He notified the members to meet in the City Hall.  When he arrived, he found nobody but a messenger-boy, who tremblingly emerged from the cellar.

The General quietly removed his cigar and asked: 

“Where’s the Committee?”

“They—­they—­is—­up ter Inwood, sir.”

The boy’s teeth chattered so that he could hardly speak.

“What the deuce are they doing there?”

“Dunno, sir.  They told me as to tell you, sir, that they wuz a Committee of Safety, and that’s wot they wanted, sir.”

“Wanted what?”

“S-s-afety, sir!”

“And they deputized you to tell me that, eh?”

“Ye-yes, sir.”

“And you looked for me down in the cellar?”

“N-no, sir.  I wanted safety, too, sir.  Oh, Lordy!”

This last interjection was elicited by seeing the upper part of the Tribune tall tower suddenly fly off, and land on the roof of the Sun building.

A sort of a sphinx-like smile overspread the general’s features.

He looked around for the messenger-boy, but that youth was making extraordinary speed up Broadway.

The general leisurely proceeded up that thoroughfare—­occasionally stopping, as a shot went crashing into some near building, to note the effect.

On arriving at Union Square, he met a cavalry squad looking for him, and mounting the horse of one of the men, he proceeded with this escort to the upper end of the island, which was now densely packed with people.

The projectiles from the heavy guns of the great ironclad were now falling in the lower part of the city with terrible effect.  The Western Union building was shattered from cellar to roof; the City Hall was on fire; so also was St. Paul’s Church and the Herald building.  The last-mentioned conflagration was put out by the editors and compositors of that journal—­the entire Herald staff being then in the underground press-rooms, busily preparing and working off extras giving the latest details of the bombardment.

The Morse Building was completely demolished by two Krupp shells, and not an edifice in Wall Street, except the sub-Treasury, had escaped total ruin.

The result of the conference of the Safety Committee was the dispatching of a messenger to Sandy Hook, informing General Hancock of the condition of affairs, and asking him to request an armistice for parley.

The “Ideal,” bearing a white flag, was at once dispatched to the Spanish flag-ship, and shortly after the firing ceased.

The Spanish admiral refused to alter the terms already proposed, except that, in view of the injury already inflicted on the city and the probable increased difficulty of collecting the sum demanded, he would agree to allow five days’ time in which to pay the latter, on board his flag-ship.

General Hancock declined to consider this proposal.