368 Great Earthquake [Book Vt. 



of ruins, with no fmall hazard to my own life, juft as 

 we were going into the ftreet, as there was one part 

 1 could not well climb over without the afiiftance of 

 my hands, as well as feet, I defired her to let go her 

 hold, which {he did, remaining two or three feet be- 

 hind me, at which time there fell a vaft ftone, from a 

 tottering wall, and crufhed both her and the child in 

 pieces : fo difmal a fpectacle at any other time would 

 have affected me in the higheft degree, but the dread 

 I was in of fharing the fame fate myfelf, and the many 

 inftances of the fame kind which prefented themfelves 

 all around, were too fhocking to make me dwell a 

 moment on this fingle object. 



' 1 had now a long narrow ftreet to pafs, with the 

 houfes on each fide four or five ftories highj all very 

 old, the greater part already thrown down, or conti- 

 nually failing, and threatening the paffengers with ine- 

 vitable death at every ftep, numbers of whom lay killed 

 before me, or what I thought far more deplorable-^- 

 fo bruifed and wounded that they could not ftir to 

 help themfelves. For my own part, as deftruction ap- 

 peared to me unavoidable, I only wiflied I might be 

 made an end of at once, and not have my limbs 

 broken, in which cafe I could exped nothing elfe but 

 to be left upon the fpot, lingering in mifery, like thefe 

 poor unhappy wretches, without receiving the lead 

 fuccour from any perfon. 



' As felf-prefervation, however, is the firft law of 

 nature, thefe fad thoughts did not fo far prevail, as to 

 make me totally dcfpair. I proceeded on as fad as I 

 conveniently could, though with the utmoft caution, 

 and having at length got clear of this horrid paffage, I 

 found myfelf fafe and unhurt in the large open fpace 

 before St. Paul's church, which had been thrown 

 down a few minutes before, and buried a great part 



of 



