National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1885-12-26
NEW ALARMS AND THE OLD.

How the present time in Washington diff
fers from the time here long past look
back to the ancient days of my youth, and
can scarcely realize that am in the same
world
The hands Of thu big clock in my room
have progressed beyond midnight, even
three hours nearer to morning; other voice
than It's loud ticking ! hear not, and com
panion have none.
A great bell strikes. 1t is emphatic, slow,
deliberate, One may easily count the
strokes. They are intended to be counted,
Indicating fire alarm and designating the
scene Of danger. How admir- able this plan,
how superior to that Of our village era. Is
IL not perfectly A possible improvement
occurs to my mind, namely, that there be
no sound whatever, as information Of the
need of service might he transmitted by
telephone in all quietness direct to the
engine houses. Why disturb a whole city,
as that bell Is now doing, rousing thou
sands from important sleep, with notiica-
tion OF n duty which Is none of theirs, but
simply the affair Of certain salaned menp
With madly galloping horses, with occa-
sional clang of the transported iron tongue
Of disaster, with smoke and sparks, aud
clatter, the engines dash along the street,
their course assured, and confident In their
power.
They have gone by: the noise dminishes
in the distance. Let them go. IL is no
business of mine.
My only object, just now, is TO return
about half century nearer to the worlds
creation. What thenp The curious picture
of a fire in Washington, drawn by--recol-
lection. a., o,, .,.
from every vocal organ In the. little city,
white, black, and the intermediate shades
Even the slave exults in his liberty to shout
"hre." "Where is it?" ask many; none
can answer. So the good people run to all
points of the compass. Yet some resort to
the engine houses-thcre are two or three
of such-and the dilapidated machines are
brought forth and wheeled around blindly
by man and boy power, seeking where they
may be of use.
Meanwhile, all the bells Of the churches,
perhaps four in number are ringing stimuli
taneously, without regard to each others
music, persistently and frantically. Mean.
while, all housGholders, according to law,
snatch from the nails in their halls the
leather buckets, and seek the pump nearest
the interesting calamity. There, two lines
Of citizens FORM one to convey the filled
buckets to the engine or engines, another to
return the empty ones. The force thus sup
piled to conquer the foe is employed, by
hand-power working the machine or ma
chimes, and the conflagration laughs and
roars at it, and goes on with its frolic.
Long before the fire Is out, the water is apt
to be, for the wells are exhausted. Then
the interest is centered and, indeed, cir
cumscnbed, in witnessing the picturesque
destruction Of the property.
This consummated, q new amusement is In
order, which is a disorder, owing to rival
claims of the engines to the glory of having
extiDguished the fire, which became extinct
of its own accord, for want Of further mate
rial TO consume. Therefore battle between
our bcnefactors. Broken heads are borne
home presently to wives and mothers, and,
in some cases, pistol-wounded bodies
And the night is, in part, confusion
and lamentation, and the red-curtained tav-
erns for the rest resound with laughter and
swearing and general jollifcation. $. ID.