36^8" Mr D. Milne on Earthquake-Shocks felt in Great Britain ^ 



on the 16th, when a violent shock did farther damage. E very- 

 convulsion was preceded by a loud subterranean or submarine 

 noise, which exactly varied in intensity with the force of the 

 shocks. A rent, a mile in length, was formed in the ground 

 extending from the shore. Only some of the severer shocks 

 were felt in the adjoining islands." The soundings round 

 Terceira were not altered."* 



On the Vlth June, there was an earthquake also at St 

 Louis, situated near the junction of the Missouri and Mis- 

 sissippi. 



July 4 and 5, 1841. — During the night, between these two 

 days, two shocks of earthquake were felt in the central parts 

 of France, which presented phenomena in many respects ex- 

 tremely interesting. 



The following notices are taken from the Journal des De- 

 bats of 9th and 15th July : — 



" On night between Sunday (July 4, 1841) and Monday 

 at 12^ 25', three shocks of earthquake were felt at Blois, in 

 the suburbs of Vienna and of Foix. The subterranean cur- 

 rent seemed to have run along the side of the Grovets as far 

 as Chouzy, and to have shaken specially the alluvial districts, 



" The timbers cracked in a way which threatened the safety 

 of the houses. The furniture was displaced and even upset. 

 In the preceding evening, at 8 p. m., a violent storm passed 

 over Blois, but the clouds soon dispersed. 



" At 10 p. M., the clouds again accumulated, and after the 

 earthquake shocks, the rain fell in torrents. 



'* In the course of the same night, between midnight and 

 1 A. M., several persons observed a globe of fire which burst 

 (eclate) in the air, and struck against the willow-trees at 

 Sanitas. This circumstance has sometimes made us doubt, 

 whether the violent commotion felt during the same night 

 was the effect of an earthquake. We attribute it to the ex- 

 plosion of this electrical meteor ; but since it has been re- 



* This last fact was communicated to me, by Captain Vidal, R.N., commanding 

 the surveying vessel sent to Terceira by the British Government, soon after the 

 earthquake, to make fresh soundings. 



