with pulling burning logs of wood out of the flames with his mouth.
Although he had his legs broken half a dozen times, he remained
faithful to his pursuit; till at last, having received a severer hurt
than usual, he was being nursed by the firemen beside the hearth, when
a "call" came, and at the well-known sound of the engine turning out,
the poor brute made a last effort to climb upon it, and fell back dead
in the attempt. He was stuffed and preserved at the station, and was
doomed, even in death, to prove the fireman's friend: for one of the
engineers having committed suicide, the Brigade determined to raffle
him for the benefit of the widow, and such was his renown that he
realized £123 10s. 9d.

Mr. Samuel Brown, of the Institute of Actuaries, after analyzing the
returns of Mr. Braidwood, as well as the reports in the "Mechanics'
Magazine," by Mr. Baddeley, who has devoted much attention to the
subject, drew up some tables of the times of the year, and hours of
the day, at which fires are most frequent. It would naturally be
supposed that the winter would show a vast preponderance over the
summer months; but the difference is not so great as might be
expected. December and January are very prolific of fires, as in
these months large public buildings are heated by flues, stoves, and
boilers; but the other months share mishaps of the kind pretty
equally, with the exception that the hot and dry periods of summer and
autumn are marked by the most destructive class of conflagrations,
owing to the greater inflammability of the materials, than in the
damper portions of the year. This, from the desiccating nature of the
climate, is especially the case in Canada and the United States, and,
coupled with the extensive use of wood in building, has a large
influence in many parts of the Continent. The following list of all
the great fires which have taken place for the last 100 years will