The Irish standard., 1902-08-30

the evening the English entered Wash
ington, which then contained about
nine hundred buildings. The English
expected to be attacked by a more
formidable force than that which they
had met, and, as Ross wrote to the
Earl of Bathurst, Judging it of conse-
quence to complete the destruction of
the public buildings with the least
possible delay. so that the army
might retire without loss of time"
AS they entered THE city solitary
musket-ball was fired from behind a
house, which killed the horse Of Gen.
Ross. The house was Immediately as
saulted and the work Of vandalism
commenced in earnest. Coming to the
office of the National Inteligencer,
which was obnoxious to British VEN
geance on account of the bold de-
nunciation of British barbarities in
the destruction and pillage of private
property on the coast and elsewhere,
the incendiary torch was about to be
piled.
But COckburn was prevailed upon
by some women not to do so, as it
would endanSnr their homes. Cock
burn desisted from this, but he caused
the EDITORS library, presses. and other
printing materials to be thrown into
s.I1. u
that all the Cs are destroyed, SO that
the rlsculs can have no further means
of abusing my name as they have
DONE" Cockburn assisted in this
work with his own hands.
The invaders followed the lead of
their admiral and rushed toward the
Capitol. This imposing pile. standing
upon the brow of hill overlooking
the city in every direction, was even
at that early period of its construction
building of unusual magnificence
Discharging their f1reams at the Win
dOws, the soldiers burst in the doors
and with Il shout Of triumph carried
their leader to the Speakers chair,
from which, with mock gravity, he
put the question:: "Shall this harbor
of the Yankee Democracy be burned?"
A yell of affirmation rang through
the hall. ana without further pre-
liminaries papers and combustibles
We're piled under the desks and set on
fire. Now thoroughly aroused to their
work. they hurried to the White
House in the hope, perchance, Of
capturing the President and his wife.
Finding the house locked they batter
ed down the doors. and consoled them
selves by a ruthless destruction of the
furniture. Ransacking tlNa house,
they concluded their visit by setting
fire to the home of the President.
Meanwhile, the torch had been APP
pied to other public buildings, be-
sides several business establishments
and private residences. To capture
the stores i'll the navy yard and az
senal was one of Cockbuln's chief OBJ
jects. but his plan was foreStaled by
Commodore Timgey, who set fine to
all the magazines and Storehouses
when the British were burning the
various buildings.
Famed by the gust of Il storm. the
fires that the English had kindled in
all directions burned and spread with
increasing fury, lighting up the streets
with a glare more brilliant than that
Of day, and revealing in CHASTITY. lurid
distinctness the forms of the yandals
reveling amid their horrible work Of
devastation.
Higher and higher leaped the angry
flames, growing ever greater and
fercer, reaching out farther and ever
farther, until the whole city was
wrapped in sea OF flame whose
mighty glow illumineh the armament
with light that startled the inhabi-
tants of Baltimore more than forty
miles away
Il left the city, says an inha bitant,
three hours before the enemy took
possession of it. My journey during
almost the whole Of the night was
illumined by the flames of the public
buildings. which at the distance OF
twenty~eight miles, where | stopped
at one O'Clock in the morning, were
most dismally and most distinctly Wis
ible''
While the buildings We're burning,
Cockburn had supper at Il house near
the capital, and on the tables were
lighted candles. Before sitting down
he blew out the candles, saying that he
preferred the light of the burning
palace and other buildings whose
contlagration illumined the rom
The scene that met the gaze of the
citizens as they turned in their flight
to look back upon the doom that had
Overtaken their homes. was fitting
climax to the terrible drama of that
momentous day. Great waves of
flame rolled and surged over the city,
heaving and tossing in tempestuous
fury, and tapping the black vault of
heaven as though the very air was
atire. 10 this sublime horror OF the
earth was added the thunlers and
lightnings of the heavens, that broke
forth in storm OF unusual violence.
AS though infected with the evil