Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1889-05-17

the girl I was seeking. There she was,
exactly as l had seen her in my dream,
apparently dead, the lovely face as white
as the draperies around her. The huge
| block of wood had probably knocked her
| down, and falling above, had been caught
by the jars, and so protected her from all
the other debris scattered around par
| TALLY walling her in.
I tore away the stones and broken frag-
ments with frantic hands the beam it
self, of course, I could not move by
hairs breath), and at last was able to
draw her gently from underneath it, and
carry her tenderly out On to the road,
which was now rapidly filling with car
riages, into which wounded and sick
people had been lifted, for greater safety
than could be found in the tottering
houses.
In one of these carriages, TO my great
JOY, I recognized the face of Reginald
Doone's mother, a lady who was almost as
dear to me as my own, and who always
looked on me as one Of her boys--Reg1-
maid and having been so much together.
She was now looking out anxiously, and
recognizing me, stopped the carriage.
Ina was still perfectly unconscious, and
with a few words OF explanation | left
her in my old friends motherly care,
promising to come back to them as soon
as all possible help had been given to the
unfortunate people, many of whom were
still half buried beneath the ruins of their
| homes.
l feared to face Ina knowing what her
hp a1.T 10
swer I must give to them, and strove to
forget the inevitable pain by hurrying
from place to place, assisting as best l
could those in need Of help. 1t was a
very deso1ate scene, amid all the beauty
of purple mountains and blue sea, that
Christmas day sun shown down upon.
The little city lay in ruins, with scarcely
a house still firm on its foundations.
The cathedral alone seemed to have es-
capped, and its bells kept up monoton
Gus ringing, and the chanting came down
to us in snatches of melody, the blessed
Christmas hymns sounding unutterably
sweet and comforting amid all the pain
and desolatiOn.
At last some one suggested that the
cellars of the Francia were very large and
solidly built, and probably many people
were in hiding there, waiting to be re-
leased; so a party, including myself, be-
gan removing the tons of fallen stones,
bricks, etc., and after great labor sue
| ceeded in making an opening into the
first cellar. We soon found our labors
were not in vain, for we could hear voices
long before any one became visible, and
at last we reached them.
There were two cellars, one opening out
of the other. We had succeeded in
reaching the inner one, and found it
crowded with people. Many of the hotel
servants had gone there on the first alarm,
and few of the visitors had been guided
by them, or had found their way there
also; and as these people were gradually
lifted out through the hole we had made,
what was my amaZement to recognize
Ina's father among them!
l rubbed my eyes, and thought the
agony of the night must have turned my
brain. But no, there he was, covered
with dust, indeed; and with bleeding
face and hands, but alive and compare
lively uninjured.
''Thank Heaven!' I exclaimed as ]
seized his hand. ''Dare I believe my
eyes after having seen you swallowed up
close to my feet? Thank Heaven, for
Ina's sake"
''Ina," he answered huskily; ''where is
my child?"
''She is safe I found her after you
disappeared, and she knows nothing of
that horrible time. She is with friends.
I will take you to her. But cannot I'M
derstand-"
'FMy being in that cellar?" he inter
rupted ''No, [ am not surprised, for I
can scarcely understand it myself. | only
know that lost my consciousness in that
terrible moment when the ground opened
and l slipped in. When [ came to my
self was lying on the floor of the cellar
with many people around me, and they
said that one of the earthquake shocks
outer cellar, throwing in great quantity
of earth and stones, and with them my
unconscious self. I was stiff and bruised,
but otherwise uninjured. That is all l
| know"
! At such time all conventional barriers
are forgotten, and as Inas father and l
Wrung each others hands and looked
straight into each others eyes we under
stood each others hearts better than if
we bad been friends for years of every
| day life.
need not dwell on the JOY of father
and daughter, as Ina, rushing into his
arms, described the sudden blow that