70 gleanings of literature. "July 18. 



" Whether there is not a great co-operation of electricity 

 in the production of earthquakes? and this query v^-'s- 

 brought up forcibly to my recollection, from what i felt 

 upon this occasion, whicn I have already described. 



" For if earthquakes are solely owing to the causes that 

 have been usually afsigned, whence proceeded those -sensati-- 

 ons which I never experienced, save under the action of 

 electricity? and whence the dead calm, and motionlefs 

 state of the clouds, which, for an hour before the (hock, al- 

 most suffocated many people .here, obliging them at mid- 



-njght to get out of bed and sit in their piazzas ? 



" Moreover, the sound immediately preceding the earth- 

 quake, so exactly resembled the noise of thunder, that, ta- 

 king every circumstance into consideration, the query of 

 Donah de-crxes to be rotlced with attention. 



" If explosion from pent up steam, or xjther subterranean 

 theory of earthquake, were only to be taken into consldera- 



•tion In explaining these appearances, how comes it to pafs 

 that congenial symptoms of the atmosphere istc. were felt 



■jjn Sumatra, during the earthquake of Lisbon in th^ 



year 1751;? 



"Besides, the electric feelings of the people here, prior 

 to tlie great fhock, were felt more severely on the moun- 

 tains than on the low lands, which does not correspond to 

 the modern theories of Mitchel, and other approved wri- 

 ters on the subject of earthquakes. 



'• In our case, the mountains continued almost incefsantly 

 tremulous, while, on the low lands, there were spaces of an 

 hour between the Ihocks, which would not comport with 

 the theory of steam acting by the communication of the 

 strata, as conjectured by Mitchel. 



•"As to the direction of michief in earthquakes heretofore 

 mentioned, it seems to agree very well with the stratical 

 construction of the globe, but not without the co-operati- 



