Evening star., 1928-11-23

John Evelyn, who died in i706. left a
remarkable account of the happenings OF
Witch NiS SS he is IS today famous. This description
of the great fire which razed London IN 1866
is from this diary.
September 2. 1666.-This fatal night,
about 10, began that deplorable fire
near Fish street in London.
September 3-The fire continuing,
after dinner, took coach with my wife
and son and went to the bank side in
Southwark, where we beheld that dis
NAL spectacle-the whole city in dread
full flames next the water side. The
fire having continued all this night Gf
1 may call that night which was as
light as day for 10 miles around about,
after a dreadful manner, when con-
spring with fierce eastern wind in a
very dry season, went on foot to the
same place and saw the whole south
part of the city burning.
The confiagration was so universal
and the people so astonished that from
the beginning, I knew not by what
dependency of fate, they hardly stirred
to quench it, so that there was nothing
heard or seen but crying and lamenta-
ton, running about like distracted
creatures without at all attempting to
save even their goods.
Such a strange CONSERVATION there
was upon them. So it burned both IN
breadth and length the churches, pub
| lie halls, exchange. hospitals, monu-
ments and ornaments, leaping after a
| prodigious manner from house to house
| and street to street at great distances
| from one another; for the heat. with a
| long set of fair and warm weather, had
even ignited the air and prepared the
materials to conceive the fire, which
devoured after an incredible manner
houses, furniture and everything.
Here we saw the Thames River COW
cred with goods floating, all the barges
| and boats laden with what some had
time and courage to save, and on the
| other side carts, ETC., carrying goods
out to the fields, which for many miles
were strewed with movables of all sorts
and tents to shelter both people and
what goods they could get away.
| oh, the miserable and calamitouS
| spectacle! Such as haply the world hao
| not seen the like since the foundation
of it, nor be outdone till the universal
| conf1agration. All the sky was of a
| fiery aspect, like the top of a burning
oven, the light seen above 40 miles
around about for many nights. Goo
i grant my eyes may never behold the
| like, now seeing 10000 houses all in one
| flame: the noise and cracking anc
thunder of the impetuous flames; the
shrieking of women and children; thS
! hurry of people! The fall of towers
houses and churches was like hideoW
storm, and the air all about was so hot
and inf1amed that at last one was no
able to approach it, so that they were
forced to stand still and let the flame!
! hIIr RI fnr
miles in length and l in breadth. TIL;
clouds of smoke were dismal, anc
reached upon computation near so mile;
in length. Thus left it this afternoon
| burning, resemblance of Sodom ol
the last day. London was, but is nc
mole!
| September 4.-The burning still RACES
| The stones of st. Paul's flew like gre
nades, the melting lead running down
| the streets in stream and the very
pavements glowing with fiery redness
so as no horse nor man was able tC
tread on them, and the demolition has
stopped all the passages so that no helE
could be applied. The eastern winl
still more impetuously drove the fiams;
forward. Nothing but the Almighty
power of God was able to stop them
for vain was the help of man.
September Sit crossed towarc
Whitehall Oh, the confusion there
was then at that court! It pleased hi:
| majesty to command me, among tn,
! rest, to look after the quenching O.
| Fetter lane end, to preserve, if possible
the gentlemen took their several post
(for now they began to bestir them
selves, and not till now, who hitherto
| had stood as men intoxicated, will
their hands acroSS), and began to con
slider that nothing was likely to put {
| stop but the blowing up of so man.
| houses as might make a wider gap thar
any had yet been made by the ordinary
method of pulling them down with en-.
| gines. This some stout Seamen pro
posed early enough to have savec
nearly the whole city, but this some
| tenacious and avariciouS men, alder,
men. ETC., would not permit because
! their houses must have been of the
first. 1t was therefore now commanded
to be practiced, and my concern being
particularly for the hospital, made me
| the more diligent to promote it.
| 1t now pleased God by abating tbs
wind and by the industry of the people
| infusing a new spirit into them, una
the fury of it began Sensibly to abatt
about noon, so as it came no farther
than the Temple westward There wa:
yet, however, no standing near the burn.
ing and glowing ruins by near a fur.
! longs space.
The coal and wood wharfs and maga.
zines of oil. resin. etc, did infinite mis-.
chief, SO as the invective which littl.
! before I had dedicated to this majesty
and published, giving warning wha
might probably be the issue of suffering
those shops to be in the city, was looked
on as a prophecy.
The poor inhabitants were dispersed
several miles in circle, some under
tents. some under miserable huts anc
novels, many without a rag or any
necessary utensils. bed or board, who