level of
the Corso--as it was, several large blocks of ice had floated or slid
over on the quay. At this spot a serious catastrophe was apprehended.

I think it must have been ten o'clock (my friends and I had just taken a
hasty supper) when the fortress on the Blocksberg again belched forth
its terrible sound of warning. This time there were six shots fired;
this was the signal of "Pest in danger." A profound impression of alarm
fell on the assembled multitude. Some went about wringing their hands;
others left the Corso hastily, going home, I imagine, to tell their
women to prepare for the worst. I was unconscious at the time of taking
note of things passing round me, and it seems strange, considering the
acute tension of my nerves, that I saw, and can now recall with
persistent accuracy, a lot of trivial and utterly unimportant incidents
that happened in the crowd. I remember the size and colour of a dog that
manifested his share in the common excitement by running perpetually
between everybody's legs, and I could draw the face of a frightened
child whom I saw clinging to its mother's skirts.

We never quitted the Corso. Though this was the third night we had not
taken off our clothes, it was impossible to think of rest now. I felt no
fatigue, and I hardly know how the last hour or two passed, but I heard
distinctly above the murmur of voices the town clocks strike twelve.
Just afterwards, a man running at full speed broke through the crowd,
shouting as he went, "The water is falling! the water is falling!" He
spoke in German, so I understood the words directly. There was great
excitement to ascertain if the report was correct. Thank God! he spoke
words of truth. The gauge actually marked a decrease of no less than two
inches in the height of the river, and this decrease had taken place in
the space of half an hour. The river had attained the highest point when
the danger-signal was fired. It had never risen beyond, though the level
had been stationary for some time.

Every one was surprised at the rapid fall of the Danube; it was
difficult to account for. It soon came to be remarked that the vast
volume of water was visibly moved onward. If the river was flowing on
its way, that meant the salvation of the city--the fact was most
important. I myself saw a dark mass--a piece of wreckage, probably, or
the carcass of an animal--pass with some rapidity across a track of
light reflected on the water. It was difficult to