te, and had been waiting and wondering all night, thinking it
would be improper to talk into the street!

A young lad came up the court at last; he lived next door; he was an
errand-boy in some great store on Franklin Street. His mother spoke
to him from her window.

"Bennie! how is it?"

"Mother! All Boston is gone up! Summer Street, High Street, Federal
Street, Pearl Street, Franklin Street, Milk Street, Devonshire
Street,--everything, clear through to the New Post Office. I've been
on the Common all night, guarding goods. There's another fellow
there now, and I've come home to get warm. I'm almost frozen."

His mother was at the door as he finished speaking, and took him in;
and they heard no more.

The boy's words were heavy with heavy meaning. He said them without
any boy-excitement; they carried their own excitement in the heart
of them. In those eight hours he had lived like a man; in an
experience that until of late few men have known.

They did not know how long they stood there after that, with
scarcely a word to each other,--only now and then some utterance of
sudden recollection of this and that which must have vanished away
within that stricken territory,--taking in, slowly, the reality, the
tremendousness of what had happened,--was happening.

It was five o'clock when Mr. Hewland came in, and up the stairs, and
found them there. Aunt Blin had not awaked. There was a trace of
morphine in her cough-drops, and Bel knew now, since she had slept
so long, that she would doubtless sleep late into the morning. That
was well. It would be time enough to tell her by and by. There would
be all day,--all winter,--to tell it in.

Mr. Hewland told them, hastily, the main history of the fire.

"Is Trinity Church?"--asked poor Miss Smalley tremblingly.

She had not said anything about it to Bel Bree; she could not think
of that great stone tower as having let the fire in,--as not having
stood, cool and strong, against any flame. And Trinity Church was
_her_ tower. She had sat in one seat in its free gallery for
fourteen years. If that were gone, she would hardly know where to
go, to get near to heaven. Only nine days ago,--All Saints'
Day,--she had sat there listening to beautiful words that laid hold
upon the faith of all believers, back through the church, back
before Christ to the prophets and patriarchs, and told how God was
_her_ God because He had been theirs. The old faith,--and the Old
Church! "Was Tri