I went to a fire in the South Cove. It had started in a large building fronting on Federal Street, I should say, and when I arrived, this block was an empty shell. The flames were sweeping on among wretched structures in the rear. It was night. To get a good view of the fire, I left the street and stumbled through dark courts and alleys until I was hopelessly lost. The fire light died away and I was left blundering between the tenement houses. I did not meet anyone. The last I can recall I had emerged at the waterfront and was picking my way over deserted and rickety wharves, where every other plank had been removed.