number of fires in chimneys, in the vicinity of their respective stations; but being known to be accidents of this description, they were attended accordingly; whereas, those included in the above table were represented to be larger fires, and caused a general turn out of the men, &c.

The number of false alarms, by a singular coincidence, is the same as reported last year, and they have been much of the usual character. Several have been given without the slightest foundation, from motives of sheer mischief, regardless of the inconvenience to which a number of men (at all times hard enough worked) are put; or of the expenses which are thrown upon the Fire-Establishment by hoaxes of this description; to say nothing of the protection of which the public are deprived, by sending off the firemen and engines from their accustomed stations on distant useless errands. One fellow of gentlemanly exterior, who gave his name John Watts, has been in the habit of amusing himself and annoying the firemen, by playing off tricks of this sort at different engiue-stations. Upon the last occasion (July 22nd,) he called at the Farringdon-street station, and stated that Messrs. Day and Martin's Blacking Manufactory in High Holborn was in flames. The engine and men from that and other stations proceeded immediately to High Holborn, but found on their arrival no fire, nor any appearance to justify the slightest apprehension of danger from any such cause. An example will be made of the first person who is found thus abusing the readiness of the firemen to afford assistance whenever and wherever required.

Atmospheric phenomena have had their share in producing groundless alarms; two of these were of a very singular character. The first occurred on Sunday, September 25th, about half-past four o'clock in the morning; when a red glare of light in the sky occasioned a general alarm of fire eastward to be given to the firemen all over the metropolis; no certain information being obtained as to the locality of the fire, the engines were driven at conjecture-some along Rateliffe Highway-some down the Commercial-road-while others went to Mile End. On reaching these points, however, the first appearance became gra

dually fainter, and the firemen came in sight of a second light, which appeared more southerly, and which really proved to be a large fire that had just broken out at Messrs. Ewbank and Co.'s Rice Mills and Granaries, at the head of the Grand Surrey Canal Docks.

Some little delay was occasioned, by the engines being on the wrong side of the river; they were, however, got round as quickly as possible. Meantime the firemen were shipped across, and the floating-engine, which is stationed in this part of the river, was set to work, and rendered great service.

The other atmospheric phenomenon was, however, of a far more extraordinary description; the former was occasioned by the sun's rays, but the one we are now about to describe was a variety of the Aurora Borealis. About half-past 8 o'clock on Tuesday evening, Oct. 18, a sudden cry of "Fire" burst forth from hundreds of tongues, in consequence of a crimson glare of light appearing in the horizon; the apparent danger was north-east-and so strongly did the light resemble that of a fiercely-spreading conflagration as to deceive the oldest firemen. The alarm was greatly strengthened by what seemed to be clouds of smoke rising up after the crimson glare, and breaking and rolling away beneath it.

Thirteen engines and a large body of firemen were turned out in search of the dreadful conflagration, the existence of which no one doubted. Immense groups of people thronged the streets, and pedestrians as well as vehicles kept poning down from the west-end of the town to see the fire.

The alarm upon this occasion was not confined to London; at Dublin,* Leyden, Utrecht, Strasburg, Troyes, Rennes, and at Nantes, the same alarm was created, attended with a similar turn-out of the firemen, military, &c. This singular phenomenon appears to have been witnessed simultaneously at these, and many other places in England, France, Germany, and Prussia, having from 470 to 54o of north latitude, and being from 1o east to 80 west of Greenwich. It was not visible at Paris. It may be in the recollection of many of your readers that a similar appearance of

* An interesting account of this phenomena as seen at Dublin, and also at Leominster, appeared in No. 5 (Third Series), of the London and Edinburgh Philosophical Magazine.

the Aurora Borealis took place in November, 1835, a notice of which appeared in my last Report of London Fires.*

The present Report exhibits an increase of 93 fires over the previous year; the number of the consumed and considerably damaged is, however, smaller in proportion to the whole amount.

Of the 33 consumed, 8 fires were at such a distance from the nearest station, as to preclude the possibility of any of the London engines being on the spot time enough to arrest the flames at the commencement of their career.

The first of these fires occurred at two o'clock in the morning, on the 25th of January, at the Fountain public-house, kept by Mr. Poulten, in Stable-Yardstreet, Greenwich. The fire was discovered by the Police, and by their most praiseworthy exertions the lives of the inmates was almost miraculously preserved. Police serjeant R, 1, having obtained a scaffolding-pole, which he placed in an inclined position against the window, Mr. Poulten, his wife, and son, escaped by sliding down it. The populous towns of Deptford and Greenwich are so inefficiently protected as regards fire, that the London firemen and engines are always sent for, express, whenever a fire breaks out; their attendance upon the -present occasion was as prompt as circumstances would allow, and their exertions effected the preservation of the buildings on either side, although they arrived too -late to prevent the total destruction of the building in which the fire originated.

The second distant fire was that in the Pig-market, Finchley, at half-past ten o'clock at night, on the 8th of February, when a slaughter-house, stable, &c. were burnt to the ground before any engine from London could reach the spot, the distance being seven miles.

On the 22d of April, soon after midnight, a terrific fire broke out in the exItensive mills and granaries of Mr. Hall, at the High bridge, near Uxbridge. The reflection of the flames being seen at the west-end of the town, two of the London engines started off with post-horses, to render all possible assistance; they were, however, preceded by the engines from Uxbridge, Hillingdon, Wycomb, Staines, Bedfont, Hayes, Ealing, Windsor, &c.

* Vide vol. xxiv. p. 356.

The mills, which were almost entirely composed of wood, burned with the greatest fury, and rendered all the efforts made to save them wholly unavailing; the fire was, however, cut off from the outbuildings. The distance from town is about fifteen miles.

May 2nd. Another fire, at Finchley, rendered the firemen's presence necessary. This fire was the work of an incendiary, and in addition to a great destruction of property, involved the death of a fellowcreature. The premises belonged to Mr. W. Parberry, and were well known as the "Queen's Head" Inn. The flaines broke out soon after midnight, and about one o'clock, three of the London engines reached the spot, but the flames had gained so great an ascendancy, that the preservation of any portion of the building became impossible.

The next distant fire was that which destroyed Bellevue-house, Woodfordbridge, at three o'clock in the morning, October 18th. Although the distance from London is only eight miles, the building was totally destroyed before any intelligence of the fire reached town.

On Sunday, October 23rd, about eleven o'clock in the forenoon, a fire broke out in the premises of Mr. Pigott, cabinet-maker, George street, Richmond, which threatened the surrounding buildings with ine-vitable destruction. Five engines started off with post horses the moment the expresses reached the stations, but their services were happily rendered unnecessary by the prompt and effectual arrival of a large number of excellent engines belonging to the several towns, the nobility and gentry in the vicinity, which stopped the progress of the flames, although not till Mr. Pigott's and some adjoining premises had been destroyed. The distance is eleven miles.

Soon after midnight, on Thursday, November 3rd, a fire broke out at a gro cery and retail beer-shop belonging to Mr. Boswell, Fore-street, Edmonton. Immediate application was made for the London engines, and two of them were on the spot in an incredible short space of time, but too late to do more than save the adjoining buildings, which were at one period in great danger. This they succeeded in effecting. The distance, in this case, was six miles.

On the 9th of November, the White

Hart" inn and posting house, at Cranfordbridge, fifteen iniles from town, was destroyed by fire; one of the Fire-Establishment engines proceeded thither, but so long a time elapsed before the alarm was given in town, that the premises were totally destroyed some hours before the London firemen reached them.

In nine other cases, where total losses have ensued, the fires have happened in very small buildings, for the most part built of wood, and at an average distance of three miles from the nearest engine station.

Upon nine occasions, the premises on fire have been filled with such inflammable materials, and so completely ignited before the fire was discovered, as to render it quite impossible to save any portion of them from total destruction.

At two fires, one in Peter-street, Southwark, the other in Hanover-street, Rotherhithe, the houses fell down before the flames had gained any great ascendancy.

A delay in obtaining water occasioned three total losses, viz. one in Gibraltarrow, Lower-road, Deptford, on the 14th March; the other at Kennington-cross, on the 1st December; and the last, on the 31st December, in Ewer-street, Southwark.

One of the largest metropolitan fires occurred on Saturday, the 26th March, about ten o'clock at night, at Mr. Absalon's, No. 12, Old Bond-street. The fire broke out in a room on the second floor, from whence it spread with much rapidity; great exertions were made to cut off the communication with the Western Exchange, situated immediately in the rear of the burning premises; but owing to the difficulty in bringing the engines to bear upon the right quarter, the north corner of the Bazaar caught fire about half-past ten. The Bazaar being composed of highly combustible materials, the flames ran round it in an incredibly short space of time, and all attempts to save it became hopeless. The Bazaar communicated with the Burlington-arcade by an iron door inserted in an opening cut in the back wall; this door had been opened to facilitate the removal of goods at an early period of the fire, and in the confusion that afterwards prevailed, it was forgot to be shut. Through the opening thus unfortunately left, the flames rushed into Burlington-arcade, where they burned right and left with the utmost

fury. Two engines took up a station at the end of Burlington-arcade, in Piccadilly, to check the advance of the flames in that direction; at this spot there were two plugs, but unfortunately, on two different services, and the water not turned on to either. Much delay was thus occasioned, and the ladders and hatchets had been ordered up by Mr. Braidwood, to cut off the communication; meanwhile, a masterly movement had been effected by the junction of an extraordinary quantity of hose, which was led from an engine in Bond-street, through some houses and over the roofs of others, until it was brought through one of the skylights in the roof of the arcade, from whence a most effective stream of water arrested the progress of the flames. The other two engines soon after obtained water, and the further spread of the fire was effectually prevented. The destruction of property was immense, although the fire was comparatively of short duration.

The largest fire that has happened in London for many years, was that which broke out soon after two o'clock, on the morning of August 30th last, in the premises of Mr. Wilson, tea-dealer, in Wellington-street, London-bridge.

Several of the Establishment engines, with a strong muster of firemen, were very quickly on the spot, and could a supply of water have been procured, there is no doubt that the damage would have been confined to Mr. Wilson's premises. But before water could be obtained, the flames had gained such an ascendancy, as to be altogether uncontrollable. The adjoining buildings, to which the fire soon communicated, were of great magnitude, and extremely lofty, forming a mass of flame, the heat from which was so excessive as to defy approach; added to which, the firemen laboured under a grievous deficiency of water during the whole of the time the fire was raging. The flames were, however, ultimately vanquished after a long and arduous struggle. The destruction of property was immense, not more than about onefifth of which was insured.

It should be observed, that the awful spread of this fire was mainly attributable to the circumstance of the buildings being carried up, in gross violation of the legis lative enactments made for the express purpose of circumscribing the extent of such calamities; one of the warehouses