Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1869-10-15


A correspondent of the London Times,
who was an eyewitness of the conhs
grafton, which destroyed the splendid
Royal theater at Dresden, on the 22d of
last month, gives the following descrip-
tion of the catastrophe:
"It was about twelve o'clock when the
bells of the Kreuz Kirche rang out the
alarm, and noticed q column of smoke
risiBg, but had no notice whence it pre-
ceded till / reached home, when the news
came the Hof theater was on fire. l
hastened to the spot in drozy, and was
driven to the back Of the thester near
the gardens of the Zwinger, from which
the ghale Of that part of the hnilding
was visible. Flames were rising from
the central cavity, the whole roof having
fallen in, and, seen through the windows
and gaps in the wall, it had the effect of
an enormous furnace, the smoke wreath
ing up in front in thin veil.
:" AT first it seemed as If the conasgra.
ton would soon subside, and this, in ell
probability would have been the case il
active exertions had been made to throw
water into the building There was an
engine at work near where / stood, but it
merely sent small stream Oh one por-
ton Of the left.hand tower, where num-
Der of men were stationed with the view
of saving some of the contents of the
buildiug, and few truck loads Of furni-
ture passed as the sole rescue. As we
looked the flames began to show through
the windows of the tower above named,
and at last, with roar, came O wave OF
fame through the window facing us, aud
licked the walls aud roof above. This
continued for nearly half an hour. till the
roof fell in. The fremen had by this
time vacated their dangerous post,
and the flames were left to
burn out Of their own accord. The
curtain wall ofthe building, with round
arch in the center, fell in pieoe-meal with
a loud crash, and subdued the flames to
a great extent This beautiful Opera
House (perhaps, next to that in Paris,
the handsomest building for the purpose
of modern times) stood alone in the oen-
ter of an extensive open space near the
great bridge, round which are ranged the
principal buildings of Dresden--ths bot
Kirehe, the Schloss. or Palace, with its
wonderful reasure-fillsd Green Vaults,
the picture Gallery, with its priceless
collections, various museums, and Que of
the leading hotels, the room containing
the matchless San Sisto Madonna Of
Raphael being the nearest point Of ell to
the Opera House.
q "The dread ON my mind, aud no doubt
with most OF the spectators, was that the
fire might spread sad burning rafsers fall
upen this unequsled treasury Of art;
but most providentially the wind, which
had bean slowing almost gale for more
than q week, had sunk almost to q dead
calm; the result was the flames rose
straight into the sir, and the burning
fragments ell fell back within or close
around the walls. The tremendous beat
given out was alone great source Of dan
ger. could scarcely stand i distance
Of more than one hundred and fifty
wards. vet 40 etiectusl we're the precsu-
tions that not q window of the Picture
Gallery was so much as cracked, and on
inquiry in the afternoon was assured no
injury whatever had been sustained.
Happily, none of the trees Of the closely
adjoining garden took FIRE, or they
would inevitably have carried IL 10 tbs
Picture Gallery. No lives were lost, and
the Opera House was government prop
ertv"