The New York herald., 1868-03-04
THE FIRE IMP.


Tho Barnum's Museum Conaagration-The
Fat Woman Fidgety-The scene by Night
and tho Debris by Day-Losses and Insur-
ances-Appenrance of the Premises Ycster-
day.
Barnum seems to be sort of doomed man, unto
whom the fire imp plays the Mephstopheles with a
meaning Of which Mephistophees the original never
dreamed and whom unmerciu disaster follows fast and
follows faster, or quite fast disaster follow
anybody. Three weeks since the Yankee Snowman was
not the owner Of the premises 53s Broadway and three
weeks since not an alarm or fire had
been heard on the premises for couple OF years
or thereabouts Last week, however-only last week
the manufacturer and importer OF mermaids and Cir
cassians had completed negotiations acquire title to
the premises having paid 10000 down and stipulated
to pay the remainder at, date previous to April l.
1868. Tho property, at the time tho menagerc
pany leased it, owned by the firm OF b. f. Beck
man & Co., of No. $40 Broadway, and by them a con-
tract had been entered into by which the
title to be transferred to the menagerie COM
pany in consideration Of the OF $48., ,oOO
to be paid previous to the date above mentioned
that is, any time within the present MONTH
$4,000 was the sum paid earnest money, by way
OF securing the contract and demonstrating the good
faith Of the company II only Monday that Messrs
Beekman Co. had received a note from Mr.. Kelly
OF tho menagere company and partner Of the propre
tor OF the brace OF Crcassans the daughters OF Teuton
formerly resident Of Brooklyn to the effect that the
company would be prepared TO fulfil the contract
Thursday OF the present week. BY this note and the
terms OF the contract therefore, the loss entaed by the
fire win accrue to that company and not to tho holders
or the title to the premises and that these parties will
insist the fulfilling OF the obligations to the COM
pany towards them there is doubt. The in
surance being barely sufficient TO cover the curl
osities-ii indeed sufficient for that purpose-the
a q Ia lnc9 nj al
vaiue which, under the contract. falls upon Barnum
and his coadjutors in ths divine art or mermaid
featuring by sort OF strange fatality this fire, there
FORE has seemed to happen just at the time when its
destructive operations could be set down the account
for two years awaited opportunity only to embrace
II with unseemly haste when offered, and thus acc-
with strange fatality OF meaning about II, an acc-
dental happening with an incidental Interpretation
Night before last gas spelled in letters of fire the
walk the word ''Barnums;" at two o'clock at night
the banners which hung from the windows were
no dinsy rags Of parti.colorsd bunting but
banners OF 1ame-red, wreathing, sheets smoke bor-
dered, that blisered whatsoever they whsked
against and yesterday morning the palace Of fire. whence
banners or urd re had stroamed the night before stood
like palace Of ice the uneasy glitter Of the sunlight
Columns OF ice seemed to uphold Its wndOwess walls
long pendants OF ice hung from caves and cornice and
window frame; and over all was bespread veneering
OF 'ce which seemed to be making sort Of desperate
effort to over-freeze the smoudering embors within.
The IRE imp had been-had gone-had left, however,
but debris OF museum, menagerie and monkey snoul-
derng together in one oor OF cage bars and roasted
cur0sities.
Alta quarter past ten o'clock on Monday night tho
last l0erer had retired from the Museum The gas bad
Deen turned on the old man whose especial business
IL was 10 take of the monkeys and whose face had
a sort of cadaverous whteness about 1t which induced
the impression that no had been buried and afterwards
resnrreconized, had gone ana left the monkeys TO
midnight musng; tho Circassan girls the Teut0nic
Zueima Agra had been permitted to seek the ropose Of
her divan, and the tat woman the nrst symptoms
of browse were just creeping The doors Of tho Museum
had just been closed and barred for the night and not
even OF single foot shook the corridors OF the
oterers OF the evening had departed and the letters
Of gas across the walk which spelled the word ''Bar
NUNS had been whisked out with single suddsa
whisk.
The fire imp seized his opportunity.
PRESENT, INVISIBLE
At hafp past ton by the City Hall clock all was silent
as tomb at the museum; at hafpast eleven BY the
City Hall clock all was silent before but something
going on II was little oddly dressed individual
with queor sort of ieer upon his face and nobody
the walk, and he slipped past the waytarer stealthy
as shadow moves up and down IN the lamplight aud
just as impalpaby Faggos IN hand lucifers in pocket,
the very imp Of something in his httle round Japan
esoish eyes, and straight up the steps OF the
wapgcd the dwariish little gentleman, with something
between grin and eer as he wagged and wrggled for
ward Lake DR.. Holmes the Puck Of Boston
poetry, there -, was somethng funnily devilish
unlike tee Iambic Doctor, there something funny
devish too, IN the way he carried his faggots and
cacked--for the laugh Of the little gentleman was
simply sort Of Japanese cacke-as he counted them
over one by one sort Of pets of his OF which he would
not lose one for the world tho whole museum.
| There was opening Of the door or the
museum; mono vas needed. ono instant the
hs doo IN he stood
how he got there would have puzzled the OF a
| Japanese juegler. Once inside tho little grotesque
gentleman gave vent ~ an audible cackle as If at the
excellence Of joke which had just occurred to
him "a joke to him. indeed, but no joke either to
browsing in his boz, to the Barnum, who the
presiding deity Of the institution. Through the inner
there for his tickets and had been
keeper would have seen him. He had sort Of way OF
not being seen especially when he happened to be on
business aud had his aggos and ucifcrs with him Up
stairs whisked the little mpish dwarf OF gentleman
without single pattsr OF foct the stairs His stop
slippers the feet OF shadow. Not even the quick
ear Of the giraffe caught the beating Of his
had q sort OF inaudlbls sound about il
as the little fellow held his ribs with downright
corner Of the building and the little impsh gentleman
threw down his pets, counted them and began TO
splinter very ieisurey, varying the monotony or the
business with the occasional quackng Of OF those
desilish cackles Of his which not tho flexible
lungs Of the qucksilverish Lotta. in Family Jars,
could have successfully Initiated The little grotesquo
spntered the faggots laid them and anywse
to suit his fancy-it was dark, but dark or light, it
eyss-and slipped his nasty shrivslsd little anatomy
OF hand into his pocket. "A light naha haha
hsSal % hans" and With % "a light hsia haSa h.Ss -
ne struck . lucifer and thrust among the faggota
FAT WOMAN HEARS soMsmSG.
Il eleven O'Clock little by the City Hail
clock when low howl from the lionsss thrilled the
OF the fat woman, who had just fallen into
drowse-a low howl as II OF agony, something Of
sound not quite loud enough TO be called Then
the gray wolf took up the and howed smphacaily;
and then the devil seemed TO have crept into the whole
menagorie by sort Of devish transmgration, and ell
howled and roared and whinnied aud shrieksd and
screamed upon their own particular tunes and with
little regard 10 time or 70 the baton Of the leader OF the
concert-a sort Of unearhy concert 70 which the little
gentleman away in the the third story cacked
and capped his bands and shook his odd Little fingers
II he trying 70 play the bones and keep general time
thereto with cacke Of laugh and devsh jig Of feet and
hands.
Then fre went out and the little old gentleman, with
an impsh curse, kicked the faggots about gathered
them all up and tried again. while little sddiss OF smoke
enve0ped him, not even affecting his
sufficiently 70 make HIM sneezs. second
lucifer broke in like . Will-o' the-wisp upon
the darkness away In the Of the third story the
little gentleman In tho midst Of tho smoke cackled
light haha haha haha" with tho odd Japansseish
cackle, and this time cackled 10 some purpose.
Tho moan OF the menagere now began 70 wilder
and terribly DISTINCT and a. half past twelve O'Clock
little old gentleman bent his he heard