Mar.] 



CHRONICLE. 



35 



and abominable crime was perpe- 

 trated, for which a number of 

 unhappy wretches have paid the 

 forfeit of their hves. There, 

 however, no religious feud ex- 

 isted, the sufferers and the per- 

 petrators were all of the same 

 religion — all were Roman Catho- 

 lics. A brave man had defended 

 his house successfully against the 

 assault of midnight ruffians, and 

 he afterwards appealed to the 

 laws of his country for their de- 

 served punishment. Hence he 

 became the object of a wide ex- 

 tended combination for venge- 

 ance, which was wreaked upon 

 him, and upon all his family, 

 under circumstances of horrible 

 atrocity. There is no effect 

 without a cause, and it were 

 much to be wished that we could 

 trace the source of so foul a con- 

 spiracy against the peace and 

 security of social order." 



Mar. 1. — A few minutes be- 

 fore six o'clock, at the moment 

 the watchmen were leaving their 

 posts, an alarm of fire was given 

 at the house of Mr. Wheater 

 (late Mr. Cuffe), grocer, No. 

 460, Strand, corner of Hewit's- 

 court, nearly opposite Hunger- 

 ford- street. Shouts of " Fire !" 

 became so general from one end 

 of the Strand to the other, that 

 in a few minutes after the first 

 alarm, a sight of the most heart- 

 rending description took place : 

 — men and women were seen 

 rushing out of doors in their 

 night-clothes, and children actu- 

 ally in a state of nudity. At the 

 house of Mr. Wheater, a sight 

 more dreadful was witnessed ; at 

 the front window, second-floor, 

 was observed Mrs. Wheater, with 

 a child in her arm ; she leaned 



out of the window, holding the 

 child by its clothes for a consi- 

 derable time, endeavouring to 

 excite the attention of persons 

 underneath to catch tlie child. 

 She dropped the infant, and it 

 fell upon the heads of the crowd ; 

 at the moment she loosed the 

 child, a blaze and volume of 

 smoke rushed through the window 

 where Mrs. Wheater stood ; she 

 was not afterwards seen, and 

 therefore must have fallen a 

 victim to the flames. The child 

 was only a few months old, and 

 was sucking at her breast. In 

 about a minute after the child 

 dropped from the window, one 

 of the shopmen of Mr. Wheater, 

 whose name is Tasker, was seen 

 at the window of the third floor, 

 which was completely enveloped 

 in fire and smoke; seeing no hopes 

 of relief from his perilous situa- 

 tion, he threw himself out of the 

 window ; he fell upon his head, 

 which was cut open, his limbs 

 were broken, and he instantly 

 expired ; the body was carried to 

 St. Martin's Workhouse. Be- 

 fore it was carried from the 

 ground, another of Mr. Wheater's 

 shopmen, named Lloyd, fell upon 

 the pavement ; he had thrown 

 himself out of the third floor 

 back window ; his fall was broke 

 by liis dropping upon a projec- 

 tion, but he was injured so dread- 

 fully, that no hopes are enter- 

 tained of his recovery. He was 

 carried to the shop of Mr. Watts, 

 chymist, in the neighbourhood, 

 who ordered the man to be taken 

 to Westminster Infirmary (as he 

 could render him no service), 

 which was accordingly done. At 

 the back of the house Mr. Wheater 

 wa^ found, nearly insensible on 

 D 2 th« 



