On the 11th of October, between three and four o’clock in the afternoon, a violent storm visited the country, and it is asserted by some of the inhabitants, that a waterspout had burst there. The waters of the River Cèze, as well as those of a stream and of a ravine, which is dry at ordinary times, both of them being tributary to the Cèze, rose higher than they had ever been seen before. It was a vast inundation, or, as the people of that region describe it, a deluge. The mine extended under the river, and its mouth was not far from the bank. The water made a whirl at one point, and then rushed into the mine through a large opening over the outcrop of one of the coal seams. There was a rumbling noise all through the mine; all hands were at work under ground, and there was danger of a terrible calamity. Some of the men managed to escape by the ladders, while others hastily ascended a shaft, and floated upwards on the surface of the water. [Illustration: INUNDATION OF A MINE. SCENE IN THE MINE OF LALLE, FRANCE.] A noble act of courage and devotion was performed by a Piedmontese workman by the name of Auberto. [Sidenote: COURAGE OF AUBERTO.] He escaped up a shaft, and as he did so, he gave the alarm to a comrade who was at work in a lower level. Auberto then ran to another opening, fastened the tub to a rope, descended, and called, the water falling all the while in a perfect torrent. Five men came out; four entered the tub, and were saved; the fifth hesitated a moment, and was lost. As soon as they reached the surface, Auberto caused himself to be lowered again. Perceiving a man entangled in the timbering of the lower gallery, he drew him out, threw him into the tub, and was drawn up at the moment the water took possession of that part of the mine. Auberto had saved six lives, and would have saved more, but no other point was accessible, the whole mine being then under water. There was only one outlet remaining, and this had been formed by the breaking of the ground near the point where the waters were rushing in. Lights were seen shining there, and ropes were thrown in; but the violence of the waters increased, the ground fell in afresh, this last outlet became closed, and all the men in that part of the mine were drowned. In half an hour the interior of the mine was converted into a lake. The air and gas in the mine were compressed by the weight of the water, and were forced out through fissures in the ground, producing the effect of gunpowder, throwing the earth to a considerable distance, and in some cases overturning houses. Everybody in the vicinity rushed to the mouth of the mine, and an anxious and terrified crowd was speedily collected. The engineers and superintendents were first on the spot, and were speedily joined by the engineers and workmen from the neighboring mines. [Sidenote: PLANS FOR RELIEF.]