Railway, the tackle employed in hoisting one of them
to the top of one of the arches, suddenly gave way, and
the mass fell, bringing with it a quantity of the brickwork.
One poor man, named George Rowe, was
Instantly Crushed to Death, and two others, John
Hackett and George Howison, were injured, the former
so dreadfully that he was not expected to survive.
A Dreadful Fire broke out on the morning of the
17th, in a house in Phœnix Street, a narrow thoroughfare
leading out of Crown Street, Soho. A Mrs.
Harding, who occupied a portion of the second floor,
attempted to make her escape by the window, but,
after holding on by her hand for some time, was
compelled to drop on the stones beneath, and her death
was almost instantaneous. Her son, who had made the
most courageous efforts to save her, was so burnt as to
be obliged to be removed to the hospital. One of the
daughters of a Mr. Noland, whose family were also
inmates in the house, was literally burned to a cinder,
Every article of furniture and wearing apparel belonging
to the different lodgers was destroyed before the fire
could be got under.
On the night of the 17th, as Captain Peel, son
Mr. Yates Peel, and nephew of Sir Robert, was returning
to Nenagh Barracks, in a car with three other officers,
it was Accidentally overturned, and, falling above him,
fractured his left thigh, and his right leg in two places,
and dislocated his left shoulder.
Two children of Mr. Lewen, a visitor to Brighton,
were playing on the beach on the 18th, when a bathing
machine, on the wheels of which they had climbed, was
suddenly put in motion, and threw them down. The
one, a boy of seven, escaped with slight injury; but the
other, a girl of nine, was Killed on the Spot, the wheel
having passed over her head.
On the 19th, William Jones, a labourer in Messrs.
Whitbread & Co.'s brewery, was Suffocated by Foul
Air, in a vat into which he had descended for the
purpose of cleaning its bottom. The coroner's jury
found that no blame was attached to the firm, as it
appeared that Jones had been frequently cautioned
against entering vats to clean them without first
allowing the carbonic acid gas, generated from the
grounds, to escape.
The Orion, a large and fine steamer, plying between
Liverpool and Glasgow, was wrecked on Tuesday the
18th, off Port Patrick, with an Appalling Loss of Life.
About one o'clock in the morning, while most of the
passengers were asleep, she struck on a sunken rock, and
in five minutes went down in seven fathoms water. There
was no time for the people, thus awfully roused, to
dress; in the cabin the water was immediately up to
their knees. Every one crowded on deck, which
presented a scene of consternation and despair. The boats
were launched with difficulty: the first, overcrowded,
sank instantly, and almost all on board perished; the
second, into which a number of ladies were put, reached
the shore in safety. Meanwhile the vessel filled and
sank, leaving the crew and remaining passengers
floating on the surface. Some saved themselves by
swimming or getting on pieces of the wreck, but many
were drowned. As soon as the accident was discovered
from the shore, a number of boats put off and picked up
the persons still struggling in the water. To make the
circumstance, if possible, still more distressing, the
weather was calm and beautiful, and the sea as smooth
as a mirror. It is said that there were above 150 passengers
on board, many being of the superior class, and
about 50 appear to have perished. Among them are,
Professor Burns, of Glasgow; Mr. M'Neill, of Colonsay,
his wife and two daughters; Captain M'Neill, brother
of the Lord Advocate; and Mr. Splott with his wife
and three daughters, wlio were about to proceed to
Australia. The causes of the disaster are under
investigation.
The following graphic and affecting details are
extracted from the narrative of Mr. George Thompson, of
Glasgow, one of the survivors;—
"It was about half-past one that I was awoke by
hearing and feeling a strange tearing sort of noise, as if
some strong paper was torn. It was so gentle that I
thought little of it and remained in bed, although all the
other passengers in the cabin started at once to their
feet and rushed on deck. After a very brief interval
one of my neighbours returned, and began with great
trepidation to dress. I then apprehended danger, and
jumped out of bed, and drawing on my trousers went on
deck, calling at the ladies' cabin, in passing, to tell my
wife that she had better get up and dress although there
might not be any immediate danger. On getting to the
quarter-deck I found a large number of the passengers
assembled in great alarm. The vessel by this time had
settled somewhat by the head, and was lurching over a
little to the starboard—that is, towards the land. I
instantly went below to hasten my wife with her toilet,
and put on a little more dress, and sought for a small
trunk I had, and brought it to the middle of the cabin.
My wife and I now went on deck, and as the vessel was
dipping deeper and deeper into the water I calmly told
her that I feared there was little hope, but that we
would use every effort to save ourselves. By this time
the water was over the bulwarks at the bow, and the
'heel' of the deck was becoming greater and greater.
I then feared that all was over, and clasping my wife to
my breast resigned to my fate. We then proceeded,
at my wife's suggestion, to the stern of the vessel at the
larboard side, and as the inclination of the deck became
so great as to prevent our standing, I laid hold of one of
the belaying-pins, and placing my wife between my
breast and the bulwark, I there held on. A lady at
this moment had got hold of my wife's shawl, but as it was
not fastened at the throat it soon dropped off and the
unfortunate creature slid down the deck. On turning
round I found the whole space within the bulwarks, and
up to nearly the centre line of the deck, filled with a
struggling multitude in the gurgling and seething
waters, and most of these were very soon drowned.
As soon as the water reached the companion, the pent
air in the cabin forced off the skylights with a most
horrid crash, and in an instant after we were under
water, sucked down in the vortex of the sinking ship.
When below the surface I lost hold of my wife, and
striking out found myself above water and in contact
with one of the stays of the mizen-mast, which I laid
hold of at once. I had hardly done so, when my wife
rose also to the surface, and I at once took her hand and
caused her to hold on by the same rope. I placed my
legs round the rope, the better to secure my hold, and
told her to rest herself on my knee, which she did. As
soon as we had so far secured ourselves, the ship gave a
heavy lurch to starboard, which immersed us under
water; but swinging back she lurched again to port, and
again were we under water. Gradually the lurches
decreased in extent, and after a few more rolls the masts
continued stationary. I had only my head above water,
as I was supporting my wife; and I was afraid to elevate
myself further, as I knew that in that case the weight
would be increased. Above me, on the mast, a sailor
was perched, who called out in the most imploring
accents to some persons in a boat to come and take the
people off. When the vessel ultimately sunk, the quarter-
deck at the stern was clustered with human beings,
like a bee-hive; and of these but few were saved, as the
vortex absorbed them, and they were so numerous as to
impede each other in their attempts to save themselves.
On the shrouds of the mizen-mast, near where we were,
there were several persons clustered, three women.
hanging on by one rope. At this time the companion
cover floated off, and three persons contrived to keep
up by it until they were rescued. After being about
half an hour in the water, a shore boat came up and was
about to pick me up, when I told the men to get a lady,
who appeared much exhausted, in first; this was done,
my wife was taken in next, and, as quickly as possible,
all supported by the mast were speedily rescued. The
boat then went to the main-mast, and took off the
captain and another man or two, and then proceeded to the
shore, where we were met by a little girl, who said
we must come to her mammy's house, as they had
a nice fire to warm us and would make us comfortable,
Mr. M'Neill, of Collonsay, his wife, two daughters, and
two sons, were on board. The sons alone escaped. The
eldest daughter, though alive when she was brought
ashore, soon died. She was a handsome, joyous, happy
creature, and walked the deck till a late hour in all the
health and joyousness of youth. Alas! how soon was
Dickens Journals Online