The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1894-09-19
THE SILENT CITY.

and SO no sought tho ocean with his def
orcntial and silent crew Of able scamen
And so in the Pacific seas studded with
the fragments of continents, alone in his
cabin, his books his only companions, he
worked away tho otherwise unbeatable
time alone.
n storm came on and drove his crnft at
will before 1t for days, and the silent sail
ors worked ON. At midnight on the fourth
day tho yacht was driven on the rocks and
dashed to pieces. Buffeting with the rough
waves, INLAND was driven to the shore,
tho sole survivor Of the human frciKhtage
Ascending the clifllkc coast mt sunrise,
his eyes swept over vast plains, and at u
grcnt distance he saw tho glstening OF
tho suns rays upon the domcs and spires
and plnnacics of great city. Thither-
ward he bent his footsteps, passing tho
rough country of tho coast and entering
upon smiling farmland through which
broa9 road ran to the distant city. a
large farmhouse attracted his attention,
and, feeling the calls Of appetite, he enter
cd tho swinging gate and stood before tho
door. For IL farmhouse and its surround
ings it was strangely silent about tho
place. There was no flutter OF wings from
tho big dovccot, there was no Gull of
of the hustle and stir that characterize tho
feathered tribe ut that time in tho morn
ing, and there was no low of kline. But
INLAND did not notice it. He was city bred,
and he raped again upon the sounding
door. There WAS no response, and he ven
turcd to the back Of the house, keeping u
wary eye out for tho dog But his way
was unchailengcd. The door of the great
Kitchen WAS wide open, and he raped
again. He cast his eye down the lane to
the barn and the corncribs upon tho knoll
and found his way thither, entered the
barn and stables and found them tenant
less, walked round the buildings, and
climbing Il ladder that leaned against the
barn, looked round about the cultivated
fields
Then for tho first time he noticed the
absence of living things about the farm
premises, and he returned to tho house with
n strange feeling mt his breast. Entering
he walked tho house through from room
to room, stocked with all of the comforts
of n successful farmer, but found nobody
living or dead. There werc no signs of /,
visitation of plague, for the beds wero
made and the pillows smoothed. Tho
closest search failed to develop tho marks
OF possible violence All of the vehicles
employed about fnrm wore in tho yard
double carriage. Peering In the Closets
INLAND found an ample store of clothing
and from these he made "a change from his
torn garments. He found loaf in tho
cupboard and some cold meat, and on
these, with cup of water from the we'll
he brcakfnstcd. Pursuing his way toward
tho city, his observation sharpened by the
tcnantiess farm, he could not foil to note
that all along the miles of road which no
Travelled that day thcrc was not the slight
est appearance of human or animal life
There was no smoke from the chimneys of
houses, and he mot no travellers along the
great highway
In the suburbs of the city at evening he
stopped ut II tavern whose swinging sign
gave notice of cheer TO the traveller. That
too, was tcnnntlcss and silent, and tho do
preston of heart that seized upon INLAND
dccpened into vague terror as night fell
and he nodded on bench the night
through, waking at fnnciful sounds of
coming travellers that never came At
early dawn he was on his way to tho city
where surely, as no muttercd, there must
be men and women and little children
And as surely these were strange wishes
for tho misanthropc INLAND, who had
grown to dcspise men and women in the
heyday of his career, because they were SO
common, and, rs for children in the me-
tropolis upon which he had turned his
back they were in countless swarms, noisy
and troublesome. Hero OH the terribly
lonely road he could have taken tho dirti
est, tho most i'll favored of these little one,
to his heart, though all the eyes of amazed
society should suddenly look on
Down the long reach Of the city avenue
he looked in vain for signs of traffic. Ho
noted the pavement worn by tho wheels
and he experienced u glow of gladness for
moment and hope that something might
lay beyond
A rat ran across the way, and INLAND
for q moment felt the expectancy of COM
partnership, and it gave him 1eoting feel
ing of comfort. He fain would have had
1t stay, but tho little animal scurried
away. Still from this INLAND in fcrrcd that
tho city had been but recently deserted, if
all were gone, else tho rodent would not
have shown fright ut his presence. A new
hope sprang up in this that the people
would soon return
gust of wind made n sign creak, and
he ran eagerly in the direction of tho sound
and entered the shop from which the sign
hung and looked in all the rooms, but
looked in vain. He found faint pleasure
In reading tho signs upon the stores, and
he confessed to himself that the secret of
the pleasure lay In the names of the hui
man beings written thereon
He entered the lofty and spacious ware
houses and stores piled with the world
merchandise He stood for hours gazing
on rare paintings aud statuary, not in
wondering admiration of the great quail
ties of tho painters and of the sculptors.
not with the love for living art with which
in former days no reviewed the great gal
leries of Europe, but his eyes dwct low
tngly upon the human forms depicted,
sick ut heart for human presence, for hui
man Sympnthy and ho trrnoJ ,,,,.o,. ,,,,I