2G 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1813. 



about the 9th instant. It appears 

 there were 55 souls on board the 

 Isabella at the time she was 

 ■wrecked, among whom are the 

 following passengers : — 



" Captain Drury 73rd regiment, 

 wife and family; Mr. Holt (Irish 

 rebel), ditto, ditto; sir Henry 

 Hayes, and three females, returned 

 convicts ; Mr. Madison ; three 

 marines and their wives. 



" The following have arrived 

 here : 



" Captain Brooks, master of a 

 merchant vessel ; lieutenant Lun- 

 die (army) ; a marine, and three 

 seamen. 



4. This morning, about five 

 o'clock, a fire was discovered to 

 have broken out in the fourth 

 story of that large building in 

 Skinner-street, which was the 

 capital prize in the city lottery, 

 valued at 25,000/., and which has 

 since been called the Commercial 

 Hall. It was occupied by a wine 

 company, at the head of which are 

 Messrs. Abbott and Brothers, by 

 the new-invented brewing utensil 

 manufactory, and others. The 

 upper part was held as chambers 

 by professional men, and some few 

 merchants ; and it is stated to have 

 had at least 20 different inhabitants. 

 From what cause the fire originat- 

 ed we have not learnt ; but it 

 spread with such rapidity, that by 

 half-past six the whole building 

 (six stories high) was completely 

 down, the back walls falling into 

 the body of the building, and the 

 front wall into the street, by which, 

 we are sorry to hear, two firemen 

 were severely bruis3d. A curious 

 circumstance took place during 

 the fire. A cat that had escaped 

 from some of the apartments, was 

 seen by the bye-standers on a part 



of the building that would inevit* 

 ably soon be in flames ; and all 

 retreat being cut off, the only way 

 to escape was to take a leap, but 

 this the poor animal durst not 

 attempt. As the flames approach- 

 ed her a gentleman offered one of 

 the firemen five guineas if he would i 

 save the cat : the fireman was in- 

 duced to make the attempt, and ' 

 with great difficulty succeeded, by 

 getting behind, and with the weight 

 of water from the pipe in his hand, , 

 forcing her to take the leap, when 

 she fell into the midst of the spec- 

 tators from the top of the 5th story. 

 The fireman immediately received 

 his promised reward. 



5. A most dreadful accident 

 happened at the new %vorks be- 

 longing to the London Dock Com- 

 pany, at the Hermitage-bridge, 

 Wapping. As Mr. Thomas, the 

 engineer, in the evening, was in- 

 specting the machinery, he per- 

 ceived that one of the double keys 

 which fasten the top of the large 

 lifting-pump-rods was loose ; he 

 ordered round a man to him upon 

 the platform, to drive in the key 

 tighter, which the poor fellow im- 

 prudently attempted to do without 

 first stopping the steam engine : it 

 appears, that in striking at the key 

 he missed his blow, and his arm 

 getting entangled between the 

 arms of the pump-wheel, his head 

 was suddenly drawn in, and in less 

 than one moment he fell back- 

 wards dead against Mr. Thomas, 

 with his head literally crushed to 

 atoms. Mr. Thomas's clothes and 

 person were almost covered with 

 the poor fellow's blood and brains. 

 The man has left a wife and three 

 children to lament his loss. 



7. This morning, as early as five 

 o'clock, a crowd of brokers and 



