Offley and Iloboli

“ About this time M r. Church hill came in, and insisted that Mrs. Goodell and the children should immediately go to his house, quite in the lower part of Pera, towards Galata, and there remain till we should come, as he was sure my house could not stand long. They left in company with Messrs. Offley and Iloboli, clerks in Mr. Church- hill’s counting-house. Soon after, Mr. Cunningham came to tell me that his house, with every thing in it, was gone, and that mine could not resist much longer. Every house back of mine was in ashes, or nearly so; every house on the left hand was all on fire, and the house next to mine on the right had just caught. In front, and separated from me by a narrow street, was the large garden of the English palace, surrounded by a very high wall. Assisted by Mr. Churchhill and Panayotes, a friendly Greek, who came over from Constantinople and stayed by me during all that day, and several of the succeeding ones, we threw from the projections or balconies of our chambers into this garden whatever came to hand, till my strength was exhausted, and Mr. Churchhilf declared that we could not remain in the house another minute in safety.

The fire had passed through the adjoining house to the very front, and was sweeping the front part of mine, which was not defended by iron shutters. He started, and bade me follow. I called to my servant Giovanni, and then passed through a shower of tiles, windows, and fire brands, that were falling into the street from the adjoining house. My hat caught fire, but, praised be God, I passed unhurt. The servant, who was not a quarter of a minute behind, was not able to follow, and had to return into the house, and was somehow saved by the firemen through the ashes and fire at the back part of the house.

Impossible to make a near approach

“ We hastened to the garden, and towards the spot where we had thrown so many things, and where I expected to find them all secure. We found it impossible to make a near approach; the fire had passed the garden wall; not a single article of all we had thrown from the windows could be seen; and the whole front part of my house was wrapt in one entire sheet of blaze. We afterwards found in another part of the garden a very few of our things, some of them broken, and others partly burnt, which had been rescued from the fire by the exertions of Messrs. Oflley and Roboli and other friends; but almost all of them were consumed before they could be taken from the spot where they were thrown. Withthe spoiling of our goods’ we removed from place to place in the garden, till the palace itself took fire, and no place of safety could any longer be found there. We then proceeded to Mr. Churchhill’s, a large and very strong stone house.