Bristol news. [volume] (Bristol, Va. & Tenn.) 1867-189?, 1872-11-19

i
birthstone. The fire. owing partly to
the state of the wind. did not proceed
with very great rapidity down KIM
>tOn street, was slow. bnt it was
sure What is mcre terribly grand
Il an the onward march of mighty
| fire IN a great c.iy-itS arms out
stretched To grasp and wither
granite and non. which then seem al
most to he as easy prey as dry wood !?
Tne flames in X gst"n street. as they
crept out of windows ar stole solidly
on to buildings about them. seemed
vast network Of molten iron The
stones cracked and fell. Kissing with
! the water that has been showered up
on them. and the iron bent and dou
Lied upon itself in .ong loops. The
houses while being gntted we're great
cauldronS. from which the fire darted
and dubbed up. roaring above the
noise OF the engines working below,
aud filling the heavens with its GRIM
son light. As the fire spread through
the adjacent streets, threatening to
consume all the lower part of the
city. and. perhaps, should the wind
change. the entire population became
aroused, and for uptown, though it
WAS now late at night, there was no
thought of going to bed. Women
left alone in the magnificent houses
in Beacon street became so nervous
aud fgity that they could scarcely
endure to stay in the house, and "a
somewhat ludicrOus story is told of
Mrs. NJ, who actually had her PEN
ates, her beds. pictures, and heir
looms. which had come down to her
from the time when her great great
grandfather burned witches IN Salem,
all packed up together and placed III
the floor in the hall. condemning her
less frightened AID naturally less in
terested servants from sleeping all
night, except on floors and lounges.
Another lady, whose husband owned
a large dry goods emporium" in
Kingston street. and had left her III
bed at ten o'clock at night. could not
endure the excitement alone, and so
ordered up her coachnan and kept
him driving her about the lower town
till four O. clock in the morning, pro-
truding her head from the coach win
dow and wildly calling to her. every
man who bore the slightest resem
blance of her lost lord, and then dis
missing him with ''Oh, it isn't you.
is it?'' Others, to whom. baked
beans are an absolute necessity on
Sunday morning. are said to have
been seen with jars full of them
standing disconsolately at their doors,
watching the fire at great distance,
aud fully determined to carry their
breakfast away with them and. ifnec-
esSary, to have their regular meal on
the common in the morning. In the
narrow and mysteriously tOrtuouS
streets of the lower tOwn-made
years ago by the devious paths of
COWS seeking and returning from pas
ture-there was unbelievable excite
ment; in South Cove poor people ran
about lunatics, when they thought
the dreaded fire was on their track;
half naked. and yet with their house
hold goods and utensils under their
arms, they ran about shrieking and
bemoaniug their hard fate Women
with babes in their arms stopped for
an instant to hear and tell the news.
and discuss the probabilities. and
then rushed away crying and crazed
with fear and excitement. Lost
children, forgotten or abandoned
amid the turmoil aud rage, sat on the
curbstones weeping, and fed in ter
ror in every direction, vainly seeking
their lost parents. Women in child
bed were delivered prematurely; the
sick lay alone in their chambers una
bic to rise and not knowing but the
fire might at any moment reach them
in their weakness not less than ten or
twelve of such unfortunate persons
are said to have been killed by fear.
which even their trusted relatives
could not allay. In one of the tena-
ment- houses devoured by the flames,
a woman, her new born infant and
her husband were burned to death,
the man nobly refusing to leave his
family. and being unable to remove
them to a place of safety. The |
alarum bell sounding and the shock |
of explosions which shook the city to |
its very center as house after house |
was blown up to prevent the further |
spread of the cOnflagrations, added
unspeakable horror to the scene. IL
was wild night of fear and anguish
to many poor soul, but it was not
aevoid of lutlicrouS interest. The
pedal of piano was carefully carried
from High street to Beacon, and left
with friend Of its owner with a
note saying that all was lost-pic-
lures, furniture. everythiag-and on
ly with great difficulty had this been
saved. Old women. with family
plate to save, ran about with it in
their hands, and could not be per
suaded by their grandsons and sons
to act in a rational manner. Family
pride and love of heirlooms probably
exists to a greater extent in Boston
than in any other American city. and
to many an old woman. and many a
Young one. too. for that matter. it
would be almost as hard to lose an
old tea set or cabinet as to lose for (
tune. Some of the men are as bad
Is the women and occasionly more
:razy A welIk known gentleman. {
ong since retired from business
which he left to his son, insisted on I
going down to his ancient counting
-oOm, OF rather to the more elesan; I
,ne that took his place years ago -
In the safe there we're not only bonds |
md mortgages and other business pa '
,ers without number. but there was J
he authentic documents in which the
amily pedigree was traced, He and c
lis son went together: the latter sue $
,eeded after some difficulty in secur- '
-. l. :. - l,,o kIae N,- tho all uantlo =