Savile House: Why Was It Burnt?

of gas following the explosion—as in the case at Liverpool—or to a rapidity of communication of flame greater even than that which is ordinary , should even now suggest official investigation . Inquests on fires , after having been revived—and one of them , that on the fire of Covent Garden

Theatre , having led to knowledge of possible causes of fires—seem to have again fallen into disuse , unless where there is loss of life . We venture to assert that . what was seen by ourselves and others , previously to the arrival of the engines , at the fire in Leicester-squaredeserves some further

, attention , at least with the object of greater care in the gas arrangements , as in the construction , of many classes of buildings . There is another circumstance to be noted of the fire in Leicester-square , not less important than any other that we have alluded to . Although

almost immediately after the manifestation of fire in the second or principal floor of Savile House , the whole of that story was glowing and crackling like a furnace fed with wood , it was very long before the fire got to the story above . What was the construction of the flooring we are not aware , but it could scarcely have been such as that of the commoner kind of London house . We have heard

several statements from persons who witnessed the fire , and each has included surprise at what indeed was sufficient to sui-prise ourselves . The case affords one more piece of evidence that a floor may offer considerable resistance .

We may mention here that there is an invention , Nickson & Waddingham ' s " Patent Slate Ground for Plaster , "—once noticed by us in a , review of the materials and manufactures at the Arhitectural Exhibition—which , besides other advantages over wooden laths , has the property of

fire-resistance . The secretary of the Patent Plaster Foundation Company , at Manchester , has lately written to us saying that on the evening of the 20 th ult ., a fire occuringin certain offices in that town , in Faulkner-street , and of which the ceiling and partitions were plastered on the slate ground

, the fire was confined to the one room , and did not touch the joists on flooring above , though a wooden beam below the ceiling was burnt to adepth of 2 in ., and the whole of the partitions and fittings , and a joiner ' s bench and tools , were destroyed . The actual damage did not exceed thirty pounds .

The offices are in a new warehouse , and had been locked up at about eight o ' clock in the evening . In conclusion : the destruction of buildings by fire should be made to result in some accurate

knowledge of circumstances which cause the calamity , and of all those which induce the rapidity of a conflagration , and eventually in an improved system of construction . Unfortunately the most important data for any questions which there are , are to be gathered only at the time of outbreak

of a fire , and within a short interval after , or before the fire-brigade and persons competent to form opinions have had time to arrive .

Great Triennial Handel Festival. Crystal Palace, June, 1865.

GREAT TRIENNIAL HANDEL FESTIVAL . CRYSTAL PALACE , JUNE , 1865 .

We extract the following from the prospectus of the Crystal Palace for the ensuing season , believing itmay prove of interest to our musical readers : — The Great Haudel Festivals at the Crystal Palace , by their bold and striking originality , have become an acknowledged public requirement . Their vast extent and comprehensive features have

earned for them a memorable position iu an agecharacterized by the graudeur of its discoveries , inventions , and appliances . The triennial character which the Handel Festivals have assumed gives to each recurrence the charm of novelty . Combined with this , the adoption of every

improvement experience can dictate , ensures as years roll on , a hearty welcome , not only from former patrons , but from those who , with appetites whetted in the interval by the fame of the preceding Festival , ardently desire themselves to be present at the cominggreat uudertakiug .

Originating in honest commemorative spirit desirous of placing the master-works of the greatest of musical composers before the public in such a manner as should give tbe Handel Commemoration of 1 S 59 a distinctive feature , it was fortunate that , occurring aa it did in au era marked by great diffusion of

knowledge , and by rapid interchange of thought and personal intercourse , the period should also be characterized by such increased practice of the Musical Art as to place at the disposal of those desirous to honour Handel facilities and means unknown to , and unattainable bythen-predecessors in this labour of love .

, It is fortunate also that Handel ' s works possessed that particular speciality of grandeur iu performance , which enabled the opportunities of the present day to be so advantageously made use of , that—unlike other Commemorations—additional lustre resulted even to

Ins fame , by the Commemoration of 1859 . By that collossal represention of those great masterpieces , " Mesiah , " "Israel in Egypt , " & c—their sublimity more fully realized because more adequately displayed —they have become more than ever the musical household gods of the English people .

Reverenced and cherished for upwards of a century as Handel's " Messiah" has b § en , from the monarch on the throne to the humble cottagers of Lancashire and Yorkshire , it may be said with truth , that the Handel Festivals have invested the halo surrounding the " Sacred Oratorio" with additional lustre . Of that stupendous conception"Israel in Et" it

, gyp , may with equal truth be affirmed , that through its interpretation by thousands of enthusiastic executants in 1 S 59 its giant power was for the first time fully recognised and its magnificence appreciated , aud that it thus attained that hold on general estimation which it nowto the credit of this countryso

com-, , pletely enjoys . It is not alone the extended arrangements aud perfect organization of these Festivals , elevating them as this does above all other Handelian performances , which has led to their triennial celebration . Essential as this has beenit would have been

insuffi-, cient without great pecuniary success . It must be clear that , much as recurring Handel Festivals might be desired by musical enthusiasts , the very heavy liabilities and obligations which they in-