, a load which, in the excitement of the ride, is carried by a
couple of horses at the gallop.
The hands to work the pumps are always forthcoming on the spot at any
hour of the night, not alone for goodwill, as every man--and there
have been as many as five hundred employed at a time--receives one
shilling for the first hour and sixpence for every succeeding one,
together with refreshments. In France, the law empowers the firemen
to seize upon the bystanders, and compel them to give their services,
without fee or reward. An Englishman at Bordeaux, whilst looking on,
some few years since, was forced, in spite of his remonstrances, to
roll wine-casks for seven hours out of the vicinity of a
conflagration. We need not say which plan answers best. A Frenchman
runs away, as soon as the _sapeurs-pompiers_ make their appearance
upon the scene, to avoid being impressed. Still, such is the
excitement that there are some gentlemen with us who pursue the
occupation of firemen as amateurs; providing themselves with the
regulation-dress of dark green turned up with red, and with the
accoutrements of the Brigade, and working, under the orders of
Mr.
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