the center of the town was crowded with worshippers, somebody suddenly shouted “Fire!” The people rushed to the doors, and in the terrible panic that ensued twenty-nine persons were crushed to death, and many others were maimed.  The alarm proved a false one.  There was no trace of a fire in the church, and nobody doubted but that the alarm had been given by pick-pockets—­there were a goodly number of them in Warsaw—­who had resorted to this well-known trick to rob the public during the panic.  But right there, among the crowd which was assembled in front of the church, gazing in horror at the bodies of the victims, some unknown persons spread the rumor—­which, it may be parenthetically remarked, proved subsequently unfounded—­that two Jewish pickpockets had been caught in the church.

At that moment whistles were suddenly heard—­nobody knew whence they came—­which served as the signal for a pogrom.  The street mob began to assault the Jews who happened to pass by, and then started, according to the established procedure, to attack the Jewish stores, saloons, and residences in the streets adjoining the church.  The hordes were under the command of thieves, well known to the police, and of some unknown strangers who from time to time gave signals by whistling, and directed the mob into this or that street.  As in all other cases in which the danger did not threaten the authorities directly, there were but few policemen and soldiers on hand—­which circumstance stimulated the rioters in their further activity.

On the following day the rioters were “busy” on many other streets, both in the center of the town and in its outskirts, except for the streets which were densely populated by Jews, where they were afraid of meeting with serious resistance. [1]

[Footnote 1:  In some places the Jews defended themselves energetically, and in the ensuing fight there were wounded on both sides.]

The police and the troops arrested many rioters, and carried them off to the police stations.  But for some unknown reason they did not summon enough courage to disperse the crowd, so that the mob frequently engaged in its criminal work in the very presence of the guardians of public safety.

In accordance with the well-known pogrom routine, the authorities remembered only on the third day that it was time to suppress the riots, the “lesson” being over.  On December 15, the governor-general of Warsaw, Albedinski, issued an order dividing the town into four districts and placing every district under the command of a regimental chief.  Troops were stationed in the streets and ordered to check all crowds, with the result that on the same day the disorders were stopped.