100 HISTORY OF 



terrors belonging to an earthquake, T will sup- 

 press the detail of that which happened at Lis- 

 bon in our own times, and which is too recent to 

 require a description. In fact, there are few par- 

 ticulars in the accounts of those who were pre- 

 sent at that scene of desolation, that we have not 

 more minutely and accurately transmitted to us 

 by former writers^ whose narratives I have for 

 that reason preferred. I will therefore close this 

 description of human calamities, with the ac- 

 count of the dreadful earthquake of Calabria, in 

 1638. It is related by the celebrated Father 

 Kircher, as it happened while he was on his jour- 

 ney to visit Mount ^Etna, and the rest of the 

 wonders that lie towards the south of Italy. I 

 need scarcely inform the reader, that Kircher is 

 considered, by scholars, as one of the greatest 

 prodigies of learning. 



" Having hired a boat, in company with four 

 more, two friars of the order of St Francis, and 

 two seculars, we launched, on the twenty-fourth 

 of March, from the harbour of Messina, in Sicily, 

 and arrived, the same day, at the promontory of 

 Pelorus. . Our destination was for the city of Eu- 

 phaemia, in Calabria, where we had some business 

 to transact, and where we designed to tarry for 

 some time. However, Providence seemed willing 

 to cross our design ; for we were obliged to con- 

 tinue for three days at Pelorus, upon account of 

 the weather, and though we often put out to sea, 

 yet we were as often driven back. At length, 

 however, wearied with the delay, we resolved to 

 prosecute our voyage j and, although the sea 



