Bradford reporter. (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, January 03, 1863, Image 1

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

    (HE DOLLAR PER ANNUM INVARIABLY IN ADVANCE.
TOAVANDA:
Thursday Kerning, January 8, 1864.
(Original |kttrt].
XEW YEAR'S ADDRESS.
TO THE PATRONS OF
The " Bradford Reporter."
2863.
A happy New Y'ear! friends aud patrons all,
\Ve have only come for a morning call,
With a rhyme or two, for the pleasant day,
Which dawned when the Old Year passed away ;
Did you hear his sigh at the midnight hour,
When the New Y'ear came iu his mighty pow'r?
Ah no ! there was gladness o\.vall the earth,
When the Old Y'ear uitd —for the New Y'ear's birth.
Maiiiiold blessings the dead year brought—
Golden dreams braided with sorrowful thought;
Much that was beautitul, mirthful, and sad,
Earth like au Eden bloomed fresh and was glad,
Morning came up with fair banners unrolled,
Eve crowned the hills with rare crimson and gold,
Broad were the harvest fields yellow with-gr&iu,
Soft aud refreshing the cool dropping rain,
Only one shadow swept dark o'er the land,
Staining the soil with a murderer's brand,
Yet this one shadow of terrible name,
Blighted the heait of the Nation with pain.
Not much of iliangc for our little town,
t The shire town of Bradford—wide its renown I)
Busine-s Las kept up a pros; crows way,
Fashion as yet holds her limitless sway,
Devotees laithfully kneel at her shrine,
Hailing her goddess-ship more than divine ;
Well she may be, for we followers all
Smile at her n< d. ami respond to her ea !.
Yet we're not idle ; our town has sent forth,
Brave ones to die in the cause of the North,
There are tears for the absent this festival day,
Hearts wait for Ibot.-teps that linger away.
By all our hearthstones a dear oi.e i.- mi. sed,
The boy that mother-lips loudly have ki.-.-td,
When shall they e< me-; g. in '! Low. waul to rest T
Lautc-1 crowned Uerot our bravest and best.
A change of pold Aai views, it is true,
lias come into f ivor, like every tiling new ;
Men who seemed firm as a rock in it., pride,
Left the good ship to the wind nd the tide.
Bit meu though daikest ol ten. pests should frown,
Shall the go. d .-hip LVpuLlic'uni-m go down.
Steer: her timbers are staunch and her suits
Woven to battle the strongest ot gates,
-Brave heaits and true ■ tits jet trust in her might,
H'-pe'iilly waiting for (>oi r.u:l the Right!
And by our leader, brave LINCOLN, we ii stand.
Long as the Stars and Stripes wave o'er the land,
Looking alar tliv 'gh the tuimoi, and stiLc,
"iYe can see Freedom yet clinging to li;e ;
Appalled not, nor chilled by the desolate storm,
But bright as the morning and glowing and vvaim,
" Union and Liberty," dearest ol names,
Won 11v our fathers through carnage and flames.
■>Ve u.-k no armistice like yours, fai elima,
YVe shall light aud win our own battles in time,
You were kind to us once—America keeps
True love for th. -• I where La Fayette sleeps,
And we strive to believe j-ou nic-en what you say,
But Fran c, sunny Fiati-tf you ate fickle a-gay.
We prize all kind wishes lti.it c-< me from of: r.
Thank j'ou ! but please to stay just where you are!
England, more cautio • >. yet tan L s behind,
•Gowardly fearing to make up her mind,
Favoring the South, y t strivrg to show,
Friem'siup tor uv like a treacherous foe,
We know you of old. oh ! fair, haughty Jauie.
Have eonipiered J nonce ecu compicr again,
Et:!' vo Ure our mother—one l.aiguagc we speak—
A.:.u only the weal of coeli ot.; ;• should seek.
\lver the eror.n there driftctli at tinic-s,
Ifcantiiul poems whose musie-ai chimes,
Stirrcth ;.1I hearts v. t'i tl.eir wonderinl flow.
Bringing us Paradise—visions Re low—
Aud the sweet singer Is cue of a baud,
Making immortal bis name and his ian-1.
Oh! you have hearts just as gifted as ours,
You've warm azure skit-.- aud! losseiining It >w rs,
We should love and trust yon, fairest of isles,
•If you would not re-pay with tr< ae herons .-miles.
We sorrowed with you, forget'.; I oi pride.
O'er the nation's loss when your good Piijice died,
Now we have sent from our plentiful store,
siiip loads of lneael to your suffering poor,
You've quite enough, if the- truth you should own,
To care for the " Slavery Question '' at home.
V hie-fi is better vw; ask—please answer us right—
The bondage accursed of the black slave or white.
We shall not always be ciippled at home,
Peace for a time from our country has flown,
Qnly a little time, no-.v it m iy be,
White wings are folding the land and the sea,
When the broad banner is proudly unrobed,
" Union and Liberty," all shall behold.
Y'es, we remember the many defeats.
Wearisome marches, and hasty retreats,
When the June roses were blossoming red,
Long was the siege, and brave martyr-hearts bled,
Fruitless, oh, yes ! but the annals of Fame
Shall bear on their pages each patriot-name.
When the lust roses were dead, and the leaves
Rustling, were borne on the chill winter breeze,
Then we had news of a conflict begun,
And Imped for the best cie the year should be done.
Ah, well! we're defeated, and thousands were slaiii,
But we hope, and we wait for the dawning again.
Wide the digression ; —our village von know,
Was the theme of our gossip a long time ago,
■Our muse, like Pegasus, flew off on the wind,
Leaving the town and its gossip behind,
Is it worth while after soaring like that,
To take up the topic of every day chat ?
Y'et could we say less for the land than we've done,
Land of the bravest hearts under the sun?
Though the War Demon stalk onward, and Death
Cliilleth the lip and heart with his breath,
Though the dead faces lie close to the sod,
They are not hopelessly turning to Gon,
He will avenge them—the day is at hand
When the last " Traitor " must flee from the land,
And the long years of Prosperity's reign
Dawn with their sunshine and blessing again.
A happy New Year then ! a happy New Year! t
Patrons and friends, may the goodliest cheer
He found in j-onr homes, and 'mid festival joy,
A sJien plaster give—to the CARRIER BUY".
C-igp- Give a man the necessaries of life, and
lie wants tlie conveniences. Give him the
and he craves for the luxuries.
Grant him the luxuries, and he sighs for the
elegancies. Let him have the elegancies, and
he yearns for the follies. Give him all to
gether, and he complains that he has been
cheated both in the price and quality of the
articles.
St letl eb & ale.
(From Chamber's Journal.)
A Night of Terror.
The first object that caught my eye as I
sat up iu bed was James 5 he was staring at
me iu the same confused state iu which 1 look
ed at him, uud both of 11s listened intently for
some sound or cry which would tell us what
was the matter. Screams we could hear plain
euough, but uothing intelligible. There was
a souu 1 as of baretuoted people running with
all their ruight along the passage, outside out
door, aud tlie idea suggested itself simultane
ously to our minds that the place was on lire.
Without stopping to dress ourselves, wo got
out of cur beds, and 1 had my hand on the
gimlet with which we secured the latch of out
door, when 1 felt a shock that caused u c to
reel across the room, till I fell against the wall
on the opposite side ; the bed followed me,
and falling against James, seriouly bruised his
legs, and pinned him against the wainscot.—
For a moment wo remained in this position,
and then the house began to settle 011 its fonu
datious, and 1 was able to drag the bed a lit
tle way from the wall, aud set him at liberty.
We got to tie door und removed the gimlet ;
but the houm was still so for from being level,
that we had to break the door down before
we could get out of the room. Many of the
boards in the passage were torn apart and
split to pieces ; and between the passage and
staircase there was a gap into which I slipped
but, fortunately, though the fall hurt me very
much, the opening was not wide enough to al
low uf my body passirg through. Dragging
my legs cut as ipiiel.lv as I could, I followed
my husband down stairs into the street, no
longer at a loss to understand the cause of the
commotion which had roused us from our skip
—: l was the first shock of an eurthq .u\e.
By the light of the moon, we could perceive
that the twosehock< had teelnc' dsevi-ia! bous
es in tiie streets to (last and broken timber,
and from among these ruins rose cri<-s. moans,
and prayers, winch chilled my blood, and al
most paralyzed thepower of movement. From
the houses that si ill t maiiud standing, the peo
ple wire bringing o.t what tli- y i 0...-i l< ;• J
most valuable, son::.* their cluMren, other* box
es of furniture. With our turns 1 c'o 1 *.; get It
er, we pushed cur way ?.. well as we eonl-J
through the crowd of fugitives that filled t'.
street, now stum ding into holes so deep, the*,
the s'j jiieu sfives via- p iiniu..y ie't throu , .
the whole frame, and a moment ufu-t ur is
seam bl ing over heaps ui rubbish.
With great di-.t dty We had got as far a
Moutada's store, wbea we Celt a movi m< -1 of
the earth, which made me feel as though my
heart wi re rising iu my threat, f. 1! >,veu lU
stautly niter by a motion which made it a;>
pear to nil- that the ground was faking away
beneath my feet, and leaving me tu.-pende. in
the air. This was repeated several tines.
Houses were falling on our right and on our
left, pieces of timber si; i jftoues w. re urlvi n
about us with a torco u- great as the- n .;. :
from a gun : mmy w-re -itru k d u), an.lt >u
ers were beaten down and stj k to the gron
where tli-y were trampled to death J-: r
fore us Was a woman with one n.go ol her nee
torn iu a most frightful manner, whom 1 re
cogfiized, oa seeing the other side, as the keep
er of a shop where James and I had sp nt
nearly au i 0 1 r tin- p'-mun,-. evening in bu\
Sonic gold-tc'ibroidi.r d icatlx r 1 soo'.j to
her, but she lid not he> .1 we : a so ;gr. t
was her terror, that she did •>' appear con
scious of the horrible injmus s. - iiad I' iv iv
cd, notvvi hs; l itiing tiia*. thob . od was stream
iug down her utck, and uyeiug the front of
her night-dress a ViVbl erfai :.in. With r k ng
gate aud unc'i'taoi st'-pg \v ■'■ .rtri :> 1 for
ward, !)- it. SeetlK'tl 'on- i '! 1 - aitty W 1 did
not advance a yard ; Moutatla's :'.ore a-u- - d
in front of us, and rocking frightfully,
great t xerli m in a sidelong dircc ion, we ;m*
a little more snare lctwet: > and n ; \i:eu
down it came with a tfera -ndocs eiy-di, throw
ing a volley of sini es oY r tin- very r-p >L w acre
we had bet u stumiiM-g, and burying many per
sons beneath its r ..us. One poor man carry
ing two children in his arms, w ...- cradled al
most at cur feet by the t :xi 0. o- : of the
benms, and lay screuming with agony, tvitln at
its being possible for u.s to help him. f'he fill
of this- Dou.se was succeeeed by a • .-.ssation of
the motion of the earth, aud a ru 1 was ia-uie
over the ruins, regardless of the wretched
creatures below. The merciful Providence
which had protected us heretofore, enabled us
to reach the open space in front of the civic
hail without i: jury, and here we hailed, feeling
that we should be safer than in the narrow
streets.
For the space of half au hour or thereabouts
there was no renewal of the earthquakes, and
we had begun to hope that the evii WRS over.
Hundreds of people, mast of them with little
beside their night dresses on them, were bud
died about us, when suddenly, without a sound
to give notice of what was coming, the earth
opened it; a zigzag lir.e right ncross the Pla
za. a crowd of persons dropping into the chasm
which closed, opened, and closed again, and
all in an instant. We were so close as to see
this distinctly,and though it was over so quark
!y that comparatively few of tho.se on the l'ia
zi knew what had happened, the cries ul mor
tal terror which were uttered by those who
had been on the brink of the grave, told those
at a distance of some new disaster, arid the air
was so filled with shrieks and prayers for mer
cy that I grew sick with terror. Some cried
aloud that it was the day ol judgment, and
sank groveling to the earth ; A desperate look
ing man beside us, who gave no cry nor brea
thed a prayer, was violently beating his own
head with a large stone ; and another was
savagely attacking every person within his
reach, like a wild beast.
All this time the troon was shining bril
liantly iu a cloudless firmament; and when we
looked upward iu our terror, it caused hope to
spring up it) our hearts to see how serene ev
erything was above ; but wtieu our attention
was agaiu directed to what was passing about
us, it added au indiscribable horror to the
scene, and for a moment shook our faith in the
PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY AT TO WANDA, BRADFORD COUNTY, PA., BY E. 0. GOODRICH.
existence of a merciful Creator at the very time
when we most needed its support. Our great
desire was to escape to the hi'.ls, the mind as
sociating stability with these masses of earth;
hat it was impossible to get through the crowd
which hemmed us in on every side, aud seem
ed afraid to venture again in the narrow street.
Instead of half an hour elapsing before the
next shock was felt, there con id not have been
half that time, and this shock was far more
I violent than the previous one, and lasted long
| er. 'there was the same sickening motion,not
i altogether unlike what is experienced on ship
board ; but the motion itself was nothing com
pared with the effects of the terror it caused
to feel the earth rocking beneath us, and this,
too, heightened by the spectacle of houses
crumbling to dust, bleeding bodies, shrieks,
and every specie® of woful utterance which
human organs are capable of forming. From
constant travel, I was physically almost as
stroiur as my husband, but with the most ear
nest desire not to add to his alarm or distress,
I was obliged to cling to him for support
while this horrid din was raging about us.—
The dull roaring sound which accompanied
the movements of the earth gradually died
away, and at the same lime the openings of
chasms in the Plaza were renewed. Wherev
er these gaps occurred, a number of individu
als disappeared, and until it closed again, there
was a long da: k line,from which persons made
frantic efforts to recoil. Sometimes these
chasms were streight as ait arrow ; at other
times they were as crooked us forked lightn
ing To tty to change our position while this
was going o'i, was useless, for there was roth
ing to indicate what direction the next open
ing tatg-it tak, and motion on til'* part of
soch ;> multitude could only increase the loss
of life. Once, indeed, we f< 11: 1 o;.ts.*!vcs on
a small triangularly shaped p'ece o ground,
with sehssffl on botb sides of us of about a
yard in width. 1\ i.-ons fell into this gap all
around us, but SCVCT-aI were drawn cut again
alive ; James dre.v < ut thiee himself, and very
few wcie crushed i:i it when it closed. This
su iden elo.-lng ik • earth c>n ■> !-meof t ! c
most In d.o ts sights wir.ch it is p >-• ;ble "o con
ceive. Tiie gr iuud did not always open wide
enough to ad id; the human body, or it opem-d
into ei: ;s:;ts of several fV.ct, but not of a great
er depth thaii ft. ir or five toe t ; and the 1 in
coiic. ivubd ■ la- kilty with which they oped and
closed, caused many persons to be caught in
tbcra bv their legs, in the case of the narrow
■ baa :us ; aod in the case of the broad but
km low gap--, men, women, and children were
•r;!s .id t gather in one m.sq us regarded the
lo vet part of their bodies, leaving their heads
separate, and tic; upper part of the bodies
oleic: ■ d tog :ther as closely as though they
were one body with many heads.
As i-oon as there was a longer pause than
nsu:;! between these gapings, we were able to
make our way off the I'laz i, in consequence
ot i j.' g eat tliinning of the crowd ; and tak
ing the nrond' -t of two openings which pre
-1 tlu-n-'ivcs before us, we proceeded
down it, he-ping as near the a,id-He as possi
olc, tor cvciy ii'.n' a< t then a huu* • fell to the j
grotfud without the slightest warning, though, '
while the earth was steady, with little danger
e'xeept tu those iaamecMtliety opposite to it.— i
W c might hale a liaiiccd about u courier of
a niiic, v.bcu J itin.- s'op'ped to knock at a
e! or. 1 did not at fir.-', see w here we were,
but on looking more attentively, 1 discovered
.at we were at the house of a man of whom
we had t; cqu-nUy hind horses during our
stay us Nnui.'.u uieo. Nobody anwereJ I.
cad, though he beat at the gate with a stone
w:iii ah lis n.:g!.\ 1 ur..- d him not to wait
forUor.cs, which might bo uuuldo to make]
their way with as much ease as ourselves, when
he pointed lo i.'-- loai, unii fold itm i ecu Id '
walk no further : a:; ! t..- n i ss.w thut a vein j
again-1 tin: at.ti.e usu-t have In ■:i cut Oj |
lor l-v yfas standing in quitfe a pool of blood, j
I he t'-ncit back a. last as my own won idi-ii 1
tcc-t would abow me to . place v.u re 1 haii
st-co sv lived b<-!y lying, ami from this 1 tore
some stlips ol liueu .-idh.'ietit to bled up my
tiusbaiia's feet ami my own. Ureally relieved
by tin; protection this gave us. from the sharp!
~:;ii' am. the accidental ki -KS and tivad oi
other fugittves, we left the shelter of the gate I
.i• i 1
way, aud j.uiicu those wno, Use our.-t-iVcs, were I
in a king lor the open country, not on the slip j
pe. itio.i that we keen! i be safe there, but tlmt ;
we should i.uve, at ad eveui i, one danger the ;
lcs-i to encounter.
1 have omitted to say that for seme time l
we had perceived that it was becoming seusi- j
bly darker. Tiie clouds of dust which rose j
from the failing douses, combined with that. !
!at>cd by the (rumpling of feet, concealed the j
moon from us, and made it difficult lor us to !
avoid rauiiing against the houses, and iuipos j
slide to prevent lulling over heaps of rubbish. !
VVe Cv*uid just distinguish a large, square, j
white huus-. with a flat roof, which we knew ;
to belong to Luis Tore-Has, a friend of ours, I
when u gentle rise of the ground, accompanied 1
by iow moaning sound, told us what was j
coining. We stood still, and the ground had .
ha:diy subsided, when there came another and
louder roar, aud with it an upheaval of the I
ground compared with which all that had pre !
ceded it were insignificant. We were forced
to drop on the ground from actual inability to
remain upright ; and here we sat tossed up ;
and down in a frightful manner, and every
moment apprehensive that one of the chasms
like those we had seen might open beneath us
and swallow us up. It now became so dark
that we could see nothing whatever ; and but
for the incessant crashing ol the tailing
and the ruiewed cries ur.d prayirs, we. might
have supposed ourselves buried in the very
center of the earth. Vainly did we strive to
distinguish if Tore lias's house was standing ;
we could not even see each other's face, so
that 1 lost eveu that source of courage. Pres-j
ently the dull roar ot the earthquake was min
gled with, or drowned by, the crushes of thun- i
dec following the most vivid flashes of light* |
nitig I ever saw, which, though it left me in
doubt at times whether I had not been struck
blind, did us this service, that it allowed us to
sec that Torcllas's bouse was still erect, and
apparently uninjured. To add to the horrors
"REGARDLESS OF DENUNCIATION FROM ANY QUARTER."
| of this night, a fire broke out in a street near
I us in two or more houses at the same time,
I caused either by the broken timbers falling
| over an unextinguished lire, or by the light
; niug. The dryness of the wood caused the
flame to spread with amazing rapidity, and I
| confess that the light caused afeeliug of satis
! faction in my mind, which uobody can realize
! who has not been in a position of imminent
I danger in the midst of total darkness. If I
| hud becu able to see what was passing in
j tho<c houses and iu the street between, I
! should have fe t far otherwise.
The undulations of the earth, though faiot
! er, still continuing, James proposed we should
: take refuge with Torellas for a time, seeing
that the house had withstood the receut
j shocks, and not thinking it likely that we
j should have any others more violent. We rose,
holding each other tightly, aud making our
way lo the door as direct as we could, groped
about till we bad found the fastening, when
we pushed it open, and felt our way along the
passage to the staircase. We knew our way
to the principal apartments from having visit
-1 cd at. the house so frequently, and we made
j our way from one to the other of these, not
; W illi-lauding the dead silence which followed
my husbands calls for Torelhw. We had open
! c i the doors of sevuul rooms, and had found
them all in total darkness, and we were on the
point oi leaving the house, supposing that Tu
iciias v.,Ui his family had abandoned it, when
wc rt mem here .1 a r-.ota which gave a fine view
: of the city and of (he environs. In the intense
1 darkness which prevailed, we had to grope a
, long time before we could find the door, but
v.k-n we had found it and pushed it open, the
gi;.!.- which ru.-hi'd into our evi s was terrible.
1 believed the building was in flumes, but so
; ho. rial was lire pain in my eves, arid so great
! :ho In .v-'.d * ixi-.-iiL caused by the brilliant light!
j utter being so long iu such pitchy daikuess, |
: taut i ejuii- not have fled if i had felt the fire |
i laying hold of mo. 1 covered my face with j
'my i -to:ds, and as tiie pain diminished, I part
cd my lingers little by little, aud let iu the i
. giit gradually, ti.l 1 was able to open my j
It-yes to the light without protection. Ma-^
- on me ioicilas was most ki .d in her attentions !
1 to me, even at such a moment, and her daugh- '
ters were willing assistants. They brought I
water to wa h our wounded feet ; but my bus I
band would not suffer the bandages to be rc- j
moved, fur fear of causing inflammation of the i
wuuuds by exposing them to tiie air iu such a !
not climate, especially as we might within a S
minute have to rush out of the house. We j
were glad enough, however, to avail ourselves '
ot their elk red kindness in the matter of j
eioihh.g ; and when these arrangements were j
completed, we went to tiro window aud looked I
out.
The sight was grand and horrible. The !
flames which now rose from the houses on both I
sides of the street lit up the tower of the eoti- '
vent, which had hitherto resisted the shocks ;
of the earthquake, with a bright red glow, i
and showed us every projection and crevice, !
ev.ii to the bird sitting in her nest, eithc kept i
there by her maternal instinct or too bewilder- I
ed lo fly away. A little below this convent, |
the road widened several feet beyond what it
was ju-i below us, and at the bottom it nar- i
rowed again, and was shut in by a tanner's j
yard, i ids lactory or store was blazing fierce- '
>y, ami i'ortllas told us that one part of the
- molding was used to store a large quantity of
salt pet-, r Most of the inhabitants had proba i
I bly made their escape : but there were sliil j
many in the street who might have delayed I
their flight to save something from the gener- I
al wreck, but were more hkciy plunderers who 1
w< : e taking advantage of ike confusion and i
e ror to lie p themselves lo the property of j
• ht-rs. i: id.is were so, they paid dearly for i
ih'sr : :c:e. A repetition oi' the shocks, so j
vi .ient, that the broad, solid building ia which
v. - w\ re shook and trcmb cl, brought down
ihe convent tower, which crushed the opposite
houses on the two sides of the street into one
mn>s, .so ibat a low but flaming barrier cutoff j
their escape, aud shut them in on ail sides. It i
was a dreadful sight io see the poor creatures '
running to aud Iro, seeking with frantic ges- j
lures au outlet, and finding none. Some fell j
iti the middle of the street, insensible or dead ;
a b w leaped among the burning ruins, and i
were cither consumed or made their escape, j
lor they returned no more ; but the greater
part of tliem huddled together in the broadest
part of the street, the stronger struggling sav
agely to force themselves into the center of
the group. The intense heat soon reduced
strong and weak to one level, aud for some
minutes before motion ceased altogether we i
could distinguish nothing but a writhing mass.
Soon a pale bright flame seemed to be hov
ering over it, like a bird of prey over a dying
camel in the desert, sinking lower and lower,
till it suddenly seized upon it and wrapped it
in a shroud of lire. Faint with horror, yet
with something like u feeling of thankfulness
iu my heart that we had not wandered into !
this s.reet in the obscurity, I turned away 1
from the window and sat down on a couch.— j
James said lie intended to try and get out of i
the town as soou as it was daylight, but To
rellas declared that his confidence in the sta
bility of his house was so perfect that nothing
would induce him to abandon it, but that his
wile aud family were free to go with us if they
chose. At the first appearance of daylight,
we ail ascended to the roof of the house to get
a more perfect view of the extent of the dam
age that had beeu done. The shocks were
still frequent, but less violent, and we com-,
fortcd ourselves with the belie! that the worst
was over. Iu every direction there were gaps
where a heap of rubbish alone remained to in
dicate the place whereon a building had for
merly stood ; und while we were looking, the
air at a particular spot would be tilled with
dust, showing that another house had been ad
ded to the list of the fallen. Our host brought
us some food aud wine, and had goue down to
get so „e cigars for himself and James, when
a prolonged dull roar told us that another
shock was approaching. The house trembled
with a vibratory motion which made me stretch
out my bauds to lay Fold of something to
steady myself. All at once the vibratory mo-
I lion changed for one of upheaval, the house
parted in two, and we felt ourselves descend
ing to Tie earth with a rapidity which took
my breath away, and I became for the time
insensible. When 1 recovered my senses, my
first thought was of my husband. I opened
my eyes, and found him still alive, and, us it
turned out, with limbs unbroken, though great
ly bruised. He was feeling my pulse and look
ing anxiously at my face for signs of recovery,
aud his joy when I opened my eyes was evi
dent even to my enfeebled vision. After a
moment, T thought of Madame Torellas and
her daughters, and asked him in a faint voice
if they were safe ; but be only pointed to what
appeared a heap of torn clothing without
speaking, and I comprehended that they—who
at the moment when the division took place
were standing at the edge of the terrace, look
ing at the still burning ruins—had beeu pre
cipitated into the street aud killed.
When I attempted to move, I suffered in
tense pain in my right leg, which was so help
less that I felt it must be broken. My hus
band examined it, and found that it was ftac
tured a litile I elow the kuee, ami that auy
further walking oti my part was quite out of
the question. He went away for a minute or
two, and came back wit!) some strips of linen
and pieces of rafters, which ho smoothed and
cat with his knife into splints, and set the bone
as well as circumstances would admit of. Af
ter ho had done this, ho searched for and found
some of tha food v. hich poor Torellas had
brought tip,and made me swallow a few mouth
luls j bat 1 wanted water most, and this he
was unable to get without going some dis
tance, wherefore I preferred to suffer thirst
rather than lot hwi go oat of my sight. Day
light made no difference in the severity of the
shocks ; but shortly alter sunrise they became
less frequent, aud about noon seemed to have
ceased altogether, und people begau to appear
again in the streets. My husband appealed
to several who passed to assist him in remov
ing me to a place of shelter, but they all re
fused or pretended not to hear him ; proba
bly they had lost relatives the previous night,
and were toe anxious to discover anything res
pecting them to pay attention to the words of
a stranger. It was impossible to carry me
himself in the condition I was iu, ou account
of the pain it gave me to move, aud we were
obliged, though with great reluctance, to con
sent to a separation while he went to Batalha,
the horse-dealer, to get a mule to carry me, a
vehicle of any klud being useless in such in
cumbered streets. Every, miuute seemed an
bout' while I was wailing his return, and yet
minu'e after minute passed, and he did not
make his appearance. I knew the distance
was not great, and making every allowance,
us I thought, for the difficulties he might bave
to overcome, he ought to have been back long
since, when a darkening of the air, accompa
nied this time by a strong sulphurous smell,
gave notice that another calamity was about
to burst ou the devoted city. The openings
of the ground were more frequent aud far
more tcrribie to see, now that the daylight il
luminated them and showed their untathoma
b! • depth. One of these split open so close to
the rums en which I was lying, that a portion
rolled in. The SHE'S rays fell directly into it,
aud I shuddered as i gazed into the gulf,
which was deeper than the deepest abyss 1
had ever imagined myself falling into the wild
est nightmare. I diew buck trembliug with
horror and fright, aud buried my face in my
arms to shut out the dreadful spectacle. I
prayed for my husband's return, but he cama
not. 1 would have dragged myself along in
the direction in which he bad gone, if I Lai
been able, but I was entirely powerless ; and
to add to the terrors of my position, 1 now
discovered that a circular stone building (used,
1 believe, for the temporary confinement of
prisoners,) trembled with every shock, and,
cracked us it was in different directions, threat
ened every instant to bury me beneath its
ruins.
1L will not be easy for anybody to realize
my feelings as I lay on this heap of rubbish,
watching the quivering blocks of stone and
the powdered mortar which was grated out
from between them, and fell upon me in a
shower of dust. 1 entreated several who
passed to come and remove me, if only for a
few yards, so that I might be out of reach of
the building ; and some were about to help
me, but when they saw the imminence of the
danger, they, like the Levite of old, turned
away, and passed by on the other side. The
good Samaritan came ut last, however, in the
form of a poor woman, carrying a baby in
her arms. In answer fo my appeal, she laid
her babe tenderly on the ground, lilted me
up, and carried me beyond the reach of this
last danger ; after which she offered to get
me some water, an offer which I accepted with
a grateful hca-t, for the pain I was enduring,
aud the anxiety 1 had undergone, had parched
my throat to that degree that every breath I
drew caused me the most acute pain, height
ened, perhaps, by the sulphurous exhalations
which now tilled the air. iShe was going to
carry her babe with her, but I took it from
her as she was stooping to pick it up, and
told her I would take care of it. Poor little
innocent, it v anted no further care. It seem
ed asleep, but it was a sleep from which it
would never wake again ; probably it had
been suffocated by the press-ure of the crowd
on the prececding night. The kind woman
soot) returned with some water, and I raised
it to my lips eagerly, anticipating the most
delicious sensations Dom the refreshing cool
ness it sent through me the instant it touched
my lips. I found, to my disappointment, that
contact between it and my throat caused mc
so much pain that. I could only swallow a few
mouthfuis, and I was obliged to content my
self with the relief it afforded me to hold it
iu my mouth.
I questioned the charitable creature who
had so opportunely come to my assistance as
to where she was going, and found she had
uo lixed idea beyond getting into the open
country, upon which I proposed that if she
would remain with me till my husband return
d vvoultl take her with us. She accept
d my offer, and to my great joy sbo bad not
V*OL. XXIII. —x 0.32.
long to wait before be returned with two
mules which he had found in a stable in the
suburbs, the bouse to which he tirst weut
having been shaken dowu. lie seated me
on the mule ; nnd though we had still great
difficulties to conteud against, in the form of
clouds of dust, heaps of ruins, and occasional
gaps in the groond, we gradually approached
the outskirts of the town, which we ultimate
ly succeeded in passing through, and finally
found a place of refuge in a shepherd's hut,
which an earthquake might swallow up, but
could not shake down, from its beiug built, ex
cept a few stones heaped up round the lower
part, of stakes, wiekerwork, and dried sheep
skins with the wool on them.
We did not return to Nanbuisalco till April.
1800, some month after the catastrophe, wbeu
we found that traces of the earthquakes still
remained, in the form of deep chasms, which
gaped in away that forcibly recalled the hor
rors we bad seen ou that occasion.
Do BIRDS UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY SAY f
—The parrot of a relation of mine used al
ways, whenever he dropped anythiug he was
eating, to say, " Pick up Bobby's crust," be
ing doubtless prompted by the same train of
associations us those which led another par
rot, which I know well, invariably to say,
"Thank you,'' wheuever anythiug is giveu to
him. The following story is not a bad ODe,
but all that I can say with regard to its au
thority is, si non e vera, e ben trovalo—U it be
not true, it deserves to be true, for the sako
of both master and pupil. Some pairot fan
ciers had agreed to meet in a year's time, when
each was to show a bird for a prize, proficien
cy iu talking to be by common consent the
great criteriou of merit. On the day appoint
ed all the rest, each and every oue duly bring
ing his parrot; only oue appeared without his,
Ou being asked why he had not shown one ac
cording to the agreement, he said that he had
tried to traiu one, hut that he was such a stu
pid bird, he was quite ashamed to briog him.
This excuse was held to be inudnjissible. All
the others insisted that, stupid or clever, ho
must he produced, ana his master accordingly
went off and returned with him. No sooner
was he introduced than, looking around at the
large assemblage of birds, he uttered a long
whistle and exclaimed, " My good gracious,
what a lot of parrots !" The prize was imme
diately voted to liim by acclamation.— Stray
Notes in Natural History.
A BEAUTY OF BORNEO. —Mr. Spencer St.
Johu thus describes the Daughter of one of tha
Datus of Borneo :
" Sue was the loveliest girl in Borneo. I
have never seen a native surpass her iu figure,
or equal her gentle, expressive couutenauce.
She appeared but sixteen years of age, and as
she stood near, leaning against the door-post
iu the most graceful attitude, we had a per
fect view of all her perleetions. ller dress
was short indeed, consisting of nothing but a
short petticoat, reaching from her waist to a
little above her kuees. Her skin was of that
clear brown which is almost the perfection of
color iu u sunny clime ; and, as she was just
returning from bathing, her hair, unbound,
full in great luxuriance over her shoulders.—
ller eyes were black, not flashing, but rather
contemplative, and her features were regular
—even her nose was straight. So intent was
she in watching our movements, and sunder
ing at our novel mode of eating with spoon 9
and knives and forks, unconsciously
remained in her graceful attitude for sorno
time ; but suddenly recollectiug that she was
not appearing to the best advantage iu her
light costume, she moved away slowly to her
room, and presently came furth dressed in a
silk jacket and new petticoat, with bead neck
laces and gold ornaments. Iu our eyes sho
did not look so interesting as before."
A YV T ISE REBUKE. —T!IE following anecdote
is related of tlie late excellent Joseph Joha
Gurney, of Eurlham, by cue of bis family cir
cle :
" One night, I remember il well, I received!
a severe lesson 011 the sin of evil speaking.—
Severe I thought il then, and my heart rose
in childish anger against hiin who gave it, but
I had not lived long enough in this world to
know how much mischief a child's thoughtless
talk may do, and how often it happens that
talkers run off the straight line of truth. S.
did not stand very high in my esteem ; and I
was about to speak farther of her failings of
temper. In a few moments my eye caught
such a lock of cairn and steady displeasure
that 1 stopped short. There was no
the meaning of that dark speaking eve. It
brought the color to my face, and confasiou
and .-Lame to my heart. I wus silent tor e*
few moments, vvheu Joseph Joh.£ Gurney ask
td very gravely :
' Uosi thou know anv ihiug good to tell ua
of her?" "
1 did not answer, and the question waa
more seriously asked i
Think, is there aothlng good thou cans*
tell us of her ?"
" Oh yes, I know some good things, but—
' Would it not have been better, to relate
those good things than to have told us that
which would lower her in our esteem ? Since
there is good to relate, would it not be kinder
10 be silent oa the evil ? For charity rejoiceth
j not at iniquity."
An eminent physiciun has discovered
that the nightmare, in nine cases out of ten,
is produced by owing a bill for a newspaper.
" How is the market, neighbor ?"—•
" Very quiet" " Anything done in cheese?' 1
" Not a mite."
Speaking of cheap things—it costs but
a trifle to get a wife, bnt doesn't she some
times turn out a littli
&3F Indolence is a stream which (lows slow
ly on, but yet undermines the foundation of
every virtae.