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rose and sank like waves, horses and men were thrown to the 
ground, and houses destroyed. Crevasse after crevasse opened 
everywhere, rocks rent, and stone buildings and walls were torn in 
pieces. At the same time an earthquake wave 20ft. high rolled in 
foaming fury, along the shore, sweeping away 108 houses, and 
drowning 46 people. For ten days the earth never ceased rocking 
like a rocking chair, and trembling as if ague stricken.” At last 
a vent was found, the fiery flood rent open a fissure a mile in 
length, from which it poured with terrific fury, forming four 
vast fire-fountains, fluid as water, red as blood; these united 
into one large stream of glowing lava a mile in length, which rushed 
madly on to the sea, a distance of four miles, into which it dashed 
with wild commotion of steam and fury (Gordon Cumming). There 
is no known force, no disaster, not even the murderous invention 
of man, by which so many lives are sacrificed in a short space of 
time as by earthquakes (Humbolt). Naples, alone, in the course 
of 75 years lost 111,000 inhabitants out of a population of 600,000; 
at the earthquake of Riobamba nearly 40,000 people perished in 
little more than a minute, and at Lisbon 60,000 were destroyed in 
‘four minutes, 30,000 of whom were congregated in the different 
churches. One in Sicily overturned 54 cities and towns and 300 
villages. Of Catania and its 18,000 inhabitants not a trace re- 
mained, and more than 100,000 lives were lost. In 1797 the whole 
country between Santa Fé and Panama was destroyed, including 
Cuzco and Quito, 40,000 people were buried in one second. In 
1868 the cities of Arica, Arequipa, Quito, and eight other towns in 
‘Peru were destroyed, 25,000 lives were lost, and 30,000 rendered 
‘homeless ; the loss of property was estimated at 60 millions. The 
most heartrending scenes were witnessed at this last catastrophe, 
the ground gaping and then again closing, so that many unfor- 
tunates were caught by the throat or middle and squeezed to death 
‘in sight of their agonised friends and relatives. Others could hear 
the voices of those dearest to them on earth beneath the fallen 
debris and masonry, gradually getting weaker day by day, while no 
bribe could procure labour to liberate them, and feeble hands tore 
_ in frantic agony at the immoveable blocks in futile efforts to rescue 
_ the buried loved ones. Earthquakes have always been associated 
in popular belief with a sultry, lurid, still state of the atmosphere, 
‘and this so-constantly that there must be some foundation for the 
conviction. Yet Humboldt tells us he has experienced earthquakes 
in fresh, bright weather, and with a brisk east wind blowing. 
Although the fact is not yet well established, it would not be 
' Surprising if volcanic eruptions were, more or less, dependent on 
‘atmospheric conditions. We know that the expansion of gases 
depends largely on pressure, and that a fall of the barometer of 
