 | A book of Bristol sonnets |  |
88
THE GREAT FIRE IN CHRISTMAS STREET.
1876.
With ruin in their face, from far and near,
Ran the pale merchants on that dreadful night;
The Lansdown cotter shuddered at the sight;
And bold sea-captains crowded sail in fear!
Ha! the flames catch, they ramp from tier to tier!
Tiles slip, the roofs are skeletons of light!
Crash! and upspring huge fountains starry bright!
And, with a groan, walls reel and disappear!
That night the Frome ran steaming round the keels!
On heated bells Saint John gave forth the hour!
Choked, as they toiled, men plied their engine reels;
And still flames drank, and still they would devour;
Till surfeited they fell at break of day,
And in the sobbing streets black homeless ruin lay.
| A book of Bristol sonnets | |