The Floods At Mannheim And Worms

Mannhenn IS uut :i small ïsthmi'.s m the midst of a raging .sea. Ragiog, one may fairiy say; for, tho'ugh thB rain had alnïost ceased. the wind wa-i very strong, and the waves eould be sceu, even from the height where I stood, beatiug on the dams. The great Khinedam, which protects the fnrther bank on the river, was broken, and LudWigabafen, the "Southwark" of Mannbeim, was an island conneeted with Mannheim only by the great suspension bridge whieh carnes road and railway. Dotted over t'.iis huge sheet of water were the villages whose names have ocenpied my telegrams- pn the right, near, neim, iuriner ou vppau, uu wio ivi Edigheim, and in tho far distance Frankenthal- or ralhcr the remnins of villages, little clusters of rooi's, wtth a church tower dominating eaeli. Lookingthrough a teleseope, one made out that everything was tóttering and readv to f all; not a roof straight, not a wal] unbroken. lliiniiivds of houses have disappeared beneatb the flood now; ii is no shallow lakc, but a ïeally deep sea. Few homes stand more than roof unward out ofit. Few tree trunki to be secn. Only considei what this scène means to those who :; few iiays ago called tliese shells borne -toa population of laboiing folk, Uring on bláck bread, potatuea and milk. Their cattle lie under thoseruïns, dead; their stores of pótatoes, heaped together againsi winterüme, arerotöng beneatb the water; and their homes are washed away and destroyed by thewaves. Truly it Is a picture whloh would sadden the most earcless of onlookers. The point of vantage whieli L hail ascended was erowded with ttO mere siglitseers. Manj' of tliem wen; once the ocoupiers of those flooded homes, and it was a sad, and often, I l'ear lieart-broken, gaze tliat was bent upon them. Descending the tower, 1 crossed t I n.iitríjvliofim nnil wnlUcd ülono" f.llfi great dam oearly as far as the breach whioh was made where the Nockar and Kliine join. The ehemieal and soda works whioh aro built alon it were quite still and, smokeless. They stand deep in water themselves. On leaving their shelter, the strength of the waves whicb are raisèd onder the action of the fterc( wind blowing to-day was Ovidentt They beat almost over the embankment, and if the breacb further on did not ease the prussure, I doubt if any part of it would stand long. I next went to one of tlie schoól-houses, where 4 1 . "N mit A s"Hl ' ■ t . i i ïtitti' I . . 1 , L t , , , I 4 , r , . , . something of ttioir state. Pitiablo, indeed, it was, even If they bad not the consciousness of their loss of everytbing. Cbiklron, oíd men and women, sick, all crowded together, niaking thc tables and desks into beds, scarcely rcalizing their posilion, exeept tbatthey are without everything that makes lifc endurable - hungiy, wanting every comfort, they eyed me eagerly as I entered, as if they thouglit thc stranger might perchpnee have some help to bring them. Witliout, the sanie saddening sighi -a young girl earryingm a basket a!l sbc had sa ved from the wreek; a young man making liis way to some depot with the best piece of family furniture, no doubt; or, itill sadder, a mother feeding her little children witb 1 1 TI 1 111 1 1 some coarso dibck oreaa, au sne naa 10 give them. On arrivihë at Worms I found the weather much improved, and made an expèdition to some of the near lying villages by carriage and boat, in order to see more closely the linrm done. The lirst, Bohenheim, appeared not much damaged, as it stood on the edge of the gveat mere, over which alrcady many water birds wcre wiieeling around. On approaching, one saw, however, how great the forco of the water had been - in tho lower part of the vülage scarcely a house still straight, and many houses were absolute heaps of ruins. Further on one comes to Roxheim, one of the places which has suflered most. Passino; along the middle street, which was dry, I came to the church, and entering, found it had been used as a depot A m V-to-V f-t Li , f . k , . . 1 1 ' il I , i-W In 1 il i" ,-k . ■- ft 1 't t á 4 roperty. On the front stood a great jasket of potatoes; across the seats were hrown bede and bedding; while I noiced a mnnber of unbaked rolls lying ogether in a bag jnst as they had been nado for baking on New Year's night. Confessionals, sido altars, organ loft - ■ 'on(;eivablo nook and corner was employed by somo one to store somehing espeeially valned: and over all streamed the sim through the painted windows and lit up the heterogeneous accnmulation with many-colored raya, [n the street opposite people were still saving things by ladders through the windows and pioneer and flremen passed to and fro with boats. Being desirous of going through the worst parts myself, I addressed a band of men, smoking pipes stolidly, and inquircd if I could zet a boat. "Wliat do you want it for?"asked one. "To go röund the villagtí a little." "And steal something I expeet," added another. On my explaining, however, that my object was merely to obtaia a view of the place for purposes of description, he assisted me in findiny the villaje ferrvman, who rowed slovvly round, eütertaining me the while with varied converse. One hundred and eleven houses had fallen, not eounting barns and sheds, and the dam broke on New Year's night. One could hanlly realize the disaster. Houses were to be seen twisted about in every conceiyable way. Here was one withits end torn put, so that one could see the walï-papers in the rooms within; in another oase the roof had opened out like ii great umbrella, and lay on the water, with one ehimney projecting slantilv froni its middle poim. I questioned tiie oíd ferryman how it had come about: - "ín New Year's night the Tillase was aroused about 9 in ihc evening by a fearful roaring, and i lien the water began to rise 011 the tloor. At once there began a general íliglit to the church; sick people, bedridden children, all carnea off in the dark, there to wait till dawn. And what a situation when dawn carne! Some fifty houses already fallen, water cütting oír the way on every side and no one knowing wliether the building in wliioh thev had taken refuge misht not soon become a viotim, too, to the devcraring waves." "Didn't yon expect il; all the neighboring places were inundated?" "No; it was a complete surpi-ise. No preparatdons made, no means of salvage ready. We thought the dam would hold." And so 1 believe it is, when the dam is not actually bi'Gakingbefore bis eyes; the peasant sits in the "wirthshaus," drinks bis glass of beer, and disonases the ni Afortunes of his neighbors until the night-crv comes, and then - confusión and hast flight. The state of unpreparation may be imagined from a story a young offlcer, who has been on iluly at Frankentlia!, told me. _ ïhither in one of the boats carne a bride, her blidal dress still gay; all she had saved were two large bouquets, which she held, in dazed fashion, one in éither hand. 4