A Burglar Caught by a Skeleton & Other Singular Tales from the Victorian Press (43 page)

Shocking Ice Accident in Regent’s Park.

Forty Persons Drowned

About three o’clock on Tuesday, while a large number of persons were skating on the ornamental water in Regent’s Park the whole sheet of ice, several hundred yards long and probably two hundred and fifty yards across, first bending in the middle, gave way, and broke into myriads of pieces.

Scarcely any of the 200 or more on the ice escaped immersion. Some managed to float on large isolated pieces of ice to the shore; many were struggling in the water for their lives, and when all seen struggling had been rescued it was generally supposed that a number, variously estimated at from twenty to fifty, were still in the water.

Efforts were at once made by means of the few boats at hand to drag for the bodies, and one by one they were recovered, though after such terrible delay as rendered resuscitation almost hopeless.

The actual scene of the catastrophe was the Ornament Water, immediately in front of the Essex Place. Upon this, during the whole day, there was a large concourse of skaters assembled, many of whom were attracted thither probably by the fineness and smoothness of the ice.

At four o’clock the number was diminished to a few hundreds, but the sport was spiritedly maintained. The first and only signal of danger was the breaking of the ice as near as possible in the middle, where one boy only was immersed. Almost simultaneously the whole sheet of ice gave way.

In a moment the scene was transformed to one of the most heartrending character. A few minutes sufficed to clear the surface of any visible sign of life. The little island, and the hither shore, were bestrewed with drenched persons, some gratulating themselves on their fortunate escape, others alarmed for the safety of some friend with whom he had just before been sharing his enjoyments.

We may mention one melancholy incident of the disaster. A gentleman living in Euston Square, whose body was recovered by the boatmen, though at first thought to be dead, revived under the treatment he received, and his first exclamation was, ‘Where is my son? my only son?’ – who, it appears, had been skating with his father, and who it is feared is among the drowned.

Up to six o’clock, half-a-dozen bodies only had been recovered, but the boatmen were still at work by torchlight dragging for the bodies. The scene around was then of a most painful character.

Men and women were there in grief, and anxious after the safety of relatives; scores were still left on the island, unable to get ashore, suffering no little misery in their drenched condition.

The Derbyshire and Chesterfield Herald
, January 19, 1867

Strange Story of a Broken Wooden Leg

At the Gingerbread Fair yesterday (writes the Paris correspondent of the London
Evening News
) a young man named Thinet was imprudent enough to venture too close to a velocipede roundabout, and being caught by the leg in the machinery, was whirled along for several yards head downwards, and picked up in a fainting condition, with a broken leg.

On the way to the chemist’s shop near at hand Thinet became completely unconscious, and remained so until the arrival of the surgeon. While the latter was cutting away the rags of trouser from the broken limb Thinet came to, and in spite of the pain in which he presumably was in, began to laugh.

The broken leg was a wooden one, and he had escaped with nothing more severe than a bad headache and a bruise or two.

The queerest part of the adventure was, however, the arrival on the scene of another man who, while peacefully taking a glass of absinthe at a little cafe opposite the merry-go-round, was severely wounded in the face by the other half of the leg which had flown off at a tangent, broken a window, and hit him on the forehead.

The Manchester Evening News
, April 12, 1899

Extraordinary Accident

A singular accident has occurred at Wolverhampton. A domestic servant, named Hannah Bate, in the employ of Mr Willcock, builder, was in the kitchen of her master’s house, when a portion of the flooring immediately over the soft water cistern suddenly gave way, and the girl fell into the well beneath, which contained six feet of water.

Mr Willcock, hearing the girl’s screams for help, ran into the kitchen, but, not perceiving what had happened, he too fell into the cistern. Fortunately, a policeman passing by, hearing the calls for assistance, entered the house, and, finding what had happened, set to work to rescue the master and servant.

Whilst so engaged another portion of the covering, on which he was standing, gave way, and he also went down into the water. The services of a second policeman were quickly procured, and he, with assistance, succeeded in drawing the two men and the girl out of the cistern.

The girl is suffering from shock to the system, but Willcock and the policeman are none the worse for the wetting.

The Illustrated Police News
, February 13, 1886

A Peculiar Accident

Madame Coanda, wife of the military attaché of the Roumanian Legation in Paris is the victim of a peculiar accident. She was on a visit to the Comtesse d’Ormesson, who resides in the Avenue d’Iona. In the house is a lift for the convenience of those residing in the upper flats, but without any attendant specially set apart to work it, the practice being for residents and visitors to put it into motion themselves.

Madame Coanda entered the apparatus and started it, but on reaching the flat occupied by the Comtesse she became flurried and forgot to stop it. The lift continued its ascent. Madame Coanda, who is evidently unacquainted with the working of these useful inventions, become frightened that when it reached the top it would turn over and fall with her to the ground.

In this she was mistaken, as it would have stopped automatically the moment it reached the highest floor. When the lift arrived at the next storey she jumped, in her terror, through the glass door, and fell, fainting and bleeding, on the floor of the corridor.

The Comtesse d’Ormesson sent for a doctor speedily, who found Madame Coanda injured considerably, and cut about the face by pieces of broken glass. She was conveyed afterwards to her own residence in the Rue Marbeuf, and the medical man attending her states that she is recovering satisfactorily.

The Huddersfield Chronicle and West Yorkshire Advertiser
, July 12, 1890

Extraordinary Freak of a Lad

On Tuesday morning some consternation was felt in Plantation Street, Rhymney, by an extraordinary explosion.

It appears that in a house at the lower part of the street were five children, among whom was a lad apparently about 14 or 15 years old. This wicked urchin by some means got possession of a quantity of blasting powder, which he threw, bit by bit, into the fire.

Becoming bolder, and not heeding the warning of a girl, he threw the bag of powder, and all its contents, into the fire. It immediately exploded, causing such a severe shock that the adjoining houses shook to their foundations, and, in some instances, beds were entirely lifted from their places, and their occupants terribly shaken and frightened.

The young delinquent, together with the girl and a baby, have been severely burnt about their heads and faces. The house was scorched, and literally riddled with gunpowder marks.

Two children at the time of the explosion were lying in bed, and had not help been procured immediately – the door having been shut by the young culprit running away – both would, undoubtedly, have been suffocated by the smoke which filled the house.

Supplement to the Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser
, October 10, 1874