DURHAM AND NORTHUMBERLAND, 45

absorbed in the fixed gloom of its anguish,hope presented one forlorn ray in which to ven-ture another trial. This, however, was unavail-ing ; when, insensible to the firm philosophyof stronger minds, they turned the poignancyof their feelings into distrust and imputationupon the proprietors and viewers of themine.

Notwithstanding this, the owners, after wil-lingly offering to adopt any means which mightbe suggested as best applicable to the distress-ing circumstance, were compelled, when themine had remained three days in a state ofcomplete suffocation, totally tp exclude the at-mospheric air, and thus extinguish the fire.In two days, however, the immense weight ofclay and other materials thrown into the pit,and suspended by ropes and scaffolding, brokefrom their hold and precipitated to the bot-tom ; a second scaffolding was erected whichshortly shared the same fate; but the thirdwhich was made upon a more substantial prin-ciple answered every purpose, and continuedto exclude the air until the mine was re-opened.

This was effected, after a variety of prepa-rations, on the 7 th of July. On the pits’ beingpierced, one of them emitted a thick volume