The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1907-01-08
THE DOOM OF VENICE
IT WAY BE TO LIE IN THE BOSOM OF
THE ,ADRiATlC.


Is sinking iato the Adriatic and that
she gradually will disappear beneath
the waters Of the great lagoon from
which her palace crowned Islands
arise. Other cities have gone that
way before her and ships now sail
over spots which were once teemIng
with n populous life.
At the entrance to the harbor OF King
Eton. Jamaica. the original city Of Port
Royal lies fathoms deep beneath the
blue and sunllt waters Of the Curib-
bean sea. \ narrow strip of land. on
which are a small settlement and n
fort, Is all that IL lert of what was
once the richest and wickcdest town In
the West Indies. II was the resort OF
pirates. who rested there from their
deprcdatiOns and made the city hid
eous with their revclry. But these pl.
rates brought great stores of their loot to
the city. and Its commerce grew aud
fourishcd Palaces and churches were
built, a pirate often striving by a rich
endowment of n church 20 square his
accounts with heaven
Throughout the greater part Of thJ
seventeenth century no town In the
western world was 50 magnificent ns
20 its buildings or so luxurious as TO it's
habits as Port Royal Then one day In
1862 the anger OF the Lord shook the
island Of Jamaica. and the greater part
Of Port Royal sank beneath the sea,
carrying with It hundreds OF It's In
habtants Towers, churches, palaces
and forts went down, many Of them
not tumbllng In ruins 10y the shock
| but sinking bodily beneath the waves.
/ On a bright day, sailing over the
spot where Port Royal once stood, one
can look far down through the clear
water and see the remains of the city
still standing there on the ocean bot
tom. with fishes swimming about
among its towers and great tropical
seaweeds waving from its sunken
walls.
The negroes OF Jamnica-and some
white people, too-will tell you that be-
fore storm the sunken bell of the
great cathedral which went down with
the city on that awful day in 1892 can
be heard distinctly tolling below the
waves. rung as warning by the
ghostly hands of the spirits of depart
ed buccaneers which haunt the subma-
rine city. People who do not believe In
ghosts. but think they have heard the
tolling of the bell, say the explanation
is that when the city sunk the great
bell of the cathedral was not thrown
from It's place. but still hangs rs II
originally did. The coming storm be-
fore II reaches Jamaica stirs up the
waters of the Caribbean and sends in
!. upon the shore deep waves. which roll
through the sunken city and set the
bell a-tolliug.
Another sunkcn city Of reuown IS
Baiae. that splendid resort on the Ital
ian coast where Nero and Caligula
"rcvelcl and drank deep" \ strag
Cling village and heaps of marble ruins
still stand upon the shore and bear the
name of Baiae. but the greater part OF
the city lies beneath the waters of the
; Mediterranean, and tourists from Ma
pies go out there TO gaze down into tht
. waters and try TO catch a glimpse OF
the submerged city.
The resort of all the wealthy noble,
OF Rome when Rome was mistress OF
the world, Baiae was marvel Of lux
urious splendor. Palace after palac,
was built on the shore, and architect
designed magnificent structures ex
tending out into the sea.
When Rome decaycd and the Goth
ravagcd Italy, Baiac was sacked b!
the invaders. Soon after the city be
gan 10 sink First the buildings whicl
had their foundation in the water sub
sided beneath the waves. and thel
the sea made an attack on the land
Gradually the shore line rcceded, ant
the Mediterranean flowed through tn
streets where IIadrian had driven hi
, imperial chariot and Horace had walk
ed thinking OF his next poem.
, These promontories, crowned wit
. grand towers and gorgeous palaces
: were undermined and toppled into IN
deep until at last the major part o
=. the splendid city was submerged. II
disappearance was not sudden, lik
that Of Port Royal. and due to son.
convulsion og nature, but Baiae wen
. down to rs death gradually, as Venic
+ Is said 10 be- going.
In Holland the subsldence OF N
land has brought II about that man
towns once populous are now covere
n by the sea. The old Roman camp a
I Rrlttenburg, after sinking beleath tn
waves, emerged again In 1870. only (
4 disappear, and its remains now lie 4
deep water opposite the town Of Kat
wijk, The original KatwiJk Itself noN
is beneath the waters, rs also are th
o original towns of Schcyeningen, Don
, burg and i2gmond. IN fact, succe'
|, sion OF towns bearing these names
I now at the bottom Of the sea. for the
!. repeatedly have been rebuilt farthe
y inland as the land sunk and the wave
come In 10 take possession.
The Goodwin sands, large and dar
gerous shoals or the southeast cons
10 OF England We're once above the WI