Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-24
BY NJ. P. SHIEL..
STORY OF THE WORLDS GREATEST WAR.
,copyrisst. 1893. by r. F, Fenno s Co,

week, the sun was not wholly hidden, but
appeared as a garish blotch Of Ieprous law
ender. giving nothing that could be called
light. making only the darkness visible.
while as II 10 vie IN chromatic hideousuess
the moon appeared one night for an hour
as black eye-socket, with rim OF pallia
green; and then disappeared.
The sickly gloom Of the daytime was JUS
sufficiently relieved to enable near objects
to be discerned by the troubled eyes while
distances were lost I'm unreueved blackness
The event at Timor by which the entire
island was destroyed was OF so extraordi-
nary character that positively the whole
planet. with the exception of some parts OF
America. may he said To have been infected
by the catastrophe. NRgasaki Disappeared
with many of the inland towns OF Japan: q
| tidal wave inundated large tract OF the
! Kimberley district OF Australia. Vcsuvius
| plumcd her cones with IL rufous fHTne of
| lulider red. and old Aetna. purI ng and
! suffering her thunders broke into strange
and grun garTulity. Over Europe. fro1.l The
| Null OF De to the Urais. there was an al
| most continuous. just perceptible quakiaE
! OF the ground. which nowhere broke inco
| violence nowhere did damage yet was re-
| nlarkahle for its mepac.ug continuity, It's
| unparalleled uniyersaity.
Not breath stirred the air.
! II beneath such a sky and upon sgco a
| quaking earth We could really conceive The
| Chinese scream" We should then really
understand the speedy delrIuus deaths OF
! the few successful fugltives from Europe
! during that week of apocaiyptlc woes
| AT AuNonne, in the Place d'Armes. where
| there stands statue OF Napoleon l, the
! whole remaining population assembled on
| the Eruption OF the yellow man. almost
| filling the open space. and fell 20 their
! knees with ciasped hands, waiting They
| only knew the pearness OF the Chinese
| (who always, and everywhere ran no Sc
| lessly, barefoctcd, in soft shoes, when
| the sudden Chinese scream at the glimpse
| of the crowded victims burst upon their
| ears.
One Of the terrors of this massacre. and
| OF others, was the uncertainty as 10 which
! sort of death any given victim might die.
one of the horrors was, that whatever
! death Chinaman inflicted he loudly lm.-
tated with his lips. In an instructive way
| the nature OF the death. They came peit-
ing in their swinging run, into the Place
| at AuNonne, and as one lifted q club 80
| smlte a head. ne screamed intrtlCuia teiy.
| and as the club fell. he cried "Shrash."
| And as another caught dying child by
the heels, he screamed inarticuiately: ana
as he swung the frail skull against the base
OF the statue, he cried. Pop" And as
another aimed his pistol at a near man.
| he screamed inartlculately; and az the pis-
tol went off, he cried "BamI' And as an
| other seized n woman from behind by her
hair. he screamed inartlculately; and as
he danced and jumped upon her Spouting
| abdomen, he cried WASH
a very largo proportion Of the popula-
| tons OF Europe had been absolutely ua-
| able TO fly: many had not had time. when
| the Chinese We're upon them: many, with
| infinite effort, had reached the coast to
find no craft there 10 bear them away
| Roughly speaking, about one-half calling
upon the rocks and hills to cover them
| remained: many, as at Auxonne. shut up
| In fortified towns. For a time the darkness
| of day and night enabled many to hide
| about the country; but Il Is doubtful Il
| any considerable number could have owed
| A final escape to this means.
AT EperAay, half a regiment having en-
| tered the town toward night-thourh he
| Ipr -4lTt
| tinction now-went marauding with haring
| torches into every house, searching for Vie
tins and finding few. The streets We're
empty-the inhabitants had vanished In
| this surprising famine of blood the balked
| hordes poked fur.ousiy about, like tigresses
ROBBED OF their young. Al last a party
lerreting around the entrance of NJ. Meets
ceilafs, discovered the subterrdnean exca-
walton which extends IA vast vaults some
| nine miles through the chalky rock OF this
region. Iither for tho most part the
! doomed people, in urrefecting panic, had
| rushed, as Into the last hole left on earth
| 10 cover them: and here like rats in a trap
| they were caught With thrilling screa ms
| the Chinese at the signal, ran swinging
from their scattered search about he town
| toward MoetB in the main street II had
been drtzzlinS all the day. and their feet
| were dabbled 30 the knees with the soft
| clay OF the nelghboring hill OF Montlxgy
OF which was made the Epernay eartheu-
| ware; so that Within an hour the long
| ramiiicatioE Of the ranssckcd excavations
were mere filth Of d2Dbied gore and mud
| Tho vaults, moreover. contained caCeYsl !
| millions OF bottles wi h from four to FIVE
| thousand pipes OF he hest champa cne; ana
here at this depth OF forty feet below tho
| streets, n the midst of this gloom relieved
| by rare iUrid fares, there was transacted
SO red an orgy OF massacre, screaming lust
| and signing drunkenness, SO mixed Il drama
| Of filthy infamy ana 3bbatic Satanism. as
earth, and perhaps he'll, never oaw In
| the manner OF crime the yellow
| man is ingenious. what We cannot con-
ccdve, he can do. that where we end he
begins. his natural talent being for the gro
teSque and the macabre. And when The
orgy grew still for very surfeH when
there welled from him the sigh o. perfect
! peace, down dropped his head upon It's pill
| low OF flesh. ana lis snoring breath famed
the hair Of the naked dead.
simultaneously, the Otner wine vaults OF
| Eper1ay were invaded. and above too the
streets were streH-u with dead and drunken.
The town was burned down before the
night was over, some thousands OF China
men perjshing in the flames.
As for the Partisan corps ard half fort
after fort Of the outer ceincure Eluttsd
their monStrous batteries with ceTTage. and
yielded. Al Meudou two gallant companies
Of chasseurs a pied flung themselves down
| an escsrpment 10 hurl back an assault with
scaling ladders; they hurled back the ac-
| saul and were literally trampled under
foot by the swarm Of grooming multtudes
Then II was the turn of Mont NaleEien
| BouyieTs fell. de Buc. Bots dArc;s. AT
Satory every selge gun Of the japanese was
uncarria geo, and the fort WAS only taken
by the sheer powerlesEness OF the great
/ guns any longer to keep range with their
mangled rifiing Issy fell. At Cnatil.on
the whole stock OF ammunition eX
hausted in slaughter Nanves fell, Nry
closed IN the inevitsble crowding circle.
The Chinese were az St Cloud. az PutouN,
at Surenes and at Sevres.
| (ro BE coatifued tomorrow