The herald., 1896-09-11

most Of the Damage. was Immediately
succeeded BY torrents Of rain. and cell
{. lars AL over Paris ars flooded
At Clichy the roadways Of the Boule-
ward National subsidized several yards
as result of the washing away of the
roadbed. The Quai des Orfevres shows
striking scene Of desolation, buildings
being damaged and looking as though
swept by torrent of rushing water.
The cyclone only lasted one minute,
but In addition to the damage already
mentioned. considerable destruction
was caused on and about the Pont
Neuf, the Place du Chalet, the Observa-
!. toire, the Tour st. Jacques, and else
where in the neighborhood.
From the Quai st. Michael to beyond
the Pont Neuf every tree was uproot-
ed, many barges were sunk. and num-
Der of small boats were swamped. The
crews of the barges succeeded in escap-
ing.
One Of the laundry boats of the Seine,
where thirty laundresses were at work.
was sunk, and. the women were saved
with the greatest difficulty.
The scaffolding of the courtyard of
the Sainte Chapelle was blown away,
and every pane of glass in the side Of
the Palace of Justice facing the river
was smashed by uprooted trees.
All the omnibuses struck by the cy-
clone were upset. and their passengers
were more or less injured.
The prefecture of police has issued a
statement that only one person was
killed in the cyclone. This understates
the case. A large ward in the Hotel
Dieu Is full Of victims. two Of whom
died tonight, and several others there
and in the other hospitals are in pre-
carious condition.
It is a curious fact that the cyclone
chiefly affected the small area lying
around the Palais de Justice and the
Hotel de Vile. The cyclone appeared
to be caused by two strong currents
from the northwest and the southeast.
The clouds rushed together and whrled
around as they met just over this area.
There was no thunder and no simulta-
neous movement at the central obser-
vatory. The barometer in the Tour st.
Jacques fell suddenly seven millime-
tres.
scene aofsthe disaster in company with
the prefect of the police. A member of
LIE Temps thus describes the spectacle
at the moment whe nthe storm broke:
From the omnibus on which was
riding could see down the Quai des
Orfevres and the Quai des Grandes Au-
gustine. suddenly saw what appeared
to be a tall pillar Of smoke advancing
from a distance. imagined that large
fire had broken out, but almost direct
ly saw that trees were being snapped
and countless chimneys hurled to the
ground. But almost instantly the storm
passed away. We were not touched,
but the quais were impossible, and a
scene Of indescribable confusion fol-
lowed"
Among the dead was a well dressed
man whose linen bore the initials ''W.
H." Numerous newspaper kiosks were
overturned and the; inmates injured.
The roof of the Opera Comique was
blown down. The Ambigu Comique and
the Folies Dramatiques theaters were
both damaged. TwenIy-nine horses
were killed. Eight beer houses were
damaged The storm was preceded by
darkness and by oppressive sultriness.
There was not the slightest disturb
ance in the Champs Elysee, the Made
line, the Arc de Triomphe and the
Bourse districts beyond heavy rain.
. The superstitious are finding much to
dwell upon in the fact that Mile. Co
nesdon, the self-styled seeress, who
claims to be inspired by the Angel Ga
briel, and who has been the talk of
Paris for many months on account of
ner supposed gift of prophecy for many
months predicted storm like this last
July. Mile. Conesdon has many follow
ers who are devout believers in her
gift. One of her prophecies is that
universal war will come within a year,
resulting in the destruction Of Eng
lands power and accompanied by a
revolution in Paris