The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1877-05-03

:. u \
Stlch ereRt storms, nay companion toiu
me. come periodically. Every I've years
of 80 the ocean gives 4 yakii, as II were,
Hicks oter It's barriers, shakes its name ct
DE ljttlb village. and throws STONES st the
as,tlvinf hoAses.i The latter, therefore,
intreiicR themselves behind "a sturdy wall
Of coiiipact mas6nty, built round three
aides al s SQUARE: But nothing entirely
ayails against the bufly besieger; yonder
stands 4 bliehted mansion, whose lower
story vas entered last year BY several hun
dred tons of rude seaspebbles, which
Knocked. indeed. ct door and windows,
hut came in without staying for an an
swer, carrying windows and door WIN
them. No writ Of ejectment or pfosecu-
ton has been served ON the uespassels'
and they still remain il possession. Prob
ably the astounding eftrontery Of the out
rage at once and forever ,quelled al spirit
Of opposition. Certainly IT would pc
hard 10 devise more terrific way o.
awakening peaceful household In the
dead OF night and what II he possessed
wine-cellar!
Three centuries ago, according to my
porter, seapchange happened here which
feally deserves to he called strange. Al
that time small river (by no means an
insignificant ole, however, as English riv-
ers eo) flowed peacefully through the low
land, and found its exit to the ocean be-
side this same small fishing village. upon
which it conferred some little maritime
importance. Ever since Julius C&sar's
eve for the picturesque brought him over
to Britain, and for how long before that
we know not, this quiet stream had pur-
sued It's accustomed course, with no more
idea of altering 1t than the Conservative
party in England has of altering its poll
CIV on the Eastern question. One winter
night, however, during the latter half OF
the sixteenth century, hurricane began
to blow, the like Of which had never been
known before. The sea, so to speak,
reared straight UP on end, and stalked
over the land like an army Of giants. The
surf broke miles inland, amid sequestered
farms and over green country lanes. IL
was the conviction of those who retained
their senses sufficiently to be conscious OF
any conviction at all that the traditional
subjects of Britannia had organized a sue
cessful rebellion, and that the right lit
| tie, tight little island'' was not water
tight, but, on the contrary, was inconti-
| nently become part of the sea. bottom. The
storm ragged for three day, after which
| there was an improvement, so far as weath.
er was concerned.
| But when, at last, the appalled, fisher
men ventured to thrust their heads In
quiringlv outside their windows, 10! they
he'd lost their river Amazed, they stag.
gered forth, and sought distracted up and
down the river was gone, and there was
not so much as pint of ditch water lef
| to show where it had been. It was not Q
case of humiliation, however: far worse
1t was an elopement; the most heartless
instance Of geographical unfaithfulness
that ever heard of. One of the villagers
wandering forlorn some miles to thu
northward, all at once stumbled upon I
stream which he had never seen in tina
| part of the country before. Oppressed
with dark suspicion, he followed it NJ
toward its source, and ere long was com
PEELED to recognize in it the traitoroul
current which he and his fellows ha(
mourned as dead. 1t occupied its unlaw
1 full bed with so much demure self posses
sion. and smiled in its betrayed ones fac,
so placidly. that had it been possible still
an impressive story, and might, | thought
oe WOFkeu up luto dIoIudHtiC anu pdtHeIis
novel in three volumes, in which thu
heroine, if not the plot, should be entire
ly unhackncyed and original. 1t would
be difficult, however, to intiict poetica
justice in the last chapter. The rea
sequel is, that new village grew W
around the new rIver-moutL, and to-day
faunts its stolen prosperity in the formel
possessor's face. To set matters right by
another great storm would denote poverty
of Imagination; and there are various
difficulties in the way of creating geo
| logical cOnvulsion.-Julidn HaaothcTne, &,
Appletons JournaJor Nay.