ons of jute, and an immense
quantity of tea, spices, &c., besides many other descriptions of
goods. Although discovered in broad daylight, and before the flames
had made any considerable headway, the want of a ready supply of
water, and the fact that the iron doors in the division walls between
the several warehouses had been left open, taken in connexion with the
extremely combustible nature of the materials, soon rendered hopeless
all chance of saving the buildings and property. Mr. Braidwood was
upon the spot very soon after the alarm had been given, and nearly the
whole available force of the Fire-engine Establishment was summoned at
his command. He appears to have at once foreseen that the fire would
be one of no ordinary magnitude, and that the utmost that could be
done would be to prevent its extending widely over adjoining property.
The floating fire-engines had been got to bear upon the flames, and
the men in charge of the branch pipes were, after two hours' work,
already suffering greatly from the intense heat, when their chief went
to them to give them a word of encouragement. Several minor
explosions, as of casks of tallow or of oil, had been heard, but as it
was understood that the saltpetre stored at the wharf was in buildings
not yet alight, no alarm was then felt as to the walls falling in. At
the moment, however, while Mr. Braidwood was discharging this his last
act of kindness to his men, a loud report was heard, and the lofty
wall behind him toppled and fell, burying him in the ruins. Those of
his men who were near him had barely time to escape, and one person at
his side, not a fireman, was overwhelmed with him. From the moment
when the wall was seen to fall, it was known that whoever was beneath
it had been instantly crushed to death. It is needless, and it would,
indeed, be out of place, to describe here the further progress of the
fire, which had then but fairly begun, and which was still burning
more than a fortnight afterwards.

Great as was the general consternation at so terrible a conflagration,
it is doubtful if the public were not still more impressed by the
dreadful death of Mr. Braidwood, and by a feeling that his loss was a
public misfortune. Her Majesty the Queen, with that ready sympathy
which she has ever shown for crushed or suffering heroism, commanded
the Earl of Stamford to inquire on the spot, on Monday, whether the
body had yet been recovered by the firemen, and Her Majesty's
s