SINGULAR AND FATAL ACCIDENT IN ALGERIA.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5475, 14 October 1878, Page 3

SINGULAR AND FATAL ACCIDENT IN ALGERIA.

Tho town of Constantine (in Algeria) has lately been the' scene of a novel and rather peculiar disaster, which might have been laughed at had it not unhappily caused the death of an unoffending inhabitant. The cause of this mishap was that same mischievous agent, alcohol, against which Sir. Wilfred Lawson and his friends inveigh, but the way in which its evil effects were produced was not that which they are in the habit of denouncing. It seems from the account given in the Itepublican of that town that a certain Maltese wine dealer domiciled at Constantine was transferring a quantity of absinthe from a cask into a smaller vessel. Ho chose to smoko his pipe during the operation, and in so doing to run a risk of which ho was probably pretty well aware, however little an Englishman might be expected to know about the inflammable qualities of tho liquor. If there was any doubt iu his mind it was soon ■ cleared away when the running stream of absinthe ignited, and tho cask exploded, blowing the bottom part of ; the woodwork into the street, : Tho mau had the presence of mind to push tho flaming cask away from him , and roll it out of. tho way of his wine store, but was only just able then to prevent a general conflagration. In tho meantime the bottom of the cask, flying half across the street, knocked down an Arab street porter,. who foil into tho gutter, now filled with blazing liquid. His clothes in-

stantly became steeped in it, and burst: into flames, and the unlucky man, though ho rushed to the nearest pump, was iatally burnt before the water could bo applied. As for the remaining content* of the cask, they made their! way down the steep street like a stream of lava, leaping up many yards in-the air, and threatening the house on each side with (conflagration/ *\ he accident will probably induce the good people of Constantine, and perhaps of some other towns, to put restrictions on the vagaries of spirit sellers who bottle their drmk*°in the!street. In colder climates there would not perhaps be ao much danger from alcohol even izi its pure state, -But it is rather disquieting to think what would occur if a small misadventure should one day set light to a great store of such liquids in London or. any -other big.city. /