ackground of peace only served to intensify the catastrophe which
became known as the Sack of Sackville Street, and it is probable that
only the gap made by the fire which occurred on Tuesday afternoon at
Lawrence's bazaar saved the northern portion of the city.

It was under cover of the blazing buildings that the troops advanced
upon the central position of the Sinn Feiners, one of the pickets being
inside Clery's while the embers beneath his feet were still red, as I
was told: but it was not until Saturday morning that the actual final
shelling and capture of the place was begun.

For this purpose only light shells, happily, were used, and some
incendiary bombs, which soon set fire to the roof of the beautiful
historic landmark.

It was expected that at least a thousand of the rebels were entrapped,
but it was later found out that during the week they had made a complete
tunnel right back as far as Arnot's Stores, blasting their way with the
aid of dynamite, in the use of which they seem to have been coached by a
Berlin expert, who was afterwards captured.

The last struggles of the rebels have been variously described, but they
seem rather early to have made an attempt in force to evacuate the
building from the back, and some hundred and fifty are described as
taking part in the stampede, which was turned into a rout by the machine
guns of the military.

A single shell which exploded right in the barricade in front of the
Coliseum building, which faces a side street, had the effect not only of
closing it by the wreckage of the two corner buildings, but also of
burying one of the rebel leaders.

Everyone then expected that the place would be taken at the point of the
bayonet and a terrible hand-to-hand struggle ensue, as the troops would
thrust the despairing rebels back into the fortress, which was rapidly
turning into a furnace, when suddenly the order was given to cease fire,
and for fully three hours there was a mysterious silence.

Had the place been taken, had the men surrendered, or was it only a
truce, as one rumour had it, in order to enable the city to get in
foodstuffs?--for the food problem had by this time become most acute in
several of the isolated districts.

It proved to be an armistice, during which terms of formal surrender
were concluded with the insurgent leaders, and a short while after four,
Sackville Street beheld the sight of all that were left of them, the
gallant but misguided six