The Weekly Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, O. [Ohio]) 1861-1???, 1864-01-27
THE DISASTER IN CHILL,
Full and Terrible Particulars (!

perhaps of the world, has OhSOrucd every
mans mind Tor many days past
We will use the utmost brcyity in relating
the calamity to our foreigH readers.
Ever since tho uewly-iuvcutcd mystery
Of the immaculate conception OF Mary was
declared at Rome, in lSjI, he.church ot
the Company, Formerly belonging to the
Jcsuits. hal hocomc the focus ot devotion
of u vast Sistcrhool, called tho nIughtorS
of Mary, in which On payment of SO much
year, almost all the womGu Uf our capital
wcrc enrolled.
Every ycar,'rcm the slh Vt November to
the Sth of pcccpiber. tho day of lmmlcu-
late Conception, lasted splendid festival,
in which orchestral music, Si5suS, aud as
tcushiug prOdjgAlitv of iuycnSc, ct lights
of oil, of liquid gas, wax, and every lumtu-
ous cambustiblc in tho world. glittcrcl
and Aircd in every part, in the coruccs,
in the cciliur, ami particularly on ihc high
altar. Every night The church hlaaod with
a sea of lllme, and litterci with clouds of
of fmusiu and gau2a drapcrics, Il could
only I've lighted up in tiWc by beginning WI
the middle of The afternoon, auI the work
of cNtinguishing it was only cudct whom
tho night was far alyauccd. In lS5S they
thought Of adopting hydrogen gas, but the
cuginccr's plan, though convenient aud
safe, was rejected.
A priest nlm,l Ugartc, whose mind
mariohtry had marked Tor its own, headed
that Stcrhool from tho beginning, and
worked his way down 20 such a depth Of
superstition. that ono Ut his last cNtrava-
g;riccs was the invention .o( Celestial
post.nIlice trick, Ivy which the daughters
Of Mary might correspond with the Virgin
in writing. At the tomplc the Virgins
lcttcr-boN was constantly open, and there
persons of Il robust faith deposited in scaled
| letters their wishes and their prayers. Ev-
cry "Wednesday that lotter-hoN for eternity
was placed before tho high altar, and
/ Ugartc, who acted as postnlu between the
Mother of God and hor daughters. cXhib-
| itel to tho divinity those offerings
| of course keeping that correspondence to
| himself.
/ This same mountcbanI got mp a ratlio for
/ the favor OF the Nirgin-in aroccut instance
| two prizes being drawn 10y a slicptical Min
lister Of State, and Il woman whose charac-
ter was not dubious. Tho old times of pa
| gan idJlary had rcsuscitato'i in the center
Of exaggerated Catholicism.
Tho church Of " the Company built in
the latter half of the seventeenth century,
/ possessed spacious nave, but roof that
/ dated only from fifteen years aEO, OF painted
Timber. The only door of easy access to
I,o cortar 7bc sn,oiI doors I,,girr inf, tLo
,;sIns hoinr, onrucd only halr wSv and Oh
,t.nct,l h,?,ecroors Nr,r IN, Lirh altar
tl,,r, ,,.,sy, Iit,I, I,. c,,r,,,u,,ir,tin,, viii
tI, s,nr;,t,.
4 few minutes before in the evening on
Tuesday, the Sth ot December, moro than
2 ooO women and p, few bnnlrrl mon lnclt
in that church. crammed to overtiowing
,,,s, or C,u,,i,s f,n,, att,Hmt;n'r tn G,rh,
thc;, , v,r r,' in f.o,, ,Ln stoHs hcr,nsa If W..
tho i,,.+ HH;,rht ol tho ,Tnnth of W,r, onI
M nno c,,,ij I,oar to I,so tbc clnsirr srrmo,
of thn nrirst Ur,rtr who oly,vs svrcroJ.
o1 H., ,I,i,ay,;ti11,,r io,I,n,,Enns in drov,n
inv i, trors tL,t ,,Iocn 6, soon to Lno sr,
nfI;ro TInn E;g,i.,,;r.c tho NnostoIic Nm
clio ,nl c,yor;tn ~ pins IV the roundnr -
tLo Nmnrin,n g. ,llcrn ,t Rome was +,
mr.a,.L als', II :. saiI th,, I,rarto w,nurI
ai ~ L;s f,aI;n,s 90 rL,,1,;n or tL,
~n.,.,,,tnr, nr ~ - bocnntn E.y,,r;rr,
had t0iI linn that ia ;ih,n,i,t,tinns 1T hi
rburL conlI nnt Inc comnnrrd with vho
10 had s,c,, ,ntl
sasm: II will rive him, When he comes +
J preach. such an illumination rs tho worl,
has never seen" Nobody can deny tha
Trarte has kent his word,
Indeed the lighting of the lamps and can
/, dies had hardly been finished when the lin
= Md ras IN a TRANSPARENCY on the high altar
=, set on fire its woodwork, and wrapped il
: flame a kind of tabernacle wholly compose,
-, of canvas. pastcboard and wood. In les
= than two minutes tho atu, about twenty
. three wards high and ton broad, was an inc \
tinruishalIe bonfire.
The advance of the fire was pcrhap
5 oven more rapii than the mic of the auli
h cnce. when the fire had flown from tia
= altar to the roof the whole aocll of dcvo
II tees rushed to the principal door. Thos
i near tho lateral doors, wcro'abc to escap
!, at the first alarm; others, and. particular
t. the men, Gained the little door of the sac
risty. and lastly, those near the chief out
let forced their way through the thronc
even still strugrlin.. to get in. and indec
part of which did get in, even in the fac
of the fire, stimulated by the desire of go
tinr n rood place, which en- this oecasi0
meant a good place to die in. Then, tn
flames having crept along the whole roo
and consequently released tho lamps Of o
and liquid gas from the coinices to whc
they were strung, a rain of liquid, blue fir
poured down upon tue euangled throng
below.
Z A new and moro horrible connagrato
l. broke out, then, in that donse living mass
u appalline the affrighted gaze with picture
tenfold more awful than those wherein tn
Catholic Imagination has laborod to give a.
10 idea of the tortureG Of the damned. In les
,r than quarter Of an hour two thousand hr