A STUPID JOKE.

Press, Volume XLVI, Issue 7263, 24 January 1889, Page 6

A STUPID JOKE.

A reprehensible trick was recently perpetrated shortly after midnight in the Grand Hotel, Spring street, Melbourne, and caused a serious panic there. The Age says that about 12.10 a.m. the majority of the inmates having retired to rest, an unearthly yell was heard, followed immediately afrcrwards by screams of "Fire! fiie!" The screams came from a room in the southern portion of the fourth story, and were of such a piercing character as to rouse the inmates out of their sleep. The night porter rushed upstairs, and, seeing a brilliant red light shining through the windows facing the west, added to the excitement by calling out loudly that the place was on fire. In a moment the main corridor was filled with ladies rushing about en deshabille, screaming louc ly for help, followed by a number of children, who in-' tensified the con fusion by crying loudly. One lady fainted as she endeavored to ge downstairs, and was trafnpled upon by those who were rushing after her in their anxiety to get out of the. building. A num. ber of gentlemen, amongst whom were several of the American baseball players, endeavored to discover where the fire was, and found that the intense red glare died away as suddenly as it had burst out. A closer inspection proved that it muse have been caused by someone burning limelight material. When the alarm was first raised, a Mr Manning, one of the American baseball players, opened the window of his room and looked out into a large vacant space in the centre of the hotel to ascertain the cause of the confusion and screaming. No sooner had he done so than he was struck a severe blow on the head with an empty whiskey bottle, evidently dropped from the flat above. His head was cut open, and he fell to the floor in an insensible condition. One of his comra-las sleeping in the same room went to his assistance, and finding him bleeding profusely from a severe cut on the head, sent for a medical man, and Dr. Charles tfyan soon arrived on the scene. On regaining consciousness it was found that Mr Manning had fortunately escaped serious injury, as the bottle in its descent striking him on the side of the head and glancing off, merely tore the flesh from the scalp. In the meantime the ladies, of whom there were about sixty, several of them in a helpless state, owing to nervous excitement, were informed of the cause of the alarm, and though their fears were quieted they returned°to their rooms with great reluctance. Many of the gentlemen residing in the establishment expressed great indignation at the stupid "joke," and when the manager of the hotel appeared a short time after the i excitement had abated, they demanded that a search should be made for the offender. From the accounts given he hesitated to act at once, and the result was that the perpetrator escaped detection*