sion, and though warned by Sir Allan MacNab that a riot
was in progress, it hesitated to take the extreme step of {126} calling
out the military to protect its dignity. At this time the whole police
force of the city numbered only seventy-two men, and, in emergencies,
law and order were maintained with the aid of the regiments in
garrison, or by a force of special constables. Soon the House found
that Sir Allan's warning was against no imaginary danger. Volleys of
stones suddenly crashed through the lighted windows, and the members
fled for their lives. The rabble flowed into the building and took
possession of the Assembly hall. Here they broke in pieces the
furniture, the fittings, the chandeliers. One of the rioters, a man
with a broken nose, seated himself in the Speaker's chair and shouted,
'I dissolve this House.' It seems like a scene from a Paris _emeute_
rather than an actual event in a staid Canadian city. Soon a cry was
heard, 'The Parliament House is on fire.' Another band of rioters had
set the western wing alight, and, in a quarter of an hour, the whole
building was a mass of flames. Although the firemen turned out
promptly, they were forcibly prevented by the mob from doing their
duty, until the soldiers came to their support, and then it was too
late to save the building. Next day only the ruined walls {127} were
standing. The Library of Parliament was burned in spite of efforts to
save it, and the student of Canadian history will always mourn the loss
of irreplaceable records and manuscripts in that tragic blaze. One
thing was rescued. Young Sandford Fleming and three others carried out
the portrait of the Queen. It was almost as gallant an act as rescuing
the Lady in person.

Nor was the destruction of the Parliament Building the final outbreak.
Next evening the mob was at its work again, attacking the houses or
lodgings of the various Reform leaders. LaFontaine's government
ordered the arrest of four ringleaders in the last night's riot. In
revenge his house was entered forcibly, the furniture smashed, the
library destroyed, and the stable set on fire. In fact, for three days
Montreal was like a city in revolution. A thousand special constables,
armed with pistols and cutlasses, in addition to the soldiery were
needed to restore something like order in the streets. But the rioting
was not over even yet. The most violent scene of all took place on the
thirtieth of April. The House