Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1874-10-15
DESTRUCTION OF A GREAT CITY.

Ilpplncotts Magazine for July has a
graphic account Of the destruction of
Lisbon by an earthquake in 1855, from
which we take the following: d
The morning of November1 dawned
serene, but the heavens were hazy since
midnight the thermometer had risen one
degree, and stood at nine o'clock at "A
above freezing, Reamur.2 Asit was the
feast of All Saints, the churches were
tLronged from an early hour, and all
their affairs brilliantly Illuminated with
thousands of tapers and decorated !. with
garlands of various tinted muslins and
thin silks. At quarter of ten o'clock
the first shock was felt. It was SO xery
slight that many persons attributed it to.
Tie heavy wagons in the. streets, and
even to mere fancy. Three minutes af>
terward second shock occurred, so viz
olent that it seemed as if the heavens
and earth were passing away. This az
itation lasted fully ten inmates, and ere
it diminished the greater portion of the
city was in ruins The dust raised OBJ
scured the sun; an Egyptian darkness
prevailed, and to add to the universal
horror, the fearful screams of the living
and the groans ofthe dying rose through
the air.. In twenty minutes all became
calm again, and the people began to
look around them to consider the best
means of escape. Some were for going
to the hills, but were soon discouraged
fromsso doing by the rumors that those
who had already gone thither were suf-
foe ating from the effects Of the dense
fog OF dust which still rose from the fall
ing buildings. Then they rushed to-
ward the quays which line part of the
Tagus, but only to learn the horrible
news that these had sunk into the earth
all the people and edlfces upon them.
Those who thought to put out to sea
were told to look at the river, and 10 I!
in its centre they beheld whirlpool
which was sucking in all the vessels and
boats In its vicinity, not fragment Of
any of them being ever seen again. The
royal palace had been entirely swallows
ed up, and over its site is now the vast
square of the Pace, or Black Horse, one
of the largest public places in Europe.
The great library of the Holy Ghost was
in flames, and its priceless Moorish and
Hebrew manuscripts were fast becom
ing ashes. The opera house had fallen
in, the 1nquisition was no more, and the
great church Of San Domingo was a
heap of stones, beneath which lay crush
ed to atoms the entire congregation
The Irish church of St. Paul was the
death place OF thousand persons, and
the palace Of Bemposta, where Catha-
rine of Braganza, widow of Charles II.
lived and died, had fallen over from the
heights on which it was built, and ut
terly destroyed the poor but populous
pant of the town which lay beneath it
In word, where but an hour since was
Lisbon, was now nothing but desolation.
AS to the people, who can describe their
condition? At least seventy Thousand
persons had persisted, and the majority
of the survivors We're cruelty wounded
and in agony of mind and body. Some
went mad with fright, some lost forever
the power of speech, sinners went about
contessing their secret crimes, and ia
natics, believing the last day had come,
cried out to the horr Dr. stricken multi
tude ''to repent, for that Christ was
coming to judge the quick and the
dead" terstr
As the day wa1ed on the wretched
Lisbonese grew calmer, and it was uni
versally declared that the safest places,
now that the dust was diminishing, were
the heights over looking the city, and
thither the majority fed. Here they
found the court assembled, for the roy
al family was fortunately at Belem,
where strange to say, the earthquake
was scarcely felt at all, and had hasten.
ed at once to the hills. The cardinal
patriarch was here also, and so was
Pombal; and these two men, with sur
prising presence of mind, by their adj
mirable courage, were enabled before
night to inspire some feeling of order
among the excited throng. The king
and queen behaved nobly, and the Dung
duke of Laens deserves to be immortal
lied for his splendid conduct. He or
ganized band of noblemen who went
about aiding the wounded, rescuing the
children, and even burying the dead It
was strange and awful sight to see
this multitude gathered together on the
summit CT the hills which once over.
looked their beautiful capital, and which
now looked down upon mass of smoul
dering ruins. AS day declined and
night came on, the cardinal issued a
proclamation ordering all to kneel in
prayer and entreat the mercy of God
upon them, and then arose on the air
the wailing tones of that saddest OF
psalms, the Miserere When the shades