HERTFORDSHIRE EARTHQUAKES. 167 



from Bridport, Dorsetshire : " Yesterday Morning the Sun shone 

 very bright ; which, between 11 and 12, was with dark Clouds 

 so obscured, as render'd it darker than common. Soon after, 

 a violent Clap of Thunder, and a heavy Shower of Hail, 

 succeeded : After which it grew again serene ; and in the 

 Evening about 6, a Shock of an Earthquake was felt in this 

 Town, and the neighbouring Villages, with (thro' Mercy) no 

 other Damage than a great Surprising to all who felt it." 

 (Nath. Downe, in ' Phil. Trans.,' vol. xlvi, p. 688.) 



Flintshire, Cheshire, and Lancashire were affected by the 

 earthquake of the 13th of April ; and Thomas Pennant, the 

 Welsh naturalist, wrote from his Seat in Flintshire : " During 

 the Shock, a great Noise was heard in the Air; and, some 

 Nights before. Lights were seen in the Sky : such as were 

 previous to the Earthquake in Town." (' Phil. Trans.,' 

 vol. xlvi, p. 687.) These lights, the Am-ora borealis, were seen 

 at the time of the shock, for the Eev. J. Seddon wrote from 

 Liverpool: "As soon as I felt the Shock, I was immediately 

 apprehensive what it was, and went out to see whether there 

 was anything remarkable in the Atmosphere. I then obsei-v'd 

 a very uncommon appearance ; viz. an infinite Number of Rays, 

 proceeding from all Parts of the Heavens, converged to one 

 Point ; no luminous Body appeared at all. The Rays were at 

 first of a bright Yellow ; afterwards they became blood-red. 

 This Phsenomenon was not far from our Zenith. It continued 

 about 20 Minutes, and then disappeared. The ensuing Night 

 was very stormy ; a large Quantity of Hail fell about Two in 

 the Morning ; and the Barometer was extremely low." (' Phil. 

 Trans.,' vol. xlvi, pp. 697-698 ; see also ' Ipswich Journal,' 

 21 April, 1750.) 



An earthquake on the 3rd of September was reported by 

 Dr. John Green to have been, at Spalding and Newark, " attended 

 with a loud Noise, and Crack." And he says that at the time 

 " An Aurora Borealis appeared vertically, shooting Rays of all 

 Colours round, which turned to a very deep red Colour," 

 (' Phil. Trans.,' vol. xlvi, pp. 725-726.) 



The more severe earthquake of the 11th of October, a Sunday, 

 appears to have begun in Derbyshire, passing through the 

 Midland Counties to Cambridgeshire. It occurred during 

 a period of unusual atmospheric disturbances, and was accom- 

 panied by a noise variously described as "a kind of hollow 

 noise, as loud as that of a large Cannon" ; "a prodigious rolling 

 Noise, louder than all the Thunder I ever heard in my Life," 

 the Rev. John Nixon says ; and a " Noise as of a rising rustling 

 Wind." Mr. Nixon reported that two gentlemen, "About 6 or 

 7 o'clock in the Morning before the earthquake, saw a Ball of 

 Fire in the Air, resembling the Meteor called a falling Star ; 

 only with this difference, that the Phsenomenon, after running 

 some Space, burst into several streaming Rays, consisting of 

 sparks of Fire, in the manner of a Sky-rocket." This was at 



VOL. XIII. — PAKT in. 12 



