Then swiftly the quick-breathing city,
The fearful and panic-struck city,
The startled and fire-deluged city,
Rushed back from the South and the West.
And loudly the fire-bells were clanging, and ringing their funeral notes;
And loudly wild accents of terror came pealing from thousands of throats;
And loud was the wagon's deep rumbling, and loud the wheel's clatter and
creak;
And loud was the calling for succor from those who were sightless and
weak;
And loud were the hoofs of the horses, and loud was the tramping of feet;
And loud was the gale's ceaseless howling through fire-lighted alley and
street;
But louder, yet louder, the crashing of roofs and of walls as they fell;
And louder, yet louder, the roaring that told of the coming of hell.
The Fire-king threw back his black mantle from off his great
blood-dappled breast,
And sneered in the face of Chicago, the Queen of the North and the West.
[Illustration: "AND LOUDLY WILD ACCENTS OF TERROR CAME PEALING FROM
THOUSANDS OF THROATS."]