Earthquakes. JOJ 



end to have recurred at intervals, during a fpace of three 

 hours, from its beginning, till the fhock had completely 

 ceafed. At Padang, the houfes of the inhabitants are almoft 

 totally destroyed, and the public works much damaged. 

 The mow Padang, lying at anchor in the river, was thrown, 

 by the fudden rife of the fea, upwards of three miles in fhore, 

 where me ftill remains. The number of lives loft at Padansr 

 on this melancholy occafion exceeded 300. Of thefe, fome 

 were crufhed under the ruins of falling houfes ; fome were 

 literally entombed alive by the earth doling upon them ; and 

 others were drowned by the fudden irruption of the waters 

 of the ocean. The effe&s of this awful convulfion of nature 

 do not appear to have extended to the northward of Tapo- 

 nooly ; as at that place little or no damage was fuftained. 

 It appears to have come from the fouthward, and is fuppofed 

 to have extended as far as Bencoolen; but no accounts having 

 been received at Taponooly or Padang, from the fouthward, 

 between the time of the occurrence of the earthquake and 

 the date of the letters, the extent of this calamity has not 

 been afecrtained. 



At Natal, the refidence of a fubordinate of Beneoolen, 

 very confiderable damage was fuftained, and feveral houfes 

 thrown down, but no lives were loft. It is however feared, 

 when the particulars ihall have been collected from the 

 different quarters on the weft coaft, where the earthquake 

 was felt, that the fum, both of lives and property deftroyed, 

 will be found much greater than yet apprehended. 



A letter from Metz, dated Ventofe 30, (March co) ftates, 

 that at fix in the morning of the 24th a (hock of an earth- 

 quake had been felt at Sarreguemines, Blifcatel, and other 

 communes of the department of la Meurthe. No prccifc 

 pbfervations were made on its direction. It was fo violent 

 at Bitche that it railed up part of the arch of the bridge, fo 

 as to render it dangerous to be paflcd. 



A fact which feems to explain this phenomenon is, that 

 the circumference where it took place contains feveral mines 



of 



