Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1871-05-19
In A CELLAR.
An Incident i'm the Siege of strai
hurg.

Dufk.
A French paper gives the following
account of the experiences of one of the
inhabitants of Strasburg during the
siege:
II had been established in Strasburg
for many years, and my afiairsAad never
been so prosperous as they were when
the war broke out. On the approach OF
the enemy sent away my wife and fam
lily, but could not leave my warehouses
and shops, lest when the town was taken
they should be given up to pillage. The
first eight days all went well-the quar-
ter inhabited seemed to be spared; but
on the ninth day shell exploded In
front of my house, and broke all the WIN
dows on the ground floor | thought 1t
prudent from that time to take refuge IN
cellar. | had some provisions there,
so that | seldom went out of it. l spent
my days and evenings in reading, little
thinking what was soon to befall me.
On Saturday, the 10th, about midday,
while / was taking meal, / heard tre-
mendous noise overhead. | ran to the
stairs to ascertain the amount of dam
age doubtless caused by she'll falling
into my house. But / drew back terrified.
The entrance of the cellar was stopped
up by portions of the wall The house
had fallen in, and | was buried alive.
What passed through my mind in the
first hour of my captivity | cannot ade-
quately describe. | had fits of dumb
ague, to which exhaustion succeeded.
By degrees | came to myself, so | must
confess l completely lost my head; |
collected my ideas, and thought | re-
membered having during the day brought
down a petroleum lamp, felt my way
to the piece of furniture on which be-
lieved / had placed it, and, by good for
tune, there it was. | lighted it instantly.
It was then ! realized my true situation.
All around me there were ruins; the
staircase no longer existed; | could no
longer deceive myself the house had
fallen in, and the cellar was to be my
tomb. To clear the rubbish on that side
was my only hope, and | began it with
the fury of despair. Every brick | took
away made others fall; the walls crum-
bled continually, and | was from one
moment to another threatened with de-
struction by the ruins. Then my lamp
went out for want of oil, and for time
/ gave up all hope; but the instinct of
selfpreservation prevailed, and | set to
work again in sort of rage. l had
been working, as il seemed to me, more
than two days, when the ceiling sud
denly fell in; a brick struck me on the
head, and / tainted. How long / re-
manned insensible cannot tell When
/ reopened my eyes perceived an
opening above my head; the stars were
shining; it was night. / suffered horri-
bly,, and dared not move, for fear of pro-
ducing fresh fall Of masonry. WAITED
for day in mortal anxiety. As soon as /
could realize my position hope returned.
l made heap of rubbish all around me,
and clinging to a beam of the ceiling,
raised myself out of this cellar which
had so nearly been my grave. Once out
of it, / again gave way. When / came
to myself once more / crouched down
among the ruins of my abode and wept
for more than two hours. | had spent
four days in that cellar. / went into it
without one gray hair, and now my head
is quite white. have aged more than
twenty years in four days. AS for my
shops, all are burnt i had worked for
ten years to set up my family in tolera-
BILE comfort. My wife and looked for
an old age exempt from care; now all
must begin over again, and | see no pros
pect of anything but misery for our fu-
t,,.a H. sc "