American citizen. [volume] (Butler, Butler County, Pa.) 1863-1872, 1864-01-13
Meontriye to clio
d. did not happen

] NNNNAAN-+N x T
to have two Or three sTstially holy daysin
every week. it would be rather curious that
the most memorable earthquakes have so
often supprisodtbe crowds kncelmgin their
churches and cathedrals, so that the rock
ing earth has ayailed itself, as it were, Of
the picturesque pioty Of the masses tobury
them in hosts among the sacred ruins.
The great Lisbon earthquake, in ll13,
which buried or destroyed some sixty
thousands in few minutes, occurred on
Gan Saints Day, in ahigh festival among
the Portuguese; and every altar wasblaz-
ing with wax tapcrs, when the sun grew
dim. and the Palaceof the Inquisitionfell
in. The confagration which succeeded
the earthquake was thus directly due to
the universal situal illumination. The
less fatal. but almost more scenic castastro-
phc, in Caraccas, The capital Of Nenezue-
Ia. on the 2Gth March, 1872, occurred ON
Holy Thursday. The PricstyProcessions
we're Just about to start, and "the crowds
assembled in the chmchoswere SO nuuer-
Gus that between three and four thousand
persons are said tshaye been crushed BY
Observation-Disclosures roofs" And
the effect upon the mindof thepeoplcwas
naturally enough thatofareligious rather
than Of an earthly catastrophe: "Ieopie
applied themselves to the exercise OF those
religious duHes, which IN their opinion,
were most fitted to appease the wrath of
Heaven. Many assembled, andpast thro'
the streets in professions singing funeral
hymns; others, thrown in state oil dis
traction by these cal9mitics confessed their
sins aloul in the streets; numerous mar
raqes were contracted between persons
who for many years had neglected tosanc-
ton their union by the saccrlotal benedic-
ton; children found parentsby whom they
had not been acknowledged up to that
time; resolutions were promised by per-
sons who had never been accused Of fraud
or theft; families, which for many years
had been estranged from one another by
enmily and hatred, were drawn together
by the tic of common suffering" And
this summer in Manila, the fearful earth
quake sinihrly found the population on
its knees, on the eve of the Fs's 1a Dira.
The prayers Of thousands aLpearcd to be
answered by the sudden crashing Of the
masonry and collapse of the earth "Af-
ter dressing" says an eyewitness, who
describes what he saw in III tie Year
Bomd of last week, Il walked slowly
homeward, and having to pass near the ca
thedral, | went in. Being the eyeof the
Fete Dieu l found it crowded with wor-
Slippers Men and women Of every nue. ol
color were mingled with children whose
farier skins eontrasted strongly with that
Of the elders, especially those whose par
cnts were Europeans There Is at all
times striking deyoutness displayed III
the churches, but this struck me especial
" on this evening no doubt because OF the
solemnlty OF the occasion How many
were IN the building cannot say, but the
number was very great lor though inc ca
thedral was exceedingly large, leouid not
see space large onoughtor single adfl-
tional person beyond a lew feet from the
door by which / entered Some notion
may be formed OF the number present,
from the fact that at this time there were
not less than twenty-fvepriests officiating
in different parts OF the sacred edlilce,-
The air was so bad that did not remain
more than two or three minutes, tho the
service had not long begun" "
Not MANY minutes after. the same spec
tator returned to the spotwhore the cathc-
edral had stood. Not a dozen of people,
he thinks, had escaped out ofthe building
before it came crushing down upon the
two or three thousand which its walls alone