The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1897-05-27

| just arriving at the 'front.' door, and
there was a crowd ofpeople in the Office.
Still they kept coming down the back
stairway-more people by half than |
thought lived in the hotel. A mar was
half Carrying his wife, who had tainted.
"Many of them were in their night
clothes, and it was amusing to observe
how they had arrayed themselves in the
brief time at their disposal. A tall man
was ROBBED in 4 red bed comforter and
had on a silk hat, In and under his arms
ne carried some i~ll-assorted pieces Of
three different suits Of clothing. a
valise, two collars, three cuffs and a
shoe. Behind him came a gentleman
unevenly clad in a nightshirt, an over
cont and n stocking, but he had had
the presence Of mind to bring the rest
Of his effects in a sheet.
about the last person to appear was
La Belle Fanchette. who has been hav-
ing everything her own way over at
the Follies theater for two or ;hree
weeks. She was dressed all in white.
with the exception of a mantle ofaiout
the same shade OF blue as her eyes, and
she was barefooted and had q gown or
two clutched in one arm,
"Fanchette stopped thus at the head
Of the stairs, with downcast eyes. for u
little while-well, until she had all the
stairway to herself-and then she came
down.
"The thing was becoming too hot to
stand on, and the people began to file
ont into the street just as the fire.
men came in with the hose and met the
flames at the bottom Of the elevator
shaft.
"Out in the street the crowd WIS
watching the actions of u man in i
.siyth-story window who was badly
frightened, thinking his escape was cut
off. He was shouting wildly for n lad
der, which was brought into position
and run up to him, but instead Of al
lowing him to come down two tiremrn
assembled with axes ard smashed Il few
windows.
silohhh tuC biHFl VI tllt Dlcth tllFlt
was another mar in distress. lie also
imagined himself cut off from the stair
way. AS he stood at the edge of Il shy
light, only three stories up, he held a
satchel of about a h%alf-bushel capacity
in each hand.
"'~Somebody catch these v~alises por
mel he shouted, and | can come down
the fire escape
Nobody volunteered.
'"Nell, here they come anyhow and
they struck in the mud of the alley, fat
tening out like rotten apples. Their he
descended the ladder.
meanwhile the firemen were gaining
the blaze in the basement. They at
tackled it from two or three sides at
once, and the fight did not last long.
One by one the boarders returned to
their rooms to put things in order.
THE man who had come down the
fire escape gathered up his satchels and
entered the front door, approaching the
clerk alphabetically.
"'Will it be necessary he asked, as
he deposited the battered baggage on
the floor, for me to register again"
"'No, there is no need of that replied
the clerk.
"'Well, all right then; l didn't know
the rules of the house.
AN hour later the lGen were GROUPED
about in the corridors telling over and
over again the incidents of the morning.
The narrow escape and the behavior Of
the crowd were subjects for mutual CON
graduation.
"'But, after all said one, the men
not in it for coolness.'
"'Why So"
"'Because they were outcIassed. Did
you see the Fanchette coming down the
stairway"
eyes
"'Nightie, mantilla. bare feet. down.
cast eyes, demure expression and all"
eyes
"'Altogether fetching makeup,
wasn't it"
Good enough for her to try on the
And talk about the GOODNESS of the
men. They won't compare with Fan
1t wasn't five minutes before
5he alarm was given that l saw her pass
the hall fully dressed for the
THAT" said the ma from the coun.
-ry, in conclusion, lis the whole story
If the fire at our hotel."-Chicago Rec
ord.