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Considerable consternation and alarm was experienced in the town and district on Friday last by reason of the terrible and awe-inspiring flashes of lightning and heavy crackling pearls of thunder which accompanied the storm on the afternoon and evening.
Men who have travelled much profess to having never experienced a worse storm than this, not even in the tropics, and their experience can well be believed.
Prior to the bursting of the storm, the heavens were dark with black clouds which seemed to be making their way down the Trent Valley, and the atmosphere was close and oppressive.
Flashes of forked lightning could be seen shooting zig-zag across the horizon, long before the storm broke in Newark.
But just before 4 o'clock the first outburst came, and there was a smart downpour of rain.
In many business premises the gas had to be lighted owing to the gloom which had come on.
The lighting played most vividly, crossing the sky in every direction.
The rain increased in volume until it fell down in sheets, and the streets were quickly flooded, the gulleys being unable to take the storm water fast enough.
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The 15th annual exhibition of plants, fruits and vegetables, under the auspices of the Southwell Horticultural Society, took place on Lowe's Wong on Thursday.
There was a record attendance.
Entries in the chief departments of the show were well up to the average, and the produce staged was fit to grace any competition.
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Yesterday afternoon the annual tea in connection with the Newark Parish Church took place at the Town Hall. The tables were charmingly arranged for the occasion with a wealth of floral decoration, and there was a full attendance, including a fair sprinkling of gentlemen of the choir and congregation.
A bounteous spread had been provided by the liberality of the ladies connected with the Church.
Wesleyans in the village of North Scarle laid the memorial stones of their new chapel on Thursday last.
The church, pictured above, is still in regular use.
Glorious weather prevailed and no one can remember such a large company present at any previous meeting in connection with Wesleyan Methodism in the village.
The site of the new chapel is exceedingly well adapted for the purpose, fronting towards the main street in the village, and with accommodation for 150 people, and a schoolroom which may be enlisted on special occasions.
The whole cost is estimated at £1,022 and the building should be completed by the 31st of October.
Mrs Barlow laid the first stone and in doing so explained that it was in memory of her mother, whose name (Mrs Curtis) will long be remembered in the village.
Mr B. Dixon, one of the first scholars of the Sunday School, laid his stone. All the children who had collected money for the chapel each approached the stone in turn and deposited his or her bag of money on it and in return were each presented with a purse.
Everyone who attended received a mallet inscribed with their name and the words "On the occasion of the laying of the memorial stone of the North Scarle Wesleyan Chapel. July 12th 1900."
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One of the fiercest fires which has been recorded in Newark for some time past happened in Boundary Road on Thursday last.
Mr J. T. Lee, mineral water manufacturer, carries on his business there, and it was in his stable and stores that the conflagration broke out.
The cause can only be explained on the theory of spontaneous combustion.
The site of the blazing buildings, as seen from the back of the houses in Spring Gardens, was a lurid one.
The charred skeleton of the building remaining testifies to the fierceness of the fizzle.
Fortunate in the weather and happy in their choice of entertainment, the mayor and mayoress added to the clat and popularity of his worship's term of office by the At Homes they gave on Wednesday and Thursday last.
The impossibility of receiving all their guests at once necessitated the invitations being divided over Wednesday and Thursday, and a kindly and factual discretion was exercised, so that those for whom business makes Wednesday an impossible day for social amenities and pleasures were able to accept the invitation for Thursday.
The cards of invitation were reproduced from a sketch of Barnbygate house and gardens and will be treasured by many as an artistic souvenir of a pleasant afternoon.
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We print today a most interesting letter from a Newark man, giving a graphic account of the scene at the capture of the Nottinghamshire militia.
We have all been anxious to know under what circumstances the regiment was secured by the Boers, and the narrative of Private Brewster supplies the details.
Private Brewster says that while the Boers were pouring shells into them the militia "stuck to it like bricks, and it was not until the colonel was mortally wounded, after the enemy's artillery had been playing upon them for six hours, that the order was given to put up the white flag."
Everyone who knew him at Newark will rejoice at the distinction which Mr Nat Gould has deservedly achieved as one of the most prolific and most widely read novelists of the day.
None of his friends has seen his rise with rapid strides up the ladder of literary fame with greater satisfaction or have felt more proud of his success than his old comrades at this office where his student days as a journalist were spent and his earliest efforts as a writer were made.
On leaving Newark Mr Gould took up an important position on the Australian Press for which his talents eminently qualified him, and it was in this flourishing colony that he developed his remarkable reputation not only as a newspaper man but more especially as a writer of fiction.
His first venture, The Double Event, sold more than 20,000 copies. His latest success is Sporting Sketches.
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A very handsome timepiece was presented on Friday to Miss Edwards who has just terminated her engagement at the Wesleyan Day Schools after a lengthy period of 17 years.
The award was given by the scholars, teachers and managers in recognition of the excellent work she has done as a member of staff.
Miss Edwards acknowledged the gift with words of thanks, and with three hearty cheers the session was closed.
