“Having been engaged in some domestic occupation within the cave at the time of the misfortune which befell its inmates, Hans bore his full share in the general calamity, and indeed only owed his escape with life to his activity and presence of mind. Whirled upwards with the tree, he clung tightly to the nearest root, and had the wisdom to drop himself just at the right moment upon the ground, and run lightly away into the brushwood. As soon, however, as the assault was over, and the destroyer of his brethren had lain down to sleep, the bold Hans again came forth. “Many men would have fled as far as possible from that scene of sorrow and destruction, and thought only of the preservation of their own lives from the fate which had befallen so many of their kind. But Hans had too much public spirit to take any such selfish course. He descended without delay into the cave, and ascertained as well as he could the full extent of the damage which had {156}been sustained. Then he ran to and fro among his fellows, exhorting them to bear with courage this terrible reverse, and begging them to meet at once in a cave hard by, and consult as to the best measures which could be taken under the circumstances in which they found themselves. “In a very short time, owing to his exertions, more than a hundred of the unhappy mortals assembled together and began to take counsel for the future. As is usual in all such cases, there was a great variety of opinion. One man advised that they should all forthwith hang themselves, as life had become so insecure as to be almost worthless. It was urged, however, that this would afford no remedy for the existing state of things, and would be like throwing away your gold because you had been robbed of your silver. Besides, it would be an undignified thing to come to a general termination of so inglorious a character, and the proposal was speedily scouted as one totally unworthy of consideration. “Then it was suggested by another person that a subscription should immediately be raised for the sufferers, and advertisements to that effect be inserted in all the daily papers. As the speaker was the proprietor and editor of one of these, it is possible that he had an eye to business in making the suggestion, which, however, fell flat upon the ears of the audience. No one there had any money to spare, and everybody was more or less a sufferer from a calamity which had fallen so generally upon the race of man. Some advised that they should all emigrate, but then they didn’t know where to go to, and, in short, it seemed as if they were likely {157}to come to no agreement; everybody objected to everything that anybody else said, no one seemed to have any weight or authority in the assembly, and it really appeared a hopeless case altogether.