New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1870-07-27

earth whCl G he stood. two miles distant ,.,
This is what had taken place shco ho 'o'V wv i'''
Nj TicLer and MIR Carter laid the gunpowder and
the train and lighted the latter ana came ucA "oro'7
the middle ~ the Cmhankmcnt 1905, g.,
Being quite SAFE here from the effect OF the explosion,
MI Thicker was DESTROYS 60 establish 10y measurement
that the water the reservoir had not risen as high as
the crack Ia the embankment
With this view lie took out measure, and, at some
risk Of being swept into eternity began cooy TO meas
At this very time wafer was trickliug over and that
alarmed Carter, aud lac told Tucker they were rifng
ooh" said Tucker, that is only the spray from the
waves"
They actually measured the crack stopping over it
When they had done that Carter raised his head and
suddenly cutchcd Tucker 10y the arm and pointed up
ward. The water was pouring over the top ~Il in a
thin sheet, but then that sheet was gradually widening
The water came down to their feet and some Of II dis
appeared In the crack; and the crack itself looked
htte larger than when last inspected. Tucker said
gravcly, II don't like that hut let examine the
vaNehouse at once" He got down to the vave-house
hut before ne could ascertain what quantity OF water
was escaping Carter called to him. Come out, for Gods
lie came running out and saw an opening thirty feet
wide and nearly foot deep and powerful stream
The moment Tucker saw that he cried, %It's all up
| the eInbankment must gOI And, the feeling OF the
architect overpowering the instincts of the man, he
stood aghast But Carter laid hold of him and dragged
Then he came to himself and they ran the en-
| bankment.
As they started, the powder, which had hung fire un-
@couhtbN, Went on ana blcW up the Waste~ nuI
they scarcely heard it, for they ran the rent above
| 4
furious stream kept rushing past theT yinE h,e' ana
threatened to sweep them sideways TO destruction.
They were safe at Last but even as they stood painting
the rent at the top Of the embankment spread-deep
ened-yawned tcrrh,ally-and the pentup lake plunged
embankneut rushed roaring and Kissing down the val
ley, an avalanche Of water, whrlug great trees up by
! them, like corks for miles. go
At that appalling sound that Kissing thunder, the like
of which he had never heard before and hopes never 10
hear again RanSome spurred away at all his speed ana
warned the rest OF the village with loud ana inFtcu
he IN L..
At the ton Of the hill he turned moment and looked
mp the valley; soon he saw lofty white wall running
down on Hatfield Mil; il struck tie mill, and lett noth
inc visible INF tho roof surrounded by white foam.
Another moment, and ne distinctly the mill swim
a yard or two then disappear and leave trace and on
| came the white wall Kissing and laundering.
| Ransome uttered cry of horror, and galoped mady
! forward to save what lives he might. -, IL, ,
Whenever he passed house he shrfeked his warning
As he galioped along his mind worked. He observed
would spread and lose of that tremendous vol
ume and force before which he had seen Hatfield stone
Win his hope he galloped on and reached Poma
! Bridge, five miles and half from the reservoir. .
| Here, to his dismay, he heard the Kissing thunder
sound near to him It was when he halted on the
hill above Dama k; but he could see nothing owing to
At the bridge itself he found standing, without
| his hat, staring wildly up the valley
He yelled TO this man, d" Dam is burst. Warn the vii
lagc-fOr their hves-run on TO HllshorQuth-Whehy you
are wnded, send another o. You II all DC pau al tAc
Then he dashed across the bridge.
As lie crossed IL he caught sight or the living lake
CDe o qDrib i ID" Wy me willie wall in Doinane
| farm. there a light in one window now. lie saw
the farmhouse, with its one light, swim bodily then
melt and disappear, with all the poor souls in IT,
OF the plot Of the story we shall not attempt an
outline. 1t is quite as sensational as the most VIII
ated taste could exact-far less improbable than the
plot of Foul Play" but full of startling accidents
and agOnizing situations complicated love and
marvellous escapes -Four of the characters in the
! story are drawn with admirable clearness. though
we cannot call them distinct creations. Grace Car
den is a reproduction of the heroine Of Foul Play
Henry Little, the gentleman-workman, interests and
attracts US from first 20 last and yet he Is rather
commonplace person after all-stroug, honest, and
| intelligent, and capable, like most of Mr.. Reade's
| heroes, of making love in a furious fashion-but
there are many like him in fiction If not III actual
life. Mr.. Raby is pleasant country squire of the
conventional Tory type, true-hearted and wrong
headed. Jael Dence, the beautiful rustic Amazon,
with the frame of an athlete and the heart of true
woman, is by far the noblest and most original of
all the persOnages of the book-the only one whom
we can welcome as an addition TO English literature.
We confess however that we should like her better
if the author had been less ecstatic in his comments
on her limbs. When she is rescued insenSible from
the water, Mr.. Reade must bid Ms look at the youp-
tuous outlines of her figure, revealed by the tight
clnging of her dripping clothes. When she enters
ROOM dressed for ceremony, he shOuts with delight
at the lovely swell of her broad white bosom and
the exquisite white and polished skin Of the
mighty shoulders adorned with two deep
dimples.7 He has a barbariaHs delight in her
anatomical perfection-not the beauty of her face 50
much as the magnificent development Of her form,
and delights in il all the more because il is so big
and muscular. Mr.. R,adc in fact, grows sensuous
as he grows older and in his latest novel there are
many passages almost gross enough to have been
written by a woman. We do not mean 10 imply
that his tone is in the slightest degree immoral but
il often is indicate. The women who write the
most pOpulaT English novels nowadays arc not
satisfied with iudclicacy unless they minCle
with it a racy flavor of vice; the men, We believe,
have not vet reached that point But the lovers IN
Mr.. Rcadc'S novels, though they do mt often get
themselves into equivocal situations, are people
of strong animal passions, VINO handle
each other a great deal, burn with raging
fires cover each other with hot kisses,
use the most violent language, and do various other
things which, however satisfactory TO themselves,
are not pleasant subjects ot contemplation for the
cooler public. TO treat love in this way IS to degrade
noble and refined ser lmcnt. Sometimes the Sentl-
ment is not only degraded but made ridicnlOus,-as
! in one memorable instance II certainly - IN tlls
! novel Henry Little reSCuCs Grace Garden from the
flood of which we have spoken above. The torrent
! is sweeping her away when he catches her by the
| hair and drags her through the window. Her shoes
| and stockings torn of by the violence OF the
! water. When the flood subsidies Grace and Henry
walk together through the sOdden roads until they
find horse. Then Grace is placed upon the animal
back, and Henry, * he conducts her home, relieves
his feelings 10y peIpetually kissing her bare feet
though, considering the mud, We think they can
hardly have been very pretty objects, even IN the
eyes of a lover.