NEW YORK. 



NIERITZ, KARL G. 



audience was taken with a panic, so that in 

 the rush for the doors numbers were over- 

 thrown and regardlessly trampled upon by the 

 crowd. The galleries were particularly full, 

 and the weight and rush of the people upon 

 one of the staircases precipitated it and the 

 mass of persons below, where they died by fire 

 with fearful suffering. Two hundred and nine- 

 ty-three persons perished altogether. Of the 

 dead only two hundred and seventeen corpses 

 were identified. The whole audience numbered 

 about one thousand. The majority of the vic- 

 tims were young men and boys who occupied 

 the galleries. The fire first began, probably, 

 from the perforated border of one of the flies 

 catching fire from one of the lights, or from a 

 shred of paper falling into a light. The whole 

 scenery burst into flames almost instantly, and 

 the fire spread rapidly to the galleries and 

 roof. At the first alarm Miss Claxton, one of 

 the actresses, came to the front and begged 

 the audience to keep quiet, but without effect. 

 The fire spread so rapidly that the last people 



to leave the parquet were closely pursued by 

 the flame and smoke, and the dome of the roof 

 fell before the theatre was abandoned. Among 

 the dead were two of the actors in the cast, 

 H. S. Murdock and Claude Borroughs. The 

 theatre was considered as safe as the average 

 of American play-houses, built with fifteen 

 inches width of exit for each one hundred 

 seats; but the provisions for the extinguish- 

 ment of fire were altogether inadequate, and it 

 appeared at the inquest that it had not been 

 customary tor theatrical directors to specially 

 instruct their employe's what to do in case of 

 the outbreak of fire. Since this great calamity 

 much completer precautionary measures have 

 been practised in the management of theatres, 

 and many of the theatres in the city have been 

 required to improve their means of exit. As a 

 partial consequence of the Brooklyn fire may 

 be regarded the panic which occurred during 

 service in St. Francis Xavier's Church in New 

 York several weeks later, upon a false alarm 

 of fire, in which seven lives were destroyed. 



ATLANTIC DOCK, BROOKLYN. 



Lucius ROBINSON, the new Governor, had 

 spent many years in the public service of the 

 State, and won especial distinction in the office 

 of Controller of the Treasury, a position 

 which he occupied at the time of his nomina- 

 tion. He was born in 1810, in Greene County, 

 and was educated as a lawyer. After serving 

 as District Attorney in his county, he was ap- 

 pointed Commissioner of Chancery in New 

 York City, which office he retained from 1843 

 to 1846. As Assemblyman in 1859, and again 

 in 1873, he rendered conspicuous and useful 

 service. He was Controller for three terms, 

 being first elected in 1861 on the Union ticket, 

 by the immense majority of 160,000 votes, and 

 being renominated in 1863 by the Republican 

 State Committee, but, defeated in the State 

 Convention, he was again elected upon the 

 withdrawal of the nominee in his favor. For 

 a third term he was the Democratic candidate, 

 but was defeated by the popular vote. As 



State Controller he had evinced force of 

 character, financial knowledge, and executive 

 ability. At the beginning of the -war, shortly 

 after the first issue of greenbacks, his financial 

 principles led him to the very decided act of 

 paying the interest of the canal debt in coin. 

 His economical, systematic, and able manage- 

 ment of the State Treasury was of great benefit 

 to the State in trying times. He wiped out 

 the bounty-debt in twelve years, was very 

 efficient in breaking up the canal ring, and 

 aided effectively the movement which frus- 

 trated railroad frauds. His whole record 

 shows him to be a thorough man of affairs, 

 equally conversant with the small details and 

 the whole scope of State business, of earnest 

 and enlightened views, and firm and discrimi- 

 nating judgment. 



NIERITZ, KAEL GUSTAV, a German writer 

 for the young, born July 2, 1795; died Febru- 

 ary 16, 1876. He was educated in the teach- 



