The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1909-02-09
THE DOOM OF VENICE
n MAY O. TO LIE IN IRIS ooeoAa or
THE ADRlATic.

Cities 81 the Weld
1t Is believed by many that Venice
Is sinking into the Adriatic and that
she gradually viii 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 tee,ning
with a popuious life.
At the entrance to the harbor Of King
sroa. Jamaica. the original city OF Port
Royal lies fathoms deep beneath the
blue and sunlit waters Of the Carib-
bean sea. A narrow strip Of land. on
which are n small settlement and
fort. is all that Is left Of what was
once the richest and wickedest town In
the West Indies. &c was the resort OF
pirates. who rested there from their
depredations aud made the city hid
cous with their revelry. But these pi.
rates broug ht great stores Of their loot 30
the city. and its commerce grew and
6ourished. Palaces and churches were
built. q pirate often striving by q rich
endowment Of a church to square his
accounts with heaven.
Throughout the greater part OF the
seventeenth century no town In the
western world was % magnificent a.
to its buildings or so luxurious 40 to its
habits AZ Port Royal. Then one day In
1902 the anger Of the Lord shook the
island of Jamaica. and the greater part
Of Port Royal sank beneath the sen.
carrying with 1t hundreds Of its h.
habitants. Towers, churches, palaces
and forts went down, many OF them
not tumbling in ruins by the shock.
but sinking bodily beneath the waves.
On 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 ths ocean bot
tom, with fishes swimming about
among its towers and great tropical
seaweeds waving from its suuken
walls.
The negroes of Jamaica-and some
white people. too-will tell you that be-
fore a storm the sunken bell Of the
great cathedral which went down with
the city on that awful day In 1902 can
be heard distinctly tolling below the
waves. rung as q warning by the
ghostly hands Of the spirits Of depart
ed buccaneers which haunt the subma-
rine city. People who do not believe ip
ghosts. but think they have heard the
tolling Of the bell. say the explanation
IL that when the city sunk the great
bell Of the cathedral was not thrown
from its place. but still hangs ~ Il
originally did. The coming storm BE-
fore 1t reaches Jamaica stirs up the
waters Of the Caribbean and sends in
upon the shore deep waves. which roll
through the sunken city and Get the
bell a-tolling.
Another sunken city Of renown q
Baiae. that splendid resort on the Ital-
ian coast where Nero and Caligula
'1reveled and drank deep" A 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 thu
Mediterranean. and tourists from M.
pies 90 out there to gaze down into thu
waters and try to catch glimpse Of
the submerged city.
The resort Of all the wealthy mobiles
the world, Baias was q marvel Of lux.
urious splendor. Palace after palace
Was built on the shore. and architects
designed magnificent structures ex-
tending out into the sea.
When Rome decayed and the Cloths
ravaged Italy. Baiae was sacked By
the invaders. Soon after the city be.
gan to sink. First the buildings which
had their foundation In the water sub.
sided beneath the waves. and then
the sea made an attack on the land.
Gradually the shore line receded. and
the Mediterranean flowed through thu
streets where Hadrian had driven hid
imperial chariot and Horace had walk
ed thinking Of his next poem.
These prom0ntories, crowned with
grand towers and gorgeous palaces.
were undermined and toppled Into the
deep until ut last the major part Of
the splendid city was submerged. It'd
disappearance was not sudden. like
that Of Port Royal. and due to some
CONFUSION Of nature, but Baiae went
down to its death gradually. - Venice
IL said to be going.
In Holland the subsidence OF the
land has brought It about that many
towns once populous are now covered
by the sea. The old Roman camp a
Brittenburg. after sinking beneath the
waves. emerged again In 1870. only Il
disappear. and its remains now lie ID
deep water opposite the town Of Kat.
WIKI. The original Katwijk itself nov
Is beneath the watses. ~ also are thu
original towns Of Scheveningen. Dom
burg and Egmond. In fact. a success
sion Of towns bearing these names h
now at the bottom Of The sea. for they
repeatedly have been rebuilt faftheI
inland a. the land sunk and tho wavel
come In to take possession.
The Goodwin sands. large and dan
gerous shoals OF the southeast coasi
Of England. were once above the va
ter and formed q noufishing est1te
the property Of Earl Goodwin. Their
was NO city ON the GodWin estate Whez
Il su1sided beneath the sea, but sew
ernl small villages went down to tt
deep when the tract Of country grad