100 On f he Earthquakes in S/cil-i/ in March 1823. 



On the night of the 6th, at forty-five minutes past one, in 

 St. Lucia de Millazzo, six miles from the shore which looks 

 towards Volcano and Stromboli, a severe shock was felt; and 

 aftei'wards, at various intervals, horrible noises were heard, 

 four distinct times, rumbling fearfully beneath them ; and 

 finally, at half past three o'clock, the shock was repeated. Both 

 were felt at Messina, but without any subterranean noises. 

 Nothing of it was felt at Palermo, or in any jilaces in the west. 

 At fifty-six minutes past ten, in the night of the 7th, another 

 shock was felt at Palermo, sufficiently strong to put in motion 

 the pendulum of a small clock which I had stopped that I 

 might regulate it in the morning. Its vibration from N.E. to 

 S.W. showed me with certainty the direction of the shock. 

 Light ones were felt on the 26th. On the 31st, at two and 

 fifty-two minutes P.M. one was felt at Messina, moderately 

 severe, of five or six seconds duration, and undulating. Two 

 others on the 1st of April, and one at Castelbuono on the 

 28th. I should add that they mention a slight one there on 

 the 16th of Februai'y; but they are more certain of those of 

 the 5th of March; one at 1 P.M., the other at 3. These 

 were they which induced the inhabitants of Naso to leave 

 their habitations and flee into the country, where they were 

 when their city was laid waste. Here the Professor mentions 

 many other places in which small shocks were felt in July 

 and August : but as no important remarks are made, we pass 

 over them to his more interesting chapter of physical obser- 

 vations. 



[To be continued.] 



conducted from the deep cavities of the earth to the surface by the force 

 of equilibriun), produces there extraordinary vaporization when hygrome- 

 ters have shown extreme dryness. The atmosphere, charged beyond mea- 

 sure with vapours, will give room to their decomposition, which changes 

 them into vesicles and then into rain. Fiery meteors will be produced by 

 the electric fluid, liberated by the passage of the vapours into water. If hy- 

 drogen gas escape from the earth, it may be inflamed by the electric spark, 

 and present the appearance of fires. I should mention here, tliat in vol- 

 canic regions signs may sometimes precede earthquakes; but this happens 

 there by the proximity of the place of the subterranean operations to the 

 surface of the earth, which circumstance connects the internal phaenomena 

 with those of the adjacent atmosphere. On the morning of the 8th of 

 March 1669, at Pidara, a town on the side of Etna, the air became ob- 

 scure as by a partial eclipse of the sun j soon after, the earth began to shake, 

 and continued so until the 11th, when an immense fissure opened near 

 Nicolosi, a neighbouring town — a sparkling light appeared over the fissure; 

 and on that very day, while the terrible shocks were levelling Nicolosi with 

 the ground, an enormous burning river, amidst horrid rumblings, roarings, 

 and explosions, was belched out, which flowed fifteen miles, covering a 

 great extent of land, and for four months spreading terror over Sicily. — 

 ^or, de. Inc. Min., Ferr. Descr. dell' Etna. 



XVL 



