The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1871-10-12
Tine Chicago Fire ms IA Promoter of
Rhetoric.

1t was 10 be expected that one of the results
of the Chicago fire would be a startling exhibit
ton of the gorgeous rhetoric OF the New York
Herald. Nothing could afford a better oppor-
tunitY tor display OF its characteristic style
style which has spread from its columns to
those OF other papers and constitutes wha,
is known as newspaper English" The fire
is OF course "the file fend" and "the fire
devil" 1t is also an ''insatiate monster that
spreads It's lurd wings" aud has "the portenl
of doom in the murky breath from his fiery
nosfrlls." Likewise it spreads out tits long.
reaching arms" over buildings and wraps
them in tits Jrightfal glory. This is pictur-
esque. But see how easily the gifted writer
uses the fgure, PersonIfcation There may
be little mixture of metaphors. and it may
be unbecoming in caukers to "stride'" but
does not Homer sometimes no6?
The fire still Tapped along the edge of the
river, and still, as in savage hale of man,
over whom 1t had for once triumphed, flung
It's sparks and brands further, fnfther into the
wafer, trying to plant some messenger of de.
struction where 1t longed TO be itself. By the
glare OF its burning the night became mock
cry oil day ill Its abnormal, shifting light. Was
there no foothold on which il could cross ?
MS was the question asked by the fire. 1.-THE
bridges the bridges!" shouted the multitude
ana one by one their p0nderOus kgneOus
lengths tdrdacS, in the vulgar dalect) were
swung around and lett heading up and down
Inc stream. At length the fire answered its
questions by hInging a shower of burning
brands upon the Adams street bridge. ana
the wind, the friend OF the fire, famed them
until the bridge was all afame. Now it has
shorter distance 10 leap, and with a savage
bound the tiie was in the heart of the city
Ill Its tat, rich heart, where active wealth hac
piled its palaces of commerce and housed it,
treasures in with iron. and stone and thought
It was flee from the sweep of food and flame.
Eastward the tire journeyed with its fevered
STRIDE, eating like whitening canker through
the Vltals OF the city. 1t was not long before
the Michigan and Southern depot had risen
up in smoke aid blaze and fell in rnins. scat.
ttrlng deeper volume of destruction arounu
than ever before. Now nolthward the he'll
angel suede 10 the emporium OF rich produce
It was longing Tor. Now it hung around a
bank, burst open its doors, shivertd its win
doWs, scoiched through its root and tote,
aud burned its feicest till the great sate-ah
the sa e! bad succumbed to its blasting. melt,
ing breath.
Hell-angel is good good as the poets
"nell OF waters. " 1t does not now surprise
us to find that the fire has sacked with its
cremattng arms the corn-stored elevators
We are amply prepared, too, for antitheses as
clever as facitus himself ever wrote, and to
be told that the "hel-angel" swept onward
with ''tear before and ruin and ashes behind. :,
Nor does the wind escape denunciation in
Language richer in tropes than Milton at his
best could afford: Would the aeiltaaa wind
never die? 1t did not fall, it only changed, as
If it had exhausted all the demons whence il
came and then bad called upon the North to
send out its odnddt breeze"
We do aot by any means undertake to say
that this highly ornate and fgurative style of
writing is bad. We know our place too well to
depreciate what is metropolitan. We merely
call attention to it that our readers may share
our wonder and admiration ana find in the
indulgence of those feelings some relief from
the sad emotions to which the incidents of
the great fire have given rise