Columbia phoenix. (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1865, April 01, 1865, Image 2
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peril of life to the invalid and weak. Af the
ila wes spread from house to house, you could
helrold, through lone viet' s^f the lurid empire
of flames and gloom, the miserable. tenants of
the once pearn !ul home isrv-ilig forth in dismay,
beading the chattels most uselu.l or precious
and seeking es'?pe through the narrow chan?
nels which the flames" lett them only in the
centre of the streets. Fortunately, the streets
of Columbia are Vtery widej and greatly pro?
tected by umbrageous trees, t*c.t in regular
order, and which, durieg the vernal season,
confer upon tba city o:i<: of its most beautiful
features. But for this width of its passages,
thousands must have been burned to death.
These fni.nilie.- moved in long procession, the
aged ??fe or grund-sire first-? s;?d, worn and tot?
tering man; walking steadily on, with rigid, s?ct
features aud fearless eye:-too*m*Sch stricken,
too much (stunned*, for ?ny prdiuary .--hows ol
suffering, j Perhaps,'tho aged v. ?fe limite upor?
ono erm, while the other was support?e by a
daughter. 'Aid huddling close like le rr; ii. d
partridges, came theyottirV. eacb brarnig-scu: .
little bundk-all pressing forward under the
lead of lb? sir<>. and h<: ewitleas where to gt>.
The ascending ri r<> spo.Mts flamed befor#*th?m
on ev^ry band-the shouts <>f the demonic*
OMsniled t,hern at cv?iy step-the infernal furies
danced . around 'hun a.- they went, piercing
their e^irs wn^ (?en id thr< i.^sr.nd imprecations.
The liule bandies were matched from the
grosp nf their trembling bearers, tom Open,
sacked, and what did not tempt the robber WHS
hu bu into the contiguous (>:!.: of llamo. -'And
group aber group, st.. cuni after stream, of fuci
t\res thus pura'a.-d their way thVoUih the pallis
ot Huming and i. >w:iu:r horror, only too glad
to ding them .. I vi--, on the open ground,
whit ber, in*spi.ases, they had sufeceeded in
conveying a' fVather bed or uuittreas. Th?:
mailt, or open s.juares, th? ??culrcs of the wi?*
Streets, like hmpress stied, w?rc thus strew r
with piles of be<idirg. On which lay exhaust?,
mothers-some xof them* with anxious pbyai
cians iu attendance, and girdJed by crouching
.children, and iiifants. wild ami almost i'diotii
with their tenors, in one ense, us we hav,
mentioned, a woman about to beeouie a motbei
"Waa thus borne out fjjom. a burning dwelling
it wu? scarcely possible to advise in wide}
'direction to fly. The churches were at firs
?ought by many several D' reams of population
But these wer.- found I" afford no security
Tbith?' the hellish perseverance of tba fiend
iBlowcd them, aid the churches of God wei?
set ??u 'lame- Again driven forth, number
made th?:.- wa\ into the recesses of Sidne
Park, und here fancied to hud security, as bu
ft>tv houses occupied the neighborhood, am
thesV nat sufficiently high t<> lead to appreh*n
alon from the t?nmes But the. ingenuity o
hat*, und malice was not to lie battled, and An?
bali::* thrown trom thc heights into the deepes
hollow.- id Hie park, taught the wretched fugi
ti ve* to despair of any refuge from enemies <
?uch "unwi sri cd and unremitting rage. Agai
. IIIMIMIIB Uli ?????lliqi t^_fE.lill IMBI!. \r.
wcret iiey (forc?d to scatter, finding their wny
to oilier places of retreat, and finding none of
theffl secure. *
? . Axrr.
One of- these niournfuLjprocessions"of fugi?
tives, was that of ike sisterhood of thifcanvent,
the nuns and their pupils. -Beguiled to the last
moment ty the specious promises and assur?
ances of oncers aud others in Sherman's army,
the Mothcr^Superior had clung to her house to
the.hist possible moment. It waa not merely a
hom?', out in some degree a temple, and, to the
pi ofessors of one church at least, a shrine, lt
hud been chosen, as we have seen, as the place
of refuge for ninny of oilier churches. We have
already assigned the reasons which led all
parties lo believe that it was particularly safe
as a retient. Much treasure had been lodged
iii ir. for safekeeping, and thc Convent hud' a
consider:!I>le treasTtre of ita owf:. \\ was lib?"
rah y ami largely farnislfei, not orfly Sis a do?
main, bite as un academy of thc highest stan?
dard. lt was complete in al! the agencies and
mat arisl for such an academy and for the he
couimodatioti of perhaps two hundred pupils.
'Among those agencies for education weie ne
less than seventeen pianos. . The harp, the i;ui.
t ar, th?globe, lite maps, .le-ks, benches, bedding
and' ?ilot?iii.g, v.rf-re all supplied' on a seale o:
equal sin pl itude. Thc establishment also pos?
sesed Umie fine, pictures, original aud from lh<
first musters. The removal of. these \?as lin
possible, abd henea, Uie reluctaucefk>f the Mo
t ?1er Superior to leave her house wa? sufficiently
natural. Assured? besides of safety, she re
maiued until further delay would have perille?
the safety of her innocent and^ numerous iloek
This lady marshalled her procession'wi th gt ea
good sense, coolness and decision. They wen
instructed to secure the clothes most suitable ti
their protection- from the weather, ami to tah
with, tii.i-iii".'those valuables vvhicn were port
able; raid, accompanied by the kev. IX*! O'Con
nell, by iMr. Jacob Cohen-who w?s especial Ij
efliaienl in their service-and others, ihe dam
sels tiled on, under the lead of theil Supermi
throtsgh l?>ng tracts of fire, burling roo ls, nita
blingvwu!ls, wading through billows ol i?uint
and taking, at fittt, the pathway to S:. I'oti-.r
(Catholic) Church, blinding fires left thei
utmost aimless in their marcie but they sa.
ctfcdediii ranching the desired" point in .-?feij
Herc, on strips of bedding*quilts and coverlet:
the young ?iris found repose, protected by th
vigilance ul a few gentlemen, their pries;. Mi
Cohen, and we believe by two officers of th
vYunkee arcar, whose names are given as Co
thorley and ?>ra Gurlughau. To these gentlemen
both Catholic Irish, the Mother >upetjjor ai
knowledges her grjat indebtedness. They ha
need of all the watch and vigilance of thee
persons. It was soon found that the fieojls ha
followed them io, their flight, like sleutl
hounds, and were making' attempts to fire th
edifice on several sides. These attempts, r<
peatodly baffled and as often renewed, showe
at length so tenacious a purpose for its dq^m
" '""-' - _ * , ;
? tion, that it was. thought bert to Heave the
building and seek refuge in the church-yard,
i and there, in the cold and chill, mid among thc
grave-stones with the dead, these terrified liv
: inj; ones, denied to rest, remained,trent blink
watchers through the rest, of this dreary nicht.
XXUT.
Weetah* leave l*ere. to borrow freely from a
i communication made by the Rev. Lawrence P.
[O'Connell to the Catholic* Pacificator. He so
! fully reports the fate of St. Mary's College-that
I nothing ueed be added to it. V?c have sim ply
I abridged such portions of his statement as
might be dispensed with in this connection:
j "St. Mary's College, founded *.? 1852 by the
: Rev. J. J. O'Connell, pastor of the Catnolics in
? Columbia, was robbed, pillaged and then given
; to the flames. The College was a very fine
brick building, and capable of accommodating
over One hundred students. It had an excellent
library attached, whicli was selected with great
care, and with no limited Tiew to expeuse. It
also possessed several magnificent paintings
executed in Rome, and presented to the institu
tion by kind patrons. Resides the*property be
longing to St. Mary's College, that of fout
priests, who were ?ts professors and lived there
I'was also consumed. Each, as is always tb.
j case araengst the Catholic clergy, had his indi
vidual collection of books, paintings, statuary
sacred pictures, ?fcc. Nobody who is not i
rigorous student and a lover of literature cat
possibly realize the losses sustained by thes
gentlemen. Manuscripts of rare value, not?
taken front lectures of the most eminent mei
in Europe and America, orations, sermons, ?cc
j are treasures not often valued by the vulgat
j but \to the compiler they are more priceles
?than diamonds. Of those who'lost ail ia St
j Murk's, three are brothers, viz: Revs. Jer?mial
I J. O'Connell, Lawrence P. O'Connell and ?Iosep!
I P. 0 Connell, D. H.; and the other, Rev. Aug?i
{lus J. McNeal."
; The Post Chaplain, the author of the repos
. froin which we draw?, was the only eler?ymaj
in the College when it wat destroyed. He wi
made a prisoner, and, though pleading to t
allowed to .-?ave the holy oils, <fcc., his pray?
,was rejected with hlaspliemuts and curses,
sacrilegious squad drunk tlrwr whiskey fro
t he sacred chalice. The-sacred vestments an
consecrated vessels used for the celebration
the mass-all things, indeed, pertaining to tl
? xereise of sacerdotal functions-were pi
?faned and stolen. Of the College itself, ai
! the property whiC it contained, nothing w
! saved but the ma- ..d nun*, whiett show whe
tho fabric t?ood. The . hjrgynlen saved nothi
beyond the1 garments wbieh% they had up
their persons. ?
XXIV. ' '1-r*?
The destruction of private libraries and }
luable collections of objects of art and vir
was very large tn Columbia. It waa hy t
argent entreaties of the Rev. Mr. Porter, I
professors aud others, that the safety of <
South Carolina College library was assur