The Daily empire. (Dayton, Ohio) 1865-1867, 1866-10-12
The BurhIng of st. Patrick's Ca
thedral In New York

tFrom the New York Herald Of sundsyl
The flre at G.. q. Guuther q Sons Was
unfortunately MT condned 10 their bulld-
Ing, as The sparks from it all0lIted ON the
roof ofthc 81. pasrick's Catho, raL on Mott
aud Mulberry streets, near Prince. Owing
to the dinleulty the firerNen experienced ia
reaching the locality, the flames quickly
SPREAD, and in very short period the roof
was one mass Of flame, illuminating tile
surrounding streets, and castlag a dazzling
glare on the buildings IN tne Immediate
vicinity. Tho flames ran alcag tle roof
cncircliuv u with halo ofliglt and theuce
oescc. ded 70 the love- part Of the build
'Ng. The sight WIS then terri' ly maguif-
icent I'm the extreme. The interio. Of the
chdreh was IN mass of roariug flame; the
beautiful stained glass windows shouc w'th
tnnntural brilliancy ms " some great festi-
val was being held within; a'tar. o 'gGU
pipes, paintings and all the pomp aud
splcndOr Of the cathcdral Oc the Amcrcan
metropolis were lighted up with an ;llnmi-
nation such as never before was dreamed of
there, aud ever anou the cash &C falling
mbers, an the fierce roar of the cOnlla-
gsGtiOu, mingled with the Kissing water
nov cd on It from the steam engines, and
the cries of the lircmen as lhey struggled
/ to obtain an entrance. The cross on the
wall itf'0nting Mulberry sttCst seemed like
the cross that bcckoncd constantine on to
victo ", or that of st. PcJer's during Holy
Week. The flames played AROUND IL. be-
! meath u aud above Vt, wreathing II with q
| fiery halo, and revealing distinctly every
I line and carving on it.
Tho wooden towers on Mott street sooa
| fell in; the flames caught new life from
| their wreck. and leaped higher than ever.
| Showers of sparks filed the air, aud drifted
along the streets like falling stars, making
the vast crowd shrink back rs the blazing
| fragments fell mt their feet Writhirg like
serpents between the pipes of the organ,
playing along its keys IN mockcry Of the
| fate to which they were subjected, the
flames reduced to mass of cindcrs one OF
the nOblest institutions in New York.
Again they danced above the grand high
altar, and il crumblcd beneath them, So
unusual was the origin and so sudden the
destruction, that but few people but those
in the immediate vicinity knew OF the fire
\ few individuals connected with tie
church, observing the tice. climbed up a
lowe the ascent of but one at tiraelo the
rJoG and at the risk oftheir lives attempted
| to eXtingiish the cipient COnhagIutir'
with buckets of wa +. Their efforts were
of no avail. Haitian hour aftcrward a por-
tion of the fire department arrived upon
tho scene, but the roof was then a mass of
flames, and it was apparent that the de-
lnce of New York was inevitable.
Great efforts were made by She clergy,
teachers and officers of the church, aided
by the parishioners, TO save the sacred ves-
sells and vestments. These were Of consid-
cradle value, being worth not less than
$4,000. One set of yestments saved were
brought from Paris by the Archbishop, and
were worth about $4,000. TO the Catholics
of this city, this old church was endearcd
hW m mi t,t m of
which Is the circumstance of its containing
the remains of the late lamented Archbish-
op Hughes. Besides this. it contained the
remains of the Right Rev. Dls. Concancn.
Conolly and Dubois. Great efforts were
made by the department TO preserve the
tombs of these departed prelates, and twas
hoped their efforts would be successful.
Many fine frescoes, works of American aud
foreign artists, were necessarily destroyed,
and very fine painting of the CrucitlNion,
by an American artist. The pulpit is said
to have been one of the finest in America.
and the sacristy, it is said. would hold
more clergymen than that of any church
in the United States. The church itself 1t
is estimated, would seat about three thou
sandpeople.
HISTORY OF the CHURCH.
st. Patrick's Cathedral was built in the
year 1871 by Bishop Dubois, being the sec
ono. cnurch erected III TINS city. Archbis!-
op Hughes made considerable additions to
it in 1888 1t was one of the old landmarks
of New York, and endeared by many rec
objections. Besides containing the remains
of three bishops and one archbishop. in il
has been witnessed the conservation of
many others. There were very many
splendid frcscoes and paintings by Ameri-
can and foreign artists, the archiepiscopal
throne, valued at $500, and other invalna-
BILE works, completely destroyed. Fortu-
nately, the archives of the church, not be-
ing kept in it, were thus saved