106 Papers relating to the Earthquake 



was pretty general through the province, and was felt in some 

 places to the eastward of Bhooj in a degree approaching to a 

 hurricane. 



In the description of the shock it will be necessary to speak 

 in the first person, because I can only pretend to describe with 

 correctness my own feelings, thoughts, and observations. In 

 the subsequent observations, however, I shall avail myself of 

 those felt and made by others under different circumstances 

 and in different situations. 



At the moment already mentioned, after a hot day, I was 

 sitting with a party of friends on an earthen terrace, in front 

 of a house in which we were about to dine. The evening was 

 remarkably serene, not a cloud to be seen, and a light and 

 cool breeze from the west. The situation was on a ridge of 

 slate rock in the town of Anjar, and close under a large round 

 tower with four heavy guns mounted on it. Our notice was 

 first attracted by a slight motion of our chairs, as if they had 

 been lifted up, and a noise from the doors and windows, as if 

 they had been moved by the breeze : before the question of 

 " What is that?" could be uttered a second lifting of the 

 chairs took place, and the motion became too evident to be 

 mistaken even by me, who had never before experienced a 

 shock. Every person made what haste he could to leave the 

 tower, which, after rolling and heaving in a most awful de- 

 gree, gave way at the bottom, on the western face, and crum- 

 bling down, buried guns and carriages in the rubbish : a mo- 

 ment after, the towers and curtains of the fort wall, and up- 

 wards of fifteen hundred houses, were reduced to ruins ; but 

 as I was within thirty yards of the round tower, my attention 

 was particularly drawn to it. 



The opinions with regard to the length of time which this 

 shock lasted are various, but appear to be limited to from two 

 to four minutes : my own conviction is that the first is nearest 

 the truth, and perhaps even a little beyond the mark. On 

 subsequently observing the time by a watch, it seems to me 

 that if the motion had continued for more than two minutes, 

 no building could have been left entire. Allowances must be 

 made for agitation at the moment, and the general voice seems 

 to fix the duration of the severe shocks at two minutes and a 

 half. A philosopher, who had been in the habit of observing 

 and speculating on the great convulsions of nature, might 

 have coolly taken out his watch and been delighted with the 

 opportunity of adding to the knowledge which the experience 

 of the shock might have afforded. For my own part, how- 

 ever, my feelings at the moment were such as for an instant 

 to deprive me of all presence of mind and power of reflection ; 



and 





