LIFE IN THE CITY.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume LVIII, Issue 8942, 17 December 1907, Page 2

LIFE IN THE CITY.

Life is a journey; on we go Through mahya scene of joy and woe

FIRE AT PARLIANENT BUl£bPings. -mL — ■J^

A New View -Dress Circle Seats—lndignant Sleepers-A Sudden Summons — Quaint Attire—Glory of Dawn -Silent Crowds — Brao". Firemen—Varied Salvage—Distinguished Company— A Big Bobby and a Small Barrow — The C'dm of the Library — Destroying the Chimneys Personal Louses —Need for a General Alarm—Town Hall or Temporary Building.

■ The burning of Parliament Buildings dwarfs into insignificance every other topic, and even now—two days' after the event —by which time, usually, calamities are almost forgotten, crowds of curious pilgrims flock up Oharlotte-street and 101 l against the railings, watching the workmen clearing away the debris. There is an unfamiliar gap in the view now, through which the bush and houses of Sydney-street are seen beyond the pathetic heaps of ruins. Ours being the very nearest house to Parliament Buildings, which afcil now, was a matter of great pleipfce ami comfort to us—we had a dresscircle seat for the show, and, apart from the sad destruction, it was a magnificent spectacle. Those who slumbered peacefully while it was progressing are now going about reproaching their neighbours for their selfishness in not waking them up. At twenty minutes to three we were roused by a vehement knocking and ringing, and found it was the editor of one of the morning papers, who, on his road home, had been in time for the first act of the tragedy. "Parliament Buildings on fire! ,, he said, and there was little need for corroboration, for the rooms were red with the vivid glare, and we could see the great flames leaping above the roof of the Library. As yet there was no hurrying crowd and no sound of the firebell or the brigade, but we knew what a sudden change of wind might result in, and while I dressed hurriedly I wondered whether I should ever do it again in the same familiar surroundings. We got the hoses about the house ready for action, my maid was instructed as to wet blankets, and we arranged what to save out of our multifarjjfc household goods. Then we prepared to appreciate the spectacle. The night was ideal, dark but starlit, with a breeze, slight at first but increasing later, that blew the flames exactly in the direction in which they could do least harm—viz., over the wide space of tenuis courts. Had the huge masses of flame that burst out later been blown towards the north, half Hi 11-street would have been burnt.

A dense crowd soon gathered, and some weird garbs were to be seen. Girls, noted for their dainty finish and taste in frocks and chiffons, appeared in the first wraps they could catch tip in the hurry, and there were men in dressing-gowns and slippers, while at least half the overcoats covered more or less gaudy pyjamas. I noticed a damsel in a pink opera wrap and bath slippers—a lovely spot of colour when she moved into the ruddy glare. A matron, whose everyday costume is the climax of refined smartness, wore a tight ulster and her grey hair, uncovered, twisted in a wee knob at the back of her head ; and I was introduced to a quaintly-attired Australian lady by the light of the flames, who next day had to remind me that we were known to each other. I should have recognised her again, and I' ws" not quite sure whether to regard it as a compliment that she knew me. These extempore costumes showed to immanse advantage when the dawn came. Many of us are all too unacquainted with the glory of sunrises, which, perhaps, was the reason the vivid beauty of Wednesday struck us keenly. The tossing flames seemed repeated in the broad crimson bars in the east. By this time thousands had gathered, and from the galleries of the terraced gardens up Hill-street, dense crowds watched the flames. Every window had its quota of faces, every fe nee its cheveau-de-frise of urchins, and on every post someone was mounted, while the road was massed with folk. It was an orderly crowd, but with none of that gaiety of spirit possessed by an ordinary throng, for it seemed to be pervaded by a spirit of awe and regret as the historic pile became dust and ashes. Through the volumes of smoke and tongues of flame, from the upper fence, Government House seemed in a position of great danger, and Mrs Waterfield—wife of His Excellency's private secretary, who is away,—must hj«! had an anxious time in her i'Jßre house at the gates opposite fee museum. As it was the Congregational Church at the corner of Bowen-street and the Terrace did catch fire, but was soon extinguished.

There was no checking the flames, so fierce were they, and the water seemed to disappear into ineffectual steam before it readied the heart of the fire. The firemen worked gallantly, and the crowd shivered and shut its eyes at; some of their thrilling positions. Later on, in the morning, I saw a poor fellow staggering round the building, his clothes burnt and his face all scorched and blue. He was quite alone, but managed to get help to the neighbouring chemist, where his burns were dressed. He had fallen from an upper floor auiong a heap of burning debris. Several men were overpowered by the smoke, and were "laid out"—in football parlance—on the lawn till they got better, when they put on their helmets and started their perilous work again. In keen contrast to these were the individuals who talked and did nothing or little. There was the man who went about with a wet rag over his mouth, and talked largely of the perils he had been through, when he never ventaAd into any tight corner, and the SRpossessed person who dashed into the burning building and emerged with a waste-paper basket and an American broom. Fortunately, other people had more discrimination, and our front gardens became repositories for extraordinary collections of salvage, while the lawn in front of Parliament was dotted with heaps of debris, from the bonnet of Mrs Speaker to the elaborate Chesterfields from the Cabinet Room. Against my fence, inside the gate, were the two oil paintings of Mr Seddon, one very large and valuable, by Tennyson Cole; and my drawing-room

was littered with miscellaneous articles, including all the drawers and their contouts of a desk, three typewriters, and more hug® pictures. Never have I entertained such distiuajaished company, for there were Sir ..JHbrge Grey, Sir Julius Vogel, the Duchess of York, and a collection of old political notables.

When it seemed possible that the Library might—if not destroyed—at least be injured by the smoke and water, the Chief Librarian decided to move the books. Volunteers were called for, and scion a procession was trotting from the open windows to a house across the road. I noticed among the helpers heads of departments, professional niou, wharf lumpers, aud many boys. A giant policemau wheeled a little library trolley with more enthusiasm than success, for he had overloaded his vehicle, and the books fell off continually, and. having to be picked up, his progress was comically slow. Some wise folk commaudeered tin baths, buckets aud baskets, and carried their books in them. In this way eight thousand books were moved in three-quarters of an hour. After all, there was no occasion for the precaution, as the Library was uninjured. J. went over jfcghc same morning, and except for pools ot water on the floor and the dismantled shelves, it had quite its normal look of literary leisure and luxury. Morning tea was partaken of in the most public manner. Looking along the. row of terraced houses about five o'clock, I noticed several al-fresco tea-parties in the porches and in the front gardens. In some hospitable houses tea was ou tap for hours, aud there was a perpetual brew for hot and thirsty helpers. On * Thursday there was another thrill, the pulling down of one of the great, chimneys that stood tall and threatening among the ruins. One of the first ropes broke, and sent the men flying among the flower-beds, but at last the tall brickwork shook, wavered, and fell with a sickening crash and upheaval of dust and smoke. Now there is a grand sorting out. People are only beginning to realise what they have lost, and to wish, too late, that they had not left so many thiugs in their desks and cupboards. One official, I hear, lost a new dresssuit and about £40 worth of diamonds.

Another, contrary to his custom, left money in his desk, and a third the loss of a valuable old The Speaker's wig is saved, but the mace is lost, and another will have to be got before Parliament can be legally assembled. Valuable pictures, too, have been burnt. The fine painting of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, in her robes, that used to hang at the end of the lobby, could not be cot. out, although the * poor photo-lithograph ot the Princess of Wales lias been saved. There should have been a geueral alarm, and then officials would have been on the spot who knew where valuables were, and could have saved them. As it was, many only heard the news at breakfast time. The ar-

raugemeuts for next session are being widely discussed by, of course, irresponsible persons. The Town Hall or a temporary building on the tennis grounds are the two alternatives suggested.