Year: 1872

i


birthstone. The fire. owing partly to


the state of the wind. did not proceed


with very great rapidity down KIM


>tOn street, was slow. bnt it was
sure What is mcre terribly grand


Il an the onward march of mighty
| fire IN a great c.iy-itS arms out


stretched To grasp and wither


granite and non. which then seem al


most to he as easy prey as dry wood !?
Tne flames in K,u ,ugst"n street. as they


crept out of windows ar stole solidly


on to buildings about them. seemed


vast network Of molten iron The


stones cracked and fell. Kissing with
! the water that has been showered up


on them. and the iron bent and dou


Lied upon itself in .ong loops. The


houses while being gntted we're great


cauldronS. from which the fire darted


and bubbled up. roaring above the
noise OF the engines working below,


aud filling the heavens with its GRIM


son light. As the fire spread through


the adjacent streets, threatening to


consume all the lower part of the


city. and. perhaps, should the wind


change. the entire population became


aroused, and for uptown, though it


WAS now late at night, there was no


thought of going to bed. Women


left alone in the magnificent houses


in Beacon street became so nervous


aud fgity that they could scarcely


endure to stay in the house, and "a


somewhat ludicrOus story is told of


Mrs. NJ, who actually had her PEN


ates, her beds. pictures, and heir


looms. which had come down to her


from the time when her great great


grandfather burned witches IN Salem,


all packed up together and placed III


the floor in the hall. condemning her


less frightened AID naturally less in


terested servants from sleeping all


night, except on floors and lounges.


Another lady, whose husband owned


a large dry goods emporium" in


Kingston street. and had left her III


bed at ten o'clock at night. could not


endure the excitement alone, and so


ordered up her coachnan and kept


him driving her about the lower town


till four O. clock in the morning, pro-


truding her head from the coach win


dow and wildly calling to her. every


man who bore the slightest resem


blance of her lost lord, and then dis


missing him with ''Oh, it isn't you.


is it?'' Others, to whom. baked


beans are an absolute necessity on


Sunday morning. are said to have


been seen with jars full of them
standing disconsolately at their doors,


watching the fire at great distance,


aud fully determined to carry their
breakfast away with them and. ifnec-
esSary, to have their regular meal on
the common in the morning. In the
narrow and mysteriously tOrtuouS
streets of the lower tOwn-made
years ago by the devious paths of
COWS seeking and returning from pas
ture-there was unbelievable excite
ment; in South Cove poor people ran
about lunatics, when they thought
the dreaded fire was on their track;


half naked. and yet with their house
hold goods and utensils under their
arms, they ran about shrieking and
bemoaniug their hard fate Women
with babes in their arms stopped for
an instant to hear and tell the news.
and discuss the probabilities. and


then rushed away crying and crazed
with fear and excitement. Lost
children, forgotten or abandoned
amid the turmoil aud rage, sat on the
curbstones weeping, and fed in ter
ror in every direction, vainly seeking
their lost parents. Women in child
bed were delivered prematurely; the
sick lay alone in their chambers una


bic to rise and not knowing but the


fire might at any moment reach them
in their weakness not less than ten or
twelve of such unfortunate persons
are said to have been killed by fear.
which even their trusted relatives
could not allay. In one of the tena-
ment- houses devoured by the flames,
a woman, her new born infant and
her husband were burned to death,
the man nobly refusing to leave his
family. and being unable to remove
them to a place of safety. The |
alarum bell sounding and the shock |
of explosions which shook the city to |
its very center as house after house |
was blown up to prevent the further |
spread of the cOnflagrations, added
unspeakable horror to the scene. IL
was wild night of fear and anguish
to many poor soul, but it was not
aevoid of lutlicrouS interest. The
pedal of piano was carefully carried
from High street to Beacon, and left
with friend Of its owner with a
note saying that all was lost-pic-
lures, furniture. everythiag-and on
ly with great difficulty had this been
saved. Old women. with family
plate to save, ran about with it in
their hands, and could not be per
suaded by their grandsons and sons
to act in a rational manner. Family
pride and love of heirlooms probably
exists to a greater extent in Boston
than in any other American city. and
to many an old woman. and many a
Young one. too. for that matter. it
would be almost as hard to lose an
old tea set or cabinet as to lose for (
tune. Some of the men are as bad
Is the women and occasionly more
:razy A welIk known gentleman. {
ong since retired from business
which he left to his son, insisted on I
going down to his ancient counting
-oOm, OF rather to the more elesan; I
,ne that took his place years ago -
In the safe there we're not only bonds |
md mortgages and other business pa '
,ers without number. but there was J
he authentic documents in which the
amily pedigree was traced, He and c
lis son went together: the latter sue $
,eeded after some difficulty in secur- '
-. l. :. - l,,o kIae N,- tho all uantlo =