A fire of great magnitude, and at a late hour
this forenoon still =subdued, broke out last night in the Albion wharf, near to Blackfriars Bridge on the Surrey side of the river. The premises belong to Messrs. Routledge' steam saw-mill proprietors, and Mr. Rickman, bottle-merchant. Although a good supply of water was obtained, and, in addition to the land brigade, the float- ing steam fire-engine was, after some delay, moored alongside the wharf, the flames, fanned by a strong East wind, gathered head, and extended to Sir. John Rennie's factory. Unfortunately Mr. Thomas Jackson, son-in-law of Mr. Braidwood, was killed by the fall of a chimney-stack.
The novelty in the scene last night was the appearance of the river. Large- masses of ice and frozen snow, borne along by a flowing tide, were distinctly visible in the reflected glare of the flames. From Waterloo Bridge the Thames served as a foreground beyond which the two most conspicuous ob- jects were the fire and ruddy smoke on one side, and St. Paul's Cathedral on the other. The steam troop-ship Mauritius was totally destroyed by fire, yesterday, in the Southampton Docks,-it is suspected, by wilful agency. This is a serious loss, as the Mauritius was prepared to take out a large detachment of troops to the Crimea.
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