EARTHQUAKES.

“He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth: he toucheth the hills, and they smoke.”—Psalms.

“Towers, temples, palaces,Flung from their deep foundations, roof on roofCrushed horrible, and pile on pile o’erturned,Fall total.”—Mallet.

“Towers, temples, palaces,

Flung from their deep foundations, roof on roof

Crushed horrible, and pile on pile o’erturned,

Fall total.”—Mallet.

“The globe around earth’s hollow surface shakes,And is the ceiling of her sleeping sons.O’er devastation we blind revels keep;Whose buried towns support the dancer’s heel.”—Young.

“The globe around earth’s hollow surface shakes,

And is the ceiling of her sleeping sons.

O’er devastation we blind revels keep;

Whose buried towns support the dancer’s heel.”—Young.

That fires, to a very great extent, and produced by various causes, exist at different depths beneath the surface of the earth, must be entirely evident to those who have perused the accounts of volcanoes in our previous pages; and recent experiments have shown, that where the substances in which such fires occur, lie at a considerable depth, and are surmounted by a very deep and heavy superincumbent pressure, more especially when they contain large portions of elastic gases, the effect of such fires will be much greater, and more diversified, than where these circumstances are absent.

Among the most powerful and extraordinary of these effects earthquakes are to be reckoned. They are unquestionably the most dreadful of the phenomena of nature, and are not confined to those countries which, from the influence of climate, their vicinity to volcanic mountains, or any other similar cause, have been considered as more particularly subject to them, their effects having oft been felt in North America, although not in so extensive and calamitous a degree. Their shocks and the eruptions of volcanoes, have been considered as modifications of the effects of one common cause; and where the agitation produced by an earthquake extends further than there is reason to suspect a subterraneous commotion, it is probably propagated through the earth nearly in the same way that a noise is conveyed through the air. The different hypotheses which have been imagined on this subject may be reduced to the following. Some naturalists have ascribed earthquakes to water, others to fire, and others, again, to air; each of these powerful agents being supposed to operate in the bowels of the earth, whichthey assert to abound everywhere with huge subterraneous caverns, veins and canals, some filled with water, others with gaseous exhalations, and others replete with various substances, such as niter, sulphur, bitumen and vitriol. Each of these opinions has its advocates, who have written copiously on the subject.

In a paper published in the “Philosophical Transactions,” Dr. Lister ascribes earthquakes, as well as thunder and lightning, to the inflammable breath of the pyrites, a substantial sulphur, capable of spontaneous combustion; in a word, as Pliny had observed before him, he supposes an earthquake to be nothing more than subterraneous thunder. Dr. Woodward thinks, that the subterraneous fire which continually raises the water from the abyss, or great reservoir, in the center of the earth, for the supply of dew, rain, springs and rivers, being diverted from its ordinary course by some accidental obstruction in the pores through which it is used to ascend to the surface, becomes, by such means, preternaturally assembled in a greater quantity than usual, in one place, and thus causes a rarefaction and intumescence of the water of the abyss, throwing it into greater commotions, and at the same time making the like effort on the earth, which, being expanded on the surface of the abyss, occasions an earthquake. Mr. Mitchell supposes these phenomena to be occasioned by subterraneous fires, which, if a large quantity of water be let loose on them suddenly, may produce a vapor, the quantity and elastic force of which may fully suffice for the purpose. Again, M. Amontus, a member of the French Academy of Sciences, endeavors to prove, that, on the principle of experiments made on the weight and elasticity of the air, a moderate degree of heat may bring that element into a state capable of causing earthquakes.

Modern electrical discoveries have thrown much light on this subject. Dr. Stukely strenuously denies that earthquakes are to be ascribed to subterraneous winds, fires or vapors, and thinks that there is not any evidence of the cavernous structure of the earth, which such a hypothesis requires. Subterraneous vapors he thinks, are altogether inadequate to the effects produced by earthquakes, more particularly in cases where the shock is of considerable extent: for a subterraneous power, capable of moving a surface of earth only thirty miles in diameter, must be lodged at least fifteen or twenty miles below the surface, and move an inverted cone of solid earth, whose basis is thirty miles in diameter, and its axis fifteen or twenty miles, which he thinks absolutely impossible. How much more inconceivable is it, then, that any such power could have produced the earthquake of 1755, which was felt in various parts of Europe and Africa, and in the Atlantic ocean; or that which in Asia Minor, in the seventeenth year of the Christian era, destroyed thirteengreat cities in one night, and shook a mass of earth three hundred miles in diameter. To effect this, the moving power, supposing it to have been internal fire or vapor, must have been lodged two hundred miles beneath the surface of the earth! Besides, in earthquakes, the effect is instantaneous; whereas the operation of elastic vapor, and its discharge, must be gradual, and require a long space of time; and if these be owing to explosions, they must alter the surface of the country where they happen, destroy the fountains and springs, and change the course of its rivers, results which are contradicted by history and observation.

To these and other considerations the doctor adds, that the strokes which ships receive during an earthquake, must be occasioned by something which can communicate motion with much greater velocity than any heaving of the earth under the sea, caused by the elasticity of generated vapors, which would merely produce a gradual swell, and not such an impulsion of the water as resembles a violent blow on the bottom of a ship, or its striking on a rock. Hence he deems the common hypothesis insufficient, and adduces several reasons to show that earthquakes are in reality electric shocks. To confirm this opinion, he notices, among other phenomena, either preceding or attending earthquakes, that the weather is usually dry and warm for some time before they happen, and that the surface of the ground is thus previously prepared for that kind of electrical vibration in which they consist; while, at the same time, in several places where they have occurred, the internal parts, at a small depth beneath the surface, were moist and boggy. Hence he infers, that they reach very little beneath the surface. That the southern regions are more subject to earthquakes than the northern, he thinks is owing to the greater warmth and dryness of the earth and air, which are qualities so necessary to electricity. It may here be noticed, that, before the earthquakes of London, in 1749, all vegetation was remarkably forward; and it is well known, that electricity quickens vegetation. The frequent and singular appearance of boreal and australauroræ, and the variety of meteors by which earthquakes are preceded, indicate an electrical state of the atmosphere; and the doctor apprehends that, in this state of the earth and air, nothing more is necessary to produce these phenomena, than the approach of a non-electric cloud, and the discharge of its contents, on any part of the earth, when in a highly electrified state. In the same way as the discharge from an excited tube occasions a commotion in the human body, so the shock produced by the discharge between the cloud and many miles in compass of solid earth, must be an earthquake, and the snap from the contact the noise attending it.

The theory of M. de St. Lazare differs from the above hypothesis, as to theelectrical cause. It ascribes the production of earthquakes to the interruption of the equilibrium between the electrical matter diffused in the atmosphere, and that which belongs to the mass of our globe, and pervades its bowels. If the electrical fluid should be superabundant, as may happen from a variety of causes, its current, by the laws of motion peculiar to fluids, is carried toward those places where it is in a similar quantity; and thus it will sometimes pass from the internal parts of the globe into the atmosphere. This happening, if the equilibrium be reëstablished without difficulty, the current merely produces the effect of what M. de St. Lazare calls ascending thunder; but if this reëstablishment be opposed by considerable and multiplied obstacles, the consequence is then an earthquake, the violence and extent of which are in exact proportion to the degree of interruption of the equilibrium, the depth of the electric matter, and the obstacles which are to be surmounted. If the electric furnace be sufficiently large and deep to give rise to the formation of a conduit or issue, the production of a volcano will follow, its successive eruptions being, according to him, nothing more in reality than electric repulsions of the substances contained in the bowels of the earth. From this reasoning he endeavors to deduce the practicability of forming a counter-earthquake, and a counter-volcano, by means of certain electrical conductors, which he describes, so as to prevent these convulsions in the bowels of the earth.

The opinion of Signior Beccaria is nearly similar; and from his hypothesis and that of Dr. Stukely, the celebrated Priestly has endeavored to form one still more general and more feasible. He supposes the electric fluid to be, in some mode or other, accumulated on one part of the surface of the earth, and, on account of the dryness of the season, not to diffuse itself readily: it may thus, as Beccaria conjectures, force its way into the higher regions of the air, forming clouds out of the vapors which float in the atmosphere, and may occasion a sudden shower, which may further promote its progress. The whole surface being thus unloaded, will, like any other conducting substance, receive a concussion, either on parting with, or on receiving any quantity of the electric fluid. The rushing noise will likewise sweep over the whole extent of the country; and, on this supposition also, the fluid, in its discharge from the surface of the earth, will naturally follow the course of the rivers, and will take the advantage of any eminences to facilitate its ascent into the higher regions of the air.

Such are the arguments in favor of the electrical hypothesis; but, since it has been supported with so much ability, an ingenious writer, Whitehurst, in his “Inquiry into the Original State and Formation of the Earth,” contends that subterraneous fire, and the steam generated from it, are the true andreal causes of earthquakes. When, he observes, it is considered that the expansive force of steam is to that of gunpowder as twenty-eight to one, it may be conceded that this expansive force, and the elasticity of steam, are in every way capable of producing the stupendous effects attributed to these phenomena. This is, now, the almost universally received theory as to the cause of earthquakes, that they originate in the same general causes which produce volcanoes; that is, from the action of the heat and fires that are found in the interior of the earth. When these fires find ready vent, they produce the overflowing volcano; but when shut up and confined, their force is so great as to shake the solid crust of the globe which covers them.

Among the most striking phenomena of earthquakes, which present a fearful assemblage of the combined effects of air, earth, fire and water, in a state of unrestrained contention, may be noticed the following. Before the percussion a rumbling sound is heard, proceeding either from the air, or from fire, or, perhaps, from both in conjunction, forcing their way through the chasms of the earth, and endeavoring to liberate themselves: this, as has been seen, likewise happens in volcanic eruptions. Secondly, a violent agitation or heaving of the sea, sometimes preceding, and sometimes following the shock: this is also a volcanic effect. Thirdly, a spouting up of the waters to a great hight, a phenomenon which is common to earthquakes and volcanoes, and which can not be readily accounted for. Fourthly, a rocking of the earth, and, occasionally, what may be termed a perpendicular rebounding: this diversity has been supposed by some naturalists to arise chiefly from the situation of the place, relatively to the subterraneous fire, which, when immediately beneath, causes the earth to rise, and when at a distance, to rock. Fifthly, earthquakes are sometimes observed to travel onward, so as to be felt in different countries at different hours of the same day. This may be accounted for by the violent shock given to the earth at one place, and communicated progressively by an undulatory motion, successively affecting different regions as it passes along, in the same way as the blow given by a stone thrown into a lake, is not perceived at the shore until some time after the first concussion. Sixthly, the shock is sometimes instantaneous, like the explosion of gunpowder, and sometimes tremulous, lasting for several minutes. The nearer to the observer the place where the shock is first given, the more instantaneous and simple it appears; while, at a greater distance, the earth seems to redouble the first blow, with a sort of vibratory continuation. Lastly, as the waters have in general so great a share in the production of earthquakes, it is not surprising that they should generally follow the breaches made by the force of fire, and appear in the great chasms opened by the earth.

EARTHQUAKES OF ANCIENT TIMES.

The earliest earthquake, worthy of notice, of which we have any record, was that which in the year 63 so severely injured Herculaneum and Pompeii, and from the effects of which they had not been restored when they were overwhelmed by the volcano. Some of the most remarkable earthquakes of ancient times are described by Pliny. Among the most extensive and destructive of these, was the one already noticed, by which thirteen cities in Asia Minor were swallowed up in one night. Another which succeeded, shook the greater part of Italy. But the most extraordinary one, described by him, happened during the consulate of Lucius Marcus and Sextus Julius, in the Roman province of Mutina. He relates, that two mountains felt so tremendous a shock, that they seemed to approach and retire with a most dreadful noise. They at the same time, and in the middle of the day, cast forth fire and smoke, to the dismay of the astonished spectator. By this shock several towns were destroyed, and all the animals in their vicinity killed. During the reign of Trajan, the city of Antioch was, together with a great part of the adjacent country, destroyed by an earthquake; and about three hundred years after, during the reign of Justinian, it was again destroyed, with the loss of forty thousand of its inhabitants. Lastly, after an interval of sixty years, that ill-fated city was a third time overwhelmed, with a loss of sixty thousand souls. The earthquake which happened at Rhodes, upward of two hundred years before the Christian era, threw down the famous colossus, together with the arsenal, and a great part of the walls of the city. In the year 1182, the greater part of the cities of Syria, and of the kingdom of Jerusalem, were destroyed by a similar catastrophe; and in 1594, the Italian writers describe an earthquake at Puteoli, which occasioned the sea to retire two hundred yards from its former bed.

The dreadful earthquake which happened in Calabria, in 1638, is described by the Jesuit Kircher, who was at that time on his way to Sicily to visit Mount Etna. In approaching the gulf of Charybdis, it appeared to whirl round in such a manner as to form a vast hollow, verging to a point in the center. On looking toward Etna, it was seen to emit large volumes of smoke, of a mountainous size, which entirely covered the whole island, and obscured from his view the very shores. This, together with the dreadful noise, and the sulphurous stench, which was strongly perceptible, filled himwith apprehensions that a still more dreadful calamity was impending. The sea was agitated, covered with bubbles, and had altogether a very unusual appearance. His surprise was still more increased by the serenity of the weather, there not being a breath of air, nor a cloud, which might be supposed to put all nature thus in motion. He therefore warned his companions that an earthquake was approaching, and landed with all possible diligence at Tropæa, in Calabria.

He had scarcely reached the Jesuits’ college, when his ears were stunned with a horrid sound, resembling that of an infinite number of chariots driven fiercely forward, the wheels rattling, and the thongs cracking. The tract on which he stood seemed to vibrate, as if he had been in the scale of a balance which still continued to waver. The motion soon becoming more violent, he was thrown prostrate on the ground. The universal ruin around him now redoubled his amazement: the crash of falling houses, the tottering of towers, and the groans of the dying, all contributed to excite emotions of terror and despair. Danger threatened him wherever he should flee; but, having remained unhurt amid the general concussion, he resolved to venture for safety, and reached the shore, almost terrified out of his reason. Here he found his companions, whose terrors were still greater than his own. He landed on the following day at Rochetta, where the earth still continued to be violently agitated. He had, however, scarcely reached the inn at which he intended to lodge, when he was once more obliged to return to the boat: in about half an hour the greater part of the town, including the inn, was overwhelmed, and the inhabitants buried beneath its ruins.

Not finding any safety on land, and exposed, by the smallness of the boat to a very hazardous passage by sea, he at length landed at Lopizium, a castle midway between Tropæa and Euphæmia, the city to which he was bound. Here, wherever he turned his eyes, nothing but scenes of ruin and horror appeared: towns and castles were leveled to the ground; while Stromboli, although sixty miles distant, was seen to vomit flames in an unusual manner, and with a noise which he could distinctly hear. From remote objects his attention was soon diverted to contiguous danger: the rumbling sound of an approaching earthquake, with which he was by this time well acquainted, alarmed him for the consequences. Every instant it grew louder, as if approaching; and the spot on which he stood shook so dreadfully, that being unable to stand, he and his companions caught hold of the shrubs which grew nearest to them, and in that manner supported themselves.

This violent paroxysm having ceased, he now thought of prosecuting his voyage to Euphæmia, which lay within a short distance. Turning his eyes toward that city, he could merely perceive a terrific dark cloud, which seemedto rest on the place. He was the more surprised at this, as the weather was remarkably serene. Waiting, therefore, until this cloud had passed away, he turned to look for the city; but, alas! it was totally sunk, and in its place a dismal and putrid lake was to be seen. All was a melancholy solitude, a scene of hideous desolation. Such was the fate of the city of Euphæmia; and the other devastating effects of this earthquake were so great, that along the whole coast of that part of Italy, for the space of two hundred miles, the remains of ruined towns and villages were everywhere to be seen, and the inhabitants, without dwellings, dispersed over the fields. Kircher at length terminated his distressful voyage, by reaching Naples, after having escaped a variety of perils both by sea and land.

This very remarkable and destructive earthquake extended over a tract of at least four millions of square miles. It appears to have originated beneath the Atlantic ocean, the waves of which received almost as violent a concussion as the land. Its effects were even extended to the waters, in many places where the shocks were not perceptible. It pervaded the greater portions of the continents of Europe, Africa and America; but its extreme violence was exercised on the south-western part of the former.

Lisbon, the Portuguese capital, had already suffered greatly from an earthquake in 1531; and, since the calamity about to be described, has had three such visitations, in 1761, 1765, and 1772, which were not, however, attended by equally disastrous consequences. In the present instance it had been remarked that since the commencement of the year 1750, less rain had fallen than had been known in the memory of the oldest of the inhabitants, unless during the spring preceding the calamitous event. The summer had been unusually cool; and the weather fine and clear for the last forty days. At length, on the first of November, about forty minutes past nine in the morning, a most violent shock of an earthquake was felt; its duration did not exceed six seconds; but so powerful was the concussion, that it overthrew every church and convent in the city, together with the royal palace, and the magnificent opera house adjoining to it; in short, no building of any consequence escaped. About one-fourth of the dwelling-houses were thrown down; and, at a moderate computation, thirty thousand persons perished. The sight of the dead bodies, and the shrieks of those who were half-buried in the ruins, were terrible beyond description; and so great was the consternation, that the most resolute man durst not stay a moment to extricate the friend he loved most affectionately, by the removal of the stonesbeneath the weight of which he was crushed. Self-preservation alone was consulted; and the most probable security was sought, by getting into open places, and into the middle of the streets. Those who were in the upper stories of the houses, were in general more fortunate than those who attempted to escape by the doors, many of the latter being buried beneath the ruins, with the greater part of the foot-passengers. Those who were in carriages escaped the best, although the drivers and horses suffered severely. The number, however, of those who perished in the streets, and in the houses, was greatly inferior to that of those who were buried beneath the ruins of the churches; for, as it was a day of solemn festival, these were crowded for the celebration of the mass. There were very many of these churches; and the lofty steeples in most instances, fell with the roof, insomuch that few escaped.

The first shock, as has been noticed, was extremely short, but was quickly succeeded by two others; and the whole, generally described as a single shock, lasted from five to seven minutes. About two hours after, fires broke out in three different parts of the city; and this new calamity prevented the digging out of the immense riches concealed beneath the ruins. From a perfect calm, a fresh gale immediately after sprang up, and occasioned the fire to rage with such fury, that in the space of three days the city was nearly reduced to ashes. Every element seemed to conspire toward its destruction; for, soon after the shock, which happened near high-water, the tide rose in an instant forty feet, and at the castle of Belem, which defended the entrance of the harbor, fifty feet higher than had ever been known. Had it not subsided as suddenly, the whole city would have been submerged. A large new quay sunk to an unfathomable depth, with several hundreds of persons, not one of the bodies of whom was afterward found. Before the sea thus came rolling in like a mountain, the bar was seen dry from the shore.

The terrors of the surviving inhabitants were great and multiplied. Amid the general confusion, and through a scarcity of hands, the dead bodies could not be buried, and it was dreaded that a pestilence would ensue; but from this apprehension they were relieved by the fire, by which these bodies were for the greater part consumed. The fears of a famine were more substantial; since, during the three days succeeding the earthquake, an ounce of bread was literally worth a pound of gold. Several of the corn magazines having been, however, fortunately saved from the fire, a scanty supply of bread was afterward procured. Next came the dread of the pillage and murder of those who had saved any of their effects; and this happened in several instances, until examples were made of the delinquents. The great shock was succeeded about noon by another, when the walls of several houses which were still standing, were seen to open, from the top to the bottom,more than a fourth of a yard, and afterward to close again so exactly as not to leave any signs of injury. Between the first and the eighth of November twenty-two shocks were reckoned.

A boat on the river, about a mile distant from Lisbon, was heard by the passengers to make a noise as if it had run aground, although then in deep water: they at the same time saw the houses falling on both sides of the river, in front of which, on the Lisbon side, the greater part of a convent fell, burying many of its inmates beneath the ruins, while others were precipitated into the river. The water was covered with dust, blown by a strong northerly wind; and the sun entirely obscured. On landing, they were driven by the overflowing of the waters to the high grounds, whence they perceived the sea, at a mile’s distance, rushing in like a torrent, although against wind and tide. The bed of the Tagus was in many places raised to its surface; while ships were driven from their anchors, and jostled together with such violence that their crews did not know whether they were afloat or aground. The master of a ship, who had great difficulty in reaching the port of Lisbon, reported that, being fifty leagues at sea, the shock was there so violent as to damage the deck of the vessel. He fancied he had mistaken his reckoning, and struck on a rock.

The following observations, relative to this fatal earthquake, were made at Colares, about twenty miles from Lisbon, and within two miles of the sea. On the last day of October, the weather was clear, and remarkably warm for the season. About four o’clock in the afternoon a fog arose, proceeding from the sea, and covering the valleys, which was very unusual at that season of the year. The wind shifted soon after to the east, and the fog returned to the sea, collecting itself, and becoming exceedingly thick. As the fog retired, the sea rose with a prodigious roaring. On the first of November, the day broke with a serene sky, the wind continuing at the east; but about nine o’clock the sun began to be obscured; and about half an hour after a rumbling noise was heard, resembling that of chariots, and increasing to such a degree, that at length it became equal to the explosions of the largest artillery. Immediately a shock of an earthquake was felt; and this was succeeded by a second and a third, at the same time that several light flames of fire, resembling the kindling of charcoal, issued from the mountains. During these three shocks, the walls of the buildings moved from east to west. In another spot, where the sea-coast could be descried, a great quantity of smoke, very thick, but somewhat pale, issued from the hill named the Fojo. This increased with the fourth shock, at noon, and afterward continued to issue in a greater or less degree. At the instant the subterraneous rumblings were heard, the smoke was observed to burst forth at the Fojo; andits volume was constantly proportioned to the noise. On visiting the spot whence it was seen to arise, no sign of fire could be perceived near it. After the earthquake, several fountains were dried up; while others, after undergoing great changes, returned to their pristine state. In places where there had not been any water, springs burst forth, and continued to flow; several of these spouted to the hight of nearly twenty feet, and threw up sand of various colors. On the hills, rocks were split, and the earth rent; while toward the coast several large portions of rock were thrown from the eminences into the sea.

EARTHQUAKE AT LISBON.

At Oporto, the earthquake was felt with great violence. The river continued to rise and fall five or six feet, for four hours; the houses of the city were rocked as if by convulsions, and the earth was seen to heave up. St. Ubes, twenty miles distant, was entirely swallowed up by the repeated shocks, and by the vast surf of the sea. And at Cadiz it was so violent, that, but for the great solidity of the buildings, everything would have been destroyed. Those who had quitted the houses and churches, seekingsafety in the open air, had scarcely recovered from their first terror, when they were plunged into a new alarm. At ten minutes after eleven o’clock, a wave was seen coming from the sea at the distance of eight miles, and at least sixty feet higher than usual. It dashed against the west part of the city, which is very rocky. Although its force was much broken by these rocks, it at length reached the walls, and beat in the breastwork, which was sixty feet above the ordinary level of the water, removing pieces of the fabric, of the weight of eight or ten tuns, to the distance of forty or fifty yards. At half past eleven came a second wave; and this was followed by four others of equal magnitude. Others, but smaller, and gradually lessening, continued at uncertain intervals until the evening. A considerable part of the rampart was thrown down, and carried by the torrent above fifty paces. Several persons perished on the causeway leading to the isle of Lesu. The accounts brought to Cadiz reported that Seville had been much damaged, and that a similar fate had attended St. Lucar and Cheres. Conel was said to have been destroyed; and, indeed, with the exception of the provinces of Catalonia, Aragon and Valencia, the effects of this earthquake were felt throughout Spain.

At Madrid the shock was very sensibly felt soon after ten in the morning, and lasted five or six minutes. At first the inhabitants fancied they were seized with a swimming in the head; and, afterward, that the houses were falling. In the churches the sensations were the same, and the terror so great, that the people trod each other under foot in getting out. Those who were within the towers were still more affrighted, fancying every instant while the shock lasted, that they were falling to the ground. It was not sensible to those who were in carriages, and very little so to foot-passengers.

At Gibraltar it was felt about the same time as at Madrid, and began with a tremulous motion of the earth, which lasted about half a minute. A violent shock succeeded; and this again was followed by a second tremulous motion, of the duration of five or six seconds. Another shock, not so violent as the first, subsided gradually; and the whole lasted about two minutes. Several of the guns on the batteries were seen to rise, and others to sink, while the earth had an undulating motion. The greater part of the garrison and inhabitants were seized with giddiness and sickness: several fell prostrate; others were stupefied; and many who were walking or riding, became sick, without being sensible of any motion of the earth. Every fifteen minutes the sea rose six feet; and then fell so low, that the boats and small vessels near the shore were left aground, as were also numbers of small fish. The flux and reflux lasted till next morning, having decreased gradually from two in the afternoon.

In Africa, this earthquake was felt almost as severely as it had been in Europe. A great part of the city of Algiers was destroyed. At Arzilla, a town belonging to the kingdom of Fez, about ten in the morning, the sea suddenly rose with such impetuosity, that it lifted up a vessel in the bay, and impelled it with such force on the land, that it was shattered in pieces; and a boat was found two musket-shots within land from the sea. At Fez and Mequinez, great numbers of houses fell down, and a multitude of people were buried beneath the ruins. At Morocco, similar accidents occurred; and at Salle also, much damage was done. At Tangier the earthquake began at ten in the morning, and lasted ten or twelve minutes. At Tetuan it commenced at the same time, but was of less duration; three of the shocks were so extremely violent, that it was feared the whole city would be destroyed.

In the city of Funchal, in the island of Madeira, a shock of this earthquake was felt at thirty-eight minutes past nine in the morning. It was preceded by a rumbling noise in the air, like that of empty carriages passing hastily over a stone pavement. The observer felt the floor beneath him immediately to be agitated by a tremulous motion, vibrating very quickly. The shock continued more than a minute; during which space the vibrations, although continual, were twice very sensibly weakened and increased in force. The increase after the first remission of the shock was the most intense. During the whole of its continuance it was accompanied by a noise in the air; and this lasted some seconds after the motion of the earth had ceased, dying away like a peal of distant thunder rolling through the air. At three-quarters past eleven, the sea, which was quite calm, suddenly retired several paces; when rising with a great swell, and without any noise, it as suddenly advanced, overflowed the shore, and entered the city. It rose fifteen feet perpendicularly above high-water mark, although the tide, which there flows seven feet, was at half-ebb. The water immediately receded; and after having fluctuated four or five times between high and low water mark, it subsided, and the sea remained calm as before. In the northern part of the island the inundation was more violent, the sea there retiring above a hundred paces at first, and suddenly returning, overflowed the shore, forcing open doors, breaking down the walls of several magazines and storehouses, and leaving great quantities of fish ashore and in the streets of the village of Machico. All this was the effect of one rising of the sea, for it never afterward flowed high enough to reach the high-water mark. It continued, however, to fluctuate here much longer before it subsided than at Funchal; and in some places further to the westward, it was hardly, if at all, perceptible.

These were the phenomena with which this remarkable earthquake was attended, in those places where it was most violent. The effects of it, however, reached to an immense distance; and were perceived chiefly by the agitations of the waters, or some slight motion of the earth. Its utmost boundaries to the south are unknown; the barbarousness of the African nations rendering it impossible to procure any intelligence from them, except where the effects were dreadful. On the north, however, we are assured, that it reached as far as Norway and Sweden. In the former kingdom, the waters of several rivers and lakes were violently agitated. In the latter, shocks were felt in several provinces, and all the rivers and lakes were strongly agitated, especially in Dalecarlia. The river Dala suddenly overflowed its banks, and as suddenly retired. At the same time, a lake at the distance of a league from it, and with which it had no manner of communication, bubbled up with great violence. At Fahlun, a town in Dalecarlia, several strong shocks were felt.

In many places of Germany the effects of this earthquake were very perceptible; but in Holland, the agitations were still more remarkable. At Alphen on the Rhine, between Leyden and Woerden, in the afternoon of the first of November, the waters were agitated to such a violent degree, that buoys were broken from their chains, large vessels snapped their cables, small ones were thrown out of the water upon the land, and others lying on land were set afloat. At Amsterdam, about eleven in the forenoon, the air being perfectly calm, the waters were suddenly agitated in the canals, so that several boats broke loose; chandeliers were observed to vibrate in the churches; but no motion of the earth, or concussion of any building was observed. At Haerlem, in the forenoon, for nearly four minutes, not only the waters in the rivers, canals, &c., but also all kinds of fluids in smaller quantities, as in coolers, tubs, &c., were surprisingly agitated, and dashed over the sides, though no motion was perceptible in the vessels themselves. In these small quantities also the fluid apparently ascended prior to its turbulent motion; and in many places, even the rivers and canals rose one foot perpendicularly.

The agitation of the waters was also perceived in various parts of Great Britain and Ireland. At Barlborough, in Derbyshire, between eleven and twelve in the forenoon, in a boat-house on the west side of a large body of water, called Pibley Dam, supposed to cover at least thirty acres of land, was heard a surprising and terrible noise; a large swell of water came in a current from the south, and rose two feet on the sloped dam-head at the north end of the water. It then subsided, but returned again immediately, though with less violence. The water was thus agitated for three-quarters of anhour; but the current grew every time weaker and weaker, till at last it entirely ceased.

At Busbridge, in Surrey, at half an hour after ten in the morning, the weather being remarkably still, without the least wind, in a canal nearly seven hundred feet long, and fifty-eight in breadth, with a small spring constantly running through it, a very unusual noise was heard at the east end, and the water there observed to be in great agitation. It raised itself in a heap or ridge in the middle; and this heap extended lengthwise about thirty yards, rising between two and three feet above the usual level. After this, the ridge heeled or vibrated toward the north side of the canal, with great force, and flowed above eight feet over the grass walk on that side. On its return back into the canal, it again ridged in the middle, and then heeled with yet greater force to the south side, and flowed over its grass walk. During this latter motion, the bottom on the north side was left dry for several feet. This appearance lasted for about a quarter of an hour, after which the water became smooth and quiet as before. During the whole time, the sand at the bottom was thrown up and mixed with the water; and there was a continual noise like that of water turning a mill. At Cobham, in Surrey, Dunstall, in Suffolk, Earsy Court, in Berkshire, Eatonbridge, Kent, and many other places, the waters were variously agitated.

At Eyam bridge, in Derbyshire Peak, the overseer of the lead mines, sitting in his writing-room, about eleven o’clock, felt a sudden shock, which very sensibly raised him up in his chair, and caused several pieces of plaster to drop from the sides of the room. The roof was so violently shaken, that he imagined the engine-shaft had been falling in. Upon this he immediately ran to see what was the matter, but found everything in perfect safety. At this time two miners were employed in carting, or drawing along the drifts of the mines, the ore and other materials to be raised up at the shafts. The drift in which they were working was about a hundred and twenty yards deep, and the space from one end to the other fifty yards or upward. The miner at the end of the drift had just loaded his cart, and was drawing it along; but he was suddenly surprised by a shock, which so terrified him, that he immediately quitted his employment, and ran to the west end of the drift to his partner, who was no less terrified than himself. They durst not attempt to climb the shaft, lest that should be running in upon them: but while they were consulting what means they should take for their safety, they were surprised by a second shock, more violent than the first; which frightened them so much, that they both ran precipitately to the other end of the drift. They then went down to another miner, who worked about twelve yards below them. He told them that the violence of the secondshock had been so great, that it caused the rocks to grind upon one another. His account was interrupted by a third shock, which, after an interval of four or five minutes, was succeeded by a fourth, and, about the same space of time after, by a fifth; none of which were so violent as the second. They heard, after every shock, a loud rumbling in the bowels of the earth, which continued about half a minute, gradually descending, or seeming to remove to a greater distance.

At Shireburn Castle, Oxfordshire, a little after ten in the morning, a very strange motion was observed in the water of a moat which encompassed the building. There was a pretty thick fog, not a breath of air, and the surface of the water all over the moat was smooth as a looking-glass, except at one corner, where it flowed into the shore, and retired again successively, in a surprising manner. How it began to move is uncertain, as it was not then observed. The flux and reflux, when seen were quite regular. Every flood began gently, its velocity increasing by degrees, until at length it rushed in with great impetuosity, till it had attained its full hight. Having remained for a little time stationary, it then retired, ebbing gently at first, but afterward sinking away with great swiftness. At every flux the whole body of water seemed to be violently thrown against the bank; but neither during the time of the flux, nor that of the reflux, did there appear even the least wrinkle of a wave on the other parts of the moat. Lord Parker, who had observed this motion, being desirous to know whether it was universal over the moat, sent a person to the other corner of it, at the same time that he himself stood about twenty-five yards from him to examine whether the water moved there or not. He could not perceive any motion there; but another person, who went to the north-east corner of the moat, diagonally opposite to his lordship, found it as considerable there as where he was. His lordship imagining, that in all probability the water at the corner diagonally opposite to where he was would sink as that by him rose, ordered the person to signify by calling out, when the water by him began to sink, and when to rise. This he did; but to his lordship’s great surprise, immediately after the water began to rise at his own end, he heard the voice calling that it began to rise with him also; and in the same manner he heard that it was sinking at that end, soon after he perceived it to sink by himself. A pond just below was agitated in a similar manner; but the risings and sinkings happened at different times from those at the pond where Lord Parker stood.

At White Rock, in Glamorganshire, about two hours’ ebb of tide, and near a quarter to seven in the evening, a vast quantity of water rushed up with a great noise, floated two large vessels, the least of them above two hundred tuns’ burden, broke their moorings, drove them across the river, and nearlyoverset them. The whole rise and fall of this extraordinary body of water did not last above ten minutes, nor was it felt in any other part of the river, so that it seemed to have gushed out of the earth at that place.

Similar instances occurred at Loch Lomond and Loch Ness, in Scotland. At Kinsale, in Ireland, and all along the coast to the westward, many similar phenomena were observed.

Shocks were also perceived in several parts of France, as at Bayonne, Bourdeaux and Lyons; and commotions of the waters were observed at Angoulesme, Belleville, Havre de Grace, &c., but not attended with the remarkable circumstances above mentioned.

These are the most striking phenomena with which the earthquake of the first of November, 1755, was attended on the surface of the earth. Those which happened below ground can not be known but by the changes observed in springs, &c., which were in many places very remarkable.

At Tangier, all the fountains were dried up, so that there was no water to be had till night. A very remarkable change was observed in the medicinal waters of Toplitz, a village in Bohemia, famous for its baths. These waters were discovered in the year 762; from which time the principal spring had constantly thrown out hot water in the same quantity, and of the same quality. On the morning of the earthquake, between eleven and twelve, in the forenoon, this principal spring cast forth such a quantity of water, that in the space of half an hour all the baths ran over. About half an hour before this great increase of the water, the spring flowed turbid and muddy; then, having stopped entirely for a minute, it broke forth again with prodigious violence, driving before it a considerable quantity of reddish ocher. After this, it became clear, and flowed as pure as before. It still continued to do so, but the water was in greater quantity, and hotter, than before the earthquake. At Angoulesme, in France, a subterraneous noise, resembling thunder, was heard; and presently after, the earth opened, and discharged a torrent of water, mixed with red sand. Most of the springs in the neighborhood sunk in such a manner, that for some time they were thought to be quite dry. In Britain, no considerable alteration was observed in the earth, except that, near the lead mine above-mentioned, in Derbyshire, a cleft was observed about a foot deep, six inches wide, and one hundred and fifty yards in length.

At sea the shocks of this earthquake were felt most violently. Off St. Lucar, the captain of the Nancy frigate felt his ship so violently shaken, that he thought she had struck the ground; but, heaving the lead, he found she was in a great depth of water. Captain Clark, from Denia, in north latitude thirty-six degrees, twenty-four minutes, between nine and ten in the morning,had his ship shaken and strained as if she had struck upon a rock, so that the seams of the deck opened, and the compass was overturned in the binnacle. Tho master of a vessel bound to the American islands, being in north latitude twenty-five degrees, west longitude forty degrees, and writing in his cabin, heard a violent noise as he imagined, in the steerage; and while he was asking what the matter was, the ship was put into a strange agitation, and seemed as if she had been suddenly jerked up, and suspended by a rope fastened to the mast-head. He immediately started up with great terror and astonishment, and looking out at the cabin-window, saw land, as he took it to be, at the distance of about a mile. Coming upon the deck, the land was no more to be seen, but he perceived a violent current cross the ship’s way to the leeward. In about a minute, this current returned with great impetuosity; and at a league’s distance, he saw three craggy-pointed rocks throwing up waters of various colors, resembling fire. This phenomenon, in about two minutes, ended in a black cloud, which ascended very heavily. After it had risen above the horizon, no rocks were to be seen; though the cloud, still ascending, was long visible, the weather being extremely clear. Between nine and ten in the morning, another ship, forty leagues west of St. Vincent, was so strongly agitated, that the anchors, which were lashed, bounced up, and the men were thrown a foot and a half perpendicularly up from the deck. Immediately after this, the ship sunk in the water as low as the main-chains. The lead showed a great depth of water, and the line was tinged of a yellow color, and smelt of sulphur. The shock lasted about ten minutes; but they felt smaller ones for the space of twenty-four hours.

These earthquakes began on the fifth of February, 1783, and continued until the latter end of the May following, doing infinite damage, and exhibiting at Messina, in the parts of Sicily nearest to the continent, and in the two Calabrias, a variety of phenomena. The part of the Calabrian provinces most affected by this heavy calamity, lies between the thirty-eighth and thirty-ninth degrees of latitude, being the extreme point of the continent; and the greatest force of the earthquakes was exerted at the foot of the particular mountains of the Apennines, named Monte Deio, Monte Sacro and Monte Caulone, extending westward to the Tyrrhene sea. The towns, villages and farm-houses, nearest to these mountains, whether situated on the hills, or in the plains, were totally ruined by the first shock, which happened aboutnoon; and there the destruction of lives was the greatest. The towns still more remote, were, however, greatly damaged by the subsequent shocks, particularly those of the seventh, twenty-sixth and twenty-eighth of February, and that of the first of March. The earth was in a constant tremor, and its motions were various, being either vortical, horizontal or oscillatory, that is, by pulsations or beatings, from the bottom upward. This variety increased the apprehensions of the unfortunate inhabitants, who momentarily expected that the earth would open beneath their feet, and swallow them up. The rains had been continual and violent, often accompanied by lightning and furious gusts of wind. There were many openings and cracks in the earth; and several hills had been lowered, while others were quite level. In the plains, the chasms were so deep, that many roads were rendered impassable. Huge mountains were severed, and portions of them driven into the valleys, which were thus filled up. The course of several rivers was changed; and many springs of water appeared in localities which had before been perfectly dry.

From the city of Amantea, situated on the coast of the Tyrrhene sea, in lower Calabria, proceeding along the western coast to Cape Spartivento, in upper Calabria, and thence along the eastern coast to Cape Alice, a part of lower Calabria, on the Ionian sea, the towns and villages, amounting to nearly four hundred, whether on the coast or inland, were either totally destroyed, or suffered greatly. At Casal Nuovo, the Princess Gerace, and upward of four thousand of the inhabitants, lost their lives. At Bagnara, the number of dead amounted to upward of three thousand; and Radicina and Palmi experienced a similar loss. The total amount of the mortality occasioned by these earthquakes, in Sicily and the two Calabrias, was, agreeably to the official returns, thirty-two thousand, three hundred and sixty-seven; but Sir William Hamilton thought it still greater, and carries his estimate to forty thousand, including foreigners. On the first shock of the earthquake, on the fifth of February, the inhabitants of Scylla escaped from their houses, built on the rock, and, following the example of their prince, took shelter on the sea-shore. By this shock the sea had been raised and agitated so violently, that much damage had been done on the point of the Faro of Messina; but here it acted with still greater violence, for, during the night, an immense wave, which was falsely represented to have been boiling hot, and to have scalded many persons on its rising to a great hight, flowed furiously three miles inland, and swept off in its return two thousand, four hundred and seventy-three of the inhabitants, with the prince at their head, who were either at that time on the strand, or in boats near the shore.

The shocks felt since the commencement of these formidable earthquakes,amounted to several hundreds; and among the most violent may be reckoned the one which happened on the twenty-eighth of March. It affected most of the higher part of upper Calabria, and the inferior part of lower Calabria, being equally tremendous with the first. Indeed, these shocks were the only ones sensibly felt in Naples. With relation to the former, two singular phenomena are recorded. At the distance of about three miles from the ruined city of Oppido, in upper Calabria, was a hill, having a sandy and clayey soil, nearly four hundred feet in hight, and nearly nine hundred feet in circumference at its basis. This hill is said to have been carried to the distance of about four miles from the spot where it stood, into a plain calledCampo di Bassano. At the same time, the hill on which the city of Oppido stood, and which extended about three miles, divided into two parts: being situated between two rivers, its ruins filled up the valley, and stopped their course, forming two large lakes, which augmented daily. The accounts from Sicily were of a most alarming nature. The greatest part of the fine city of Messina was destroyed by the shock of the fifth of February, and what remained was greatly injured by the subsequent shocks. The quay in the port had sunk considerably, and was in some places more than a foot beneath the water. That superb building, the palazzata, which gave the port a more magnificent appearance than any other in Europe could boast, was entirely thrown down; and the lazaretto greatly damaged. The citadel suffered little; but the cathedral was destroyed, and the tower at the point of the entrance of the harbor much damaged. The wave which had done so much mischief at Scylla, had passed over the point of land at the Faro, and swept away twenty-four persons. The accounts from Melazzo, Patti, Terra di Santa Lucia, Castro Reale, and from the island of Lipari, were very distressing, but the damage done there by the earthquakes not so considerable as at Messina.

Sir William Hamilton, from the limited boundaries of these earthquakes, was persuaded that they were caused by some great operation of nature, of a volcanic kind. To ascertain this, he began his tour by visiting the parts of the coasts of the two Calabrias which had suffered most from this severe visitation. He everywhere came to ruined towns and houses, the inhabitants of which were in sheds, many of them built on such insalubrious spots, that an epidemic had ensued. These unfortunate people agreed that every shock they had felt, seemed to come with a rumbling noise from the westward, beginning usually with the horizontal motion, and ending with the vortical (or whirling) motion, which last had ruined most of the buildings. It had also been generally observed, that, before a shock, the clouds seemed to be fixed and motionless; and that, after a heavy shower of rain, a shock quickly followed. By the violence of some of the shocks, many persons had beenthrown down; and several of the peasants described the motion of the earth as so violent, that the tops of the largest trees almost touched the ground from side to side. During a shock, the oxen and horses, they said, kept their legs wide asunder, to prevent being thrown down, and gave evident signs of being sensible of the approach of each shock. Being thus warned, the neighing of a horse, the braying of an ass, or the cackling of a goose, drove them from their temporary huts.

From Monteleone, Sir William descended into the plain, and passed many towns and villages in a ruined state: the city of Mileto, lying in a bottom, was totally destroyed, without a house standing. Among the many examples afforded by these earthquakes, of animals being able to live a long time without food, was that of two hogs, which had remained buried under a heap of ruins at Soriano for forty-two days, and were dug out alive. He had frequent opportunities for observing that the habitations situated on high grounds, having a soil of a gritty sandstone, somewhat like granite, but without its consistence, suffered less than those in the plain, the soil of which is a sandy clay. The latter were universally leveled with the ground. During the first shock, he was told, a fountain of water, mixed with sand, had been forced to a considerable hight: prior to this phenomenon, the river was dry, but it soon returned and overflowed its banks. The other rivers in the plain underwent the like vicissitudes; to account for which, Sir William supposes the first impulsion of the earthquake to have come from the bottom upward; and that such was the fact, the inhabitants attested. The surface of the plain having suddenly risen, the rivers, which are not deep, would naturally disappear; and the plain seeking with violence its former level, the rivers would necessarily return and overflow, at the same time that the sudden depression of the boggy grounds would as naturally force out the water which lay hidden beneath the surface.

It had been stated, in the reports made to the government, that two tenements, named Macini and Vaticano, had, by the effect of the earthquake, changed their situation. In this fact Sir William agrees, and he accounts for it in the following manner. They were situated in a valley surrounded by high grounds, and the surface of the earth which had been removed, had probably been long undermined by the little rivulets which flow from the mountains, and which were in full view on the bare spot the tenements had deserted. He conjectures besides, that, the earthquake having opened some depositions of rain-water in the clayey hills which surrounded the valley, the water, mixing with the loose soil, and taking its course suddenly through the undermined surface, had lifted it up, together with the large olive and mulberry trees, and a thatched cottage, floating the entire piece of ground, withall its vegetation, about a mile down the valley, where he saw it, with most of the trees erect. These two tenements occupied a space of ground about a mile in length, and half a mile in breadth. There were in the vicinity several deep cracks in the earth, not one of which was then more than a foot in breadth; but Sir William was credibly assured, that, during the earthquake, one had opened wide, and had swallowed up an ox and nearly a hundred goats. In this valley he saw hollows, in the form of inverted cones, from which water and sand had been ejected violently at the time of the earthquakes, similar to those which had been pointed out to him at Rosarno. As well at the latter place, as in every ruined town he visited, an interesting remark was made to him, namely, that the male dead were generally found under the ruins, in the attitude of struggling against the danger; but that the attitude of the females was usually with the hands clasped over the head, as if giving themselves up to despair, unless they had children near them: in this case they were always found clasping them in their arms, or in some attitude which indicated their anxious care to protect them. How striking an instance of maternal tenderness!

Sir William traveled four days in the plain, in the midst of indescribable misery. Such was the force of the first shock, on the fifth of February, that the inhabitants of the towns were buried in an instant beneath the ruins of their houses. Of the population of the town of Polistene, which was badly situated between two rivers, wont to overflow their banks, twenty-one hundred individuals perished out of six thousand. It was built near a ravine of great depth; and, by the violent motion of the earth, two huge portions of the ground on which a considerable part of the town, consisting of several hundreds of houses, stood, were detached into the ravine, and nearly across it, to the distance of about half a mile from their original position. What was most extraordinary, many of the inhabitants of these houses, who had taken this singular leap in them, were dug out alive, and several unhurt. Terra Nuova lost three-fourths of a population of sixteen hundred inhabitants; and near to this town and to the ravine, many acres of land covered with trees and corn-fields had been detached and thrown into the latter, often without having been overturned, insomuch that the trees and crops were growing as well as if they had been planted there. Other such pieces of ground were lying in the bottom, in an inclined situation; and others, again, were quite overturned. Two immense portions of land, having been detached opposite to each other, filled the valley, and stopped the course of the river, the waters of which formed a great lake.

Having walked over the ruins of Oppido, Sir William descended into the ravine, which he carefully examined. Here he saw the wonderful force ofthe earthquake, which had produced exactly the same effects as in the ravine of Terra Nuova, but on a scale infinitely greater. The enormous masses of the plain, detached from each side of the ravine, lay in confused heaps, forming real mountains; and, having stopped the course of two rivers, great lakes were formed. He occasionally met with a detached piece of the surface of the plain, many acres in extent, with the large oaks and olive-trees, having lupines and corn beneath them, growing as well, and in as good order at the bottom of the ravine, as their companions from which they had been separated, were in the plain, at least five hundred feet higher, and at the distance of about three-quarters of a mile. Entire vineyards, which had taken a similar journey, were in the same order in the bottom. In another part of the ravine was a mountain, composed of a clayey soil, which was probably a portion of the plain, detached by an earthquake at some former period: it was in hight about two hundred and fifty feet, and about four hundred feet in diameter at its basis. It was well attested, Sir William observes, that this mountain traveled down the ravine nearly four miles, having been put in motion by the first shock. The abundance of rain which fell at that time; the great weight of the newly detached pieces of the plain, which were heaped up at its back; the nature of its soil; and particularly its situation on a declivity: these, in his opinion, satisfactorily account for this phenomenon. The Prince of Cariati showed him two girls, one of the age of about sixteen years, who had remained eleven days without food under the ruins of a house in Oppido; and the other, about eleven years of age, who had been under the same circumstances six days, but in a very confined and distressing posture.

Sir William describes the port of Messina, and the town, in their half-ruined state, when viewed by moonlight, as strikingly picturesque. On landing, he was assured by several fishermen, that, during the earthquake of the fifth of February, at night the sand near the sea was hot, and that in many parts they saw fire issue from the earth. This had been often repeated to him in the Calabrian plain; and the idea he entertained was, that the exhalations which issued during the violent commotions of the earth, were full of electric fire, just as the smoke of volcanoes is constantly observed to be during violent eruptions; for he did not, during any part of his tour, perceive an indication of volcanic matter having issued from the fissures of the earth. He was, therefore, convinced that the whole damage had been done by exhalations and vapors only. In this city, where they had so long an experience of earthquakes, he was told, that all animals and birds are, in a greater or less degree, more sensible of an approaching shock of an earthquake than any human being; but that geese, above all, were the soonest andthe most alarmed at the approach of a shock: if in the water, they quit it immediately, and they can not be driven into it for some time after.

The force of the earthquakes, although very violent at Messina, and at Reggio, on the opposite side of the strait, was not to be compared to that which was felt in the plain. In the former city the mortality did not exceed seven hundred, of a population of thirty thousand. A curious circumstance happened there also, to prove that animals can sustain life for a long time without food. Two mules belonging to the Duke of Belviso, remained under a heap of ruins, the one twenty-two, and the other twenty-three days: for some days after they refused their food, but drank plentifully, and finally recovered. There were numberless instances of dogs remaining many days in the same situation; and a hen, belonging to the British vice-consul, having been closely shut up beneath the ruins of his house, was taken out on the twenty-second day, and recovered, although at first it showed but little signs of life: like the mules, it did not eat for some days, but drank freely. From these instances, and from those above related, of the girls at Oppido, and the hogs at Soriano, as well as from several others of the same kind, it may be concluded, that long fasting is always attended with great thirst, and a total loss of appetite.

A circumstance worth recording, and which was observed throughout the whole coast of the part of the Calabrian provinces which had been most affected by the earthquakes, was, that a description of small fishes, namedcicirelli, resembling what in England are called white-bait, but larger, and which usually lie at the bottom of the sea, buried in the sand, were, from the commencement of these earthquakes, and for a considerable time after, taken near the surface, and in such abundance as to become the common food of the poorer sort of people; whereas, before these events, they were rare, and reckoned among the greatest delicacies. Fishes in general having been taken, wherever the effects of the shocks had reached, in much greater abundance, and with greater facility than before, Sir William conjectures, either that the bottom of the sea may have been heated by the volcanic fire beneath it, or that the continual tremor of the earth had driven the fishes out of their strongholds, in the same way as an angler, when he wants a bait, obliges the worms to come out of a turf on the river-side, by trampling on it with his feet, which motion never fails of its effect.

The commandant of the citadel of Messina, assured him, that on the fatal fifth of February, and the three following days, the sea, at the distance of about a quarter of a mile from that fortress, rose and boiled in a most extraordinary manner, and with a horrid and alarming noise, while the water in the other parts of the Faro was perfectly calm. This appeared to him topoint out exhalations or eruptions from cracks at the bottom of the sea, which were probably made during the violence of the earthquakes; and to these phenomena he ascribes a volcanic origin. He thus attempts to explain the nature of the formidable wave which was represented as boiling hot, and which, as has been already noticed, was so fatal to the inhabitants of Scylla.

Sir William concludes by remarking, that the local earthquakes here described, appear to have been caused by the same kind of matter as that which gave birth to the Æolian or Lipari isles. He conjectures that an opening may have been made at the bottom of the sea, most probably between Stromboli and upper Calabria; for from that quarter, it was agreed by all, the subterraneous noises seemed to proceed. He adds, that the foundation of a new island, or volcano, may have been laid, although it may be ages, which to nature are but moments, before it shall be completed, and appear above the surface of the sea. Nature is ever active; but her acts are in general carried on so very slowly, as scarcely to be perceptible to the mortal view, or recorded in the very short space of what we call history, let it be ever so ancient. It is probable, also, he observes, that the whole of the destruction he has described, may have simply proceeded from the exhalations of confined vapors, generated by the fermentation of such minerals as produce volcanoes, which would escape where they met with the least resistance, and would consequently affect the plain in a greater degree than the high and more solid grounds by which it is surrounded.

Count Francesco Ippolito, in speaking of the last great shock of the twenty-eighth of March, as it affected the Calabrian territory, is persuaded that it arose from an internal fire in the bowels of the earth, for it took place precisely in the mountains which cross the neck of the peninsula formed by the two rivers, the Lameto and the Corace, the former of which flows into the gulf of St. Euphemia, and the latter into the Ionian sea. All the phenomena it displayed, made this evident. Like the other shocks, it came in a south-west direction: the earth at first undulated, then shook, and finally rocked to and fro to such a degree, that it was scarcely possible to stand. It was preceded by a terrible groan from beneath the ground; and this groan, which was of the same duration with the shock, terminated with a loud noise, like that of the explosion of a mine. These thunderings accompanied not only the shock of that night, and of the succeeding day, but likewise all the others which were afterward felt; at the same time that the earth was continually shaken, at first every five minutes, and subsequently each quarter of an hour. During the night, flames were seen to issue from the ground in the neighborhood of Reggio, toward the sea, to which the explosion extended, insomuch that many of the peasants ran away through fear. These flamesissued precisely from a spot where some days before an extraordinary heat had been perceived. After this great shock there appeared in the air, in a slanting direction, and toward the cast, a whitish flame, resembling electric fire: it was seen for the space of two hours.

Several hills were either divided or laid level; and within the surface of the earth apertures were made, from which a great quantity of water, proceeding either from subterraneous concentrations, or from the rivers adjacent to the ground thus broken up, spouted for several hours. From one of these openings, in the territory of Borgia, and about a mile from the sea, there issued a large quantity of salt water, which for several days imitated the motions of the sea. Warm water likewise issued from the apertures made in the plains of Maida. In all the sandy parts, where the explosion took place, there were observed, from distance to distance, apertures in the form of an inverted cone, emitting water, and which seemed to prove the escape of a flake of electric fire. Amid the various phenomena which either preceded or followed this particular shock, the following are well deserving of notice. The water of a well at Maida, which was of an excellent quality, was affected, just before the shock, with so disgusting a sulphurous flavor, that it could not even be smelled. On the other hand, at Catanzaro, the water of a well, which before could not be used, on account of its possessing a strong smell of calcination, became drinkable. For a long time before the earth shook, the sea was considerably agitated, so as to terrify the fishermen, at the same time that there was not a breath of wind. On the side of Italy, the volcanoes had not emitted any eruptions for a considerable time before; but in the same way as, during the first great shock, Etna was in flames, so Stromboli emitted fire during this last.

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