A fire broke ont_on Wednesday at 12.25.m, at the back of the French Concession, in the block of Chinese houses lately put opposite the premises of the Southern Methodist Mission. There was some delay in giving the alarm, which was not rung i the English Sgttlement till 12.45; and within the interchl the whole block had been destroyed, except a thin fringe of rather better built houses on the north side. The houses burned were constructed almost entirely of straw and bamboo, and some idea of the rapidity with which they burned may be gathered from the fact that the houses we have referred to as saved, wore hardly injured. The blaze seems to have exploded and finished; not lasting Jong enough to catch buildings which required a little time tought. All was over, so far as this block was concerned, before any of the Fire Brigade had time'to arrive.
There was, however, ample work left for the firemen; the wind had carried showers of sparks across the creek, and set fire to the flimsy houses of a scarcely better class on the opposite side. Those who know the neighborhood will remember that there are two narrow roads leading into the country here, one in continuation ut the Rue clu Consular, the other nearly opposite. the jas Works, each crossing the creek by a bridge. The fire caught the houses immediately south of the latter road, and the first Miholoongs who arrived were just in time to throw down a few huts and some fencing, which in five minutes would have carried the flames across the road to the large village stretching away to the Defence Creek. This was saved. The "Deluge" now coming up got to work on the bridge next the fire, while the "Victoria" stood on the bridge' near Probst's garden, and both throw powerful streams into the burning block through an opening ent by the Miholoongs, No. 1 at the same time drawing water from the Defence Creek, and several other engines giving material from the opposite side, on the Rue clu Consular bridge. The heat and smoke were intense, and the stench from burning tallow, pigs, bones, and rubbish, intolerable; several firemen we are sorry to hear were completely overcome and obliged to leave the ground. Fortunately it was soon about 2.15 the fire had been got only a dozen or so of houses on lide having been burnt.
Even late yesterday afternoon, the smell was sufficiently bad to give an idea of what it must have been at the height of the fire. Those of our readers who know the locality will remember that there is a great straw trafic along this creek, and many of the houses burned were stuffed wit this combustible. The Chinese say it was one of these which caught fire. There were also some slaughter-houses in. the block; and a number of pigs and sheep in pen; the latter seem to have got loose ind were wandering, after the fire, along the Sikawei road; but' the pigs were less fortunate or less active, and their carcases were lying on the ground by the dozen, large and" small, while several other poor scorched brutes were lying about in nooks to which they had dragged themselves. The Chinese had a report that one or two little children were killed, and. this is not unlikely from the rapidity with which the flames spread,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.