The Delawarean, and farmers' and mechanics' advertiser. (Wilmington, Del.) 183?-18??, 1836-12-17

years, of the utter absurdity and inn
providence Of the structures to which
the archives, records, and Govern
ment accounts have been hitherto for
the most part con6ded
The first alarm of FIRE was given
by Mr.. Grown, a Messenger, who
usually sleeps in the room connected
with the City Post-office (tbe Post
masters own room.) The clerks
had been at work, asserting the Mails,
until half hast two O'Clock, when one
of the persons belonging to the Office
(Mr. Lansdalel passed out ofthe East
door, and along the whole front ofthe
building, without discovering any
thing to give rise to suspicion of
danger. Not long after three o'clock
Mr., Crown was reused from a light
slumber by the smell of smoke
Opening the door Of the City Post.
Office, he perceived a dense smoke,
without any visible appearance of
fire. He gave the alarm Instantly,
first rousiug Mr., Cox, one of the
Clerks, who slept in a back room ad-
joining the Post Office, and who,
coming out of the door of his room,
passed along the whole of the long
room with difficulty, through the
smoke, hearing the fire cracking, but
being able to see nothing. The
watchmen in the body of the building,
some distance from the City Post
Office, had perceived nothing Of the
smoke, until they, also, were alarmed
by Mr.. Crown.
The heM ofthe night when all this
took place being one at which the
whole world is buried in the deepest
sleep, it was found almost impossible
to spread the alarm of fire. One eff
the church bolls began to wiring, but
the ringer, not seeing any fame,
ceased ringing almost as soon as he
began, and it was full half hour be-
fore the alarm bells were rang, and
more than that time before an engine
or bucket Of water could be COM
manded, AS it was, the fire had its
own way, and was at last seen in the
vault or cellar Immediately under the
delivery window of the City Post
Office; followed shortly afterwards
by flames from the windows of the
latter, and, within five minutes after
wards, by flames from the roof, the
fire having crcpt up along the stair.
cases or partitions TO the top of the
building before il broke gu. below.
From the moment of the flames
bursting out from the lower windows,
it was obvious that all hope ofsaving
the building was in vain, In little
more THAI an hour the whole interior
Of the building and its contents were
destroyed.
The boOks of the General Post OF
fee were all, or nearly all, saved, ex-
erions having been made for their
safety from nearly the first moment
Of the alarm; but a mass of papers.
sc. belonging to the Office were de-
s,royed- Not any thing was saved
from the Patent Office or the City
Fost-OAice, the volume of the smoke
preventing any body from penetrating
the latter, so as to save any thing.
As to the origin of the fire, it is
impossible to say any thing, for no
thing seems 10 be known of it, except
that it was in a cellar or vault, in
which pine wood and coal were stow.
ed, all which were probably in a
state ofignition before the fire disclo
sed itself to the eye. We the more
willingly forbear any conjecture as
to the cause of the fire, since boti
Houses of Congress have taken steps
through committees, to investigate it
and in one House with power to send
for persons and papers.
Most fortunately, the night wa,
calm aud comparatively serene, or tn,
destruction Of private property woulr
have been inevitable and great. Elat
it occurred on the night previous
when the wind blew almost a hurri
cane, several squares Of valuab,,
buildings must have been destroyed
The means of the city for extinguish
ing fires are wholly inadequate to the
value of the property at stake, ant
the sources for the supply of watei
for the engines are limited in theii
extent, as well as precarious. w,
trust that the lesson we have just re
ceived will not be lost on those wht
have it in their power to apply tn,
remedy.
OF all the amount of loss of paper.
and property sustained by this disas
ter, that which is most 10 be regret
ted (because irreparable) is that o
the whole of the great repository q
models of machines in the Patent
Office The mo uldering ashes nov
D only remain Of that collected evidcnc,
of the penetration, ingenuity, and en-
terprise which peculiarly distinguish
the descendants of Europe in the Yves
tern World.
THE CITY PosT.oFFIcE.
We have mentioned in the prece
ding article the destruction of all III,
contents of the City Post Office
All the Mails of the night and NOR
ming Including letters received by
other Mails for distribution hui tbos.