The evening world., 1890-06-25
THE FALL OF VERA CRUZ.
Alan Dale Sees Our Great Mexican
Victory. Reacted.
Fire and Explosions which Did Not
at all Brighten the Con-
fiicting Armies.

There is q time Of day when Manhattan
Beach takes q nap-not Irregular sleep, mind
you. but . sort OF . coR-nap with one eye
open. This generally occurs at the twilight
hour, before the boisterous Joys Of the day
have been definitely succeeded by the placid
delights of the evening. 1t was at this hour
that l was cast upon Manhattan Beach last
night. The officials at the gates looked
droNsy; the big hotel had evidently donned
q large, misty nightcap to dose in; my foot
steps "tinkled -" q Ia Poe along the deserted
platform.
That there is - rcst for the wicked was
soon made manifest (Manhattan Beach
answering on this occasion for the wicked.
Hardly had the utter placidity OF things
been completely recognized, than | heard q
vast noise behind me-. and beheld q mob.
black and dense, eXudinR from q newly
arrived train, aud positively swarming
along the platform. Such q crowdi Babel
must have been . fool in comparison to this
chatterinR. laughing. whistlinR collection.
1 wondered what could be the matter-for
= brief moment only. II was soon apparent
from the remarks that fell in all direction
that this rush had designs upon Vera Cruz,
that they were about TO pass their evening in
q cheerful siege. and that they we're moi
going to be oppressively sedste during thai
occupation. / ought TO have recognized
some Of them. They are old and expert
enced In the art OF war. l have met scores
OF them before.
They assisted In bombarding Alexandria
for q season.; in destroying Pekin during
the summer months; in taking Sebastopol
every night it didn't rain, n in burning
Moscow during the hot weather. while Ma
poleon retreated to slow music and the roar
OF cannons.
Isn't it peculiar how people manage &c
look anything but what they really are ]
confess that to look at this rush, one would
imagine q gang Of Bowery youths out for q
holiday. Nobody would accuse them OF
voting anything Of Alexandria and Pekir
and Moscow and Sebastopol. But appear.
ances are deceptive. THAT remark IL new
determined TO follow the gentlemen and
ladies. There were very few OF the latter,
but their scarcity Of numbers was amply
atoned for by their v~ivacity OF manner.
They were all going to Very Crooze." al
they termed IL. Goodness knows what
there will be left for them to storm and be.
siege next season. THE Siege of Vers
Cruz" is the latest. Pain has had to dive
into Mexico. He will soon have to invent
sieges or use his influence with foreign
powers, and have a few made to order tc
firework from.
"Petie's got on . straw hat tonight,
chirruped one of the ladies' III was destined
to dance before Vera Cruz fell.
Say, where were you last night,
Shortie ~ queried a bland youth wearing q
Bowery g and q cigarette. and ad
DRESSING an accompanying midget.
up in the fort. . was the reply.
They kept up a fire OF conversation sufi'
cient to have destroyed Vera Cruz without
any further ammunition. They soon reached
the big Enclosure, and II was not long before
they were all inside. Four hundred AM
fifty supers claimed admission, presenting
as q guarantee of good faith at the dool
little red tickets. Herbert Wyckerley, 4
genial Englishman who attends to the siege
of Vera Cruz for Pain. was behind the
scenes az they arrived. and showered "gooG
evenings " in all directions. =
They are the best people we could pos
sibly get, " he said to me. They have ex
perience, and they know the ropes. Tn,
remuneration isn't large, but il is enough
to keep them out of mischief. The 'rea
soldiers used in this spectacle come from
the N~avy-Yard. SO You see there are gen,
uine United States troops impersonAting al
American army. Do We pay these real gen
tlemen7 Certainly"
Mr.. Wycherley and / we're standing Desid,
the castle Of San Juan de Ulua, which look
very glorious from the front and very can
vassy and ropy from the back. In fact, til,
Vera Cruz that the audience doesn't see il
merely a chaotic condition of pulleys ant
wires and papers and boards. The sea tina
looks almost wet from a distance is com
posed of long strips Of canvas. You car
stand between each wave without feeling il
the least degree moist. The platforms upoI
which We rested were all wet. having beer
saturated to prevent possible CONFEDERATION.
Every bit OF Vera Cruz is numbered in
legible manner. so that when it falls it car
be put together again very much as children
coDst Lot their cut pictures. The chaol
that ensues AZ o O'Clock each evening wher
buildings fall. when flames leap skywarC
and . city crumbles. is q very orderly sor
of chaos after ali. The flames that seem t.
fork themselves from the buildings do no
touch those constructions. and come from
the sides mt the front and the back. Tn,
houses fall in . serene and premeditateC
manner. and everything moves on wheels.
asked Mr.. Wycherley how long it took Il
rebuild Vera Cruz in order 70 knock it dowI