^Original.'}
The Ohsrcb of God In Ashes.
. Isaiah LZi V*-Paraphrase,
t.
AW m.rr b-?T?ti!u! aad sacred ball,
Wherein ?er fathers met of old to prahv,
. Is in cor .raming fire destroyed, and all
ftar pleasant things ere perished in th? blaze.
Oar Holy City is a wilderness,
And desolation grows beneath our eye*-^
Abl Father, WK have sinu'd, but spare and bless;
Bs n?t.-oaa, where thy justice might despise.
n. *
Suffer that -e this ruin may repair.
E?b":!dt.hc boase our fathers raised to thee;
Rene*v the covenant that bids thee spare,*
Cali back the flock thy wrath hath made tc
flee.
Tra?, they have Wandered from thy shepherd';:
fold, v
Have liced*>d not his ?all, b.nt still astray,.
Hove turn'O the deafen'd ear, with hearts toe
cold.
And merit not the mercy that we pray.
Iii.
Tel, sparc fVem, Father-and the holy hall
That still we loved to seek in happier days,
? Restore and hallow-nar again recall,
The awful terrors of the midnight blaze.
Make beautiful the walks we loved of yare,
Maire green ouee more the trees that felt th;
scaith, ^
Tb at, eeeing how gracious art thou to restore,
Our gratitude may help our feeble faith.
C APTUEEVSACK anT !>? STBUCTXOl
or TUE
City of Oo?i?i?ioii
_ xxyii.
We haye already passingly adverted to th
difficulty.of saving the South Carolina Colleg
library from the flamas, and lest we shoal
have conveyed a false impression in respect t
th? degree of effort tuttle in saving it, we giv
tome particulars which may be found of int?
rest. Wa need scarcely say that the professoi
elna g to "their sacred charge with a teuaoit
which never once abandoned it or fsrebore th
: exertions, necessary for its safety; while tl
- officers oi the several .hospitals, to which ti
College buildings werovgeneraJly given u?
. were equally prompt to give their oo-operatie
Yery soon after th? entrance of the enemy in
the city, Dr. Thtmpaon, of the hospital, wi
Professors LaBorde, Reynolds and?Rivere, tot
th air places at the gat* of the College Cam pu
and awaited their approach. Towards noo
a body of Yankees, led by a Captain Yoon
made their appearance et the ga(e, and tl
Burgeon, with the professors, mad? a special a
Eeal to the captain for the protection of tl
brary and the College buildings; to which 1
replied with *a solemn assurance that the pla
should be spared, and that ho would station
sufficient guard within and without tl - val??.
Ht- remarked, with some surpris*.-, ut<on th?*
great size o? .the enclosure and establishment.
Tlie guard was placed,, and no serious occasion
for al rm waa experienced throughout the day;
but, 'rom ali early hour of the night, the bufjfct
ings began to be endangered by showers of
spnrks from contiguous houses, which fell upon
their roofs. This danger increaoed ho?r by
! hour, as thc <fcimes continued to advance, and
finally, the roofs of .th? several dwellings of
Professors LaBorde and Rivers burst out in
ilanies. Their families vere forced to fly, and
? it required all the off orte of professors, surgeons,
J servant*, won a:dc<Fby a file of the Yankees,
Ito arrest the conflagration. Kvery building
I within the campus was tims in danger, and
. Professor Reyccjds ?r>enr, most of the nipht
I ..:{>on his roof, in order to*ec?ire its? safety. The
: ?osriruetioii tit any one building would to ?
! certainty have led to 'lie loss of al!. The mosl
I painful apprehensions wei e~ quickened into s
sense of horror, when the feeble inmates of thc
ho-nitnl remembered. TJiere-were nuui
bera of.ooble soldiers, brave Kentuckians am
. >> liera, desperately wounded, to whom-lack
inj?, aa the v.'*:abli>hiOei>t di?'i at that moment
t.iie necessary labor-but. little assistance- conk
I ...'rendered. They were required io shift t?>?
ltli?raselves, while the few able-bodied me!
j within the campus were on the house to;-:
Sighttug-ttbe-nre. T e pour fellows were to*b<
seeii dragging tli.iir maimed nuil i'eeble bod ito
us heat they could, aloug the fluov.i. hdowt
the si ki ri, and crawling ?>n;. with giSat pab
and Inner, and by the tardiest process, into tha
atmosphere of rocking flame, which npw gir
died the establishment. Others, ajrair, un ab!
to iesve their beds, resigned themselves Lo thei
fate. We can better^conceive than desc>?b
the terrible ag? >u hs,-to them, of those hours c
dreadful anticipation in which they Jay. Ha[
pily, the fires wern subdued by 4 in the mon
ing of Saturday.
Dut the danger, even then, was not ovei
About S a m., the*Co'lege gate was assaulte
by a hand of, drunken cavalry, 150 or mo?
savage, infuriate, beat upon penetrating th
campus, and swearing to fiie the buildings. Th
officer in command ot the guard reported to th
professors that his force was not adequate t
thc protection of the establishment, ?nd thi
he was about to be overwhelmed. Profeeooi
LaBorde aad Rivers, followed by Sur.geo
Thompson, at once sped, in all haste, to tl
headquarters of Gen. Howard, appealing 1
him, ia the moat pnteitmate terms, to redae:
Ina pledge for the protection of the Collaf
and ita library. He promptly commanded b
?Chief of Stan7, Col. Stonefto repair to the ecei
and arrest the danger. This-revolver in hat
-he promptly did, and succeeded in dispersii
the incendiary cavalry.
It may not b j out of place to mention tb
Professors LaBorde, Reynolde and Rivers wa
the o-.dij members of the Faculty present .dui ii
the invasion drVhtf Yankee hordes. Profesa
I it
i. "Vi. ' ?'
? . ' x . ' *
! LeCoii! .- voe not capturad within the cilj, bat
while in Confederate- service, at several miles
distance. _ f., -
It is with profound regret that we add that
the Legislative library, consisting of ?5,Ono
choice vol?mes, was wholly destroyed in the
old Capitol. .
' . . xxmi.
Among the moral and charitable institutions
' which sufferad greatly in the fire, were tho
several Masonic bodia?., They lost everything,'
with rare exception?; houses, lodges, re. nliat,
chart-*, charters, jewels, and every form of im?
plement and paraphernalia.. Mach of this pro?
perty bad been accumulated jn Columbia from
Charleston and other places-had been sent
hither for safe keeping. Their losses will for
a long while be wholly.irreparable, and cannot
be repaired, unless, indeed, tbftbgh the libe?
rality ot remote and wealthy fraternities in
other sections. Tbe furniture and jewels were,
in the largest number of cases, of the richest
and most valuable order, wholly of silver, and
ut great proportion were gifts and bequests of
favorite brothers who had reached the highest'
ranks in the order. We enumerate the follow
in L: lodges as the chief sufferers:
1. Richland Lodge Ko. 3a, A. F. M.
2. Acacia Lodge No. 94, A. F. M..
X. True Brotherhood Ledge ?o. 84, A. F.M.
[These all ru3t,in Columbia.]
4. lUn ion ^Kilwinning Na. 4, A. F. M.
fr. Orange Ne. 14, A. F. M. . .
[These met in Charleston.]
fi. Carolina Chapter No. 1, R. A. M.
7. Columbia Chapter No. 5, R. A. M.
8. Uniou Council No. 5, R. A. M.
j <.. Enoch Lodge of Perfection-Ineffable de?
grees. . ... %
I 10. DeMolay Council, Knights of Kadosch
Ineffable degrees.
The independent Order of Odd Fellow? and
oilier ordere wese pufferers in like degree with
1 the Masonic bodies. These were: '
j 1. Palmetto Lodge No. 5. *
2. Congaree Lodge No. 49.
8. Euta J/ Encampment Lodge No. 2.
4.*Sons of.Temperance.
5 Sous of Malta.
The buildings, chambers, and lodges which
contained' the treasures of the e bodies, ware
first plundered and then given to the flames.
The soldier* -were to be seen about the streets,
dressed up in the aprons, scam and regal?as;
Some or the Yankee Masons were active in
endeavoring to arrest the robbers in their work,
but without success. In a conversation With
one of the Western Masons, he responded to tb?
signs and behaved courteously, out he said:
"We are told that all fraternization with youl
. Masonic bodies of the Sooth, has been eat off.
in consequence of your Masons renoaneing all
connection, or tie between them ?sd th? Masoni
of the North." We replied to him that th?
tory waa absurd, and evidently ?et afloat ir
order to prevent ' tbe Northern .Masons . fron
{affording ?neuer to a Southern brother ia th<