situation of the office seemed to promise safety. It was far away from the business portion of the town, and no one dreamed of its being attacked from the contingent which moved along Carmarthen Street. Here at least many persons thought, was a place of safety. From four o'clock in the afternoon, while the rich row of buildings in the Market Square were struggling against overwhelming odds, load after load of furniture, merchandise and general chattels poured into the spacious yard, and even the office itself was for a time a vast warehouse. It was only when the work of the incendiary showed itself in Leinster Street and old Malachi's toppled over, that the destruction of the well-equipped office was considered imminent. Then it was that heart-sick and weary men and women, who had worked all day, and who had lost nearly all they possessed, and had hoped what little they had taken to the water-office yard would be saved, began to realize the situation. Where could they go now? Where could they take the only remnants which reminded them of the bright home they had had that morning. Twice had they gathered up the fragments, and in each removal the little heap grew smaller than before. But it was worse now. In the afternoon teams could be had for five dollars a load, and now as high as thirty, and even fifty dollars were refused by inhuman drivers. Calamities sometimes make barbarians of men, and the nearer the flames got, and the hotter the breath of the fire became, the more exorbitant was the price asked by owners of vehicles, and the more inhumanity mankind exhibited. Women cried and groaned as they fell on all that was left, and some begged piteously for help. But when they got a dray or a sloven, where could they go? The wild behemoth could overtake them where'er they went. But on came the fire, both sides of the street, back again by Carmarthen Street, up by Carmarthen Street. Here the force united, and crushing out all before it, drove with tremendous energy and iron-like rigour into the very heart of the building. In an instant it was on fire in ten places, and the huge pipes alongside that looked so like an array of mounted cannon, were all that remained in the yard the next day. The blacksmith shop, oil-house, stable, and everything near showed scarcely a trace of what they had been. The great bulk of the valuable records, papers and plans and specifications of the office were saved through the untiring vigilance of the superintendent, his valuable aids and the workmen in the employ of the Company. Nothing, indeed, that could not be replaced in a little time was lost.