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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (July 7, 1889)
THE OMAHA DAILY BEE : SUNPAYftQULY 7 , 1889.-SIXTEEN PAGES. 11 HISTORIC SCENES IN SPAIN , Mrs. Shorwcod Wrltca of Oordovo , Granada and Sovlllo. A DREAM OF PERFECT BEAUTY. Mngnlflarnt Moorlfih Temples nnd the Chnrina oftlio Kninous Allinmbrix . llio Infnnt Monarch An Insplrntlon tor I'nlntors. Scenes of lilonl Iiovcllncni. The Mosque of Cordova is the most beautiful tcmplo which exists , ono of the most admirable monumonteof man's genius on the earth , Boys Mrs. M. E. \V. Sherwood , writing from Sovlllo to the Now York World. Wo endeavored to take a drive nround Cordova , hut the roads have not been paved since the Moor , so it aa necessarily short. The once powerful city has dwindled to a dead nnd allvo town of 60,000 people , who still , however , have that nfr of de cayed gentility which all Spaniards keep , nnd their houses are pretty Moorish buildings among most lovely gardens. Wo wont to see the old bridge , dating from the times of Augustus , re constructed by the Arabs , and the ruined old wn.l1 ) , the debris of statues and bas- rollcfs , the inscriptions In honor of the emperors , the gray old vestibules , the falry-llko balconies over which the hnndhomo Andnlusinns lean with flow ers In tnoir beautiful hair. It was all n , , 'lrotun , nnd Tom Moore , with his foolish ballads of the Guadalquivir ( the river flowing at our feet ) , came up , with the eternal rhyme nnd the twnnglng of the guitar. Such are the confusions in one's Ttroh.'uology in Cordova Wo came on to Granada , the next afternoon. It is appropriate that the mosque of Cordova and the miracle of the Alhambra , though twenty-four bourn from everywhere else , should bo within live hours of ouch other. The Bonsuous dream of luxury on earth , wjilch the followers of the Prophet were to continue in heaven , could have no grander exploitation than the Alham- bm. bm.Vo had a delightful journey. The wild flowers and the orange groves kept us company , and the old Spanish towns grow moru quaint and old , the stones graver , and the Siora Nevada began to show us the snow ; an outline not unlike Mount Blano from Geneva rose on the rosy horizon. It became a vision of un earthly grandeur and beauty. When the evening fell n moon , not yet quite full , helped to prolong the picture. AB we entered Grenada the beggars nnd cabdrivers , the Spanish outcries nnd the groans of the donkojs nearly deafened us. Soon , however , wo were driving by moonlight through the beau tiful elm forest planted by the Duke of Wellington in 181U , and the nightin gales were bursting their throats to give us the most delicate poultice for out' ' wounded ears. Dr. Holmes says : And Bllcnco like a poultice came , To heal tbo wounds of sound. It is profanation to compare the ex quisite and heart-breaking note of the nightingale to a poultice , but it was In- flnitolv Boothihg. This forest was a surprise to me. Why did nobody ever tell mo that wo drove through a forest to the Allmmbrn ? We alighted at this comfortable house , where wo can breakfast on a balcony overlooking a garden , where from ono window we look into the for est , nnd from another over a bank of yellow roses , toward the Slorru Nevada. We never wish to go away. The Al hambra , approached through magni ficent horseshoe arches , and opening its wonderful fountains , gardens and fairylike - like columns upon' one , is at first n dis appointment , because it is being re stored , and there is an air of newness about the Court of the Lions. QLOItlUS OV THE ALHAMHHA. But to go often , to go clone , to read , think , meditate there ; to mount its towers , to dream in its courts , to read over "Tales of the Alhambra" there ; it grows and it grows , until it becomes the Palace of the Heart. The superb Hall of the Ambassadors , where Ferdinand and Isabella received Columbus , was the first majesty which overwhelmed mo ; thou the Court of the Lions ; what a labyrinth of arches , enrvod embroideries ; what indefinable elegance , what inimitable delicacy , what a prodigious richness ! and some thing BO airy , so undulating , like a cur tain of lace , which a breath could blow away ; which has stood 700 years , a de lightful confusion , a graceful disorder , "tho majesty of a royal palace and the gavety of a KIOSK , " itn extravagance , a delight , n living grnco , u folly , a fancy , the dream of an angel , the rosy visions of first love , something too evanescent to describe such is the oltect of the Alhambra. The long Arable inscriptions on the walls are most grace u. I had a book which pretended to translate them , and a copy of the Koran , sold at Granada , but 1 could not make them out , and fool as Artcmus Ward did about Chaucer. "Mr. C. , " btiid ho , "Mr. C. was a binart man , a man of talent , but ho was the poorest speller I over mot. " Somebody was a poor speller either my book or the Koran , or the sculptor. I cannot road Arable yet , moro'a the pity. But why ro rot unything but the Bhortness of life ana the flight of time when looking at tliobo floating ribbons , the flowery niches , arabesques , stars , the delicate in Unity of the over-recur ring polygonal c hot'ho rod kaleidoscope patterns , the Btalactitlos and pendulous graces of the ceilings , the dewdrops in stone ready to fall , ( , ho stucco lace , em broidered with a thousand llowersV The fairy-like columns advance and difaap- pour. Looking upward ono sees the re plica of the court below Inn palace high 'ill the air. Hul from behind those grated windows the dark-eyed liourU looked and sighed perhaps for freedom. Wo mounted a high tower to the dressing room of the Sultana. From this immense height the unhupp.v mother of Boabdil let down her little boy in a scarf , tying all her shawls to- f gothor , to savu him from the revenge ful hato.of her rival. The room still If rich with n bubtlo perfume. Further or wo see a gloomy perspective. It ii where a mad woman was incarcerated They say if you whisper in the oar o ono of the lions ono can hear what yoi nay from the mouth of another I Quit * an oral love letter might thus bo spoken An old gray lion , yet not Ion A lion I in tils feebleness Quo thing Is loft him still to guard. Ho guards it well by day or night , \Vltii these great jiaws of granite gray ; In the strong shelter of Ills breast. No luuu shall servo him yet with scorn Though an old lion thus forlorn , For what ho guards Is Beauty's rest. After the Snllo of the Abencorrage tto wont to * > ca the baths. Thebo beau tiful rooms were rebtorcd with last during Chnrlos V.'s reign and still bca their sumptuous testimony to the wis luxury and cleanliness of the Moor , i vlrtua in which he hus not been fol lowed by the Spaniard. Wo cmne ou in the lovely court of myrtles , am looked In the tranquil clstorn full c gold fishes. Wo went in to write ou names in the visitors' book. TUB THEAhUHKS OK 61iVlTMS. * The custode showed us first Washing ton Irving und then General Grunt uu fnmlly. then Gonornl Shorrann and Colonel Fred Grant , then the names of Albert Edward rind his faithful friend und tutor , General Bruco. Then later on the evil-freighted autograph of the recently murdered Prince Rudolph of Austria ; wo saw thnt of the Countess of Pierrofond ( the Empress Euconio ) , of the Into Id rip of Snain nnd of his royal sisters , and of many of lessor degree. I suppose I am not the first chronicler to eay that Seville is a most charming city. It beams on one who comes from the rural districts of Spain , as Paris beams on the curly American before ho was satisfied with foreign travel. Al though it haa nothing to compare with the Alhambra , or the Mosque of Ca , dova. Seville , still has Its antiquities- Koinan remains and Moorish palaces , its grandest of cathedrals , the beautiful modern palnco of the Duo do Montpon- slor ( now a gray-hnlrcd old veteran , and a thorough Spaniard ) and the beau tiful G Iraki a Tower , enough to come to Spain to BOO ; the Alcazar , now the only homo and Spanish palace of Queen Isa bella , and full of the family portraits , and which is , with Its fountains , gardens - dons and restored Moorish rooms , no bad copy of the Alhambra , still a copy , not the original. "Wo started oil well for modern ideas bv hcarlnc our countrywoman , Emma. Nevada , sing "El Burboro do Scvllla , " at the opera house. The pretty little woman , with her lluto-llko voice , is a tremendous favorite hero. They re called her sixteen times , and poured out flowers upon her until she could not walk across the stage. . She has boon singing two months at Madrid , whore she also Is an essential "furor ; " had an audience with the queen , nnd is a great friend of Count Murphy , who has given her an open acasaino to ull the places hero not usually shown to visitors. I owe much to her friendship in opening moro palaces to mo. But it was a great pleasure to see the "Barber" on his native soil. Around mo sat the Rower of Andnlushin beauty and grace , the nobility of Seville. Every woman's hair was dressed with flowers nnd the famous great carna tions , as largo as a double floppy , were In every hand. This superb flower will not grow as largo anywhere as hero. A "Caballero" sent me n bouquet In which I counted .sixteen varieties. \Vo have very amusingincidcnts with these Sovillians. I brought several letters , and iv haughty Don will arrive to make a call. Wo can none of us speak Spanish , and they speak no French , so the courier has to bo Invoked , and the high nnd mighty compliments which follow on both sides are exchanged. The don oilers us his house , his opera box , all that is his. We accept nothing but a "permission to call" and perhaps ho "would open some doors. " AN IDEAL Sl'ANISH TOAVN. I owe to such a visit from a distin guished scholar permission to see the library of Christopher Columbus , now closed. One thing they do not do , they do not ask you to dinner. No pno gets much inside their houses. Sir Clare Ford , at Madrid , says ho asks them to dinner , but they never ask him. They send you a carriage , they are polite , but inside their houses , no ! I trust , at Madrid we may have the entree to some Spanish interiors s > o jealously guarded. The hotel at Se ville , 'Hotel do Paris , is excel lent. The weather is just now very hot. but we easily fall into their habits of a siesta at 1 o'clock. We rise early and see the sights , return homo and have breakfast and dine late. Wo are never tired of these pretty houses built round a garden , at which we got peeps through the iron lattice work. The shops are dark , cool cav- orna , filled with most tempting laces , fans and Spanish wools. There is also a beautiful pottery here. The windows are shuttorloss , protected by iron grat ings and an awning. We are here at the best of seasons , the spring , and wo enjoy a full moon , by which we dine lato"hoaring the madolin and guitar. A moonlit night in Seville is a love Bong all by itself. Those open square "courtyards , called patios , are surround ed by corridors , supported by marble pillars , with a fountain playing in the middle , covered in midday by an awn ing culled toldo , and it is the drawing room ot the family. I know of nothing so pretty. To go back hence to antiquity , Abie Joson Yukub was the greatest builder of his ago , and in 1171 he throw a bridge of boats across the Guadolqulvir. lie repaired the Roman aqueduct nnd ruibcd the great mosque ( now the cjithedrul , and undergoing repairs ) . To him we owe the beautiful Girnlda tower , very suggestive of the Campanile nt Florence. This is the great tower where in Moorish times the muo/.zin called the faithful to prayers. Now cer tain famous bolls perform his office. They are so powerful that even the devil is afraid of them , and Murillo was fond of painting the scene whore the devil and his winds wore dispersed by the bolls. Would that wo had an agency so powerful to dispel a blizzard or a cyclone. dJ It would bo ti week's work to describe this grandest cathedral , its wealth of beauty , its superb size , its endless arches. It is the largest thing in the world , apparently. I did not see it to udvantuga , therefore have not so pleas ing a remembrance of It as of its rivals at Barcelona or Tarragona , much less than of the Mosque of Cordova , but it has two beautiful Murilloa in it which I do praise , " 'The Guardian Angel" and the "St. Anthony of Padua. " This saint has been to Now York , It will bo re membered. Ho was cut out by one of his own priests , sent to Mr. Schauswho detected whence and where ho belonged nnd sent him buck. The restoration Is skillfully done , and it Is an unrivaled specimen of the master. I preferred to go and rest in the lovely cinquo cento gardens of the Al- cu/ar , where the beautiful Maria do Pa- dilla bathed and soothed the bavagc temper of Pedro the Cruel , until she was licensed of magic. In this palace of the Alcazar , Charles V. was married , and ut his order arose those labyrinths of box in the style of the Italian renais sance , those orungo groves , this thicket of rosob where JIUUIU.O AND VAKASQUKLtVB. . i I have often asked myself how j i should fool if I were to bo in the home of Murillo and Velasquez. Hero I air on the very spot , and I sec whence thoj t drew their Inspiration. Murillo hac i but to look around him to oohold th ( splendid black-eyed babies and tin beautiful Andnlusiun Madonnas Neither look as if they know anything For of beggar boys the supply is limit less. The beggars and the donkeys ii Spain ! I am inclined to write a book and ral it "Tho Donkey in Spain. " Nothlni but the four thnt some wit would nsl mo if it wore intended for an auto biography has deterred mo. But Urn patient little boast does all the work He is burled under two ptinlers , nnd h is laden down with everything , No refuge fugo has ho but his putlent cry and hi discordant note , Tno voice of protes in all the world hus boon discordant. I finishes olT with the donkey. In thi miserably poor , enormously rich coun try ho Bceins to bo the emblem of whu hus ruined Spain oppression und taxn tion. The countny , Wliero every prospect please * And only man is vilo. I enjoyed very much the Palace of Si Tolmo , the beautiful house of the Duo do Montponsior. Hero I saw two of the best of Velasquez portraits of Philip IV. and of Ollvnroz ; also some poor Murlllos nnd the original of Ary Shof- for'a St. Monica and St. Augustine , splendid examples of Lulbaran nnd other Spanish painters ; also n curious series of pictures from "Don Quixote , " ombroldorod in silk by a man , very original , humorous and quaint. The duke must bo n stu dent of Cervantes , for ho has statuettes of tbo Don nnd of Snncho Panza every where. Sancho was a famous nnmo among the old kings , so SoncliQ Panza is as if wo should lay "Washington Bripgs. " The house Is full of records of the Orleans family , including a very fine , full length of Philip Egnllto , the duke's infamous grnndfathor. The Queen Isabella II. , his sister-in-law , Is also portrayed , but wo saw no likeness of his dear little daughter Mercttos , queen of Spain , whoso death , they say , broke his heart. Across the Pnsnr do Crlstina wo came to the old Moorish tower of the Tomti del Oro. No ono knows whether this was a lighthouse or a treasure house , perhaps both , as its octagon ahapo nnd nigh lantern would make It useful as both. Pedro the Cruel , the Henry VIIt of Spain , used it for n prison in which ho punished his false wives. This is the homo of the bull-fights , but , alas for us ! there will bo none until wo roach Madrid. So our cruel instincts must wait a week. For us the Plaza do Toro ? of Seville is a lost delight. Its capacity to seat 12,000 spectators , its view of the Goraldi , all Is lost for us the client is said to bo very grand , as the last bull dies ! ( I do not know thnt T am Inconsolable ; ono must miss some thing in any countryl I rather hope there will oo no bull-fight in Madrid , if it isn't treason to say so. ) I'UIIU hl'AXISll TYPES. To ono who comes here to welcome poetical impressions and day dreams , Sovlllo is the most satisfactory town in Spain. It Is still the city of the most picturesque blackguards in Spain , who sleep on the stops , wear their shawls nnd cloaks with atrraco which Is prover bial , pictures of the bliss of idleness ; a great argument in favor of being en tirely worthless. They have no vulgar prejudices as to duty and honesty , but arc very good guitar players. No grave , solemn , sad Spanish typo is this , but u mixture of the gypsy , the bull-fighter and the contrabandist. None of your jealous , haughty , suspicious and digni fied cavaliers among oven these bog- gurs. It is the city of pleasure. The "Barber" is its true expletive. Ros sini's music exactly expresses it. The upper classes , however , are very dis tinguished looking nnd very handsome. Tno men , especially , a high tyoo of Spaniard , well dressed , riding well groomed horses ; the turnouts at the fashionable drive are worthy of Rotten Row. The women wear the beautiful mantilla in many cases. It is becoming and local. But is not to the upper class ( as much nt homo In Paris as in Seville ) that ono looks for the true Spanish type. At the tobacco factory in the streets , wo have seen some fine specimens of Andalusian beauty the deep , largo , full black eve , the raven hair in such magnificent profusion , that indiscriba- ble charm and naturalness , grace , livll- ness and repartee , which painters , poets and opera writers have sought to reproduce , are to bo seen on every cor ner. Byron made Cadi/ rhyme to la dies. Ho and Tom Moore found some enchantment here , no doubt. No wonder tbo Moslem loved to lin ger by the Gundalquiver , to dream away his life amid the enchantments of refined taste , with all of nature's pro fuse and prodigal gifts of climate and production. Ho lavished Ins gold and genius to adorn his city. Ho gave freely of his blood to defend it. Fair is m-oucl Sovlllo 1 Lot her country ooast Her strength , her wealth , her site of ancient days. Later on Seville became the Court of Spanish Kings and is linked with their romantic nnd most cruel records. The discovery of America by making it the emporium of the world , revived its former prosperity. From its port of Pales sailed Columbus , Pi/.arro and Cortes. In the fifteenth century it was the homo of the merchant princes. It was the Now York of Spain. It became the prey of the French in 1603. Mar shal Soult carried oft the Murillos , in fact , tore one in pieces. The English nntorod tt in 1813 amid universal acclar muttons. HIS YOUTHFUL MAJESTY. The Spanish proverb says : "Ho who has seen Seville has B3on wonders ; but he who has not seen Granada lias been nothing. " . , . . It is dilllcult now to know why they so adored Granada. Beautiful as is the the Alhambra , splendid as is the view of the Sierra Nevada , it is not as at tractive as is this flower-hinged , cheer ful city. The lightness , the elegance , the vivacity , the show , the thousand things to see here make it the prettiest and most peaceful picture wo have yet seen. To-day is the queen's birthday and the houses are docked with her picture. She is the Madonna of the day , the over-present , ever-worshipped Murillo , the immortal typo of the most perfect love. A mother and her baby rule Spain ; and the baby hand holds the sceptre' with an invincible strength. Ono of the editors of the Figaro gave mo u letter to a high official , so that in Madrid I should see the queen. "Yes , " said ho , "but I know you , being a woman , want to see the baby. " I acknowledged that the majesty of "two years and a half" was to mo moro interesting than any other , and that I was willing to put my nock under his darling foot. That sovorolgnlty fresh from heaven , the great rule of King Baby , who Uoos not kiss his chubby handr1 Ho rules the court , the politi cian and the liberal. "I cannot war against a woman and a baby , " said Custelur. Xho Summer Girl. Kew I'otlt Mercury. Such witching eyosl Such dainty feotl ( I admit sbo loves to show 'om ) , With winning ways and accents sweet , Stio socms a very pooui. Poesy's incarnation she ; There's no ono fairer , neater. Should she but deign to look toward me I'm not a 1 verse to meter. In 1870 Carter Anderson , of Hansloy , Tex. , married Mies Rebecca Meyers , and until a few months ago nothing ever marred their happiness. The tempter came in Henry , a brother ol Mr. Anderson. At last Henry told Car ter that ho loved his wife , and his wife was asked if she loved Honry. Slit said : "Carter , I have tried to bo i good wife to you and you have been t good husband. I love my children , too but 1 give all up for Honry. I love hiii more. ' The heartbroken husbani could only say : "Becca , if it is youi determination to leave mo go , nnd Got bless you in this wild decision. " II < gave her money , with the request tha she keep it for burial. The followiiif Sunday ho hitched up his best loam am saw lug wife and oldest child nnd Hour ; seated in the wagon , and hired a nnii to drive them to this city , where thoj took a train for parts unknown. Tin stricken hiubund remained ut homo ti bear hie sorrow in silence. OPENED THE RUfft OF DEATH How a Swiss Vnllfc Was Devas tated By ttflUood. THEIR HEROISM/WAS IN VAIN. The Sturdy Stroked Mtjf the Dravn Mountaineers liiircU llio Unsits- pectins Villager * Jjttotlio Very Pathway or tbonDlanstcr. A Fearful Alpine Flood. The mountain rnngo lying between Martlgny nnd the vast wooded rldgo of the Tote Noir , in Southern Switzer land , still bears , fearful traces of the most devastating flood recorded in local history , concerning which I hoard many a grim legend from the herdsmen nnd woodcutters of the district while exploring the scene of the famous tragedy , writes David Kor in the Now York Times. Strangely enough , this great catastrophe was In all its chief details an almost literal prophecy ot the Conomaugh disaster , with the addi tional interest of having been caused by the bursting of a natural dam , the formation of which was woll-nigh as destructive as its collapse. Early in that fatal summer the river Drnnso ( which runs down into the Rhone through that steep , narrow , rocky valley at the lower end of which stands the town of Martigny ) suddenly dried up so completely that not a drop of water was left'ln the deep , zig-zng channel which had echoed with the roar of looping torrents only a few days be fore. The whole valley was in dismay , and many of the peasants fled from their homes , remembering that a simi lar phenomenon had immediately preceded - coded the three most terrific landslips over known in Switzerland. A few of the bolder spirits , however , volunteered to ascend the gorge and find out the causa of this wiord prodigy , and they discovered it only too soon. A mighty mass of ice , upon which a good-sized village might have stood with ease , had broken away from the great glacier overhead and slipped right down into the bed ol the Dranse , which it blocked fo completely that not ' a drop could pass. Behind th'ts natural dam the checked waters of the river wore forming a kind of vast reservoir , rising ever higher and higher , nnd en gulfing ono by ono the tiny upland hamlets that clung to the slopes on cither side. Thus , by a hideous gro- tesquencss of horror , men were being drowned on a mountain top while their comrades in in the vulloy below were TORTURED AV1TII THIRST. Few men could have faced unmoved the eight of this tremendous mass of pent-up waters ( sufllcioht to drown the whole vulloy at 0110 rush ) hanging right over their heads and threatening to burst upon them at ) 'any moment. But the dreadful crisis , wliich would have utterly unstrung any weaker spirit , only nerved those bold hearts to re doubled energy. It was ut once de cided to cut a tunnel through the Ice , in order to lot of ! th'o water ore it could overflow. All the men who could bo collected were brought together in a wonderfully short gpnco of time , and to work they wont ; hewing tnoir way through the ice barrier as manfully as the bravo follows whouro now toiling amid the ruins of Johnstown. Seldom has a moro doporato task boon attempted ; never has it been moro he roically carried out. The cutting of the tunnel begun from both ends at once in order to save time wont on day und night for moro than two weeks , the gangs relieving each other every few hours. During the whole of this time the gallant men worked with death star ing them in the face , for ut any instant the imprisoned waters that gurgled and growled beneath their feet might break loose and sweep thorn headlong to de struction. But not a man wavered. ThO ghostly darkness , the deadly chill of the icy walls that shut them in , the hollow roar , the unseen waters beneath , the crashing and splintering of the hugo blocks of ice that kept falling around them on every side , the trembling and groaning of the whole mass as the flood pressed upon it harder and harder , the over- present and hourly-deepening shadow of a surldon and horrible death might well have appalled the stoutest heart. But , oven when the pickaxes actually dropped from their benumbed flngora , the little band of heroes NEVER FLINCHED FOR A 3I03IENT. And now the work was well nigh done , and the daring miners who had boon pent so long in this living grave were looking joyfully forward to the speedy end of their dreadful task , when , almost nt the last moment , it was sud denly discovered that by bomo fatal error the two cuttings which wore approaching preaching each other from opposite sides of the ice dam were proceeding on different levels , and could never moot unless n slanting passage were cut from ono to the other. Thifl fresh labor oc cupied two whole days , during which the devoted men fairly gave themselves up for lost , dooming it impossible to complete the additional work before the flood rose to the mouth of the tunnel and drowned them all where they stood. But at length the last stroke was given , the workmen retired , the water began to pour freely through the tunnel , nnd the hiss nnd splash of its first lonp into the dry channel below was answered by a deep and heurtfolt/j'thunk God"from ! every man in that li'proic band. Then there camo" , in the very moment of triumph , the blackest horror of the whole tragedy. Already the mass of water above the rljim was visibly re ducedand the gallanVminers rejoicing in the thought that th'tir valor and por- Bovoranco had redeemed from death the lives of allii thnt breathed In the valley wpref just staring ' to return to thoir' homos , when , unexpected as ligmning from a cloud less sky , the long Iddlayod destruction caino. The constantrtiummoring of the escaping waters , as rthoy foil in ono great cataract right 'upon the base of the ice dam , inflleteOjupon the latter n shock which , weakened us it already was by the tromen'dous pressure from above , It was quito unablp to sustain. With a crash moro terrific than the t loudest thunder , the whole of the mighty mass guvo way , nnd u volume of water to which Niagara itself would have Boomed email , foil like a thunder bolt right upon the doomed valley. What followed even those who saw it could never tell , und in truth the strongest words would bo too weak te convoy the full horror of a catastrophe which compressed the iiuvoo of yuan Into a few torrlblo moments. So tremendous - mondous was the rush of the great wave from that vast height down the narrow defile that it Boomed to leap with out bound from the higher end of the vul loy to the lower. In the forcible wordi of an eye witness , "It came like i mountain fired from a cannon. " Ant as if to heighten this droudful drama t ( the utmost , the inhabitants of the val loy. seeing the bed of the river fllllnp again , concluded that the tunneling huu To OFFICE SEEKERS , The Palace THE BEE BUILDING. 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Their succcbs in running flf a part 01 the accumulated waters : iad spread throughout the whole vul- ov , right down to Martlgny itself , the tjohof that all danger was now past , nnd ho entire population lay right in the rack of the destruction when it camo. ts coming was so swift and sudden that llight was impossible , and indeed no place of refuge could be accounted sufo from the swoop of thnt great harvest of death. A solid stone bridge that panned the gorge fully sixty feet above ho highest point over known to have been reached by the river was cut iway as if by the slash of u knife , nnd not a man of the ill-fated travelers who ivero crossing it nt the time were ever een ugain. The town of Martigny it- elf , far away at the northern end of the valley , was" literally swept from the KU'th , und only the massive gray turrets if an ancient tower on the hill high nbovo it rose like a rocky islet amid hut roaring sea of destruction. When the surveyors of the fearful day ventured back , after the flood had mcnt its fury , to the spot where their ionics had once stood , the keenest eye among them failed to recognize ONE KAMILIAU T.ANDMAKK amid the ghastly , formless chaos of drifted mud and gravel , shattered rocks , uptorn trees und masbos of broken tim- 'jor standing gauntly up from vast iiools of miry water , beneath which lay buried fathoms deep the once bright ind beautiful valley of the Dranbo. The whole mountain side had been torn iwoy as if with a hugo rake , and the manning little villages that had clung . ,0 it were gene as if they had never beon. The very shape of the valley was utterly changed , and the population of the entire district well nigh extermi nated ut ono blow ; und long before the news of the disaster could reach the ivostorn lowlands , the bruised und .mangled corpses , which the rushing Rhone whirled down by hundreds into the calm , bright waters of the Lake of Geneva , told to the shuddering villagers along its shores the futo of distant Martigny. A funny story of a unique but unsatis factory trade for n husband comes from the picturesque town of Eastford , among the hills of Windham county , Connecti cut. Mro. Adah Ann Sharp , a lady of wealth , about eighty-five years old , de cided ubout five years ago to marry. Her eye fell upon Timothy J , Backus , u successful farmer , aged seventy-five. It id said that she made fourteen proposals of marriage to him , to ull of which ho turned his deaf our. At length. Mr. Backus , according to the published ac counts , was summoned before the widow , where ho found himself confronted by Justice of the Pouco Keith. The widow then made Mr. Backus the offer of a salary ot 812-5 per your , with a horFO and carriage thrown In , if ho would nmrry hor. Timothy did not hcsltato long. Ho concluded thut the fifteenth offer was worth taking , and wont to the town clerk and got n murrlago license. When ho goi bade ho found that his blushing bride had changed her mind , and thnt the justice of the pence was slowly driving out of the yard. Ho haf not gene far before the would-bo and wouldn't-bo brldo reversed her decision and hustled Timothy after the justice. The dignified justice returned. Mrs Sharp thereupon reversed judgtnon again und declined to stand up witl Timothy. Then Timothy grabbed his lint in despair nnd prepared to louvo Mrs. Sharp ut this again reversed hot decision , nnd the marriage ceremony was performed , Murrlugo with them seems to have boon a fulluro. For the past five year Timothy Buys ho has handled $27,00 worth of her property faithfully , and never got a cent for it. Hia wife put no sugar in his dried apple pies , finally she became impressed with the idea that ho had swindled her out of $100. lo then persuaded her to sign a docu- nont hiring him to louvo her for 81. [ 'imothy ' is now on his own farm nnd lis wife has posted him , forbidding nil lorsons to trust him on her account. Three Dollars CALIFORNIA JAS. MORTON & SON 1511 Dodge Street. mmm GENERAL i now open. I'nrtlri dcslrlnitcooit nccommortmlon ou the DOW Inrt'c ezprum ( teamen of llio I'ntuoui FRENCH MAIL LINE , Which arn notcft for tlielr reiHilnrlly. eoiml 10 rull- road trulnr , In milking tUo trip to Hnvre-rarl * la ono wviik , lire nilTUeil to Make Early Application for llortlis. Til In U nl o ncrctinrx on iicconnt of the bcnrjr travel during the spring * ud inmmer muntUa. McCAGUE BROS. , 105 Smith 16th St. , riAKUY E. MOORES , 1502 Parnnm dt. , H. J , . HALL , 122. ' } Favnam St. , , T. H. GREEN , 1501 I'urnnm St. , Auoiiltf , Oniulm , Neb. JIAUIUCF W. KOXMIN8X1 , If inUCYwn M UN L I ly ixml safely cured byUOUTUH Cap- sulea. Boveral c.xnoa cured in noveu Uuyi. Sold uttlJM jior box , all drugulntx , or by mall from Doctuj&M't'gCo. II i WUlttj a N. Y. rulldlreo- lena Health is Wealth I ln. K. C. WEST'S N'Kttvt : ANH nii.us ' MKNT , n RUiumitoul specific tor llybterln. .Dizzi ness. Convulsions , I'lts. Nervous Neuralgia , Headache , Nervoug Prostration caused by ihe- use of alcohol or tobncco , AViikofulncsj , Mental noprebslon. SottcnltiK of the llra.n , resultine in Insanity nnil lenaiiiKtomlhcry. decay nnd death. Prcmntnrp Old ARO. llairennoss , Loss of Power" In t'ltl-.or BOX , Involuntary I4osae > > nnrt Spcnnnt- orrlui' canned by over-exertion of tliebraln.Be.lf- ohtif-o or ovuitnilulKonci * . I'nch box contain * ano mouth's treatment. H.MI uliox , or six boxes , for ( O.Od.Hentby mail prepaid onrecolptofprlceij ; _ WE GUARANTEE SIX BOXES To cuifl any case. With each orrtor recnlyoi by us for blx boxei , accompanied } 5 00 , we wll i sand the purchiisoi- uiltUn Ruurautee to refund / fund the money it the treatment does not oITecf niuro. . Uimranteus ihsned only by Oooilmarf'V Drug Co. . DriiKulsts , Solo AguntB , 1110 Karuan street , Orauli.-x , Nob. finosticxlurc. cuulwluri , on-thefooMheSHOE must Seta BEST TRADE TIIROOOUTTHE UNITED TOHINGS , [ EMERSON , HAI/C.BT &DA.VI9 , ARTIST SUPPLIES , HOSPE KIMBALI , , MOULDINGS , StHOSPE JPIANOS AND ORQA.NS FRAMES , SHEET MUSIC. 1513 Douglas St Omaha , Nclirasia , Omalia Stove Repair Works 808-810 NORTH SIXTEENTH STREET. KOItT. VIII IG , Prop. C. M. JRATOAI , niitunor. | ; Telephone 00 % , i Keiialis forn'llHiovesand Ilanges mado. Ilrllllaut Onaollno Stove * . Bto\e tnVenln exchangeV1 * pait payment , Uusollao Iliirnera muclo to order iind thoiotiKhly Jej ) lre < l. ' ; ( i t3Tolf nluniH to us or send card and we ill call and estimate work of any kind. rj y DEWEY &lTONl" Furniture Company "V w " J * " ft- ! A tHoani/lconl display of everi/thliiy meful and ornamental In the furl ArA lure matter's art at reasonable prices , , ' - ffffn