Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-10-12

Its First Appearance in Paris in 1888
Some Interesting Details Concerning
that Terrible Period-A Cholera Spe-
ciffc.
From the "Reminiscences Of an artist.
Editor Morn ing NetCS: ''IIhe cholera is
cOming!r In tn ose days-1SS2-there were
no railroads, telephones nor electric tele-
graphs, nor did the conception of this last
enter the mind Of Morse till four months
later. The French Government had their
semaphore, but being under the control
of the police at this time, its long arms
waving in the dim distance like an I'M
defined shadow, gave no information that
was permitted to reach the people, but
every diligence from the northeastern de-
partments of France brought terrible
accounts of the destructive charac-
ter OF its advance. The effects
of this upon the popular mind
seemed to me comparable only to
horrible nightmare, in which the dreamer
sees and hears the stealthy and slow ap-
prOach of some monstrOus serpent, whose
f0rked tongue quiVers over and on all sides
of him, with eyes cleaning like Goals into
his own, while he lies PROSTATE before it,
able neither to flee nor to cry Outl Men,
women and children were fleeing by their
private conyeyances of all kinds, and dill
gence after diligence in extra trains went
of loaded to their full capacity of bag
gage and passengers, while those who
could not flee, passed each other on the
streets with haggard looks and pale
faces, stopping only to say and hear these
awful words, ''The cholera is comingP'
Having been trained into believing that
there was Providence ruling the affairs
of men, without whose decree not one
hair of my head could fall to the ground,
went into the streets, as was my habit,
to study the expressions of the human
face under the influence of the new hor-
ror. l tried hard to be brave and to rise
superior to the depressing influence that
the gloomy state of things had upon me,
but felt very much as one does when he
whistles in the dark, or as / did when
mounting the tombstone after sun
down in the old Savannah church
yard, and l was actually frightened
one morning by an unusual commotiOn in
my ''hotel." | heard voices murmuring
"the cholera has broken out in the Quar-
tier Saint AntOineV | am ashamed to
confess not that l was frightened, for
that was not real, but that [ did not get
up Immediately, remaining in bed to say
the prayers my mother taught me and
luCn lCdulnS buC 1Obu CudDIGI ISL NOIlu-
thians in the Bible my father gave me on
leaving Savannah, with the advice to 90
to ii TOR strength and patience aRder diff
Guilty and distress.
THIS 1 HAD FOLLOWED TO THE LETTER,
having done neither reading, praying, nor
going to church since my arrival in
Paris, because had had neither difficulty
nor distress. In this, however, L was not
singular, having the example before me
of hundreds of Protestants from America
and England who act upon the principle
"When in Rome you must do as Romans
do" or, as they paraphrase it, SIN Paris
do as Parisians do.' Nevertheless, if like
John Quincy Adams in the storm at sea,
recollected my prayers, 1 said something
more than he did, when all he could recol-
lect was, "NoW | lay me down to Sleep"
and shut the book, after reading for the
second time only since had it the page
Of good advice written on the fly-leaf.
dressed and enjoyed my unusually early
breakfast at the cafe as much as if there
was no horror Overhanging. Then started
for paint shop near the POnt Neuf, but
on my way there encountered four cases
of cholera on the sidewalk of the Rue
Dauphine and in returning four more. l
stopped to look on most of these more
for the purpose of hearing what the peo-
pie from the cellar, who generally avoid
daylight, were muttering to one another.
They seemed to be increasing in number
every moment, and with each increase
the word ''empOissOneur'' was more audi
bly, uttered. At length, recognizing one
of our studio models in the crowd, asked
him what it meant. He stared at me for
moment most repulsiVely, and then
seeing familiar face, held out his hand
and said, ''Mon brave! they are poisoning
the peoplep "WhoW asked.
"Les dOctrinaire," was the reply, in
tone that implied that they only could do
it. The ''dOctrinaire" were the members
Of the Chamber of Deputies, who sup
ported the policy of the King. Louis
Philippe and my "rough'' friend was a
red-Republican. Some demon had whis-
pered to the F'canaille' that the cholera
had been imported by the aristocrats of
Europe for the purpose OF destroying the
people whose power had Just then been
shown in the ''three days" of 1880, and in
the uprisings in Poland and Italy, and the
charters agitation in England.
The Louvre did not open to artists till
10 O'Clock. / therefore returned to my
room till past 8, when | started for the
gallery. On my way l had the curiosity
to stop at the house in the passage Dau-
phine, which Ihad left some weeks before,
to see how its inmates were doing. l
found them in great alarm for one Of their
boarders. A large, fleshy young man was
on his bed, looking like a corpse and lash
ing his arms and rolling his eyes like one
galvanized, while the other bOarders had
fled and left the women helpless in their
desolatiOn. The youngest daughter was
lying stupefed and almost dead on the
sofa and deaf to all my words of encour-
agement, so i lett them and resumed my
way to the gallery.
I HAD SCARCELY PASSED OUT OF THE
GATE
when / saw crowd blocking up the
street before the door of wine shop
corresponding to our lowest class drink
ing saloons-and had not asked what was
the matter, when l heard a roar within,
and then rush of a crowd lifting over
their heads pale and shrieking figure,
distorted in an agony of fear. The street
here sloped to drain in the middle, then
running with muddy water. On reaching
this the figure was lifted up till visible to
the knees. An awful yell proceeded from
its throat, and then with roar like that
of wild beast its bearers dashed it to
the ground, and a wild dance, leapIng
and swaying to and fro as num-
bers rushed to join in, began. Then,
drawn swords, rode into the crowd, strik-
ing right and left with the fiat of their
blades, it disappeared as if by magic,
leaving in the gutter an unrecogniZable
mass of cloth, broken bones, mangled
flesh and bloody mud Mortified at this
exhibition of popular rage, it was some
moments before L recognized that / was
standing alone, with my paint box and
mahl-stick in hand, and only recovered
to see men hurriedly shutting up their
shops and in time to jump into the first
door at hand. From this | saw a gen.
darme dismount, and after stirring the
borders of the bloody mass a little, he
stopped and picked little vial, holding
it up to the others, with some words
which | did not hear.
On the appearance of the cholera,
Official directions had been given and the
advice circulated to the effect that a few
drops Of spirits of camphor on lump of
sugar was a partial protection against
cholera. On this, many, myself among
the number, provided themselves with the
same. 1t afterward appeared that on this
occasion man better dressed than the
patrons of this little wine shop had gone
in to get tumbler of wine, and after
drinking it, had taken out this little vial.
Ere he could get it to his mouth,
strong hand seized him,
voice cried, "EmpOissoneur! en- VOLTA
unr and the crowd, already ready
for change and violence, seized the poor
inofensiVe man, and in the manner de-
scribed tramped him to death! 1t may be
readily supposed that not many moments
later Tyas in the recess around the statue
of Henry w., on the Pont Neuf, noncha-