New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1852-06-05

at the mouth Of the gorge. They were on their
knees--the mothers hands raised over the head
OF her son, and the voice Of prayer going to
their Guardian for His mercy in thwarting the
panther's leap.
TERRIFIC INCIDENT.
At one o'clock in the morning I was awakened
by a crash and tremtllous motion. Thinking
that we had run against a wagon, j kept my
seat, but in a minute or two the driver turned
towards the lamp colntenance on which ter
ror was 50 1egibly written, that Instantly
opened the door and sprung out (" For Gods
sake, sir, take care, shouted the conductor,
who, seated on the box beside the coachman,
with one hand held the wheel-horses on their
launches, while with the other he firmly pressed
the handle Of the drag It was a pitehy dark
night, the sides of The road being invisible
excepting where the lamps shene. Beside me
the driver, his teeth chatteTinp with fright.
could say nothing but q Oh, assn Dieu.S I
heard somewhere or other the roaring Of 4 tor
rent, and on tree near me screech- owl added
its shril cry to the voices of the night. Several
minutes elapsed before could realize the awful
nature Of the peril which, thanks to the extrner-
dinary presence Of mind displayed by tie con-
ductor, we had almost miraculously ESCAPED.
Had he not left his usual place to sit on the box,
humanity speaking, npt one would have survived
the hour to narrate the terrible catastrophe. "A
wooden suspension bridge, seventy feet IN height,
and spanning q rapid river, had been svept
away BY rise Of waters, consequent on thun-
der storm in the mountains. On the brink Of
the precipice thus caused we stood, our leading
horse having fallen over it, and been instanta-
neously killed Had his harness been Of stout
leather, no mortal power could have saved us:
but, proyidentially, he had been attached to the
vehicle only BY two rope traces and slight
back strap The tremulous motion I had felt
tho CIR 1o 1af, 4
pulled back by the heroic conductor, (for the
driver was powerless from terrer,) and this
unfortunate animal, as it hung suspended in
mid air over the roaring torrent The crash
was the recoil of the vehicle when the traces
broke, and the victim fell headlong into the
abyss below. Cautiously approaching the brink
of the chasm, we found the remains Of TIE har
ness, and discovered the exact nature Of cur
situation. have Travelled not little, both by
land and sea, in all manner of conveyance and
on eyerykind Of rohd, but such scene as that
never expect to witness again, though should
spend the remainder Of my years in wandering
to and fro over the earth
The dread hour bf midnight, the solitude of
the Alps, the rushing of the river, the cries of
the screech-owl, the chattering teeth Of the
poer driver, the sighing Of the wind, the cold
air from the glaciers, the terrible nature Of the
danger, the miraculous manner of escape, COM
bined to fill my mind with an awe, which returns
to produce a trembr even while I write It was
one OF those awful scenes which solep,Ei1s feel
ings of the most callous, and remain engraved
on the memory while life itself endures
Had the conductor been inside, had the har-
ness been of Feather, had we attempted to cross
when the bridge was sinking, instead of after it
had sunk; had the horses been at gaIIop, our
bodies might even now have been buried in
some Of those rocky caldroas from which the
Rhone struggles 70 get free. The sup
ports of the bridge were still standing, but the
roadway had fallen in; so cross the vehicle
could not: The stream was not only deep, but
wide and rapid besides having precipitous
banks; so, fording was out of the question
But, fortunately for us, the conductor had
proved himself 4 man equal to an emergency.
As soon as we lad recovered from the shock,
| the driver was sent with q lamp to scramble
| along the side rails of the ruined bridge and
alarm village about half q mile beyond.
| Heariiy did the minutes pass away before.
amid the darkness, we heard the cheering cry
| from the opposite bank, .4u secours, au Sc
c0urs." In q very short time, the active pea
SAINTS had laid planks along the ruins, on which,
one by one, led. by our intrepid conductor, we
crossed the stream: Our trunks and bags sue
ceeded, while the horses dragged back the dill
gence to the place from which they had started.
Three hours Of darkness we spent in an empty
room Of the village tavern, until two chars-a-
banc arrived from the nearest post-station of
Tourtemagne, whittier we proceeded. Similar
vehicles conveyed US to Verge, our baggage
meanwhile following in cart !; where again
we changed carriages, before trayersing q de-
solate tract covered with stones, and the debris
OF mountain torrents, which in some places had
oblterated all trace of the road.
ONE OF THE MEsMERIzERs.- few years ago
the following story was overheard in the cars on
the road between Albany and Buffalo. One of
the conyersants was mesmerizer-a regular
&c Professor" He was dilating upon its rapid
development; its astonishing cure for diseases
the extraordinary discoveries developed through
its agency. Finally he got upon his superiority
as " Professor q congenial theme, and here
he was at home. After narrating variety of
experiments, some of them astounding, of course,
he spoke of tile following with a gusto that was
irresistible. Said he: LAST week was going
through one Of the streets Of Rochester, and saw
person to whom was anxious to speak He
walked too fast for me to overtake him without
running, so [ just Strengthened out my arm,
concentrated my will, made pass at him, thus,
and he stopped quicker than lightning
"Wh-wh-why, mist'r, y-y-you don't call that
m -m-much Of a trick, do youi'
'sYes, sir, rather hatter myself, sir, that it
was a pretty strong demonstration
"W-w-well, it don't BIB begin w-w-with what
once did, e
ssThen you are familiar with the science, sir,
presume!'f
"S-s-some'' -...-.
"Might inquire what was the case you spoke
of ?"
"0h, &C. certainly. Ww-hy, you see, 1 hap
pened to be up in B-b-atavia once in the winter.
Going down to the cars, s-s-saw m-m-man
shoveling Oft snow. Pretty soon his f-f-foot
slipped, and dd-down he came When he was
about half a-d-down made a p-p- pass at him,
and it s-s-st-opped him quicker than powder.
Ic-c-came off with-o-out thinking a-a-anything
more a-a-about it. II you are go o-ing to Ba-
tavia, w-w-wish y-y-you would just let him
down. for ! pr-pr-presume he is hanging there
yeti"
The " Professor" handed over his e.hot ;,
---
INCIDENTS pr SPREE.-The Cincinnati Commercial
with the phianthropc design of benefttnr the whole
race Of Benedcts who addicted to carrying bricks in
their hats, gives the following melancholy facts We
the slightest doubt that every thing just
as the Commercial man says it did and with emotions