The Sun. — 1833-01-26 (London, England)

DREADFUL FIRE, AND TRULY MELAN. CHOLY LOSS OF LIFE.-(THIS DAY.)  A dreadful fire burst forth this morning from the back put of the house of Mrs. Manley, who has recently been left a widow, hut who still carried on the business of her late husband, that of a hair-merchant, at 103, Hattongarden. The fire was attended by a loss of life, rendered peculiarly affecting from the unhappy circumstances under which it originated. Mrs. Manley and three of her children have, we lament to record, fallen victims to the devouring element. The first notice the inmates had of their danger, was from a violent knocking at the door about seven o'clock, which awoke Susan Smith, the servant girl, and the only one kept, who slept in the back parlour with one of the children, Emma, aged 10 years. On going to the door she found two men, who informed her of her danger, and she instantly with them ran up into the back attic in which five of the children were sleeping, and having hastily alarmed them, ran down to the hack room on the first floor, where her mistress slept. The flames were then distinct,y visible in the" room, but her mistress was in bed asleep, anal unconscious of her danger. While she was endeavouring to arouse her, a large part of the floor fell in ; when, becoming alarmed for her own safety, she hastily ran into the street. The child Emma, who slept with her had previously escaped. The poor girl. Susan Smith, says, that had not her fears deprived her of presence of mind, she thinks she might securely, after rushing out of the back first fluor room in which her mistress slept, have returned into the gairet, and saved some, i! not all, of the three young children, who unhappily have perished with their mother. The names of these children are Kitty and Susan, twins, aged 3} years, and Anna, aged 5. Tho-e who providentially escaped were Mary, aged 16. Sarah 14, Emma 10, Eliza 7, and Samuel But the most melancholy circumstance remains to be told, and that is the cause of the fire, which, there appears little doubt, is to be attributed to the circumstance of Mrs. Manley tieing in a delirious state of mind, and to her having been left by herself all night with a candle burning on the table. From the stem, nt of the servant we learn that her mistress has been for some months in a bad state of health, and was attended by Dr. Skinner, of Hatton garden. On Sunday last, she says, her mistress first displayed symptoms of delirium, which by Wednesday had increased to what the girl calls ravine insanity. On that d,y she threw knives and other things at the girl and appeared impatient of her presence, whenever she had occasion to enter her room to wait on her. The girl saw but little of her after that day till halfpast nine o'clock last night, and then she observed nothing remarkable. She saw her again at half-past one o'clock this morning, when she went into her room to carry her some lemonade, and she then seemed in a great passion and threatened to murder her if she entered the room again. There were no inmates besides the family ; and the reason of the children sleeping crowded in one room was, the girl states, because the other rooms were being papered and painted. ?Mr. Manley died in March last, and is understood to have left a good property. His business was one of the first in its line ; anal, as the property was fully insured in the West of England Fire-office, there is at least a relief to this tale of misery in the hope that the survivors will be comfortably provided for. The arrivalof the fire-engines soon arrested the progress of the fire.