INUNDATION OP TOUIiOUBB. 333 



The Dehats published a description of the aspect of Toulouse when the 

 inundation was at its height. The inhabitants assembled on the quays and 

 on the stone bridge, looking helplessly on the scene of desolation, and 

 following with terrified eyes the work of destruction. Property of all sorts 

 was being swept away by the angry waves — piles of timber, carts, heavy 

 planks, &c., were hurled against the piers of the bridge. Half-an-hour after 

 the precaution had been taken to close the bridge of Saint Pierre it gave 

 way with a crash, and it was followed by the baths and large public wash- 

 houses of Tournay and St Pierre. At last, as if all the elements were com- 

 bining against the unfortunate town, the large rolling mills of Bezacle were 

 discovered to be in flames ; while another fire broke out at Port Garandin 

 in a house that was entirely cut off from any chance of succour. The 

 manufactories at Bezacle and in the Eue des Amidonnius were abondoned 

 on the water rushing into them, and were of course greatly damaged. On 

 the Quai de Tonnes the rise of the water was so rapid that many families 

 could only be rescued by means of the windows. The tug-boat stationed at 

 St Pierre was carried away by the force of the current, and was capsized. 

 Four or five persons were on board at the time, and as the vessel was borne 

 away they uttered cries of despair. 



The special correspondent of the Times, writing from Toulouse on the 

 Monday night, thus described the devastation in Toulouse : — " Nothing can 

 present a greater contrast than the north and south sides of the river at 

 Toulouse — the one with its usual aspect undisturbed, and its inhabitants 

 pursuing their ordinary avocations ; the other, like a place which has been 

 bombarded. The Faubourg St Cyprien is, in fact, a town of itself, and is to 

 the upper part of Toulouse what the Surrey side of the Thames is to the 

 Middlesex shores. The quarter is densely peopled, or rather had 25,000 

 inhabitants, most of them of the working classes, though outside the town 

 walls are villas and cottages belonging to wealthier people. Through the 

 quarter ran avenues of trees, and around it were fields of corn and market 

 gardens. To describe what St Cyprien is now is almost impossible. It is 

 a town of ruins. The Garonne is now running in its natural bed, but all 

 over the inundated quarter are pools of water and rank river mud ; trees 

 are uprooted, gardens are mere swamps, and streets half-dried water-courses, 

 with here and there great cracks and yawning gaps. In some places the 

 houses are heaps of rubbish, in others the walls are left standing, with 

 pictures or articles of attire hanging on them. In one street through 

 which I passed only three houses were left standing, and this is probably 

 the case in a dozen other thoroughfares. Everywhere gangs of soldiers 

 were at work demolishing walls, collecting furniture, and making the roads 

 passable, while the owners of the ruins were, some helping with a resolute 

 fury, others sitting on beds and mattresses gazing vaguely at the rubbish 

 which represents their homes. Some of the more energetic families were 

 picnicing and cooking their midday meals in the desolate gardens, the 

 women bright if not cheerful, the children playing about as if nothing had 

 happened. The despondent were just the contrary, the women sitting with 

 their faces buried in their hands, and the boys and girls lying huddled 

 together among the broken beams and heaps of plaster. The roadsides were 

 lined with all kinds of articles, from four-post bedsteads down to blankets 

 and bonnets ; and in several places the small shopkeepers were drying, or 

 rather attempting to dry, in the sun their stock in trade. Outside the 

 barriers the scene is the same, with the addition of large swamps, which 



