The Express.
London, England, 1856-06-05 00:00:00

INUNDATIONS IN FRANCE.

(PlOll • SPEOILL

LYONS, Jews 2.
As all the newspapers of Franco are full of the
destruction of property by the late rains, it may be
interesting to your readers to know the details of the
devastation caused by the Seine, Yonne, thou, and
Rhone overflowing their banks, at least in as far as
could be seen from the railway between Paris and
Lyons, and more particularly in the latter town.
The heavy rain commenced at Paris at 4 o'clock on
the morning of May 30, and continued uithont inter-
mission foe more than thirty-six hours. On leaving
Paris every streamlet between that and Fontaine-
bleau had burst its basks and covered all the hol-
lows; much of the grain and hay, which were not
covered with water, being laid by the heavy showers.
The destruction towards Sens was very great; and
indeed the same may be said of all the
villages that can be seen from the railway,
but more especially towards Montbard and Verrey,
until arriving at Dijon on the evening of the
31st, when the rain had almost ceased. Much,
I dare say, will be said of the immense loss in
Ithe vineyard', but that was comparatively small, as
the best vines are always on the sloping heights, and
nothing could look better than the vineyards of Clot
Vosgeot vines, though certainly many of the Beaune
vines were under water. But the people say that,
though the losses of individuals may be great, there is
every prospect of plenty of good wine, provided such
weather as we have bad the last two days continues.
In approaching Chalons-our-Saone the country had
the appearance of an inland lake ; but after passing
Chalons, as far as the eye could reach, nothing
but water was to be seen, dotted with
tope of houses and busby green willows,
with long rows of poplar., looking like herons
watching for fish. It was impossible to say where
was the tonne of the river. Not a boat was to be
seen except those landing furniture from the nume-
' rocs country seats at a little distance from the river.
All the tea gardens and Sunday restaurants had many
feet of water round them. At Tournue the destruc-
tion of property was immense, and still as far
as the eye could reach, nothing wu to be
area but water, besprinkled with roofs of houses
and trees. Around Macon was a complete sea;
and u the river became narrower on approach-
ing Lyons, the body of rushing water was tre-
mendous, overthrowing walla, houses, or whatever
presumed to stop its progress—and so near the road
or the chain-bridges, that one expected to see all car-
ried away. From Villefranche to Lyons the red flag
of danger was hoisted all along the railway ; in
some places the sleepers of the way being loosened by
the rain, while in other places there had been ava-
lanches of earth and turf, which the workmen had
mach difficulty in clearing away.
The days of the 31st May, and Ist of June,
1856, will long be remembered at Lyons. The whole
population, on the evening of the Ist, were in a state
of excitemeat ; bodies of military marching in all
directions, to carry &militancy to the miserable un-
fortunates, while patrols of hussars were moving
about to give speedy notice of some impending
catastrophe. I proceeded towards the Quays on
the Rhone, the favourite promenades, but there
was nothing but mud, water, and miserable
being", moved from one street to another in '
small boats. I was "soured lest night that
on the other side of the river, towards Villette, and
lower down, mo-s than 900 houses had been
thrown down, and upwards of 7,000 people deprived
of cover. Thinking this an exaggeration, I have
spent some hours on the spot this morning,and believe
that it is no exaggeration. The great sufferers
are the workpeople, and those who have manu-
factories in that quarter. Reports were afloat of
many children being drowned, but such have
bees, and continue, the exertions of the military
and civil authorities that I am inclined to doebt it.
There has been no communication with Italy for
three day., and I have this morning seen every dili-
gence, after many hours of vain attempt, obliged
to return to Lyon ; but the water is now fall-
ing so rapidly that there is every prospect of the road
being open tomorrow morning. The last great
inundations were in the year 1840, but the results of
the inundation of 1856 are far from over. In 1840
the inundation took place in November, and in cold
weather; but the miasma which is sure to be created
by the evaporation of this blazing sun must 611
every village from Fontainebleau to Marseilles with
fever cases. It is this morning raid that the railway to
Marseilles, near Vienne, is impracticable, and no boat
of any sort could live on the river, running so tepidly,
and every' turn being a succession of foaming whirl-
pools. Excuse blunders, for I write amid a very
Babel of polyglot articulate sounds, surrounded by
the passengers of the last four days arrested by the
floods.

INCIDENTS AND CASUALTIES AT LYONS.
Ths Lyoos journals are filled with different led-
dates meareted with the casualties sad hair-breadth m-
opes of several of the Inhabitants of the ineadated quarters
A boat coetaiaiag sis soldim capsized ie the Plena. du
Grand Camp, and three r f the men were unfortaaately
drowned. A men rreidiug at Ls Pert Dies, whom how
fall down and buried his young wife, to whom he had
Mee bat moistly married, threw himself is despair into
the Mono. A limes living o• the Qsay d'Albrat,
who saw her husband drowned while modern), se/Jetsam
le gems sufferers, threw herself out of a window on the
foarth story, god was killed on the spot. • yomg woman
who bad Mee manned two drys herr» wee taken out of
her bed with her child and wavered is • boat to • place of
safety. A woman. koldiag a young child is her arms, was
seen es the roof of a home crying for assistance, and • boot
was speedily directed towards the spot. The bast had jest
arrived se the lease Imes to Rive wry; the mother
threw her shad into the arse of one of the bootees. end
is • assiest after melt herself with the rules. This •
shades* wen toned buried beneath the maim of os• house
after tie waters led nand. It is iwyweible to describe ia
salient terms of admiral:es the seal wkleh has bees die-
p'eyed by the astbeeitim sad by the lehabfteete la reader-
izassealsteaes. Headrests of peewee are enssorry's( pre-
vi every is the chunks% whisk have bees
shrews epee fi r tke reseptles et the Maw
law sufferers. Is oddities te the se is
uses, whisk have bola opened. a ssmal qw bee

been formed, which intends to send carts round and
*collect old clothes and mall articles of furniture, of which
the poor families stand tamed. The Cardinal Archbishop
of Lye's', from the fleet commencement of the inundation,
placed his palace at the disposal of the sufferers. The fears
' which had been entertained for the fate of M. Rowse,
the Mayor of Villeurbenne, sod M. Vinare, the Com-
mimery of Polies, are happily unfounded. Thise
gentlemen have returned to their homes, after hav-
ing been for some time ecinfloed in • place by the
water, from which M. Vinare at length saved himself by
' swimming, and then had a boat sent off to the mistimes of
his companion in misfortune.
"Par the lest three days," lays the Casette do Lyon of
the 3rd, no journal or letter has reached Lyons trim the
south. It is difficult to understand why no arrangement
has been made to remedy this evil. In addition to the in-
convenience suffered by families, business has suffered eon.
siderably from this internal:sties in the receipt of letters. A
service by post home could certainly have been established
where the coo.muoications by railway had been cut off."