Rambles about Portsmouth. Sketches of persons, localities, and incidents of two centuries: principally from tradition and unpublished documents. By Charles W. Brewster.

210 RAMBLES ABOUT PORTSMOUTH.
uniting in a grand but terrific arch over the centre. How
powerless then was the feeble force of the only three small
engines owned by the town; and how hard to collect a
company at any point, when almost every one thought his
own premises in danger. On, on it swept, and its voracious appetite not only took in all of the edifices that
were combustible, but much of smaller matters that had
been treasured up as invaluable. Prized heirlooms were
burned to ashes; valued paintings gave their oil and coloring to feed the flames; treasured manuscripts, souvenirs,
books, jewels, all disappeared; and those carefully hidden
bank notes, or coins, laid up in some hidden crevice for a
rainy day, it is vain to seek for among the ruins.
The Hon. Daniel Webster lived in a house on the corner
of Court and Pleasant streets. It was built by Oliver
Whipple, about the time and in the same style of the house
of the late John K. Pickering. Mr. Webster was enjoying
the festivities of an entertainment at Jacob Sheafe's, whose
house was on State street, near the east corner of Penhallow street. The house was large, of two stories, with
gambrel roof; the capacious yard on the east paved with
flat stones. When the cry of fire was raised, Mr. Sheafe
turned out a fresh supply of his wine, and with we will
take a parting glass, lMr. Webster," the action was suited
to the word; and Mr. W. went home to see his house
already on fire. Not much time intervened before Mir.
Sheafe found his own house surrounded by burning buildings. The efforts of his company, aided by recruits from
the Navy Yard, for some time kept his premises a dark
spot amid the flames. The next morning, in writing to a
friend in Boston an account of the fire, with characteristic
brevity he said, " I have lost about $50,000 and my faithful
dog Trim."' Notwithstanding his great loss, he headed a
subscription for the sufferers by a liberal sum.
It is worthy of note, that no lives were recorded as lost