We are under the deepest obligations to the fire
companies which came, some of them five or six miles, through deep
snow, on cross roads, and did everything in the power of skill or
energy to preserve our other buildings from ruin. Many of the engines
from Boston came four or five miles from the city, but finding the fire
going down, returned without reaching the spot. The engines from
Dedham, we understood, made an unsuccessful attempt to come to our aid,
but were obliged to turn back on account of the condition of the roads.
No efforts, however, would have probably been successful in arresting
the progress of the flames. The building was divided into nearly a
hundred rooms in the upper stories, most of which had been lathed for
several months without plaster, and being almost as dry as tinder, the
fire flashed through them with terrific rapidity.
"There had been no work performed on the building during the winter
months, and arrangements had just been made to complete four out of the
fourteen distinct suites of apartments into which it was divided, by
the first of May. It was hoped that the remainder would be finished
during the summer, and that by the first of October the edifice would
be prepared for the reception of a hundred and fifty persons, with
ample accommodations for families, and spacious and convenient public
halls and saloons.
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