Stephens City star. (Stephens City, Va.) 1881-1883, 1882-08-05
ALEXANDRIA,.


,rrs beautiful City Whose Streets We're
Lined with Noble Mansions Reduced to
Ashes.
The destruction of so fair city is
terrible to think of in its details. 1t
was town so built that destruction was
a comparatively easy task. All the
European houses lay together on the
eastern, or rather southeastern side of
the city mot far from the sea). The
great square was almost the beginning
of the Frank quarter. This square,
known as Palace Mehemet Ali, was in
the form Of parallelogram, of which
the long sides lay parallel to the sea.
The hotels and consulates were all in
it, or close by it. The French Consulate
and the Hotel d'Europe were big blocks
on either side, while the International
Tribunals occupied the whole Of the
eastern end. The English Church, with
the huge pile of Offices known as st.
Marks buildings, which were built on
the English Church property and paid
an aggregate rent of $4,000 a year, oc.
cupied nearly one-half of the sea side.
Further out still to the east, four
miles along the seacoast, lies the
Brighton of Alexandria, where the Eng
lish all resided-Ramleh. 1t is scat
tered suburb mile long, full of pretty
villas. some of them most lordly pleas
ure houses, all enjoying the view Of the
sea and desert, and in easy communica
ton with the city by means OF small
passenger railway, which was managed
by an English company. Three weeks
ago poor Ramleh was as silent and lone
ly as cemetery; but every house was
full Of furniture and pictures and all
the curiosities of the Levant which
English people love to collect.
Such is the European quarter, whose
smouldering ruins are now being trav-
ersed by exploration parties from the
fleet. Every house was left ready for
reoccupation when it's refugee owner
returned. Bedouin servants guarded
the Ramleh houses, Arab servants re-
NAMED to protect those in town. All
the banks were. fortunately, without
any exception, persuaded to abandon
their first intention Of converting their
establishments into small fortifcati ms.
The barbados, the underground cham
bers, the sandbag concealment Of strong
boxes were all thought foolish while
there were ships of refuge in the harbor,
and consequently, three weeks ago
everything was shipped by the banks
that was of value. All the principal
merchants followed this example, and
the consulates adopted, as far as posi-
BILE, the same plan.
In any case, the destruction of prop
perty must have been very great. A
vast city, whose streets were lined with
nobla mansions, has been reduced to
ashes. The loss, immense as it is to
the owners, can have little benefited
the plunderers. Arab thieves would
profit very little by European furniture
in place where there was no organiza-
ton of receivers of stolen goods. Cash
they would not find. Goods had all
been shipped long ago. Even the shol
contained very little stock. The de-
struction would benefit nobody, not
even the destroyers.
One result is certain to come out of
this awful disaster. A long series of
claims will be made against Egypt for
the loss Of property. Even before their
departure, in all the hurry of their exo-
dus, all European owners of either
house or furniture made a statement of
what he owned and lodged it at his con-
sulate. Many even who had not insured
before went 80 far as to insnre their
goods and chattels, not because they
thought the companies would in
demnify them from loss at the hands
OF mob, but because they would have
an additional proof of what they held
to be the value of their prop
erty. Poor Egypt has melancholy
future before her in many ways.