davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington times., 1902-05-18
Swift and Terrible Was the Devastation That Fen
Upon the Ancient Town-Momentous Warning
Given by Lighting's Flash and Earthquakes
Roar-Then Came the Peaceful Morn When the
Sun Shone Ger Barren Plain Of Lava Where
Once Regal City Stood ~ ~ ~ ~ =. *

heard the rattling Of the fragments of
were borne down the fiery cataracts-
darkening for one instant. the spot where
they fell. and suffused the next. In the
Furnished hues Of the flood along whicn
they hoated.
"He advanced one step-it was his last
on earth, The ground shook beneath him
with a convulsion that cast all around
upon its surface. A simultaneous crash
resounded through the city as down ton
pied many a roof and pillar!-the light
ming. as il caught by the metal. fingered
an instant on the Imperial Statue-then
shivered bronze and column. Down fell
the ruin. echoing along the street. and
riving the solid pavement where IL
crashed.-The prophecy OF the stars was
"Glaucus turned in gratitude but in awe.
caught lone once more In his arms. and
fed along the street, that was yet in
tensely luminous. But suddenly a duller
shade fell over the air. Instinctiyely he
turned TO the mountain, and behold, one
summit had been divided, rocked and
wavered to and fro; and then, with a
sound the mightiness OF which no Ian
guage can describe. 1t fell from its burn
ing base, and rushed, an avalanche Of FIRE,
down the sides Of the mountainl At the
same instant gushed forth volume OF
blacklist smoke-rolling on, over air, sea,
and earth.
Another. and another. and another
shower of ashes, far more profuse than be-
fore, scattered fresh desolation along the
streets. Darkness once more wrapped
them as a veil; and Glaucus, his bold
heart at last quelled and despairing, sank
beneath the cover of an arch, and, clasp
ing lone to his heart-a bride on that
couch Of ruin-resigned himself to die.
And meekly. softly, beautifully. dawn
ed at last the light over the trembling
winds we're sinking into rest
the foam died from the glowing azure
Of that delicious sea. Around the east.
thin mists caught gradually the rosy hues
that heralded the morning; Light was
about 10 resume her reign. Yet, still,
lark and massive in the distance. lay the
broken fragments of the destroying cloud,
from which red streaks, burning dimlicr
and more dim, betrayed the yet rolling
fires Of the mountain Of the 'Scorched
Fields The white walls and cleaning
columns that had adorned the lovely
coasts were no more. Sullcn and dull
we're the shores so lately crested by the
,ities of Herculaneum and Pompeii. The
iarlings of the Deep were snatehod from
Ter embrace, Century after century shall
he mighty Mother stretch forth her
izure arms. and know them not-rnoan-
ns round the sepulchers of the Losti
The Washington times., 1902-05-18

! floor shook under them with rapid ant
! convulsive throe-a mightier spirit thar
that of the Egyptian was abroad; a gian
and crushing power. before which sunl
| into sudden impotence his passion anJ
his arts. 1t w1ke-it stirred-that dreat
rthquske-laughing to scorn alike th,
magic Of human guile and the malice oi
I human wrath. As Titan, on whom tho
mountains are piled, IT reused itselt
from the sleep of years; it moved
on its tortured couch; the caverns
| below groaned and trembled beneath
the motion of its limbs. In tho
moment of his vengeance and his power
the self priced demigod was humbled to
| his real clay.
Far and wide along the soil went a
hoarse and rumbling sound. the curtains
of the chamber shook as at the plast Of
storm, the altar rocked, the tripod
reeled, and. high over the place cf con-
test, the column trombled and waved from
side to side. the sable head of the goddess
tottered and fell from its pedestal; and as
the Egyptian stopped above his intended
victim. right upon his bended fern. right
between the shoulder and the meek. struck
the marble mass! The shock stretched
him like the blow of death, at once, sud-
denly, without sound or motion, or sem
blance Of life upon the floor, apparently
crushed by the very divinity he had i'm
pionsly animated and invoked,
The Earth mas preserved her chill
dren,' said Glaucus, staggering TO his feet.
BLESSED he the dread convulsion. Let
us worship the providence of the gods,'
He assisted Apaecides TO rise. and then
turned upward the face of Arbaces: it
seemed lockei as in death; blood gushed
from the Egyptians lips over his glitter
ing robes: he fell heavily from the arms
o; Glaucus, and the red stream triciled
slowly along the marble. Again the earth
shook beneath their feet; they were
forced 10 cling to each other; the convul-
sion ceased as suddenly as it came; they
tarried no longer; Glaucus bore lone
lightly in his arms, and they fed from the
unhallowed SPOT But scarce had they
entered the garden when they were met on
an S4uNS u! H'ih anu ui1v4 uNit- S'''i!9
of womon and slaves. whose festive aa1
garments contrasted in inockery
the solemn terror Of the hour; they did
not appear TO heed the strangers, they
were occupied only with their own fears.
After the tranquility OF sixteen years. that
burning and treacherous soil again mon
aced destruction; they uttered but one
cry, the earthquake, the earthquale!'
and passing unmolested from the midst
Of them, Apaecides and his companions,
without entering the house, hasteGed
down one Of the alleys, passed z small
The Washington times., 1902-05-18

casionally be seen sharing the soda wa
ter with the little ones, but the drinks
furnished were too insipid for the gen.
eral masculine palate. The sharp. acid.
non-alcholic drinks that tempt the man
at the soda fountain of today were lack
ing. and the man who wanted something
cold and Misunderstanding to drink in hot
weather got the same at the bar of
saloon. in the form of 4 bottle of 'pop.'
or ginger beer.
With the general adoption of the soda
fountain by the pharmacists, came the in
vention of flavOrs and fruit Juices. which
gradually took the place of chemicals that
mad contributed TO the fearfully and Won
derfully- made beverages previously in
vogue. The tart. nippy. soft drinks. adapt
ed to masculine appreciation. stiffened
with phosphates, II so desired: the shaved
ice machine. the mechanical shaker, and
last. but not least. the skiliully trained
young fellow, who mixed the stuff
wrought together in making the soda
fountain the paying concern il is today,
The manufacture OF soda is now one Of
the big industries of the country Only
in the little out-of-door or shed-cOvered
emporiums. which you stumble upon here
dld there. Will you ind examples of the
old cheep-looliug red granite affair which
recall as in vogue in my younger days.
The medical men have, OF course. ex-
claimed against the soda fountain as o
source OF dyspepsia and indigestion; they
have said that soda drinks. with their
accompanying phosphates. destroy the lin-
ing OF the stomach. but all this is, in my
humble opinion, simply rubbish. II is
favoritc argument, too. OF the medlcat
man who dsplores the extent OF the soda
habit that soda water seriously aHcctS
the appetite. This may be so 10 some ex-
tent with men. perhaps. but not Win To-
Len. whom l DO not believe 1t ancets IN
that way, any more than candy does.
The Washington times., 1902-05-18
Eaten by some strange bessti
That Time has eaten as a bone.
OF ruins older than the East.

y REATNEss for everybody. or 81
r not greatness. then wealth. OF
~ fame. or. better than all. hap
plness-that is what a certain
soiourner IN Washington. Victor Coringa
formerly Victor Smith proposes TO be.
stow upon washingtonians
He, this man who has these thinrs 70
spare, is n rather striking looking in
dividual, and the possozsor OF a person
ality that is interesting, and the propric-
tor OF ideas and the disciple OF prac-
tices that are. to say the least. unique.
big-faced. smiling blonde, with an
extraordinarily large head and shoulders
and torso and arms. and with legs and
feet shrunken tlll they are incompetent
10 perform their natural oficcs-this. in
brief outline. is his figure. To I'LL in a
detail or two: The big head is thatched
with fine chestnut hair. and the big face
lighted with pair Of keen gray-blue
eyes, and adorned by Vandyke beard
golden brown in color, and the broad
shoulders and heavy torso are furnished
the means OF loc0mOtion in q pair OF
crutchcs, whose shade, il happens, match
es exactly the color of his beard.
He is, he explains, the son Of an Indian
army surgeon, and he was. he says. born
in India, in the country to the north OF
Calcutta, and by reason Of those facts is
what he is.
According to his story, there was in the
household Of his father when he, the son,
came into the world. an ancient Hindu
who wore the name Coringa. and who was
more or less OF mystic. -
The Washington times., 1902-05-18

I he thinks. an alkahest for all human prob
lens.
For instance-to borrow his own words
he proposes, after establishing his premise,
to teach whom he may that an idea i'm
pressed upon the subcOnscious mind i'm
mediately becomes a convictiCn-as is il
lustrated in hypnotism. Then. having
taught that point. he proposes to teach
whom he may. how to impress desirable
convictions upon themselves-how the man
who wishes to become a great flnancier
may endow himself with the ability to do
so. how a man who wishes TO become n
great orator may charge himself full Of
the qualities of orators great-hOw in a
word, any man may make his personality
that which he would like it to be.
ut is he says. "all matter Of sug-
gestion-self lfsuggestion!'
II is in substantiation of this theory
that Mr. Coringa now and then has him
self buried alive. For says he. an ex
pertinent of the sort is the highest kind
of substantiation of n theory of the kind
And this contention he explains by say
ing that when he gets ready to be put
underground, he proceeds TO impress up
on his own subConscious Intelligence the
idea that his body will fall into a tenn
porary state of death, and straightway
thereupon the subconscious mind con-
veys the idea to the physical organiza-
tion, and the physical organization I'M
mediately falls into the trance which
makes possible the imitation of death and
resurrection.
Mr.. Coringa is not decided whether he
will do his inimitable corpse stunt in
Washington. His idea at present is to
organize class. and wind up the course
OF lectures and experiments with the
burial act triumphant.
The Washington times., 1902-05-18
THE MOST GRAPHIC STORY EVER WRIT TEN OF VOLCANIC ERUPTION

open gate, and there, sitting on little
mound over which spread the gloom oi
the dark green aloes, the moonlight fell
on the Bonded figure of the blind girl;
she We weeping BITTERLY
The next reference worthy of note
comes in Book the Fifth, Chapter ". when
the Egyptian is in the amphitheater and
about TO be delivered to the lion. Ar
/ bacos gazes in terror and despair above
I the heads of the people, when he sees a
strange and awful apparition and his
cunning seizcs upon it as a means Of es-
cape.
/ "'Behold,' he shouted with a voice of
thunder, which stil!ed the roar of the
crowd; behold how the gods protect the
guiitless, The fires of the avenglng Or
Gus burst forth against the false witness
I of my accusers;'
"The eyes of the crowd followed the
gesture Of The Egyptian, and beheld. with
inenable dismay. a vast vapor shooting
( from the summit Of vosuvius, in the form
Of 4 gigantic pine tree the trunk, black
ness-the branches, fre,-a fire that
every moment now frrcely luminous. now
of a dull and dying rcd, that again blazed
terrifcal!y forth with intolcrable glare.
There was dead, heart-sunken si-
I lonce-thrcugh which there suddenly
broke the roar of the lien. which was
echoed back from within the building by
the sharper and fcrcer yells of its fellow
beast. Dread seeTs were they Of the Bur-
den OF the Atmosphere, and wild prophets
OF the wrath to come,
Then there arose on high the universal
shrieks Of women; the men stared at each
other, but were dumb. At that moment
they felt the earth shake their feet; the
walls OF the theater trembled; and beyond
in the distance. they heard the crash Of
falling roofs; an instant more and the
mountain-cloud seemed to roll toward
them, dark and rapid. like a torrent; at
the same time, II cast forth from its bosom
4 shower Of ashes mixed with vast frag-
ments of burning stonei over the crush
ing vines-over the desolate streets-over
the amphitheater itself-far and wide
with many mighty splash in the agitated
sca-fell that awful shower!
NO longer thought the crowd Of justice
or of Arbaces; safety for themselves was
their sole thought. Each turned to fly
each dashing, pressing, crushing, against
the other. Trampling recklessly over the
fallen-amid groans. and oaths, and pray
ers. and sudden shreks. the enormous
crowd vomited itself forth through the
numerous passages. Whittier should they
ny? Some, anticipating a second earth
quake. hasteued to their homes to load
themselves with their most costly goods,
and escape while it was yet time; others,
dreading the showers Of ashes that now
fell fast, torrent upon torrent, over the
streets rushed under the roofs of the
nearest houses, or temples. or sheds
shelter Of any kind-f5r protection from
the terrors Of the open air. But darker,
and larger, and migbtler, spread the cloud
above them. 1t wss a sudden and mos:
ghastly Night rushing upon the realm of
Noon,
The few slaves whom the Egyptian
had left at his m6nsion when he had re-
paired in long procession to the amphi-
The Washington times., 1902-05-18

| theatcr had been able to offer no resist
ance to the armed band of Sallust; and
when afterward the volcano broke forth
they had huddled together stunned and
| frightened, in the inmcst recesses of the
house. Even the tall Ethiopian had for
saken his post at the door: and Glaucus
twho left Nydia wlthout-the poor Nydia.
jealous once more, even in such an hourD
passed on through the vast hall without
meeting one from whom 10 Iea~n the
chamber of lone. Even as he passed,
however, the darkness that covered the
heavens increased so rapidly that it was
with difficulty he could guide his steps
The hower-wreathcd columns seemed to
reel ana tremble; and with every instant
ne heard the ashes fall crane hingly into
the roofiess peristyle. He ascended to
the upper rooms-breatbless he paced
along, shouting out aloud the name cf
lone; and at lengt' he heard, at the end
of gallery, voice-her voice, in Won
dering reply, To rush forward-to shat
ter the door-to seize lone in his arms
TO hurry from the mansion--seemed to
he gained the spot where Nydia was, then
he heard steps advancing toward the
house. and recognized the voice of
Arhaces. who had returned to seek his
wealth and lone ere he fed from the
doomed Pompeii. But so dense was al
ready the reeking atmosphere that the
foes saw not each other, though so near
save that, dimly in the gloom, Glaucus
caught the moving outline of the snowy
robes of the Egyptian.
"A sudden flash of lightning from tho
mount showed to Burbo, who stood mo-
'iOnless at the threshold. the flying and
laden form of the priest. He took heart;
he stepped forth to join him, when a tre-
mendous shower of ashes fell right be-
fore his feet The gladiator shrank back
once more. Darkness closed him in. But
the shower continued fast-tast; its heaps
rose high and sutfocatingly-deat va
rors steamed from them.
Meanwhile the streets were already
thinned the crowd had hastened to dis
gan to fill up the lower parts OF the
town; but. here and there. you heard the
steps of fugitives branching them warily,
Or saw their pale and haggard faces by
the blue glare of the lightning. or the
more unsteady glare OF torches, by which
they endeavored 20 steer their steps But
ever and anon. the boiling water, or the
struggling ashes. mysterious and gusty
winds, rising and dying in breath, ex-
tinguished these wandering lights, and
with them the last living hope of those
who bore them.
The cloud. which hid scattered so deep
i murk:Eess over the day, had now set
tied into a solid and impenetrable mass.
1t resemiled less even the thickest gloom !
Of night in the open air than the close
and blind darkness OF some narrow room I
But in proportion as .he blackness gath I
cred. did the lightniags around Vesuvius {
increase in their vivid and sc0rching
glare. Nor was their horrible beauty
confined to the usual hues of fire; no
ever rivaied tfeir varying and
prodigal dyes Now brightly blue as the
most azure depth OF a southern sky-now
Of liyid and snake-like green. darting
-estlessly to and fro as the folds of an
The Washington times., 1902-05-18

lence the Speaker says: ayes, III; noes,
Co." Tremendous applause.l Upon which
Clardy calmly remarks: "a splendid vic
tory Thus ended the greatest legisla-
tive fight Of modern times.
Still later-Dingley and Breckinridge
are hollering about Rust I don't know
who Rust is. Will find out and telegraph
before you go to press. That minion Of
polyglot trust. the secretary OF the Senate,
has obtruded his offensive presence. The
Speaker servilely permits it. The Speak
er persists in using the gavel wrong end
to. This must be stopped or the country
will 90 to the Cumean cave. The Speaker
Is apparently very ungentlemanly. He
desires members to sit down when they
want to stand up. This looks like an in
vasion Of the rights OF freemen'
Here your correspondent returned from
lunch and thanked the Michigan Con-
gressnan.-'
The Washington times., 1902-05-18

When Mr. Cummings was first elected
to Congress he had just achieved a great
journalistic success with the Evening
SUM- the first New York afternoon news
paper to prove big winner Three days
before starting the Evening sun" the
late Charles a. Dana. who had known
Cummings from old Greeley Tribune days.
summoned Cummings and told him to take
charge Of the new paper. "AIl right"
said Cummings. but how much of a staff
has been selected?' None" said Mr..
Dana. and you must not take a man
from the morning paper" The first issue
was gotten out almost entirely by Mr..
Cummings. His only assistants were three
raw recruits. In less than a week he had
collected one of the most brilliant STATS
in the city. Some of Cummings raw re-
cruits are now the leading newspaper
men of New York
The Washington times., 1902-05-18

IT HE most elaborate and the most
vivid description of the eruption
i of a volcano is that contained in
the work-considered immortal by
some-of Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton,
THE Last Days Of Pompeii." This de-
scription is found scattered through the
story. but it has here been brought to-
gether for The Sunday Times. The first
reference to it is found in the last chap
description of the encounter between
Glaucus, the Greek, and Arhaces, the
Egyptian. Thus runs the story:
% ancient goddess!' exclaimed Ar
baces, clasping the colssnn, and raising
his eyes toward the sacred image it sup
ported, protect thy chosen-procIaim thy
vengeance against this thing of an up
start creed, who with sacrilegicus vio-
lence profanes thy resting place and as
sails thy servant
AS he spoke the still and vast features
of the goddess seemed suddenly to glow
with life; through the black marble. as
through a transparent veil, flushed
luminously a crimson and burning hue:
around the head played and darted
coruscations of livid lightning; the eyes
became like balls OF lurid fire, and seemed
fixed in withering and intolerable wrath
upon the countenance of the Greek. Awed
and appalled, by this sudden and mystic
answer to the prayer of his foe, and not
free from the here ditary superstition Of
his race, the cheeks of Glaucus paled be-
fore that strange and ghastly animation
of the marble, his knees knocked together,
he stood, seized with divine panic. dis
mayed, aghsst, half unnamed before his
foe, Arbaces gave him not breathing
time to recover his stupor. Die. wretch
he shouted in a voice of thunder, as he
sprang upon the Greek. The mighty
mother claims thee as living sacriicen
Taken thus by surprise in the first con-
sternation of his superstitious fears the
Greek lost his footing-the marble floor
was as smooth as glass-he slid-he fell.
Arbaces planted his foot on the breast
of his fallen foe. Apaecides. taught by
his sacred profession, as well as by his
knowledge of Arbaces, to distrust all
miraculous interpretations. had not shared
the dismay of his companion. He rushed
forward, his knife cleaned in the air
the -iatchful Egyptian caught his arm as
It descended. one wrench of his powerful
hand tore the weapon from the weak
grasp Of the Priest, one sweeping blow
stretched him TO the earth-with a loud
and exulting yell Arbaces brandished the
knife on high. Glaucus gaZed upon his
impending fate with unwinking eyes, and I
in the stern and scornful resignation Of a
fallen gladiator, when, at that instant, the
The Washington times., 1902-05-18

! enormous serpent-now OF lurid and
| intolerable crimson, gushing forth
| through the columns OF smoke. far and
wide. and lighting up the whole city from
arch to arch-then suddenly dying into a
sickly paleness, like the ghost of their
own lifei
I'm the pauses of the showers you heard
the rumbling OF the earth beneath and
the groaning waves of the tortured sea
or. lower still. and audible but to the
watch of intensest fear, the grinding and
kissing murmur of the escaping gases
through the chasms of the distant noun
tain. Sometimes the cloud appeared to
break from its solid mass. and. by the
lightning, to assume quaint and vast
mimicries of human or of monster shapes.
striding across the gloom, hurtling one
upon the other, and vanishing swiftly into
the turbulent abyss of shade; so that, to
the eyes and fancies OF the affrighted
wanderers, the unsubstantial vapors were
as the bodily forms of gigantic foes-the
agents of terror and Of death.
THE ashes in many places were already
came from the steaming breath OF the
volcano forced their way into the houses,
bearing with them a strong and suffocat-
ing vapor. In some places immense frag-
ments of rock, hurled upon the house
roofs. bore down along the streets masses
of confused ruin, which yet more and
more. with every hour. obstructed the
way: and as the day advanced the motion
of the earth was more sensibly felt-the
footing seemed to slide and creep-nor
could the chariot of litter be kept steady.
even on the most level ground.
Sometimes the huger stones, striking
against each other as they fell broke into
countless fragments. emitting sparks of
fire. which caught whatever was combus-
tible within their reach; and along the
plains beyond the city the darkness was
now terribly revealed. for several houses,
and even vineyards, had been set in
flames. and at various intervals the fires
rose suIlenly and fercely against the solid
gloom. To add to this partial relief of
the darkness the citizens had. here and
there, in the more public places, such as
the porticoe5 OF temples and the entrances
to the forum, endeavored to place rows Of
torches; but these rarely continued long.
The showers and the winds extinguished
them, and the sudden darkness into which
their ftful light was converted had some
thing in it doubly terrible and doubly i'm
pressive on the importance Of human
hopes. the lesson of despair.
Frequently. by the momentary light Of
these torches. parties OF fugitives en-
countered each other, some hurrying
toward the sea, others flying from the
sea back toward the land; for the ocean /
had retreated rapidly from the shore. an
utter darkness lay over it. and upon its /
groaning and tossing waves the storm OF
cinders and rocks fell without the pro-
lection which the streets and roofs af- (
forded to the land. Wild, haggard, ghastly /
with supernatural fears, these groups en- Z
each other, but without leisure I
to sneak. to consult, to advise. for the .
showers fell now frequently, though not |
extinguishing the lights. I
which showed to each band the death-like I
faces of the other. and hurrying all to I