armed going
off from the Post Office.

The "Metropole" being situated alongside the Post Office, I could not
get any direct view of what I knew would be the centre of the battle,
and so I determined to move across to the "Imperial," which, situated
_vis-a-vis_ the Post Office on the top of Clery's Stores, commanded the
fullest view of the rebel headquarters.

There I found everyone, including the manager, Mr. Woods, in the same
state of bewilderment as at the "Metropole."

I mentioned who I was, and was told that a priest in the smoking-room
had just heard that John Redmond had been captured by the Sinn Feiners
and had, in all probability, been shot--but this was only one of the
thousand rumours that were by this time flying about the city, another
being that the Castle was in flames, with the Lord-Lieutenant in the
middle of the inner yard, and yet another describing the heroic death of
Father O'Doherty of Marlborough Street, who was supposed to have been
shot through the head in full vestments, having endeavoured to
remonstrate, cross in hand, with the rebels, in order to persuade them
to lay down their arms in the name of God.

The street was now (9.30) in a perfect state of pandemonium, for a fire
had begun in the premises of the Cable Shoe Company, which immediately
adjoined Clery's, and hence was an imminent danger to us.

I rushed down, and to my amazement found that the place, already looted,
had been set on fire deliberately, and that there was not one of the
crowd of two hundred spectators who seemed to be aware of, or even to
care about, the fate of the flat over the shop, which from the look of
the curtains appeared to be inhabited.

The cellars were crackling as if they contained some fatty, resinous
substance, purposely placed there with incendiary intent, and the smoke
was blinding and suffocating. The door of the side entrance was locked
and I could not force it, so I called for a few volunteers to try to
break it down by ramming it with some planks that were lying about, and
though we did not succeed in breaking it, we were able to arouse the
attention of the sleepers, and a dentist popped his head out and told us
there were women and children in the house.

Some by this time had run off for the fire-engine, and others, realizing
the danger, helped us to carry the inmates to safety, one woman being
actually in her confinement and frightened almost to death. After that
we rescued a few personal