The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1909-06-12
The Ace That Laughs.

Before the late Marion F. Crawford
laid down his pen he left a description
of the earthquake in Messina which
possesses a melancholy interest of a
twofold character. 1t would seem that
it was the distinguished writer's last
literary work. in the first place, and,
again, it presents the most reliable APP
proximate of the extent of the destruc
ton of life and buildings. Mr.. Craw-
ford went over the theatre of the WISH
tation and saw that the overthrow of
Messina resembled that of Jerusalem
under Titus; not one stone was left
standing on another, almost literally
speaking. The first message that
brought the news was from the cap
tain of the Italian torpedo boat dis
patched to the Calabrian coast by the
government. 1t told the story in one
terrible sentence: "Messina was COM
pletely destroyed by an earthquake at
twenty minutes past this morning"
The hour stated is remarkable in its
significance. Had the shock come half
an hour later the loss of life might not
have been nearly so great as it was, he
cause the working population usually
arise about half-past 5, so as to be
ready to be about their business at 6.
1t being Christmas season, many fami-
lies in the city had been swelled by ar
rivals of relatives from other parts of
the province, and feasting and visiting
had been going on for several days, as
is customary in Sicily. The normal
population of Messina at the time would
be about 10000. Probably 10000 out
siders had f1ocked in to visit their rela-
tives OF the whole, not more than
about Is per cent, Mr.. Crawford calcu-
lated from all that he had been en-
abled to discover, escaped destruction.
This relates to Messina alone. Other
cities-Taormina, Reggie and AlaXan-
dretta-and many villages paid likewise
a heavy toll in slain. So that Mr.
Crawford was practically correct when
he headed his sketch The Greatest
Disaster in History" 1t was partly
given in THE Outlook" for March last
There were premonitions that ought
to have made the Sicilians prepared fer
horrors, but they were laughed at or
disregarded. There were premonitions
of a natural character and others of a
different order. Mr.. Crawford tells of
some inStanceS-one in particular most
remarkable indeed. He wrote:
In the hottest days of last summer
there appeared in the city of the Straits
one of those wandering religious fanat-
les whom the Italians call ''Nazarenes,"
a bare headed, half-starved, wild-eyed
man. dressed in a sort of hermit's frock
that did not reach his sandaled feet. A
bow of - or II walked beside him,
dressed in the same way, but with a
shorter frock that showed his bare legs
and he carried a COW bell in one hand
and stick in the other. From time 20
time the two stopped, always at the
busiest corners, and the boy rang his
bell as the public criers still 10 in cid
Italian towns, unless they are provided
with a bugle horn instead. A few
grown people and many idle lads and
youths stopped at the sound to see
what would happen. Then the 'NaZ-
arene" lifted I'D his voice. shrill and
clear, to utter his prophecy, and his
wild eyes were suddenly still and baked
upward, fixed on the high houses oppo-
site: and this was what he cried out:
BE warned, take heed and repent
We of Messinai This year shall not end
before your city is utterly destroyed"
But they who were to perish laughed
and jeered at the "Nazarene" and went
about their business. while he ana his
Young companion proceeded On their
way. and the street boys howled at
them and pelted them with bits of or
ange peel and peach stones; but they
passed on unheeding and unflinching,
as if accomplishing mission intrusted
To them as a sacred duty.
And, sure enough, before the year