the year 1819, by Henry Wright, Collector, and used as a private residence up to about twelve years ago. It was built by day's work, and in those days the workmen received every Saturday night their pay in Spanish doubloons. Change was very scarce, and there was no paper money. Mr. Henry Wright died in 1829, and the house then fell into the occupancy of the late Wm. Wright, Advocate General, and John Boyd, M.D. Mr. Wilson was its lessee latterly, and it became an hotel under his management. It held a commanding position, and looked far out to sea. Strangers always paused to look up to the splendid front and defiant head, which reminded them of the old strongholds which render historic every inch of the old land across the blue water. And to-day, the ruins look even more picturesque and grand than the building did in its proudest days. Another landmark has been taken away, and it did not long survive those who dwelt in its spacious halls in the days of the long ago. But while the fire was busy with this portion of the City, it was also extremely active and equally destructive in the lower part of St. John. The barracks were even burned down long before it was deemed likely that the Victoria Hotel would go. The sparks travelling in this direction with great rapidity, soon communicated with the long, low building which was built for the troops in 1819.[I] The fire, when it reached here had full scope. Nothing stood in its way, and it really spent its greatest strength here. The majority of the houses in this quarter were composed of wood, and so many of them were close together, that four or five houses were burned to the ground in about the same space that in ordinary times would be spent in consuming one. The burning of the barracks was witnessed by several thousand persons, and, for a while there were some who fancied that the blaze would cease with the destruction of this property. But, alas, for the fallacy of human hopes. The great headway of the flame was made, and nothing could stop it, till from sheer exhaustion, it spent itself. But the eager wind kept fanning it into fury whenever it shewed signs of abatement and not until it reached the barren banks along the water's edge did it relinquish its grasp on men's household goods and homes. Even then it did not stop at once, for small scrubs of trees, bits of shrubbery and grass fed it for a while. Indeed the fire may be said to have taken a new lease of life in those back places, and the rookeries of whole streets were swept into ruin and their inmates hurried into greater misery than they had ever known before. In Main Street, St. James (Episcopalian) Church was burned; it caught very soon from a flying spark. This church was erected in the summer of 1850 by Trinity Church. The parish was set off from Trinity in 1852, but the church was built two years before; the dividing line of the parish was south of Queen Street; the first rector was the Rev.