Thomas County cat., 1886-11-04

with the spoils of the lncas and the
| products of their own mines was the
| city and its inhabitants. Its plaza was
adorned by the magnificent palace of the
| VicerOy and cathedral of rare splen-
dor, by fountain supported by brazen
lions and range Of public buildings un-
surpassed by any structure in Europe.
Nor was there gayer metropolis.
The houses were low adobe dwellings,
inclosing a court, which q fountain
and tropical foliage made like dream
of the orient There, under the splen-
dor of the summer sky. the dance, and
song, and music of the mandolin be-
gui!ed the perfect nights.
The fair Peruvians were famed for
their superb dresses of lace and silk.
their ornaments Ofpearls and diamonds
were in accordance with the wealth
and good fortunes of their fathers and
husbands. Nor were they negligent of
the devOut observance of the Roman
religion. So that the tide of ''their
mirth and their occupations flowed
on necessarily in tranquil stream day
after day.
A road of six miles in length led
down to Callao. the seaport of Lima.
The town was upon slope of the low
shore and numbered about tve th0us-
and inhabitants. 1t was a gay and
busy place. with a coed harbor that
was scarcely needed for the shelter of
vessels, so peaceful was the sea. For
the languid waves of the quiet Pacific
scarcely rippled against the shore. The
town had its palace and public build
ings that, while they were not equal in
splendor to those of Lima, filled the
hearts of the seaport townsmen with
pride. The road that ran back to Lima
was lined with gardens and villas, aud
was usually filled with merry muicteers
and the wealthy citizens driving in
their calaches. Such were Lima and
Callao in October. 1746. Earthquakes
had come. gone, and been forgotten.
The people of Lima had built their
grand structures and repaired all traces
of formed disaster, and the inhabi-
tants of Callao slept by the side of
their tranquil sea in dreams of peace
and perfect security.
1t was ON October %, at 1880 at
night, when the cities of Lima and
Callao slept. a calm and starlight
night when the shock came; instantly
the people rushed forth from their
dwellings. and the cry of 1.-THE earth
quake" came from pale and terror
stricken people as they rushed wildly
about, not knowing where to go for
shelter and safety. Four minutes
served to shake Lima to the ground.
and of the three thousand buildings,
not twenty were left standing. The
whole city had crumbled into dust
The churches and monasteries, the
palace of the Viccroy, the pleasant
adobe dwellings, had fallen and
crushed their inmates in many in
stances, and those who had sought
escape in flight were overwhelmed by
the falling structures that buried over
a thousand victims beneath their
ruins, and there, amid the desolation
of destruction, the cry of the dying
and bereaved, the survivors awaited
the coming of the dawn. With the
dawn came the terrible tidings that
Callao had been swept away by a
tidal wave, and only a waste of sand
filled the site of the flourishing sea-
port, with its harbor, its ramparts.
and places beside the peaceful ocean
that had risen in its might and swept
it with wave after wave from off the
earth. The new Callao that was after
ward built was on q different site, far
away from the terrible memories of
the past. At the time of the
great earthquake, in 1855, Lisbon was
| foyp sv,,n Oft &c
now, with remnant of its past glory
when it had been the center of COM
merce and culture in the sixteenth
century. 1t was then more the
peer of London or Paris than any other
city in Southern Europe. hose who
noticed the course of nature Just be-
fore the earthquake at Lisbon had OBJ
served that in several years the land
had shown various signs of volcanic
action. The weather was dry and OPP
pressive. springs had ceased to flow
where they once existed in abundance,
and the earth had frequently trembled
with slight shocks. Yet never had
Lisbon been more needless of danger
than at the moment of its destruction.
For more than century and a half it
| ustu huo"h hO SituoiIopHC. AhC tdli
houses, four or five stories high, with
their open balconies stretching over
the narrow streets. had stood to shell
ter generations. The royal palaces.
richly adorned with furniture of
gold and silver. and stored with
gems and diamonds had been built
with no expectation of their de-
struction. and its churches, more
elaborate still than its palaces.
were decked with the spoils OF the
Indies. In its two great squares Were
palaces and public buildings and the
magnificent Church of the Dominicans.
The corridors and dungeons of the
Holy Inquisition marked the greater
circuit OF them. The Ruccio was
placed in the center of the city, and it
was here that some of the most fatal
accidents of the earthquake occurred:
The morning of November l, 1855.
broke fair and warm over Lisbon. A
soft east wind blew and the sky was
c'oudless. 1t was a high festival of
the Roman Church. the chapeis and
caihedrals We're filed with .hrongs of
wOrshipers. The English merchants
had not yet gone to their counting
houses, and the royal family were still
in the palace. Suddenly a roar was
heard like the peal of countless thun-