The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1885-06-30
BEL RdRIo:
OR Tue
Children of the Earthquake.
CHAPTER
THE GREAT EAerHouAKE.

never more beautiful thaa on that fateful
Tuesday, November l, l6 when the great
earthquake came:
The son flooded the bay with showers of
gold, and the streets Wee full of vehicles,
CARRYING pleasure-seekento and fro.
The bay was crowded With shipping Two
men-of-war lay near the Aew marble quay,
lust completed; which was already a popular
resort for fashionables and unfashionables,
to gather of an afternoon and listen to the
playing of the bands.
In the midst of this Pace and pleasure
came low, rumbling, Sring sound. The
windows ratified; horses Stood STILL snorting
and trembling, refusing nmove further.
Every one gaZed IN the lace of his neigh
Dor, growing pale-he kley not why; and
then, as the tremor cease people laughed
uneasily, and said to each other that it was
nothing, after all. y
But still the horses Refused to bulge when
whipped up.
Then came another rumble, which rose to
a roar. The tTemor was AneWed, and be-
came a swaying to and fro Men and women
staggered like drunkards and in the midst
of it the tower of the chund of San Lorenzo
was seen to be totterlng t9its fall over the
square of the same name.
People came running tAm the houses in
every street, frantic with lear. making in
Stinctively for some open Ace The square
was the nearest; and as lie tower was be-
held shaking, bitter cTY rose from the
crowd
Some tried to flee, but teir limbs refused
to sustain them on the heaYing EARTH which
added dizzy sickness to their misery and
fear.
Then-CRAsH!
The great tower, two hundred and eighty
feet high, fell into the squse, crushing hun
dreds. The heaying beca1n succession Of
waves. Hills rose and valleys sank where
all had been level.
Then came a shock, m0r violent than be-
fore, and the rattle of falling buildings ech-
oed through the doomed cit.
People ran as hard as the could towards
the river, with the instinctli hunted animals
tie seek the water Selfishnss ruled the hour,
and men struck tiercely at Fomen and chill
dren if the poor things gotn the way.
In the midst of the crowGnear the square,
stood a carriage. The PAM stricken horses
had refused to stir. In thecarriage sat two
ladies with babies in their ans. Both were
richly dressed, but both hadheen abandoned,
in that hour, by their nures. All distinc-
tions Of rank were lost, and they only re-
membered that their babieswere crying and
that they must hush them. Then came a
hull in the tremor of the gNund and both
mothers sprang out OF the carriage and began
to run with the crowd.
As they did so, one said hStily to the 9TH
er, in English:
Keep up your courage, Marie, If you give
way we shall never escape"
The. other, who was narly fainting,
gasped:
''Oh, my God! We are LOST
mo, we are not lost!' reDrted the first,
who seemed to have courage IN spite of the
terrible connection "Only dmt drop down.
Keep on your feet, whateye happens, and
hold fast to the babyp
Then they began to run in tR crowd where
oil cd frov
Out in the harbor, by the pier, the two
men-Of-war were scene of hurry and con-
fusion.
Their anchors were down; their officers
shouting hoarse orders as thei prepared to
get the ships out to sea.
One was English, the other Fench.
In the midst of the c0mmotiOI the captain
Of the English ship heard a vOic hailing him
from boat shooting past:
"Guy! Guy! Vere are you?"
The English captain utterd fervent
Thank God" under his breath, for he rec
ognized the voice and foreign accent.
A young officer, in French naval uniform,
was waving his hand from the tern of the
boat, as it passed the frigate, and called Out
in French: II will save them Be not
afraidw
The English captain waved hiShand in re-
ply, but his face was as pale as that of a
corpse. His wife and child, andthat of the
French officer, were both ashor, and he
dared not leave his duty to save them. Then
as the boat glided towards the qug, the En-
glish captain gave shrug to his Shoulders
as If to control the nervous ShuddT he could
not avoid, and turned his attention to his
own ship, resOlutely depressing every feeling
but that of strict duty.
at the moment the first rrumle of the
earthquake began, small, half-de&ed craft
with single mast, supporting a mge lateeI
sail, was Heating not far from the pier, hel
crew OF three men trying to prope her from
the vicinity by means of clumsy sweeps.
:. When the first tremor came, it vas not no
ticed on the water; but the orSheard the
rumbliug sound; and the captin-a big
swarthy young fellow, with keen black eyes
and huge de-whIskers-rested @ his oar q
moment IS look round and say, inSpanish:
That thunder ought to give us wind
boys" The next minute the second shocl
came u through the water like blow, an(
the captain turned a shade peterborough hi
bronze, and muttered in voice f apprehen
riOn
Mother Of Hearen! 1t is the earthquake
Pull your best for the open sea! God hell
us all! Pull, l sayr'
The words, "the earthquake, were enough
for the two Spaniards who Qmposed tn
crew, when they heard them. they bent t.
their oars with all their might, and the boa
began to move thrsugh thr watE.
-, They were leaving the pier apidly, whel
the-three men felt sudden sinking, as If tn
to drop from under them, AID they wer
swept out to sea, with a rusS as fast as
horse could have galloped. thu sensation O
sinking growing stronger ever moment.
Two of the men who were pilling, droppe
their oars and fell on their KEGS, in the in
stlnct OF man when he can dOnothlng more
raising their hands to Heave', and praying
wildly for mercy.
The captain, on the other land, turned hi
face towards them and snarld fiercely:
Get to your oars, you fods! The saint
can't stop the earthquakel Get to you
Odrsr'
The next minute he himelf was hurle,
from his place by violent shock, and tn
men raised shrek of terrot Their nerve
were completely unstrung ~ what had jus
happened
The boat acds high and drgOn the bottom {
the bag, and they could seethe water rusl
ing out to sea, as if it werebeing sucked n
by some strange m0nstei, revealing til
ground, jagged with rocks and intersperse
with pools of mud.
But the dauntlesS captain did not Civ
way. lie rose from the pace where he ha
been thrown, and called This panic-stricke
men:
Ute TO your oars! LOOI THERE!
He pointed to the retidng wave. 1t ha
paused in its course, ard was statlonar,
while great, wall of watT was beginning
curl over at the top, asif the contendin
forces were struggling fof the mastery.
The trembling sailors Cbeyed him instinc
lively; but it seemed usel@sito hold an oar
the face of such peril.
The wall of water curledOver, and the way
came racing back; but the cool and hero
captain had not held hi: post in vain.
front OF the great wave tame a lower. on
and as it neared the Spanprds it caught u
their little craft and swept it inland again.
Struggling like madmeS, they managed I
keep the boat from driftilg broadside to til
water that came racing sfter them, and IL
advance wave swept thdm on, swifter tina
it had carried them out, Straight towards tt
city of Lisbon.
A great cloud of dusnhad risen from I'll
ruins of the doomed city and hung over Il
harbor, like pail EvErything was darl
but a flash of lightning shot through Il
cloud.
By the light of that fla they saw strani
scene.
They were close to thk great marble pie
and the bottom of the lay was clearly Wis
bic all round it, ,cIaile TN pier Itself ,oGs ri
ing in the air; the rocksIrending beneath
as it rose, with loud thmhiering reports.
The stately frigateS lay helpless on tn
sides by the foot of the kier; and the way
on which the Spanish u)at hung, seemed
pause moment before il completed its wor
Then something seemed to give way, az
down went the great marble pier, the pr
Of Lisbon, into the mid It of black, yaw
ing chasm.
The wall of water, thai had been followi
the boat, suddenly scented to sink benea
it; the little craft was hurled high in the q
foCcaJ about +l,o ...oo+ IiIloJUc liEk