Chap. 48.] Earthquakes in Calabria. 375 



this made me fo cautious for the future, that I avoided 

 pafling near certain places, where the ftench was fo 

 exceflive that people began to dread an infection : a 

 gentleman told me, that going into the town a few 

 days after the earthquake, he faw feveral bodies lying 

 in the ftreets, fome horribly mangled, as he fuppofed, 

 by the dogs, others half burnt, fome quite roafted ; 

 and that in certain places, particularly near the doors 

 of churches, they lay in vaft heaps piled one upon 

 another.' 



The year 1783 was fatally marked by the defo- 

 lation of fpme of the mod fertile, moil beautiful, and 

 moft celebrated provinces of Europe. The two Cala- 

 brias, with a part of Sicily, were doomed to be a 

 fcene of the moft tremendous, and the moft fatal earth- 

 quakes that ever were known, even in thofe volcanic 

 regions. The firft fhock happened about noon, on 

 the 5th of February, and was fo violent as to involve 

 almoft the whole of Calabria in ruin. This was but 

 tire commencement of a fuccefiion of earthquakes, 

 which beginning from the city of A man tea, on the coaft 

 of the Tyrrhene fea, proceeded along the weflern coaft 

 to Cape Spartivento, and up the eaftern as far as Cape 

 D 'Alice; during the whole of which fpace not a town 

 was left undeftroyed. 



During two years repeated fhocks continued to 

 agitate the affrighted minds of the inhabitants of Cala- 

 bria and Sicily, but the principal mifchiefs arofe in 

 the months of February and March in the 'firft year. 

 For feveral months the earth continued in an unceaf- 

 ing tremor, which at certain intervals increafed to 

 violent ihocks, fome of which were beyond defcription 

 dreadful. Thefe Ihocks were fometimes horizontal, 

 whirling like a vortex j and fometimes by pulfa'tions 

 pr beating from the bottom upwards, and were at 

 B b 4 times 



