. Life and reminiscences from birth to manhood of Wm. G. Johnston . of furnaces leaping upward and lighting theheavens, while a myriad of stacks belched forth volumesof densest smoke, he described the scene tersely andgraphically as Hell with the lid off. Even more fit-ting would have been that simile for the scenes presentedon the memorable tenth day of April, 1845. The fire burned over twenty squares of closely builtproperty—equalling about forty acres. From the placeof beginning to where it ceased was one mile in money value of the loss was never closely estimated—one writer fixe
. Life and reminiscences from birth to manhood of Wm. G. Johnston . of furnaces leaping upward and lighting theheavens, while a myriad of stacks belched forth volumesof densest smoke, he described the scene tersely andgraphically as Hell with the lid off. Even more fit-ting would have been that simile for the scenes presentedon the memorable tenth day of April, 1845. The fire burned over twenty squares of closely builtproperty—equalling about forty acres. From the placeof beginning to where it ceased was one mile in money value of the loss was never closely estimated—one writer fixed it at from five to fifty millions ofdollars, figures all-sufficient to embrace the correctamount; but more careful guesses set it at about fifteenmillions. Well-nigh the entire business portion of thecity was destroyed—and the destruction was and glass were melted as thoroughly as whenpassed through furnaces, and the debris in general ofbuildings and their contents was ashes. The old woodenbridge across the Monongahela, the only one spanning. I Begin to Play at Business. 185 that river, which had been built in 1816, was consumedin ten minutes of time. My fathers house, as stated,and most of the property in which he had an interest, wasburned. The printing house, however, just on the edgeof the fire line, was saved. The University was gone, and without a tear from was adrift, and may say that for the space of five yearsI continued to drift. My father, intent upon his ownaffairs, seemed unconscious of mine or of me. Johnston & Stockton were able to resume businessalmost at once. In order to do this they purchased thelease of another bookstore on Market Street, but a shortdistance from the one they had occupied, together withthe entire stock of goods, which added to what they hadsaved, gave them an ample supply. And consideringthat their printing establishment had escaped the fire,they were more fortunate than most other businesshouses. After a year, the
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