The fire at the Pantechnicon proved quite as disastrous as
in a hurried paragraph on Friday we had anticipated. The building was erected in 1830, had gradually increased, and was supposed to be fire-proof, the principle of its construction being that every exposed surface not of brick should be coated with iron. Iron pillars ran right up to the roof, and were covered with fire-proof composition, and the stairs were all of stone. The consequence was, that when the fire fairly got hold the iron became red-hot, the water at first turned to steam, and nearly the entire building was destroyed. It was days before the fire was fully got under, and as the warehouses received a large share of the valuables of the richest quarter of London, the damage done was excessive, though for reasons stated elsewhere the amount is not likely to be known. It is said, half in joke, but half in earnest, that the loss is one of the consequences of the Dissolution, and that " indirect claims" might be advanced against Mr. Gladstone. What is certain, is that had Parliament assembled at the usual time, Belgravia and Mayfair would have come back to London, and most of the stored-up valuables would have been withdrawn. As it is, the Grosvenor family have only to be thankful that the wind was in -their favour—was, in fact, a Whig wind—or the fire might have made short work of their London property.
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