OF THK iTrn OF DECEMBER, 1896. 193 



she thought there was another shaking, but slight. The ceiling of 

 a detached room over an open porch was cracked, as also was a pane 

 of glass in a conservatory on the opposite side of the house. This 

 house is situated on high ground, about 427 feet above the sea. — 

 £dward Diirnford, Lieut.- Colonel, Rothamsted Lodge, Uarpenden. 



At Haqienden several persons complained of having felt the 

 shock, and all give about the same time — from 5.30 to 5.45 a.m. 

 Several report that they felt tlieir beds shake, and others that 

 thev heard articles in the rooms shake about. — Herts Advertiser^ 

 \\i'l)ec., 1896. 



St. Albans. — Mr. F. A. Campion, of Netria, Bricket Eoad, 

 St. Albans, told me that he found most of the pictures hanging on 

 the walls of his house out of position after the shock. Uuestioning 

 him closely as to this, I ascertained that the pictures on the east 

 and west walls were more disturbed than those on the north and 

 south walls, that they were on the average half an inch out of 

 position, and that most of them were raised on the east, and lowered 

 on the west. I then looked at mine and found that in my dining- 

 room all the lighter pictures on the east and west walls were 

 slightly raised on the east, some being quite half an inch out of 

 square and others rather less. On the same walls there is one very 

 heavy picture which remained in its proper position, and so did all 

 on the north and south walls. 1 feel sure that all were nearly 

 horizontal on the previous day. They are oil-paintings and heavier 

 than the water-colours in my drawing-room. These also were 

 askew on all the walls, but with no regularity, which I attribute 

 to the fact that they more easily swing backwards and forwards. 

 Mr. Campion, who is Engineer to the Great Northern Eailway 

 Company, says that the point of suspension of his pictures was 

 altered, but I cannot be certain that this was the case with mine. 

 You will see what is the position, height above the sea, etc., of my 

 house from one of my meteorological papers which I send you.* 

 For east and west walls I should have said ESE. and WNW. 

 true ( = S.E. and N.W. magnetic, nearly). Mr. Campion's house is 

 more nearly true N. and S., etc. It is to the S.E. of mine and 

 overlooks my meadow, and is about 50 feet lower than mine. It is 

 modem and thinly built, while mine is 1 80 years old and has one 

 inner y^dSS. two feet thick. Although the shock did not awaken me, 

 one of my servants felt it. She first thought that a man was 

 walking heavily across her room, and then she felt her bed lift up 

 and go down again. She looked at a clock in the room and found 

 that it was 5.35. It is a large room at the opposite end of the 

 house to mine, and three servants sleep in it. The two others were 

 asleep, but this one, our housemaid, told the others when they 

 awoke what a fright she had had. I have heard of two other 

 servants in the town, in different houses, who had just the same 

 experience, first thinking that a man was in the room, and then 

 feeling their bed go up and down. One of Mr. Campion's servants 

 heard a chair rattle as if it had been dropped upon the floor, and 



* Long. 0° 20' 7" W. ; lat. ST 4o' 9" N. ; height above sea-level, 380 feet. 



