The Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, Ohio) 1853-1861, 1856-11-13

"0h, dear Mrs Thomson have You heard of the
dreadful FIRE last night at the bottom of Mill
street,"
"No, not word oft"
"Wcll, that is strange it is quite the towu-talk
it broke out about seven o'clock in the evening;
did not hear of it until past nine, and then it was
just out. I'd good mind to come up a I'd tell you
about it last night, but my husband said you would
be gone to bed"
Whose house was it?n
I" Mr. Martins, next door to the lumber-yard"
Dear me- Mr.. Martins! Was the house burnt
down? and were there any lives o-t?"
No. the house not altogether burnt down.
but it would have been if the neighbors had not
broken in and put out the fire; and as to lives
there was none to lors' and that's how it happened
You know they are very religious people, and they
were all gone to meeting, mad-scrvant and ALL and
the servant had made up great rousing fire in the
kitchen to burn until they come back. We'll, for
my part, think it very wrong to eve a place in
such manner Nobody knows how much lumber
was burnt in the next yard and, for anything they
knew the whole street might have been on fire"
"No Mrs NJ, begging your pardon you are
quite mistaken there: the maid-servant was not
gone to meeting, she had Just gone up TO put on
hor things and when she came down the kitchen
was all in a blaze and she was quite sullocatcd--
heard she was dead, but don't know how true
that is Did you hear that?"
"NO, Mrs. b., and am very sure nobody was in
the house, for my husband knocked at the door no.
body answered, and he came home; was very
much vexed with him for not STAYING to see the
whole thing, then should have known all for a
certainty. Bnt let it be how it will, should think
it would cure them of fgoing to meeting and leaving
the house in that manner
al am rather surprised at it" said Mrs Thomson;
Il don't think they in the habit of leaving the
house on weekdays besides, now | think of it,
Thursday is not their meeting night / know, too,
that Mrs Martin is careful of fire and | do not
think she would sutfir servant to make up dan
gerous one"
well, perhaps they might all be gone visiting
i cannot say; and perhaps the girl took the OPP
portunty to go too, when her mistress was out of
the way"
I'VE should be careful not to surmi5e things
without knowing. Old Sally has lived with Mrs.
Martin several years, and it would be hard if she
should hear anything unustly charged to her; per-
haps after all she had nothing to do with the
fire."
"Well, perhaps not"
When these two alarmists had run on in this man
ner they took leave; and Mrs. Thomson, who was
really concerned at the report, determined to call
on Mrs. Martin and offer her any assistance she
could in her distress To her great surprise she
found the front of the house uninured anil the car
peners then at work in the yard lust as if nothing
answered the door aud showed her into the parlor,
the furniture of which Us clean and orderly as
ever. Moreover in passing by she eSpied the kitch
en- fire blazing marrily and a joint of meat roasting
at it. Well7 thought she, chow amazingly soon
they have got things to rights" Her soliloquising
was interrupted by the entrance of Mrs Martin
With much solictudc Mrs. Thomson inquired how
she found herselfafte the fright
What fright?' asked Mrs Martin
I. Dear madam. BEG yOur nnrdon. is IL nosgihIc
people have been so wicked as to make up story
about your house being nearly burned down while
you were at meeting last night?"
"Oh, know now what yon mean; was not at
meeting but at honie may say was the guilty
person: having been answering several letters, /
threw them behind the fire and the chimney being
rather dirty, the SCOT fired
"And you were alone in the house? how fright
ened you must have bcen!'
"NO, | was not alone in the house; Sally was in
the Kitchen believe"
"Then did not the fire break out in the kitchen?"
"NO, in my room above; but in fact it did not
break out at all, it was entirely confined to the
chimney
Then, madam, did the flakes of fire fly into the
lumber-yard?'
"No, through mercy they did not that was the
only thing about which was alarmed, lest, as the
night was windy and the yard full of pine and
shavings, any mischief might ensue, and we consd-
cred it right for a man to sit up and watch"
Excuse my asking so many questions, but real
ly have been quite distressed at the report"
Report! why has anybody thought it worth while
to report it? | am astonshcd to think you should
have heard a word about it,"
"Dcar madam, | can assure you came down ex-
pecting to find you in great distress and poor Sally
nearly or quite suffocatcd Wllyou tell me how
the fire was put out?
why, put it out myself by just shutting the
register of the CRATE, then there no draught
of air and the SCOT soon ceased burning
"rhen the neighbors did not break into the
housc?"
"Oh, no; some of them knocked at the door
when they the flame at the top of the chimney,
and as | knew there was no danger thanked them
for their kindness but declined admitting them into
the house, as it was unnecessary to give them the
trouble and make hustle for nothing. Poor Sally
Jared the worst, for she forgot to shut the door
after her desired her and the smoking smell set
her coughing and she said she felt if she would
be suffocated."
We'll, madam, so it is then, this great fire seems
to end in smoke; what might have been people
said has been; and when You were afraid lest any
sparks should drop on the shavngs they said the
lumber was burnt; and when Sally felt as if she
would be suffocated, they said she was sulfocated
and dead. And SO it proves that some people have
a wonderful knack of making much out of little;
but am afraid when they let their tongues run so
far before the TRUTH they forget that in the multi
tude of words there wanteth not sin, but he that
rcfraineth his lips is wise
An Indian had gone to Albany one CO /
winters day, and got very drunk. On his way
home e become completely overcome, laid
down and was frozen to death. His tribe were
at that time much disposed TO initiate the habits
Of white men, and accordingly he'd an inquest
on the dead body. After long powwow, they
agreed to the verdict, that the deceased came to
his death BY mixing too much water with his
whiskey, which had frozen in him and killed him.
That was a very natural, but very ludi
crous remark of a venerable lady, now in her one
hundreth year, on the death of her daughter,
who had attained the good old age of eighty.