Could we have reached the
lake shore, where several canoes were moored at the landing,
by launching out into the water we should have been in perfect
safety; but, to attain this object, it was necessary to pass
through this mimic hell; and not a bird could have flown over it
with unscorched wings. There was no hope in that quarter, for,
could we have escaped the flames, we should have been blinded and
choked by the thick, black, resinous smoke.
The fierce wind drove the flames at the sides and back of the house
up the clearing; and our passage to the road, or to the forest, on
the right and left, was entirely obstructed by a sea of flames. Our
only ark of safety was the house, so long as it remained untouched
by the consuming element. I turned to young Thomas, and asked him,
how long he thought that would be.
"When the fire clears this little ridge in front, ma'am. The Lord
have mercy upon us, then, or we must all go!"
"Cannot you, John, try and make your escape, and see what can be
done for us and the poor children?"
My eye fell upon the sleeping angels, locked peacefully in each
other's arms, and my tears flowed for the first time.
