: The Story of the Great Fire in St. John N.B. June 20th 1877 by Stewart George - Saint John (N.B.) Fire 1877

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y painting from the John Miller collection, of Liverpool, England. Mr. James Stewart lost his whole collection of paintings; several of these were of his own work, while a number were by foreign artists. Mr. Stewart copied a landscape painting by an English artist which came out here as a prize, some years ago, and when his work was finished and the two paintings hung side by side, the owner did not know which was his own picture. This copy was for some days in Mr. Notman's studio before the fire, and it is believed that it is lost, as no trace has been had of it. The reader will see from this scanty enumeration of known losses, how great has been the destruction in art-treasures alone. We have not even hinted at the wholesale destruction of bronzes, bas reliefs and bits of sculpture and statuary. In these departments the loss has been also very severe. No money can replace these treasures. These were the things which rendered home bright and happy. It is the love of art and literature which refines and beautifies mankind. It is the book and the picture, and the figure of pale marble which rouse a thousand new delights. They take away the brutal in our nature. They lift us up as it were. We look around the room and the eye rests on something beautiful. We feed our tastes. The picture on the wall refines us, the open book fills the mind with a hundred delicate, footless fancies. We breathe a new air. The etchings on the table, the portfolio of drawings and the books of engravings give to our mind a delight as wonderful as it is delicate and delicious. Can money replace these? Can money buy for us these pictures and books which have been for so many years our companions and friends? Can money replace the bronze figure? Can money bring to us again the portrait of the dear one who lies out there in the green wood buried? Can money supply us with that precious volume of poetry which the author gave us just a year before he died? We may make our homes bright again. We may hang pictures on the walls. We may fill to the full our book-cases and hanging-shelves once more with the great things in literature, but our thoughts will wander back to the days before the fire came and robbed us of all those delights which peopled and filled our homes. But we must not give way altogether to gloom and despondency. We must try and forget the past and devote all our energies, all our brains and skill to the rebuilding of the homes and workshops which have been scattered to the winds. We must never rest till the great end is accomplished; we must never cease working. As Christians, as men, as the proud descendants of a sturdy and stalwart race, we must show the world that we are not a generation of pigmies, and that from these very ashes and ruins a brighter, a more glorious and more prosperous city will arise and resume her old place as the metropolis of the Lower Provinces.

I have told the story of the great fire in St. John in my own way. I have tried to do justice to my theme. Like many others I have passed through the flames, and received as it were my first "baptism of fire." My book has many imperfections. It was necessary that it should be hastily prepared. My publishers demanded this, and gave me a fortnight to write it in. I can therefore claim nothing in favour of the book from a literary point of view, but this I can claim--the history is reliable in every particular. Not a statement within its pages was committed to paper until it was thoroughly and reliably avouched for. I have verified every word which this volume contains; and while the haste in which it was prepared precluded my paying much attention to style, the book is a complete record of the fire as it was, and not as a lively imagination might like it to be. Before taking leave of my readers, I must publicly thank Mr. Joseph W. Lawrence for the splendid aid which he gave me in furnishing the data and historical information about our old churches and other edifices. I had full access to his records and commonplace books, and through these means was enabled to verify much that had come to me in an imperfect condition. To Mr. Gilbert Murdoch, C.E., and Mr. Wm. Murdoch, C.E., of the Water Works and Sewerage Departments, I must also return my thanks, for valuable information about the water supply, for the capital map which accompanies this volume, and for facts connected with the acreage and streetage of the district burned. General Warner, Mayor Earle, Mr. A. C. Smith, Mr. John Boyd, Mr. A. P. Rolph, Mr. Dole, Mr. Hiram Betts, Mr. Elder, Mr. J. L. Stewart, Mr. McDade, Mr. O'Brien, Mr. Stanley, Mr. G. B. Hegan and others, also largely rendered me assistance in collecting information, and to these gentlemen I return my grateful thanks.

The little picture of the ruins, by moonlight, of the Germain street Baptist Church, was very kindly supplied by Mr. John C. Miles, a St. John artist of good reputation. I have great pleasure in acknowledging his politeness here, and at this time.

In conclusion, I might add, that to Mr. E. Lantalum belongs the credit of sounding the first alarm of our great fire.

ADDITIONAL LIST OF DONATIONS.

MONEY.

SUPPLIES.

ADDENDA.

SUPPLEMENTARY DONATIONS.

MONEY.

From returns in detail, just furnished by the Oddfellows' Lodges, the results of the fire, in relation to its effects on individual members appears to have been as follows:--

SENT TO MASONIC FUND.

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