3-011-960 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Scene of the Great Fire at Limoges, France - from a sketch by our special artist, 1864. 'The fire...destroyed nearly all that portion of the city comprised between the Church of St. Michel and the Palace of Justice...The cause of the fire has not hitherto been discovered, and, in all probability, never will be...the entire site of the ruins was still smoking and sending forth a tremendous heat, although the engines had not ceased throwing quantities of water upon the debris...from time to time the embers broke out afresh, emitting flames of the most fantastic shapes. In some spots everything has been so completely consumed that the ground has a whitened appearance, with here and there masses of metal protruding sufficiently to show that they had formed portions of kitchen utensils or of iron bedsteads...The enormous ruin calls up a vague reminiscence of Pompeii; similar masses of wall mark the lines of the former streets, and the yawning cellars occasion many a useless regret for the wines destroyed by relentless heat...it is a source of congratulation to reflect that no lives were lost, notwithstanding the dangers to which upwards of 2000 persons momentarily without refuge were necessarily exposed'. From "Illustrated London News", 1864.