SAVED FROM THE FLAMES.
When a boy of six years of age, the present Duke of Leimster, the premier peer of Ireland, had a narrow escape from death by fire. He was staying with his grandfather, the Earl of Feverham, at Duncombe Hall, Yorkshire, when it caught fire during the night. The future duke was saved only by being wrapped in a wet blanket and carried down a ladder, which was more than scorched by the flames which burst through the window. Strangely enough one of his ancestors buildings, hut had been constructed with the design of making them as fire-resistant as possible. Owing to the treacherous nature of the river bed, it was impossible to erect truly fireproof houses, as the spiles on which they had to be built could not he relied upon to hear the weight of such heavy buildings. The new ferryhouse of the Delaware. Lackawanna and Western railroad, on which work has already been begun, will be constructed with an eye to securing greater protection against tire in the future. In external appearance it will be substantially the same as the future, but with better internal fittings for resisting the flames. There will be a more extensive structural use of steel, and longitudinal concrete fire walls will he built from the fire level to below the water line at the north end separating the Lackawanna from the Erie, and also at the south end to separate the Lackawanna from the Central Railroad of Xew Jersey building. Two similar longitudinal tire walls will be built beneath the new structure, these four to act as barriers to a possible spread of fire in future, and to guard against a repetition of the recent disaster experience, when the fire spread so rapidly beneath the flooring and proved difficult to subdue for that reason.
