

Which occurred in India in 1819. 107 



and when self-possession did return, my mind was too deeply 

 occupied with the awful and appalling spectacle of the face 

 of nature in a state of excessive agitation to admit of other 

 thoughts or impressions. It certainly was terrific to behold 

 hills, towers, and houses, the stability of which we had been 

 in the habit of considering as proof against every power, and 

 against the lapse of centuries, rocking to and fro, or rising 

 and sinking, while the former sent forth clouds of dust, or 

 perhaps smoke, and the latter crumbled into rubbish. 



With regard to the nature of the motion there is likewise a 

 variety of opinions. Some persons with whom I have con- 

 versed feel convinced of the action of the shock being directly 

 upwards, as if the earth was on the point of opening under 

 their feet ; a few assert that it was vibratory, whilst others at- 

 tribute to it an undulating motion. I confess I am one of 

 those who favour the last-mentioned opinion, although the 

 slight motion at the commencement did certainly feel as a 

 direct elevation of the chair attended by a blow as if under its 

 feet. When the shock was at its height, the motion of the 

 earth was so strongly undulatory that to keep our feet was no 

 easy matter. The waving of the surface was perfectly visible, 

 and in attempting to walk, the motion has been most aptly 

 compared by a gentleman to that felt when walking quickly 

 on a long plank supported at both ends ; — when one foot was 

 elevated, the earth either rose and met it, or sunk away from 

 it in its descent. 



The shock was attended with a violent gust of wind and a 

 noise like that of a numerous flight of birds ; but this did not 

 precede the event ; I think, on the contrary, that the noise 

 was heard even after, or at all events towards the conclusion 

 of the motion. Both of these occurrences have been denied, 

 although, for my own part, I feel convinced that they did hap- 

 pen ; more especially as the noise has been frequently heard 

 to accompany subsequent shocks. 



The night of the 1 6th proved extremely serene and beauti- 

 ful ; and as we slept in the open air, we had a favourable op- 

 portunity of remarking any thing extraordinary that might 

 occur. We observed, as we thought, a more than usual num- 

 ber of the meteors known by the name of falling stars ; but 

 whether we might not have been biassed by what we had read 

 of such phaenomena having been supposed to attend earth- 

 quakes, I will not venture to affirm. Before 11 o'clock P.M. 

 we experienced three shocks ; and, according to the statements 

 of the sentinels and townspeople, there were many in the 

 course of the night. These were however trifling, and their 

 eflects were confined to shaking the tiles and bringing to the 



O 2 ground 



