, 1873-08-24

Foueot1on,-'V POISON tito Croton reBorvoir !"
aohemo.
Dat money did It. nal hal from mons souls
downward money can buy MP nit, 1 could toll |
how won, up to tho recelving rosorvoir, and |
individual nuporintondlng tho works. rho pro},
forod bait wnH too tempting for lila virtue. At
frat he rcfnsoi, and oyon threatcnel, but only
hold up tho gold before his eyes. 1Io turned paio
and tronblod, and donbled tho nmon,!t Of my
brito, already enornoua Ho hoaitato1, pnd-
nuccumbod Hal In Gold cau work mira
Tho 1coa was donc and TINT sumo night slcl,-
neaB and doath began to Bproad black pail over
Ono night, when / Ind gone out to notc tho
progroAs Of destruction anddcgortton, Iaoarchoa
long and In vain for any human creature: DE-
avenue, walked along Broadway rs far as Union
Sgnnre and thoro ent down on ono OF tho
bonchos. It was an unearthly sort Of night:
Tho trooa drooped, a1id the whole scono looked
wan aud slc1tly III tho moonlight.
Hal whnt was that-oiceping- creeping
atoalthy through tho troos2 a rustling sound
startled mo. and Ront m 10y sfiyer through my
honos. I rotroatcd, or, rather, tottored back to
tho shade, out Of which had Ventured,. and
presence moved nssassn-liko along. II rcaenl-
bled aono unconth beast moro than a mnrl-yot
man 1t waB. Presently anothor, and another,
and thon 1nany moro appeared in siRht--all glfd-
thoy bounded In the air with ono accord, whoop-
; ing and Blriolsiug III a manner that 1nnlc tho
echoes ring and ring agnin. whs In tho midst
Of troop Of maniacs-.Btarl, staring 1nanaes!
they dancod madly about III tho oxuberance Of
thofr Joy. They shouted and gibborol unmean-
ingly ono ut tho otlor and 90 ofton approached
tho spot where, only half-conooafed, I was
It wan a ldooua midnight merry making. My
own instincts woro yet partially human, and /
recoled with horror from such q sight.
l. Aftor Ind endured m hour Of terrible sus-
tic square could l,onr thoir yellp far far down
the dark streets, did care TO stir until their
voicos woro 1oBt in tic distance. wiped tho
dunk Porspration from my faco, and, AZ I
touched my forehead, mctloughs 1t had become
mlnkled and Bhrivolod, aa though years had
worn themselves out in those passing moments
OF terror.
did not Btir ont forawceh after this adventure.
Day after day listened for some token Of life
without The occasional natter Of rain was tho
only noise that broke tho monotony Of that
awful Htillnesa. From the houBotop tried for
hours to peer through tho snllon mists that
hung like d Bhrond over tho city; and wien tho
wind swept them away, among the vast n.iB-
el,apen mass Of chimnoya there was no cloud Of
smoke to toll TINT solitary dwollcr had boon
left behind.
The railway wlBtlo was hushcl not oven tho
sound Of n hozsc's hoof striking ths pavement,
OF INC BARKING OF q HDk EOulu 10 uCAfu tNO
rolling Of car Ind omnibus had long s.uco oeasod.
Now York waa wholly deBortcd.
Satisfied of this fact, Iyonturad out. It was
clustering, sort Of day: Tic wind came tcnr-
ing along, tho empty, Rtreets as # itwas POS
no living object whereon to vent its fury, it
would, III sudden freaks, turn abruptly into by
streets, and moan paaslonately down their mar
row channels toward: either river. I began to
feel that tho vory basta Of heaven would DO
| companions. Wns suffering from the anne
racking, ronding pain. It Ind become settled
now, aud was almost beyond enduring; it ami
mated me with the spirit OF q demon.
oughfaro of tho metropolis; and do u remember
| that it VIVA with something akin to delight that,
standing near Grace Church, noticed Tho COM
| ptoto desertion Of Broadway. Aa walked on
| ward found that the stores on each silc
wore open, aB II business wero yet being carried
on. Silks and satins, rich and rare olothn, and
costly merchandise Of overy description adorned
tho windows. into which no eyes aaEo mine woFo
eyor destined to look ngaln. The latoBt fashions
in conhricuoua placoB,. and I laughed cloud to
think that Bucl dainty garments would rot aud
moldcr where they hung. sone had been torn
down aud the broken windows testified lllat
arms had been thrust in to carry or tho booty
but the plundorers, in their hurry to escape. had
rolnqulAhod tho prizes, leaving tho streets eur
poted with silks FOR tho wind in ono OF it's bois-
terous freaks. to whlrl away. peoring out, be-
noath ptles OF dust sometimes detected d
costly jowo1, and would instinctiycly grasp it.,
as II Its value was greater thon than tho
rubbish among which it 1ny.
travelled on: found tho doors OF tho Net
ropolitan md st. Nicholas Hotels open, aud, bo-
fore them, carriages lnden with trunks and
I packages, waiting, porchance, for phantom
| passengers, Tho horses lay on the pavement =
| harnosBol and dead. In ovory direction omni-
buBos and coaches, carts and cnbs,-some over
! turned some npright,-wero forsakon by their
| owners, and loft to decay
| Tho doors Of the thontlosstood inyitingy opon,
md flaming llaudbs OH the broadway atl-
nounced the revival of an ancient comedy. 1Ia !!
hal In! It waa true and devils woro to be tho
actors.
arrived ut the Park. The City Hall loomsd
up dismaily in tho midst OF few witherea trees.
Of IL. The great boil was mute, and the wind,
aa 1t howlod around tho dome, essayed in rain
to moyo that iron tongue OF warming. It had
ccused to speak.
posted on its bulletin announcing:
GREAT AND ALARar727a oR1s16l
BEVENTY~FIVE DANKs BROKEN UP s1MULTA-
NEDU8LY
THE susr MERCHANTS IN NEW xonK suspENpna
PAYMENT X
DEsERTIoA OF TIE oIr1 III
ETC., ETC., ETC.
| How they gloatod oyor the wreck in hugo capt.
| tails md how they would have gloated il they
could hayo detailed title Of whit lave wit
| ueseed
IpaBsed BY churches, and tloir doors alone
wero cloacd--hr1nly closel--as it thoy hud boon
! swung to with ginnt's force Instinctively +
| looked up ut Trinity's Rpre. fa1lciod that 1t
| moved-that it aAook-totrered--waa about to
| fall and crush mo. 1t was only fanoy; yet I
hurried my pace. fora strange chill crept over mo
| at the Thought Of halting beneath it's gloomy
shadow. Tie wind kept me company I'LL the
while, and swopt up oYery street to greet mo aB
/ won't along.
| At leuysh reached the Battery, and there 1t
blew in fltful hurricanes, rushing out madly over
tile wafer. could scarcely hold my footing the
rough waves rose angrlly to where stood. Even
to tho distant shores Of Jersey and Staten Ialand
shtps or rather hulka, coyorod tho surface OF tho
aea and drifted hither and thithor, without helm
or rigging. Not ono was moored-not d living
creature could bo soon upon their docks. -Thoy
Thoy clnrgod-thoy recoilod- they ralIied-ttoy
hurled themselves furioueiy one against the
other; splintora were flung high in the air-they
| u1f A1tnf-I II 1rNua