, 1872-11-13

CONSULTATIONS FOE. BOSTON.

CONSULTATIONS FOR BOSTON.
In drawing parallel between the Boston and
Chicago fires, there are many points in which
tie two possess remarkable similarity. At the
eamo imo there arc many which arc exactly
opposite. As far as tho Boston fire is related
simply to itself, the people Of that city have
good grounds to deploro the loss Of their proper
ty, and the time which must necessarily be con
sumed in replacing it. As far, however, as the
fire is related to the Chicago disaster, the par
allel affords the Bostonans good grounds for
congratulation. In the first place, they have
not the mortifying reflection that their fire was
occasioned by the incendiary vagaries Of Mrs.
O'Leary's COW. The origin Of their FIRE was as
aristocratic, dignifed, and high-toncd as the
most conservative and gi1t-edged old millionaire
on Beacon street could have desired. There was
nothing plebeian in it, nothing which could Of
fcnd tho conventional scruplcs Of any one, from
Bunker Hill to Forest Hill. It broke out III d
delightfully."- mysterious way, in one Of the
statelost granite-pilcs Of one Of the State
LEST tAoroughfares OF the city,-a street
which rctircs from publicity at au early
hour, and is thonccforwerd, through the
night, silent, frigid, and reserved. AL this
was i'll keeping with the characteristics Of Bos-
ton. and the Bostonan can look back to this
with certain degree OF consolation aud pride.
The origin bears definite relation to the result,
and does not bolittle it. How differently are we
placed! We can only look back. with averted
heads, to festival evening at Mrs. OLea1y's; !;
to tho cousins from Ireland just arrived; the
blind fiddler; and tho frequent passage Of the
potcen from hand to hand aud, to tho accom-
paninent of such scene as this, our fire began.
In 3 cow-sllcd surrounded by cow-sheda, in an
alley full OF manure, and shavings, and old bar
rcls, and cast~o1r 1oopskrts, and oyster cans,
surrounded by othor alleys filed with the same
materials, our plcbcian blaze hurried on, over
tumble-down sheds and rickety barns and whis-
key-shops not attaining high esthetic degree
Of refinement until 1t was mile away.
The Bostonians, again, have cause for con-
graduation in that their fire began in tho calm
stiffness Of an Indian summers evening. There
was no fuss and nonsense about it, They lad
not been without rain for two months. They
had not had furious southwestern blowing for
weeks, drying up everything to tinder.
There was no upeartlly disturbance Of
the atmosphere, no strange COM
binations Of the elements, no tornadoes
plunging through the all, no supernatural elec-
trical vagaries,.. no conspiracy upon the part Of
the allied forces Of earth, air, and water, to
thwart the efforts of man. The Boston fire was
stunning blow, but it was good, honest blow,
gwen without taking unfair advantage. Tho
Chieago fire not only struck US full in the face,
but it knocked us down and stamped upon US,
and dragged US about, took all we had in our
pockets and left us for dead. Tho BostonianB
havo still another cause for congratu1ation.
While we were in this miserable condition, and
trying to get On our feet again, certain clergy
men came along and told us that it was vista
ton Of Divine wrath upon us for our sins; that
We we're set Of miserable devils, and, therefore,
virtually, that it served us right. No one, who
has not been in the same plight, can tell the
blessed consolation there was in these comfort
ing assurances. In one night ne found our
eelyes without houses to live in, without Offices
ia whicht to do business, without cent Of money
in cur pockets, without banks, hotels, and
churches, without water to drink, without gas to
illuminate, without anything in tho world but
the clothes On QUIZ backs, and those very dirty,
and then came along the clergymen and added to
our load of misery by insisting that we would not
have been punished this way if Te had
not been such abominab1e sinners, and cited
sodom and Gomorrah by way of cllnching their
argument, Boston has not this additional bur-
den te bear. The text for Boston is not s'The
rlcked shall be destroyed" but "Whom the
Lord loveth, He chasteneth." They, therefore,
are not obliged to discount their recuperative
energy by mournful reflections that, if they had
been better, they might not have been pun
ished.
Boston has also sincere cause for congratu1a-
ton that it had no great area Of wooden build
ings in the first instance, to supply the fuel for
an intense heat, and that, after the fire had
reached more solid parts Of the city, clumps OF
wooden buildings we're not advantageously scat
tered among the brick and stone structures, so
as to add to the volume and intensity Of the
flames; that it had no tarred ROOFS to carry the
fire from house-top to house-top; that it had no
petroleum stone to explode, and scatter liquid
fire in every direction, as was satisfactorily
shown by the sauans to have happened in our
case; that it's people did not have to sleep in
graye-yards and on the prairie; that they did
not have to drink Chicago River water;
that they did not have to do
patrol duty, with club in hand, night
after night, and for two weeks watch the 1urid
glare of the burning coal heaps; that they had
no wooden streets, and sidewalks, and bridges to
burn; that they could all go to church Sunday If
they wished, and hear the Gospel; that they
could all go to the theatre Monday night if they
wished, and forget their Horrows finally, that it