The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1833-10-22 00:00:00

DESTRUCTION OF A SHARE

•
A little boy happened to be washed from a catamaran
which was managed by his father, who was thus early initiating
him into the hardships of that mode of life which he intended
him to pursue, and, before he could be rescued from the tur-
bulent waters, a shark drew him • under, and he was seen no
more. The father lost not a moment, but calmly rose, and
placing between his teeth a. large knife, which he carried
sheathed in his cummerbund, plunged beneath the lashing
waves.. lie disappeared for some time, but after a while-was
occasionally seen to rise and then dive under the billows, as if
actively engaged with his formidable' foe. It wits a period of
painful suspense to those who were anxiously watching the issue
from the boats outside the surf. After a while the white foam
was visibly tinged with blood, which was viewed with a sensation
of horror by those who could only surmise what was going on
under the water. The man was again seen to rise and disap-
pear, so that the work of death Was evidently not yot complete.
After some further time had elapsed, to the astonishment of all
who were assembled on the beach, for by this time a considera-
ble crowd bad collected, the body of a huge shark was seen for
a few moments above the whitening spray, which it completely
crimsoned, and then disappeared; an instant after, the man rose
aye the surf, and made for the shore. He seemed nearly ex-
hattsted, but had not a single mark upon his body, which bore
no evidence whatever of the perilous conflict in which he had
been so recently engaged. He had scarcely landed, when an
immense shark was cast upon the beach by tale billows. It was
quite dead, and was immediately dragged—by the assembled na-
tives beyond the reach of the surge. l t presented a most fright-
ful spectacle,. exhibiting fatal proofs of the terrific struggle
which had ensued between this ravenous tyrant of the deep and
the bereaved father. He had indeed taken a must signal re-
venge. On the body of the huge creature were several deep
gashes, from one of which the intestines protruded. The knife
had been evidently plunged into the belly, and drawn down-
ward with unerring. precision, presenting an immense wound
nearly a yard long. There were also several deep incisions
about the gills, and below the fins; in short, it is impossible to
describe the fearful evidences which the. monster exhibited of
the prowess. and dexterity of its determined aggressor, who had
so toldly_perilled his life to revenge the death, as it was after-
'Wards aseeiTaiiied,-or his -Only- child. As strove is the shark was
drawn to a place of security, it was opened, when the head and
limbs of the boy were taken front its stomach. Tilp body was
completely dismembered, and the head severed from it; the
different parts, however, were scarcely -at all mutilated. It
would seem that, after separation, they had been immediately
swallowed without being submitted to the previous process of
mastication. The moment the father saw the truncated remains
of the little object of his affection, the habitual coldness of the
hide° merged in the tenderness of the parent, and he for the
moment gave way to the agonies of his heart.
.He threw hims
self upon the sand, and mourned his bereavement_
- " With sad unhelpful tears t"
but soon recovering his constitutional serenity, he• unrolled his
dripping turban, and having placed the severed remains of his
child in the ragged depository, bore them to his fragile tenement
of bamboo and palm-leaves, in order to prepare them for imme-
diate cremation. Upon being asked to relate the particulars
of his encounter with the shark, he stated, that as soon as he
had plunged into the water, which he did et• few moments after
the child had been dragged under by his powerful enemy, he
saw the monster in the act of swallowing its victim. He in-
stantly made towards it, and struck it. with his knife upon the
gills. By this time it had completely gorged its prey, and did
not at all seem disposed to enter upon the encounter to Which
it had been so roughly challenged. Having received a second
stroke in the gills, Arose towards the surface, followed by its
assailant, who kept plunging the knife into Various parts of its
body. 'The monster turned several times to seize its adversary,
who, dexterously evading the intended visitation by diving
under it, renewed his attack with the knife. The shark's ve-
racity had been so completely appeased by the meal which it
had Just made, that it showed little disposition to continue the
conflict, until repeated trenchings front the formidable knife of
its determined toe roused it to desperate resistance, when it
turned again upon its back, though with less activity than these
creatures arc wont to do when craving for food;' bit the man
dived rapidly under it, and, watching his. opportunity, as soon
as the shark regained its natural' position, plunged the keen
blade into its belly, and drew the weapon downward with all
his strength, thus inflicting that mortal wound which the crea-
ture exhibited upon the strand. After thin it made a tremen-
dous splashing for a few moments, then sank apparently lifeless
to the bottom. Seeing that the strife was at an end, the man
made for the shore, as already stated, and shortly after the
huge carcass was cast upon the beach.--Oriental Annual.

CROWNER'S QUEST LA IV.-01.11 Sunday week, as a stage coach
belonging to one William Williams, was journeying from Mac-
clesfield to Manchester, one of the coach doors flew open, and
a little girl who was in the inside fell out, and died shortly af-
terwards of concussion of the brain. A CoNnek's inquest has
since been held on the body, and the Juryreturned a verdict of
Manslaughter against the proprietor or the coar.h, though he was
not wkhin two Miles Of the spot where the scr.;,4o,t took vi„,!.,

`•s ._>

-2,

18i38.
F.....wevlorrem2p.momineEncr-r.....ZweimszEigsew

DESTRUCTIVE
rWITUFFAIVURRICANN ON

This elegant and beautiful structure, which has for ten years
been the principal ornament of the town, and has called forth
the admiration of hundreds of thousands of strangers,—whiell
has stood the shocks of wind and Wave, with a stability that
from its fairy-like and fragile appearance could hardly have
been expected, has at length received such injury as to impair
its beauty and utility to a most serious extent. Its restoration
will be a woi lc' of great labour and difficulty, and must be at
tended with great expense; but we hope the public of Brighton
will come forward and liberally assist in re-establishing a struc

•
ture, unequalled in beauty, ana of vast benefit to the town.
About half-past seven o'clock on Tuesday evening a most
tremendous gale from the west calne on, attended with heavy
rain and flashes of exceedingly vivid lightning. A very 'her!
time previously the pier-master, Mr. Matthews, had returue,
from the pier-bead. The pier at that time was in every respect
in its usual state. The wind then began to blow wills the great-
est fury, so that, though Mr. Matthews lives within a few yards •
of the entrance of the pier, he heard no crash whatever. yew
persons, of course, were on the cliff during so violent.a storm;
but report says that some heard the crash, and saw the lightning
play along the chains, and that at one moment theta was a blaze
of light at a particular spot.
We give these reports as we have heard them, without
in the
least degree vouching for their accuracy. Although the wind
howled, and the waves roared, it is possible that a crash 'night
have been heard ; and this is all we can say upon that subjql-
In respect to the lightning, we ourselves remarked its %IV', •
ness; and when the situation of the pier is considered, com-
posed chiefly, at least in the upper works, of iron, it is net
improbable that the electric fluid may have been attracted hi
the metal; but this is no more than an opinion; there is noproof. or collateral fact to lead to such conclusion. The pier-
head is lighted by a gas-lamp. To supply this a pipe is eon'
veyed along the west side of the pier. In the concussion the
pipe was snapped in two, and the light extinguished of course;
but we do not imagine that. the gas in the pipe which runs by
the side of the pier could by any possibility have ignited, g'
that a flame or blaze could hardly have arisen from' this causo-
The violence of the concussion doubtless caused so great 3
friction amongst the rods, caps, chains, railings, &c. as to pr"-
•duce a rapid emission of sparks, which, in the darkness- of the
night, might easily be mistaken for the effects of lightning: It is
known that such were the effects produced when the A-fla:win;
fell in: eye-witnesses describe that event as having been attended
with a blaze of sparkling fire.
Before we giveany opinion as to the cause of the accidents
we will first give an outline of the damage done. •
On the entrance of the first bridge from the esplanade, the
first suspension-rod and cap on the east side have evidently been
moved by some great violence; the cap is
.partially unshippeas
and all the caps on the bridge appear, judging from the state of
the paint, to have been moved, but not in a great degree. 'l'b° # •
bridge on the east side is also sunk below the level line several
inches. The seventeenth cap add rod on the east were more,
violently affecteotthan any other on this bridge, so much—so that
some of the iron ornament on the railing was knocked off. The
whole of the bridge, independently of the sinking on the east
side, is considerably sunk below the level line, owing to the -
counteraction of the further bridges being reduced.
The main chains are here nearly as perfect as over in appear-
ance, nor are the first two towers in any way affected, so far
as the judgment of the eye can be relied on : the sinking of the
bridge is probably owing, therefore, to some circumstances not
connected with the chains.

. .
The second bridge is, indeed, a sad ruin. MI the suspen-
sion-rods on the east side, frOm the 10th, reckoning from the
first towers to within twelve rods of the second towers, are bro-
ken and gone, so that the east side of this bridge dips down
very considerably. The flooring remains, but it forms so steep
an inclination to the eastward that no person can walk along it;
one might as well attempt to walk along the roof of a sharp'
roofed house. On the west_ side of this (the second) bridge--
the damage is less.. Many of the suspension-rods, from the
19th, counting from the iirst towers, to the 18th from the
second towers, are gone; but a few are left, so that the west,
side of the bridge is kept up to nearly the level line. None er
the suspension-rods destroyed on this bridge are bent; they are
snapped quite asunder, but some of the rods that remain in
nearly their former position are considerably bent, and the caP.5
on the top of them are, some partially and others very cone'' .
derably removed. This is important, since it will throw some
light on the nature of the' occurrence, as we shall presently at
to show.
We now come to the second towers ; and here the .work of
destruction commences. That on the east has been so vielentlY

forced towards the north as to tear up the planking at its base; -
and it is now very considerably out of the perpendicular line.--
After it was thus forced up, a re-action of course took place, and -
it must have been ponderous indeed. Much of the wooden
frame-work below gave way, and this part is now a wreck. The
opposite tower suffered less, but here also the wood-work is torn
to splinters. The saddles on the top of both towers were evi-
dently lifted up, and removed from their position; the wood-
work round the top of the towers, and about the saddles, is in
splinters, and even the wooden arch between the towers is rent.
This shows how violent the concussion must have been. The ,
sheet lead on the towers is partially rolled up, but there is no
appearance of any fusion, although some persons are of opinion
that it was here that the lightning first struck. It then ran
along the main chains, and descended the suspension-rods, tilt
it came to that part of them which is not painted, (being Co'
vexed with the wood of the platform); and here, finding no con-
doctor to the earth or water, the shock took place. We con-
fess that this explanation of the matter is by no means satisfac-
tory_ to our minds.
We now proceed to describe the havoc on the third bridge-
The whole of thelcentre of this bridge is gone—not a vestige
remains. There is no communication whatever left, except by •
climbing along the main chains. The whole of the wood-work,
the platform, the iron railings, the suspension-rods, caps, and
all in the centre, for a distance of 30 or 40 feet, has totally du'"'
appeared; 44 suspension-rods, in a distance of about 200 feel,
are lost on the east side ; and 30 suspension rods on the west-
The platform drops down, a complete wreck, on each side of
the chasm in the centre—the planks, nearly up to the towers,
being stripped up. Some of the remaining suspension-rods are
bent like willows over the side of that portion of the Lriclee
which is still standing; others are broken asunder, and the
caps of most are gone; but it is singular that one or two rods .
still retain their caps, as they bang over the sea or lie across
the planking. .
We now come to the most extraordinary phenomenon of th
whole. Those who have seen the pier will remember that these
are four main chains on each side. We now wish to direct the
attention of our readers to those on the east. One pair of theses
chains were suspended about re inches ever the other Ors
which hung exactly beneath the former. When the concussion
took place the upper pair of .chains were by some means sePa"
rated; and, wonderful as it may appear, one of them wocii
twisted beneath the lower pair,. passed over them again, and
now remains stretched by the sine, hut in the centre considera-
bly higher, of its companion.
This, however, in order to be clearly understood, mast be
seen, and it is certainly. one of the most extraordinary thing'.
connected with this most lamentable accident.
The third pair of towers are also in a dangerous state, havinE
been partially forced out of the perpendicular; and the fount'
bridge is greatly distressed, and belies down 18 inches,
. or per"
haps more, towards the sea ; but the outer head, the stone"
work, the piles, &c. are not affected at all.
We now come to the most difficult part of cur task—what baf
caused the accident ? If it were caused by the wind, why ha.
not such an accident happened before? There must surety
have been many gales in ten years equal to that of Tues.:tail
evening. If then the wind was the cause, why did not the eai*°
cause operate sooner ? To these questions we can make 11° -
reply. Scientific men will of course form their own opinion;
but, with all deference, we may observe that we think the steel"
dent was owing to the wind solely.
The wind, we are assured, was west, not south-west,-as jas
usually the case when we have very heavy gales CO this coes"
On each side of the bridges there are broad boards to cover
the iron-work. It appears, then, to us, that a tremendous MA'.
must have come suddenly under the bridge, and lifted up L
third bridge, in all probability several feet. This operation °b,
the wind would have been assisted by these side boards, AO-tic'
tended to confine it. When the bridge was thus heaved nri
lifted up, the suspension-rods, Ilse lower ends of which are fii.;c3 `
to the bridge, would be easily driven upwards between 0„
chains, gliding between the bolts, and, carrying the caps 0`"
their (the suspension-rods')teps. Then came the fall, w the
instead of the caps falling in their pluses over the bolts, the-
fell on one side; and hence nothing but a crash could reselti
By the shock the loSver or the upper part, as the case might be,
the suspension-rods would be snapped in two, and the bride,;
would give way. This violent concusssion on the third bridg
would give a jerk to the second, as well as to the first bridges
hence we see the suspension-rods of the second bridge
bent, but snapped asunder, and the caps on the first leriag'
where the shock would be less, partially removed.
It is probable, when the third bridge was thus forced iiN-
wards, that one of the chains on the east side became displace
re
because the caps on the suspension rods being remeved, tl e
was nothing to keep them together, and in the descent of t
bg
briag.e the chain was thrown over its companion. This' view
satisfactory to our minds; and we think we shall be borne
by scientific men. We fear that it will now he necessary to te!le
down the whole of the chains from one end of the pier to tp
other, and to re-adjust the towers.
Brighton will deeply sympathize with the spirited projectbo;
of this structure ; and we trust that our townsmen will net
backward in rendering such pecuniary assistance as rosy rr,
place the pier in its pristine beauty and stability.—Brighion u°

DE AL, OCT. 16.—We were visited last' night, about half-P.af
seven o'clock, by One of the most yiolept storms of wind, rals,
and. hail, accompanied by tremen dour peals- of-thunder,
has been witnessed here by the oldest inhabitant, but its rasq...-1,1
. have not occasioned so much injury as was feared. M
Castle, at which LordCarringtonnow resides, most serious are
prehensions- were felt by its inmates, as two chimneys wee'eo
thrown down, the materials of which ell upon two of the b.
e 4,
of the visitors, and some. of the beams in the roof were o.4tb-e
Much valuable stock has been destroyed in our marshes,
cattle taking fright and running into the dykes, were they" `rots
drowned; but. we are not apprised that any thing
took_ place among the vessels in the Downs, which were foirlibe
rouai,: The wind having shifted in the morning, nearly
whuleSc the outward-bound have proceeded to-the westw3rbe
buLfrtini the present appearance of the weather, they 1611
obliged to bear up again.

f the
vim-REIGN oe EtAzAßETti.—lt was about the close 1
reign oftliziOeth that the learned Hackluyt was enabled t. 10,0
to sum up,-Vvrth liecniniut -pride, the results of all the missir
of discoverritnrennalliffne sent forth either under the inivioef
diate auspices of the;lWeen, or those of the trading coinVt,.ore
established by her. Which of the kings of this land Tea?
stV h her Majead their banners ever seen in the Caspian 0•
Which orthem hath ever dealt with the Emperor of Perb!are
her Majesq bath done; and obtained for her merchants 13 ;',l
and-lovingprivileges? Who ever saw before this regiment of
Englishlieger. in the stately porch of the Grand Seign„.er it 4
Coustantinople? Who ever found English consuls and `'hand
at Tripoli in Syria, at Aleppo, at Babylon, at Balsarai;efoie
which is more, who ever heard of Englishmen at 'Goa . the
now? What Eng;ish ships did heretofore ever anchor 1
. mighty river of Plate, pass and repass the unpassable,
o Hispania,
strait of Magellan, range along tie coast (,), att!,
Peru, and all the backside of Nova further thaL
ovtlt
Christian ever passed, traverse the mighty br: adth of the
Sea, laud upon the Luzones in despite of. the enemy, Cnt s
to alliance, amity, and traffic with the prince of the Molucea Ar-
the Isle of Java, double the famous cape of Bona Speranittoe
rive at the isle of Santa Helena, and last of all return 'sob'
most richly laden with the comniodities of China, as tlguriog
jects of this now flourishing monarchy have done?" I.'d con'
the reign of James, all the marts of trade here indicate
tinned to be frequented with increasing diligence, and 3,
tional ones
tinewre opened. The woollen cloths of Eng,laell
well as its and its copper, were now bartered_ for u!th Oct
and raw silk of Persia; an intercourse was opened tort. id
Great Mogul; and- English Ships maintained on the c:',05,7
Coromantlel a carrying trade of sufficient importance E;rtelopts
to excite the jealousy of the Portuguese. The .first 41,0 the
at colonization in the New World, of Which Raleigh 'tar'
leader, had failed ; in fact, at the end of the s
England was not yet possessed of a foreign le fovelrrn
ixteenthtteice ea
:,‘I
tut since that period prosperous plantations had
e
n'varicus points of the North American coast.---41'''
oir3 e tke Court of CI arks
•

•
imOCTOBER
t.t_v• .

LATEST NEWS FROM SPAIN

The 11,1, ( From the Penis, papers.) •
Pi d'u" du Soir of the 16th instant contains some short
ItagraPhs as to. Spanish news :
aPinis:Ys' I. " Private letters from Catalonia announce that
(%ut .11 i 3 generally favourable to the Queen in Catalonia. The
Or„r„„4.1!1-General has spoken out with determination; he is
rlsl,ng city
h militia.
of troo" r—ev
write from Pampeluna on the 12th, that a column
taade PR. winch left to attack Santos-Ladron, near Logrolno,
to this chief prisoner, with thirty-two insurgents. He vas
to,
aceilca judged on the 13th, at Painpeluna. The engagement
too
IPI near Los Arios, against Sit) armed peasants, of whom
n2,s vere killed on the field of battle.
i,;it is Valdespina who commands the insurgents of Vitto_-
iltaptlma. and Berastegui, who form in the whole four weak
lith "at The envoy of Valdespina, who proclaimed on the
len I)°3 Carlo:: at Irun, at the head of 1409 or 1500 ' bandits,'
e'rane 12th in the morning. The, partisans of the Queen
Te, to ccupy Iron on the 13th." , nn, Constitutionnel of this morning contains the following
-7,14411,
I. ,„ et tee news it received yesterday :
'flat no good news has arrived for the Queen.
ar;. That •alrcoMmunications between Bayonne and Madrid
interceit+ed
That §` •
154,,ti: 16,11 a heaaheassfieiltdolijoas not pronounced fur the Queen.
ring. men in his power, who may declare fur
toLLS. That Biscay is in a complete state of revolt.
That the troops of Cas:anos hesitated to attack the Carlist
7.!. and had withdrawn to Tolosa.
u. That Irun was in possession of the priests and monks.
rVl's. That A.rragoa and Catalonia had risen.
bra Old Castile was the hotbed of Carlistn.
s u ,That the irtrtisams of Don Carlos would not recognise the
Piailusli debt of 1813. And
in. • "r4at El Pastor, the celebrated Spanish Liberal, resid-
', t Bayonne had been applied to ny the Queen to enter
Pain in tier- cat; se. --- •
litit. ~, c-orisfittitientief thinks he has agreed toalo so, but he has
"
• Lae saniittri
e Journal says that at Puente the monks inter-
Pt the corn,
..,__,_.,,„.............____...............nati0n betweek Madrid and the frontiers.

'lghth Night of the new popular Drama of JONATHAN BIiAD.
r.nRD, which continues to be received with the most dis-
m,rltrished apProbation;
AEA-N, of. the Theatres Royal, Drury-lane and Covent-
rrtra, on his return, from Dublin to London, is re-engaged
0-11-1-" ICights and will make his second appearance
ju"'S present' TUESDAY EVENING, the 22d instant,
When will be performed the comedy of
A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS.
.„7
_Sir Giles Overreach Mr. Kean.
" elitkOrn. ........ Cooke Justice Greedy.. Mr. Andrews
L 4, Lord Lovel..Mr. Lacy Marrall...Mr. Baker
Allworth....Mrs. Clarke I Margaret-- .Miss. Seymour.
brarm` for the eighth time at this Theatre, the popula. r
(1. --', as now performing nightly iu London, with unprete-
Lilted success, called

JONATHAN BRADFORD,
Zonath Or the Murder at the Road7side.lnn. . .
•si
acrai
an Bradford; Mr.Cooke—Squire Haves, Mr. Lacy—Dan
"
ltaekt, sY, Mr. Benwell—Farmer Nelson, Mr. Andrews—Jack
San Mt. Slaiter Caleb Serummidge, 'Mr. Baker—
ipighabout, Miss Seymour—Anne, Mrs. Brooks.
ttrueted expressly
tunsei'lentl to the piece, " The George Inn," a new scene,
for this piece, showing four distinct
Itsatiattnd_es, acted is
at one time, viz., the Bar, the Parlour,
the Sleeping-rooms.

Ta'UORROW, (Wednesday.) Shakspeare's Tragedy of
alt'thp, ell -OTHELLO.
Mr Kean, his first appearance in that character—lago,
• \ andenhoff—Ca • Mr.
Cooke—Emilia, Mrs. Brooks—
esdemoua Mrs. Vins?/119,; •
with' ..JONATHAN BRADFORD.