connexion; alleging, in answer to Miss Tweddle's
remonstrance, that he had involved himself in a difficulty
by making a previous promise to a young lady at Trentham.
Miss Tweddle avoided pressing her claim till she
found that Mr. Ramshay had married a Miss Lacy,
who was not the young lady at Trentham, to whom he
had pretended he was previously engaged.

Another Breach of Promise case was tried at the same
assizes. The plaintiff, Miss Halstead, is a milliner,
who resides with her father at Bradford; the defendant,
Mr. Toad, is between fifty and sixty, has retired from
business with an ample fortune, and resides at Harrogate.
The defendant used to visit the plaintiff's house, and
about three years ago an intimacy sprung up between
them. He promised her marriage, and she consented,
but she did not wish it to take place until the defendant's
daughter was joined in wedlock, the latter young lady
being about to be married. At the latter end of last
year it was discovered that the plaintiff was in the family
way. The defendant was sent for, and was accused of
being the cause of the plaintiff's state. He did not
confess to the circumstance, and upon being questioned
about marrying her, he, for the first time, declined to
fulfil the engagement, saying that he was too old to
marry, and that he would consider about it. From that
time, in December last, the connection was broken off.
The defendant's counsel contended that there was no
affection between the parties, and that the plaintiff had
lost nothing in losing a man old enough to be her father.
The Jury, however, gave a verdict for the plaintiff,
damages £400.

NARRATIVE OF ACCIDENT AND
DISASTER.

A SHOCKING Railway Accident took place on the
London and North–western line, near Coventry, on the
1st instant. A young man named Ross was employed
in removing some hay cut on the embankment of the
railway. He had occasion to cross the permanent way,
and was standing between the metals of the up line,
watching tlie progress of a down luggage train, when
the express for town came up at its usual speed of thirty–
five or forty miles an hour, and caught the unhappy
lad. In an instant almost the whole of the carriages
had passed over him, when his body was found to be
most shockingly mutilated. His head, neck, arms, legs,
and other portions of his remains, were smashed and
almost cut to pieces. It being shown that the catastrophe
was not the result of any neglect on the part of any
of the company's servants, a verdict of accidental death
was returned.

In South Wales Inundations caused by the heavy
Rains have produced disastrous consequences. At
Brecon, the river Honddu, on the 9th instant rapidly
rose, and tore up the foundations of the bridge crossing
the stream at the bottom of Ship–street. The
superstructure fell in with a loud crash, and the debris
partially blocking up the course of the water, the
neighbourhood in a few minutes became flooded to the
depth of some feet, spreading terror throughout the
town. The inhabitants of many houses only escaped by
flight, or ascending to the upper stories of their
dwellings. In Howey and Newbridge three lives were
lost. At one o'clock the rain began to fall in torrents,
and by four o'clock the river had risen to the height of
15 feet. A little before four a cottage gave way before
it, and soon afterwards the bridge fell in with a fearful
crash. In a short time two other cottages gave way,
and two lives were lost. A poor bedridden man was
swept out of one house, bed and all; his wife and a
twin child belonging to another woman in the house
were drowned. The mother, with the other child
naked in her arms, stood for upwards of two hours upon
the projecting point of an old–fashioned chimney–
piece, whence she was rescued by her brother, who went
to her assistance with a rope fastened round his body and
held by persons who succeeded in getting them into an
adjoining garden. About a mile above its junction
with the Wye, the Dehonw passes Doalvach where
recently stood the villa residence of Mrs. Lawrence—a
lady in her 85th year. With Mrs. Lawrence resided an
unmarried daughter and two grandchildren, the
daughters of her late son. There were also two servants
—male and female—making six persons in the house.
All retired safely to rest on the night of the 8th instant,
but soon after midnight a waterspout burst on the
Eppynt, and with an impulse rendered irresistible
by the precipitous rocks among which the torrent
rushed, it struck against Doalvach house, and the
inmates, with the walls of the residence, joists, beams,
and furniture, were washed down to the Wye. The
body of Mrs. Lawrence was picked up in her night–
clothes within two miles of Hay, on Sunday, near Mr.
Wutkins's farm, at Fordvawr. The village of Dymock
lies in a valley, and is passed several hundred yards on
the north side by the Hereford and Gloucester canal on
a lofty embankment, rising above the level of the
village something like 100 feet. At three o'clock on the
morning of the 8th, a black cloud discharged an
immense volume of water over the village, the canal,
and the adjoining country. The fields and houses
were deluged to the depth of several feet: the level of
the canal was simultaneously raised, and the water,
topping the banks, swept over the adjoining country.
On the south side of the canal several scattered cottages
were submerged. In one of them, lying rather low,
and built close to the bank of the canal, the water
reached to the upper windows, from which a poor
woman threw her child to the adjoining high ground,
and then followed in the utmost peril, and escaped.

A Disastrous Fire broke out, on the evening of the
13th inst., in the silk manufactory of Mr. J. Davenport,
in Albert–street, Derby. The fire was first discovered
by passers–by in the street below, who gave the alarm to
the inmates of the mill. A considerable delay necessarily
took place before any water was procured, and the
flames made such rapid progress that all chance of saving
the top–story was gone before the water was brought
effectually into play on the building. The fact that all
the floors in the mill were fire–proof, caused a number
of daring men to ascend to the top–story for the purpose
of saving the silk, and also for conducting the water to
those parts where the fire had gained the greatest head.
The ceiling being above them, they felt confident of
their safety; but suddenly the roof fell in, and, the
weight of it falling on the first ceiling, caused it to fall
into the top–room, burying under it the poor fellows
who were there. The attention of all was now directed
to try to rescue them, if they were alive, and ladders
were joined together, but, owing to the great height of
the mill, a long time elapsed before they could be
raised to the top–story. In the meantime a most
agonising scene ensued. A poor fellow was seen at one
of the top–windows with his coat and waistcoat off, and
all in flames. He got one of his legs out of the window,
and then the other; he then forced bis body through,
and at last hung suspended from the window–sill by his
hands. A shriek from the crowd announced that he
had thrown himself down. He came to the bottom, a
distance of seventy feet with a tremendous force. His
fall was broken by a bale of cotton that lay in the yard,
from which he rebounded on to his back to the stones
beneath. He was immediately taken up, and conveyed
to the infirmary without hope of recovery. His name is
Mead, twenty–two years of age. Among the men who
were in the top–story at the time the roof fell in, was
Mr. Thorpe, of the firm of Eyre & Thorpe, silk–
throwsters. Full–street. Mr. Thorpe had been very
active in trying to save the silk, when the roof fell in as
he was walking along the top–room. He took refuge
in the water–closet along with the man Mead, who
jumped through the window. They were both
enveloped in flames. Mead cried out for water to put the
flames out that were blazing on his body, and Mr.
Thorpe though burnt as badly as himself, went again
into the room and found a jug with a small quantity of
water in it, which he threw on to Mead, which made
the pain excruciating, and his cries were most piteous.
Mr. Thorpe then left him to try and save his own life.
He took his coat and waistcoat off, and tying a
handkerchief round his mouth to prevent suffocation, he
made his way to the window at the Tenant–street end,
where, a ladder being raised, he broke through the