[Ocaml-lib-devel] T truth. Mr. Davy wrote as follows: "On the morning

[Dorn <le...@ev...>]

Ed for four days, during which their cries for help could be heard, till
death put an end to their sufferings. Of still more thrilling interest
was the case of the Marchioness Spadara. Having fainted at the moment of
the first great shock, she was lifted by her husband, who, bearing her
in his arms, hurried with her to the harbor. Here, on recovering her
senses, she observed that her infant boy had been left behind. Taking
advantage of a moment when her husband was too much occupied to notice
her, she darted off, and, running back to her house, which was still
standing, she snatched her babe from his cradle. Rushing with him in her
arms toward the staircase, she found the stair had fallen, barring all
further progress in that direction. She fled from room to room, chased
by the falling materials, and at length reached a balcony as her last
refuge. Holding up her infant, she implored the few passers-by for help;
but they all, intent on securing their own safety, turned a deaf ear to
her cries. Meanwhile her mansion had caught fire, and ere long the
balcony, with the devoted lady still grasping her darling, was hurled
into the devouring flames. A few cases are recorded of devotion similar
to that of this heroic woman, but happily attended by more fortunate
results. In the great majority of instances, however, the instinct of
self-preservation triumphed over every other feeling, rendering the
wretched people callous to the dangers and sufferings of others. Still
worse was the conduct of the half savage peasantry. They hastened into
the towns like vultures to their prey. Instead of helping the sufferers,
they ransacked the smoking ruins for plunder, robbed the persons of the
dead, and of those entangled