plugs which were opened rose
to such a height that the cellars and ground floors of a great
number of houses and warehouses were ovei flowed, and caused
much damage.