of more than thirty miles, twelve miles of
which went straight through one of the
forests of that country. And a drive
through such a forest in summer is beau-
tiful and charming enough; but in the
dark, grey winter, it is a very dreary ex-
perience. The carriage hardly ever met
a single living thing; a stray huntsman,
perhaps, or a party of woodcutters, or a
frightened deer rushing into a thicket.
And then Gitself, — the old servants
dead or in second childhood, their mis-
tress failing fast, the doors in the corridor
all shut, the damp alleys of the park de-
serted. Cold winds blew straight through
the house, which stands on a hill, and it
required some courage to come out of
one's room, wrapped in shawls, and walk
along the freezing, silent passages, and
down to the great empty halls below, where
immense wood fires blazing up the chim-
neys only seemed, in some mysterious
way, to make the house more lonely still.
It is all over now. G― has passed
into other and younger hands; the mar-
quise is at rest. Perhaps, when another
century has gone by, another chapter in
the history of the old house more or
less eventful, who knows?— may be told
from another memory.
E.

and San José de Cucuta, with all the neighboring towns, was destroyed on May 16-18, 1875. Still, these are exceptions to a very general rule, and there was no real reason to expect that the severe shocks of February 23rd would be repeated on the following day, or after. Of course, where houses and hotels were rendered actually uninhabitable the inmates had no choice but to decamp; but this was not invariably, or even usually, the case. It must be owned that life on the Riviera is not bracing to the nerves. The pure pursuit of health or of pleasure was never supposed to make heroes; and then there is all the rest the sun, the orangetrees, the blue, tideless sea, the far niente, the small talk of the table d'hôte, the suspension of all active duties, of all habitual obligations - what wonder if the sum total produce enervation? Then, too, there was the sense of absolute security. As a matter of fact, the Genoese coast experienced a sharp earthquake in 1819, and from very ancient times the peasants have believed that the so-called Monte Nero, which rises behind Ospedaletti, is an undeveloped volcano. But confidence was the order of the day, and any one who in the last hours of the carnival had hinted at a Ligurian Casamicciola would have been laughed to scorn. So everything combined to heighten the effect of the awakening, and, obedient to the first uncontrollable impulse of fear, the tens of thousands fled.

From The Saturday Review. INCIDENTS OF THE EARTHQUAKE. THE earthquake on the western Riviera Meanwhile, in the little mountain vilwill be always memorable for the oppor- lages where for the most part not one tunities it gave of studying the contagion tourist has ever set foot, the real sufferers of fear among educated people. Most were beginning to count up their dead, and persons are as unwilling to acknowledge | bring aid, if haply aid might be brought, that they are without presence of mind as that they are without a sense of humor; and, when all is going on well and smoothly, we are apt to think that there is something savage in panic, something, at any rate, only partly civilized, and more proper to the unwashed stratum of society than to our superior selves. But, alas! that shaking on Ash Wednesday morning threw the thousands and tens of thousands of winter visitors to the sunny south into a state of utter terror which sent them flying in all directions, when a moment's calm thought would have enabled them to see that, for their own comfort and convenience, they would in most instances have done much better to stay where they were. Serious earthquakes do sometimes come in pairs; Canton was convulsed on the 26th and 27th of May, 1830; Peru and Ecuador suffered on August 13-15, 1868,

to their wounded or dying. The earthquake had left erring Monte Carlo with hardly a stone displaced, to wreck ruin on these humble homes, on these pious folk, the majority of whom were engaged in saying their prayers. Some very serious damage was done in several of the less frequented of the coast towns, notably at Porto Maurizio ; but the great calamities were reserved for the adjacent village of Diano Marina, and the small mountain hamlets of Bussana, Baiardo, Castellaro, Ceriana, San Romolo, Taggia Altanames unknown to English travellers, with the exception of Taggia, where many English pilgrims have gone to see the house of the Signora Eleanora in "Dr. Antonio "- the house where Ruffini's mother, the original of that beautiful char acter, lived, and where Ruffini himself died two or three years ago. It is now a heap

The

of ruins. It was strange to see at Taggia | the men had escaped by taking refuge on the crumbling walls scraps of the hand- under the arches of the side altars, the bills which the previous day had invited rest were crushed by the roof falling in, the belle ragazze to the rustic carnival which happened instantaneously. dance. priest scrambled on to the ruined stones, and cried in a loud voice, "My children, trust in God's mercy. I absolve you all

church fell at the moment when the priest was distributing the ashes, according to custom on Ash Wednesday. Three hundred were buried. Some days after some women were seen kneeling on the road which overlooks the cemetery of Baiardo; when asked what they were about, one old dame replied simply, "Preguoma pei morti nostri; me figgieu è là." (We pray for our dead; my son is there.) At Pompeiana the safety of the inhabitants was due to their being in church; for the three aisles were solidly constructed, and resisted, while the hamlet was reduced to ruins. At Apricale and at Ceriana the churches fell in; but no one was hurt, because, in the one case, the priest had been suddenly sent for to take the viaticum to a dying person, and all his congregation had followed him to form part of the procession, and, in the other, mass had been deferred, the parroco having to perform a funeral. At Bussana, where, unlike most of the places, the people were too terrorstricken to help in the rescue, which was effected solely by soldiers, several people were got out alive after a confinement of two or three days. A mother and daughter thus rescued thought that they had been immured for only half a day. A young man, who had lain quite naked for two days and a half in a narrow but secure crevice, was hardly freed when he sprang to his feet, and when offered a bottle of wine exclaimed eagerly, "Is it for me?" On receiving an answer in the affirmative, he swallowed most of the contents. In a house in the same village were found beneath the ruins two brothers clasped in a last embrace. Only the hand of one of them had been left uncovered. These brothers had a little tame sparrow; the shock of the earthquake opened its cage, so that the bird, flying forth, escaped in safety. There it was, perched on the outstretched hand of its dead master.

At Diano Marina the dead amounted to two hundred and fifty. The unfortunate fishing village lies now amongst its cac-in articulo mortis." At Baiardo the tuses and rich southern vegetation with the quiet sea washing its shore-a picture of desolation. Most of the men were away in their boats, so that the victims were chiefly women and children. The survivors, who have lost their all, are calm and do not beg; they hide even their tears from the gaze of the curious. Here and elsewhere the behavior of the Ligurian population in the midst of this sore trial has been admirable. The cases of theft and pillage which often disgrace humanity on such occasions have been almost absent, and almost everywhere the people have worked nobly at the perilous task of searching for the wounded and discovering the dead. Many lives have been lost in attempts at rescue. At Diano an old Garibaldian named Bono was killed in this way; in another place six members of a rescue party were crushed to death. Needless to say that the conduct of the military despatched from Genoa to assist in the work of mercy was beyond all praise. Once or twice there was some difficulty in persuading the peasants to help in burying their poor dead in the rough and ready fashion which alone was possible. At Baiardo, a village cradled among snow-capped mountains nearly three thousand feet above the sea, where the victims numbered two hundred and twenty-six, it was necessary to threaten a general cremation to induce the people to place the bodies in the two monster graves dug for their reception. One poor woman, who had dragged what was left of her husband to her house, absolutely refused to part with it until a rude coffin had been knocked together so as to give it the honors of a separate burial. At Castellaro, a hamlet of eight hundred souls, situated on a mule-track above Taggia, high mass was being said, and the old priest was reciting the last prayers at the altar, when he heard a tremendous noise, and instinctively he rushed out by the door leading to the presbytery. "Áfterwards, signore," he said, when relating his experience, "oh! afterwards a burst of sobbing stopped his utterance; presently he added, “I had baptised them all; I looked upon them as my children, and they were dead, all at once!" A few of

At Ceriana a poor man, who earned his living as a milk-carrier, was supposed to have gone on his ordinary rounds, on which he started at four o'clock in the morning. No one, therefore, thought of inquiring about him; but the fact was that, having taken a glass or two of wine in honor of the carnival, he had overslept

himself, and was still asleep when his cottage fell down upon him. He had a large dog, which drew the little cart bearing the milk up the mountain paths, and the dog by chance was outside and safe. He found out where his master lay, and succeeded in clearing the masonry so as to uncover his head, which was bleeding. He then set to work to lick the wounds; but, seeing that they went on bleeding, and also that he could not liberate the rest of the body, he started in search of help, running up and down among the surrounding ruins till he met some one whom he caught hold of by the clothes. The man, however, thought the dog was mad, and fled for his life. Luckily another man guessed the truth, and allowed himself to be guided to the spot. Thus the poor milk-carrier was saved, and the ex-minister of public works, Signor Genala, paid a visit to him where he lay, under a tent, with his head bound up and his dog stretched by his side.

raphy has revolutionized the newspaper press; and building societies have proved of immense benefit to the thrifty among the working classes. The jubilee of these will no doubt be fittingly celebrated during the present year; but the jubilee for which 1887 will be remembered in English history will be the completion of the fifty years' reign of Queen Victoria.

A royal jubilee is not an every-day occurrence, and hitherto only three of England's monarchs have lived to rule for fifty years over the nation - namely, Henry III., who sat on the throne for fifty. six years; Edward III., who lived for six months after completing his jubilee; and George III., who reigned for sixty years.

Because, therefore, of its rarity, a sovereign's jubilee is always made the occasion of general rejoicing. Respecting the celebration of Henry's fifty years' rule, very little is recorded; but concerning that of Edward we learn that "he laid hold of that era as the occasion of his performSignor Genala, it may be added, won ing many popular acts of government; the hearts of these unhappy people by his that he had given orders to issue out genprompt arrival on the scene, and by the eral and special pardons without paying obstinacy with which he insisted on visit- any fees, for recalling all exiles, and seting all the most dangerous places, where ting at liberty all debtors to the crown and the walls were still falling. He is a young all prisoners for political matters. The man, a native of Cremona; it is not many Parliament, on their parts, not to be wantyears since we heard him make his maiden ing in gratitude, having obtained their petispeech at Monte Citorio. His gallant tions, on the day of their rising presented conduct has been much appreciated by the king with a duty of twenty-six shilthe country and by the king, who, daunt-lings and eightpence upon every sack of less himself, is a keen admirer of personal courage in others.

From Chambers' Journal.
JUBILEE YEARS.

EIGHTEEN hundred and eighty-seven will be a year of jubilees. Among the things which will see their fifty years' life between now and Christmas, and which have proved of immense advantage to the community, will be the practical application of electricity as a means of communication, the introduction of phonography by Isaac Pitman, and the establishing of building societies. Concerning the utility of these to the nation, or in the case of the two first-named it might be said, respecting their usefulness to the entire world, that it is scarcely necessary to write a single word, their advantages to the human race being so well known. By means of the electric telegraph, the antipodes is practically brought within speaking distance of our shores; Pitman's phonog

wool for three years, besides continuing the former duties upon wools, fells, and skins. This year (1377), being a year of jubilee, was spent in hunting throughout the great forests of England, and other magnificent diversions, in which the king laid out an immense sum."

By reason of the progress of civilization, and the consequent facilities for chronicling important events slow though they were. particulars as to how the jubilee of George III. was celebrated are more plentiful than in the case of either of the sovereigns to which we have referred. How best to celebrate King George's fifty years' reign caused no little concern to his Majesty's subjects. The occasion was indeed an auspicious one, for a like occurrence had not taken place in England for nearly four and a half centuries. As may be imagined, suggestions almost without number were made as to what would be the most fitting manner in which to celebrate so interesting and rare an event. Among the proposals made was one which sounds somewhat droll to our minds -- it was that each loyal citizen of London

should attire himself in Windsor uniform | stations; and all persons confined for milon the day of jubilee; and that the ladies itary offences were released. He likewise should array themselves in dresses of granted the officers of the army and navy royal-blue velvet or satin, and should bedeck their headdresses with devices emblematical of the occasion. When we consider the grotesque appearance which the streets would have presented had the suggestion been carried out, we can hardly suppress a smile at the absurd idea, though the proposal appears to have been brought forward in all earnestness, and to have been received with the utmost sober

|

by seahorses, in one of which was a figure representing Britannia, in the other a representative of Neptune, appeared majesti cally moving on the bosom of the lake, followed by four boats filled with persons dressed to represent Tritons, etc. These last were to have been composed of choristers, who were to have sung 'God Save the King' on the water, but, unfortunately, the crowd assembled was so immense, that those who were to have sung could not gain entrance."

attended service in the private chapel; | We also learn that at the close of the fireand subsequently, the queen, Princess works display "two cars or chariots drawn Elizabeth, and others, drove to Frogmore to inspect the preparations for a fête, on their way passing under triumphal arches and between lines of soldiers. The fête, which was held in the evening, was given by the queen, and was attended by a select circle of guests. At one o'clock the queen, with a brilliant retinue, and the mayor and corporation of Windsor, walked to the Bachelors' Acre — a large piece of vacant ground near the centre of the town where an ox and some sheep were roasting whole, the former having been put on the spit at two o'clock in the morning, so that it might be cooked by one in the afternoon. The royal party were received by fifty bachelors, who conducted them to the fire at which the ox was roasting, after which they inspected the culinary arrangements. The butchers who had charge of the cooking of the ox and sheep, the latter of which were put on the fire at nine o'clock, and were stuffed with potatoes, were (shade of Beau Brummell!) dressed in blue frocks and silk stockings. When the animals were ready, they were distributed among the crowd in the presence of the royal party, who were offered and graciously accepted the first slices, the same being served up to them on silver plates by the butchers and bachelors. Afterwards, the distinguished company were entertained to a private banquet; and subsequently they returned to the castle. Of course, rejoicings of this character would at that time have been incomplete without the old English sport of bull-baiting being indulged in, and accordingly we find that this barbarous diversion was provided for the afternoon's entertainment. In the course of the day, fifty pieces of cannon were discharged in Windsor Park, and there was a royal inspection of troops and great feu de joie in the Long Walk. At night the town was brilliantly illuminated. The fête at Frogmore was a grand affair, and the pyrotechnic display on the This was the last royal jubilee witnessed banks of the lake at the conclusion of the in England. But on the 20th June next, rejoicings was very fine. Among the fifty years will have elapsed since our illuminated structures was an elegant Gre- present ruler, then a girl of eighteen, ascian temple, which, we are told, was cended the throne; and how most fitly to "erected on a mount surrounded by eight celebrate the event is a problem which is beautiful marble pillars. The interior of at present perturbing the minds of various the temple was lined with purple, and in classes of her Majesty's subjects both at the centre was a large transparency of the home and abroad. Within living memory, Eye of Providence, fixed as it were upon "the days of fifty years ago, when George a portrait of his Majesty, surmounted by the Third was king," were thought of and stars of lamps." Tea and coffee were sung about as the best in our annals. served in marquees, and supper was pro- But to-day a different opinion prevails; vided in the dining-rooms at midnight. for it is acknowledged by all that the glo

Like celebrations took place in the various towns throughout the country, the proceedings in each instance to a great extent necessarily resembling each other. The day was generally observed as a national holiday; and in almost all corporate towns a civic procession to the church or cathedral was one of the chief features of the occasion; whilst in those places in which military were stationed, numerous volleys were fired by the soldiers in honor of the event. Feasting was indulged in to an enormous extent by all classes, the poor being entertained by their more wealthy neighbors; and the inauguration of charitable institutions and benevolent societies was a characteristic of the jubilee. In keeping with the custom of the times, ox-roastings took place all over the country; and "good old ale was distributed with the greatest lavishness. In rural districts, most of the nobility and gentry kept open house, and provided entertainments for their poorer neighbors; employers feasted their servants, and "the king, and long life to him," was toasted with the utmost enthusiasm throughout the land. Dancing was carried on upon the village green; and balls, bonfires, and pyrotechnic displays concluded the rejoicings of a day on which high and low, rich and poor, had vied with each other in showing loyalty to their sovereign.