The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1873-08-30
SMALL LOSS OF LIFE.
The Siege Relaxed at the Request
of the Foreign COnsuls.
SCENES I'm THE CITY.
Boys Playing Hide.and.Seek with Bursting
Shells and Houses Riddled by Shot.

Resuming my narrative OF events in this old city
ind, on summing up my notes, that there is very
little to say. On July 80 cannonading and mus
kerry were heard throughout the day. After
breakfast assembled to the top OF La Miguelette,
or the Tower OF the Cathedral, and stood, perhaps
on the very spot whence, some 400 years ago, the
Cid showed his daughters the glorles Of Valencia.
Imagination could hardly sketch a picture more
elowingly beautiful than the valencian plain. The
level area visible below you measures some ten
miles in width by sixty in length. When the green
gardens and the green corn the green orchards
and groves, the towers Of Valencia, the
large bull ring, the dense mass OF houses
the dusty -looking roads. the cleaning blue sea.
have EACH IN their turn arrested the attention Of
the stranger, what strikes him next as remark
able are the number Of>villages which rise before
him. There are in the plain more than one hun
dred and fifty villages, with each a lofty church
tower, or an ambitious spire, and all the houses
and churches and roads, towers and spires, are Of
a binding whiteness which strikngly contrasts
with the never-dying greenness OF the vegetation.
AS came up from the "Gras," or Port, saw
placards ten feet long, gay with varicolored prnt,
announcing that the annual fair was to be held on
the 30th OF July, during which all sorts Of merry
making were to take place, dancing and jubilee
ing, singing and fddling, PROFESSIONS bon
fires, picnics, boating, fireworks, and what
not. " was intended for general holiday and
thanksgiving time, when the harvest OF wheat and
barley was over and the fruits of the trees ERE
rpening. But the 30th OF July came, and it found
the HERALD's correspondent looking down from
the dizzy height Of La Migueette upon city
where the melancholy silence was every now and
then broken by bursting bombs and whizzing shot,
and cannon responded to cannon with wrathful
buster and roar. White and yellow smoke or
kindled gunpowder curled and wreathed by fig tree
and orange, by peach and pear; the leaves Of grape
and apricot nectarine and plum, shrunk and
shrivelled before the breath Of nitrous fire, while
the homesteads OF the plain and happy villages
were perforated by resistless iron balls and ORCH
ards were devastated. Brother answered brother
Spaniard responded to Spaniard, the volunteers
replied to the regulars, and the clamor OF artil
lery fight filled the air.
"Now what Is being done9' asked OF one who
stood by me on the top of the tower.
"Much, very much" he replied; and when
pressed to give me details, as was stranger, he
said "You see that burning village to the right,
just the river? That Is Maniesa. The troops
in it this morning, and the guns on the top of
Ell Cuarte formerly double gate, erected in the
fifteenth century, OF late used as q PRISON.
sheled it and drove them away, and, believe, set
it on fire. You see those fellows on FL Citrate are
old artillerymen, and they know how to fire. That
village to the left Of Maniesa is SocOs. Either the
troops there in force they simply amusing
us while they plant their mortars elsewhere.
They only reply to us with one gun, but
Ell Citrate is Furnishing them severely The
shells drop right in the village, as you can
see by the light Dust rising from It; that is the
mortar and brick dust; but when the shell drops
On the highway or in the gardens great cloud Of
thick black dirt rises. Now look at this village,
almost in front OF Socos, but more to the left half
hidden by the great trees near it that is called
Campanar. The troops were in Campanar yester.
day, but they have been driven away from it, and
now the volunteers occupy 1t, Now, away behind
Socos, almost in line with the cathedral, is the
village called Mlslata. The troops are there also
and they are firing at us lively enough, but they
are bad shots-bad Shots 1t is only one out Of
twenty that comes near Ell Cuarte; but that new
church, st. Sebastian, outside the city limits
nearly, and much to their shots, is suffering
severely. Three bombs have dropped almost in
the same spot and two or three men have been
killed. One man was killed close to the British
Consul's house."
'Well, do you think they will take the city 9'
'Indeed, l do not. valencianos, when their blood
Is up, require q great shedding Of it before they
cool down. You ought to have seen us in 100.
I-n
81 was here In 49,"
''Ol, you WeTtl lHeu you hHOW IL was uluercnL
with us then. We had no cannon; yes, we had one
or two believe-cumsy things which we made
ourselves. We have twenty rihed cannon now,
and though have no great generals our artillery
men know how to use them. Look towards the
citadel. 1t commands all approach from the Grao,
and -"
"But you have ne cannon there ?" said !.
PREPARATIONS FOR RESISTANCE.
"Ah, yes, we have. We placed them up last
night and the barricade near It, You never saw
such barricade, am sure. 1t Is higher than
mans head. No body Of men could come up the
Grao road, and the citadel commands the sea
bridge-Puento del Mar-and the other side of
the river for long distance. Then the two towers
OF Serran0 take up the defence Why, they are
like twin castles and very strong You see the
walls built up in arches, SO that cannon ball.
though 1t might go through, would not do much
damage Beyond the Serrano are the two towers
OF Ell Cuarte-aso twin castles-and we have
two guns mounted up there. Then further on
is the Plaza de Toros-Bull Ring-the finest
building Of the kind in Span four stories high all
on arches. The Bull Ring defends all the rest until