, 1873-11-23
THE PARIS OPERA.H0uSE.


U6E1AAA O4 AAb QAHf MISREPRESENTATION
atroet-Sccncn. - .'.
The fact Of tho burning Of tile ,opera- House
Of Paris Inns already beon telographod. Tho fol-
lowing ar0 tho details aa published in the Paris
correspondence OF tho London Telegraph Of Oct.
80. Tho writer, who lived opposite tho Opera,
waa awakened st 2 q. m. Ho sayg:
~ rushed + t. J., tho wtpdoW: whence th9 flrst
that It was indeed the not yot completed edi1ice
which had fn]ten q premature victim to lhe
destroyer Of ali tho theatres. For tho gigantic
gilaed groups on tho summit OF the edi1ioo
near presence Of the dre-god; but strangost Of
strange phenomena, Whilo theae colossal hguros
shona With u fearful glory, all about them waB
In almost absolute darkneas. Tho forms Beomed
to bo floating down from hogkios like the angels
in ono Of Martins pictures. The upper #toriea
Of tho Grand Hotel wore marked by thin streak
OF retfectcd Light, but there WAS mono OF that
llldtineBs In tho sky which usually accompanies
large FIRE. Onco in the street, aud tho corner
Of tie Boulevard turned, there was no longer
any doubt OF tho direction in which The con-
migration lny, or Of its magnitude. The wind
Ruddenly had Toored around to tho east and the
air became all ut onco filed with tho goldon
hre which ia often made use Of IN pyro-
lens, lomarlod that tho high white wall on tho
north silo Of the Boulevard Moutmartre el,ono
ont Of tho comparative darl.nesa around aud Llat
q huge macs Of fiery snaolso waa Eeing blown
L
fonudod, and the Academic do M.siquo was in
decd OIL fire. The bouieyards wero e1oumbcred
by no crowd, aud as VIC ncarcd tho nuo La4tta
tho broal roadway was absolutely deserted,
Wo at tirst attributed THU singular want Of GU
lioBily to tho ruin OF fire which foil at this
point, which naao it decidedly unpleasant, It..
not dangerous, to confront tho storm. For Eio
fragments TINT fell III q broad continuous
Btream wero OF la,go Eizo, mid they loaped from
trottofr to roadway under tho pressure Of pow
orful wind. ,..,.&
But IL was net foar Of the iiory fragments 10
much aB drcal OF being impressed into tho chain
that kept tho place 70 deserted. Eyory now aud
then some raAh c,sriouI would venture too uoar,
and ever and anon tho police would glido noise
1eEBly to tho oornor Of some thoroughfa1o, thera
fern Gordon, and catoh al idlera "a in not.
Then would occur q rush for IN outlet, and the
police did not hesitate 10 trip up, knock down. or
an Englisl tire The great difficulty i8 to keop
people OF; in Franco. the difficulty ia to got thom
near and to make them work. At every stroet
abutting on tho fire oil gu four aidos it WINS tho
same stoay-the police called the poople 'tnauu1is
md tic people ran as it for their lives Whenever
thero was q chain to bo formed to pasa tho buck
cts from the 'water-plpo to lilo engine. Every
minute you hoard tic strnngo horn that calls tho
nromen together, and overy minute . lituo bit OF
watering g-lnachino, was hurried along by small
posBe Of dromcn on foot: Tlcre Was, unhnppily,
great luck OF water, and the small jota, eyor
when thoy woro well directed, had no perceptib1e
effect on the blazing timber TINT crackled up,
throwing myrials Of sparks into the bright, clear,
cold nir. From the northorn side Of tho theatre,
going down to 1t from tho Rue Lafayette, tho
otfoct WAS magnificent. The outside wall WAS ut
this moment intact, but through the aperturoB
where windows had boon the fire blazed behin
just like q hugo furnace, tho roaring Of the
hamos and the crash OF FILLING walls making up
aoone Of awful grandeur, which I shall never
forget. To tako another illustration from tho
theatre itee1f It reminded ono Of tho peep into
Paudemonlum in tho scane Of tho Cross in
Robert 10 Diablo.s Tho fro wnR discovered at
about II o'clock tonight iu tho garlorobb Of the
theatre. There has been no performance to-
night but there haa been rehearaal-tho first
Of Jeauue d'Arc.'" -; -,
1t ia curious fact that tho pleco performed at
the last representation at this opc1a house was
tho "Propheto," which ends with q oondagra-
tiou.
Tho ltost particulars in reference to the con-
Angraton at the Grand Opera stato TINT the
Chief portion of the building, including tho audi
toeium, tho stage, tho saloon, and tho aconory
warehouso,. was totally burned down. The
fallen in, and the only parts of tho edilco now
uninjured are tho wardrobes sud treasury, which
were OIL. tho Tue Drouot side, The adjoining
houses have not suffered any damage.
One life has boom lost-thnt Of 4 fremon
named Bo1let, who, whom hlg comrades wore CO.
Ing to tho Dourse station to obtain Wntor, got
astrlde on wall near the Passage do l'Opora to
tenr away sonle colnbustiblo material Tho wall,
alroady mined by the fro, gavo way with him,
and ho WIS prooipitatod from great height into
the flames, uttering as he fell a piofclng cry,