The Springdale news., 1889-02-22

road which led from Winchester tO Shef- field when he met a number of persons who attracted his attention The first was d raseailFl locking man. past middle age, dressed to the lip of fashion, who was rid ing a hired horse and who left the highway by bride path which led only to Pereival- thorpe George wondered who the man was and what hls business could be with Sir James, That he teas rascal he felt assured, and our readers can judge how nearly he was correct when they are in formed that the showlly-dressed would-be- gentleman was none other than Mir Abra- ham Hawkins, come down from London purposely to aequaint his patron of RacheEs escape from Dr Bleadem's establishment Next he passed d trio of eadaverous- looking men with faces made stern by hunger and misery They were evidently Sheffield Workmen with no work to do, and as they walked steadily on, with teeth set and heavy froHns on their faces, il was easy to surmIse that they had some object in view which they were determined 10 attain-an object which one might guess was any thing but pleasant to them and which meant no good for s0He otls Who that some one was George Foster was unable to determine Further along he met n group of boys and young men taking loudly, and vet again came longer company of men aud women of all ages all of them more or less excited, and all shaping their course n one direction When he reached Chester ton, the place winch he had set out 10 visit, he was struck by the crowds of men and women, unmlstakably from the West Rid ing of Yorkshire, and most of them of the very dregs of society, which thronged the streets of the usually qaiet little town He n ado at 70 hapl- b,. bal a note, and of the landlord of the inn where he took his dinner. but could get no expla- nation from any of them concerning the strangers He returned to his lodgings by q bYe=road and Il was almost dark when he arrived ait the cottage
 Tue night was dark as pitch No moon shone and heavy black clouds lowered over the earth George had put on his slippers and was seated before the fire reading the previous days London paper when he sud denly heard the uprear of voices haiooing in The widest and noisiest manner For a moment he thought he must De dreaming, but soon the cry Of 's Fire ?" rang out and WAS taken ap and repeated in all direc. tons He went to fhe door of the cottage, where a feartuily grand sight met his as tonished gaze The dark night was Iitup by a blaze which seemed in lts fierceness 10 scofoh the very clouds, aud the fuel for the fire was-Pereivaltherpe!
 Hastily drawing on his boots. George hur- ried mp to the blazing pile The scene was terrible and past all description The wings at each end Of the fine old mansion were already beyond salvation and tue man budding was burning m a manner which promised speedy destruction The place was surrounded by an excited crowd
 
 nzed as those hc had met ea the road in tfe morning The three men he had met first seemed ro baye charge of the eonfia- grafton but took no part H the noise They appeared 10 regard the whole affair as d ne- cessitY aad ta treai | purely as I matter of business The mob shouted itself hoarse. Three cheers faf EaFpjaF z. -Three groaus for fergivdI'i '. Down with laHd= lords and tbe Corn Laws T " Huryah for free trade and cheap bread 7" Death to all tYfaats The farmers and eottagers on he estate were toe frightened to lend assistance in sabdaiug tbc flames. even had the rioters permitted them to ap- preach. whte the servants of the house were glad enough to escape with thclr lives, and never stayed to see what ther could save from the fire The mob boxed more ike crowd ef devils, with thei' Wlld. uaggaTd, uukempi tdces iit up bt tue red glare and blaekened by the desse clouds uf smoke
 As they stood there, supposing all the in mates t5 have escaped. there appeared at a window on the third and topmost floor the eager faces of two men One was Sir James himself and the other was Abe Hawkins Outside this window was an old tire=cscape in the form of a slender iron adder Al ready the flames were curling around it and had made several of the lower steps red hot. II would not with safety carry two men under any circumstances, and this Sir James apparently knew, for he struggled with Hawkins and tried to force him back
 into the burning budding At last, with q i powerful blow, PereivA felled Hawkins to the floor. where he lay unhl the flames con sumed hun and his rascality Sir James now prepared to step out of the window on to the iron ladder but as he did so