Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1838-02-16

H. baltimore Chronicle of Monday
fishes us with the following interesting
DSn, If the destruction OF Cookies hol SEES
fire in that city
bSr DESTRUCTIVE AND DIS
''i TRESSING FIRE.
rhs fire, by which the splendid Theatre
C;rrus at the corner of Front and Low
.s was destroyed on Saturday morning
,' will long be remembered as one of the
!, Distressing occurrences in the history
onr r;tv. Abou, hafpast four o'clock on
morning, one of the grooms in atten-
",e upon The stables attached TO that es-
tIi.bmcnt discovered fire falling through
"c;lino over one of the stalls. In a few
.ments afterwards, the whole of the floor
over the stabing, which formed the
30 oCthc theatre, was in flames, and it be-
Se aoparent that the interior Of the bull
+ "g must have been burning for some time
7onid was the progress OF the fire, that
Grooms had barely time to release two
,bc horses, knock out the windows of the
oble and make eirescape. Efforts were
s,an,ly made 10 rescue the horses, ponies,
ncs roats, and deer, belonging to the corps,
\; ali in vain. The heat and violence of
10 fire forbade all access, and in very
Il bor time, the noble stud the admiration of
n who had ever beheld it, was utterly des-
y ,ved in manner calculated to move the
rmnalbies of the most insensible. Not
Os orlhem was saved-the old stallion, who
,,d accompanied the corps for twenty-sev-
h vears-the splendid horse Mazeppa, the
ksry embodiment of Byron's idea of 'rhe f.
prv steed-the Burmese ponies-the An
4 al pony-the beautiful gout-the half rea-
E0niuo fawn-al-all persisted, miserbly,
& lhe most excruciating tortures-When
In doors were first burst open, the fawn,
Linz constant companion of the ponies, ran
.IotO the street but missing its mate, and "a
Earmed probably by the noise and confusion,
4, mrned about rushed into the stable, and
{shared the fate Of lis fellows In the mean
Nine, the flames were doing their work of
|Lesruction most effectually, in other parts
i oflhe building. The scenery, decorations
4 and platforms, used in the representation of
Mazeppa, and the costly wardrobe of the
company, were consumed almost in an in
slant, and in less than an hour not a vestige
Ofthe building was left but its blackened
walls. The front Of the house fell out, soon
after daylight, with tremendous crash, car
\ Ying, in the fall, every thing in its way
Fortunately no lives were lost.
Mr.. Cookies loss is not only enormous,
\ but entirely irreparable His stud of hor-
ss and his collection of the other attendants
upon circus company, had, we are credi-
bly, informed, no superior in the world
Forty of the persons attached to the compa-
ny belong, either nearly or remotely, to Mr..
Cookies family. All Of the members Of his
corps were distinguished for the correctness
Of their moral conduct, and for the propriety
Of their department in societey. Their ca
lanity exctes the unrescrved sympathy Of
all our citizens, upon whom their unobtru.
sve merits had already made deeply ia
sorabe impression. We have heard the
loss estimated at $4,000. and this. we
should think, rather within than beyond the
truth
Ofthe cause of the fire ii is impossible to
speak with certainty Some days ago, a
letter was received by the Mayor, apprising
him of the existence of a design to fire the
building. We have not heard whether this
led to more than the usual precautions
which, so far as Mr. Cooke is concerned
we know to have been most ample. The
better opinion seems to be that the fire was
Occasoned by a stove pipe in the dressing
room. Circumstances, however, render 1
moi unlikely that spark, whose existence
was not noticed at the time, might have lodg
ed in the tan upon the stage, and thence
spread to the scenery and decorations
This idea seems to derive strength from III,
fact that the fire was first discovered by thu
groom dropping from the stage amongst thu
horses beneath. The circus was ore Of lh'
largest in the world. 1t was capacious e
nough TO accommodate three thousand per
sons, with ease. We are told that its di
mansions exceeded those of Astley's in Lon
don, or the Cirque Olympique, (Eranconi
IN Paris. 1t was commenced in 1928 ant
finished in 1880, at cost of $4,000. |
was insured to the amount of $4,000 in thu
Flremen's Insurance Company in this cit,
the directors having in vain endeavored Il
effect insurance to a greater amount Mr.
Cooke had expended $4,000 in the decoru
lions Of the house.
n u