The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-04-10
FIRE IN A BOARDING SCHOOL.
EIGHTEEN GIRLS ROUTED OUT OF
THEIR BEDS ar . A. NJ.
H.lr .t .A. nr,.A,or n.,sh,. s,-,-.ry

1NNNEaNs hhFIHeNsss
Upon the bluff above st George. g. l.. over.
| looking the magnificent stretch OF the upper
bar. stands the Brighton Heights Seminary.
an Institution Of learning for young ladies' be-
tween the ages OF twelve and twenty-five
| years. The process OF educating them IL
| rather monotonous both for teachers and
| for pupils. Occasionally the M notony Ia bro
ken by a prearrsnRsd or an unexpected devia-
| tlon from the strict lines Of the curriculum,
and until the excitement IL over the girls are
| intensely happy Ono OF these deviatlons-it
was entirely unex pected-oecurred after mid
night yesterday morning In the form Of fire.
which burned part Of tho seminary.
The seminary consisted OF two buildings,
connected By q pavilion. the one used for the
| school and the other containing the sleeping
rooms OF the eighteen girls who boarded
there. the dining room. and the reception
parlors. On Thursday morning this building
became filled with smoke. and IL was found
that the attic was on fire. DR.. George W.
Cook. the principal OF the seminary. prom pity
organized the eirls-boariers. day pupils.
| teachers. servants. and all--into FIRE brigade.
and without much trouble extinguished the
flames. The girls formed q line from the bath
room on the flrst floor to the door OF the attic.
two flights above. and. while the men cleared
the room Of the rubbish that was piled there.
the girls passed up Jars. pitchers. basins. and
bottles Hlled with water.
It was great day in the seminary. DR.. Cook
told the girls that Q regiment OF Joans OF Arc
couldn't have done better. and the girls
blushed with pleasure The damage was
found to be slight. and within twenty-four
hours everybody had forgotten the incident
save one young girl Who In the excitement
had torn her new skirt
On sunday night DR.. Cook said to one OF his
assistants:
II smell something burning"
so do l." promptly replied the assistant
A search was made from the cellar to the
attic. but no IRE was discovered. At 1oY
o'clock the entire house was pervaded with
the odor, and DR.. Cook made another search.
Halt dozen OF the girls and some OF the
teachers accom- panied him. They could smell
an odor as Of burning cloth In every room. but
they found no sign OF FIRE.
Il guess It's the smell Of the old IRE In the
attic" DIR. Cook said after having examined
that room thoroughly half . dozen times.
and you'd all better 60 to bed"
Franlein Johanna Bojessn. one OF the as
sistant teachers. was too nervous to sleep.
She had q presentment and no woman In the
world who has presentment can fall asleep.
She sat In her room wondering what she would
do II the seminary were to take fire or the
moon were to drop down or the earth were to
lose the power OF gray tation. These absorb
Ing reflections Kept her wake until oso ors
her native languaee-and had Just settled her
s seu soupd. ""'N 'A' "'"'N A"
In an Instant all her fears returned. She
q.an Cd her ' pGesencs q %ind long to
% fhsn nehne aeT sts tight sSe
opened her mouth and screamed for dear life.
slant thew the Whois building was spoSsed Doors
were thrown open and frightened voices ex-
Is Il a fre2 What's tho matterp"
Miss Bolesen's scream failed however, to
sTis Of sas And hi SO
and slept so soundly that not even the eTPlo-
o q would haze va ss
ders ana shook her until the drowsy eyes slow
~ oRRsned, and che Inquired, slespIhly; .,.
~ SsD s1dis R S the Sot toaeSer exc
hall ns ppsd Gs Sss Sss H'fa
niehteown, which, the wind whipped out as
her little teeth eSstteIsa Until she thong ht her
head g9ud fall on Her hair E.s stFs e
eyes. but the child was too excited TO heed.
she ran across the lawn and across the road
e..
herself In front Of Frederick Tiedemann,s
RSne sh DOZEN s thu s s:S
her back 70 the door banged her heel against
IhS sSs rHns
Chains and bolts. and Mr. Tiedsn ann and his
wife and the servants confronted the little girl.
itpgl All burned %S p1i A9d I'm SO trIEhtensdi
You poor GeaTI s1sisimea Mrs. Tieds-
mann. eniolding the !ittIs one In her arms
And In = few min III o. The little girl was fast
asleep In Mrs. Tirdemann's bed. while Mr..
could be OF assistance at the FIRE.
In the IL can time other things had happened:
had n the Snt
they caught sight OF the flames. The moment
n the they s1' cSa
rushed out MON the lawn In their niRhtgowns. |
eF99Ed had gathered ,a In ir,nt Of the burning
and darted behind two. trees. And here, IN |
dressed themselves more quickly than ever |
before In all their lives.
great haste some in wrappers. some In heavy |
cares and dress skirts and some n shawlS
snous h. wrapped e. shawl around her waist
allowing tho heavy folds to fall TO the ground. |
afford some husbands and fathers pleasure to |
know thst EVEN one 81 the grIs forgot her hat
the lawn. gazing with great interest upon the
burning building ~. Cook wa. s;r working Ike
the teachers TO see that every girl had pair |
OF shoes, so thar she shouldn't catch cold. He
saved all that he could and when the flames
had filled the whole building ne at once began
20 make arrangements for the disposition OF
his pupils.
Several fire alarms were sent In. The read.
srs OF newspapers may remember 3 quarrel
between tho iEo companies Of New brighton
and Staplston. This quarrel has resulted in
more than one disRrAceiul exhibition. but
never before was there anything 30 outrageous
as upon this occasion, The stApleton engine
company refused TO respond To the call for aid.
because the seminary was not In their pre-
cinet DR.. Cook waited and waited until an
hour had gone by, and not q single fireman re-
spopdsd 10 tho call Finally hose company
and a patrol wagon came, but without an en-
gins lthess wero useless; When at last the
New brighton engine did arrive the hre was
beyond control and there was nothing to do
but to save the school building.
Then 10 addition TO this some OF the ire
men got bottles OF whiskey. and in little
while became hoistsTous. One girl approached
one Of these hremen. and In piieous voice
Is.Fsd:
my room It's only on the first floor"