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Colonist, Volume XVII, Issue 1897, 6 April 1875, Page 4

Brunt. Up to half-past 10 o'clock the fire still held its own. As the snip was getting down very much'by the stern, owing to the tone of water that had been poured into her, orders were given to screw down all the cabin porlß on the lower deck. At length, when ten ieefc of water was measured in the hold, the fira showed signs of abating. At eleven o'clock the fire was beaten, but not until the water was awash over the tunuel. By a quarter past eleven'o'clock all danger waif over.' -How narrow the escape had been

iwas easily perceived when, the fire having been exticguished, the work of clearing the hold was commenced, and the oil'casks were hoisted on deck. The casks were charred and burned, and one of them so much so that a vigorous blow of the hand-might easily have driven in a couple of the staves. Had ' the fire been discovered five minutes later ! than it was, or had the engines failed for a i moment —and twice during the voyage, before the fire occurred, the engines got out of order and had to be stopped—the cask must have been burned through. As it waa a quarter of an inch of charred wood was the only obstacle to the oil taking fire. The quantity of cargo on board the Nile destroyed or rendered useless baa been very large, and the company's loss will be severe. The unanimous opinion of all the naval men on board the Nile is that her safety was due to her being divided into so many watertight compartments, of which there are no less than seven in the ship. Although any more serious catastrophe than the destruction of a large quantity of valuable cargo was avoided in the present instance, it must not be forgotten that over 200 lives were gravely imperilled by the negligent stowing of the hold. The passengers of the Nile subscribed among themselves a large sum for distribution among the crew, and a still larger sum to present a piece of plate to Captain Revett. On Christmas Day Captain Wells, as the representative of the passengers, presented to Captain Eevett an address which had been signed by all the passengers on board.

A correspondent of The Times writes from St. Petersburgh on January 16th: Several of the naval officers I have met here seem to think that the traditional superiority of the British Meet over those of any two other nations combined haa gradually disappeared, and whatever superiority of seamanship British saibrs may still possess, the ships Russia and France would in case of a sudden war assemble within a fortnight in the Channel would far overmatch any force the English Government could bring to oppose them in the same space of time. Statistics and Government returns are quoted to prove this, though the subject is always mentioned in a most friendly spirit towards England. The Eussian Navy has been entirely formed on the English model, the naval history of England is thoroughly well-known to the service here, and the officers of no other nation so warmly appreciate its glories ; but they seem to be decidedly of opinion that of late years the aim in England has been merely to keep ahead of the French, and that even in this respect the margin has been flowed sometimes to*be reduced to a dangerous extent. An American paper states that the King of the Sandwich Island, was delighted to to find at New Beford a number of whalers whom we had seen when at home. Some very old sailors paid their respects to him. One Captain Gardner, 99 years of age is stated to be the only survivor of the crew of the first whaler that called at the Sandwich Islands in 1800. At that time the Queen swam out to the ship. She was no more encumbered with dress than the fishes she passed. A good deal has happened since then. King David has just crossed the American continent loaded with furs aadin a Wagner car. Literacy.—The original manuscript of Gray's "Elegy in a Country Churchyard" will shortly (the Athenceum says) be sold by auction by Messrs Sotheby, Wilkinson, and Hodge. It is inscribed " Stanzas wrote in a Country Churchyard," and contains more verses than appeared in the printed poem, and several valuable emandations. The failure of Kyse and Cj., straw goods dealers, of Broadway, New York, for $1,500,000 is announced. Paper Blankets. —«A correspondent of the Times, desirous of alleviating the sufferings1 of the poor during the cold weather, suggests an old but effectual method of keeping the bed warm—viz.,—the use of " a paper blanket," which is easily made by sewing newspapers together, and placing it on the top of the blankets and underneath the counterpane. Certainly by this means newspapers will increavse the circulation.