The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1889-06-08
THE FLOOD IN FICTION.
CharloS npndo on a Dl.n.ter BY water.

Charles RsRdo on a Disaster by Water.
One Of the most exciting incidents in
Reade's "Put Yourself In His Place" is
the bursting OF the dam at the Ousely
reservoir, near Marlborough, England.
The novelist describes the dam, It's great
width and strength, and the special pre-
cautions OF the contractor to enable any
undue pressure Of water to be relieved
without delay, Then come the finding
OF q crack in the dam, the opening Of
the sluice pipes, and the inspection Of
the builder, all too late 10 avert the dis
aster which the giving way Of the dam
brings on the inhabitants OF the adjoin-
ing valley. The most remarkable OF the
escapes was that Of Henry Little and
Grace Coventry, two lovers who had
been separated, Grace having married
Frederick Coventry. The following Is a
description Of the scene:
What seemed mountain Of snow
came rolling, and burst on them with
terrific violence, whirling great trees and
fragments Of houses pastwith incredible
velocity.
At tho first blow the house that stood
nearest to the flying lake wis shattered
and went to pieces soon after; oil the
houses qulvered US tho water rushed
round them two stories high.
Little never expected to live another
minute; yet in that awful moment, his
love stood firm. He screamed to Grace,
"The house must gothic tree!-the
ee!-gGt to the tree!"
But Grace, so weak at times, was more
than mortal strong at that dread hour.
"What! live with him." she cried,
"when can die with you!"
She folded her arms, and her pale face
was radiant, no hope, no fear.
Now came higher wave, and the
water reached above the window stills Of
the bedroom floor aud swept away the
ladder; yet driven forward like cannon
bullet, did not yet pour into the bed
room from the main stream; but by de-
grees tho furious flood broke, melted and
swept away the intervening houses, and
then hacked of the gable end Of GraCe's
house, as II l4eyiathan had bitten a. piece
out. Through that aperture the flood
came straight in, leveled the partition at
a blow, rushed into the upper rooms
with fearful roar, and then, rushing out
again to rcioin the greater body Of
water, blew the front wall clear away,
and swept Grace out into the raging cur
rent.
The mighty re1ux, which, after short
struggle, oyerpowercd the rush OF water
from the windows, and carried GraCe's
helpless body away from the tree, drove
her, OF course, back toward the houses,
and she was whirled past Little's win
dow with fearful velocity, Just as he was
going to leap into tho flood, and perish
in an insane attempt to save her, With
a loud cry he seized her by her long
floating hair and tried to draw her in at
the window, but the mighty water pulled
her from him tierCely, and all butdragged
him in after her; he was only saved by
clutching tho side OF the wall with his
left hand; the flood was like some vast
solid body drawing against him, and
terror began to seize his on heart. He
ground his teeth, he set his knee against
the horizontal projection OF the window,
and that freed his left hand be sudden
ly seized her left arm with it and, clutch.
Ing violently, ground his teeth together
and, throwing himself backward with q
jerk, tore her out OF tho water by an
effort almost superhuman. Such was
the force exerted by the torrent on one
side and the desperate lover on the Other
that not her shoes only, but her stock
ingS, though gartered, were torn OF her
in that fierce struggle.